Plataforma virtual de modelo C2C de intermediación educativa, focalizado en estudiar en España: Xiguotuzhi

Treballs Finals del Màster en Creació i Gestió d'Empreses Innovadores i de Base Tecnològica, Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2014-2015, Tutor: Mariano YagüezEste trabajo trata de un plan de negocios de la Plataforma virtual de modelo C2C de intermediación educativa, focalizado en estudiar en España: Xiguotuzhi. En el 2014 se registró un ingreso de 7,500 estudiantes chinos en España. Es una realidad que estos estudiantes viven una enorme brecha cultural y no es fácil adaptarse. Por eso, nos incorporamos en la economía de colaboración y creamos esta plataforma con el objetivo de promover el autoservicio y la interacción de los estudiantes. Xiguotuzhi es una plataforma de comercio electrónico de C2C, perteneciente a Beijing Xiguotuzhi International Education (Sino-España)., Ltd., registrada en China en el año 2014, que sirve como un puente para vincular los estudiantes chinos que quieren estudiar en España pero no tienen los contactos necesarios para hacerlo, con los estudiantes chinos o nativos que llevan un tiempo en España y conocen perfectamente el sistema universitario y el entorno. En nuestra plataforma pueden seleccionar los "ofertantes" que les interesan según su perfil o los comentarios de otros usuarios. De esta manera, también damos a los ofertantes la oportunidad de tener acceso a un “mercado” de estudiante Chino que nunca les han ofrecido los intermediarios tradicionales. En Xiguotuzhi, somos tres socios: Rubén Vilar López: Catalán. Ingeniero informático. Se encarga del sector tecnológico de la empresa y los negocios en España. Zigang Wang: Estudiante chino en Barcelona. Estudió el máster en Creación y Gestión de Empresas Innovadoras y de Base Tecnológicas en la Universidad de Barcelona. Se encarga de la administración y la financiación de la empresa y los negocios en el norte de China. Jiewen Tan: Estudiante china en China. Estudió el máster en Creación y Gestión de Empresas Innovadoras y de Base Tecnológicas en la Universidad de Barcelona. Se encarga del marketing y comunicación de la empresa y los negocios en el sur de China. Nuestro modelo de negocios es similar al de Ebay y Alibaba. Cobramos una comisión a los ofertantes sobre los precios de sus servicios. Hasta ahora, sólo existen los intermediariostradicionales que ofrecen un paquete de servicios con precios muy alto. Somos la primera plataforma de intermediación educativa en China y con la innovación de esta plataforma queremos evolucionar totalmente el sector tradicional de las agencias de educación internacional en China. Con nuestra plataforma, esperamos no sólo crear una oportunidad y ambiente de ayudarse entre la comunidad de estudiantes chinos en España, sino también promover o facilitar el intercambio de cultura y talentos entre China y España. Nuestro plan de negocios va a analizar todos los aspectos que pueden afectar nuestro proyecto incluyendo el análisis del entorno, marketing, operaciones, estructura organizativa, recursos humanos, financiación, legislación, juridicidad y las estrategias. Y este trabajo tiene un fin para que evaluemos nuestro proyecto de manera objetiva y sigamos trabajando en ello de forma correcta en el fruto

Research on Urban Bearing Capacity of Gas Supply Stations

Given the continuous optimisation of the energy structure, the proportion of natural gas consumption in China increases annually, the urban gas pipeline network continues to extend outward, and the supply range continues to expand. Although an increasing number of users can use natural gas, the coverage of the natural gas pipeline network remains low in some areas in China. A “point supply” pattern, which provides gas through liquefied natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply stations, has been developed to solve the problem of gas unavailability in areas not covered by the pipeline network. This pattern flexibly supplies gas, whose cost is low and market determined. Thus, the substantial development of these gas supply stations has been promoted. This pattern will continue to play an important role in the future. However, no unified standards for the construction of these gas supply stations have been provided, resulting in various problems, such as unreasonable location, inadequate management, potential risk and imbalance between supply and demand. On the basis of these concerns, this research attempts to study the urban bearing capacity of gas supply stations, provide some new ideas for the construction and planning of urban gas supply stations, and help promote sustainable urban development. The pressure–state–response model is adjusted to the pressure–state–capability model, which is used as a basis for proposing an evaluation index system and calculation models for the comprehensive evaluation of the urban bearing capacity of gas supply stations on city and country scales. The proposed methodology is used in a case study of urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Delta

iStoryline: Effective Convergence to Hand-drawn Storylines

Storyline visualization techniques have progressed significantly to generate illustrations of complex stories automatically. However, the visual layouts of storylines are not enhanced accordingly despite the improvement in the performance and extension of its application area. Existing methods attempt to achieve several shared optimization goals, such as reducing empty space and minimizing line crossings and wiggles. However, these goals do not always produce optimal results when compared to hand-drawn storylines. We conducted a preliminary study to learn how users translate a narrative into a hand-drawn storyline and check whether the visual elements in hand-drawn illustrations can be mapped back to appropriate narrative contexts. We also compared the hand-drawn storylines with storylines generated by the state-of-the-art methods and found they have significant differences. Our findings led to a design space that summarizes 1) how artists utilize narrative elements and 2) the sequence of actions artists follow to portray expressive and attractive storylines. We developed iStoryline, an authoring tool for integrating high-level user interactions into optimization algorithms and achieving a balance between hand-drawn storylines and automatic layouts. iStoryline allows users to create novel storyline visualizations easily according to their preferences by modifying the automatically generated layouts. The effectiveness and usability of iStoryline are studied with qualitative evaluations

Giant tumefactive perivascular spaces

Perivascular spaces are parts of the glymphatic pathway in the brain, which are microscopic but visible on magnetic resonance imaging when enlarged. Here, we described a case of a 16-year-old boy who presented with chronic headaches. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed giant perivascular spaces in the right centrum semiovale. Furtherly, we summarized the literature on classical and rare presentations of massive perivascular spaces and raised awareness that more clinical significance of the giant tumefactive perivascular spaces remains to be elucidated

Degradation Behavior, Transport Mechanism and Osteogenic Activity of Mg–Zn–RE Alloy Membranes in Critical-Sized Rat Calvarial Defects

In this study, a specific Mg–Zn–RE alloy membrane with 6 wt.% zinc and 2.7 wt.% rare earth elements (Y, Gd, La and Ce) was prepared to investigate implant degradation, transport mechanism and guide bone regeneration in vivo. The Mg-membrane microstructure and precipitates were characterized by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Mg-membrane degradation process and effect on osteogenesis were investigated in a critical-sized rat calvarial defect model via micro-CT examination and hard tissue slicing after 2-, 5- and 8-week implants. Then, the distribution of elements in organs after 1-, 2- and 4-weeks implantation was examined to explore their transportation routes. Results showed that two types of precipitates had formed in the Mg–membrane after a 10-h heat treatment at 175 °C: γ-phase MgZn precipitation with dissolved La, Ce and Gd, and W-phase Mg3(Y, Gd)2Zn3 precipitation rich in Y and Gd. In the degradation process of the Mg-membrane, the Mg matrix degraded first, and the rare earth-rich precipitation particles were transferred to a more stable phosphate compound. The element release rate was dependent on the precipitate type and composition. Rare earth elements may be transported mainly through the lymph system. The defects were repaired rapidly by the membranes. The Mg-membrane used in the present study showed excellent biocompatibility and enhanced bone formation in the vicinity of the implants

7,8-Dihydroxyflavone Ameliorates Cognitive Impairment by Inhibiting Expression of Tau Pathology in ApoE-Knockout Mice

7,8-Dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF), a tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) agonist that mimics the neuroprotective properties of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which can not efficiently deliver into the brain, has been reported to be useful in ameliorating cognitive impairment in many diseases. Researches have indicated that apolipoprotein E-knockout (ApoE-KO) mouse was associated with cognitive alteration via various mechanisms. Our present study investigated the possible mechanisms of cognitive impairment of ApoE-KO mouse fed with western type diet and the protective effects of 7,8-DHF in improving spatial learning and memory in ApoE-KO mouse. 5-weeks-old ApoE-KO mice and C57BL/6 mice were chronically treated with 7,8-DHF (with a dosage of 5mg/kg) or vehicles orally for 25 weeks, and then subjected to Morris water maze at the age of 30 weeks to evaluate the cognitive performances. Afterwards, histology analysis and western blotting were performed. Spatial learning and memory deficits were observed in ApoE-KO mice, which were consistent with higher expression of active-asparaginyl endopeptidase (active-AEP) as well as AEP-derived truncated tauN368 compared with normal group. In addition to that, long-term treatment of 7,8-DHF dramatically ameliorated cognitive decline in ApoE-KO mice, accompanied by the activation in phosphorylated protein kinase B (Akt)/glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) pathway and down-regulated expression of tau S396 and PHF-tau (phosphorylated tau at ser396 and ser404 epitope). These findings suggested that cognitive impairment of ApoE-KO mouse might associate with tau pathology and 7,8-DHF could activate AKT and then phosphorylate its downstream molecule to inhibit expression of abnormal tau, meanwhile, 7,8-DHF could reduce the expression of active-AEP and then inhibit production of truncated tauN368

N6‐Methyladenosine‐Modified CBX1 Regulates Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Progression Through Heterochromatin Formation and STAT1 Activation

Abstract Epitranscriptomic remodeling such as N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) modification plays a critical role in tumor development. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms connecting m6A modification and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) progression. Here, CBX1 is identified, a histone methylation regulator, to be significantly upregulated with m6A hypomethylation in metastatic NPC tissues. The m6A‐modified CBX1 mRNA transcript is recognized and destabilized by the m6A reader YTHDF3. Furthermore, it is revealed that CBX1 promotes NPC cell migration, invasion, and proliferation through transcriptional repression of MAP7 via H3K9me3‐mediated heterochromatin formation. In addition to its oncogenic effect, CBX1 can facilitate immune evasion through IFN‐γ‐STAT1 signaling‐mediated PD‐L1 upregulation. Clinically, CBX1 serves as an independent predictor for unfavorable prognosis in NPC patients. The results reveal a crosstalk between epitranscriptomic and epigenetic regulation in NPC progression, and shed light on the functions of CBX1 in tumorigenesis and immunomodulation, which may provide an appealing therapeutic target in NPC