A HYBRID SELF-ORGANIZING SCHEDULING METHOD FOR SHIPS IN RESTRICTED TWO-WAY WATERWAYS

Traffic conflicts between ships are one of the most important reasons causing delays in restricted waterways. Aiming to improve the traffic efficiency, a hybrid self-organizing scheduling (HSOS) method for restricted two-way waterways is proposed. Ship transportation system is treated as a distributive and self-organized system under uncertainties. Each ship makes the decision on when to enter the waterway and how to keep the safe distance between them, while the VTS center could manage the direction of traffic flow according to the navigation situations. In order to reduce the traffic conflict between the opposite directions, small ships are given higher priority than the large ships in the same direction. When the large ships are accumulating, they are given higher priority than small ships in the same direction. The large ships are delayed while small ships decrease the waiting time. The trade-off between small and large ships can enhance efficiency by accumulating the large ships. Comparing the results from HSOS with First Come First Served (FCFS), it can effectively reduce the average delays brought by large ships, especially at high arrival rates

Emergency Management of Maritime Accidents in the Yangtze River: Problems, Practice and Prospects

Maritime accidents have received considerable attentions due to the enormous property damage, casualties and serious environmental pollution. This paper first makes statistical analysis of the different types of maritime accidents in the period of 2012 to 2014 in the Yangtze River. Second, the problems of emergency management of maritime accidents are also proposed from the analysis of the major accident “Eastern Star”.. Afterwards, four practice cases, including decision support for maritime accidents, emergency resource allocation, emergency simulation system and effectiveness of emergency management, are introduced to present the insights gained from these practices. Last, in order to address these problems, this paper proposes that an artificial societies, Computational experiments, and Parallel execution (ACP) approach should be introduced to establish an improved management system for maritime accidents in the future, and an ACP based maritime accident emergency management framework is proposed

SHIP COLLISION RISK ASSESSMENT MODEL FOR QINZHOU PORT BASED ON EVENT SEQUENCE DIAGRAM

Qinzhou Port is one of the most important ports in the “Beibu Gulf” of China. It is also the main hub port of the "21st century maritime silk road" strategy. Based on a basic collision risk assessment approach, an Event Sequence Diagram (ESD) model that explains the four-stage collision avoidance decision-making procedure is proposed from the perspectives of perception, cognition, decision, and execution. Using the historical data derived from collision accident reports from the Qinzhou Port waters from 2013 to 2017, as well as the data elicited from expert knowledge, a quantitative evaluation of probability distributions of different collision failure modes is performed. The results are also compared with relevant results from other types of navigation waters to analyse collision risk level of Qinzhou waters. At the same time, the main failures paths of collision avoidance decision making are identified. The proposed model can provide with an overall collision risk picture from a macro perspective

Genomic Analyses Reveal Mutational Signatures and Frequently Altered Genes in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide and the fourth most lethal cancer in China. However, although genomic studies have identified some mutations associated with ESCC, we know little of the mutational processes responsible. To identify genome-wide mutational signatures, we performed either whole-genome sequencing (WGS) or whole-exome sequencing (WES) on 104 ESCC individuals and combined our data with those of 88 previously reported samples. An APOBEC-mediated mutational signature in 47% of 192 tumors suggests that APOBEC-catalyzed deamination provides a source of DNA damage in ESCC. Moreover, PIK3CA hotspot mutations (c.1624G>A [p.Glu542Lys] and c.1633G>A [p.Glu545Lys]) were enriched in APOBEC-signature tumors, and no smoking-associated signature was observed in ESCC. In the samples analyzed by WGS, we identified focal (<100 kb) amplifications of CBX4 and CBX8. In our combined cohort, we identified frequent inactivating mutations in AJUBA, ZNF750, and PTCH1 and the chromatin-remodeling genes CREBBP and BAP1, in addition to known mutations. Functional analyses suggest roles for several genes (CBX4, CBX8, AJUBA, and ZNF750) in ESCC. Notably, high activity of hedgehog signaling and the PI3K pathway in approximately 60% of 104 ESCC tumors indicates that therapies targeting these pathways might be particularly promising strategies for ESCC. Collectively, our data provide comprehensive insights into the mutational signatures of ESCC and identify markers for early diagnosis and potential therapeutic targets

Prognostic impact of c-Rel nuclear expression and REL amplification and crosstalk between c-Rel and the p53 pathway in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Dysregulated NF-κB signaling is critical for lymphomagenesis. The regulation, function, and clinical relevance of c-Rel/NF-κB activation in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have not been well studied. In this study we analyzed the prognostic significance and gene-expression signature of c-Rel nuclear expression as surrogate of c-Rel activation in 460 patients with de novo DLBCL. Nuclear c-Rel expression, observed in 137 (26.3%) DLBCL patients frequently associated with extranoal origin, did not show significantly prognostic impact in the overall- or germinal center B-like-DLBCL cohort, likely due to decreased pAKT and Myc levels, up-regulation of FOXP3, FOXO3, MEG3 and other tumor suppressors coincided with c-Rel nuclear expression, as well as the complicated relationships between NF-κB members and their overlapping function. However, c-Rel nuclear expression correlated with significantly poorer survival in p63+ and BCL-2− activated B-cell-like-DLBCL, and in DLBCL patients with TP53 mutations. Multivariate analysis indicated that after adjusting clinical parameters, c-Rel positivity was a significantly adverse prognostic factor in DLBCL patients with wild type TP53. Gene expression profiling suggested dysregulations of cell cycle, metabolism, adhesion, and migration associated with c-Rel activation. In contrast, REL amplification did not correlate with c-Rel nuclear expression and patient survival, likely due to co-amplification of genes that negatively regulate NF-κB activation. These insights into the expression, prognostic impact, regulation and function of c-Rel as well as its crosstalk with the p53 pathway underscore the importance of c-Rel and have significant therapeutic implications

Teaching Language and Content in Multicultural and Multilingual Classrooms: CLIL and EMI Approaches. María Luisa Carrió-Pastor and Begoña Bellés-Fortuño (eds.) (2021). Palgrave Macmillan. 386 pages. ISBN: 978-3-030-56614-2, ISBN: 978-3-030-56615-9 (eBook)

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Matched Input hypothesis in Foreign Language Learning from the Perspective of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory: A Case Study of English Learning in a College Preparatory Class for Ethnic Minorities in East China

Based on one-year of research on a preparatory English class taken by minority students in one of East-China’s universities. Adopting the methods of questionnaire, interview and video recording in class, the study attempts to propose the matched-input hypothesis in foreign language learning from the perspective of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory. The hypothesis concerns teenage language learners in the EFL context, minority students in particular. The hypothesis holds that language study is fluctuating among repeller states. The hypothesis also maintains that teachers' bilingual language input in class aims to match student language proficiency, and that massive multi-mode audio input seeks to match Text input and that content input (meaning-oriented) and grammar input (form-oriented) is to match learners' cognition and mental development. The hypothesis further suggests that extracurricular text input is to be accompanied by audio input. This input aims to boost learners' intrinsic motivation and learning autonomy, thus improving their foreign language competence