Modeling and Planning Multimodal Transport Paths for Risk and Energy Efficiency Using AND/OR Graphs and Discrete Ant Colony Optimization

Path sequence selection is important for multimodal transport processes. AND/OR graphs (AOG) have been applied to describe practical multimodal transport route planning problems by using ‘AND’ and ‘OR’ matrices. An AOG-based multimodal transport route planning problem is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem. Heuristic evolution methods can be adopted to handle it. While adjacency (AND) relationship issues can be addressed, contradiction (OR) relations are not well addressed by existing multimodal transport route planning methods. Thus, an ineffective result may be obtained in practice. The OR matrix is a conflict matrix that describes the choice of mode of transport in the process of multimodal transport. By using a contradiction matrix together with an adjacency matrix and tabu list, an approach used in existing work, this paper proposes an effective triple-phase generate route method (TPGR) to produce a feasible multimodal transport path sequence based on an AOG. This paper uses energy consumption to evaluate the multimodal transport energy efficiency. The information entropy is applied to describe the risks of the transport process. The energy consumption and the information entropy lead to a novel dual-objective optimization model where route energy consumption and route risk are minimized. An improved ant colony algorithm is developed to effectively generate a set of Pareto solutions for route selection, which are used for the dual-objective multimodal transport route optimization problem. This methodology is applied to practical multimodal transport route selection processes on two maps to verify its effectiveness and feasibility

Improved Harmony Search Algorithm for Truck Scheduling Problem in Multiple-Door Cross-Docking Systems

The key of realizing the cross docking is to design the joint of inbound trucks and outbound trucks, so a proper sequence of trucks will make the cross-docking system much more efficient and need less makespan. A cross-docking system is proposed with multiple receiving and shipping dock doors. The objective is to find the best door assignments and the sequences of trucks in the principle of products distribution to minimize the total makespan of cross docking. To solve the problem that is regarded as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model, three metaheuristics, namely, harmony search (HS), improved harmony search (IHS), and genetic algorithm (GA), are proposed. Furthermore, the fixed parameters are optimized by Taguchi experiments to improve the accuracy of solutions further. Finally, several numerical examples are put forward to evaluate the performances of proposed algorithms

A Modified Total Crossing Time Model of Bidirectional Pedestrians at Signalized Crosswalks

Since crosswalk width and pedestrian green time directly affect the safety of signalized crosswalks, modeling an exact total crossing time model to estimate those two variables is imperative. The total crossing time needed by a group of pedestrians to cross a signalized crosswalk contains the discharge time and the crossing time. The discharge time depends primarily on the maximum queue length, which is determined by pedestrian arrival rate, red interval, waiting position distribution, and the crosswalk width. Crossing time increases when interactions between bidirectional pedestrian flows become more serious. Thus, quantifying the impacts of the start-up process on the discharge time and the effects of the interactions on the crossing time is a prerequisite for optimizing the design of signalized crosswalks. This paper establishes a modified total crossing time model consisting of modified pedestrian discharge and crossing time. Discharge time is modeled by applying traffic wave theory, and crossing time is modeled based on drag force theory. The proposed models provide guidance for the design of crosswalk width and pedestrian green intervals

m6A RNA Methylation Regulators Elicit Malignant Progression and Predict Clinical Outcome in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a predominant internal modification of RNA in various cancers. We obtained the expression profiles of m6A-related genes for HCC patients from the International Cancer Genome Consortium and The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets. Most of the m6A RNA methylation regulators were confirmed to be differentially expressed among groups stratified by clinical characteristics and tissues. The clinical factors (including stage, grade, and gender) were correlated with the two subgroups (cluster 1/2). We identified an m6A RNA methylation regulator-based signature (including METTL3, YTHDC2, and YTHDF2) that could effectively stratify a high-risk subset of these patients by univariate and LASSO Cox regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that the signature had a powerful predictive ability. Immune cell analysis revealed that the genes in the signature were correlated with B cell, CD4 T cell, CD8 T cell, dendritic cell, macrophage, and neutrophil. Functional enrichment analysis suggested that these three genes may be involved in genetic and epigenetic events with known links to HCC. Moreover, the nomogram was established based on the signature integrated with clinicopathological features. The calibration curve and the area under ROC also demonstrated the good performance of the nomogram in predicting 3- and 5-year OS in the ICGC and TCGA cohorts. In summary, we demonstrated the vital role of m6A RNA methylation regulators in the initial presentation and progression of HCC and constructed a nomogram which would predict the clinical outcome and provide a basis for individualized therapy

Immunogenicity of a DNA vaccine expressing the Neospora caninum surface protein NcSRS2 in mice

The immunogenicity of a DNA vaccine expressing the surface protein NcSRS2 of Neospora caninum was studied in BALB/c mice. The NcSRS2-encoding DNA was obtained by PCR amplification of the NcSRS2 ORF gene from the p43 plasmid encoding the N. caninum surface protein NcSRS2, ligated to the mammalian expression vector pcDNA3.1/Zeo(+) and propagated in E. coli DH5α to produce the N. caninum NcSRS2 DNA vaccine. BALB/c mice were immunised by two intramuscular injections of the DNA vaccine with or without complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA). Serum antibody titres and nitric oxide (NO) concentrations, and splenocyte proliferation and cytokine expression were measured after immunisation. The DNA vaccine induced T-cell-mediated immunity as shown by significantly increased NO concentrations, cytokine gene (IL-2 and IFN-γ) expression, and NcSRS2 protein-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation in mice immunised with the DNA vaccine. The vaccine also induced weak humoral immunity. The immunogenicity of the DNA vaccine was slightly enhanced by CFA. The immune response was specific to NcSRS2. No immune response was observed in mice immunised with the pcDNA3.1/Zeo(+) vector alone

Self-assembly and release of peste des petits ruminants virus-like particles in an insect cell-baculovirus system and their immunogenicity in mice and goats.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an acute, febrile, viral disease of small ruminants that has a significant economic impact. For many viral diseases, vaccination with virus-like particles (VLPs) has shown considerable promise as a prophylactic approach; however, the processes of assembly and release of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) VLPs are not well characterized, and their immunogenicity in the host is unknown. In this study, VLPs of PPRV were generated in a baculovirus system through simultaneous expression of PPRV matrix (M) protein and hemaglutin in (H) or fusion (F) protein. The released VLPs showed morphology similar to that of the native virus particles. Subcutaneous injection of these VLPs (PPRV-H, PPRV-F) into mice and goats elicited PPRV-specific IgG production, increased the levels of virus neutralizing antibodies, and promoted lymphocyte proliferation. Without adjuvants, the immune response induced by the PPRV-H VLPs was comparable to that obtained using equivalent amounts of PPRV vaccine. Thus, our results demonstrated that VLPs containing PPRV M protein and H or F protein are potential "differentiating infected from vaccinated animals" (DIVA) vaccine candidates for the surveillance and eradication of PPR

Isolation of a Divergent Strain of Bovine Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 (BPIV3) Infecting Cattle in China

Bovine parainfluenza virus type 3 (BPIV3) is one of the most important known viral respiratory pathogens of both young and adult cattle. It is also named “heat stress in transport”, causing morbidity and mass death. New variants of BPIV3 have been detected or isolated in China since 2008. Here, we isolate one BPIV3 strain (named BPIV3 BJ) in Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells from nasal samples collected in China. Phylogenetic analysis showed that our isolate is related to BPIV3 of the genotype A. The comparison of BPIV3-BJ and the reference Chinese isolate NM09 showed that these strains are highly divergent. We found many differences in the amino acid composition in the nucleocapsid (NP) protein among these genotype A strains. Since the NP protein has been implicated in immunization studies, our BPIV3 isolate will be useful for the development of immune assays and vaccine studies. The diversity of BPIV3 lineages that we found in China indicated ongoing evolution for immune escape. Our study highlights the importance of genetic surveillance for determining the effect of BPIV3 variability on pathogen evolution and population-scale immunity

Spatial Evolution of Urban Expansion in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Coordinated Development Region

Against the background of coordinated development of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region (BTH), it is of great significance to quantitatively reveal spatiotemporal dynamics of urban expansion for optimizing the layout of urban land across regions. However, the urban expansion characteristics, types and trends, and spatial coevolution (including urban land, GDP, and population) have not been well investigated in the existing research studies. This study presents a new spatial measure that describes the difference of the main trend direction. In addition, we also introduce a new method to classify an urban expansion type based on other scholars. The results show the following: (1) The annual urban expansion area (UEA) in Beijing and Tianjin has been ahead of that in Hebei; the annual urban expansion rate (UER) gradually shifted from the highest in megacities to the highest in counties; the high–high clusters of the UEA presented an evolution from a “seesaw” pattern to a “dumbbell” pattern, while that of the UER moved first from Beijing to Tianjin and eventually to Hebei. (2) Double high speed for both UEA and UER was the main extension type; most cities presented a U-shaped trend. (3) Qinhuangdao has the largest difference between the main trend direction of spatial distribution of urban land, GDP and population; the spatial distribution of GDP is closer to that of urban land than population. (4) The area and proportion of land occupied by urban expansion varied greatly across districts/counties. BTH experienced dramatic urban expansion and has a profound impact on land use. These research results can provide a data basis and empirical reference for territorial spatial planning