Current knowledge on exosome biogenesis and release

Exosomes are nanosized membrane vesicles released by fusion of an organelle of the endocytic pathway, the multivesicular body, with the plasma membrane. This process was discovered more than 30 years ago, and during these years, exosomes have gone from being considered as cellular waste disposal to mediate a novel mechanism of cell-to-cell communication. The exponential interest in exosomes experienced during recent years is due to their important roles in health and disease and to their potential clinical application in therapy and diagnosis. However, important aspects of the biology of exosomes remain unknown. To explore the use of exosomes in the clinic, it is essential that the basic molecular mechanisms behind the transport and function of these vesicles are better understood. We have here summarized what is presently known about how exosomes are formed and released by cells. Moreover, other cellular processes related to exosome biogenesis and release, such as autophagy and lysosomal exocytosis are presented. Finally, methodological aspects related to exosome release studies are discussed.     

A latent ability to persist: differentiation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Toxoplasma gondii</Emphasis>

A critical factor in the transmission and pathogenesis of Toxoplasma gondii is the ability to convert from an acute disease-causing, proliferative stage (tachyzoite), to a chronic, dormant stage (bradyzoite). The conversion of the tachyzoite-containing parasitophorous vacuole membrane into the less permeable bradyzoite cyst wall allows the parasite to persist for years within the host to maximize transmissibility to both primary (felids) and secondary (virtually all other warm-blooded vertebrates) hosts. This review presents our current understanding of the latent stage, including the factors that are important in bradyzoite induction and maintenance. Also discussed are the recent studies that have begun to unravel the mechanisms behind stage switching.     

The Life-Cycle Model with Optimal Retiring Age and Simulation

In this paper, a life-cycle model with retirement is set up to study how an individual chooses the optimal retiring age on account of wage growth rate, longevity and healthy state. It is proved that there exists optimal retiring age under given conditions. The numerical simulations are given to show how wage growth rate, longevity and healthy state affect retiring age.     

高校场域中学术治理机制对科研产出的影响

随着我国科技政策导向和资源配置对高校学术产出重视力度日益加大,高校科研生产对政府和市场的资源依赖性不断增强,其组织场域呈现外部基于学术性标准的分层和内部学术与行政权力分权的双重特质。作为高校外部组织场域和内部科研生产的中间变量,学术治理机制集中体现了组织场域位置与组织内部技术要素的互动。学术-行政权力耦合是我国高校学术治理机制的主要构型,与外部行政化的场域特征相契合。学术治理机制存在层间异质性和层内同质性,处于场域位置顶层的院校学术权力主导及专业化分工的治理特征明显,师均科研产出较高;处于场域位置底层的院校行政权力主导或学术-行政融合治理的特征鲜明,师均科研产出较低。学术治理机制从结构层面的学术决策权力配置模式、关系层面的学术-行政部门非正式关系以及文化层面的学术氛围3个维度作用于高校教师的科研产出。高校场域位置优势既可直接也可间接通过影响大学学术治理机制,进而影响院校科研产出。应通过高校分类定位、错位发展、多元评价,松动固化的高校组织场域布局,构建以同行评议为核心的学术治理机制、校内学术与行政部门的专业化-支持性关系,优化高等教育场域的组织生态,激发多样化的学术生产活力。     

Microstructure evolution and reaction behavior of Cu–Ni alloy and B_4C powder system

Microstructure evolution and reaction behavior of Cu–Ni alloy and B_4C power system was studied by in-situ and static experimental investigations along with theoretical calculations. The reaction process was as follows. Firstly,B_4C decomposed into B and C atoms, and then B atoms diffused into Cu–Ni matrix, leading to the formation of Ni_2B particles. Subsequently, Ni atoms diffused into B_4C, forming a loose mixture of Ni_2B and amorphous C at the initial powder boundary. Finally, with the completion of reaction, Ni_2B particles at the powder boundary grew into a monolithic block, and then C substance was excluded out and accumulated at the edge of this monolithic Ni_2B block. It is believed that the formation of Ni_2B phase is caused by the most negative change of Gibbs free energy among all the potential reactions between Ni–B and Ni–B_4C systems.     

Prediction of end-use energy consumption in a region of Northwest China

End-use energy consumption can reflect the industrial development of a country and the living standards of its residents. The study of end-use energy consumption can provide a solid basis for industrial restructuring, energy saving, and emission reduction. In this paper, we analyzed the end-use energy consumption of a region in Northwestern China, and applied the Markov prediction method to forecast the future demand of different types of end-use energy. This provides a reference for the energy structure optimization in the Northwestern China.     

Two Innovative Coalition Formation Models for Dynamic Task Allocation in Disaster Rescues

This paper addresses the problem of multi-objective coalition formation for task allocation. In disaster rescue, due to the dynamics of environments, heterogeneity and complexity of tasks as well as limited available agents, it is hard for the single-objective and single (task)-to-single (agent) task allocation approaches to handle task allocation in such circumstances. To this end, two multi-objective coalition formation for task allocation models are proposed for disaster rescues in this paper. First, through coalition formation, the proposed models enable agents to cooperatively perform complex tasks that cannot be completed by single agent. In addition, through adjusting the weights of multiple task allocation objectives, the proposed models can employ the linear programming to generate more adaptive task allocation plans, which can satisfy different task allocation requirements in disaster rescue. Finally, through employing the multi-stage task allocation mechanism of the dynamic programming, the proposed models can handle the dynamics of tasks and agents in disaster environments. Experimental results indicate that the proposed models have good performance on coalition formation for task allocation in disaster environments, which can generate suitable task allocation plans according to various objectives of task allocation.