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.     

SAm级防撞活动护栏碰撞仿真分析

针对目前高速公路中央分隔带开口处活动护栏防撞等级较低的问题,提出了一种SAm级混凝土活动护栏及一种新型连接装置。基于有限元的方法,建立车辆与护栏的碰撞模型,通过LS-DYNA对车辆与护栏碰撞过程进行求解,根据不同车型的碰撞结果分别在缓冲,阻挡和导向性能上对护栏的安全性能进行评价,其中小型车辆与护栏碰撞后的OIV(Occupant Impact Velocity)值<12 m/s,ORA(Occupant Ridedown Acceleration)值<20 g且车辆没有驶出导向框;大型车辆与护栏碰撞后没有发生穿越、骑跨等现象且车辆没有驶出导向框,均满足护栏安全性能评价标准。     

水平循环荷载引起的砂土沉陷-致密作用对刚性桩承载力的影响分析

为研究砂土中刚性桩基础在循环荷载作用下的承载力演化规律,提出了一种循环后单桩承载力的评估方法.首先,基于沉陷坑与致密区域土体的质量守恒原理,量化了由沉陷引起的土体参数变化;然后,根据API规范中的砂土水平土抗力-位移模型计算循环前后的单桩承载力;最后,提出了循环后单桩承载力的评估模型,并对沉陷坑尺寸、土体初始相对密实度和致密区域模式等因素进行对比分析.结果 表明:单桩承载力随沉陷坑的发展不断增大;对于松砂、中密砂和密砂,循环后的单桩承载力可分别提高约3.0、1.5、1.2倍,提高幅值随相对密实度的增大而降低;2种土体变形模式中,单锥模式相比于双锥模式更符合真实的致密区域形态.     

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.     

Systemic Thinking and Practice Toward Facilitating Inclusive Education: Reflections on a Case of Co-Generated Knowledge and Action in South Africa

This article offers our reflections around a case of facilitating systemic thinking and practice in which the first author of the article (Tlale) interacted with research participants/participant researchers with the intention of strengthening systemic thought and action toward fostering inclusive education in the setting (a rural school in the Eastern Cape in South Africa). We reflect upon the process and also how our engagement was perceived by participants, as expressed in feedback received from them. We point to how Tlale introduced the idea of systemic thinking (to teachers, school management team, school governing body, and a district officer for the district) as tied to the possibility of acting to generate transformation toward a more inclusive educational context for the benefit of the learners at the school in question, thus acting as a systemic mediator on their behalf.