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As the commercialization of maglev trains continues to accelerate, effective improvement of maglev train operation has become a topic for researchers. The train headway of the maglev is the preparation basis for the train timetable and is also an essential factor affecting the line capacity utilization. This paper proposed an approach to estimate the train headway by considering the characteristics of partitioned control of maglev operations. First, we build the tracking model for maglev with the theory of blocking time, in which the train speed profile is the key input source. Then, a customized method is proposed to estimate the minimum headway of maglev trains. According to the experiment, we can effectively obtain the minimum train headway by the approach, and the result of improving the maglev line capacity utilization is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of knowledge-related disputes emerged during the formulation of China's fertility policy. As the core epistemological element of policy decision-making, the reliability of data proof was gradually confirmed in this process. In this study, we find that data proof became a crucial consideration when the Chinese government initiated a one-child policy in the 1980s. The government used Song Jian's population cybernetics and the centennial projection of Chinese population growth as decisive support for the promulgation of this policy. The government subsequently planned to introduce a two-child policy in 2011. During this process, fierce competition arose between the knowledge claims advanced by Zhai Zhenwu and Wang Guangzhou, who differed significantly on the measurement of the fertility rate and the willingness of women to bear children. The accuracy of data proof came to be gradually realized by both the government and the public. By drawing on a co-productionist analysis of the interactions among the stakeholders, epistemology and China's agenda in this process, we conclude that a new civic epistemology of data proof for public policymaking was created in the formulation of the two public policies on fertility. This has transformed knowledge production as well as political institutions, identities and representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification plays an important role in regulating tumor microenvironment (TME) infiltration. However, the relationship between the expression pattern of m6A-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and the immune microenvironment of gastric cancer (GC) is unclear. Methods: In this study, 23 m6A-related lncRNAs were identified by Pearson's correlation analysis and univariate Cox regression analysis. According to the expression of these lncRNAs, we identified two distinct molecular clusters by consensus clustering and compared the differences of the TME and enriched pathways between the two clusters. We further constructed a prognostic risk signature and verified it using The Cancer Genome Atlas training and testing cohorts. Results: The results showed that cluster 1 was associated with tumor-related and immune activation-related pathways. In addition, cluster 1 was also associated with higher ImmuneScore, StromalScore, and ESTIMATEScore. The results of the stratified survival analysis and independent prognosis analysis indicated that the risk signature is an independent prognostic indicator for patients with GC. In addition, it can effectively predict survival status in patients with different clinical characteristics. Furthermore, we found that the risk signature was associated with a variety of tumor-infiltrating immune cells, and that low risk scores were significantly correlated with high expression of programmed death-1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA4), as well as sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs (eg, fluorouracil and oxaliplatin). Conclusion: This evidence contributes to our understanding of the regulation of TME infiltration by m6A-related lncRNAs and may lead to more effective immunotherapy and chemotherapy for patients with GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The transcription factor Spi-1 proto-oncogene (SPI1, also known as PU.1) is a key regulator of signal communication in the immune system and is essential for the development of myeloid cells and lymphocytes. However, the potential role of SPI1 in gastric cancer (GC) and the correlations between SPI1 and immune infiltration remain unclear. Methods: In the present study, multiple databases including ONCOMINE, TIMER, Kaplan–Meier Plotter, and The Cancer Genome Atlas were used to explore the expression levels and prognostic value of SPI1 in GC. cBioPortal was used to explore the possible reasons for the increased expression of SPI1 in GC. The correlations between SPI1 expression and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) were analyzed using CIBERSORT and TIMER. Gene set enrichment analysis was used to determine the biological function of SPI1 in the development of GC. In addition, a risk signature based on SPI1-related immunomodulators was constructed to accurately evaluate the prognosis of patients with GC. The upregulation of SPI1 expression in GC was further confirmed through immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assay. Results: The expression of SPI1 was increased significantly in GC according to multiple databases, and high expression of SPI1 was related to poor prognosis and progression of GC. The main factor influencing the high expression of SPI1 mRNA in GC may be diploidy, not DNA methylation. Moreover, immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and RT-qPCR assays also confirmed the upregulated expression of SPI1 in GC. CIBERSORT analysis revealed that SPI1 expression was correlated with seven types of TICs (naive B cells, resting memory CD4 T cells, activated memory CD4 T cells, activated natural killer cells, resting natural killer cells, M2 macrophages, and resting dendritic cells). Gene set enrichment analysis indicated that SPI1 might be related to immune activation in GC and participate in cell cycle regulation. In addition, based on SPI1-related immunomodulators, we developed multiple-gene risk prediction signatures and constructed a nomogram that can independently predict the clinical outcome of GC. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that SPI1 has a critical role in determining the prognosis of GC patients and may be a potential immunotherapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Based on a documentary, statistical and discourse analysis, plus 30 years of interviewing in China, this article investigates the demo-political background of China's return to a two-child policy in 2015. It pinpoints the contested core issues that fueled a bitter polemic on the future course of Chinese birth policy and continue to fester in ongoing controversies. The article briefly reviews earlier challenges to China's controversial one-child policy since its inception in 1979/80, details the conflicts and mechanisms shaping the birth planning regime since 2000, and examines the role played by academic counseling, bureaucratic infighting, lobbying and civil society in the about-turn. Comparing birth planning to other policy arenas, it concludes with a discussion of societal and think-tank impact on Chinese political decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the friction and wear behaviors of TiAl matrix composites with MTC (TMSCT) and TiAl matrix composites with MoO powder (TMSCP) are investigated. The results reveal that TMSCT show the excellent tribologcial performance, if compared to TMSCP. The direct contact layers of TMSCP against different counterface balls obtain huge cracks overall, whereas only fine crack is generated in TMSCT against AlO ball, where MTCs are distributed around the crack evenly. The finite element simulations show that only the stress of TMSCT against AlO ball exceeds the yield strength of TMSCT. It reveals that MTCs in TMSCT can reduce the stress for the weak binding force of multilayer structure and make the direct contact layers be more stable by preventing the propagation of crack after the crack being produced, resulting in the excellent antifriction and antiwear properties of TMSCT against different counterface balls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The one-child policy of China, which was initiated in 1980 and was reversed in 2015, has been conceived of as a decision made independently and arbitrarily or a product of impulsive decision making. Therefore, it has received a great deal of criticism from Western democracies. Of course, China faced internal problems related to population, such as the Great Famine of 1958-1961. This might be deemed the direct cause of the one-child policy. However, the more powerful factors were indirect and of foreign origin. China's one-child policy was deeply influenced by the West, especially by Western population science. Since the May 4th Movement in 1919, China has had a tendency to worship science because of the Chinese obsession with Western-style modernization. In other words, China's one-child policy is a product of blind imitation of Western population science. The action has resulted in serious negative consequences such as an imbalance of the sex ratio, elder-care problems, human rights violations, undermining of traditional values, and even endangering the regime. Those problems caused China to reverse its one-child policy. The authors believe that China should develop a postmodern population policy with Chinese character, based on organic thinking, which takes human feelings seriously and empowers people and allows them to act as subjects or agents in decisions about their families, including the size of their family and the selection of gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research aims to understand the challenges faced by a Colombian city in the context of multidimensional risk scenarios, given the existing demographic and socio-economic conditions and local perspectives and perceptions regarding socio-environmental risks. The research was undertaken in the city of Barranquilla, northern Colombia. A survey was designed to analyze (1) the general socio-economic and vulnerability conditions of a communities' sample, (2) information related to hazards and disaster risk in their neighbourhoods, and (3) information on actions to mitigate risk. Three hundred and ninety-one people were surveyed. Likert scale and Pearson's Chi-square test and descriptive, inferential statistical methods, regression models, and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to process the results. Respondents lived, in general, under precarious socio-economic conditions (such as low income or lack of infrastructure and others). Given socio-environmental constraints, the research revealed that hazards such as urban stream flooding and robbery were the most negatively associated with the respondent's quality of life. Regarding the actions to avoid losses, 84% of respondents had not implemented any preventive action. Respondents also have low awareness of the need to implement risk prevention actions. Social risks and the configuration of anthropic hazards stand out as principal centres for concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]