Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regulation of dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) levels modulates myoblast atrophy induced by C26 colon cancer-conditioned medium

Background Cancer associated-cachexia, which involves progressive skeletal muscle loss, is induced by multiple factors. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1), a major modulator of mitochondrial fission, has been reported to participate in muscle turnover. This study aimed to explore the role of DRP1 in muscle during the process of cancer associated-cachexia (CAC) via an in vitro model and the mechanisms involved. Methods C26 colon cancer cell-conditioned medium (CM) was used to incubate with C2C12 myotubes to simulate cachexia. Myotubes were then transduced with lentiviral vectors of DRP1-small interfering RNA (siRNA), DRP1 overexpression plasmid, or a control plasmid to regulate the DRP1 levels, and their diameters were assessed using a biological microscope. Furthermore, transcriptome sequencing was performed to screen the pathways involved, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used for verification. Results The cachexia model was successfully established with a decreased myotube diameter and increased DRP1 expression. DRP1 knockdown significantly ameliorated myotube wasting during cachexia, while DRP1 overexpression intensified this phenomenon. Transcriptome sequencing indicated that DRP1 knockdown was associated with the activation of ribosomal biogenesis. However, PCR results showed that compared to the control, one of the ribosomal biogenesis marker’s (Ubf) level was decreased by C26 CM, and DRP1 knockdown did not significantly restore its level. Conclusions During C26 CM-induced cachexia, DRP1 was activated, while the regulation of DRP1 levels was able to modulate the atrophy of C2C12 myotubes. The underlying mechanism of the alleviated muscle atrophy induced by DRP1 knockdown was likely associated with increased ribosomal activity.
Removal or utilization? Testing alternative approaches to the management of an invasive woody legume in an arid Indian grassland

Woody plant encroachment is a pervasive global driver impacting grassland structure and functioning, and we know very little about efficacies of management techniques for restoring woody plant‐encroached tropical grasslands. In the Banni grasslands of India, which are extensively encroached by an invasive woody legume, Prosopis juliflora, we test the efficacies of two Prosopis management methods—mechanical removal and lopping—to restore native grasslands. Across eight sites in the Banni, using a randomized block design, we monitored herbaceous plant recovery in the two Prosopis management treatments, and an unmanipulated control for 4 years. We also sampled four reference grasslands. We found native herbaceous plant richness and cover to be threefold (mean = 6 species) and sixfold (mean = 18% cover) higher, respectively, in the mechanical‐removal treatment compared to the control (mean richness = 2 species, cover = 3%), but found no significant differences between the lopping treatment (mean richness = 5 species, cover = 11%) and the control. While mechanical‐removal increased plant diversity, neither management treatment changed the species composition, and both of these treatments were still missing perennial grasses that dominate the reference grasslands. Our data highlight the efficacy of mechanical removal over lopping in restoring native grasslands. However, mechanically removing Prosopis is costly, especially at larger scales. Apart from its detrimental impact on grasslands, Prosopis also has benefits varying with stakeholder groups, and its removal involves complex trade‐offs. Until we fully understand the trade‐offs involved, it may therefore be better to manage this social‐ecological landscape as a mosaic of restored grassland and Prosopis‐invaded patches.
Investigations of strain rate, size, and crack length effects on the mechanical response of polycaprolactone electrospun membranes

The effects of strain rate, size (height × width), and pre-existing crack length on the mechanical response of polycaprolactone electrospun membranes were investigated by tension tests conducted at room temperature. In particular, tensile tests were performed with three different strain rates for strain rate effect tests, seven different geometries for elucidating the size effect, and three different initial notch lengths for crack growth experiments. The electrospun membranes were produced by the electrospinning technique using a polycaprolactone solution prepared in 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 3-hexafluoro-2-propanol as the solvent. Scanning electron microscopy was utilized to show the continuous fiber structure without bead formation. The average fiber diameter was calculated as 1.113 ± 0.270 μm by using scanning electron microscopy images of the membranes. The chemical structure of polycaprolactone was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and the toxicity and cell viability of the electrospun membranes were shown by CellTiter 96® Aqueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay (MTS test). It was observed that the ultimate tensile strength and Young’s modulus decreased, and the elongation at failure value increased as the strain rate decreased from 10−1 to 10−3 s−1. Besides, positive strain rate sensitivity was observed on the mechanical response of electrospun polycaprolactone membranes. Moreover, the dependency of mechanical response on the size geometry has been well studied, and the optimum height and width combinations were specified. Also, crack growth was studied in terms of both macroscopic and microstructural deformation mechanisms and it is observed that individual fiber deformations and interactions are highly effective on the mechanical behavior and also propagation of the crack. Consequently, in this study, the size and strain rate effects and crack growth on the mechanical response of electrospun polycaprolactone membranes have been investigated extensively, and the results presented herein constitute an essential guideline for the usage of polycaprolactone electrospun membranes at different loading scenarios.
Employee perceptions of pay equity and compensation factors: a study of Vietnamese state-owned enterprises

ABSTRACT The transformation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has been a central point of Vietnam’s economic reforms commencing in the late 1980s. This transformation has led to significant changes in compensation policy and practices. The perception of pay equity among SOE employees has also shifted from a view of respecting harmony and collectivism towards greater individualism and performance based pay. This study investigates the relationships between compensation and employee perceptions of pay equity. We present a theoretical framework based on Compensation Theory and Equity Theory and employ a quantitative approach. The results confirm positive relationships between four main compensation components of: minimum wage, salary, benefits and relational returns, with perceptions of pay equity. The findings are significant and contribute to a theoretical understanding in the context of an Asian economy moving from a collectivist to a more individualist focus. They also provide guidance for practitioners to enable them to develop compensation policies and practices that improve employee perceptions of pay equity which in turn can boost efficiency and effectiveness.
Root architecture and nitrogen metabolism in roots of apple rootstock respond to exogenous glucose supply in low carbon soil

Lang D.M. , Zhu Z.T. , Qin S.J., Lyu D.G. (2018): Root architecture and nitrogen metabolism in roots of apple rootstock respond to exogenous glucose supply in low carbon soil. Plant Soil Environ. , 64: 240–246. To investigate the response of root architecture and nitrogen metabolism of apple rootstock to glucose supply in low-carbon (C) soil, Malus baccata (L.) Borkh. in gravel soil was treated with glucose C equal to the soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC)-C value (G1), five times the soil MBC value (G2), or with no glucose (CK). The roots samples were harvested after treatments for 7, 15 and 30 days. The roots tended to become larger, more dichotomous and showed a larger link branching angle in G1 and G2 than in CK, especially in the G1 treatment for 30 days. Plant height and biomass were increased by G1. Nitrate (NO3 –-N) and nitrite (NO2 –-N) contents were increased, but ammonium (NH4 +-N) concentration was decreased in the roots treated with G1 and G2 in all treatment periods. Also, the activities and transcript levels of nitrate reductase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamate synthase were generally increased in roots treated with glucose, especially under G1. The activities of glutamic oxalacetic transaminases and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase were higher under G1 than under either G2 or CK. Exogenous carbon source that equals to the native MBC effectively regulated the root architecture and supported increasing nitrogen absorption and metabolism in plants growing under carbon-restricted conditions.
Terpenoids and terpenoid indole alkaloids in Catharanthus roseus cell suspension cultures

The research described in this thesis was aimed at analyzing the regulation of the channeling of carbon into different terpenoid pathways including the terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIA) and their iridoid precursors in Catharanthus roseus cell suspension cultures. Of the different terpenoid classes; monoterpenoid (C10; TIA), triterpenoid (C30; sterol), and tetraterpenoid (C40; carotenoid), the latter was the largest pool. The production of carotenoids and TIA through the methyl-erythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway was increased after jasmonic acid elicitation, while the sterols from the mevalonate (MVA) pathway were not increased. Mevalonate feeding only increased the sterols. The effect of geraniol feeding alone and in combination with jasmonic acid elicitation resulted in increased levels of loganic acid and strictosidine, respectively. Catharanthus roseus cell suspension cultures overexpressing geraniol synthase in the plastid or cytosol were successfully developed and metabolic analysis by NMR-based metabolomics showed different metabolic effects related to the subcellular compartmentation of geraniol synthase. In conclusion, reallocation of C5 units between MEP and MVA pathway seems difficult, but both have different regulation which could be further studied to increase alkaloid production.
Multi-Fault Diagnosis in Three-Phase Induction Motors Using Data Optimization and Machine Learning Techniques

Induction motors are very robust, with low operating and maintenance costs, and are therefore widely used in industry. They are, however, not fault-free, with bearings and rotor bars accounting for about 50% of the total failures. This work presents a two-stage approach for three-phase induction motors diagnosis based on mutual information measures of the current signals, principal component analysis, and intelligent systems. In a first stage, the fault is identified, and, in a second stage, the severity of the defect is diagnosed. A case study is presented where different severities of bearing wear and bar breakage are analyzed. To test the robustness of the proposed method, voltage imbalances and load torque variations are considered. The results reveal the promising performance of the proposal with overall accuracies above 90% in all cases, and in many scenarios 100% of the cases are correctly classified. This work also evaluates different strategies for extracting the signals, showing the possibility of reducing the amount of information needed. Results show a satisfactory relation between efficiency and computational cost, with decreases in accuracy of less than 4% but reducing the amount of data by more than 90%, facilitating the efficient use of this method in embedded systems.
A meta‐analysis of amino acid δ
 15
 N trophic enrichment factors in fishes relative to nutritional and ecological drivers

The use of amino acid (AA) nitrogen stable isotopes ( δ 15 N) from consumer tissues aims to provide precise estimates of trophic position (TP), but the drivers of AA isotope fractionation remain unclear. In particular, the main factors driving the variability in TEF AA among taxonomic groups and trophic levels remain largely unexplained, which challenges the application of universal values for TEFs. While the relationship between protein content and quality and TEFs has been examined, studies have yielded inconsistent results, and the role of protein and lipid nutritional requirements as well as feeding regime have not been considered. Likewise, drivers that in ﬂ uence physiological and nutritional processes have not been examined relative to TEF AA variation. We conducted a meta-analysis of controlled feeding experiments within a single group, teleosts ﬁ shes, to evaluate the relationship between ﬁ ve nutritional factors (protein and lipid content, protein and lipid content relative to nutritional requirements, and feeding regime) and three ecological drivers (diet type, life stage, and habitat type) on TEF AA . We considered a broad range of protein levels (8 – 71%) in diets and found no relationship between source TEF AAs and percent protein relative to nutritional requirements, whereas lipid content relative to nutrient requirements, feeding regime and habitat type partially explain the variability in TEFs of Lys, but not for Phe and Met TEFs. The variability for the latter was representative of robust source AAs. Among trophic AAs, Asp, Ile, Pro, and Leu TEFs were signi ﬁ cantly higher in species from brackish than marine habitats possibly due to osmoregulation involvement. TEF Glu was sensitive to protein content and feeding regime within teleosts, but relatively constant when comparing TEFs among teleosts, non-teleosts, and all taxa. Our results indicate that TEF AA is less variable within a single taxon than among multiple taxa and that such variation is not negligible. Our results indicate that δ 15 N AA values could provide better TP estimates if using taxon-speci ﬁ c values, and highlights the need to explain the mechanisms of AA fractionation and quantify the variability in TEFs used during error propagation for TP estimates.
Multi-Objective Optimization Tool of Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers Using a Modified Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization Algorithm and a Compact Bell-Delaware Method

Abstract The multi-objective optimization of heat exchangers can provide a reliable solution for both improved efficiency and reduction in cost. A computer program for the thermal and hydraulic design optimization of shell-and-tube heat exchangers is developed. Its user-friendly graphic-user interface provides an excellent feature for the teaching, learning, and preliminary design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers. In the present work, teaching-learning-based optimization (TLBO) algorithm is updated and implemented for better feasibility of optimum design. To improve the accuracy of the thermal and fluid analysis, the compact Bell-Delaware method (BDM) is newly implemented. Also, the effect of fouling is considered. The developed program using the updated TLBO and the compact BDM is validated against practical heat exchanger cases. The impacts of input parameters on the performance prediction of BDM and number of designs on finding optimum design of TLBO are also tested.
A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING SUGARCANE PRODUCTIVITY IN CENTRAL VALLEY OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN

Purpose of the study: This research study was designed to analyze various social factors like population dynamics, institutional, land tenure, and gender other than the technological one that affects the production of sugarcane in farming communities. Methodology: The method of the study was qualitative, where the data was collected through FGDs. Two FGDs were conducted in two districts of the central valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan. Each FGD consisted of 10 participants. The data was analyzed through thematic analysis. Main Findings: The findings of the study revealed that sugarcane productivity is affected by sociological factors like technological ones. The poor socioeconomic status of the farmers, wasting resources in land disputes, frequent land division among heirs, a rapid increase of population growth, unplanned urbanization conversion of fertile agricultural land into the built environment, weakening the role of informal institutions like Jirga and farmers organizations, lack of access to agricultural institutions, the restricted role of women in farming and unfavourable attitude of farmers towards new agrarian technologies, all were the significant contributing factors that negatively influenced sugarcane productivity. Applications of this study: The findings of the study be used by the agricultural department, NGOs, and the government while taking into consideration the factors responsible for sugarcane productivity. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study is novel that no study has yet conducted while considering sociological factors in sugarcane production in Pakistan. This research a unique in that provides a base for agricultural scientists to keep in mind social factors as well in agrarian production besides technological factors.
Integrated Water Vapor during Rain and Rain-Free Conditions above the Swiss Plateau

Water vapor column density, or vertically-integrated water vapor (IWV), is monitored by ground-based microwave radiometers (MWR) and ground-based receivers of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). For rain periods, the retrieval of IWV from GNSS Zenith Wet Delay (ZWD) neglects the atmospheric propagation delay of the GNSS signal by rain droplets. Similarly, it is difficult for ground-based dual-frequency single-polarisation microwave radiometers to separate the microwave emission of water vapor and cloud droplets from the rather strong microwave emission of rain. For ground-based microwave radiometry at Bern (Switzerland), we take the approach that IWV during rain is derived from linearly interpolated opacities before and after the rain period. The intermittent rain periods often appear as spikes in the time series of integrated liquid water (ILW) and are indicated by ILW ≥0.4 mm. In the present study, we assume that IWV measurements from radiosondes are not affected by rain. We intercompare the climatologies of IWV(rain), IWV(no rain), and IWV(all) obtained by radiosonde, ground-based GNSS atmosphere sounding, ground-based MWR, and ECMWF reanalysis (ERA5) at Payerne and Bern in Switzerland. In all seasons, IWV(rain) is 3.75 to 5.94 mm greater than IWV(no rain). The mean IWV differences between GNSS and radiosonde at Payerne are less than 0.26 mm. The datasets at Payerne show a better agreement than the datasets at Bern. However, the MWR at Bern agrees with the radiosonde at Payerne within 0.41 mm for IWV(rain) and 0.02 mm for IWV(no rain). Using the GNSS and rain gauge measurements at Payerne, we find that IWV(rain) increases with increase of the precipitation rate during summer as well as during winter. IWV(rain) above the Swiss Plateau is quite well estimated by GNSS and MWR though the standard retrievals are limited or hampered during rain periods.
Cow Manure Disposal Using an Earthworm Bio-Bed and the Development of a Vermicompost-Based Substrate for Capsicum Seedlings

ABSTRACT Vermicompost is becoming an important substitute for peat in horticulture due to the negative consequences of peat depletion. There is no aerobic fermentation pretreatment in the process of direct digestion of fresh cow manure by earthworms, which resulted in different properties of vermicompost compared with traditional treatment methods. However, there is limited knowledge on the properties of vermicompost in the direct earthworm digestion process. In the present study, a large-scale earthworm bio-bed was used to convert fresh cow manure into vermicompost, and then the physical, chemical, and microbial properties of the vermicompost were determined. To study the influence of mineral nutrient additions, vermicompost was mixed with vermiculite at a ratio of 4:1 (v/v), and was then used as the growth medium for capsicum seedlings. The results showed that nitrate nitrogen (243.39 mg/kg), ammonium nitrogen (50.38 mg/kg), total phosphorus (47.61 g/kg), available phosphorus (41.68 g/kg), catalase activity (2.17 mL/g·h), bacterial biomass (3.60 × 107 cfu/g), actinobacterial biomass (2.40 × 107 cfu/g), and fungal biomass (1.55 × 106 cfu/g) measurements were significantly higher in vermicompost than in the parent material. However, moisture (50.01%), electrical conductivity (2.07 mS/cm), total nitrogen (8.52 g/kg), organic matter (28.47%), and urease activity (0.63 mL/g·h) were significantly lower in the vermicompost compared to the parent material. The shoot and root morphological indices and the capsicum biomass accumulation measurements in the vermicompost treatments were superior to those found in the commercial peat medium (CK). Leaf expansion (14.83 cm), shoot height (24.20 cm), stem diameter (4.38 cm), leaf number (16.20 No.), root length (352.83 cm), root surface area (60.30 cm2), root diameter (0.61 mm), and root volume (0.92cm3) significantly higher in vermicompost-vermiculite mixed media with added urea (0.5 kg/m3), superphosphate (10.0 kg/m3), and potassium chloride (1.0 kg/m3) than in CK at the late seedling growth stage. The addition of mineral nutrients (NPK) had little effect on the physical properties of the vermicompost media, but it improved the available nutrients. In summary, fresh cow manure without pre-treatment can be processed into vermicompost using a large-scale earthworm bio-bed. Vermicompost could serve as an alternative for commercial peat media in the cultivation of capsicum plug seedlings, and the beneficial effects of adding NPK gradually emerged as the seedling growth time increased.
Effect of the Rolling Friction on the Heap Formation of Dry and Wet Coarse Discs

We performed 2D numerical simulations to study the dynamic heap formation of coarse particles in different dry and wet conditions. Our results show that the dynamics of the particles depend not only on the amount of liquid contained in the bulk, but also on the initial particles packing, i.e., the arrangement of the grains. The wet particles cohesion model effect on coarse discs heap formation is minimal. This effect is mostly noticed in the particle arrangement and the energy variation rather than the heap formation. We found that the energy of the system varies with the liquid content up to a threshold value, equal to 219% in our study, where the influences of the parameters are minimal. At high liquid volume, the final pile height and radius tend towards an asymptotic value. The initial particles arrangement has a significant impact on the behavior of the bulk after the opening of the lateral walls. The number of particles in the triangle, formed by the initial width of the packing as a base and with a depth equal to N × D, with N representing the number of particles on a vertical line and D their diameter, influences the final shape of the pile. Indeed, the larger the number, the smaller the height of the pile. The simulations performed with the same initial packing show that the cohesion and capillary forces reduce the bulk kinetic energy and increase the potential energy when used with the elastic-plastic spring dashpot model. For the directional constant model, the dependance of the torque on the normal force and the particle size explains that there is almost no difference between the dry and wet model regarding energies. Finally, the elastic-plastic spring-dashpot model is more efficient in reducing the kinetic energy of the system and producing stable piles. Our simulation results using glass beads are in good agreement with the experiments.