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Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE)-Inhibitor Activity of Novel Peptides Derived from Porcine Liver and Placenta
No full textPeptides isolated from various biological materials are potential sources for novel angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Here, the ACE-inhibitory activity of peptides derived from papain-digested hydrolysates of porcine liver and placenta were investigated. A high-throughput method was developed to identify potential bioactive peptides from the hydrolysates using in silico enzymatic cleavage, HPLC-MS/MS, and bioinformatics tools. Four peptides (FWG, MFLG, SDPPLVFVG, and FFNDA) were selected based on their predicted bioactivity, then synthesised and tested for ACE inhibition. All samples demonstrated ACE-inhibitory activity, with FWG and MFLG showing greater potency than SDPPLVFVG and FFNDA. The placenta hydrolysate outperformed both the liver hydrolysate and synthetic peptides in ACE inhibition, possibly due to it containing a higher proportion of dipeptides. The synthetic peptides’ IC50 values were comparable to those reported for porcine muscle-derived peptides in previous studies. While less potent than the commercial ACE inhibitor captopril, the identified peptides showed promising ACE-inhibitory activity. This research demonstrates the potential of porcine liver and placenta as sources of novel ACE-inhibitory peptides and highlights the effectiveness of the developed high-throughput method for identifying bioactive peptides; this method could subsequently be adapted to other peptide sources, facilitating the development of innovative functional foods or nutraceuticals
Mobility-as-a-Service Personalised Multi-Modal Multi-Objective Journey Planning with Machine-Learning-Guided Shortest-Path Algorithms
No full textMobility-as-a-service (MaaS) apps provide a single platform for journey planning, booking, payment and ticketing, and are proposed as a medium for encouraging sustainable travel behaviour. Generating sustainable-vehicle-based journey alternatives can be formulated as a multi-modal multi-objective journey-planning problem, one that is known to have a prohibitively large solution space. Building on prior insights, we develop a scalable decomposition-based solution strategy. A Pareto set of journey profiles is generated based on inter-transfer-zone objective criteria contributions. Then, guided by neural-network predictions, extended versions of existing shortest-path algorithms for open and public transport networks are used to optimise the paths and transfers of journey profiles. A novel hybrid k-means and Dijkstra’s algorithm is introduced for generating transfer-zone samples while accounting for transport network connectivity. The resulting modularised algorithm knits together and extends the most effective existing shortest-path algorithms using neural networks as a look-ahead mechanism. In experiments based on a large-scale transport network, query response times are shown to be suitable for real-time applications and are found to be independent of transfer-zone sample size, despite smaller transfer-zone samples, leading to higher quality and more diverse Pareto sets of journeys: a win-win scenario
Exploring the role grandfathers play in the consumer socialization of children
Get PDFPurposeThis paper aims to examine the under-researched role grandfathers play in consumer socialization, shifting research attention from the usual focus on parent/child transfers to better reflect contemporary changes in child socialization processes.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative, interpretive study uses interview data from 22 UK-based grandfathers, using a life course perspective.FindingsThe authors reveal how fatherhood experiences inform grandfather roles, showing transitions in socialization styles. They also outline several forms of grandfather work which shape (grand)children’s socialization. While grandfathers play a prominent role in their grandchildren’s consumer socialization, they typically (re)turned to traditional masculine values to perform grandfatherhood, which often disrupted parent/child consumer socialization.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors draw on a sample of middle-class, white, Western grandfathers. This research highlights disruption to consumer socialization processes, which warrants further investigation.Practical implicationsGrandfathers play a key role in transmitting brand heritage and equity across generations and as such they remain an important segment for marketers to communicate effectively to. The authors highlight a need for nuanced marketing communications to portray more inclusive forms of masculinity across the life course.Originality/valueDue to dual-income families and rising childcare costs, grandfathers play an increasing role in childcare, yet their role in consumer socialization remains under-researched. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the role grandfathers play in the consumer socialization of children. The authors reveal behaviours which disrupt parental consumer socialization efforts, problematizing neat models of parent-to-child consumer learning
Data-driven modeling of staged planetary gearbox vibration signature
No full textModeling planetary gearboxes is an important field of research, since it helps in condition based monitoring of the system. Multiple models with different approaches were developed last decades. They showed interesting results, but they did not reflect all involved phenomena. Indeed, specifically in a complex rotating systems such as staged planetary gearboxes, those models only approximated the dynamic behavior of the investigated system. Hence, in this paper, an algorithm of modeling staged planetary gearbox vibration signature is proposed based on exclusively measured vibration signals. First, in section 2, the dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) will be introduced. Second, in section 3, the DMD algorithm will be implemented on simulated mathematical functions to prove its robustness on future state prediction. Then, in section 4, the experimental staged planetary gearbox test rig is presented. Finally, in section 5, the DMD algorithm is applied to multiple measured vibration signals with different operating conditions as given in section 4. Interesting results are conducted and limits of the approach are presented.</p
Guidance Note on Implementing Local Adaptation Strategies in the Coastal Built Environment
No full textCoastal cities and settlements are at the forefront of climate risk. The dynamic interaction between ocean and climate drivers together with varied coastal geographies influences the nature of coastal risks, including many that are unique to cities and settlements located by the sea
User-Centered Insights into Analogue and Digital Mixing:Perspectives of Novice Music Producers
No full textThe layout of the Audio Mixing Interface (AMI) has remained consistent since it was first conceived over 50 years ago. Whilst usability studies have evaluated alternative AMI designs against this established paradigm, they often lack a holistic perspective. Recently, user experience approaches have been used in ethnographic studies to explore the way music producers use technology. This qualitative study explores novice users experience of mixing popular music. Data was collected via a survey, the user experience questionnaire, and semi-structured group interviews after completing a mixing task with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and analogue mixing console. The analysis revealed that the participants favoured the analogue AMI over the DAW but there were numerous issues with both AMIs. Navigating the AMI, particularly with the DAW, was the biggest reported issue. Furthermore, the DAW's adaptation of the analogue mixing console does not fully translate, partly due to the lack of tactile control. Novice users enjoyed the additional visual feedback provided by the DAW, specifically for EQ. These findings highlight novice AMI users needs, which are only partly met by the DAW and analogue mixing console. Ideally novice users require a combination of the simplified and tactile experience of the analogue AMI combined with the data visualisation enhanced visual feedback of the DAW to provide a more learnable AMI
Deep Learning-Empowered Secure Predictive Beamforming Design for Integrated Sensing and Communications Systems
Get PDFIn the era of upcoming sixth-generation (6G) wireless systems, the intelligent integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) paradigm has emerged as a pivotal research domain, catalyzing advancement across a wide range of applications. In this paper, we investigate an ISAC-assisted anti-eavesdropping communication system, where an ISAC ground base station exploits its radar function to track potential aerial eavesdroppers and implements predictive beamforming to ensure secure communications with multiple ground users. We harness the powerful capability of the Transformer for time series prediction to establish a novel deep neural network, termed the ISACformer, for constructing predictive beamformers via exploiting previously estimated channel state information in an unsupervised manner. By eliminating the need for explicit channel prediction, our proposed framework effectively reduces signaling overhead and complexity. In addition, by formulating a weighted objective function, our design meticulously balances the trade-off between the ergodic achievable worst-case secrecy rate for ground users and the ergodic Cramér-Rao lower bound for the kinematic parameters of potential aerial eavesdroppers. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed ISACformer can deliver the desired predictive beamforming for harmonizing radar and communication functionalities effectively. Moreover, our method achieves performance approaching the theoretical upper bound obtained by ignoring multi-user interference, thereby highlighting the robustness of the proposed approach.</p
Wisps of Steam:Homage to Chardin's A Lady Taking Tea
No full textThis body of work is rooted in a personal response to natural elements and the emotions they evoke. Inspired initially by Chardin's 'A Lady Taking Tea', the quiet contemplation within this domestic scene became a catalyst for exploring the interplay between stillness and sensation. The ephemeral quality of light and steam in the painting resonated deeply, guiding the development of a visual language that reflects the stark, windswept terrain surrounding the artist’s home. Through non-illustrative, pixelated facets of colour, the work investigates subtle shifts in texture and hue as a way to evoke sensory memories of place—mist, clouds, and the tactile experience of the land. The act of wrapping yarn became a meditative process, offering a new way to engage with Chardin's painting and the natural landscape alike. Though the yarn colours do not directly replicate those in the original artwork, they serve as interpretive tools that deepen the artist’s understanding of form, atmosphere, and personal emotional response. This project marks a re-evaluation of artistic practice, focusing on abstraction, material sensitivity, and the poetic resonance of place
The complex landscape of vaccine hesitancy and hesitant adopters:Quantitative predictors and thematic insights into COVID-19 vaccine attitudes
No full textVaccine hesitancy is one of the top 10 threats to public health. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated vaccinations marked a watershed moment for vaccine hesitancy, with highly publicized anti-vaccine protests, and widespread misinformation and distrust of the novel vaccines. This mixed-method survey sought to provide a nuanced understanding of vaccine hesitancy and hesitant vaccine adopters in the context of the COVID-19 vaccination. N = 410 participants completed an online survey comprising a battery of psychometric measures of vaccine hesitancy, personality, conspiracy belief, and political affiliation. N = 134 participants, who identified as vaccine hesitant toward the novel vaccine, provided additional written qualitative responses detailing the reasons they were hesitant about accepting the COVID-19 vaccination. Quantitative findings point to higher hesitancy among males, those with high-school and undergraduate levels of education, mixed- and minoritized ethnic groups (Black, Asian), and those higher in Right-Wing Authoritarian and Conspiracy beliefs. Qualitative data unveiled six themes underpinning hesitancy: side-effect concerns; Covid risk perception; conspiracy and religious beliefs; psychological reactance against perceived coercion; a perceived lack of information; and distrust of Government/medical establishments. Crucially, an acknowledgment of the benefits of the vaccine, e.g. in terms of protecting others, distinguished vaccine hesitant adopters from refusers. Implications of the findings are discussed with a view to informing policy and public health campaigns targeting vaccine hesitant adopters.</p
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