116320 research outputs found
Sort by
Experimental investigation on cyclic behaviors of exterior cast-in-place UHPC-NSC hybrid beam-column joints
No full textThe seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) hybrid joints composed of different concretes remain relatively understudied. To address this gap, this study experimentally investigated the cyclic behavior of exterior ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC)-normal strength concrete (NSC) hybrid beam-column joints by lateral low-cyclic loading tests. Ten specimens were designed and tested to analyze the effects of the joint core material, UHPC length in the beam, UHPC height in the column, and stirrup ratio in the joint core. Four failure modes were observed in this study, categorized as beam end cracking failure (BEC-failure), flexural failure, flexural-shear failure, and shear failure. The results indicated that the specimen with the high-performance concrete (HPC) joint core showed the best cyclic behavior when only altering the joint core concrete, since it has the highest displacement ductility (6.63) and cumulative hysteretic energy dissipation (8.51 kJ), and the lateral load-bearing capacity (27.13 kN) was comparable to the specimen with the UHPC joint core (28.61 kN). However, bonding cracks tended to form in the NSC beam when UHPC was incorporated into the joint core/column. Under the same construction conditions, expanding UHPC length in the beam effectively improved cyclic behavior, as the lateral strength, displacement ductility, and cumulative hysteretic energy dissipation showed a maximum increase of 67.5 %, 146.8 % and 23.4 %, respectively. The effect of extending UHPC height on the displacement ductility and energy dissipation is complex since it affects the stiffness distribution of the beam, column and the joint. An optimal stirrup ratio was essential for balanced performance, and it recommends adopting a value around 0.9 % in this study. Furthermore, a novel contribution of this study is the revelation of the mechanism of the additional contact force generated on the interface of the beam and column for the specimens exhibiting flexural failure, which should be paid more attention to in structural design
Biodegradation of triphenyl phosphate by a novel marine bacterial strain: Performance, mechanism, bioremediation and toxicity alleviation.
No full textTriphenyl phosphate (TPHP), a widely used organo-phosphorus flame retardant, poses environmental risks due to its persistence and bioaccumulation. In this study, Stutzerimonas frequens RL-XB02, a novel TPHP-degrading strain, was isolated from mangrove sediments. Strain RL-XB02 could completely degrade 50 mg/L of TPHP in 24 hours under various conditions (pH 6.0-9.0, 30-40°C and salinity 2.0-4.0 % (NaCl, w/v)) and the optimal conditions for biodegradation were characterized as pH 7.0, 30°C and salinity 3.0 %. TPHP degradation and growth of RL-XB02 aligned with first-order decay (R2=0.998) and S-Logistic (R2=0.997) model, respectively. Additionally, biofilm formation during TPHP degradation might explain its efficient degradation of hydrophobic compounds. Furthermore, strain RL-XB02 degraded TPHP via enzyme-mediated processes, with intracellular enzymes likely crucial. The metabolites identification and genomic analysis revealed that TPHP was transformed into phenol via stepwise de-esterification, which was assimilated by dual catechol branches of the β-ketoadipate pathway to cell growth. The molecular mechanisms of phenol catabolism were confirmed by RT-qPCR. Bioaugmentation of strain RL-XB02 could eliminate TPHP from marine samples and alleviate the toxicity of TPHP to plants. These findings advance our understanding of TPHP biodegradation pathways and propose a sustainable bioremediation strategy for TPHP contamination
Taking climate action: Measuring carbon emissions in the garment sector in Asia
No full textThe textile and garment sector accounts for a significant proportion of global carbon emissions; estimates range between 2 and 8 per cent of total global carbon emissions. Meeting Paris Agreement limits and reducing emissions is a significant sectoral challenge. It will require system-level changes in the production and consumption of textiles and garments, which will have significant impacts on how and where garments are produced and the employment associated with this production. The chapter examines the emission reduction challenge for the global textile and garment sector, by examining how and where carbon emissions accrue across the supply chain as a precursor to identifying where in the supply chain action should be most targeted. The findings show that emissions occur all along the value chain but are most significant in the yarn and fabric production phase, which is also consistent with other environmental impacts such as water consumption and chemicals use
Dimethylsulfoniopropionate and marine microbial associations along an Antarctic glacial–open ocean interface
No full textAntarctica is a seasonally active region for marine organic sulfur cycling and ocean-atmospheric sulfur fluxes. Organic sulfur compounds, such as dimethylsulfoniopropionate and dimethylsulfide, produced by microbes are key chemical currencies in interspecies interactions, which in turn, underpin marine sulfur dynamics. This study examined Antarctic phytoplankton-bacteria associations and their influence on marine sulfur cycling along a coastal gradient from an inner fjord of the Sørsdal glacier to the open ocean (six sites). Phytoplankton abundance increased with distance from the glacier, corresponding with an increase in dimethylsulfoniopropionate concentrations (dissolved 13–28 nM; total 73–140 nM) and phytoplankton dimethylsulfoniopropionate lyase activity. Microbial community composition varied with glacial-influence, and overall abundance declined with distance from the glacier. We identified strong associations between dominant phytoplankton genera (Cylindrotheca, Corethron, Chaetoceros, Fragilariopsis, Leptocylindrus/Dactyliosolen, and Phaeocystis) and bacteria from the Rhodobacteraceae (i.e., Roseobacter group), highlighting the prevalence of these species' complexes in Antarctic waters. Specifically, pigment markers of Phaeocystis sp. and amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) belonging to Octadecabacter and Sulfitobacter correlated positively with dissolved dimethylsulfoniopropionate concentrations and phytoplankton dimethylsulfoniopropionate lyase activity, supporting their role in marine sulfur metabolism and extending the known geographical range of sulfur-mediated phytoplankton associations with the Roseobacter group. In broadening the reported range of these interorganism interactions to Antarctic waters, these results extend the prevalence and weight of the role of sulfur-based dependencies in structuring marine microbial communities
The welfare impact of financial inclusion: does the source of financing matter? A GMM and channel analysis
No full textPurpose: This study investigates how finance contributes to socioeconomic development through an inclusive financial system and the impact of financial inclusion programs pursued by non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, we leverage a rich, nationally representative household survey (ICPSR, 2014) from 17 Ghanaian MFIs (1,629 households), sponsored by the World Bank, to analyze microfinance impacts using a generalized method of moment (GMM) and channel analysis. Findings: Our findings reveal a statistically significant positive impact of donor-funded financial inclusion projects on targeted households’ welfare, regardless of implementing agency (donor, government or microfinance institution). The channel analysis further suggests that credit unions and savings and loan (S&L) institutions may be particularly effective conduits for delivering these welfare gains through financial inclusion programs. These findings hold valuable insights for funders seeking to maximize the welfare impact of such interventions: credit unions and S&Ls may be preferential channels for delivering financial inclusion programs aimed at improving household well-being. Research limitations/implications: The poverty-reducing impact of informal non-bank financial intermediaries like credit unions and susu groups highlights the need for policies that integrate these institutions into the formal financial system. Therefore, donor-funded initiatives should not rely solely on local government implementation. Since the focus of this study is on Ghana, we caution readers to exercise caution when generalizing the findings to other jurisdictions. Practical implications: The World Bank/IMF-backed financial sector reform in Ghana has many important implications for financial inclusion and welfare impacts which are rare in other jurisdictions. Our finding has policy implications for agencies that wish to translate financial inclusion into significant economic inclusion, especially in middle- and low-income countries (LICs) where the COVID-19 pandemic and the global impact of the recent war in Ukraine could exacerbate the exclusion gap. Originality/value: The focus of this study is to understand if MFIs, funded by different sources, can contribute to inclusive growth and welfare. This research employs channel analysis, considering that donor and government programs are often channeled through community-based NBFIs and offer key contributions to the existing body of knowledge on financial inclusion and household welfare. This study extends the current literature by providing a deeper understanding of the role of each NBFI type in deepening financial inclusion and improving household welfare and allows policymakers, donors and governments to target inclusion efforts for maximum impact
Synapsin III promotes neuronal-like transdifferentiation of glioblastoma stem cells by disrupting JAG1-Notch1 interaction.
No full textBACKGROUND: Glioblastoma (GBM), a formidable and highly aggressive form of brain cancer, is predominantly driven by GBM stem cells (GSCs), which are characterized by their ability for self-renewal and aberrant differentiation. Targeting the terminal differentiation of GSCs represents a promising therapeutic strategy. This study aimed to elucidate the role of synapsin III (SYN3) in driving the differentiation of GSCs into neuron-like cells and its effect on the tumor-suppressive pathways in GBM. METHODS: Proliferation assays, limited dilution assays, immunocytochemistry, western blot, RT-qPCR, and GSC tumor models were used to determine gene function and assess the role of γ-secretase inhibitors. Co-immunoprecipitation and microscale thermophoresis were conducted to explore the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Intracranial orthotopic injection of adeno-associated virus (AAV) was performed to evaluate therapeutic potential. RESULTS: We demonstrate that SYN3, uniquely within the synapsin family, acts as a tumor suppressor by steering GSCs toward neuronal-like transdifferentiation. Mechanistically, SYN3 enhances the expression of Neuregulin 3 (NRG3), which serves as a non-canonical antagonist of Notch signaling by competitively binding to specific epitopes within the EGF-like domain of JAG1, a critical site for the canonical engagement of Notch receptors. This critical interaction disrupts the JAG1-Notch1 signaling pathway, a key mechanism driving GSCs toward neuronal-like transdifferentiation, thereby reducing their stemness. Furthermore, SYN3 demonstrated significant antineoplastic activity in a mouse model harboring GSCs. AAV-mediated overexpression of SYN3 markedly impeded GBM progression. CONCLUSIONS: Our research reveals the therapeutic potential of SYN3 in regulating GSC fate and offers a novel differentiation-based approach for GBM therapy
Exogenously added recombinant CLIC proteins provide antioxidant protection to cells in culture
Full text linkChloride intracellular ion channels (CLICs) are a family of six human proteins that exist as both soluble and integral membrane proteins and are expressed across a range of different tissues throughout the body. CLIC1 and CLIC4 act as moonlighting proteins, exhibiting oxidoreductase enzymatic activity in addition to their membrane ion channel activity. Transient siRNA knockdown of either CLIC1 or CLIC4 in primary human dermal fibroblast (HDF), human epidermal keratinocyte (HKE) cells and in the stable murine fibroblast cell line, NIH/3T3, showed significant reduction in cell viability. Conversely, NIH/3T3 cells over-expressing CLIC1 or CLIC4 demonstrated that both proteins assist in protecting the cells from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative damage, resulting in reduced cell death and reduced Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generation. While the opposite effect was seen in cells where these proteins had been silenced using siRNA. We have also now demonstrated that by exogenously adding recombinant CLIC (rCLIC) proteins to either HDF or HKE cells in culture, both rCLIC1 and rCLIC4 proteins provided cellular antioxidant protection to the fibroblast and keratinocyte cells against H2O2-induced oxidative damage. Our study also demonstrates rCLIC1 and rCLIC4's ability to act as skin cell protective antioxidant agents, arises from their oxidoreductase enzymatic activity. Our findings also showed exogenous addition of rCLIC1 or rCLIC4 to skin cells resulted in similar or greater protection against H2O2-induced oxidative damage when compared to other well-known endogenous antioxidants like glutaredoxin (Grx), Glutathione S-transferase-Omega (GST-Ω) and the antioxidant drug, N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
Consolidation analysis of inhomogeneous soil subjected to varied loading under impeded drainage based on the spectral method
No full textThe consolidation behaviour of soft clays is significantly influenced by loading patterns, soil inhomogeneity, and boundary drainage conditions. Despite their significance, a notable gap exists in the availability of rigorous analytical solutions capable of integrating these factors into the consolidation analysis of inhomogeneous soft clay. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the consolidation behaviour of inhomogeneous soft clay subjected to impeded drainage conditions under time-dependent loading. The study employs the spectral method to derive solutions for specific distributions of inhomogeneous soil property distributions and loading patterns. The accuracy of the proposed method is validated through comparisons with previous analytical solutions, finite element method (FEM) solutions, laboratory tests and case studies, demonstrating improved predictive capabilities. A parametric study based on the proposed solution indicates that the dimensionless factors related to drainage capacity (Rt and Rb) adversely impact soil consolidation, with smaller values leading to increased divergence from calculations assuming fully pervious conditions. Notably, solutions assuming fully pervious conditions can maintain considerable accuracy within a 5% error range only when Rt and Rb exceed a certain threshold (e.g., Rt > Rb /(0.049Rb − 0.426) in this study). Otherwise, impeded drainage conditions must be considered for accurate consolidation calculations
Fine-grained visual tracking via distribution-aware mask modeling and temporal propagation
No full textVisual tracking holds significant importance in enabling diverse practical applications, yet critical challenges persist in two key aspects: target characterization and motion dynamics. Foreground-background discrimination becomes problematic under real-world complexities like occlusion and scale variation, necessitating highly discriminative feature extraction. Moreover, appearance changes during target motion render static template strategies insufficient, demanding dynamic template updates to ensure continuity and prevent tracker drift. In this paper, we present FGTrack, a novel single object tracker that addresses these challenges through two perspectives. First, the Distribution-Aware Mask Modeling (DMM) enhances feature discriminability by leveraging Transformer attention distribution in conjunction with GridShift clustering to generate nuanced foreground mask. Building upon token candidate elimination from one-stream training process, this approach employs a simple yet efficient adaptive clustering to achieve precise foreground localization without the need for manual threshold adjustment. It effectively suppresses background interference by utilizing the token correlation between the template and search regions. Second, the Temporal Feature Propagation (TFP) ensures motion consistency by integrating autoregressive queries with spatio-temporal features. The TFP module maintains a dynamically updated query queue and aggregates historical features through a temporal attention mechanism. The spatio-temporal fusion maintains adaptive template updates and correlates the current frame's spatially encoded features with historical queries, capturing target evolution patterns through multi-head cross-attention. Experiments across five short-term and two long-term benchmarks demonstrate FGTrack's superiority over state-of-the-art trackers, particularly in occlusion and deformation scenarios, validating its balanced approach to spatial discrimination and temporal coherence. The code will be released at https://github.com/BroCome25/FGTrack
Defining the physiological profile of dysphagia in the COVID-19 patient using Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)
No full textLittle is known about the biomechanics of dysphagia in COVID-19, a pivotal aspect for guiding rehabilitation. We aimed to define the physiological dysphagia profile in COVID-19 patients using Flexible-Endoscopic-Evaluation-of-Swallowing (FEES). All COVID-19 patients treated across two tertiary teaching hospitals (March 2020–2022) with confirmed dysphagia on FEES were recruited. Key parameters were recorded from initial FEES using descriptive and validated outcome measures (Penetration-Aspiration-Scale [PAS], Yale Pharyngeal-Residue-Severity-Rating-Scale, New-Zealand-Secretion-Scale [NZSS]), to define the nature and severity of impairment. All footage were analysed by two experienced speech-language-pathologists with high inter-rater reliability established. Ten cases (8-male, mean age = 61yrs), no pre-existing dysphagia, were recruited. All required Intensive-Care-Unit (ICU) admission (mean ICU length-of-stay [LOS] = 50 days, Hospital LOS = 89 days). Mean intubation duration was 23-days, mechanical ventilation was 36-days and six required tracheostomy. On FEES, all demonstrated impairments in airway closure, tongue-base to posterior-pharyngeal-wall contact, pharyngeal stripping and laryngopharyngeal sensation with variable secretion management (NZSS = 2–7), high rates of laryngeal penetration and aspiration on fluids (PAS = 2–8), with residue more apparent for fluids at the piriform fossae (Yale = 3–5) compared to the valleculae (Yale = 2–4). The physiological dysphagia profile in the COVID-19 patient is complex involving motor and sensory elements. This foundational knowledge may facilitate targeted dysphagia rehabilitation in this population
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage OPUS? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!