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Empagliflozin and intermittent fasting as a strategy to mitigate anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity
KIF20A promotes cervical cancer progression by interacting with CLIP1
Age-friendly design of health detection integrated machine: A user requirement-driven approach
Post-quantum cryptographic authentication protocol for industrial IoT using lattice-based cryptography
From rural hollowing to smart shrinkage: zonal governance considering spatial non-stationary effects
Metatranscriptomic insights into host-microbiome interactions underlying asymptomatic COVID-19 cases
Assessment of coastal land use structure and efficiency based on multi-source data: From the perspective of sea-land gradient
Co-design of a natural fiber-timber hybrid structural system using dual-robot coreless filament winding
Abstract This paper presents the co-design methods for a new hybrid load-bearing system as a strategy for advancing bio-based architecture. Timber and natural fiber polymer composites (NFPC) are combined into a hybrid system, offering opportunities to leverage their strengths while balancing the use of natural resources. The system performs synergistically, with each material fulfilling complementary roles. Timber extrapolates its structural function by acting as an embedded frame for the fibers to be wound on. The paper presents computational methods designed to optimize material performance while integrating functionalities and fabrication opportunities. A dual-robot winding method is presented as a solution for balancing winding tension in the structure during fabrication. The hybrid system is demonstrated through the design and construction of a pavilion, the first to combine flax fibers with a partially bio-based resin and timber into a dual-robotically fabricated structure on an architectural scale. The project represents further advancements in multi-robot fabrication and a novel material approach toward bio-based hybrid systems in architecture.
Targeted supplementation with bioactive plants sustainably improves goat health and decreases antiparasitic drug use on smallholder farms
Abstract Goats play a significant role in farming communities in semi-arid tropical areas with limited cropping capacity; however, production is limited by endoparasites, especially gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs). Control of GINs is typically mediated by anthelmintic drugs, but can be costly or ineffective where anthelmintic-resistant GINs are present. To manage anthelmintic resistance and improve herd health at lower costs, farmers can implement Targeted Selective Treatment (TST) strategies to treat animals based on performance or health traits. The study aimed to quantify the impacts of plant-based interventions on goat health, nutrition, and parasite infections when applied in a targeted selective feeding regime under an arid environment. Here we trialled a farmer-led TST scheme using a worm diagnostic tool for sheep and goats based on checking five points on the animal body; nose (purulent discharge), eye (colour of the conjunctivae), jaw (subcutaneous pitting oedema), back (body scoring condition, and tail (mild to severe diarrhoea). This method, termed the Five Point Check or FAMACHA, was used to periodically measure goat health, with anthelmintic interventions provided only to individuals in poor condition. In addition to TST with anthelmintic, a plant-TST was trialled on 50% of the farms where goats in borderline or poor condition were supplemented with local bioactive plants ( Viscum rotundifolium L. or Terminalia sericea ). Plant-TST treatment significantly reduced worm burden ( P < 0.001) from a mean of 485 EPG pre-treatment to 269 EPG post-treatment, with 75% of goats having a FEC of ≤ 400 EPG. Further, goats under plant-TST had significantly improved health outcomes ( p < 0.001 FAMACHA scores) compared to TST-anthelmintic. Goats under plant-TST were 46.6% less likely to require any anthelmintic treatment. Plant- and anthelmintic-TST had a similar FEC reduction (55.5% and 52.5%, respectively). Plant-TST offers a low-resource means to sustainably manage GINs in in goats in semi-arid conditions.
Leveraging content producer networks and user perception to detect online discursive communities
Computational study of novel scandium and lithium perovskites based materials for sustainable energy devices
ETNeXt: integrated feature engineering and classification framework for BLDC motor fault detection
Effects of different administration routes of dexmedetomidine on sleep quality in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty
Mechanistic elucidation of a terpenoid nano-bionematicide for the management of root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita infecting tomato
lnc-ALX1-2:10 is a novel regulator that enhances proliferation, migration and invasion in prostate cancer cells
Abstract Although long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in the progression of prostate cancer (PCa), the functional roles of many of these molecules, especially in metastasis, remain poorly understood. To identify novel lncRNAs linked to PCa malignant phenotypes, we analyzed the differences in lncRNA expression between the highly metastatic PCa cell line (PC-3 M-1E8) and the poorly metastatic PCa cell line (PC-3 M-2B4) using transcriptome sequencing. This differential expression was confirmed by RT-qPCR, which showed that the lnc-ALX1-2 gene cluster (including lnc-ALX1-2:5, lnc-ALX1-2:7, lnc-ALX1-2:10) was significantly upregulated in PC-3 M-1E8 cells. Functional studies demonstrated that knockdown of the lnc-ALX1-2 gene cluster suppressed proliferation, migration, and invasion in PC-3 M-1E8 cells, with lnc-ALX1-2:10 showing the most prominent effect. Transcriptome analysis further revealed that lnc-ALX1-2:10 knockdown altered the expression of 194 genes related to both proliferation and migration. RT-qPCR and Western blot validated that lnc-ALX1-2:10 knockdown downregulated pro-tumorigenic factors (CCNE1, PDGFRA, ANGPT4) and EMT markers (N-cadherin, Snail, Vimentin), while upregulating ITGAL and E-cadherin. In vivo, lnc-ALX1-2:10 knockdown obviously decreased tumor volume but had no effect on mouse body weight, and molecular analysis of xenograft tumors confirmed consistent expression changes of key proteins as in vitro. Collectively, our findings identify lnc-ALX1-2:10 as a novel lncRNA that promotes aggressive phenotypes in PCa, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for metastatic disease.
Democratic governance through DAO-based deliberation and voting for inclusive decision making in AI models
Abstract A major criticism of AI development is the lack of transparency, such as, inadequate documentation and traceability in its design and decision-making processes, leading to adverse outcomes including discrimination, lack of inclusivity and representation, and breaches of legal regulations. Underserved populations, in particular, are disproportionately affected by these design decisions. Furthermore, traditional social science techniques such as interviews, focus groups, and surveys struggle to adequately capture user needs and expectations in the digital era, due to their inherent limitations in deliberation, consensus-building, and providing consistent insights. We developed a democratic decision framework utilizing Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) to enable underserved groups to deliberate and reach a consensus on key AI issues. To assess our proposed democratic decision mechanism, we conducted a case study on updating AI model specification based on diverse stakeholders input. We focus on reducing stereotypical biases in text-to-image systems, particularly gender bias in image generation from text prompts. We designed and experimented various governance configurations, including decision aggregation schemes and decision power, to examine how democratic processes could guide updates to AI model. Through a 2 × 2 experimental design, we tested various aggregation schemes (ranked vs. quadratic) and decision power distribution (equal vs. 20/80 differential) in a randomized online experiment (n=177) with participants from the global south and people with disabilities, to study how the varying governance mechanisms impact people’s perceptions of the decision-making processes and resulting output of the AI Model specification. Our results indicate that despite their diverse backgrounds, participants showed convergence in deliberations on several aspects, including user control over image generation, multiple output options for user selection, and the social appropriateness and accuracy of generated images. Our study underscores the importance of use of appropriate governance in democratic decision-making in AI alignment. Notably, the combination of quadratic preference aggregation method which gives minorities more voice and equal decision power distribution, was perceived as a fairer and democratic approach.
Properties and nitrate leaching mitigation effect of thermally treated biomass-a case study of tropical and subtropical islands
Abstract This study assessed the properties of thermally treated biomass including torrefied biomass and biochar and their effect on nitrate leaching mitigation. The raw biomass materials were derived from herbaceous sugarcane residue (bagasse) and woody Alexandrian laurel, which are common feedstocks in subtropical and tropical islands. The biomass materials were treated at various temperatures ranging from 220 to 800 °C. Nitrate adsorption capacity and mitigation effect on nitrate leaching when it was applied in acidic soil were evaluated. We observed typical changes in the yield and functional groups of the thermally treated biomass with increasing treatment temperature. Nitrate adsorption tended to occur with 200–300 °C materials at a rate of approximately 3.0–7.0%. Nitrate leaching decreased only with the 800 °C material, with a mitigation rate of 30%. The experiments and multiple regression analysis revealed that the low pH and hydrophilicity of materials < 300 °C positively affected nitrate adsorption, whereas the high surface area of the 800 °C material significantly reduced nitrate leaching. Further investigation of the long-term effects of thermally treated biomass application at different treatment temperatures is necessary to reduce the nitrate leaching on subtropical and tropical islands.