Search

The uricase enzyme yields allantoin, hydrogen peroxide, and carbon dioxide by catalyzing the oxidative opening of the purine ring in the urate pathway. This enzyme is important for biochemical diagnosis and reduces toxic urate accumulation during various diseases (hyperuricemia, gout, and bedwetting). Direct urate oxidase injection is recommended in renal complications-associated gout and to prevent chemotherapy-linked hyperuricemia disorders. Thus, uricase is a promising enzyme with diverse applications in medicine. Microbial production of uricase is featured by high growth rates, cost-effective bioprocessing, and easy optimization of the medium. Microbes produce the enzyme extracellular or intracellular. Extracellular uricase is preferred for biotechnological applications as it minimizes time, effort, and purification processes. This review provides insights into uricase-producing microbes, bacterial uric acid degradation pathways, degrading enzymes, and uricase-encoding genes. Furthermore, aspects influencing the microorganisms' production of the uricase enzyme, its activity, and its purification procedure are also emphasized. Cell disruption is mandatory for intercellular uricase production, which elevates production costs. Therefore, extracellular uricase-producing microbial strains should be investigated, and production factors should be optimized. Future techniques for obtaining extracellular enzymes should feature reduced time and effort, as well as a simple purification methodology. Furthermore, uricase gene-carrying recombinant probiotic microorganisms could become an effective tool for gout treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A kinetic model of binary interactions is developed to describe an exchange market consisting of two groups (A and B) of manufacturing enterprises and two types of production factors (capital and labor). The relationship between production factors and output satisfies the Cobb-Douglas production function. The objective of the manufacturing enterprise is to obtain maximum profits. In the multi-agent market, manufacturing enterprises exchange surplus production factors for insufficient production factors. We assume that manufacturing enterprises in group A put all of the production factors into the market, while the manufacturing enterprises in group B have the priority of selecting a suitable percentage of production factors for exchange. A system of linear kinetic equations is developed for two groups of manufacturing enterprises to characterize the evolution of the quantity of exchanged production factors. The effect of various strategies on the price of production factors and the profit of manufacturing enterprises is explored. The findings reveal that the trading strategy of group B significantly impacts the price of production factors and effectively improves the profit under certain conditions. Furthermore, a system of Boltzmann equations for the probability distribution of production factors is presented to describe the price issues. Simulation experiments illustrate how the trading strategy and the elasticity coefficient of output influence the final price of production factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers encounter costs and inconvenience in the purchase and consumption of goods. Time, effort, training, and expertise, also referred to as access costs, are examples of factors that constrain the ability of consumers to derive utility from offerings beyond the price of a good. Economies of scope exist when household production of these factors share commonalities among choice alternatives, making it more likely that some products would be purchased and consumed in conjunction with others. For example, consumers planning out-of-town travel might consider visiting multiple tourist attractions during their trip, and course offerings might appeal more to students who are already in the mindset of taking courses. We develop a model with economies of scope that captures a leveraging effect where the purchase of one good makes the purchase of other goods more likely. Our model offers an alternative explanation of complementary purchases that are driven by cost reductions rather than utility enhancements. The model is applied to four conjoint datasets where we find that economies of scope and access costs play an important role in consumer purchases and have high economic value relative to the role played by price. This paper was accepted by Eric Anderson, marketing. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4841. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilayer commingled production is a widely used development method to improve the production capacity of gas reservoirs. However, there is currently limited research on the gas production characteristics of multilayer commingled production in hydrate reservoirs with underlying gas. The objective of this study was to analyze the characteristics of multilayer commingled production in order to determine suitable hydrate reservoirs for such a development method. Firstly, we employed analytical solutions to the equations of fluid flow in porous media to determine the factors affecting the production capacity. Then, by employing numerical simulation and depressurization methods, the rates of gas production and gas release from hydrate dissociation in a single production well were estimated. Additionally, the production capacity ratio of multilayer commingled production and separated-layer production was proposed. The influence of different reservoir characteristics on multilayer commingled production yield was determined and plotted. When there is an interlayer between hydrates and the underlying gas, the formation pressure ratio is the decisive factor affecting the multilayer commingled production yield. When there is no interlayer, the multilayer commingled production rate will increase with an increase in the permeability ratio, hydrate saturation, and underlying gas saturation. This study provides a theoretical foundation for predicting the production capacity of hydrate reservoirs, as well as assistance in selecting the hydrate reservoirs most suitable for multilayer commingled production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arid Land Geography is the property of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Occupational choice models predict that, ceteris paribus, countries with higher dispersion of skill will have higher market labour income inequality. However, an extended conclusion from empirical research is that cross-country variations in dispersion of skill explain little of the variation in income inequality. This paper identifies factors related to production and organization technologies that moderate the relationship between dispersion of skill and dispersion of income in occupational choice equilibrium outcomes and that, if not properly accounted for, can bias the results of the empirical studies that explain dispersion of income as a function of dispersion of skill. In particular, comparing equilibrium outcomes from occupational choices in economies that differ in the distribution of skill and in the efficiency of supervision hierarchies, the paper can explain why the US and Sweden have similar labour productivity, but income inequality is higher in the US than in Sweden, and why productivity is lower and income inequality is higher in Spain than in Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxyectoine is an important compatible solute that holds potential for development into a high-value chemical with broad applications. However, the traditional high-salt fermentation for hydroxyectoine production presents challenges in treating the high-salt wastewater. Here, we report the rational engineering of Halomonas salifodinae to improve the bioproduction of hydroxyectoine under lower-salt conditions. The comparative transcriptomic analysis suggested that the increased expression of ectD gene encoding ectoine hydroxylase (EctD) and the decreased expressions of genes responsible for tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle contributed to the increased hydroxyectoine production in H. salifodinae IM328 grown under high-salt conditions. By blocking the degradation pathway of ectoine and hydroxyectoine, enhancing the expression of ectD, and increasing the supply of 2-oxoglutarate, the engineered H. salifodinae strain HS328-YNP15 (ΔdoeA::PUP119-ectD p-gdh) produced 8.3-fold higher hydroxyectoine production than the wild-type strain and finally achieved a hydroxyectoine titer of 4.9 g/L in fed-batch fermentation without any detailed process optimization. This study shows the potential to integrate hydroxyectoine production into open unsterile fermentation process that operates under low-salinity and high-alkalinity conditions, paving the way for next-generation industrial biotechnology. Key points: • Hydroxyectoine production in H. salifodinae correlates with the salinity of medium • Transcriptomic analysis reveals the limiting factors for hydroxyectoine production • The engineered strain produced 8.3-fold more hydroxyectoine than the wild type [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental stresses are the main constraints on agricultural productivity and food security worldwide. This issue is worsened by abrupt and severe changes in global climate. The formation of sugarcane yield and the accumulation of sucrose are significantly influenced by biotic and abiotic stresses. Understanding the biochemical, physiological, and environmental phenomena associated with these stresses is essential to increase crop production. This review explores the effect of environmental factors on sucrose content and sugarcane yield and highlights the negative effects of insufficient water supply, temperature fluctuations, insect pests, and diseases. This article also explains the mechanism of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the role of different metabolites under environmental stresses, and highlights the function of environmental stress-related resistance genes in sugarcane. This review further discusses sugarcane crop improvement approaches, with a focus on endophytic mechanism and consortium endophyte application in sugarcane plants. Endophytes are vital in plant defense; they produce bioactive molecules that act as biocontrol agents to enhance plant immune systems and modify environmental responses through interaction with plants. This review provides an overview of internal mechanisms to enhance sugarcane plant growth and environmental resistance and offers new ideas for improving sugarcane plant fitness and crop productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project investigated the impact of low-temperature, in-situ synthesis of cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles on various aspects of oil recovery mechanisms, including changes in oil viscosity, alterations in reservoir rock wettability, and the resulting oil recovery factor. The nanoparticles were synthesized using a microemulsion procedure and subjected to various characterization analyses. Subsequently, these synthesized nanoparticles were prepared and injected into a glass micromodel, both in-situ and ex-situ, to evaluate their effectiveness. The study also examined the movement of the injected fluid within the porous media. The results revealed that the synthesized CeO2 nanoparticles exhibited a remarkable capability at low temperatures to reduce crude oil viscosity by 28% and to lighten the oil. Furthermore, the addition of CeO2 nanoparticles to the base fluid (water) led to a shift in the wettability of the porous medium, resulting in a significant reduction in the oil drop angle from 140° to 20°. Even a minimal presence of CeO2 nanoparticles (0.1 wt%) in water increased the oil production factor from 29 to 42%. This enhancement became even more pronounced at a concentration of 0.5 wt%, where the oil production factor reached 56%. Finally, it was found that the in-situ injection, involving the direct synthesis of CeO2 nanoparticles within the reservoir using precursor salts solution and reservoir energy, led to an 11% enhancement in oil production efficiency compared to the ex-situ injection scenario, where the nanofluid is prepared outside the reservoir and then injected into it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Blasingame method is a valuable tool for analysing the diminishing production challenge in the presence of variable bottomhole pressure and diverse production conditions. It is essential to highlight that the Blasingame method views the closed reservoir as the outer boundary condition for its model. This paper introduces the concept of the equivalent well control radius and formulates the Blasingame method based on the fluid flow characteristics inherent in twin-well production, taking into account the influence of inter- well interference. This study provides an in-depth analysis of production variations in reservoirs with inter-well interference by examining Blasingame type-curve definitions of the dimensionless parameters. Additionally, it investigates key factors impacting production, including neighbouring wells' production, distance, and opening time: variations in all three parameters lead to different levels of interference between wells, which manifests itself in the regularised production integral derivative curve with different lengths and heights of convexity. Numerical simulations employing orthogonality are conducted to validate the reliability of this method. The results of these simulations offer theoretical support for the precise evaluation of reservoirs facing similar challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidation flow reactors used in secondary aerosol research do not immediately respond to changes in the inlet concentration of precursor gases because of their broad transfer functions. This is an issue when measuring the vehicular secondary aerosol formation in transient driving cycles because the secondary aerosol measured at the oxidation flow reactor outlet does not correspond to the rapid changes in the exhaust flow rate. Since the secondary aerosol production factor is determined by multiplying the secondary aerosol mass by the exhaust flow rate, the misalignment between the two leads to incorrect production factors. This study evaluates the extent of the error in production factors due to oxidation flow reactor transfer functions using synthetic and semi-synthetic exhaust emission data. It was found that the transfer-function-related error could be eliminated when only the total production factor of the full cycle was measured using constant-volume sampling. For shorter segments within a driving cycle, a narrower transfer function led to a smaller error. Even with a narrow transfer function, the oxidation flow reactor could report production factors that were more than 10 times higher than the reference production factors if the segment duration was too short. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Simple Summary: Pig tracking provides strong support for refined management in pig farms and can assist in realizing customized, automated, and intellectualized management. However, there are many complex factors in actual production that result in pigs not being tracked consistently over time. To address this issue, we proposed a long-term video tracking method for group-housed pigs based on improved StrongSORT. The experimental results proved that our study demonstrates high practicality, catering to the needs of practical production. It improved the efficiency of farming personnel and lays the foundation for the automated monitoring of pigs. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that we have also released a dataset specifically designed for long-term pig tracking in this paper. Pig tracking provides strong support for refined management in pig farms. However, long and continuous multi-pig tracking is still extremely challenging due to occlusion, distortion, and motion blurring in real farming scenarios. This study proposes a long-term video tracking method for group-housed pigs based on improved StrongSORT, which can significantly improve the performance of pig tracking in production scenarios. In addition, this research constructs a 24 h pig tracking video dataset, providing a basis for exploring the effectiveness of long-term tracking algorithms. For object detection, a lightweight pig detection network, YOLO v7-tiny_Pig, improved based on YOLO v7-tiny, is proposed to reduce model parameters and improve detection speed. To address the target association problem, the trajectory management method of StrongSORT is optimized according to the characteristics of the pig tracking task to reduce the tracking identity (ID) switching and improve the stability of the algorithm. The experimental results show that YOLO v7-tiny_Pig ensures detection applicability while reducing parameters by 36.7% compared to YOLO v7-tiny and achieving an average video detection speed of 435 frames per second. In terms of pig tracking, Higher-Order Tracking Accuracy (HOTA), Multi-Object Tracking Accuracy (MOTP), and Identification F1 (IDF1) scores reach 83.16%, 97.6%, and 91.42%, respectively. Compared with the original StrongSORT algorithm, HOTA and IDF1 are improved by 6.19% and 10.89%, respectively, and Identity Switch (IDSW) is reduced by 69%. Our algorithm can achieve the continuous tracking of pigs in real scenarios for up to 24 h. This method provides technical support for non-contact pig automatic monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin of marked commercial, scientific, diagnostic, and therapeutic interest. The preservation of its structural cystine-knot is the main challenge in its industrial production. A suitable expression system is critical to achieve the most efficient production of bioactive and stable BDNF for pharmaceutical purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Horse gram yellow mosaic disease (HgYMD) is one of the major limiting factor for legumes production in India as it can cause economic loss up to 100%. Till date, horse gram yellow mosaic virus was rare to infect french bean, but now-a-days, it has become the major causal agent for yellow mosaic epidemics in the southern part of India. Few bush type varieties, resistant to yellow mosaic disease are released but not specifically resistant to HgYMD. So, systemic breeding work has been initiated to identify the resistant source for HgYMD in french bean. Methods: Seventyone genotypes of french bean were screened in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications under natural epiphytotic as well as artificial condition during Summer, 2018 at ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru, India. Result: The genotypes varied for percent disease index (PDI), area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) and the apparent rate of infection per unit time period (r). Two varieties i.e., Jade-5058 and Arka Arjun were showing less PDI of 13.33 and 14.44, least average rate of infection of 0.64 and 0.65 and lowest AUDPC value of 350.54 and 359.16 respectively, compared to other genotypes. Average PDI of Arka Arjun and Jade-5058 were 13.33 and 12.22 under artificial screening, which were much lesser than susceptible check Arka Komal (PDI 92.22) and Arka Anoop (PDI 90.00). Resistant genotypes identified from this experiment can be used for breeding HgYMD resistant french bean lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chitosan-triphosphate (TPP) nanogels are widely studied drug delivery carrier systems, typically prepared via a simple mixing process. However, the effects of the processing factors on nanogel production have not been extensively explored, despite the importance of understanding and standardising such factors to allow upscaling and commercial usage. This study aims to systematically evaluate the effects of various fabrication and processing factors on the properties of nanogels using a Design of Experiment approach. Hydrodynamic size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency were determined as the dependent factors. The temperature, stirring rate, chitosan grade, crosslinker choice, and the interaction term between temperature and chitosan grade were found to have a significant effect on the particle size, whereas the effect of temperature and the addition rate of crosslinker on the PDI was also noteworthy. Moreover, the addition rate of the crosslinker and the volume of the reaction vessel were found to impact the encapsulation efficiency. The zeta potential of the nanogels was found to be governed by the chitosan grade. The optimal fabrication conditions for the development of medium molecular weight chitosan and TPP nanogels included the following: the addition rate for TPP solution was set at 2 mL/min, while the solution was then stirred at a temperature of 50 °C and a stirring speed of 600 rpm. The volume of the glass vial used was 28 mL, while the stirrer size was 20 mm. The second aim of the study was to evaluate the potential for scaling up the nanogels. Size and PDI were found to increase from 128 nm to 151 nm and from 0.232 to 0.267, respectively, when the volume of the reaction mixture was increased from 4 to 20 mL and other processing factors were kept unchanged. These results indicate that caution is required when scaling up as the nanogel properties may be significantly altered with an increasing production scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional quality control methodologies are inadequate for fully elucidating the aberrant patterns of product quality. A multitude of factors influence product quality, yet the limited number of controlled quality characteristics is insufficient for accurately diagnosing quality abnormalities. Additionally, there are asymmetries in data collection, data pre-processing, and model interpretation. In this context, a quality anomaly recognition and diagnosis model for the complex product manufacturing process is constructed based on a deep residual network, support vector machine (SVM), and Shapley additive explanation (SHAP). Given the numerous complex product quality characteristic indexes and unpredictable accidental factors in the production process, it is necessary to mine the deep relationship between quality characteristic data and quality state. This mining is achieved by utilizing the strong feature extraction ability of the deep residual shrinkage network (DRSN) through self-learning. The symmetry of the data within the model has also been taken into account to ensure a more balanced and comprehensive analysis. The excellent binary classification ability of the support vector machine is combined with the DRSN to identify the quality anomaly state. The SHAP interpretable model is employed to diagnose the quality anomaly problem of a single product and to identify and diagnose quality anomalies in the manufacturing process of complex products. The effectiveness of the model is validated through case analysis. The accuracy of the DRSN-SVM quality anomaly recognition model reaches 99%, as demonstrated by example analysis, and the model exhibits faster convergence and significantly higher accuracy compared with the naive Bayesian model classification and support vector machine classification models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mal secco, caused by the fungus Plenodomus tracheiphilus, is a xylem disease that is a limiting factor for lemon production in the Mediterranean. Resistance or field tolerance are major goals for lemon breeders; however, there is scant information regarding the heritability of mal secco resistance in breeding populations. As with other vascular diseases, phenotyping is the bottleneck for ascertaining resistance and susceptibility, and a validated protocol for greenhouse phenotyping would be valuable to accelerate the selection of tolerant trees before field evaluation. We report phenotyping of 148 hybrids of Khasi papeda (Citrus latipes; tolerant to mal secco) × lemon (susceptible to the disease) in field and greenhouse conditions. Field evaluation was performed on all hybrids for 2 to 3 consecutive years on trees subjected to high natural-pathogen pressure. Detection of the fungal infection was performed by visual observation and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The first infections occurred ≈6 months after planting, but 2 years of observations were needed for a reliable estimation of susceptibility. The spread of the disease did not occur uniformly throughout the plot, with patterns of spread within rows, probably resulting from infections from plant to plant. The possible errors in the estimation of susceptibility as a result of the uneven distribution of infections in the plot were reduced by using more than one replicate tree per hybrid. The correlation between phenotyping scores and cycle threshold values was weak (r = –0.48, P < 0.001). Three years after planting, hybrids clustered into three groups—susceptible, tolerant, and intermediate— based on symptom progression. A subset of 65 self-rooted hybrids was also subjected to stem inoculation in an unheated greenhouse, with two to seven biological replicates per hybrid. Three months after inoculation, the samples were monitored for symptoms appearance and subjected to real-time PCR pathogen quantification. We observed a weak (r = 0.41) but significant (P < 0.001) correlation between phenotypes in the field and the greenhouse, indicating that, in our conditions, field evaluation remains the best method for phenotyping. However, artificial inoculations might help to discard the highly susceptible hybrids before field evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Azo dyes are added as coloring agents in food, beverage, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products owing to their economic viability, aesthetic appeal, and ability to maintain color integrity. Opportunistic bacteria of Gram-negative, Pseudomonas aeruginosa employ N -acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) communication to coordinate their collective behaviors, enhancing their ability to invade and subsequently establish dominance over higher host species. The regulation of pathogenic activities by quorum sensing (QS) mechanism is a crucial determinant of the virulence exhibited by P. aeruginosa. This study investigates the potential anti-QS effects of commercially available food coloring azo dyes: malachite green, methyl orange, tartrazine, and sunset yellow FCF against P. aeruginosa at determined MIC and sub-MIC concentrations. The research findings revealed that the selected azo dyes inhibited the QS mechanism of P. aeruginosa , diminishing its production like biofilm, EPS, pyocyanin, pyoverdine, rhamnolipid, protease, and elastase. The gene expressed for these activities is quantified by RT-qPCR, which demonstrated a substantial downregulation of QS genes, specifically the malachite green and methyl orange inhibited in the higher percentages. The impact of malachite green on the QS system gene expression suggests its potential importance as a QS inhibitor. Though adding synthetic dyes to foods and other products receives more impact, it proves to have potential anti-QS activity. Thus, this research paves the way for the effective consideration of the selected azo dyes for the antiquorum sensing candidates against P. aeruginosa. [Display omitted] • Investigated anti-quorum sensing (QS) effects of available food coloring azo dyes. • Malachite green, methyl orange, tartrazine, sunset yellow tested with P.aeruginosa. • Azo dyes inhibited the QS mechanism of P. aeruginosa , diminishing activity. • Quantified by RT-qPCR, demonstrated a downregulation of QS genes. • Impact of malachite green on las, rhl system, and PqsE gene expression was noticed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contemplates repression as a factor of production in Anti-Oedipus. Repression is part of the division of labour which defines the composition of the labour–capital relation, what Deleuze and Guattari conceive of as a differential relation. In interpreting Deleuze and Guattari's concepts of repression, commentaries have elaborated on the influences of Marx's theories of reification and of the state. However, the influence of Marx's theory of division of labour in capitalism has not been fully examined. This theory, which involves dispossession of intellectual potentialities and suppression of productive drives, is essential to Deleuze and Guattari's Spinozist hypothesis that the masses came to desire fascism under a particular set of historical conditions. Through a reading of Capital, guided by Balibar's reading in particular, and an analysis of schizophrenia in alignment with Foucault's, Deleuze and Guattari develop a theory of repression as immanent to production. Based in this theory, they conceive of fascism as a line of flight from the limits of capital, emerging among several counteracting factors against the tendency for the rate of profit to fall. In assessing how repression operates in Deleuze and Guattari's form of psychoanalysis, this paper references Marx's Capital and Spinoza's Ethics as well as Balibar's contribution to the 1965 book Reading Capital and Foucault's 1962 Mental Illness and Psychology. The paper concludes with remarks on the further development of this theory in Deleuze and Guattari's 1980 A Thousand Plateaus and Deleuze's 1990 'Postscript on Control Societies'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the digital transformation era, digitalization integrates deeply into production, bolstering output efficiency and economic value. Through stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), this research positions digitalization as an input in the production function, dissecting its elasticity impact on capital, labor, and output. The effect of digitalization on total factor productivity change (TFPC) is explained by comparing TFPC with and without digitalization. Findings reveal that digitalization's integration into economic growth displays a U-shaped trajectory, with initial productivity setbacks transitioning to long-term benefits as industries adapt. The periodic complementarity and substitution between digitalization and labor, along with a weak substitution relationship with capital, illustrate that, as a production factor, digitalization dynamically interacts with other factors, both complementing and substituting them. This dynamic interplay highlights the intricate role that digitalization plays within the production function. Furthermore, digitalization has played a crucial role in China's TFP growth, which also highlights the lack of other technological progress. Meanwhile, the pace of digital transformation presents scalability challenges, evident in the fluctuating scale efficiency change (SEC). Policymakers are advised to address these early stage challenges through supportive measures, ensuring smoother digital transitions. Concurrently, industries should embrace this non-linear transformation, emphasizing adaptability to maximize digitalization's long-term advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a comprehensive examination of Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis (Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis), the primary resin-extraction tree species in Yunnan Province, China. In this study, we formulated different concentration gradients of 0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, and 2% of diquat solution as tapping stimulant to test the effect of different concentrations on the resin gain rate of Pinus kesiya, and analyzed the relationship between anatomical structure, major chemical composition of turpentine and resin yield by methods such as wood anatomy and chemical composition analysis of turpentine. The primary focus of the investigation was on exploring the interrelationships among resin-tapping stimulants, anatomical structures, turpentine components, and resin yield. Research findings demonstrate a significant enhancement in resin production due to the application of stimulants, with the highest increase rate reaching 55% in a specific group, while others achieved approximately 30% increments. Moreover, measurement data about resin duct dimensions indicate a noteworthy increase in resin duct area for the stimulant-treated group compared to the control group. However, it should be noted that the impact on resin duct area by varying stimulant concentrations was relatively minor. Furthermore, continuous observation of resin extraction from different resin-yield classes of P. kesiya revealed insignificant variation in resin yield over time for the low and moderate resin-yield groups. In contrast, the high resin-yield group exhibited a gradual increase in resin production. Interestingly, the high resin-yield group exhibited the smallest resin duct area, but the highest resin duct density, indicating an interconnectedness of resin duct-related data that influences resin yield. Additionally, correlative investigations between anatomical structures and resin yield demonstrate a positive correlation between resin duct area and resin yield, total resin production, and average resin yield. This underscores the importance of resin duct area as a significant factor in resin production. On the other hand, the influence of stimulant concentrations on the turpentine components was found to be negligible. Overall, the correlation results suggest that turpentine components cannot reliably predict or differentiate between high and low resin-yield trees. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the interrelationships among stimulants, anatomical structures, and turpentine components, offering a theoretical foundation for the resin extraction and resin processing industries in Yunnan Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extended diamond model of green building was constructed to clarify the key elements of green building industry development and the core effectiveness of government. On this basis, a two-dimensional analysis framework of green building with policy tools and life cycle was further developed, and 62 policy texts were coded and analyzed by using Nvivo12 software. It is found that the existing policy tools have limited impact on demand conditions, production factors, enterprise strategies and supporting industries. According to the results, this paper provides the following advice: expand the use of policies in the operation and maintenance phase, increase incentives on the demand side, improve the supply capacity and quality of production factors, pay attention to talent training and enterprise capacity building, improve the overall process precision control system, increase financial incentives for enterprises, implement technological innovation support, and improve the policy system of the whole industry chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental ergonomics and individual characteristics factors play an important role in the productivity of workers. Environmental ergonomics must be designed to achieve ergonomic working conditions and production targets. A cloth mask manufacturer is one of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that faces environmental ergonomics problems concerning achieving the production target. Therefore, this study's objective was to analyze the effect of the workplace environment and individual characteristic factors on cloth mask production output. Data were collected from 8 workers in a cloth mask production station. Furthermore, the correlation between these two factors to cloth mask production output was analyzed by multiple regression analysis. The research hypothesis stated cloth mask production output could be influenced by 6 predictors including lighting intensity and temperature for the workplace environment and age, height, weight, and work experience for individual characteristics. The result showed that lighting intensity, temperature, and age have a significant relationship partially to cloth mask production output. Meanwhile, a combination of all predictors predicted 41 percent of the cloth mask production output variation simultaneously while 59% by other causes. These results confirmed that workplace environment and individual characteristics factors influence the production output in SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reasonable allocation of grain production factors is of vital importance to food security and agricultural development. To assess the impact of agricultural factor misallocation on food security, this paper, based on the panel data from China spanning from 2005 to 2019, conducted a comprehensive evaluation of agricultural factor misallocation and food security coefficients across 31 provinces in China, using a spatial Durbin model to examine the effects of factor misallocations on food security. The findings are as follows: (1) Production factor misallocation has significant negative impacts on food security, among them, capital misallocation and labor misallocation inhibiting food security in the local and neighboring areas, and land misallocation has a significant negative impact on food security in local areas, while its spatial spillover effect is no longer significant. (2) Mechanism analysis shows that capital misallocation and labor misallocation hinder the development of transportation infrastructure and the transfer of rural labor, thereby reducing food security. Land misallocation has accelerated the construction of transportation infrastructure, promoted the migration of rural labor, and helped ensure food security. (3) The regional heterogeneity test reveals that capital misallocation and labor misallocation hinder food security in major grain-producing areas and both sides of the Hu Huanyong Line (Hu Line). Meanwhile, land misallocation hinders food security development in various grain-producing areas, as well as the southeast of the Hu Line. Based on the above conclusions, this paper proposes suggestions to improve the efficiency of land and labor resource allocation, accelerate the construction of transportation infrastructure, and encourage the transfer speed of surplus agricultural labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since companies are inclined to implement lean production, researchers have proposed a number of fundamental success factors to facilitate the implementation of this production approach. This study analyzes the critical success factors (CSFs) in lean production extracted from 14 review studies. The interpretive structural modeling approach is utilized to analyze the impact of these critical success factors on one another. The aim is to enhance insights into lean production and facilitate informed decision-making. In this article, a seven-tiered model is presented. According to the conceptual model of success factors in lean production, leadership is positioned at the base of the model and serves as the origin for other factors. It should be regarded as the foremost critical success factor in lean production. When establishing lean production systems, organizations and senior managers should focus on higher levels and critical success factors that underlie the model. Subsequently, nonfuzzy and fuzzy driving and dependence power analyses were conducted that the fuzzy matrix cross-reference multiplication applied to a classification (MICMAC) analysis provides deeper insights into the analysis of driving and dependence power. The fuzzy matrix cross-reference multiplication applied to a classification analysis helped identify some key factors that are highly effective for successfully implementing lean manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine a productive efficiency index that incorporates two new production factors of sustainability—an environmental variable as an undesirable output and a well-being indicator as a desirable output—for 12 years of data from 2007 to 2018 pertaining to 47 prefectures in Japan. This study proposes a combination of a new data envelopment analysis (DEA) intermediate approach with the DEA super-efficiency model to measure the integrated productive efficiency. The approach incorporates CO2 emissions and a well-being indicator into the conventional productivity index. A three-stage analysis is conducted by sequentially adding new factors, CO2 emissions, and a well-being indicator. We also conduct a club convergence analysis of the productive efficiency and observe how clubs are formed, what their characteristics are, and how the efficiency changes over time. Through these approaches, we examine the practicality of the new efficiency measure and discuss regional policy implications. We found that higher labor productivity and carbon productivity in major industries caused increased productive efficiency. Adding sustainability factors to the conventional production factors in efficiency measurement widened the efficiency gap among prefectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In Bangladesh, buffalo dairy farming is gaining traction for its cost-effectiveness and the nutritional benefits of buffalo milk. This study aims to examine how environmental factors like age, number of past calvings, season of calving, intervals between calvings, and dry periods influence milk yield and lactation patterns. Through monitoring 384 buffaloes from seven populations across different ecological zones, significant impacts of various factors on milk production and reproduction were observed. Findings indicate that such environmental considerations are crucial for enhancing buffalo dairy farming, suggesting that a focus on these aspects could substantially benefit genetic improvement programs. Household buffalo dairy farming is gaining popularity nowadays in Bangladesh because of the outstanding food value of buffalo milk as well as the lower production cost of buffalo compared to cattle. An initiative has recently been taken for the genetic improvement of indigenous dairy buffaloes. The present study was carried out to determine the influence of some environmental factors like age, parity, season of calving, calving interval, dry period on the lactation yield, and lactation curve of indigenous dairy buffaloes of Bangladesh. A total of 384 indigenous dairy buffaloes from the 3rd and 4th parity of seven herds under two different agroecological zones covering four seasons were selected and ear tagged for individual buffalo milk recording. A milk yield of 300 days (MY300d) was calculated following the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) and the data were evaluated using the generalized linear model (GLM). In production traits, the mean of calculated lactation period (CLP), calculated lactation yield (CLY), and milk yield of 300 days (MY300d) of the overall population were 267.28 days, 749.36 kg, and 766.92 kg, respectively, whereas calving interval (CI) and dry period (DP) as reproductive traits were 453.06 days and 185.78 days, respectively. The season of calving, age of buffalo cows, population or herd, agroecological zone, calving interval, and dry period had significant effects on production traits (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). The season of calving, level of milk production of 300 days, population, and agroecological zone significantly affected the reproduction traits (p < 0.01 to p < 0.001). Parity was found to be non-significant for both types of traits. The average peak yield of test day (TD) milk production was highest at TD4 (4.47 kg, 98th day of lactation). The average MY300d of milk production was the highest in the Lalpur buffalo population (1076.13 kg) and the lowest in the buffalo population of Bhola (592.44 kg). The correlations between milk production traits (CLP, CLY, and MY-300d) and reproduction traits (CI and DP) were highly significant (p < 0.01 to p < 0.001). Positive and high correlation was found within milk traits and reproduction traits, but correlation was negative between milk traits and reproduction traits. Therefore, these non-genetic factors should be considered in the future for any genetic improvement program for indigenous dairy buffaloes in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) plays a crucial role in metabolism and brain function. Glucosamine (GLN) has been recognized for its diverse beneficial effects. This study aimed to elucidate the modulation of FGF21 production by GLN and its impact on learning and memory functions. Using both in vivo and in vitro models, we investigated the effects of GLN on mice fed with a normal diet or high-fat diet and on mouse HT22 hippocampal cells, STHdhQ7/Q7 striatal cells, and rat primary cortical neurons challenged with GLN. Our results indicated that GLN promotes learning and memory functions in mice and upregulates FGF21 expression in the hippocampus, cortex, and striatum, as well as in HT22 cells, STHdhQ7/Q7 cells, and cortical neurons. In animals receiving GLN together with an FGF21 receptor FGFR1 inhibitor (PD173074), the GLN-enhanced learning and memory functions and induction of FGF21 production in the hippocampus were significantly attenuated. While exploring the underlying molecular mechanisms, the potential involvement of NF-κB, Akt, p38, JNK, PKA, and PPARα in HT22 and NF-κB, Akt, p38, and PPARα in STHdhQ7/Q7 were noted; GLN was able to mediate the activation of p65, Akt, p38, and CREB in HT22 and p65, Akt, and p38 in STHdhQ7/Q7 cells. Our accumulated findings suggest that GLN may increase learning and memory functions by inducing FGF21 production in the brain. This induction appears to be mediated, at least in part, through GLN's activation of the NF-κB, Akt, p38, and PKA/CREB pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monocarpic plants have a single reproductive phase in their life. Therefore, flower and fruit production are restricted to the length of this period. This reproductive strategy involves the regulation of flowering cessation by a coordinated arrest of the growth of the inflorescence meristems, optimizing resource allocation to ensure seed filling. Flowering cessation appears to be a regulated phenomenon in all monocarpic plants. Early studies in several species identified seed production as a major factor triggering inflorescence proliferative arrest. Recently, genetic factors controlling inflorescence arrest, in parallel to the putative signals elicited by seed production, have started to be uncovered in Arabidopsis, with the MADS-box gene FRUITFULL (FUL) playing a central role in the process. However, whether the genetic network regulating arrest is also at play in other species is completely unknown. Here, we show that this role of FUL is not restricted to Arabidopsis but is conserved in another monocarpic species with a different inflorescence structure, field pea, strongly suggesting that the network controlling the end of flowering is common to other plants. Moreover, field trials with lines carrying mutations in pea FUL genes show that they could be used to boost crop yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was evaluate the influence of the limiting factors of production: effective depth, slope, erosion, texture, drainage and salinity on the availability of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn in Vertisols planted with sugarcane from the Region of Cuba. A total of 262 soil samples were obtained by stratified random sampling. The available forms of microelements were determined with the diethylenetriaminepentacetic acid solution by the atomic absorption method. To explain the relationship between both sets of variables was used the Canonical Correlation Analysis. The results showed a strong correlation between the limiting factors drainage, salinity, slope, effective depth and texture and the availability of Co, Ni and Zn. It recommended appropriate agronomic practices that improve physical fertility and that favor the displacement towards the available forms of the microelements in Vertisols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As urbanization enters its mid- to late-stage and the household registration system is steadily liberalized, inter-city mobility is replacing urban-rural mobility as the mainstream of population migration, and the environment is playing an increasingly important role in the cross-city migration decisions of the population. Understanding the positive feedback mechanism between environmental governance, population mobility, and more far-reaching economic impact is important for strengthening confidence in the resonance between environmental governance and high-quality development and activating the dynamics of Chinese modernization. This article constructed a quantitative spatial model (QSM) incorporating labor migration to structurally estimate the changes in urban labor productivity and its influencing factors from 2008 to 2020, and assessed the economic impact of haze management based on the calibrated quantitative model with realistic data from 285 local cities in China. The results showed that: 1 Haze control could improve both urban labor productivity and residents' welfare, and the policy overlay effect of household registration reform could further strengthen this positive effect, and haze control would boost labor productivity by 7.75% on average under the scenario of sufficient labor mobility. 2 There were multiple heterogeneities in the effect of haze control on urban labor productivity, with megacities and cities with severe haze pollution having a greater average labor productivity increase from haze control. 3 A counterfactual simulation of a series of actions under the 'dual carbon' goals found that the government's mandatory environmental targets improved urban labor productivity while urging cities to improve air quality, and that the 'dual carbon' goals were more effective in regional coordination than in key regions. These goals were more effective than the 'plus' policy imposed on the key regions. Therefore, in the future, we need to focus on the joint efforts of household registration system reform and environmental governance and further 'unbundle' population mobility to build a unified national market, so as to effectively release the structural dividends of labor mobility across regions, establish common governance goals to implement multifaceted collaborative haze control, and activate labor and various production factors based on a more livable urban environment to further promote urban economic potential. To further promote the high-quality development of the urban economy, we have set up a common governance goal to implement multi-faceted cooperative haze control and activate the potential of the labor force and various production factors based on a more livable urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare iшnstitutions with a high culture of patient safety are characterized by the appropriate level of mutual trust of employees, a general understanding of the importance of patient safety issues, the presence of an effective system of preventive measures to ensure the safety of both medical personnel and the patient, which has been implemented. Moreover, maintaining a high safety culture requires an understanding of certain norms of behavior and attitude towards the patient from the stand point of ensuring his maximum safety, which contributes to compliance with treatment standards and the development of safe behavior. The aim of the study was to create and scientifically substantiate an algorithm for analytical assessment of the level of safety culture in modern healthcare institutions. The research was conducted on the basis of the Dental Medical Center of Bogomolets National Medical University. Hygienic and medical-sociological methods and methods of expert assessment and statistical analysis were used in the work. Expert assessment maps of the leading components of safety culture served as the material of the conducted research. The organizational and target structure of the scientific work provided for the determination of the structural features of the leading components of safety culture and the development of a scoring scale for their assessment, the implementation of an expert evaluation of the specified components and the establishment of the degree of consistency of the opinions of experts, the calculation of the weighting coefficients of the influence of various components on the formation of a certain level of safety culture and the justification of objective statistical approaches to assessing the level of safety culture. In the course of the conducted research, a high degree of consistency of experts’ opinions was revealed and the values of weighting coefficients were calculated, which made it possible to develop generalized formulas for determining the values of indicators of the level of safety culture provision in modern healthcare institutions from the standpoint of assessing the degree of influence on the level of safety culture of the leading characteristics of dangerous actions of a person (doctor, specialist, etc.) (Component No. 1), identifying the degree of influence on the level of safety culture of both strengths and weaknesses in creating a safe medical environment (Component No. 2) and establishing the degree of influence on the level of safety culture of dangerous production factors inherent for medical environment (Component No. 3). It is substantiated that the process of creating an algorithm for analytical assessment of the level of safety culture in modern healthcare institutions should involve the implementation of the following stages: establishing the degree of expression of the leading indicators that are components of each of its main components, using special scales (1ststage), determining the values indicators of ensuring the level of patient safety culture for each of the components using the appropriate generalized formulas (2ndstage), evaluation and meaningful interpretation of the values of indicators of the level of safety culture based on quantitative criteria (3rdstage), determination of collective, group or personalized, according to the content, strategies application of preventive measures aimed at increasing the level of safety culture in each specific case (4thstage). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Milk is an important source of protein for many Indian households. However, milk intake is very low. Hence, it is necessary to examine production-consumption linkages of milk within the paradigm of accessibility, availability, and affordability. Objectives: This study examined linkages between milk consumption and production, accounting for sales and factors associated with production investments in rural Bihar, a major milk-producing state of India with very poor nutritional status. Methods: A panel of households from the Gaya and Nalanda districts of Bihar were surveyed: the first round in July and August 2019 (n = 2026 households) and the second round from December 2019 to January 2020 (n = 2001 households). Data were collected on household consumption, production, and sale of milk, as well as other foods. The study examines the consumption-production linkage of milk and the association of dietary diversity with consumption from own production, with households as the unit of analysis. Ordinary least square regression analysis of average monthly household milk consumption was used to identify factors associated with milk consumption, particularly milk production. Results: The median (Quartile 1, Quartile 3) per capita milk consumption per day was 83.3 (41.6, 166.6) mL in the milk-consuming households. Average monthly household milk consumption in liters was higher in milk-producing households [β: 7.1; 95% confidence interval (CI): 6.1, 8.1] than households relying on market purchases. Household milk consumption was higher in the third tertile of milk production than the first tertile of production (β: 14.3 L/wk; 95% CI: 12.1, 17.2) and lower in the highest tertile of household sale quantity (β: -8.8 L/wk in tertile 3, 95% CI: -12.7, -5) than the first tertile of household sale quantity of milk. Conclusions: The study provides evidence that consumption of milk in rural households is associated with own production such that households with higher production consume more. However, sale preferences restrict the quantity of milk consumed in milk-producing households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study consists in the optimization of some technological links of major importance for the sunflower culture to develop some technological recommendations, which allow obtaining high and efficient productions. The research was carried out over a period of 3 years, on a cambic chernozem. The methods refer to the effect of some technological factors on sunflower production and some of its morphological components in the pedoclimatic conditions of the outskirts of Timișoara, Romania. The effects of some technological factors on production were studied and analysed, obtaining useful information to optimize the technology of some hybrids in soil and climate conditions like those in Timișoara. Results showed that the 59,524 g.g./ha variant (N50P50K50, scarification+ploughing) produced the most - 2,612 kg/ha in 2022 and 3,417 kg/ha in 2020. Also, the N50P50K50 variant at 24 cm per row ranked in the best 5 variants, recording productions of 2,507-3,145 kg/ha. The analysis of the economic efficiency of the production in different technological variants allows an adequate management of the costs to maximize the profit in accordance with market requirements. The researches related to this study fall under the concerns of obtaining useful information that will allow the achievement of superior, high-quality, and sustainable productions under the conditions of current climate changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic farming is developing as a sustainable alternative to intensive, conventional farming practice based on increasing yields, by maximizing the use of production factors to continuously increase agricultural production. Organic farming is, now, appreciated because it eliminates chemicals and produces health food with a positive impact on the environment. Sustainable development requires a healthy life due to responsible food production and consumption. These goals can be achieved in a food system where producers contribute through moral behaviours and where consumers are informed. All these aspects are gaining increasing importance at European and global level in the context of sustainable development. Considering these aspects, we carried out this research with reference to the interest of the inhabitants of the Western Romania for ecological products. The analysis of the data, obtained from the field application of a questionnaire and their interpretation, shows that, in Romania, although the area cultivated in the organic system is still small, there is an increased interest in the organic farming system both on the part of farmers and on the part of consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Ciencias Sociales (13159518) is the property of Revista de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad del Zulia Venezuela and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Compared to neighboring Romance languages, Galician currently maintains a more ubiquitous usage of the construction [haber (present) + (de) + infinitive] as a future marker in variation with the periphrastic construction with ir 'go' and the morphological future. We examine this under-studied construction to gain a better understanding of Galician grammar and also contribute new data with which to consider diachronic change regarding the grammaticalization of the future from obligation markers. We conduct a variationist analysis of 1589 tokens of future forms in recorded conversations (CORILGA) in order to determine the frequency of usage, patterns of variation, linguistic conditioning and degree of grammaticalization of the periphrastic forms with haber and ir in contrast to the morphological variant. We find evidence to suggest that the periphrastic construction with haber is highly grammaticalized as a future marker and we identify factors of the production context that modulate the grammaticalization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of coffee in West Java has experienced a very rapid increase in production. Coffee is a commodity that has economic value and is a superior commodity that helps the economy and GDP in West Java. Therefore, this research has the purpose of determine the effect factors of production on the output and measuring technical efficiency in the coffee processing industry in West Java. The type of data used is secondary data related to the coffee processing industry for the period 2011 to 2020. The research method used is the Stochastic Frontier Analysis approach using the Cobb-Douglas production function. The results of the study indicate that the coffee processing industry in West Java during the period from 2011 to 2020 is not technically efficient with a coefficient of 0.76. The variable of capital has a significant negative effect on the output produced by producers in the coffee processing industry, while the variable of labor and raw materials has a significant positive impact on the output produced by producers in the coffee processing industry in West Java. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine the efficiency and productivity of the production factors in the case of public transport in Sfax – the second most important agglomeration in Tunisia–. The analysis of factor productivity enabled identifying the shortcomings in the supply of this service and advocating certain strategies to boost supply. We use an estimation of the trans-logarithmic costs function with different restrictions while relying on the foundations of the microeconomic theory. We relied on annual statistical data from the Regional Transport Company in Sfax over the period preceding the COVID 19 crisis spanning from 1985 to 2018. The estimation results showed the presence of scale diseconomies, the gain in productivity over the years is too slow. The technical progress of public transport in Sfax is very low and the technical efficiency is also very limited. The results revealed that there is a decline in productivity growth due to a growing inefficiency throughout the study period. The underutilization of production capacities in the transport sector was judged as a consequence of excess of capacity and lack of efficiency attributed mainly to the lack of competition. The study identified some external factors that have an impact on the measured efficiency but are outside the company control. Public authorities should act on these factors to help companies improve their performance. A deregulation of the public transport sector by redefining the most important objectives has become urgent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cecal microbial community plays an important role in chicken growth and development via effective feed conversion and essential metabolite production. The aim of this study was to define the microbial community's variants in chickens' ceca and to explore the most significant association between the microbiome compositions and poultry farming productivity. The meta-analysis included original data from 8 control broiler chicken groups fed with a standard basic diet and 32 experimental groups supplemented with various feed additives. Standard Illumina 16S-RNA gene sequencing technology was used to characterize the chicken cecal microbiome. Zootechnical data sets integrated with the European Production Effectiveness Factor (EPEF) were collected. Analysis of the bacterial taxa abundance and co-occurrence in chicken cecal microbiomes revealed two alternative patterns: Bacteroidota-dominated with decreased alpha biodiversity; and Bacillota-enriched, which included the Actinomycetota, Cyanobacteriota and Thermodesulfobacteriota phyla members, with increased biodiversity indices. Bacillota-enriched microbiome groups showed elevated total feed intake (especially due to the starter feed intake) and final body weight, and high EPEF values, while Bacteroidota-dominated microbiomes were negatively associated with poultry farming productivity. The meta-analysis results lay the basis for the development of chicken growth-promoting feed supplementations, aimed at the stimulation of beneficial and inhibition of harmful bacterial patterns, where relevant metagenomic data can be a tool for their control and selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the contribution of industrial robots to labor productivity growth and cross-country economic convergence in a sample of 19 developed and 16 emerging countries over the period 1999 to 2019. To answer our research questions, we extend the non-parametric production frontier framework by considering industrial robots as a separate production factor. We find a positive contribution of robotization to labor productivity growth for all countries in our sample. In the period after the financial crisis (2009 to 2019) the contribution of robot capital deepening to productivity growth gained in importance. Over the period 1999 to 2019 we find some evidence of i) unconditional β-convergence (countries with lower initial productivity levels grow faster), ii) a reduction in the dispersion of productivity levels across economies (σ-convergence) and iii) a depolarization (shift from bimodal to unimodal distribution) of the labor productivity distribution in our sample. Accumulation of 'traditional' physical capital is the main driver of β-convergence. Robot capital deepening significantly contributed to economic convergence and the depolarization of the labor productivity distribution, but its effect on the entire shift of the labor productivity distribution is modest and dominated by other drivers of productivity growth such as 'traditional' physical capital deepening and technological change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the primary cause for chronic pain and disability in elderly individuals, osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the fastest-growing diseases due to the aging world population. To date, the impact of microenvironmental changes on the pathogenesis of OA remains poorly understood, greatly hindering the development of effective therapeutic approaches against OA. In this study, we profiled the differential metabolites in the synovial fluid from OA patients and identified the downregulation of vitamin B1 (VB1) as a metabolic feature in the OA microenvironment. In a murine destabilization of medial meniscus-induced OA model, supplementation of VB1 significantly mitigated the symptoms of OA. Cytokine array analysis revealed that VB1 treatment remarkably reduced the production of a pro-OA factor--C-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 2 (CCL2), in macrophages. Further evidence demonstrated that exogenous CCL2 counteracted the anti-OA function of VB1. Hence, our study unveils a unique biological function of VB1 and provides promising clues for the diet-based treatment of OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vogt‒Koyanagi‒Harada (VKH) disease is a severe autoimmune disease. Herein, whole‐exome sequencing (WES) study are performed on 2,573 controls and 229 VKH patients with follow‐up next‐generation sequencing (NGS) in a collection of 2,380 controls and 2,278 VKH patients. A rare c.188T>C (p Val63Ala) variant in the olfactory receptor 11H1 (OR11H1) gene is found to be significantly associated with VKH disease (rs71235604, Pcombined = 7.83 × 10−30, odds ratio = 3.12). Functional study showes that OR11H1‐A63 significantly increased inflammatory factors production and exacerbated barrier function damage. Further studies using RNA‐sequencing find that OR11H1‐A63 markedly increased growth arrest and DNA‐damage‐inducible gamma (GADD45G) expression. Moreover, OR11H1‐A63 activates the MAPK and NF‐κB pathways, and accelerates inflammatory cascades. In addition, inhibiting GADD45G alleviates inflammatory factor secretion, likely due to the regulatory effect of GADD45G on the MAPK and NF‐κB pathways. Collectively, this study suggests that the OR11H1‐A63 missense mutation may increase susceptibility to VKH disease in a GADD45G‐dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider an investor, whose capital is divided into an industrial investment x t and cash y t , and satisfy a nonlinear deterministic dynamical system. The investor fixes fractions of capital to be invested, withdrawn, and consumed, and also the production factor parameter. The government fixes a subsidy fraction for industrial investments and a tax fraction for the capital outflow. We study a Stackelberg game, corresponding to the asymptotically stable equilibrium (x ∗ , y ∗) of the mentioned dynamical system. In this game, the government (the leader) uses subsidies to make incentives for the investor (the follower) to maintain the desired level of x ∗ , and uses taxes to achieve this with the minimal cost. The investor's aim is to maximize the difference between the consumption and the price of the production factor at equilibrium. We present an explicit analytical solution of the specified Stackelberg game. Based on this solution, we introduce the notion of a fair industrial investment level, which is costless for the government, and show that it can produce realistic results using a case study of water production in Lahore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate the contribution of trade openness to the structural change process in ECOWAS countries. Our findings suggest that the production structural change process is significantly and positively affected by the extent of trade openness. Higher openness levels are associated with more production reshuffling between sectors. However, this impact is found to be nonlinear. After a threshold of 147.64% of trade openness, the effect reverses. Considering the labor structural change, results suggest that more openness tends to trigger the reshuffle of labor toward less productive sectors. This effect reverses after the openness reached a level of 152.42%. Moreover, exports contract, whereas imports trigger the reshuffling of domestic production factors. So, focusing on industrial-friendly import policies should be a priority for ECOWAS Countries. For labor, exports as well as imports trigger the reshuffling of labor towards less productive sectors. These findings emphasize the importance of external effects in the structural change process in ECOWAS countries. Our analysis suggests that given the basic structure of export products, as long as their increases would fail to develop manufacturing sectors, their ability to shift labor towards more productive sectors would be limited. Also, as imports promote the retail sector, which is less productive, this limits their effect to trigger a desirable labor structural change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most anti-cancer modalities are designed to directly kill cancer cells deploying mechanisms of action (MOAs) centered on the presence of a precise target on cancer cells. The efficacy of these approaches is limited because the rapidly evolving genetics of neoplasia swiftly circumvents the MOA generating therapy-resistant cancer cell clones. Other modalities engage endogenous anti-cancer mechanisms by activating the multi-cellular network (MCN) surrounding neoplastic cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). These modalities hold a better chance of success because they activate numerous types of immune effector cells that deploy distinct cytotoxic MOAs. This in turn decreases the chance of developing treatment-resistance. Engagement of the MCN can be attained through activation of immune effector cells that in turn kill cancer cells or when direct cancer killing is complemented by the production of proinflammatory factors that secondarily recruit and activate immune effector cells. For instance, adoptive cell therapy (ACT) supplements cancer cell killing with the release of homeostatic and pro-inflammatory cytokines by the immune cells and damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) by dying cancer cells. The latter phenomenon, referred to as immunogenic cell death (ICD), results in an exponential escalation of anti-cancer MOAs at the tumor site. Other approaches can also induce exponential cancer killing by engaging the MCN of the TME through the release of DAMPs and additional pro-inflammatory factors by dying cancer cells. In this commentary, we will review the basic principles that support emerging paradigms likely to significantly improve the efficacy of anti-cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]