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Polyamine metabolism is a determinant of T helper cell polarization. Here, Mahalingam et al analyse the metabolic and transcriptomic profile of oral mucosa from people living with HIV to demonstrate the effect of polyamine synthesis on T cell dysfunction during HIV-1 infection.

This paper proposes the existence and uniqueness of a solution for a coupled system that has fractional differential equations through Erdélyi-Kober and Riemann-Liouville fractional integral boundary conditions. The existence of the solution for the coupled system by adopting the Leray-Schauder alternative. The uniqueness of solution for the problem can be found using Banach fixed point theorem. In order to verify the proposed criterion, some numerical examples are also discussed.

Anti-retroviral treatment does not fully resolve mucosal dysfunction and systemic inflammation in HIV infected individuals. Authors show here that an unusual population of regulatory T cells, distinguished by Amphiregulin expression and the incapability to suppress CD4 T cells might contribute to disrupted oral immune protection in HIV patients.

Welding process is found to be a predominant procedure in most of the processing industries, especially in the automobile sector for maintenance operation and fabrication. Ultrasonic Polymer Welding (USW) is used for the joining process because of its flexibility and short needed welding time. In this article, two different polymer materials PC and ABS are blended in the ratio of 60:40 and molded into a sheet. Furthermore, molded PC/ABS sheets are joined using USW with different processing parameter settings. Three major influencing process parameters like pressure (P), amplitude (A) and weld time (Tw) are considered and other processing parameters are kept at constant. The experiment is carried out for 26 welded samples and from the obtained results it is noticed that the above-mentioned process parameters directly influence the tensile strength of welded joints. Additionally, the ultrasonically welded samples tensile strength is analyzed with the help of Artificial Neural Network technique (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System method (ANFIS). From the simulation results, an optimized ANFIS model provides the superior result as compared to ANN. Moreover, Scanning Electron Microscope analysis is carried out to visualize the weld interface between the joint. Also, Finite Element Modeling (ANSYS) is performed to understand the heat dissipation during the welding process.

RNase R (encoded by the rnr gene) is a highly processive 3' → 5' exoribonuclease essential for the growth of the psychrotrophic bacterium P. syringae Lz4W at low temperature. The cell death of a rnr deletion mutant at low temperature has been previously attributed to the processing defects in 16S rRNA, defective ribosomal assembly and inefficient protein synthesis. We recently showed that RNase R is required to protect P. syringae Lz4W from DNA damage and oxidative stress, independent of its exoribonuclease activity. Here, we show that the processing defect in 16S rRNA does not cause cell death of the rnr mutant of P. syringae at low temperature. Our results demonstrate that the rnr mutant of P. syringae Lz4W, complemented with a RNase R deficient in exoribonuclease function (RNase RD284A) is defective in 16S rRNA processing but can grow at 4 oC. This suggested that the processing defect in ribosomal RNAs is not a cause of the cold sensitivity of the rnr mutant. We further show that the rnr mutant accumulates copies of the indigenous plasmid of P. syringae Lz4W, pLz4W, that bears a type II toxin-antitoxin system (psA-psT). This phenotype was rescued by over-expressing antitoxin psA in the rnr mutant, suggesting that activation of the type II toxin-antitoxin system leads to cold sensitivity of the rnr mutant of P. syringae Lz4W. Here, we report a previously unknown functional relationship between the cold sensitivity of the rnr mutant and a type II toxin-antitoxin system in P. syringae Lz4W.

Household expenditure data is at the core of efforts to measure living standards, inequality and financial protection against illness. Currently it is mainly derived from recall-based surveys that are time consuming and prone to measurement errors. Diaries are often used as an alternative approach, however this results in fatigue and low compliance. Smartphone- based diaries could overcome many of these challenges, but it is yet unknown how this approach could be used and its relationship with data from the household surveys. This study evaluated a smartphone-based diary application for collecting daily household expenditures and compared data with that of household surveys. Results show that smartphone-based diary applications could be used to optimize or complement the information from conventional survey-based indicators.

Bacterial exoribonucleases play a crucial role in RNA maturation, degradation, quality control, and turnover. In this study, we have uncovered a previously unknown role of 3-5 exoribonuclease RNase R of Pseudomonas syringae Lz4W in DNA damage and oxidative stress response. Here, we show that neither the exoribonuclease function of RNase R nor its association with the RNA degradosome complex is essential for this function. Interestingly, in P. syringae Lz4W, hydrolytic RNase R exhibits physiological roles similar to phosphorolytic 3-5 exoribonuclease PNPase of E. coli. Our data suggest that during the course of evolution, mesophilic E. coli and psychrotrophic P. syringae have apparently swapped these exoribonucleases to adapt to their respective environmental growth conditions.

Light propagation in photoreceptor outer segments is affected by photopigment absorption and the phototransduction amplification cascade. Photopigment absorption has been studied using retinal densitometry, while recently, optoretinography (ORG) has provided an avenue to probe changes in outer segment optical path length due to phototransduction. With adaptive optics (AO), both densitometry and ORG have been used for cone spectral classification based on the differential bleaching signatures of the three cone types. Here, we characterize cone classification by ORG, implemented in an AO line-scan optical coherence tomography (OCT), and compare it against densitometry. The cone mosaics of five color normal subjects were classified using ORG showing high probability (∼0.99), low error (

The increased awareness of the impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and consumption of fossil fuels on the environment has led to world-wide research focused on sustainable transportation solutions. University campuses are one of the affected environments involved in this issue as a high dependency on private vehicles causes' traffic congestion in the campus area particularly during peak hours leading to concerns about parking especially for the established universities. Therefore, alternative transport solutions should be considered in minimizing the environmental consequences specifically within the campus area. This study aims to examine the extent of sustainable transportation practices implemented by a university campus in a developing country, Malaysia and Indonesia. A survey methodology was applied using self-administered questionnaires as the main technique of data collection. Both, UiTM Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia and Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia are selected as the sample study and the target observations are focused on the transportation pathway which includes transportation modes, passengers, terminal and parking space. The study is expected to enrich the existing sustainable model of Stakeholder Theory to deliver a more robust competency model to provide solutions in creating sustainable transportation in university campuses. Subsequently, the outcome would support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2030), Mid-term Review of the Eleventh Malaysia Plan [2016-2020], Indonesia's long-term development plan to phase IV period 2020-2025 through better adoption of low- carbon supply chain practices in order to reduce GHG emission. This is in line with Malaysia and Indonesia's commitment in being a key part of the global transition to a low-carbon, and eventually carbon- neutral society by 2050.

Rice bean is an underutilized legume crop cultivated in Asia, and it is a good source of protein, minerals, and essential fatty acids for human consumption. Moreover, the leaves left over after harvesting rice bean seeds contain various biological constituents beneficial to humans and animals. In our study, we performed a de-novo transcriptome assembly of rice bean, characterized the WRKY transcription factors, and studied their response to aluminum stress. A total of 46.6 million clean reads, with a GC value of 43%, were generated via transcriptome sequencing. De novo assembly of the clean reads resulted in 90,933 transcripts and 74,926 unigenes, with minimum and maximum lengths of 301 bp and 24,052 bp, and N50 values of 1801 bp and 1710 bp, respectively. A total of 27,095 and 28,378 unigenes were annotated and subjected to GO and KEGG analyses. Among the unigenes, 15,593, 20,770, and 15,385 unigenes were identified in the domains of biological process, molecular function, and cellular component, respectively. A total of 16,132 unigenes were assigned to 188 pathways, including metabolic pathways (5500) and secondary metabolite biosynthesis (2858). Transcription factor analysis revealed 4860 unigenes from 98 different transcription factor families. For WRKY, a total of 95 unigenes were identified. Further analysis revealed the diverse response of WRKY transcription factors to aluminum stress. Collectively, the results of this study boost genomic resources and provide a baseline for further research on the role of WRKY transcription factors in aluminum tolerance in rice bean.

The objective of this research was to examine the influence of decision support system (DSS) success on the operational sustainability of the service industry in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the study investigated the moderating effect of supply chain resilience on this relationship. Data were collected via a self-administered survey from 320 employees in the Saudi Arabian service sector, utilizing a convenience sampling technique. The research adopted a cross-sectional design and a deductive quantitative approach. Data were analysed using SPSS and SmartPLS-4. The regression analysis revealed that both operational information systems and operational system quality have a positive and significant impact on net benefits, mediated by product quality and decision support satisfaction. Operational service quality demonstrated a significant positive impact on net benefits through the mediation of product quality but had an insignificant impact when mediated by decision support satisfaction. Furthermore, product quality exhibited a positive and significant impact on decision support satisfaction. Net benefits were also found to have a positive and significant impact on operational sustainability. Supply chain resilience was identified as a significant moderator between net benefits and operational sustainability. This study, through its mediated-moderated model, contributes to the existing body of literature and opens new avenues for future research. It also provides practical insights for service industry practitioners aiming to enhance sustainability in Saudi Arabia and beyond.