A PSO based transportation network design optimization of the mega city Dhaka

Transportation network is a key issue for urban areas and is require to update to fulfill the growing demand modifying existing road(s) and/or constructing new road(s) considering various constraints. In general, transportation network design problem (TNDP) concerns optimal selection of several projects from various alternative proposed projects (with estimated costs) maintaining associated constraints to ensure benefit versus cost. Various approaches have been investigated to solve TNDP in last several decades. Recently, particle swarm optimization (PSO) based method is shown to outperform other methods. However, the most of the existing methods, including PSO, tested on the small scale TNDP. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the effectiveness of the PSO based method for a mega city heaving large number nodes and arcs. The mega city considered in this study is Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The experiment has been conducted on the roughly estimated data for exiting network as well as proposed projects. Experimental results for revealed that the method able to select projects for optimal (or near optimal) utilization of a given budget amount. The selected projects are seem to be effective to increase traffic flow while observe on the schematic diagram of the road network

Antidiabetic Effects of Momordica charantia (Karela) in Male long Evans Rat

The hypoglycemic effect of Momordica charantia (Karela) has been reported from many laboratories. To our knowledge, the underlying biochemical mechanism of action of this important clinical effect has not been reported. During the course of investigation of this aspect of the herbal fruit, it was reported from our laboratory that ethanolic extract of Momordica charantia suppressed gluconeogenesis in normal and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats by depressing the hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and glucose-6-phosphatase. The herbal extract had also enhanced the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme of hexose monophosphate shunt (a pathway for the oxidation of glucose)

Non-escaping frost tolerant QTL linked genetic loci at reproductive stage in six wheat DH populations

Reproductive stage frost poses a major constraint for wheat production in countries such as Australia. However, little progress has been made in identifying key genes to overcome the constraint. In the present study, a severe frost event hit two large-scale field trials consisting of six doubled haploid (DH) wheat populations at reproductive stage (young microspore stage) in Western Australia, leading to the identification of 30 robust frost QTL on 17 chromosomes. The major 18 QTL with the phenotype variation over 9.5% were located on 13 chromosomes including 2A, 2B, 2D, 3A, 4A, 4B, 4D, 5A, 5D, 6D, 7A, 7B and 7D. Most frost QTL were closely linked to the QTL of anthesis, maturity, Zadok stages as well as linked to anthesis related genes. Out of those, six QTL were repetitively detected on the homologous regions on 2B, 4B, 4D, 5A, 5D, 7A in more than two populations. Results showed that the frost damage is associated with alleles of Vrn-A1a, Vrn-D1a, Rht-B1b, Rht-D1b, and the high copy number of Ppd-B1. However, anthesis QTL and anthesis related genes of Vrn-B1a and TaFT3-1B on chromosomes 5B and 1B did not lead to frost damage, indicating that these early-flowering phenotype related genes are compatible with frost tolerance and thus can be utilised in breeding. Our results also indicate that wild-type alleles Rht-B1a and Rht-D1a can be used when breeding for frost-tolerant varieties without delaying flowering time

A Rigidity-Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity: A Case for Linear Cationic α-Helical Peptide HP(2–20) and Its Four Analogues

Linear cationic α-helical antimicrobial peptides are referred to as one of the most likely substitutes for common antibiotics, due to their relatively simple structures (≤40 residues) and various antimicrobial activities against a wide range of pathogens. Of those, HP(2–20) was isolated from Helicobacter pylori ribosomal protein. To reveal a mechanical determinant that may mediate the antimicrobial activities, we examined the mechanical properties and structural stabilities of HP(2–20) and its four analogues of same chain length by steered molecular dynamics simulation. The results indicated the following: the resistance of H-bonds to the tensile extension mediated the early extensive stage; with the loss of H-bonds, the tensile force was dispensed to prompt the conformational phase transition; and Young's moduli (N/m2) of the peptides were about 4∼8×109. These mechanical features were sensitive to the variation of the residue compositions. Furthermore, we found that the antimicrobial activity is rigidity-enhanced, that is, a harder peptide has stronger antimicrobial activity. It suggests that the molecular spring constant may be used to seek a new structure-activity relationship for different α-helical peptide groups. This exciting result was reasonably explained by a possible mechanical mechanism that regulates both the membrane pore formation and the peptide insertion

TonEBP/NFAT5 haploinsufficiency attenuates hippocampal inflammation in high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice

Recent studies have shown that overexpression of tonicity-responsive enhancer binding protein (TonEBP) is associated with many inflammatory diseases, including diabetes mellitus, which causes neuroinflammation in the hippocampus as well as hepatic steatosis. However, the exact mechanism in diabetic neuroinflammation is unknown. We report that haploinsufficiency of TonEBP inhibits hepatic and hippocampal high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) expression in diabetic mice. Here, mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 16 weeks and received an intraperitoneal injection of 100 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) and followed by continued HFD feeding for an additional 4 weeks to induce hyperglycemia and hepatic steatosis. Compared with wild-type diabetic mice, diabetic TonEBP(+/-) mice showed decreased body weight, fat mass, hepatic steatosis, and macrophage infiltration. We also found that adipogenesis and HMGB1 expression in the liver and hippocampus were lower in diabetic TonEBP(+/-) mice compared with the wild type. Furthermore, iba-1 immunoreactivity in the hippocampus was decreased in diabetic TonEBP(+/-) mice compared with that in the wild type. Our findings suggest that TonEBP haploinsufficiency suppresses diabetes-associated hepatic steatosis and neuroinflammation

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Mechanical properties, microstructure and crystallographic texture of magnesium AZ91-D alloy welded by Friction Stir Welding (FSW)

The objective of the study was to characterize the properties of a magnesium alloy welded by friction stir welding (FSW). The results led to a better understanding of the relationship between this process and the microstructure and anisotropic properties of alloy materials. Welding principally leads to a large reduction in grain size in welded zones due to the phenomenon of dynamic recrystallization. The most remarkable observation was that crystallographic textures appeared from a base metal without texture in two zones: the thermo-mechanically affected and stir welded zones. The latter zone has the peculiarity of possessing a marked texture with two components on the basal plane and the pyramidal plane. These characteristics disappeared in the TMAZ, which had only one component following the basal plane. These modifications have been explained by the nature of the plastic deformation in these zones, which occurs at a moderate temperature in the TMAZ and high temperature in the SWZ