Analysis of the Impact of Urbanization and Enhanced Incomes on Demand for Food Quality in Hanoi

This study relates the demand for quality foods in Hanoi in terms of its nutritional composition, diversity, price, processing stage, source, and extent eaten outside home with urbanization and enhanced incomes. The vast differences in these foods quality parameters across different socioeconomic groups and regions in and around Hanoi city suggest the changing nature of the food quality with increased income and urbanization. One lesson learned from this analysis is that urbanization and increased income may not necessarily bring all positive changes in food quality. While the diet becomes more balanced in terms of micronutrient, the increased demand for fat-based calories, processed and restaurant foods, and drift away from fresh sources of farm and home-garden foods raised alarm for food quality and safety. These trends provide a space for government policies to intervene for the purpose of maintaining hygiene standards of food and public health.Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Effect of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in different basal media on shoot multiplication of Aquilaria hirta and detection of essential oils in the in vitro shoots

Aquilaria hirta, locally known as ‘chandan’ or ‘chandan bulu’, is used interchangeably with Aquilaria malaccensis (karas) to produce gaharu. With the decline in the A. malaccensis populations, harvesting of this precious wood has begun to extend to A. hirta. There is also an increasing interest to plant karas trees and related species. Therefore, a rapid propagation method is necessary to meet the increasing demand for planting materials as well as for conservation purposes. In this paper, we reported on the effect of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in different basal media, Murashige and Skoog (MS) (1962) and woody plant medium (WPM) on shoot multiplications of A. hirta using nodal segments from young seedlings of A. hirta as explants and the chemical analyses of essential oils present in the in vitro shoots. The MS medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/l BAP was the most effective for multiple shoot formation in A. hirta, producing an average of 6.1 shoots per culture, which is significantly higher than other treatments. New shoots produced attained a length of 0.4 to 1.8 cm within 25 days in both MS and WPM basal media. The highest length of new shoots was obtained in WPM containing 0.1 mg/l BAP. Analysis of the oils by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) revealed the presence of β-caryophyllene in trace amounts. Other compounds detected were tetradecanal, hexadecanoic acid, methyl linoleate, linoleic acid, isophytol and phytol acetate.Key words: Aquilaria hirta, Chandan, shoot multiplication

A probabilistic forecast methodology for volatile electricity prices in the Australian National Electricity Market

The South Australia region of the Australian National Electricity Market (NEM) displays some of the highest levels of price volatility observed in modern electricity markets. This paper outlines an approach to probabilistic forecasting under these extreme conditions, including spike filtration and several post-processing steps. We propose using quantile regression as an ensemble tool for probabilistic forecasting, with our combined forecasts achieving superior results compared to all constituent models. Within our ensemble framework, we demonstrate that averaging models with varying training length periods leads to a more adaptive model and increased prediction accuracy. The applicability of the final model is evaluated by comparing our median forecasts with the point forecasts available from the Australian NEM operator, with our model outperforming these NEM forecasts by a significant margin.Comment: This manuscript has been accepted for publication in International Journal of Forecastin

Oxygen reduction reaction activity in non-precious single-atom (M–N/C ) catalysts-contribution of metal and carbon/nitrogen framework-based sites.

We examine the performance of a number of single-atom M-N/C electrocatalysts with a common structure in order to deconvolute the activity of the framework N/C support from the metal M-N4 sites in M-N/Cs. The formation of the N/C framework with coordinating nitrogen sites is performed using zinc as a templating agent. After the formation of the electrically conducting carbon-nitrogen metal-coordinating network, we (trans)metalate with different metals producing a range of different catalysts (Fe-N/C, Co-N/C, Ni-N/C, Sn-N/C, Sb-N/C, and Bi-N/C) without the formation of any metal particles. In these materials, the structure of the carbon/nitrogen framework remains unchanged-only the coordinated metal is substituted. We assess the performance of the subsequent catalysts in acid, near-neutral, and alkaline environments toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and ascribe and quantify the performance to a combination of metal site activity and activity of the carbon/nitrogen framework. The ORR activity of the carbon/nitrogen framework is about 1000-fold higher in alkaline than it is in acid, suggesting a change in mechanism. At 0.80 VRHE, only Fe and Co contribute ORR activity significantly beyond that provided by the carbon/nitrogen framework at all pH values studied. In acid and near-neutral pH values (pH 0.3 and 5.2, respectively), Fe shows a 30-fold improvement and Co shows a 5-fold improvement, whereas in alkaline pH (pH 13), both Fe and Co show a 7-fold improvement beyond the baseline framework activity. The site density of the single metal atom sites is estimated using the nitrite adsorption and stripping method. This method allows us to deconvolute the framework sites and metal-based active sites. The framework site density of catalysts is estimated as 7.8 × 1018 sites g-1. The metal M-N4 site densities in Fe-N/C and Co-N/C are 9.4 × 1018 sites-1 and 4.8 × 1018 sites g-1, respectively

K\u3csub\u3eCa\u3c/sub\u3e2 and K\u3csub\u3eCa\u3c/sub\u3e3.1 Channels in the Airways: A New Therapeutic Target

K+ channels are involved in many critical functions in lung physiology. Recently, the family of Ca2+-activated K+ channels (KCa) has received more attention, and a massive amount of effort has been devoted to developing selective medications targeting these channels. Within the family of KCa channels, three small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (KCa2) channel subtypes, together with the intermediate-conductance KCa3.1 channel, are voltage-independent K+ channels, and they mediate Ca2+-induced membrane hyperpolarization. Many KCa2 channel members are involved in crucial roles in physiological and pathological systems throughout the body. In this article, different subtypes of KCa2 and KCa3.1 channels and their functions in respiratory diseases are discussed. Additionally, the pharmacology of the KCa2 and KCa3.1 channels and the link between these channels and respiratory ciliary regulations will be explained in more detail. In the future, specific modulators for small or intermediate Ca2+-activated K+ channels may offer a unique therapeutic opportunity to treat muco-obstructive lung diseases

CP asymmetries in penguin-induced B decays in general left-right models

We study CP asymmetries in penguin-induced b -> s\bar{s}s decays in general left-right models without imposing manifest or pseudomanifest left-right symmetry. Using the effective Hamiltonian approach, we evaluate CP asymmetries in B^\pm -> \phi K^{(\ast)\pm} decays as well as mixing induced B meson decays B -> J/\psi K_s and B -> \phi K_s decays. Based on recent measurements revealing large CP violation, we show that nonmanifest type model is more favored than manifest or pseudomanifest type.Comment: 16 pages, 12 eps figure

An extremely rare case of concurrent BRAF V600E mutation driven hairy cell leukemia and melanoma: case report and review of literature

BRAF protein is a serine/threonine kinase with 766 amino acids. Approximately 15% of human cancers harbor BRAF mutations as well as other BRAF anomalies (amplifications, fusions). Somatic mutations mainly occur in the catalytic kinase domain (CR3), and the predominant mutation is p.V600E which is the substitution of glutamic acid (E) for valine (V) as result of a mutation at codon 600 of the kinase domain. To our knowledge, the vast majority of the cancers have non-germline BRAF mutations. Here we describe a case of a 60-year-old female with a history of hairy cell leukemia (HCL) who presented with aphasia and forgetfulness. A follow-up Brain CT scan showed three distinct brain lesions which were found to be diagnostic of melanoma (confirmed by immunohistochemistry) with no evidence of a concurrent brain involvement by a B-cell neoplasm. Molecular studies confirmed the same BRAF p.V600E mutation in both malignancies (hairy cell leukemia and melanoma). Thereafter the patient was started on BRAF inhibitor treatment and is now symptom-free after one year of follow up. Having two concurrent malignancies with a shared BRAF mutation is extremely rare and makes this an excellent example of a genomic marker-driven treatment in two histologically and immunophenotypically distinct tumor

Single-nucleus RNA-seq identifies divergent populations of FSHD2 myotube nuclei.

FSHD is characterized by the misexpression of DUX4 in skeletal muscle. Although DUX4 upregulation is thought to be the pathogenic cause of FSHD, DUX4 is lowly expressed in patient samples, and analysis of the consequences of DUX4 expression has largely relied on artificial overexpression. To better understand the native expression profile of DUX4 and its targets, we performed bulk RNA-seq on a 6-day differentiation time-course in primary FSHD2 patient myoblasts. We identify a set of 54 genes upregulated in FSHD2 cells, termed FSHD-induced genes. Using single-cell and single-nucleus RNA-seq on myoblasts and differentiated myotubes, respectively, we captured, for the first time, DUX4 expressed at the single-nucleus level in a native state. We identified two populations of FSHD myotube nuclei based on low or high enrichment of DUX4 and FSHD-induced genes ("FSHD-Lo" and "FSHD Hi", respectively). FSHD-Hi myotube nuclei coexpress multiple DUX4 target genes including DUXA, LEUTX and ZSCAN4, and also upregulate cell cycle-related genes with significant enrichment of E2F target genes and p53 signaling activation. We found more FSHD-Hi nuclei than DUX4-positive nuclei, and confirmed with in situ RNA/protein detection that DUX4 transcribed in only one or two nuclei is sufficient for DUX4 protein to activate target genes across multiple nuclei within the same myotube. DUXA (the DUX4 paralog) is more widely expressed than DUX4, and depletion of DUXA suppressed the expression of LEUTX and ZSCAN4 in late, but not early, differentiation. The results suggest that the DUXA can take over the role of DUX4 to maintain target gene expression. These results provide a possible explanation as to why it is easier to detect DUX4 target genes than DUX4 itself in patient cells and raise the possibility of a self-sustaining network of gene dysregulation triggered by the limited DUX4 expression

Fatigue crack growth behavior under multiaxial variable amplitude loading

This study compares both uniaxial and multiaxial variable amplitude experimental crack growth data for naturally initiated fatigue cracks in tubular specimens of 2024-T3 aluminum alloy to predictions based on two state-of-the-art analysis codes: UniGrow and FASTRAN. For variable amplitude fatigue tests performed under pure axial nominal loading conditions, both UniGrow and FASTRAN analyses were found to produce mostly conservative growth life predictions, despite good agreement with constant amplitude crack growth data. For variable amplitude torsion and combined axial-torsion crack growth analyses, however, the conservatism in growth life predictions was found to reduce. This was attributed to multiaxial nominal stress state effects, such as T-stress and mixed-mode crack growth, which are not accounted for in either UniGrow or FASTRAN, but were found in constant amplitude fatigue tests to increase experimental crack growth rates. Since cracks in this study were initiated naturally, different initial crack geometry assumptions were also investigated in the analyse

Modelling Irrational Behaviour of Residential End Users using Non-Stationary Gaussian Processes

Demand response (DR) plays a critical role in ensuring efficient electricity consumption and optimal usage of network assets. Yet, existing DR models often overlook a crucial element, the irrational behaviour of electricity end users. In this work, we propose a price-responsive model that incorporates key aspects of end-user irrationality, specifically loss aversion, time inconsistency, and bounded rationality. To this end, we first develop a framework that uses Multiple Seasonal-Trend decomposition using Loess (MSTL) and non-stationary Gaussian processes to model the randomness in the electricity consumption by residential consumers. The impact of this model is then evaluated through a community battery storage (CBS) business model. Additionally, we propose a chance-constrained optimisation model for CBS operation that deals with the unpredictability of the end-user irrationality. Our simulations using real-world data show that the proposed DR model provides a more realistic estimate of price-responsive behaviour considering irrationality. Compared to a deterministic model that cannot fully take into account the irrational behaviour of end users, the chance-constrained CBS operation model yields an additional 19% revenue. In addition, the business model reduces the electricity costs of end users with a rooftop solar system by 11%.Comment: This manuscript has been submitted to IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid for possible publicatio