Performance Improvement of Smart Grid Communications Using Multi-homing and Multi-streaming SCTP

With the obvious evolution and acceleration of smart grid, it is crucial for its success to rely on a solid transmission protocol among its peripherals due to its real time streaming. TCP is the well known traditional transport protocol used for a reliable transmission, and is a major player for smart grid. However, it lacks a fault tolerance transmission method that overcomes potential failures which may mitigate smart grid progress and in its turn decrease its reliability. We propose that smart grid operators utilize SCTP as the principle transport protocol for their smart grid communications, by using the two very significant characteristics offered by SCTP multi-homing and multi-streaming respectively. Thus, we argue that they can override two major obstacles caused by TCP Head of Line Blocking (HLB) and the inability of handling automatically two or more paths to a final destination. Although SCTP resembles TCP in many aspects, SCTP can definitely play a dominant role in many current and future applications due to its key features that do not exist in TCP. We have used ns2.34 simulator as the tool whom we relied on to investigate whether or not smart grid may benefit over TCP by the two SCTP features, and have analyzed the output of simulated results by using other analytical tools. As we obtain results, we argue that smart grid operators should rely on SCTP as a feasible transmission protocol instead of TCP

miR‑496, miR‑1185, miR‑654, miR‑3183 and miR‑495 are downregulated in colorectal cancer cells and have putative roles in the mTOR pathway

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by suppressing the target mRNA and inhibiting translation in order to regulate multiple biological processes. miRNAs play important roles as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in the development of various types of human cancer. The regulation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) by miRNAs has been studied in several types of cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, to the best of our knowledge, only limited information regarding the function of miRNAs in human CRC is available. In the present study, the expression of 22 miRNAs in CRC cell lines were investigated in regard to key genes in the mTOR pathway. Initially, it was revealed that mTOR, regulatory-associated protein of mTOR complex I and rapamycin-intensive companion of mTOR were overexpressed in CRC cell lines when compared with a normal colorectal cell line. Subsequently, putative miRNA-mRNA associations were identified via multiple miRNA target prediction programs. The expression levels for the candidate miRNAs were validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Expression analysis revealed that, among 20 miRNAs, five miRNAs (miR‑496, miR‑1185, miR‑654, miR‑3183 and miR‑495) exhibited significant downregulation in association with the mTOR signaling pathway. Taken together, the results from the present study suggest that several miRNAs that are associated with CRC, with possible roles in mTOR signaling, may have potential therapeutic or diagnostic benefits in CRC treatment

Dual mTOR/PI3K inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 arrests colorectal cancer cell growth and displays differential inhibition of 4E-BP1

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a downstream effector of the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway, is a critical regulator of cell metabolism, growth and survival in response to oncogenic factors. Activation of mTOR frequently occurs in human tumours making it acrucial and validated target in the treatment of cancer. mTOR inhibitors such as rapamycin and its analogues decrease cancer progression in experimental modelsincludingcolorectalcancer(CRC).Recently,thesecond generation ATP-competitive mTOR kinase (such as PP242) and dual mTOR/PI3K (such as NVP-BEZ235) inhibitors have entered clinical trials as anticancer agents. However, in CRC, the efficacy of these novel drugs needs to be fully investigated. In the present study, we examined five human CRC cell lines, HT29, HCT116, SW480, SW620 and CSC480 to evaluate their sensitivity to three mTOR inhibitors, RAD001, PP242 and NVP-BEZ235. We observed that compared to RAD001 and PP242, NVP-BEZ235 markedly reduced cell proliferation of CRC cells. Furthermore, we found that the reduced cell proliferation caused by NVP-BEZ235 was not achieved through the disruption of mitochondrial potential. Using an mTOR-specific signalling pathway phospho array we revealed that NVP-BEZ235 significantly decreased phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 (Thr70), the downstream target of mTORC1. In addition, NVP-BEZ235 decreased phosphorylation of AKT (Ser473), the downstream target of mTORC2. Immunoblotting analysis revealed that NVP-BEZ235 effectively inhibited 4E-BP1 phosphorylation, while PP242 had a weak inhibitory effect. However, PP242 and NVP-BEZ235 decreased AKT levels in all cell lines. RAD001 demonstrated no effect on 4E-BP1. Based on the above-mentioned results, the dual PI3K/mTOR and ATP-competitive mTOR inhibitors have demonstrated high potential for targeting the mTOR pathway in CRC

LK2022 at Qur’an QA 2022: Simple Transformers Model for Finding Answers to Questions from Qur’an

Question answering is a specialized area in the field of NLP that aims to extract the answer to a user question from a given text. Most studies in this area focus on the English language, while other languages, such as Arabic, are still in their early stage. Recently, research tend to develop question answering systems for Arabic Islamic texts, which may impose challenges due to Classical Arabic. In this paper, we use Simple Transformers Question Answering model with three Arabic pre-trained language models (AraBERT, CAMeL-BERT, ArabicBERT) for Qur’an Question Answering task using Qur’anic Reading Comprehension Dataset. The model is set to return five answers ranking from the best to worst based on their probability scores according to the task details. Our experiments with development set shows that AraBERT V0.2 model outperformed the other Arabic pre-trainer models. Therefore, AraBERT V0.2 was chosen for the the test set and it performed fair results with 0.45 pRR score, 0.16 EM score and 0.42 F1 score

Assessing stemness and proliferation properties of the newly established colon cancer ‘stem’ cell line, CSC480 and novel approaches to identify dormant cancer cells

To date two questions that remain unanswered regarding cancer are the following: i) how is it initiated, and ii) what is the role that cancer stem cells (CSCs) play in the disease process? Understanding the biology of CSCs and how they are generated is pivotal for the development of successful treatment regimens. To date, the lack of a representative cell model has prevented the successful identification and eradication of CSCs in vivo. The current methods of CSC identification are dependent on the protocol used to generate these cells, which has introduced variation and made the identification process more complicated. Furthermore, the list of possible markers is increasing in complexity. This is further confounded by the fact that there is insufficient information to determine whether the cells these markers detect are truly self-renewing stem cells or, instead, progenitor cells. In the present study, we investigated a novel cell line model, CSC480, which can be employed to assess CSC markers and for testing novel therapeutic regimens. CSC480 cells have been revealed to express markers of CSCs such as CD44, ALDH1 and Sox2, that have lower expression in the SW480 cell line. CSC480 cells also expressed higher levels of the cancer resistance marker, ABCG2 and had higher proliferative and growth capacity than SW480 cells. In the present study, we also evaluated a novel approach to identify different cell types present in heterogeneous cancer cell populations according to their proliferative ability using the proliferation marker 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU). Furthermore, using EdU, we identified dormant cells with a modified label-retaining cell (LRC) protocol. Through this novel LRC method, we assessed newly discovered markers of stemness to ascertain their capability to identify quiescent from dividing CSCs. In conclusion, the CSC480 cell line was an important model to be used in unravelling the underlying mechanisms that control fast-dividing and partially self-renewing stem cells (SCs) that may give rise to cancer

Catalytic Conversion of <i>Jatropha curcas</i> Oil to Biodiesel Using Mussel Shell-Derived Catalyst: Characterization, Stability, and Comparative Study

Biodiesel represents a promising solution for sustainable energy needs, offering an eco-friendly alternative to conventional fossil fuels. In this research, we investigate the use of a catalyst derived from mussel shells to facilitate biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas oil. Our findings from X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis emphasize the importance of carefully selecting calcination temperatures for mussel shell-based catalysts, with 1100 °C identified as optimal for maximizing CaO content. We identify a reaction time of 6 h as potentially optimal, with a reaction temperature of approximately 110 °C yielding the desired methyl ester composition. Notably, a methanol-to-oil ratio of 18:1 is the most favorable condition, and the optimal methyl ester composition is achieved at a calcined catalyst temperature of 900 °C. We also assess the stability of the catalyst, demonstrating its potential for reuse up to five times. Additionally, a thorough analysis of J. curcas Methyl Ester (JCME) biodiesel properties confirmed compliance with industry standards, with variations attributed to the unique characteristics of JCME. Comparing homogeneous (NaOH) and heterogeneous (CaO) catalysts highlights the potential of environmentally sourced heterogeneous catalysts to replace their homogeneous counterparts while maintaining efficiency. Our study presents a novel approach to sustainable biodiesel production, outlining optimal conditions and catalyst stability and highlighting additional benefits compared with NaOH catalysts. Therefore, utilizing mussel shell waste for catalyst synthesis can efficiently eliminate waste and produce cost-effective catalysts