Resveratrol alleviates obesity-induced skeletal muscle inflammation via decreasing M1 macrophage polarization and increasing the regulatory T cell population

Resveratrol was reported to inhibit inflammatory responses; however, the role of this polyphenol in obesity-induced skeletal muscle inflammation remains unknown. Mice fed a high fat diet (HFD) were treated with resveratrol for 16 weeks. Resveratrol treatment decreased macrophage infiltration into skeletal muscle of HFD-fed mice. Resveratrol also led to the polarization of macrophages to the M2 direction, as well as decreasing the expression of a number of M1 pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 1 β (IL-1β) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). In addition, increased infiltration of regulatory T cells (Treg cells) was found following resveratrol treatment in skeletal muscle of mice. Decreased intramyocellular lipid deposition was associated with reduced expression levels of toll-like receptors 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 in resveratrol treated mice. We also found that diminished inflammation in skeletal muscle following resveratrol treatment was accompanied by increasing phosphorylation of 5�-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and decreasing phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Taken together, these findings suggest that resveratrol ameliorates inflammation in skeletal muscle of HFD-induced model of obesity. Therefore, resveratrol might represent a potential treatment for attenuation of inflammation in skeletal muscle tissue. © 2020, The Author(s)

Energy Efficiency in Cable Shovel Operations

This chapter seeks to establish the current knowledge on energy efficiency of cable shovel operations. Additionally, the chapter uses a review of the literature to make recommendations for industrial best practices and for future research to address identified gaps in the literature. The chapter first presents the fundamentals of cable shovel operations and the factors that affect the energy efficiency of shovel operations. Subsequently, the chapter presents an overview of the latest research on cable shovel energy efficiency, which is used as the basis for the recommendations. The chapter recommends that industry practitioners should use the right drive systems for their cable shovels, use data analytics to understand shovel energy efficiency, and carefully evaluate the costs and benefits of energy efficiency initiatives. The chapter also recommends that future research on shovel energy efficiency should: (i) establish theoretical benchmarks for cable shovel operations; (ii) account for human factors in the design of operator guidance systems to assist operators during shovel operations; and (iii) evaluate how effective operator training programs are in improving shovel energy efficiency