Diabetes and Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System: Pathophysiology and Genetics

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder and characterized by hyperglycemia. Being a concern of both the developed and developing world, diabetes is a global health burden and is a major cause of mortality world-wide. The most common is the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), which is mainly caused by resistance to insulin. Long-term complications of diabetes cause microvascular related problems (eg. nephropathy, neuropathy and retinopathy) along with macrovascular complications (eg. cardiovascular diseases, ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease). Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) regulates homeostasis of body fluid that in turn, maintains blood pressure. Thus, RAAS plays pivotal role in the pathogenesis of long-term DM complications like cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney diseases. T2DM is a polygenic disease, and the roles of RAAS components in insulin signaling pathway and insulin resistance have been well documented. Hyperglycemia has been found to be associated with the increased plasma renin activity, arterial pressure and renal vascular resistance. Several studies have reported involvement of single variants within particular genes in initiation and development of T2D using different approaches. This chapter aims to investigate and discuss potential genetic polymorphisms underlying T2D identified through candidate gene studies, genetic linkage studies, genome wide association studies

Transformational leadership and radical innovation for sustainability: mediating role of knowledge management capability and moderating role of competitive intensity

Purpose- Drawing on the transformational leadership (TL) and the knowledge-based view, the present study investigates the impact of transformational leadership on radical innovation (RI) through the mediation of knowledge management capabilities (KMC) and moderation of competitive intensity (CI). Methodology- The study's authors collected data from the relevant stakeholders of the industry-university collaboration teams with a structured survey questionnaire. The authors also used a sample of 304 respondents from the textile and apparel industry to test the hypotheses using PLS. Findings- We found that TL positively impacts knowledge management capability and radical innovation. Knowledge management capability positively mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and radical innovation, and this mediation is conditional on the moderating role of competitive intensity for the KMC path to radical innovation.   Practical Implications- The study presents a valuable and pivotal insight and an innovative approach for managers and directors of firms in developing countries and emerging countries. The insight, as mentioned earlier, and the innovative approach will help managers and directors to enhance their radical innovation through transformational leadership approaches and knowledge management capabilities resources. Originality- The paper has extended the theory of transformational leadership and KBV by discussing and highlighting the critical role of transformational leadership and KMC in fostering radical innovation

Function of Serum Complement in Drinking Water Arsenic Toxicity

Serum complement function was evaluated in 125 affected subjects suffering from drinking water arsenic toxicity. Their mean duration of exposure was 7.4 ± 5.3 yrs, and the levels of arsenic in drinking water and urine samples were 216 ± 211 and 223 ± 302 μg/L, respectively. The mean bactericidal activity of complement from the arsenic patients was 92% and that in the unexposed controls was 99% (P < 0.01), but heat-inactivated serum showed slightly elevated activity than in controls. In patients, the mean complement C3 was 1.56 g/L, and C4 was 0.29 g/L compared to 1.68 g/L and 0.25 g/L, respectively, in the controls. The mean IgG in the arsenic patients was 24.3 g/L that was highly significantly elevated (P < 0.001). Arsenic patients showed a significant direct correlation between C3 and bactericidal activity (P = 0.014). Elevated levels of C4 indicated underutilization and possibly impaired activity of the classical complement pathway. We conclude reduced function of serum complement in drinking water arsenic toxicity

Advances in solid-catalytic and non-catalytic technologies for biodiesel production

The insecure supply of fossil fuel coerces the scientific society to keep a vision to boost investments in the renewable energy sector. Among the many renewable fuels currently available around the world, biodiesel offers an immediate impact in our energy. In fact, a huge interest in related research indicates a promising future for the biodiesel technology. Heterogeneous catalyzed production of biodiesel has emerged as a preferred route as it is environmentally benign needs no water washing and product separation is much easier. The number of well-defined catalyst complexes that are able to catalyze transesterification reactions efficiently has been significantly expanded in recent years. The activity of catalysts, specifically in application to solid acid/base catalyst in transesterification reaction depends on their structure, strength of basicity/acidity, surface area as well as the stability of catalyst. There are various process intensification technologies based on the use of alternate energy sources such as ultrasound and microwave. The latest advances in research and development related to biodiesel production is represented by non-catalytic supercritical method and focussed exclusively on these processes as forthcoming transesterification processes. The latest developments in this field featuring highly active catalyst complexes are outlined in this review. The knowledge of more extensive research on advances in biofuels will allow a deeper insight into the mechanism of these technologies toward meeting the critical energy challenges in future

Effect of harvesting stages and calcium chloride application on postharvest quality of tomato fruits

Tomatoes are a good source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes, which are beneficial to human health. They are one of the most commercially high-value vegetable crops that experience a huge postharvest loss after harvest. The present experiment is conducted to investigate the effect of different maturity stages (mature green, breaker, and half-ripe stage), pre- and post-harvest treatment with different concentrations (0.0%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%, w/v) of calcium chloride (CaCl2) on the postharvest performance, antioxidant and enzymatic activity of lowland tomato fruits, stored at ambient temperature (28 ± 2  °C and 75 ± 5% RH). Tomato fruit of mature green stage treated with 2% CaCl2 significantly (p = 0.05) declined the ethylene production (15.53%), weight loss (16.43%), and delayed color development by slowly synthesizes the lycopene content as well as extended the shelf life. The maximum amount of total phenolic content (TPC) was demonstrated at the highest level of CaCl2 (2%) after 20 days of storage life at ambient conditions. The concentration of CaCl2 influenced the activity of different plant defense enzymes, and the higher doses of CaCl2 (2%) accelerated the activity of peroxidase (POD) (13%), polyphenol oxidase (POP) (7.3%), and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) (8.5%) relative to that of the control samples. Therefore, the tomato producers and traders could extend the storage duration of tomato fruits by harvesting at the mature green stage and applying 2% CaCl2 in both pre-and postharvest at ambient storage conditions

Experimental Investigation of Diesel Engine Performance, Combustion and Emissions Using a Novel Series of Dioctyl Phthalate (DOP) Biofuels Derived from Microalgae

Physico-chemical properties of microalgae biodiesel depend on the microalgae species and oil extraction method. Dioctyl phthalate (DOP) is a clear, colourless and viscous liquid as a plasticizer. It is used in the processing of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin and polymers. A new potential biofuel, hydrothermally liquefied microalgae bio-oil can contain nearly 11% (by mass) of DOP. This study investigated the feasibility of using up to 20% DOP blended in 80% diesel fuel (v/v) in an existing diesel engine, and assessed the performance and exhaust emissions. Despite reasonable differences in density, viscosity, surface tension, and boiling point, blends of DOP and diesel fuel were found to be entirely miscible and no separation was observed at any stage during prolonged miscibility tests. The engine test study found a slight decrease in peak cylinder pressure, brake, and indicated mean effective pressure, indicated power, brake power, and indicated and brake thermal efficiency with DOP blended fuels, where the specific fuel consumption increased. This is due to the presence of 16.4% oxygen in neat DOP, responsible for the relatively lower heating value, compared to that of diesel. The emission tests revealed a slight increase in nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from DOP blended fuels. However, particulate matter (PM) emissions were lower from DOP blended fuels, although some inconsistency in particle number (PN) was present among different engine loads

Analyses of Genetic Variations of Glutathione S-Transferase Mu1 and Theta1 Genes in Bangladeshi Tannery Workers and Healthy Controls

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) belong to a group of multigene detoxification enzymes, which defend cells against oxidative stress. Tannery workers are at risk of oxidative damage that is usually detoxified by GSTs. This study investigated the genotypic frequencies of GST Mu1 (GSTM1) and GST Theta1 (GSTT1) in Bangladeshi tannery workers and healthy controls followed by their status of oxidative stress and total GST activity. Of the 188 individuals, 50.0% had both GSTM1 and GSTT1 (+/+), 12.2% had GSTM1 (+/−), 31.4% had GSTT1 (−/+) alleles, and 6.4% had null genotypes (−/−) with respect to both GSTM1 and GSTT1 alleles. Among 109 healthy controls, 54.1% were double positive, 9.2% had GSTM1 allele, 32.1% had GSTT1 allele, and 4.6% had null genotypes. Out of 79 tannery workers, 44.3% were +/+, 16.8% were +/−, 30.5% were −/+, and 8.4% were −/−. Though the polymorphic genotypes or allelic variants of GSTM1 and GSTT1 were distributed among the study subjects with different frequencies, the differences between the study groups were not statistically significant. GST activity did not vary significantly between the two groups and also among different genotypes while level of lipid peroxidation was significantly higher in tannery workers compared to controls irrespective of their GST genotypes

Semiempirical in-cylinder pressure based model for NOx prediction oriented to control applications

This work describes the development of a fast NO X predictive model oriented to engine control in diesel engines. The in-cylinder pressure is the only instantaneous input signal required, along with several mean variables that are available in the ECU during normal engine operation. The proposed model is based on the instantaneous evolution of the heat release rate and the adiabatic flame temperature (both obtained among other parameters from the in-cylinder pressure evolution). Corrections for considering the NO X reduction due to the re-burning mechanism are also included. Finally, the model is used for providing a model-based correction of tabulated values for the NO X emission at the reference conditions. The model exhibits a good behaviour when varying exhaust gas recirculation rate, boost pressure and intake temperature, while changes in the engine speed and injection settings are considered in the tabulated values. Concerning the calculation time, the model is optimised by proposing simplified sub-models to calculate the heat release and the adiabatic flame temperature. The final result is suitable for real time applications since it takes less than a cycle to complete the NO X prediction.Guardiola García, C.; López Sánchez, JJ.; Martín Díaz, J.; García Sarmiento, D. (2011). Semiempirical in-cylinder pressure based model for NOx prediction oriented to control applications. Applied Thermal Engineering. 31(16):3275-3286. doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2011.05.048S32753286311

Construction of copy number variation landscape and characterization of associated genes in a Bangladeshi cohort of neurodevelopmental disorders

Introduction: Copy number variations (CNVs) play a critical role in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) among children. In this study, we aim to identify clinically relevant CNVs, genes and their phenotypic characteristics in an ethnically underrepresented homogenous population of Bangladesh. Methods: We have conducted chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) for 212 NDD patients with male to female ratio of 2.2:1.0 to identify rare CNVs. To identify candidate genes within the rare CNVs, gene constraint metrics [i.e., “Critical-Exon Genes (CEGs)”] were applied to the population data. Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition (ADOS-2) was followed in a subset of 95 NDD patients to assess the severity of autism and all statistical tests were performed using the R package. Results: Of all the samples assayed, 12.26% (26/212) and 57.08% (121/212) patients carried pathogenic and variant of uncertain significance (VOUS) CNVs, respectively. While 2.83% (6/212) patients’ pathogenic CNVs were found to be located in the subtelomeric regions. Further burden test identified females are significant carriers of pathogenic CNVs compared to males (OR = 4.2; p = 0.0007). We have observed an increased number of Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) within cases with 23.85% (26/109) consanguineous parents. Our analyses on imprinting genes show, 36 LOH variants disrupting 69 unique imprinted genes and classified these variants as VOUS. ADOS-2 subset shows severe social communication deficit (p = 0.014) and overall ASD symptoms severity (p = 0.026) among the patients carrying duplication CNV compared to the CNV negative group. Candidate gene analysis identified 153 unique CEGs in pathogenic CNVs and 31 in VOUS. Of the unique genes, 18 genes were found to be in smaller (<1 MB) focal CNVs in our NDD cohort and we identified PSMC3 gene as a strong candidate gene for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Moreover, we hypothesized that KMT2B gene duplication might be associated with intellectual disability. Conclusion: Our results show the utility of CMA for precise genetic diagnosis and its integration into the diagnosis, therapy and management of NDD patients