Role of industry 4.0 technologies and human-machine interaction for de-carbonization of food supply chains

A decarbonized food supply chain ensures that we have access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food with a reduced carbon footprint. It not only helps in reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also enhances food security by making the supply chain more resilient to climate-related disruptions, ensuring stable food production for a growing global population. Further, there is an increasing consumer demand for sustainably produced food, and meeting this demand is crucial for maintaining relevance and competitiveness in the global market. Without a well-functioning decarbonized supply chain, it would be much harder for farmers, processors, distributors, and retailers to promote food security and improve public health. Decarbonization in the food supply chain is a complex process that requires a multifaceted approach, with the entire supply chain from farm to fork being examined. Technological advances such as Industry 4.0, with a human-centric solution, could be an answer. By combining the power of Industry 4.0 with decarbonization efforts, the creation of a more sustainable and efficient food supply chain can be promised. Hence, this study utilizes a mixed-method approach to examine the Indian food supply chain, and analyses the factors that motivate stakeholders to implement decarbonized technologies. It uses opinions from industry as well as from academic experts for employing integrated Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Interpretive structural modelling (ISM). AHP revealed that “International community pressure” is the most critical factor. Further, ISM is used to explain the interrelationships among the identified factors, providing a hierarchical model. These key findings can assist policymakers to develop and refine regulations. Further, it can also help stakeholders to make an informed decision while allocating resources towards new technologies.</p

Can Industry 4.0-enabled smart manufacturing help firms in emerging economies move toward carbon-neutrality?

The manufacturing industry plays a pivotal role in the economic growth of all countries. Most manufacturing firms consume large amounts of energy and fail to adopt sustainable practices. However, Industry 4.0 is expected to help firms move toward carbon neutrality. Hence, this study focuses on 10 manufacturing firms in India and the opinions of industry experts to analyze the factors that motivate organizations to implement carbon neutrality. First, the driving factors of the shift toward carbon neutrality were investigated and ranked using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. Fuzzy interpretive structural modeling was then used to explain the interrelationships among the identified factors, providing a seven-level hierarchy model with 14 factors. Focusing on “Sustainable Business Value”, “Environmental Legitimacy” and “Government Policies” can help managers to develop strategies that are both socially responsible and profitable. These key findings have significant strategic implications for industry and policymakers.</p

Correlation of Sonographic Morphologic Index and CA-125 in predicting the Nature of Ovarian Tumor

Introduction: Ovarian tumor is a group of diseases that originates in the ovaries or in the related areas of the fallopian tubes and the peritoneum. Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of the Sonographic Morphology Index (MI) and CA-125 levels in predicting malignancy in patients with ovarian tumors. Methods: This study was conducted between April 2016 and April 2017 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Radiology of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. During this period, 106 women with ovarian tumors fulfilling inclusion criteria were taken into the study. CA-125 levels measured and MI scoring was done. The diagnosis made with MI score and CA-125 score were then compared with histopathology report. Results: Among the 106 studied cases (N=106), 88 (83.01%) had benign and 18 (16.98%) had malignant ovarian tumors. Negative Predictive Value (NPV) and sensitivity of CA-125 for ovarian tumor was 94.10% and 77.77 % respectively with accuracy of 73.58%. Sensitivity and NPV of MI score was 100% with accuracy of 84.9% in predicting nature of ovarian tumors. Pearsons correlation coefficient was 0.216 which showed a positive correlation between MI and CA-125 in predicting the nature of ovarian tumors. Conclusion: The Sonographic MI system is an accurate and simple method to differentiate a malignant tumor from a benign ovarian tumor. The accuracy of the Sonographic MI system improved when the serum CA-125 level was also considered along. Keywords: CA-125, Ovarian tumors, Sonographic Morphology Index DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/jkahs.v2i3.26643

Protein signatures linking history of miscarriages and metabolic syndrome: a proteomic study among North Indian women

Background Metabolic syndrome (MeS), a constellation of metabolic adversities, and history of miscarriage make women at a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, molecular evidence indicating a link between the two phenotypes (history of miscarriage and MeS) among women would offer an opportunity to predict the risk factor for CVDs at an early stage. Thus, the present retrospective study attempts to identify the proteins signatures (if any) to understand the connection between the history of miscarriage and MeS. Methods Age-matched 80 pre-menopausal women who were not on any medical intervention or drugs were recruited from a Mendelian population of the same gene pool. Recruited women were classified into four groups—(a) Group A—absolute cases with history of miscarriage and MeS, (b) Group B—absolute controls without any history of miscarriage and MeS, (c) Group C—cases with MeS but lack any history of miscarriage, (d) Group D—cases with history of miscarriage but lack MeS. Differentially expressed proteins in plasma samples of women from four groups were identified using 2-D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Results Three case groups (A, C, and D) showed 18 differentially expressed proteins. Nearly 60% of proteins (11/18) were commonly dysregulated in Group C (only with MeS) and Group D (only with miscarriage history). Nearly 40% of proteins (7/18) were commonly dysregulated in the three case groups (Groups A, C, and D), indicating a shared pathophysiology. Four proteins were exclusive but shared by case groups C and D indicating the independent routes for CVDs through MeS or miscarriages. In absolute cases, transthyretin (TTR) showed exclusive upregulation, which was further validated by Western blotting and ELISA. Networking analyses showed the strong association of TTR with haptoglobin, transferrin and ApoA1 hinting toward a cross-talk among these proteins which could be a cause or an effect of TTR upregulation. Conclusion The study provides evidence for molecular link between the history of miscarriage and MeS through a putative role of TTR. However, longitudinal follow-up studies with larger sample size would further help to demonstrate the significance of TTR and other targeted proteins in risk stratification and the onset of CVDs

The PTAP sequence duplication in HIV-1 subtype C Gag p6 in drug-naive subjects of India and South Africa

Abstract Background HIV-1 subtype C demonstrates several biological properties distinct from other viral subtypes. One such variation is the duplication of PTAP motif in p6 Gag. PTAP motif is a key player in viral budding. Here, we studied the prevalence of PTAP motif duplication in subtype C viral strains in a longitudinal study. Methods In a prospective follow-up study, 65 HIV-1 seropositive drug-naive subjects were monitored in two different clinical cohorts of India for 2 years with repeated sampling at 6-month intervals. The viral RNA was extracted from plasma, the gag segment was amplified and sequenced. From a subset of viral isolates the sequences of pol, env and LTR were sequenced. Using HIV-1 gag amino acid sequences available from public databases and additional sequences derived from the Indian and South-African cohorts, we examined the nature of PTAP motif duplication in subtype C. Results In 16% (8 of 50) of the primary viral strains of India, we identified a sequence duplication of the PTAP motif in Gag p6. The length of the sequence duplication varied from 6 to 14 amino acids in the viral isolates but remained fixed within a subject over a period of 24–36 month follow-up. In the duplicated motif, the core PTAP motif was invariable, but the flanking residues were highly variable. In an acute phase clinical cohort of South Africa, in a subset of 75 subjects, we found the presence of the PTAP duplication at a frequency of 29.3%. An analysis of the gag sequences from the extant databases showed that unlike other subtypes of HIV-1, subtype C has a natural propensity to generate the PTAP motif duplication at a significantly higher frequency and of greater length. Additionally, the global prevalence of PTAP duplication in subtype C appears to be increasing progressively over the past 30 years. Conclusion We showed that in subtype C, the duplication of the PTAP motif in p6 Gag involves sequence stretches of greater length, and at a much higher frequency as compared to other HIV-1 subtypes. Given that subtype C naturally lacks the Alix binding motif, the acquisition of an additional PTAP motif may confer replication advantage on this HIV-1 subtype. Further investigation is warranted to examine the significance of PTAP motif duplication on the replicative fitness of HIV-1

Theatrical epistemologies: Post-critical autoethnography, education, and young women in detention

This research maps a six-year journey of my experience as an English teacher for young women in detention. In the detention classroom, I experienced a wide gap between the institutional demands of detention, rehabilitation, and education on the one hand and the educational experiences of students on the other. The study employs post-feminist and poststructural reading practices to examine historical discourses constitutive of detention and its impact on the education of young women in detention. Using post-critical autoethnography, I present my understanding of the life-stories of young women in detention to attend to my troubling awareness that students’ life-stories are neither acknowledged, nor are they condoned in detention, rehabilitation, and education. Students’ lived experiences trouble my own life-stories on multiple levels. Students’ autobiographical writing complicates simplistic understandings of young women in detention as a naturalized, gendered, and universal category. The research suggests an epistemological shift in the way young women in detention are understood; a shift that calls into question all forms of centeredness, essentialism, and universality that engender exclusion. A shift such as this does not claim any epistemological or ontological primacy; rather, it offers space for rethinking the life-stories of young women in detention differently, therefore, re-envisioning education in detention

Fractured Epistemologies: Autoethnographic Telling, Voices, and Counter-Voices of Youth Excluded from Public Education

The study intervenes in this critical moment of unprecedented incarceration of youth and participates in their struggle to reclaim education and create possibilities for personal, political, and curriculum transformation. The intersection of race, class, gender and other markers of difference combined with the educational discourse of high-stakes testing, academic success/failure, and school-to-college expectations that prime institutional pathologizing of certain groups of youth is postured as problematic. Standing exposed is the exclusion of youth in the prison system from the conversation that is public education. Difference as the point of transformative possibilities through student voice and embodied performance unmasks dominant educational knowledge and practices in curriculum conversations and reconceptualizes youth behind bars as agents of change to reclaim their own education. This study repositions contemporary debates in curriculum inquiry, institutional policy and school practice by opening up and giving voice to a neglected, silenced, and misrepresented population – youth behind bars

Resistance, Creativity, and Innovation in the 21st Century: Transforming Curriculum for Educational Equity

Resistance, Creativity, and Innovation in the 21st Century: Transforming Curriculum for Educational Equity According to policy research, building upon 21st century skills of creativity and innovation in navigating the complexity of an ever changing world will keep the US on the cutting edge of global competition. Using autobiographical theory of curriculum, this article looks at the literary works of girls behind bars and how they resist convention, think outside the box, and envision innovative curricula for educational equity. Participants in the study are girls behind bars aged 15-19 years, and data consists of their autobiographical poems. Findings indicate girls behind bars respond creatively with new ideas and skills to address social and academic marginalization that demand rethinking of how we as educators, curriculum developers, and policy makers understand, organize and implement school and curriculum knowledge and practices