Morphology of drawn syndiotactic polypropylene films

Morphological studies were conducted to investigate the drawability of melt-quenched (MQ) and slowly cooled (MSC) films of syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) with a high syndiotactic pentad fraction. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using the ruthenium tetraoxide staining and ultrathin sectioning method revealed that amorphous chains as the matrix of MQ film played a role in drawability of the film by their alignment to machine direction (MD) and partial crystallizations into nanofibrils. On the other hand, the initial strain induced, rotations of clusters of long lamellar crystals as the major entity of MSC film accompanying breaks of long lamellae and formation of crazes and microvoids at the cluster boundary. Compared with a homogeneous thinning of MQ film by drawing, ca. 100 nm-thick layer slips along MD and parallel to the film surface took place in MSC film. This gave rise to the formation of V-shaped bent lamellar morphology and their further break into a smaller cluster of stacked lamellae which were aligned oblique by ca. 35 from MD. With elongation, some nanofibrils formed from chains generated by the partial breaks of lamellae are aligned perpendicular to the remained oblique lamellae and others parallel to MD in region where lamellar morphology almost disappeared. No chain slips in the nanofibrils can be related to a low elongation at break, i.e. a low ductility of sPP films. The lower elongation at break for MSC film than for MQ one can be interpreted by microvoids initially formed in the neck region and later moved to the fully drawn part, the microvoids initiating the break of the drawn film

From ChatGPT-3 to GPT-4: A Significant Advancement in AI-Driven NLP Tools

Recent improvements in Natural Language Processing (NLP) have led to the creation of powerful language models like Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer (ChatGPT), Google’s BARD, Ernie which has shown to be very good at many different language tasks. But as language tasks get more complicated, having even more advanced NLP tool is essential nowadays. In this study, researchers look at how the latest versions of the GPT language model(GPT-4 & 5) can help with these advancements. The research method for this paper is based on a narrative analysis of the literature, which makes use of secondary data gathered from previously published studies including articles, websites, blogs, and visual and numerical facts etc. Findings of this study revealed that GPT-4 improves the model's training data, the speed with which it can be computed, the flawless answers that it provides with, and its overall performance. This study also shows that GPT-4 does much better than GPT-3.5 at translating languages, answering questions, and figuring out how people feel about things. The study provides a solid basis for building even more advanced NLP tools and programmes like GPT-5. The study will help the AI & LLM researchers, NLP developers and academicians in exploring more into this particular field of study. As this is the first kind of research comparing two NLP tools, therefore researchers suggested going for a quantitative research in the near future to validate the findings of this research

Exclusion of soil macrofauna did not affect soil quality but increased crop yields in a sub-humid tropical maize-based system

Soil macrofauna such as earthworms and termites are involved in key ecosystem functions and thus considered important for sustainable intensification of crop production. However, their contribution to tropical soil and crop performance, as well as relations with agricultural management (e.g. Conservation Agriculture), are not well understood. This study aimed to quantify soil macrofauna and its impact on soil aggregation, soil carbon and crop yields in a maize-soybean system under tropical sub-humid conditions. A field trial was established in Western Kenya in 2003 with tillage and residue retention as independent factors. A macrofauna exclusion experiment was superimposed in 2005 through regular insecticide applications, and measurements were taken from 2005 to 2012. Termites were the most abundant macrofauna group comprising 61% of total macrofauna numbers followed by ants (20%), while few earthworms were present (5%). Insecticide application significantly reduced termites (by 86 and 62%) and earthworms (by 100 and 88%) at 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil depth respectively. Termite diversity was low, with all species belonging to the family of Macrotermitinae which feed on wood, leaf litter and dead/dry grass. Seven years of macrofauna exclusion did not affect soil aggregation or carbon contents, which might be explained by the low residue retention and the nesting and feeding behavior of the dominant termites present. Macrofauna exclusion resulted in 34% higher maize grain yield and 22% higher soybean grain yield, indicating that pest damage – probably including termites - overruled any potentially beneficial impact of soil macrofauna. Results contrast with previous studies on the effects of termites on plant growth, which were mostly conducted in (semi-) arid regions. Future research should contribute to sustainable management strategies that reduce detrimental impact due to dominance of potential pest species while conserving soil macrofauna diversity and their beneficial functions in agroecosystems

Do UK universities communicate their brands effectively through their websites?

This paper attempts to explore the effectiveness of UK universities’ websites. The area of branding in higher education has received increasing academic investigation, but little work has researched how universities demonstrate their brand promises through their websites. The quest to differentiate through branding can be challenging in the university context, however. It is argued that those institutions that have a strong distinctive image will be in a better position to face a changing future. Employing a multistage methodology, the web pages of twenty UK universities were investigated by using a combination of content and multivariable analysis. Results indicated ‘traditional values’ such as teaching and research were often well communicated in terms of online brand but ‘emotional values’ like social responsibility and the universities’ environments were less consistently communicated, despite their increased topicality. It is therefore suggested that emotional values may offer a basis for possible future online differentiation

Suitability Mapping of Solar Energy Potential of Selected Areas in Camarines Sur using ArcGIS

Abstract— Solar energy, the most common and scalable renewable energy, has a huge potential to supply the increasing electricity demand. Hence, proper site selection for deploying solar PV systems is required. This paper presents the development of a solar suitability map to identify potential sites for solar PV systems in the selected areas in the Rinconada District of the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. ArcGIS analyzed the annual average solar radiation, weather datasets, and geographical conditions and performed suitability mapping combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to identify the weights of the nine criteria of suitable site selection. Based on these factors, twenty-seven (27) barangays were found suitable, where the central and eastern parts of Barangay Malawag in Nabua and a massive part of Barangay Causip in Bula are the most suitable locations for large-scale solar PV installation

ALPAS (ALleviating PAndemic Severity) Through Foresight: Capping the Digital Divide

Everyone has lost their footing due to the pandemic. The academic community was unprepared, leaving both professors and students bewildered and without a sense of direction. The goal at the time was to overcome the calamity of educational discontinuity. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 – Education goal aims “to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” relative to this SDG and the surge of the pandemic, digital divide become prominent, altering the course of educational landscape in all levels across public and private institutions. In the Bicol region, education was delivered in many various forms and variability, predicting the future through strategic foresight could propel the region to a transformed future. This paper discusses in detail the status of education in the region and the possible scenarios using Jim Dator’s Future Scenario Archetypes, Causal Layered Analysis and through Scenario Planning Plus. Four plausible scenarios have surfaced in this paper: STUG-nation of Education, Unstable and Disarray of Educational elements, Flowing-restrained Education, and ORAGON Education. It requires multiple drivers as examined through the PESTEL that includes political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal aspects. This study proved useful in crafting and anticipating the future scenarios of Bicol Region’s education. Preliminary as it may, this study highlighted important building blocks of future scenarios through foresight methods. Dator’s framework was proved to be very useful in developing the four scenarios, the use of other future study tools will further amplify plausible scenarios for the education of Bicol region and beyond

Role of protein kinase C and NF-κB in proteolysis-inducing factor-induced proteasome expression in C2C12 myotubes

Proteolysis-inducing factor (PIF) is a sulphated glycoprotein produced by cachexia-inducing tumours, which initiates muscle protein degradation through an increased expression of the ubiquitin–proteasome proteolytic pathway. The role of kinase C (PKC) in PIF-induced proteasome expression has been studied in murine myotubes as a surrogate model of skeletal muscle. Proteasome expression induced by PIF was attenuated by 4alpha-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (100 nM) and by the PKC inhibitors Ro31-8220 (10 muM), staurosporine (300 nM), calphostin C (300 nM) and Gö 6976 (200 muM). Proteolysis-inducing factor-induced activation of PKCalpha, with translocation from the cytosol to the membrane at the same concentration as that inducing proteasome expression, and this effect was attenuated by calphostin C. Myotubes transfected with a constitutively active PKCalpha (pCO2) showed increased expression of proteasome activity, and a longer time course, compared with their wild-type counterparts. In contrast, myotubes transfected with a dominant-negative PKCalpha (pKS1), which showed no activation of PKCalpha in response to PIF, exhibited no increase in proteasome activity at any time point. Proteolysis-inducing factor-induced proteasome expression has been suggested to involve the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), which may be activated through PKC. Proteolysis-inducing factor induced a decrease in cytosolic I-kappaBalpha and an increase in nuclear binding of NF-kappaB in pCO2, but not in pKS1, and the effect in wild-type cells was attenuated by calphostin C, confirming that it was mediated through PKC. This suggests that PKC may be involved in the phosphorylation and degradation of I-kappaBalpha, induced by PIF, necessary for the release of NF-kappaB from its inactive cytosolic complex

Interactions between dietary docosahexaenoic acid and other long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on performance and fatty acid retention in post-smolt Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

A study with varying dietary inclusion levels (1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 g kg-1) of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) was conducted with post-smolt (111 ± 2.6 g; mean ± S.) Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) over a 9-week period. In addition to the series of DHA inclusion levels, the study included further diets that had DHA at 10 g kg-1 in combination with either eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) or arachidonic acid (ARA; 20:4n-6), both also included at 10 g kg-1. An additional treatment with both EPA and DHA included at 5 g kg-1 (total of 10 g kg-1 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, LC-PUFA) was also included. After a 9-week feeding period, fish were weighed, and carcass, blood and tissue samples collected. A minor improvement in growth was seen with increasing inclusion of DHA. However, the addition of EPA further improved growth response while addition of ARA had no effect on growth. As with most lipid studies, the fatty acid composition of the whole body lipids generally reflected that of the diets. However, there were notable exceptions to this, and these implicate some interactions among the different LC-PUFA in terms of the fatty acid bio- chemistry in this species. At very low inclusion levels, DHA retention was substantially higher (*250 %) than that at all other inclusion levels (31–58 %). The inclusion of EPA in the diet also had a positive effect on the retention efficiency of DHA. However, EPA retention was highly variable and at low DHA inclusion levels there was a net loss of EPA as this fatty acid was most likely elongated to produce DHA, consistent with increased DHA retention with addi- tional EPA in the diet. Retention of DPA (22:5n-3) was high at low levels of DHA, but diminished with increasing DHA inclusion, similar to that seen with DHA retention. The addition of EPA to the diet resulted in a substantial increase in the efficiency of DPA retention; the inclusion of ARA had the opposite effect. Retention of ARA was unaffected by DHA inclusion, but the addition of either EPA or ARA to the diet resulted in a substantial reduction in the efficiency of ARA retention. No effects of dietary treatment were noted on the retention of either linolenic (18:3n-3) or linoleic (18:2n-6) acids. When the total n-3 LC-PUFA content of the diet was the same but consisted of either DHA alone or as a combination of EPA plus DHA, the performance effects were similar