Effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria on the Quality of \u3cem\u3eAchnatherum splendens\u3c/em\u3e Silage

Achnatherum splendens is an important forage for ruminant animals, but it has a high fiber content, and there is little information about the quality of Achnatherum splendens silage. This experiment was undertaken to study the effects of lactic acid bacteria on the quality of Achnatherum splendens (AS) silage

Conditional Ablation of Ezh2 in Murine Hearts Reveals Its Essential Roles in Endocardial Cushion Formation, Cardiomyocyte Proliferation and Survival

Ezh2 is a histone trimethyltransferase that silences genes mainly via catalyzing trimethylation of histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27Me3). The role of Ezh2 as a regulator of gene silencing and cell proliferation in cancer development has been extensively investigated; however, its function in heart development during embryonic cardiogenesis has not been well studied. In the present study, we used a genetically modified mouse system in which Ezh2 was specifically ablated in the mouse heart. We identified a wide spectrum of cardiovascular malformations in the Ezh2 mutant mice, which collectively led to perinatal death. In the Ezh2 mutant heart, the endocardial cushions (ECs) were hypoplastic and the endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process was impaired. The hearts of Ezh2 mutant mice also exhibited decreased cardiomyocyte proliferation and increased apoptosis. We further identified that the Hey2 gene, which is important for cardiomyocyte proliferation and cardiac morphogenesis, is a downstream target of Ezh2. The regulation of Hey2 expression by Ezh2 may be independent of Notch signaling activity. Our work defines an indispensible role of the chromatin remodeling factor Ezh2 in normal cardiovascular development

Examining supply chain vulnerability via an analysis of ESG-prioritized firms amid the Russian-Ukrainian conflict

This research study explores the impact of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict on ESG-enabled global supply chains, resulting in disruption to worldwide industries. The conflict has caused product shortages, food scarcity, and significantly impacted the global economy. From the extant literature, there is a lack of understanding about the effect of the conflict on different industries from a supply chain perspective, as well as the ESG-prioritized companies. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the influence of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the performance of companies with respect to different regions and industries of their upstream and downstream customers. The top-100 companies in the S&P 500 index which are actively participating in the ESG development are selected and grouped according to customer regions and industries, and the event study analysis is applied to evaluate abnormal returns from stock prices due to the disruption events. Through the empirical analysis, no matter how the ESG-prioritized companies are grouped according to their supply chain structures, it is found that the occurrence of companies obtaining the abnormally high stock return is higher than the occurrence of the opposite. Moreover, the active involvement in ESG disclosure and environmental management demonstrates significant results to withstand disruptions to their supply chains. The findings in this study contribute to a growing body of ESG-related business research, implying that companies which prioritize ESG policies may be better equipped to manage supply chain disruptions during crises

Semantic Web Technologies for the Integration of Learning Tools and Context-Aware Educational Services

Abstract. One of the main software engineers ’ competencies, solving software problems, is most effectively acquired through an active examination of learn-ing resources and work on real-world examples in small development teams. This obviously indicates a need for an integration of several existing learning tools and systems in a common collaborative learning environment, as well as advanced educational services that provide students with right in time advice about learning resources and possible collaboration partners. In this paper, we present how we developed and applied a common ontological foundation for the integration of different existing learning tools and systems in a common learning environment called DEPTHS (Design Patterns Teaching Help System). In addition, we present a set of educational services that leverages semantic rich representation of learning resources and students ’ interaction data to recom-mend resource relevant for students ’ current learning context