Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the knowledge existing in the literature on supply chain resilience for identifying the supply chain practices adopted for securing resilience in ...given uncertain event.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review is conducted to identify 84 conceptual and empirical studies. The research findings are synthesized in categories of uncertain events, supply chain practices and outcomes.
Findings
A set of propositions linking the uncertain events, mechanisms and supply chain resilience improvement is developed. It was found that the sufficient conditions for resilience under unexpected disasters are substantially different from those required for resilience against disruptions caused by internal practices or complexity.
Originality/value
Practitioners can benefit from the knowledge of interventions and mechanisms to improve their supply chain resilience in the face of different unpredictable situations. The contribution of this paper is twofold: first, it develops an actionable theory of supply chain resilience by developing testable propositions in the context of supply chains exposed to uncertainties resulting from unexpected disruptions, complexity of supply chains and adoption of certain internal practice; second, the paper highlights the key shortcomings of existing literature and provides opportunities for further research and improvement.
Higher frequency of Smad4 inactivation or loss of expression is observed in metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) leading to unfavourable survival and contributes to chemoresistance. However, the ...molecular mechanism of how Smad4 regulates chemosensitivity of CRC is unknown.
We evaluated how the loss of Smad4 in CRC enhanced chemoresistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) using two CRC cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Immunoblotting with cell and tumour lysates and immunohistochemical analyses with tissue microarray were performed.
Knockdown or loss of Smad4 induced tumorigenicity, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, metastasis, and 5-FU resistance. Smad4 expression in mouse tumours regulated cell-cycle regulatory proteins leading to Rb phosphorylation. Loss of Smad4 activated Akt pathway that resulted in upregulation of anti-apoptotic proteins, Bcl-2 and Bcl-w, and Survivin. Suppression of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway by LY294002 restored chemosensitivity of Smad4-deficient cells to 5-FU. Vascular endothelial growth factor-induced angiogenesis in Smad4-deficient cells might also lead to chemoresistance. Low levels of Smad4 expression in CRC tissues correlated with higher levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-w and with poor overall survival as observed in immunohistochemical staining of tissue microarrays.
Loss of Smad4 in CRC patients induces resistance to 5-FU-based therapy through activation of Akt pathway and inhibitors of this pathway may sensitise these patients to 5-FU.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Understanding SARS-CoV-2 associated immune pathology is crucial to develop pan-effective vaccines and treatments. Here we investigate the immune events from the acute state up to four weeks post ...SARS-CoV-2 infection, in non-human primates (NHP) with heterogeneous pulmonary pathology. We show a robust migration of CD16 expressing monocytes to the lungs occurring during the acute phase, and we describe two subsets of interstitial macrophages (HLA-DR
CD206
): a transitional CD11c
CD16
cell population directly associated with IL-6 levels in plasma, and a long-lasting CD11b
CD16
cell population. Trafficking of monocytes is mediated by TARC (CCL17) and associates with viral load measured in bronchial brushes. We also describe associations between disease outcomes and high levels of cell infiltration in lungs including CD11b
CD16
macrophages and CD11b
neutrophils. Accumulation of macrophages is long-lasting and detectable even in animals with mild or no signs of disease. Interestingly, animals with anti-inflammatory responses including high IL-10:IL-6 and kynurenine to tryptophan ratios show less severe illness. Our results unravel cellular mechanisms of COVID-19 and suggest that NHP may be appropriate models to test immune therapies.
Pyroptosis is a caspase-1-dependent inflammatory form of cell death. The adapter protein ASC binds directly to caspase-1 and is critical for caspase-1 activation in response to a broad range of ...stimuli. To elucidate the mechanism of activation of caspase-1 by ASC and its exact role in macrophage pyroptosis, we performed time-lapse confocal bioimaging analysis on human THP-1 macrophages stably expressing an ASC-GFP fusion protein. We show that stimulation of these cells with several proinflammatory stimuli trigger the formation of a large supramolecular assembly of ASC, termed here pyroptosome. Only one distinct pyroptosome in each stimulated cell is formed, which rapidly recruits and activates caspase-1 resulting in pyroptosis and the release of the intracellular proinflammatory cytokines. The pyroptosome is largely composed of oligomerized ASC dimers. Dimerization of ASC is driven by subphysiological concentrations of potassium as in vitro incubation of purified recombinant ASC in the presence of subphysiological concentrations of potassium induces the assembly of a functional pyroptosome. Furthermore, stimulation of potassium efflux in THP-1 cells with potassium-depleting agents induces formation of the pyroptosome, while increasing potassium concentrations in the culture medium or pharmacological inhibition of this efflux inhibits its assembly. Our results establish that macrophage pyroptosis is mediated by a unique pyroptosome, distinct from the inflammasome.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
There is a gradual decline in availability of fresh water to be used for irrigation in India. As a consequence, the use of sewage and other industrial effluents for irrigating agricultural lands is ...on the rise particularly in peri-urban areas of developing countries. On the other hand, there is increasing concern regarding the exceedance of statutory and advisory food standards for trace metals throughout the world. Hence, a case study was undertaken to assess the long-term effect of sewage irrigation on heavy metal content in soils, plants and groundwater. For this purpose, peri-urban agricultural lands under Keshopur Effluent Irrigation Scheme (KEIS) of Delhi, India were selected where various cereals, millets, vegetable and fodder crops have successfully been grown. Sewage effluents, ground water, soil and plant samples were collected and analysed mainly for metal contents. Results indicated that sewage effluents contained much higher amount of P, K, S, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn and Ni compared to groundwater. While, there was no significant variation in Pb and Cd concentrations in these two sources of irrigation water and metal content were within the permissible limits for its use as irrigation water. There was an increase in organic carbon content ranging from 38 to 79% in sewage-irrigated soils as compared to tubewell water-irrigated ones. On an average, the soil pH dropped by 0.4 unit as a result of sewage irrigation. Sewage irrigation for 20 years resulted into significant build-up of DTPA-extractable Zn (208%), Cu (170%), Fe (170%), Ni (63%) and Pb (29%) in sewage-irrigated soils over adjacent tubewell water-irrigated soils, whereas Mn was depleted by 31%. Soils receiving sewage irrigation for 10 years exhibited significant increase in Zn, Fe, Ni and Pb, while only Fe in soils was positively affected by sewage irrigation for 5 years. Among these metals, only Zn in some samples exceeded the phytotoxicity limit. Fractionation study indicated relatively higher build-up of Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn in bioavailable pools of sewage-irrigated soils. By and large, tissue metal concentrations in all the crops were below the generalized critical levels of phytotoxicity. Based on the soil to plant transfer ratio (transfer factor) of metals, relative efficiency of some cereals, millet and vegetable crops to absorb metals from sewage and tubewell water-irrigated soils was worked out. Risk assessment in respect of metal contents in some vegetable crops grown on these sewage-irrigated soils indicated that these vegetables can be consumed safely by human.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
DNA is the key biomolecule central to almost all processes in living organisms. The eccentric idea of utilizing DNA as a material building block in molecular and structural engineering led to the ...creation of numerous molecular-assembly systems and materials at the nanoscale. The molecular structure of DNA is believed to have evolved over billions of years, with structure and stability optimizations that allow life forms to sustain through the storage and transmission of genetic information with fidelity. The nanoscale structural characteristics of DNA (2 nm thickness and ca. 40-50 nm persistence length) have inspired the creation of numerous functional patterns and architectures through noncovalent conventional and unconventional base pairings as well as through mutual templating-interactions with small organic molecules and metal ions. The recent advancements in structural DNA nanotechnology allowed researchers to design new DNA-based functional materials with chemical and biological properties distinct from their parent components. The modulation of structural and functional properties of hybrid DNA ensembles of small functional molecules (SFMs) and short oligonucleotides by adapting the principles of molecular architectonics enabled the creation of novel DNA nanoarchitectures with potential applications, which has been termed as templated DNA nanotechnology or functional DNA nanoarchitectonics. This review highlights the molecular architectonics-guided design principles and applications of the derived DNA nanoarchitectures. The advantages and ability of functional DNA nanoarchitectonics to overcome the trivial drawbacks of classical DNA nanotechnology to fulfill realistic and practical applications are highlighted, and an outlook on future developments is presented.
Protein synthesis is a cellular process that takes place through the successive translation events within the ribosome by the event-specific protein factors, namely, initiation, elongation, release, ...and recycling factors. In this regard, we asked the question about how similar are those translation factors to each other from a wide variety of bacteria? Hence, we did a thorough in silico study of the translation factors from 495 bacterial sp., and 4262 amino acid sequences by theoretically measuring their pI and MW values that are two determining factors for distinguishing individual proteins in 2D gel electrophoresis in experimental procedures. Then we analyzed the output from various angles.
Our study revealed the fact that it's not all same, or all random, but there are distinct orders and the pI values of translation factors are translation event specific. We found that the translation initiation factors are mainly basic, whereas, elongation and release factors that interact with the inter-subunit space of the intact 70S ribosome during translation are strictly acidic across bacterial sp. These acidic elongation factors and release factors contain higher frequencies of glutamic acids. However, among all the translation factors, the translation initiation factor 2 (IF2) and ribosome recycling factor (RRF) showed variable pI values that are linked to the order of phylogeny.
From the results of our study, we conclude that among all the bacterial translation factors, elongation and release factors are more conserved in terms of their pI values in comparison to initiation and recycling factors. Acidic properties of these factors are independent of habitat, nature, and phylogeny of the bacterial species. Furthermore, irrespective of the different shapes, sizes, and functions of the elongation and release factors, possession of the strictly acidic pI values of these translation factors all over the domain Bacteria indicates that the acidic nature of these factors is a necessary criterion, perhaps to interact into the partially enclosed rRNA rich inter-subunit space of the translating 70S ribosome.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The efficient (site-specific) management of soil nutrients is possible by understanding the spatial variability in distribution of phyto-available nutrients (here after called available nutrients) ...and identifying the soil management zones (MZs) of agricultural landscapes. There is need for delineating soil MZs of agricultural landscapes of the world for efficient management of soil nutrients in order to obtain sustainability in crop yield. The present study was, therefore, undertaken to understand the spatial distribution pattern of available micronutrients (zinc (Zn), boron (B), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu)), available sulphur (S), and soil properties (soil acidity (pH), electrical conductivity (EC) and organic carbon (SOC) content) in soils of intensively cultivated Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) of India and to delineate soil MZs for efficient management of soil nutrients. Totally, 55101 soil samples from 0-15 cm depth were obtained from 167 districts of IGP during 2014 to 2017 and were analysed for different soil parameters. Soil pH, EC and SOC content varied from 4.44 to 9.80, 0.02 to 2.13 dS m.sup.-1 and 0.10 to 1.99%, respectively. The concentration of available Zn, B, Fe, Mn, Cu and S varied from 0.01 to 3.27, 0.01 to 3.51, 0.19 to 55.7, 0.05 to 49.0, 0.01 to 5.29 and 1.01 to 108 mg kg.sup.-1, respectively. Geostatistical analysis resulted in varied distribution pattern of studied soil parameters with moderate to strong spatial dependence. The extent (% area) of nutrient deficiencies in IGP followed the order: S > Zn > B > Mn > Cu > Fe. Principal component analysis and fuzzy c-means clustering produced six distinctly different soil MZs of IGP for implementation of zone-specific soil nutrient management strategies for attaining sustainability in crop yield. The developed MZ maps could also be utilized for prioritization and rationalization of nutrients supply in IGP of India.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The β-carboline moiety, substituted at the C1 and C3 benzylic positions with a leaving group, has been demonstrated for the first time as a photoremovable protecting group for time-dependent ...sequential release of two (same or different) carboxylic acids upon one- and two-photon light irradiation. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the electronic environment of the β-carboline moiety at C1 and C3 positions plays a key role in the rate of photorelease.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
In spite of achieving high power conversion efficiency (PCE), organo-halide perovskites suffer from long term stability issues. Especially the grain boundaries of polycrystalline perovskite films are ...considered as giant trapping sites for photo-generated carriers and therefore play an important role in charge transportation dynamics. Surface engineering
via
grain boundary modification is the most promising way to resolve this issue. A unique antisolvent-cum-quantum dot (QD) assisted grain boundary modification approach has been employed for creating monolithically grained, pin-hole free perovskite films, wherein the choice of all-inorganic CsPbBr
x
I
3−
x
(
x
= 1-2) QDs is significant. The grain boundary filling by QDs facilitates the formation of compact films with 1-2 μm perovskite grains as compared to 300-500 nm grains in the unmodified films. The solar cells fabricated by CsPbBr
1.5
I
1.5
QD modification yield a PCE of ∼16.5% as compared to ∼13% for the unmodified devices. X-ray photoelectron spectral analyses reveal that the sharing of electrons between the PbI
6
−
framework in the bulk perovskite and Br
−
ions in CsPbBr
1.5
I
1.5
QDs facilitates the charge transfer process while femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (fs-TAS) suggests quicker trap filling and enhanced charge carrier recombination lifetime. Considerable ambient stability up to ∼720 h with <20% PCE degradation firmly establishes the strategic QD modification of bulk perovskite films.
Grain boundaries in bulk perovskite films are considered as giant trapping sites for photo-generated carriers. Surface engineering
via
inorganic perovskite quantum dots has been employed for creating monolithically grained, pin-hole free perovskite films.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
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