Exceeding the Recommended Energy Limits Due to Age and Gender in Occupational Aerobic Workloads

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the physical aerobic work in terms of the metabolic expenditure and compare it with the recommended boundaries of energy found in literature, proposing an alternative to the potential work overload through a compensatory equation introduced in the standard time of the workstation. To support the study, information considering the estimated metabolic expenditure in workers was applied to a novel procedure to reduce the metabolic demand of the task according to age and gender. Results of the study indicated that women older than 30 years exceeded the energy limits from moderate to very heavy load activities, and men older than 40 years exceeded the energy limits in heavy and very heavy workloads. The proposal of compensatory equation statistically reduced the energy loads below the recommended limits of energy. The aerobic workload is a sensitive factor for age and gender groups and can be potential risks for developing cardiovascular diseases as well as some musculoskeletal disorders.

A TISM and MICMAC analysis of factors during COVID-19 pandemic in Indian Apparel Supply Chain

The objective of this study is to explore the challenges faced by the Indian apparel supply chain in the wake of COVID-19 to identify the factors that are being affected and build a multilevel hierarchy model to prioritize the factors and understand their inter-relationships. An intensive literature review was conducted and many experts from apparel supply chain were consulted. The study was conducted by the help of a survey sent to these experts from different echelons in the apparel industry. The data was then analysed using Total Interpretive Structural Modelling (TISM). The “Difficulty in export order fulfilment” factor is found to be the most sensitive factor which means that it is present in the TISM model hierarchy in a place that it is affected by most of the factors and in-turn impacts factors like operational cost, change in marketing strategy, change in consumer buying pattern, which impact Profitability and Cut-off in employment. “Cut-off in employment” is found to be most impacted by all other factors in TISM model.

Prefused lysosomes cluster on autophagosomes regulated by VAMP8

Lysosome–autophagosome fusion is critical to autophagosome maturation. Although several proteins that regulate this fusion process have been identified, the prefusion architecture and its regulation remain unclear. Herein, we show that upon stimulation, multiple lysosomes form clusters around individual autophagosomes, setting the stage for membrane fusion. The soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) protein on lysosomes—vesicle-associated membrane protein 8 (VAMP8)—plays an important role in forming this prefusion state of lysosomal clusters. To study the potential role of phosphorylation on spontaneous fusion, we investigated the effect of phosphorylation of C-terminal residues of VAMP8. Using a phosphorylation mimic, we observed a decrease of fusion in an ensemble lipid mixing assay and an increase of unfused lysosomes associated with autophagosomes. These results suggest that phosphorylation not only reduces spontaneous fusion for minimizing autophagic flux under normal conditions, but also preassembles multiple lysosomes to increase the fusion probability for resuming autophagy upon stimulation. VAMP8 phosphorylation may thus play an important role in chemotherapy drug resistance by influencing autophagosome maturation.

Experimental Study on the Effect of Fulvic Acid in Waste Slurry on Flocculation and Zeta Potential

The waste slurry produced by the dredging of urban rivers needs to be dewatered before being reused sustainably. As a large amount of plant debris accumulates in sediment, humus-like substances become one of main components in waste slurry. In light of the lack of research on the effect of fulvic acid (FA) in waste slurry on flocculation and separation, this paper carried out experimental research, including the effect of FA content on flocculation and filtration, as well as flocculation and filtration experiments of eight different sources of waste slurry. The results show that if only the FA content in the slurry is changed, the effect of FA on flocculation and separation is significant when the FA content is 0~3%, but it is not obvious when the FA content exceeds 3%. The flocculation and filtration results of eight different sources of river-dredged waste slurry are obviously different; the D10 increment can differ by nearly 10 times, and the specific resistance to filtration (SRF) differs by 2 orders of magnitude. However, FA is not a sensitive factor affecting the flocculation results. FA mainly affects the results by affecting the zeta potential of the slurry. Therefore, in the dewatering design of waste slurry, only the zeta potential needs to be considered.

Delay in Construction Projects due to Lack of Procurement in Sulaimani

The study was conducted to find the effect of procurement unit (PU) on the performance of institutions that are under the government’s ministries. The study concluded that the constructional sectors that had PU offered more capable services by a relative important index (RII) proportion of 85%. The practical part of the study was done through a questionnaire that was distributed among 10 professional managers, who had actual experience in the process of constructional duties. The study was conducted on the percentage of each category factor that affected the PU. The theoretical part proved that a lack of management was the most sensitive factor with a frequency proportion of 11.6%.

A Techno-Economic Evaluation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Conversion to Energy in Indonesia

Municipal solid waste (MSW) processing is still problematic in Indonesia. From the hierarchy of waste management, it is clear that energy recovery from waste could be an option after prevention and the 5R (rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle) processes. The Presidential Regulation No 35/2018 mandated the acceleration of waste-to-energy (WtE) plant adoption in Indonesia. The present study aimed to demonstrate a techno-economic evaluation of a commercial WtE plant in Indonesia by processing 1000 tons of waste/day to produce ca. 19.7 MW of electricity. The WtE electricity price is set at USD 13.35 cent/kWh, which is already higher than the average household price at USD 9.76 cent/kWh. The capital investment is estimated at USD 102.2 million. The annual operational cost is estimated at USD 12.1 million and the annual revenue at USD 41.6 million. At this value, the internal rate of return (IRR) for the WtE plant is 25.32% with a payout time (PoT) of 3.47 years. In addition, this study also takes into account electricity price sales, tipping fee, and pretreatment cost of waste. The result of a sensitivity analysis showed that the electricity price was the most sensitive factor. This study reveals that it is important to maintain a regulated electricity price to ensure the sustainability of the WtE plant in Indonesia.

Complexin-1 regulated transition in the assembly of single neuronal SNARE complex

Neurotransmitter release is mediated by the synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Important proteins in this process have been identified including the molecular machine Synaptic-soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment receptor (SNARE) proteins, and other regulators. Complexin (Cpx) is one of the vital regulators in this process. The functions of Cpx are proposed to maintain a proper primed vesicle pool by preventing its premature depletion, which facilitates the vesicle fusion in the presence of Ca2+. However, the molecular mechanism remains unclear. Using dual-trap optical tweezers, we detected the interaction of complexin-1 (CpxI) with SNARE. We found that the CpxI stabilizes partially folded SNARE complexes by competing with C-terminal of Vamp protein and interacting with the C-terminal of t-SNARE complex.

Extreme parsimony in ATP consumption by 20S complexes in the global disassembly of single SNARE complexes

Fueled by ATP hydrolysis in N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor (NSF), the 20S complex disassembles rigid SNARE (soluble NSF attachment protein receptor) complexes in single unraveling step. This global disassembly distinguishes NSF from other molecular motors that make incremental and processive motions, but the molecular underpinnings of its remarkable energy efficiency remain largely unknown. Using multiple single-molecule methods, we found remarkable cooperativity in mechanical connection between NSF and the SNARE complex, which prevents dysfunctional 20S complexes that consume ATP without productive disassembly. We also constructed ATP hydrolysis cycle of the 20S complex, in which NSF largely shows randomness in ATP binding but switches to perfect ATP hydrolysis synchronization to induce global SNARE disassembly, minimizing ATP hydrolysis by non-20S complex-forming NSF molecules. These two mechanisms work in concert to concentrate ATP consumption into functional 20S complexes, suggesting evolutionary adaptations by the 20S complex to the energetically expensive mechanical task of SNARE complex disassembly.

Reduced O-GlcNAcylation of SNAP-23 promotes cisplatin resistance by inducing exosome secretion in ovarian cancer

Exosomes have been associated with chemoresistance in various cancers, but such a role in ovarian cancer is not yet clear. Here, using in vitro cell-based and in vivo mouse model experiments, we show that downregulation of O-GlcNAcylation, a key post-translational protein modification, promotes exosome secretion. This increases exosome-mediated efflux of cisplatin from cancer cells resulting in chemoresistance. Mechanistically, our data indicate that downregulation of O-GlcNAclation transferase (OGT) reduces O-GlcNAclation of SNAP-23. Notably, O-GlcNAcylation of SNAP-23 is vital for regulating exosome release in ovarian cancer cells. Reduced O-GlcNAclation of SNAP-23 subsequently promotes the formation of soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complex consisting of SNAP-23, VAMP8, and Stx4 proteins. This enhances exosome release causing chemoresistance by increasing the efflux of intracellular cisplatin.