Predicting plant Rubisco kinetics from RbcL sequence data using machine learning.

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) is responsible for the conversion of atmospheric CO2 to organic carbon during photosynthesis, and often acts as a rate limiting step in the later process. Screening the natural diversity of Rubisco kinetics is the main strategy used to find better Rubisco enzymes for crop engineering efforts. Here, we demonstrate the use of Gaussian processes (GPs), a family of Bayesian models, coupled with protein encoding schemes, for predicting Rubisco kinetics from Rubisco large subunit (RbcL) sequence data. GPs trained on published experimentally obtained Rubisco kinetic datasets were applied to over 9000 sequences encoding RbcL to predict Rubisco kinetic parameters. Notably, our predicted kinetic values were in agreement with known trends, e.g. higher carboxylation turnover rates (Kcat) for Rubisco enzymes from C4 or crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) species, compared with those found in C3 species. This is the first study demonstrating machine learning approaches as a tool for screening and predicting Rubisco kinetics, which could be applied to other enzymes.

Ageing modifies acute resting blood pressure responses to incremental consumption of dietary nitrate: a randomised, cross-over clinical trial.

Beetroot (BR) is a rich source of nitrate (NO3-) that has been shown to reduce blood pressure (BP). Yet, no studies have examined the vascular benefits of BR in whole-food form and whether the effects are modified by age. This study was a four-arm, randomised, open-label, cross-over design in twenty-four healthy adults (young n 12, age 27 ± 4 years, old n 12, age 64 ± 5 years). Participants consumed whole-cooked BR at portions of (NO3- content in brackets) 100 g (272 mg), 200 g (544 mg) and 300 g (816 mg) and a 200-ml solution containing 1000 mg of potassium nitrate (KNO3) on four separate occasions over a 4-week period (≥7-d washout period). BP, plasma NO3- and nitrite (NO2-) concentrations, and post-occlusion reactive hyperaemia via laser Doppler, were measured pre- and up to 5-h post-intervention. Data were analysed by repeated-measures ANOVA. Plasma NO2- concentrations were higher in the young v. old at baseline and post-intervention (P < 0·05). All NO3- interventions decreased systolic and diastolic BP in young participants (P < 0·05), whereas only KNO3 (at 240-300 min post-intake) significantly decreased systolic (-4·8 mmHg, -3·5 %, P = 0·024) and diastolic (-5·4 mmHg, -6·5 %, P = 0·007) BP in older participants. In conclusion, incremental doses of dietary NO3- reduced systolic and diastolic BP in healthy young adults whereas in the older group a significant decrease was only observed with the highest dose. The lower plasma NO2- concentrations in older participants suggest that there may be mechanistic differences in the production of NO from dietary NO3- in young and older populations.

Pharmacokinetic Profile of Incremental Oral Doses of Dietary Nitrate in Young and Older Adults: A Crossover Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Dietary nitrate consumption can increase concentrations of nitrate and nitrite in blood, saliva, and urine. Whether the change in concentrations is influenced by age is currently unknown. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to measure changes in nitrate and nitrite concentrations in plasma, urine, and saliva and exhaled NO concentrations after single incremental doses of dietary nitrate in young and older healthy adults. METHODS: Twelve young (18-35 y old) and 12 older (60-75 y old) healthy, nonsmoking participants consumed single doses of 100 g, 200 g, 300 g whole beetroot (BR) and 1000 mg potassium nitrate (positive control) ≥7 d apart in a crossover, randomized clinical trial. Plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and exhaled NO concentrations were measured over a 5-h period. Salivary nitrate and nitrite concentrations were measured over a 12-h period and urinary nitrate over a 24-h period. Time, intervention, age, and interaction effects were measured with repeated-measures ANOVAs. RESULTS: Dose-dependent increases were seen in plasma, salivary, and urinary nitrate after BR ingestion (all P ≤ 0.002) but there were no differences between age groups at baseline (all P ≥ 0.56) or postintervention (all P ≥ 0.12). Plasma nitrite concentrations were higher in young than older participants at baseline (P = 0.04) and after consumption of 200 g (P = 0.04; +25.7 nmol/L; 95% CI: 0.97, 50.3 nmol/L) and 300 g BR (P = 0.02; +50.3 nmol/L; 95% CI: 8.57, 92.1 nmol/L). Baseline fractional exhaled NO (FeNO) concentrations were higher in the younger group [P = 0.03; +8.60 parts per billion (ppb); 95% CI: 0.80, 16.3 ppb], and rose significantly over the 5-h period, peaking 5 h after KNO3 consumption (39.4 ± 4.5 ppb; P < 0.001); however, changes in FeNO were not influenced by age (P = 0.276). CONCLUSIONS: BR is a source of bioavailable dietary nitrate in both young and older adults and can effectively raise nitrite and nitrate concentrations. Lower plasma nitrite and FeNO concentrations were found in older subjects, confirming the impact of ageing on NO bioavailability across different systems.This trial was registered at www.isrctn.com as ISRCTN86706442.

The asymmetric nexus between air pollution and COVID-19: Evidence from a non-linear panel autoregressive distributed lag model.

The emergence of a new coronavirus (COVID-19) has become a major global concern that has damaged human health and disturbing environmental quality. Some researchers have identified a positive relationship between air pollution (fine particulate matter PM2.5) and COVID-19. Nonetheless, no inclusive investigation has comprehensively examined this relationship for a tropical climate such as India. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by investigating the nexus between air pollution and COVID-19 in the ten most affected Indian states using daily observations from 9th March to September 20, 2020. The study has used the newly developed Hidden Panel Cointegration test and Nonlinear Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NPARDL) model for asymmetric analysis. Empirical results illustrate an asymmetric relationship between PM2.5 and COVID-19 cases. More precisely, a 1% change in the positive shocks of PM2.5 increases the COVID-19 cases by 0.439%. Besides, the estimates of individual states expose the heterogeneous effects of PM2.5 on COVID-19. The asymmetric causality test of Hatemi-J's (2011) also suggests that the positive shocks on PM2.5 Granger-cause positive shocks on COVID19 cases. Research findings indicate that air pollution is the root cause of this outbreak; thus, the government should recognize this channel and implement robust policy guidelines to control the spread of environmental pollution.

Rubisco substitutions predicted to enhance crop performance through carbon uptake modelling.

Improving the performance of the CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco is among the targets for increasing crop yields. Here, Earth system model (ESM) representations of canopy C3 and C4 photosynthesis were combined with species-specific Rubisco parameters to quantify the consequences of bioengineering foreign Rubiscos into C3 and C4 crops under field conditions. The 'two big leaf' (sunlit/shaded) model for canopy photosynthesis was used together with species-specific Rubisco kinetic parameters including maximum rate (Kcat), Michaelis-Menten constant for CO2 at ambient atmospheric O2 (Kc21%O2), specificity for CO2 to O2 (Sc/o), and associated heat activation (Ha) values. Canopy-scale consequences of replacing native Rubiscos in wheat, maize, and sugar beet with foreign enzymes from 27 species were modelled using data from Ameriflux and Fluxnet databases. Variation among the included Rubisco kinetics differentially affected modelled carbon uptake rates, and Rubiscos from several species of C4 grasses showed the greatest potential of >50% carbon uptake improvement in wheat, and >25% improvement in sugar beet and maize. This study also reaffirms the need for data on fully characterized Rubiscos from more species, and for better parameterization of 'Vcmax' and temperature response of 'Jmax' in ESMs.

Reduced plasma carotenoids in individuals suffering from metabolic diseases with disturbances in lipid metabolism: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

This review summarises the association between serum carotenoids, serum retinoids and dietary intake outcomes with obesity/overweight and individuals with metabolic diseases with disturbances in lipid metabolism. Observational studies reporting dietary intakes and serum concentrations of carotenoids and retinol were collected from Medline and Web of Science. Mean differences were calculated between "cases" (classified as obese, overweight or having a metabolic disease with disturbances in lipid metabolism; i.e. non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidaemia or metabolic syndrome) and "comparator group" (classified as normal weight healthy individuals) and summarised in meta-analyses. Significant summary measures were observed for most serum provitamin A and non-provitamin A carotenoids. Studies reporting total serum carotenoids had shown the greatest decrease (-0.28 µmol/l [-0.33, -0.23], p<.001, I2=62.5%, n = 7). There were no significant summary measures for dietary outcomes, suggesting a physiological role of low serum carotenoids in the development of obesity and associated diseases.

The dynamic role of energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability in the dilemma of emission reduction and economic growth.

This study examines the relationship between energy security, energy equity, and environmental sustainability from the perspective of economic growth and CO2 emissions. For this purpose, this study utilizes the energy trilemma index (ETI) 2018 of the World Energy Council (WEC) to measure, evaluate and assess the energy efficiency of the top ten best-performing countries around the world. This study formulates an interval decision matrix to apply Principal Components Analysis (PCA) by reducing a large set into a small set of underlying variables with comprehensive information. Finally, this study uses the Fuzzy-TOPSIS method to determine the comprehensive ranks of all countries. This study shows that Denmark holds overall first rank in energy efficiency with a score of one in energy security, eleven in energy equity, and seventeen in environmental sustainability. In contrast, Germany has dominated all top ten performers by energy and environmental progress, which cannot be shirker within the UK's social progress concept. Thus, with ceteris paribus, a higher energy price will indicate a higher degree of scarcity of energy sources, encouraging working for cheaper and renewable alternatives and ultimately influencing the energy supply side. Carbon valuation can reduce greenhouse emissions by paying the extra dollar to the enterprise for less emission. It will lead to changing energy consumption structures and make it a cleaner choice for profit maximization.

Energy policy paradox on environmental performance: The moderating role of renewable energy patents.

The environmental and socioeconomic considerations of energy production have become crucial because of the increasingly complex relationship between energy and the environment. This study aims to develop possible mechanisms for perspectives on energy policy and the environment by exploring the mediating role of renewable energy patents. Non-radial data envelopment analysis and panel data models are applied using the panel data from 2010 to 2017 from 30 Chinese provinces. The results show an overall improvement in the environmental performance index (EPI) of China's provinces, but the average EPI is still relatively weak, with an average value between 0.44 and 0.52, which is far below the optimal value 1.. Furthermore, the econometric model offers evidence that provincial renewable energy and emission reduction policies positively impact the enhancement of EPI. The findings have several implications for energy and environmental policies.

Features of central serous chorioretinopathy presenting at a tertiary care hospital in Lahore.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical, angiographic and optical coherence tomographic features of central serous chorioretinopathy in patients presenting at a tertiary care centre in Lahore. METHODS: The observational study was conducted at the Layton Rehmatulla Benevolent Trust Eye and Cancer Hospital Lahore from July 15, 2010 to December 15, 2011. Patients who had received prior treatment for the condition and allergy to fluorescein were excluded. There were 86 eyes of 64 adult patients with central serous chorioretinopathy. The following data was recorded: history, signs and symptoms, best corrected visual acuity, fundus fluorescein angiography, and central macular thickness measurement with optical coherence tomography. Data was analyzed using SPSS 17. RESULTS: Mean age of patients who presented during the study duration was 39.52 +/- 8.85 years.There were 53 (82.8%) males and 11(17.2%) females. Of the total, 42 (65.6%) cases had unilateral and 22 (34.4%) cases had bilateral involvement. Chronic central serous chorioretinopathy was seen in 27 (42.2%) cases while 37 (57.8%) cases were acute presentations. Retinal pigment epithelial detachment was observed in 29 (45.3%) cases. On fundus fluorescein angiography, there were 62 (72.1%) eyes that showed ink blot pattern. Median visual acuity at presentation was 0.25. Median central macular thickness at presentation was 550.5micro. CONCLUSION: Central serous chorioretinopathy in the study sample was associated with pigment epithelial detachment, bilateral involvement, and presence of systemic diseases.

Assessing the supply chain management of waste-to-energy on green circular economy in China: an empirical study.

One of the industries that makes a significant contribution to the overall amount of greenhouse gas emissions around the globe is agriculture. In this regard, the use of bioenergy in the agricultural and food processing industries might benefit from the implementation of circular economy techniques. Despite the fact that just roughly 9% of the global economy is circular, there have been worldwide efforts to improve that reality. The linear economy, commonly known as the "take-make-use-dispose" model, is in sharp contrast to the circular economy, also known as "grow-make-use-restore," which seeks to influence the flow of materials and energy in order to maximize the benefits to the environment and minimize any associated costs. Garbage-to-energy, also known as WTE, is the focus of both academics and businesses as a direct result of the increasingly diminishing number of energy supplies and the ever-increasing amount of garbage. This project intends to turn trash into profit, lessen the impact waste has on the environment, and generate energy from biowaste by conceptualizing a focus on the supply chain characteristics of waste-to-energy processing. The adoption of a waste-to-energy (WTE) supply chain as a district energy system should be a viable solution toward a circular industrial economy that can solve energy consumption, waste management, and greenhouse gas emission concerns all at once. In the framework of a "circular economy," this study investigates how the management of waste-to-energy supply chains impacts the performance of businesses. The present investigation makes use of life cycle assessments, technical innovation, waste-to-energy conversion, and capacities related to circular economies. The study makes use of data obtained from an online survey that was administered between March 2021 and November 2021 to employees of 285 representative samples drawn from 457 European enterprises and firms that have accepted the concepts of the circular economy. The data is examined using a technique known as partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM for short). The findings indicate that waste-to-energy serves as a mediator between the life cycle assessment and the capabilities of the circular economy and that sustainable supply chain management, sustainable supply chain design, technological progress, and waste-to-energy all have positive effects on these metrics.

Assessing the nexus between COVID-19 pandemic-driven economic crisis and economic policy: lesson learned and challenges.

This study examines China's budgetary policy during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of China's insufficient ability to deal with a new crisis when the epidemic struck in March 2020 and as a result of the economic crisis that began in China in March 2020. In order to better comprehend China's economic status during COVID-19, the study relies on secondary data. The fiscal response of emerging market economies like India is less than in advanced economies. However, it is generally considered to be in line with the average for emerging market economies. As a result of the Disaster Management authority imposing a rigorous lockdown, unemployment rose, the trade cycle was interrupted, and manufacturing and service activities were affected. According to the study's findings, China's economic policies, namely its fiscal policy, responded in the years leading up to 2019 by increasing health expenditure, income transfer, welfare payments, subsidies, and reducing short-term unemployment. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, China's government has adopted a number of measures to minimize the damage to the economy. This article also focuses on China's numerous budgetary actions with COVID-19.

Assessing the impact of green finance and urbanization on the tourism industry-an empirical study in China.

There is a dearth of empirical studies looking at the link between green economic development and tourism in quantifiable terms. Using panel data from China's 30 provinces from 2005 to 2018, this study investigates the impact of green finance on China's tourism industry. Using renewable energy, income per capita, carbon emissions, and urbanizations as explanatory factors is also utilized. According to estimation, the findings reveal that green finance substantially impacts the tourism business. This positive effect is more pronounced in provinces where economic and social conditions are better, thus boosting the region's tourism industry. The same holds for income per capita, renewable energy, and environmental factors. In addition, urbanization has a negligible effect on the variable being studied. A further way to boost the growth of tourism is through the use of green finance. The empirical findings can benefit China's green financial planning and environmental sustainability.

Digital technology and its application in supply chain management: new evidence from China's economy.

The purpose of this article is to investigate the influence that practices using information technology (IT) have on the development of a competitive advantage across the supply chain. An organization has a competitive advantage when it has qualities that give the required foundations for it to separate itself from other organizations that are also in its industry. Pressure is applied to the corporate environment as a result of competition and ongoing changes, such as the introduction of new products and technical advancements, the decline of product lifestyles, and the proliferation of products. In order to maintain a competitive edge and achieve financial success in business, organizations are necessary for responding to changes in the market. Through the use of supply chain markets, companies are able to react quickly to unforeseen shifts in the market, and these shifts may be turned into lucrative business possibilities. One of the most significant things that firms can do to assist themselves is make use of information technology to improve their supply chain management agility. From March 2021 through January 2022, the area of China will have a total sample size of 247 persons fill out a questionnaire as part of the data collection process. In each and every questionnaire, the measurements were taken using a Likert scale with five points. The partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach is used to the causal model in order to assess the model's reliability and validity. This technique is used to evaluate the causal model. The findings indicate that information technology has a favorable impact on the adaptability of supply chain management systems. In addition, the findings that were collected have shown that there are four factors that influence the SCM systems. These factors are the IT skills and knowledge, the integration of IT-based systems, the IT infrastructure, and the design of global position system and geographic information systems. In addition, this research offers practitioners recommendations for implementing digital technology for supply chain management and building suitable business strategies at various stages of digitalization.

Assessing the role of energy finance, green policies, and investment towards green economic recovery.

Settling a "green recovery" at the center of all economic recuperation procedures is progressively seen as the finest and as the only way nations could restore their economies. Therefore, this study assesses the role of energy finance, green policies, and investment towards green economic recovery in the USA by using a linear econometric approach and nonlinear (DSGE) model. Considering the fiscal tax-lowering rate, for instance, the study evaluates the effects of fiscal measures on local fiscal pressures in the USA regarding the pandemic. The regression analysis shows that both energy finance and green energy policies have positive and statistically significant impacts on green investment. The results from the linear econometric approach indicate that every additional state green energy policy tool adopted is associated with 1% more green investment in the USA. In addition, the findings show that green policies in human resources and R&D of green energy technologies prompt a sustainable green economy through labor and technology-oriented production activities. Implications for scholars, investors, technology managers, and policymakers are derived and discussed.

Assessing the role of financing in sustainable business environment.

Speedy economy-wide transition to less carbon-intensive energy generations sources needs extra sizable financing on ground-breaking, nevertheless, risky and less carbon-intensive generation sources. Maximizing the maximum non-government financing needs using the appropriate policy tools, however, fiscal strategies and directives have been thoroughly studied, systematic quantifiable indications about the impacts of government explicit financing is inadequate. We equally give an initial measurable calculation of the impact of government explicit financing on non-government financing into conventional electricity generation sources for 22 OECD nations in the year 2001-2018. Applying FGLS and non-dynamic and non-static GMM regressors, we discover that government financing unilaterally has an explicit and nevertheless reliably the most impacts on non-government financing movements compared to feed-in tariffs (FiTs), taxes, and renewable purchase obligations (RPS) in all and regarding wind and solar sources differently. Ramifications for policy geared towards fast-tracking the energy transition are deliberated. We highlighted those important dedications to scale-up wind and solar energy demands organized by financiers such as asset funding. Furthermore, to arrive at the energy crossover to a carbon-free power system, government and non-government financiers have to continue financing and expand their activities in financing studies, demonstration, and initial scale-up. We reveal that the delivery of government finance is directly correlated with non-government funding movements. Furthermore, we postulate that government policy incentives for non-government financing, nevertheless, have impacts of unconventional energy sources share on non-government financing more than those of FiTs. Ultimately, the supply of conventional fuels is a significant impediment to solar energy financing, while the existence of other sources of cleaner energies promotes non-government climate finance.

Perceptions of GHG emissions and renewable energy sources in Europe, Australia and the USA.

People's sentiments and perceptions of greenhouse gas emission and renewable energy are important information to understand their reaction to the planned mitigation policy. Therefore, this research analyzes people's perceptions of greenhouse gas emissions and their preferences for renewable energy resources using a sample of Twitter data. We first identify themes of discussion using semantic text similarity and network analysis. Next, we measure people's interest in renewable energy resources based on the mentioned rate in Twitter and search interest in Google trends. Then, we measure people's sentiment toward these resources and compare the interest with sentiments to identify opportunities for policy improvement. The results indicate a minor influence of governmental assemblies on Twitter discourses compared to a very high influence of two renewable energy providers amounts to more than 40% of the tweeting activities related to renewable energy. The search interest analysis shows a slight shift in people's interest in favor of renewable energy. The interest in geothermal energy is decreasing while interest in biomass energy is increasing. The sentiment analysis shows that biomass energy has the highest positive sentiments while solar and wind energy have higher interest. Solar and wind energy are found to be the two most promising sources for the future energy transition. Our study implies that governments should practice a higher influence on promoting awareness of the environment and converging between people's interests and feasible energy solutions. We also advocate Twitter as a source for collecting real-time data about social preferences for environmental policy input.

The dynamics of public spending on sustainable green economy: role of technological innovation and industrial structure effects.

In order to achieve the goal of sustainable green economic development, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the efficiency of the green economy and compare it with emission reductions. The green economy idea is a much-discussed solution to economic growth. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of government spending on the performance of the green economy of various countries under the "Belt and Road" (BRI) initiative project. The data were analyzed using the BRI economy panel data from 2008 to 2018. The generalized method of moments (GMM) was used to estimate the effect of government expenditures on education and research and development (R&D) on green economic performance index (GEE) in BRI countries. The results reveal that during the study period, BRI countries have experienced an upward transition towards green development, except for Pakistan and Bangladesh; their GEE decreased gradually from 2010 to 2018. Further, the findings of the system GMM revealed that both education and R&D have a positive impact on the green economy. Moreover, the compositional and technological effects of the overall sample were verified with the GMM process. Nevertheless, the sub-sample results revealed a heterogeneous impact on countries with a high per capita GDP. Following the results, useful policy measures for promoting sustainable green economic development have been proposed.

Determinants of Social Commerce Usage and Online Impulse Purchase: Implications for Business and Digital Revolution.

Since their introduction in the early 2000s, the use of social networking websites has exploded. Many businesses are seeing increased revenue due to their social commerce strategy. Despite the popularity of social commerce websites, some consumers are still hesitate to use them. This study aims to evaluate the factors that influence the adoption of social commerce. A sample of 721 Chinese We Chat users took part in the research. The findings reveal that social capital mediates the positive effect of social commerce adoption and perceived ease of use (PERU) on techno-stress and online impulse purchasing. Likewise, information overloading mediates the positive effect of social commerce adoption and PERU on techno-stress and online impulse purchasing. The findings have implications for both practice and research in understanding social commerce adoption in emerging economies.

Sustainable impact of COVID-19 on education projects: aspects of naturalism.

History records show that pandemics and threats have always given new directions to the thinking, working, and learning styles. This article attempts to thoroughly document the positive core of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and its impact on global social psychology, ecological stability, and development. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the hypotheses and comprehend the objectives of the study. The findings of the study reveals that the path coefficients for the variables health consciousness, naturalism, financial impact and self-development, sustainability, compassion, gregariousness, sympathy, and cooperation demonstrate that the factors have a positive and significant effect on COVID-19 prevention. Moreover, the content analysis was conducted on recently published reports, blog content, newspapers, and social media. The pieces of evidence from history have been cited to justify the perspective. Furthermore, to appraise the opinions of professionals of different walks of life, an online survey was conducted, and results were discussed with expert medical professionals. Outcomes establish that the pandemics give birth to creativity, instigate innovations, prompt inventions, establish human ties, and foster altruistic elements of compassion and emotionalism.

Assessment of public intention to get vaccination against COVID-19: Evidence from a developing country.

OBJECTIVES: Widespread acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine will be the next important step in fighting the novel coronavirus disease. Though the Pakistani government has successfully implemented robust policies to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic; however, studies assessing public intention to get COVID-19 vaccination (IGCV) are limited. The aim of this study is to deal with this literature gap and has also expanded the conceptual framework of planned behaviour theory. We have introduced three new considerations (risk perceptions of the pandemic, perceived benefits of the vaccine, and unavailability of vaccine) to have a better understanding of the influencing factors that encourage or discourage public IGCV. METHODS: Results are based on a sample collected from 754 households using an inclusive questionnaire survey. Hypotheses are tested by utilizing the structural equation modelling approach. RESULTS: The results disclose that the intention factors, that is, attitude, risk perceptions of the pandemic, and perceived benefits of the vaccine, impart positive effects on public IGCV. In contrast, the cost of the vaccine and the unavailability of the vaccine have negative effects. Notably, environmental concern has an insignificant effect. CONCLUSIONS: Research findings emphasize the importance of publicizing the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on society and the environment, ensuring vaccination availability at an accessible price while simultaneously improving public healthcare practices.