Manchester Metropolitan University

About: Manchester Metropolitan University is a education organization based out in Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 5435 authors who have published 16202 publications receiving 442561 citations. The organization is also known as: Manchester Polytechnic & MMU.

Environmental correlates for tropical tree diversity and distribution patterns in Borneo

Abstract: Aim Identify environmental correlates for tropical tree diversity and composition. Location Borneo, Southeast Asia. Methods A GIS-environmental database with 5 arc minute ( c . 10 × 10 km) resolution was combined with tree inventory data. Tree diversity, phylogenetic diversity (PD) and the two main compositional gradients were determined for 46 tree inventories. Akaike’s information criterion and a data jackknifing procedure were used to select 50 explanatory models for diversity and composition gradients. The average of these models was used as our final diversity and compositional model. We applied Moran’s I to detect spatial autocorrelation of residuals. Results Tree diversity, PD and the two main compositional gradients in Borneo were all significantly correlated with the environment. Tree diversity correlated negatively with elevation, soil depth, soil coarseness (texture) and organic carbon content, whereas it correlated positively with soil C:N ratio, soil pH, moisture storage capacity and annual rainfall. Tree PD was correlated positively with elevation and temperature seasonality and was largely determined by gymnosperms. However, angiosperm PD also correlated positive with elevation. Compositional patterns were strongly correlated with elevation but soil texture, cation-exchange-capacity, C:N ratio, C and N content and drainage were also important next to rainfall seasonality and El Nino Southern Oscillation drought impact. Main conclusions Although elevation is the most important correlate for diversity and compositional gradients in Borneo, significant additional variability is explained by soil characteristics (texture, carbon content, pH, depth, drainage and nutrient status) and climate (annual rainfall, rainfall seasonality and droughts). The identified environmental correlates for diversity and composition gradients correspond to those found in other tropical regions of the world. Differences between the regions are mainly formed by differences in the relative importance of the environmental variables in explaining diversity and compositional gradients.

Malware detection in industrial internet of things based on hybrid image visualization and deep learning model

Abstract: Now the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices can be deployed to monitor the flow of data, the source of collection and supervision on a large scale of complex networks. It implements large networks for sending and receiving data connected by smart devices. Malware threats, which are primarily targeted at conventional computers linked to the Internet, can also be targeted at IoT machines. Therefore, a smart protection approach is needed to protect millions of IIoT users against malicious attacks. On the other hand, existing state-of - the-art malware identification methods are not better in terms of computational complexity. In this paper, we design architecture to detect malware attacks on the Industrial Internet of Things (MD-IIOT). For an in-depth analysis of malware, a methodology is proposed based on color image visualization and deep convolution neural network. The findings of the proposed method are compared to former approaches to malware detection. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method's predictive time and detection accuracy are higher than that of previous machine learning and deep learning methods.

Drink temperature influences fluid intake and endurance capacity in men during exercise in a hot, dry environment

Abstract: The effect of different drink temperatures on the perception of exertion and exercise endurance has not been extensively investigated. Consequently, the purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of drink temperature on fluid intake and endurance during cycling in the heat. Eight healthy, non-acclimated males (26 +/- 7 years; maximum oxygen uptake, 54 +/- 5 ml kg(-1) min(-1); mean +/- S.D.) cycled to exhaustion at 34 degrees C and at 65% of their peak aerobic power, consuming a drink at either 19 degrees C (CON) or 4 degrees C (COLD). Six of the eight subjects cycled for longer during COLD, with exhaustion occurring at 62 +/- 4 min, compared to 55 +/- 4 min for CON (P < 0.05; mean +/- S.E.M.). Subjects consumed significantly more fluid during COLD compared to CON (1.3 +/- 0.3 l h(-1) compared to 1.0 +/- 0.2 l h(-1); P < 0.05). Heart rate tended to be lower by approximately 5 beats min(-1) during COLD, and rectal temperature during the second half of the exercise period was approximately 0.25 degrees C lower during the COLD trial; however, these trends were not significant (P = 0.08 and P = 0.07, respectively). No differences were observed between trials for ventilation, concentrations of prolactin, glucose and lactate or perceived exertion. It is concluded that a drink at 4 degrees C during exercise in the heat enhances fluid consumption and improves endurance by acting as a heat sink, attenuating the rise in body temperature and therefore reducing the effects of heat stress.

Oligosaccharides of hyaluronan induce angiogenesis through distinct CD44 and RHAMM-mediated signalling pathways involving Cdc2 and gamma-adducin.

Abstract: We used short-interfering RNA (siRNA) to knockdown the hyaluronan (HA) receptors CD44 and the receptor for hyaluronan-mediated motility (RHAMM) in vascular endothelial cells to investigate their role in angiogenesis. We showed that CD44 and RHAMM single knockdown inhibited low molecular weight hyaluronan (o-HA)-induced endothelial cell tube formation in Matrigel, but no change in the control, epidermal growth factor-induced tube formation was observed. Using a Kinexus phosphoprotein array and confirmational Western blotting we were able to show a differential effect on HA-induced protein expression after CD44 and RHAMM knockdown. CD44 knockdown abolished o-HA-induced membrane phospho-protein kinase C-alpha (PKC-alpha) and down-stream phospho-gamma-adducin expression. Using the PKC inhibitor Go6976, we demonstrated the involvement of PKC-alpha and gamma-adducin in o-HA-induced tube formation, whilst o-HA-induced enzymatic activity of MMP9 was also reduced. This suggests that endothelial tube formation involves activation of MMP9 via PKC-alpha. Furthermore, the involvement of gamma-adducin in o-HA-induced F-actin cytoskeleton rearrangement was CD44-dependent and the reduction of CD44 expression lead to a change in endothelial cell morphology. Both RHAMM and CD44 knockdown completely inhibited o-HA-induced Cdc2 (Cdk1) phosphorylation suggesting a possible involvement in cell cycle control. Although CD44 and RHAMM are both involved in o-HA-induced endothelial tube formation in Matrigel, they mediate distinct angiogenic signalling pathway and for the first time we demonstrated the specific involvement of gamma-adducin in CD44/o-HA-induced endothelial tube formation. The data presented here extend our understanding of key stages of the processes of o-HA-induced angiogenesis which may have relevance to tumour progression.