Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Database-augmented Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Exosomes Identifies Claudin 3 as a Putative Prostate Cancer Biomarker *

In prostate cancer and other malignancies sensitive and robust biomarkers are lacking or have relevant limitations. Prostate specific antigen (PSA), the only biomarker widely used in prostate cancer, is suffering from low specificity. Exosomes offer new perspectives in the discovery of blood-based biomarkers. Here we present a proof-of principle study for a proteomics-based identification pipeline, implementing existing data sources, to exemplarily identify exosome-based biomarker candidates in prostate cancer. Exosomes from malignant PC3 and benign PNT1A cells and from FBS-containing medium were isolated using sequential ultracentrifugation. Exosome and control samples were analyzed on an LTQ-Orbitrap XL mass spectrometer. Proteomic data is available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD003651. We developed a scoring scheme to rank 64 proteins exclusively found in PC3 exosomes, integrating data from four public databases and published mass spectrometry data sets. Among the top candidates, we focused on the tight junction protein claudin 3. Retests under serum-free conditions using immunoblotting and immunogold labeling confirmed the presence of claudin 3 on PC3 exosomes. Claudin 3 levels were determined in the blood plasma of patients with localized (n = 58; 42 with Gleason score 6–7, 16 with Gleason score ≥8) and metastatic prostate cancer (n = 11) compared with patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (n = 15) and healthy individuals (n = 15) using ELISA, without prior laborious exosome isolation. ANOVA showed different CLDN3 plasma levels in these groups (p = 0.004). CLDN3 levels were higher in patients with Gleason ≥8 tumors compared with patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (p = 0.012) and Gleason 6–7 tumors (p = 0.029). In patients with localized tumors CLDN3 levels predicted a Gleason score ≥ 8 (AUC = 0.705; p = 0.016) and did not correlate with serum PSA. By using the described workflow claudin 3 was identified and validated as a potential blood-based biomarker in prostate cancer. Furthermore this workflow could serve as a template to be used in other cancer entities.
Information Fusion Estimation for spatially distributed cyber-physical systems with communication delay and bandwidth constraints

This paper studies the distributed fusion Kalman filtering problem for a class of cyber-physical systems (CPSs), where multiple sensors are arbitrarily deployed to jointly sense the state of underlying physical systems, and the sensor measurements are directly sent to the corresponding sink node. When each local estimate obtained by the sink node is transmitted to a remote information fusion center (FC), the communication between the sink node and the FC is subject to delay and finite bandwidth. A stochastic dimensionality reduction strategy is proposed to model the communication delay and bandwidth constraints, and then a recursively distributed fusion Kalman filter (DFKF) is designed from the optimal fusion criterion weighted by matrices. Since the estimation performance directly impacts the stability of control operation in CPSs, a probability-dependent sufficient condition is derived such that the mean square error of the designed DFKF is convergent. In this case, the DFKF can guarantee a satisfactory estimation performance if the selection probabilities are determined by the proposed probability-dependent condition.
Values exchange: using online technology to raise awareness of values and ethics in radiography education

Ethics and values are increasingly significant aspects of patient‐centred healthcare. While it is widely agreed that ethics and values are essential for healthcare delivery, there is also an acknowledgement that these are areas that are challenging to teach. The purpose of this study is to report a small‐scale evaluative research project of a web‐based technology with the educational potential to facilitate learning in relation to ethics, values, self‐reflection and peer‐based learning.
Principal component of explained variance: An efficient and optimal data dimension reduction framework for association studies

The genomics era has led to an increase in the dimensionality of data collected in the investigation of biological questions. In this context, dimension-reduction techniques can be used to summarise high-dimensional signals into low-dimensional ones, to further test for association with one or more covariates of interest. This paper revisits one such approach, previously known as principal component of heritability and renamed here as principal component of explained variance (PCEV). As its name suggests, the PCEV seeks a linear combination of outcomes in an optimal manner, by maximising the proportion of variance explained by one or several covariates of interest. By construction, this method optimises power; however, due to its computational complexity, it has unfortunately received little attention in the past. Here, we propose a general analytical PCEV framework that builds on the assets of the original method, i.e. conceptually simple and free of tuning parameters. Moreover, our framework extends the range of applications of the original procedure by providing a computationally simple strategy for high-dimensional outcomes, along with exact and asymptotic testing procedures that drastically reduce its computational cost. We investigate the merits of the PCEV using an extensive set of simulations. Furthermore, the use of the PCEV approach is illustrated using three examples taken from the fields of epigenetics and brain imaging.
Sentence Processing in Traumatic Brain Injury: Evidence From the P600.

PURPOSE Sentence processing can be affected following a traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to linguistic or cognitive deficits. Language-related event-related potentials (ERPs), particularly the P600, have not been described in individuals with TBI history. METHOD Four young adults with a history of closed head injury participated. Two had severe injuries, and 2 had mild-moderate injuries more than 24 months prior to testing. ERPs were recorded while participants read sentences designed to be grammatically correct or incorrect. Participants also completed cognitive and sentence comprehension measures. RESULTS One participant with TBI was significantly different than the control group on several behavioral sentence measures and 1 cognitive measure. However, none of the participants with TBI had a reliable P600 effect. Nonparametric bootstrapping indicated that the ERP was reliable in 10 control participants but no participants with TBI history. CONCLUSIONS There were few behavioral differences between individuals with TBI history and the control group, though all reported subjective difficulty with reading. The P600 was absent in the TBI group in this study. Given the heterogeneity of individuals with TBI and the difficulty in assessing subtle language impairments, exploring the P600 further may provide useful insight into language processing difficulties.
Adaptive Feature Mapping for Customizing Deep Learning Based Facial Expression Recognition Model

Automated facial expression recognition can greatly improve the human–machine interface. The machine can provide better and more personalized services when it knows the human’s emotion. This kind of improvement is an important progress in this artificial intelligence era. Many deep learning approaches have been applied in recent years due to their outstanding recognition accuracy after training with large amounts of data. The performance is limited, however, by the specific environmental conditions and variations in different persons involved. Hence, this paper addresses the issue of how to customize the generic model without label information from the testing samples. Weighted Center Regression Adaptive Feature Mapping (W-CR-AFM) is mainly proposed to transform the feature distribution of testing samples into that of trained samples. By means of minimizing the error between each feature of testing sample and the center of the most relevant category, W-CR-AFM can bring the features of testing samples around the decision boundary to the centers of expression categories; therefore, their predicted labels can be corrected. When the model which is tuned by W-CR-AFM is tested on extended Cohn-Kanade (CK+), Radboud Faces database, and Amsterdam dynamic facial expression set, our approach can improve the recognition accuracy by about 3.01%, 0.49%, and 5.33%, respectively. Compared to the competing deep learning architectures with the same training data, our approach shows the better performance.
Hypervirulent, Regulator of Mucoid Phenotype A Positive Klebsiella pneumoniae Liver Abscess

Journal of Global Infectious Diseases ¦ Volume 10 ¦ Issue 1 ¦ January-March 2018 30 2. Gyorkos TW, Genta RM, Viens P, MacLean JD. Seroepidemiology of Strongyloides infection in the Southeast Asian refugee population in Canada. Am J Epidemiol 1990;132:257-64. 3. Gotuzzo E, Terashima A, Alvarez H, Tello R, Infante R, Watts DM, et al. Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection associated with human T cell lymphotropic virus type-1 infection in Peru. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1999;60:146-9. 4. Nwokolo C, Imohiosen EA. Strongyloidiasis of respiratory tract presenting as “asthma”. Br Med J 1973;2:153-4. 5. Keiser PB, Nutman TB. Strongyloides stercoralis in the immunocompromised population. Clin Microbiol Rev 2004;17:208-17. 6. Marty FM. Strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome and transplantation: A preventable, frequently fatal infection. Transpl Infect Dis 2009;11:97-9. 7. Jamil SA, Hilton E. The Strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome. N Y State J Med 1992;92:67-8. 8. Koosha S, Fesharaki M, Rokni MB. Comparison of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and indirect immunofluorescence assay in the diagnosis of human strongyloidiasis. Indian Soc Gastroenterol 2004;23:214-6. 9. Kishimoto K, Hokama A, Hirata T, Ihama Y, Nakamoto M, Kinjo N, et al. Endoscopic and histopathological study on the duodenum of Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection. World J Gastroenterol 2008 21;14:1768-73. 10. Zaha O, Hirata T, Kinjo F, Saito A, Fukuhara H. Efficacy of ivermectin for chronic strongyloidiasis: Two single doses given 2 weeks apart. J Infect Chemother 2002;8:94-8. 11. Muennig P, Pallin D, Challah C, Khan K. The cost-effectiveness of ivermectin vs. albendazole in the presumptive treatment of strongyloidiasis in immigrants to the United States. Epidemiol Infect 2004;132:1055-63. 12. González-Ramos J, Alonso-Pacheco ML, Mora-Rillo M, Herranz-Pinto P. Need to screen for Chagas disease and Strongyloides infestation in non-endemic countries prior to treatment with biologics. Actas Dermo-Sifiliográficas (English Edition) 2017;108:373-5.
Impact of Water on the Rheology of Lubricating Greases

ABSTRACT The operational life of bearings is often determined by the performance of the lubricating grease. The consistency of the grease prevents it from leaking out of the bearing and provides good sealing properties. The possible ingress of water into the bearing will have a considerable impact not only on this consistency but also on the lubricating ability of the grease. There are numerous applications where water ingress may occur, such as in the steel, food, pulp, and paper industries. Some greases are less sensitive to water than others. No specific guidelines are available to select the proper grease for bearings subjected to water ingress. The goal of the article is to contribute to the development of such guidelines for greases subjected to water ingress by studying the impact of water on grease rheology. Fully formulated, commercially available greases with the most common thickeners and base oils are used as model greases. It will be shown that water strongly influences rheological properties such as zero-shear viscosity, yield stress, and storage modulus. Calcium sulfonate greases were found to become stiffer after absorbing a considerable amount of water, leading to an increase in zero-shear viscosity and yield stress. However, lithium, lithium complex, and polyurea greases were found to soften, with appreciable changes in measured rheological properties.
The structure of Human Microplasmin in Complex with Textilinin-1, an Aprotinin-like Inhibitor from the Australian Brown Snake

Textilinin-1 is a Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor from Australian brown snake venom. Its ability to potently and specifically inhibit human plasmin (Ki = 0.44 nM) makes it a potential therapeutic drug as a systemic anti-bleeding agent. The crystal structures of the human microplasmin-textilinin-1 and the trypsin-textilinin-1 complexes have been determined to 2.78 Å and 1.64 Å resolution respectively, and show that textilinin-1 binds to trypsin in a canonical mode but to microplasmin in an atypical mode with the catalytic histidine of microplasmin rotated out of the active site. The space vacated by the histidine side-chain in this complex is partially occupied by a water molecule. In the structure of microplasminogen the χ1 dihedral angle of the side-chain of the catalytic histidine is rotated by 67° from its “active” position in the catalytic triad, as exemplified by its location when microplasmin is bound to streptokinase. However, when textilinin-1 binds to microplasmin the χ1 dihedral angle of this amino acid residue changes by −157° (i.e. in the opposite rotation direction compared to microplasminogen). The unusual mode of interaction between textilinin-1 and plasmin explains textilinin-1′s selectivity for human plasmin over plasma kallikrein. This difference can be exploited in future drug design efforts.
Trans-Generational Effects of Mild Heat Stress on the Life History Traits of an Aphid Parasitoid

Temperature changes are common in nature and insects are particularly exposed and sensitive to such variations which can be potential stresses, ultimately affecting life history traits and overall fitness. Braconids have been widely used to study the effects of temperature on host-parasitoid interactions and the present work focused on the solitary endoparasitoid Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae Aphidiidae), an efficient biological control agent commercially used against aphids such as the potato aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas (Sternorrhyncha: Aphididae). Contrary to previous studies using heat shocks at extreme temperatures, we evaluated the effects of mild heat stresses by transferring young parasitoid adults from the constant temperature of 20°C to either a warm (25°C) or hot (28°C) temperature, for either 1 h or 48 h. Such treatments are consistent with situations commonly experienced by parasitoids when moved from their rearing conditions to greenhouses or field conditions. The effects were evaluated both on the heat stressed A. ervi adults (G0) (immediate effects) and on their first generation (G1) progeny (trans-generational effects). G0 wasps’ mortality was significantly affected by the temperature in interaction with the duration of the stress. Longevity of G0 wasps surviving the heat stress was negatively affected by the temperature and females lived longer than males. Heat stress applied to A. ervi parents also had consequences on their G1 progeny whose developmental time, rates of mummification and percentage of parasitoid completing total development were negatively affected. Surprisingly, the egg load at emergence of the G1 female progeny was increased when their mothers had been submitted to a mild heat stress of 25°C or 28°C. These results clearly demonstrate trans-generational phenotypic plasticity, showing that adaptation to thermal stresses may be achieved via maternal effects. This study also sheds light on the complexity of insect responses and underlying mechanisms to fluctuating conditions in their natural environment.
UPR transducer BBF2H7 allows export of type II collagen in a cargo- and developmental stage–specific manner

The unfolded protein response (UPR) handles unfolded/misfolded proteins accumulated in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). However, it is unclear how vertebrates correctly use the total of ten UPR transducers. We have found that ER stress occurs physiologically during early embryonic development in medaka fish and that the smooth alignment of notochord cells requires ATF6 as a UPR transducer, which induces ER chaperones for folding of type VIII (short-chain) collagen. After secretion of hedgehog for tissue patterning, notochord cells differentiate into sheath cells, which synthesize type II collagen. In this study, we show that this vacuolization step requires both ATF6 and BBF2H7 as UPR transducers and that BBF2H7 regulates a complete set of genes (Sec23/24/13/31, Tango1, Sedlin, and KLHL12) essential for the enlargement of COPII vesicles to accommodate long-chain collagen for export, leading to the formation of the perinotochordal basement membrane. Thus, the most appropriate UPR transducer is activated to cope with the differing physiological ER stresses of different content types depending on developmental stage.
Experimental Crossing of Two Distinct Species of Leopard Geckos, Eublepharis angramainyu and E. macularius: Viability, Fertility and Phenotypic Variation of the Hybrids

Hybridization between distinct species of animals and subsequent genetic introgression plays a considerable role in the speciation process and the emergence of adaptive characters. Fitness of between-species hybrids usually sharply decreases with the divergence time of the concerned species and the divergence depth, which still allows for a successful crossing differs among principal clades of vertebrates. Recently, a review of hybridization events among distinct lizard species revealed that lizards belong to vertebrates with a highly developed ability to hybridize. In spite of this, reliable reports of experimental hybridizations between genetically fairly divergent species are only exceptional. Here, we show the results of the crossing of two distinct allopatric species of eyelid geckos possessing temperature sex determination and lacking sex chromosomes: Eublepharis macularius distributed in Pakistan/Afghanistan area and E. angramainyu, which inhabits Mesopotamia and adjacent areas. We demonstrated that F1 hybrids were viable and fertile, and the introgression of E. angramainyu genes into the E. macularius genome can be enabled via a backcrossing. The examined hybrids (except those of the F2 generation) displayed neither malformations nor a reduced survival. Analyses of morphometric and coloration traits confirmed phenotypic distinctness of both parental species and their F1 hybrids. These findings contrast with long-term geographic and an evolutionary separation of the studied species. Thus, the occurrence of fertile hybrids of comparably divergent species, such as E. angramainyu and E. macularius, may also be expected in other taxa of squamates. This would violate the current estimates of species diversity in lizards.
Continuous‐variable quantum information processing

Observables of quantum systems can possess either a discrete or a continuous spectrum. For example, upon measurements of the photon number of a light state, discrete outcomes will result whereas measurements of the light's quadrature amplitudes result in continuous outcomes. If one uses the continuous degree of freedom of a quantum system for encoding, processing or detecting information, one enters the field of continuous‐variable (CV) quantum information processing. In this paper we review the basic principles of CV quantum information processing with main focus on recent developments in the field. We will be addressing the three main stages of a quantum information system; the preparation stage where quantum information is encoded into CVs of coherent states and single‐photon states, the processing stage where CV information is manipulated to carry out a specified protocol and a detection stage where CV information is measured using homodyne detection or photon counting.
Strawberry-Based Cosmetic Formulations Protect Human Dermal Fibroblasts against UVA-Induced Damage

Extreme exposure of skin to Ultraviolet A (UVA)-radiation may induce a dysregulated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which can interact with cellular biomolecules leading to oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage, and alteration of cellular molecular pathways, responsible for skin photoaging, hyperplasia, erythema, and cancer. For these reasons, the use of dietary natural bioactive compounds with remarkable antioxidant activity could be a strategic tool to counteract these UVA-radiation-caused deleterious effects. Thus, the purpose of the present work was to test the efficacy of strawberry (50 μg/mL)-based formulations supplemented with Coenzyme Q10 (100 μg/mL) and sun protection factor 10 in human dermal fibroblasts irradiated with UVA-radiation. The apoptosis rate, the amount of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, the expression of proteins involved in antioxidant and inflammatory response, and mitochondrial functionality were evaluated. The results showed that the synergic topical use of strawberry and Coenzyme Q10 provided a significant (p < 0.05) photoprotective effect, reducing cell death and ROS, increasing antioxidant defense, lowering inflammatory markers, and improving mitochondrial functionality. The obtained results suggest the use of strawberry-based formulations as an innovative, natural, and useful tool for the prevention of UVA exposure-induced skin diseases in order to decrease or substitute the amount of synthetic sunscreen agents.
Self-tuning of software systems through goal-based feedback control loop

Quality requirements of a software system cannot be optimally met, especially when it is running in an uncertain and changing environment. In principle, a controller at runtime can monitor the change impact on quality requirements of the system, update the expectations and priorities from the environment, and take reasonable actions to improve the overall satisfaction. In practice, however, existing controllers are mostly designed for tuning low- level performance indicators rather than high-level requirements. By maintaining a live goal model to represent the runtime requirements and linking the overall satisfaction to an earned business value indicator as feedback, we propose a control-theoretic self-tuning method that can dynamically tune the preferences of different quality requirements, and can autonomously make the tradeoff decisions among different quality requirements through our preference-based goal reasoning. The reasoning result is involved to reconfigure the variation points of the goal model, and accordingly mapped to the system architecture reconfiguration. The effectiveness of our self-tuning method is evaluated by comparing the earned business value with the static and ad-hoc methods and analysing the self-tuning process.
Supervised neural networks with memristor binary synapses

Memristors are emerging devices that promise the efficient implementation of synapses in artificial neural networks. Memristors have permitted the processing and analysis of a large amount of data in evolutionary learning artificial systems through signals that can be assimilated to human brain‐like neurotransmitters and synapses. In this manuscript, we present a memristor‐based neural network implementing the Stochastic Belief‐Propagation‐Inspired algorithm, an efficient supervised learning algorithm (which infers a classification rule from a set of labelled examples) suited for devices with very‐low‐precision synaptic weights. Synapses are represented by memristor devices described by the Generalized Boundary Condition Memristor model. We will thus demonstrate how to implement the key features of a machine learning algorithm in real‐world circuitry. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.