Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conditional ablation of the prorenin receptor in nephron progenitor cells results in developmental programming of hypertension

Nephron induction during kidney development is driven by reciprocal interactions between progenitor cells (NPCs) of the cap mesenchyme (CM) and the ureteric bud (UB). The prorenin receptor (PRR) is a receptor for renin and prorenin, and an accessory subunit of the vacuolar proton pump V‐ATPase. Previously, we demonstrated that conditional ablation of the PRR in Six2+ NPCs in mice (Six2PRR−/−) causes early neonatal death. Here, we identified genes that are regulated by PRR in Six2+ NPCs FACS‐isolated from Six2PRR−/− and control kidneys on embryonic day E15.5 using whole‐genome expression analysis. Seven genes with expression in CM cells previously shown to direct kidney development, including Notch1, β‐catenin, Lef1, Lhx1, Jag1, and p53, were downregulated. The functional groups within the downregulated gene set included genes involved in embryonic and cellular development, renal regeneration, cellular assembly and organization, cell morphology, death and survival. Double‐transgenic Six2PRR−/−/BatGal+ mice, a reporter strain for β‐catenin transcriptional activity, showed decreased β‐catenin activity in the UB in vivo. Reduced PRR gene dosage in heterozygous Six2PRR+/− mice was associated with decreased glomerular number, segmental thickening of the glomerular basement membrane with focal podocyte foot process effacement, development of hypertension and increased soluble PRR (sPRR) levels in the urine at 2 months of age. Together, these data demonstrate that NPC PRR performs essential functions during nephrogenesis via control of hierarchy of genes that regulate critical cellular processes. Both reduced nephron endowment and augmented urine sPRR likely contribute to programming of hypertension in Six2PRR+/− mice.
Non-invasive assessment of spatiotemporal organization of ventricular fibrillation through principal component analysis

Introduction Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the main cause of sudden cardiac death, but we lack tools to predict the evolution of its complexity. This study proposes novel VF complexity markers obtained by principal component analysis (PCA) of body surface potential maps (BSPMs). Methods BSPMs were divided in 0.5-s segments, each projected on the 3D PCA subspace determined in the previous frame. Reconstruction error ε was expressed in terms of norm dε and angle cosine cos(αε), and the nondipolar component index (NDI) quantified the energy of the first 3 PCA eigenvalues. These markers quantified changes in complexity between the beginning and the end of 24 VF episodes and 5 control sinus rhythm (SR) recordings. They were also tested on 6 BSPMs from a torso-tank model during and after ex-vivo pig heart perfusion. Differences between in-silico BSPM right and left leads were then verified in 4 human VF simulations, with a reentrant source in the right ventricle. Results Higher NDI and dε and lower cos(αε) denoted higher complexity at the end of VF (p < 0.0001). No changes occurred in SR (p > 0.05). The indices also underlined higher disorganization in exvivo non-perfused VF (p < 0.0001). A similar trend was observed in the right in-silico BSPM leads (p < 0.05). Conclusions PCA can non-invasively quantify changes in VF complexity.
Virological Control by the CD4-Binding Site Antibody N6 in Simian-Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Rhesus Monkeys

ABSTRACT Passive immunotherapy against HIV-1 will most likely require broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) with maximum breadth and potency to ensure therapeutic efficacy. Recently, the novel CD4 binding site antibody N6 demonstrated extraordinary neutralization breadth and potency against large panels of cross-clade pseudoviruses. We evaluated the in vivo antiviral activity of N6-LS, alone or in combination with the established V3-glycan antibody PGT121, in chronically simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)-SF162P3-infected macaques. A single dose of N6-LS suppressed plasma viral loads in 4 out of 5 animals at day 7, while the combination of both antibodies suppressed all animals. The combination of both antibodies had no additive antiviral effect compared to a single dose of PGT121, potentially reflecting the nearly 10-fold-higher potency of PGT121 against this SHIV. Viral rebound occurred in the majority of suppressed animals and was linked to declining plasma bnAb levels over time. In addition to the effect on plasma viremia, bnAb administration resulted in significantly reduced proviral DNA levels in PBMCs after 2 weeks and in lymph nodes after 10 weeks. Autologous neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses and CD8+ T-cell responses were not significantly enhanced in the bnAb-treated animals compared to control animals, arguing against their contribution to the viral effects observed. These results confirm the robust antiviral activity of N6-LS in vivo, supporting the further clinical development of this antibody. IMPORTANCE Monocloncal antibodies (MAbs) are being considered for passive immunotherapy of HIV-1 infection. A critical requirement for such strategies is the identification of MAbs that recognize the diversity of variants within circulating but also reservoir viruses, and MAb combinations might be needed to achieve this goal. This study evaluates the novel bnAb N6-LS alone or in combination with the bnAb PGT121, in rhesus macaques that were chronically infected with SHIV. The results demonstrate that N6-LS potently suppressed plasma viral loads in the majority of animals but that the combination with PGT121 was not superior to PGT121 alone in delaying time to viral rebound or reducing peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) or lymph node proviral DNA levels. The occurrence of viral escape variants in an N6-LS-monotreated animal, however, argues for the need to maximize breadth and antiviral efficacy by combining bnAbs for therapeutic indications.
Approaching vehicle detection method with acoustic analysis using smartphone for elderly bicycle driver

More than 60 percentage of fatal accidents while riding a bicycle is caused by elderly people over 65 years old. The main cause is the detection delay of approaching vehicle caused by the decrease of cognitive function due to aging. In this paper, we propose an approaching vehicle detection method using a smartphone aiming to support bicycle operation to prevent elderly people from fatal accidents while riding a bicycle vehicle. Among various sensors embedded in a smartphone, we focus on microphone as the most suitable sensor for detecting an approaching vehicle. We collected sound data in a real environment and created an approaching vehicle detection model by using machine learning. Finally, as a result of accuracy evaluation with 10-fold cross-validation, we confirmed that it can detect approaching vehicle with an average F-value of 97.4 [%].
Gibberellic Acid Promotes Seed Germination in Penstemon digitalis cv. Husker Red

Penstemon seed often shows an inconsistent or a low germination percentage. Although most select cultivars are propagated by cuttings, for export to other countries, seed is preferred. Three experiments were conducted to determine if soaking seed in gibberellic acid (GA3) would increase seed germination of Penstemon digitalis cv. Husker Red. GA3 concentrations used were 0, 10, 50, 100, 200, and 500 mgL -1 (first experiment); 0, 500, 1000, and 1500 mgL -1 (second experiment); and 0, 500, and 1000 mgL -1 (third experiment). The first and second experiments were conducted in a growth chamber, whereas the third experiment was conducted in both a growth chamber and greenhouse withseedseithercoveredornotcoveredbythemix.Inallexperiments,GA3increasedthe percentage and rateof seed germination.The 1000mgL -1 GA3was thebest treatment. In the third experiment, percentage and rate of seed germination were the highest for seeds grown inside of the growth chamber, probably as a result of the consistency of temperatures and darkness. In the greenhouse, the percentage of seeds that germinated and the rate of germination were similar whether or not the seeds were covered with mix and whether they received either the 500 or 1000 mgL -1 GA3 treatment.
Distributed dual objective control of energy storage systems

In this paper, a dual objective control problem is considered for energy storage systems. On one hand, the power output of the overall energy storage system should meet its reference. On the other hand, the state-of-energy of all the energy storage units should be balanced so as to maintain the maximum system power capacity. To achieve these two control objectives simultaneously, two distributed control approaches have been proposed depending on the uniformity of the energy capacities of the energy storage units. Case studies are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control approaches.
Perceptual dimensionality of manual key clicks

The present study investigated the perceptual dimensions associated with manual key clicks, with the goal of developing realistic haptic key-click feedback signals for virtual keys. We first harvested eight adjective pairs for describing the haptic feel of button and key presses from native English speakers. We then conducted the main experiment where participants provided adjective ratings and grouping data for twenty-three buttons and keys. An MDS analysis of the grouping data led to either a 2-D or 3-D solution. By projecting adjective ratings onto the MDS solution spaces, we found the 2-D perceptual space to be an adequate representation of human perception of manual key clicks. The two perceptual dimensions are determined to be shallow-deep and rough-smooth. Future work will explore the physical parameters corresponding to the perceptual dimensions and ways to simulate realistic key clicks by designing feedback signals using the relevant parameters.
Protective role of methanol extracts of Gentiana asclepiadea L. and G. cruciata L. against genotoxic damage induced by ethyl methanesulfonate

The methanol extracts from the underground and aerial part of the two species of Gentiana genus, Gentiana asclepiadea L. and Gentiana cruciata L. from Serbia, were investigated for their antigenotoxic activity against wellestablished mutagenic agent ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) using the in vivo sexlinked recessive lethal (SLRL) test on Drosophila melanogaster. For this purpose, three days old Canton S males were treated with the potent mutagen EMS in concentration of 0.75 ppm, alone and combined with methanol extracts obtained from underground or aerial part of G. asclepiadea and G. cruciata in concentration of 5%, separately. Although EMS in concentration of 0.75 ppm increased the mutation frequency in all three broods, post-treatments with methanol extracts obtained from the underground and aerial part of G. asclepiadea and G. cruciata in concentration of 5%, respectively, drastically reduced the frequency of sex-linked recessive lethal mutations induced by EMS. Compared to the sucrose, as a negative control, methanol extract obtained from underground part of G. cruciata showed the most potent antigenotoxic activity. Extracts from the underground and aerial part of the two species of Gentiana genus, G. asclepiadea L. and G. cruciata L. from Serbia used in our experiments showed a clear antimutagenic effect, reducing the frequency of mutations induced by a strong mutagen such as EMS. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III43004 i br. III41010]
Alcohol consumption is associated with high concentrations of urinary hydroxytyrosol.

BACKGROUND Previously, we reported the presence of hydroxytyrosol in red wine and higher human urinary recovery of total hydroxytyrosol than that expected after a single red wine intake. We hypothesized that the alcohol present in wine could promote endogenous hydroxytyrosol generation. OBJECTIVE The objective was to assess the relation between alcohol consumption and urinary hydroxytyrosol concentrations. DESIGN This was a cross-sectional study with baseline data from a subsample of the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) trial, an intervention study directed at testing the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Participants included 1045 subjects, aged 55-80 y, who were at high cardiovascular risk. Alcohol consumption was estimated through a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Urinary hydroxytyrosol and ethyl glucuronide, a biomarker of alcohol consumption, were measured. RESULTS Urinary ethyl glucuronide concentrations were directly related to alcohol and wine consumption (P < 0.001) as well as to urinary hydroxytyrosol in both sexes (P < 0.001). The degree of alcohol consumption was directly associated with urinary hydroxytyrosol in male alcohol consumers (P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed a significant linear trend (P < 0.05) for elevated hydroxytyrosol concentrations with an increase in alcohol consumption. Intakes of >20 g (2 drinks)/d and >10 g (1 drink)/d alcohol in men and women, respectively, were associated (P < 0.05) with elevated concentrations of hydroxytyrosol. CONCLUSIONS We report for the first time a direct association between urinary hydroxytyrosol and alcohol consumption at a population level. These findings reinforce previous work in human and animal models that examines wine as a source of hydroxytyrosol and alcohol as an indirect promoter of endogenous hydroxytyrosol generation. This trial was registered at controlled-trials.com/isrctn/ as ISRCTN 35739639.
TeleCARE: Collaborative virtual elderly support communities

The growing percentage of elderly population imposes an urgent need to develop new approaches to care provision. Integration of a number of technologies such as multi-agent systems, federated information management, safe communications, hypermedia interfaces, rich sensorial environments, and increased intelligence in home appliances represents an important enabling factor for the design and development of virtual elderly support community environments. In this paper, a platform based on mobile agents combined with federated information management mechanisms is introduced as a flexible infrastructure on top of which specialized care services are built.
An Innovative Heuristic Algorithm for IoT-Enabled Smart Homes for Developing Countries

Over the past few years, active research on algorithm development for the optimal operations of home energy management systems (HEMSs) has been performed. The objective is to compute optimized schedules for shiftable home appliances. This is based on the demand response (DR) synergized with renewable energy sources and energy storage system optimal dispatch (DRSREOD). An improved algorithm for a DRSREOD-based HEMS is proposed in this paper. This heuristic-based algorithm considers DR, photovoltaic availability, the state of charge and charge/discharge rates of the storage battery and the sharing-based parallel operation of more than one power source to supply the required load. The HEMS problem has been solved to minimize the cost of energy (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$CE$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) and time-based discomfort (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$TBD$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) with conflicting tradeoffs. The mixed scheduling of appliances (delayed scheduling for some appliances and advanced scheduling for others) is introduced to improve the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$CE$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$TBD$ </tex-math></inline-formula> performance parameters. An inclining block rate scheme is also incorporated to reduce the peak load. A set of optimized tradeoffs between <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$CE$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$TBD$ </tex-math></inline-formula> has been computed to address multi-objectivity using a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) with Pareto optimization (PO) to perform the tradeoff analysis and to enable consumers to select the most feasible solution. Due to the rapid increase in demand for electricity, developing countries are facing large-scale load shedding (LS). An innovative algorithm is also proposed for the optimal sizing of a dispatchable generator (DG) that can supply the DRSREOD-based HEMS during LS hours to ensure an uninterrupted supply of power. The proposed MOGA/PO-based algorithm enables consumers to select a DG of the optimal size from among a number of optimal choices based on tradeoffs between the DG size, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$CE$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$TBD$ </tex-math></inline-formula>.
Application of Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm Based Simulation for Cost-Effective Building Energy Efficiency Design and Thermal Comfort Improvement

Building design following the energy efficiency standards may not achieve the optimal performance in terms of investment cost, energy consumption and thermal comfort. In this paper, an improved multi-objective genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is combined with building simulation to assist building design optimization for five selected cities located in the hot summer and cold winter region in China. The trade-offs between the annual energy consumption and initial construction cost, as well as between life cycle cost and number of thermal discomfort hours, were explored. Sensitivity analysis of various design parameters on building energy consumption is performed. The optimizations predicted annual energy consumption reduction of 29.08% on average, as compared to a reference building designed following the standard, and 38.6% with 3.18% more cost on the initial investment. New values for a number of building design parameters are recommended for the revision of relevant building energy efficiency standard.
Exposure to Formaldehyde Perturbs the Mouse Gut Microbiome

Exposure to Formaldehyde (FA) results in many pathophysiological symptoms, however the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Given the complicated modulatory role of intestinal microbiota on human health, we hypothesized that interactions between FA and the gut microbiome may account for FA’s toxicity. Balb/c mice were allocated randomly to three groups: a control group, a methanol group (0.1 and 0.3 ng/mL MeOH subgroups), and an FA group (1 and 3 ng/mL FA subgroups). Groups of either three or six mice were used for the control or experiment. We applied high-throughput sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene approaches and investigated possible alterations in the composition of mouse gut microbiota induced by FA. Changes in bacterial genera induced by FA exposure were identified. By analyzing KEGG metabolic pathways predicted by PICRUSt software, we also explored the potential metabolic changes, such as alpha-Linolenic acid metabolism and pathways in cancer, associated with FA exposure in mice. To the best of our knowledge, this preliminary study is the first to identify changes in the mouse gut microbiome after FA exposure, and to analyze the relevant potential metabolisms. The limitation of this study: this study is relatively small and needs to be further confirmed through a larger study.
Using quicksand to improve debugging practice in post-novice level students

The ability to debug existing code is an important skill to develop in student programmers. However, debugging may not receive the same amount of explicit teaching attention as other material and the main expression of debugging competence is students' ability to undo problems which they themselves have injected into their assignments. Further, as the literature points out, debugging skills do not necessarily develop at the same rate as code writing skills. This paper discusses an intervention in a second year course designed to improve students' application of simple debugging techniques. We use a puzzle based approach where students are graded based on the number of attempts they take to locate misbehaving code in a program which they did not write but whose function they understand. An existing assignment component addresses another aspect of debugging practice.
Dynamic Quantitative Trait Locus Analysis of Seed Vigor at Three Maturity Stages in Rice

Seed vigor is an important characteristic of seed quality. In this study, one rice population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was used to determine the genetic characteristics of seed vigor, including the germination potential, germination rate, germination index and time for 50% of germination, at 4 (early), 5 (middle) and 6 weeks (late) after heading in two years. A total of 24 additive and 9 epistatic quantitative trait loci (QTL) for seed vigor were identified using QTL Cartographer and QTLNetwork program respectively in 2012; while 32 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers associated with seed vigor were detected using bulked segregant analysis (BSA) in 2013. The additive, epistatic and QTL × development interaction effects regulated the dry maturity developmental process to improve seed vigor in rice. The phenotypic variation explained by each additive, epistatic QTL and QTL × development interaction ranged from 5.86 to 40.67%, 4.64 to 11.28% and 0.01 to 1.17%, respectively. The QTLs were rarely co-localized among the different maturity stages; more QTLs were expressed at the early maturity stage followed by the late and middle stages. Twenty additive QTLs were stably expressed in two years which might play important roles in establishment of seed vigor in different environments. By comparing chromosomal positions of these stably expressed additive QTLs with those previously identified, the regions of QTL for seed vigor are likely to coincide with QTL for grain size, low temperature germinability and seed dormancy; while 5 additive QTL might represent novel genes. Using four selected RILs, three cross combinations of seed vigor for the development of RIL populations were predicted; 19 elite alleles could be pyramided by each combination.
Violence detection for video surveillance system using irregular motion information

In this paper, we proposed violence detection method in surveillance video system. The proposed method consists of 4 steps: i) Detect the object region within a video image by background subtraction method and apply the morphology filter to reduce noise artifacts. ii) Estimate the motion vector using the Combined Local-Global approach with Total Variation (CLG-TV) in the object region. iii) Detect the violence event by analyzing the characteristic of motion vectors generated in the region of object by using the Motion Co-occurrence Feature (MCF).