Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combination Treatment of p53-Null HL-60 cells with Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors and Chlorambucil Augments Apoptosis and Increases BCL6 and p21 Gene Expression.

BACKGROUND Treatment of hematological malignancies with conventional DNA-damaging drugs, such as chlorambucil (CLB), commonly results in p53-dependent chemo-resistance. Chromatin modifying agents, such as histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs), sodium butyrate (NaBu) and trichostatin A (TSA), may reverse chemo-resistance by modulating the activity of chromatin remodeling enzymes and/or genes that control cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. OBJECTIVE This study examined the potential use of HDACIs and CLB combination therapies in an in vitro chemo-resistant leukemia model. METHODS The p53-null promyelocytic leukemia cell line, HL60, was used as an in vitro model of chemo-resistant leukemia. Drug cytotoxicity was determined by tetrazolium salt-based colorimetric assays and Annexin V/propidium iodide staining (flow cytometry). The level of mRNA expression of the chromatin modifying genes was measured by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS Micromolar concentrations of CLB combined with either NaBu or TSA triggered synergistic cytotoxic effects in HL-60 cells (p < 0.001). The effects of the combination treatments resulted in upregulated p21 gene expression (up to 59-fold; p<0.001) that preceded an increase in BCL6 gene expression (up to 20-fold; p < 0.001). Statistically significant but smaller magnitude changes (≤ 2-fold; p <0.05) were noted in the expression of other genes studied regardless of the treatment type. CONCLUSION The combination treatment of p53-null HL-60 cells with DNA-damaging agent CLB and HDACIs NaBu and TSA triggered additive to synergistic effects on apoptosis and upregulated BCL6 and p21 expression. These findings reveal BCL6 and p21 as potential targets of chemo-resistance for the development of anti-leukemic drugs.
Prohemostatic Activity of Factor X in Combination With Activated Factor VII in Dilutional Coagulopathy.

BACKGROUND Recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) concentrate reduces allogeneic blood transfusions, but it may increase thromboembolic complications in complex cardiac surgery. The mixture of activated factor VII (FVIIa) and factor X (FX) (FVIIa/FX) (FVIIa:FX = 1:10) is a novel bypassing agent for hemophilia patients. We hypothesized that the combination of FX and FVIIa could improve thrombin generation (TG) in acquired multifactorial coagulation defects such as seen in cardiac surgery and conducted in vitro evaluation of FVIIa/FX in parallel with other coagulation factor concentrates using in vitro and in vivo diluted plasma samples. METHODS Plasma samples were collected from 9 healthy volunteers and 12 cardiac surgical patients. We measured TG (Thrombinoscope) using in vitro 50% dilution plasma and in vivo dilution plasma after cardiopulmonary bypass, in parallel with thromboelastometry (ROTEM) and standard coagulation assays. In vitro additions of FVIIa/FX (0.35, 0.7, and 1.4 μg/mL, based on the FVIIa level), rFVIIa (1.4, 2.8, and 6.4 μg/mL), prothrombin complex concentrate (0.3 international unit), and 20% plasma replacement were evaluated. RESULTS In diluted plasma, the addition of either FVIIa/FX or rFVIIa shortened the lag time and increased the peak TG, but the effect in lag time of FVIIa/FX at 0.35 μg/mL was more extensive than rFVIIa at 6.4 μg/mL. Prothrombin complex concentrate increased peak TG by increasing the prothrombin level but failed to shorten the lag time. No improvement in any of the TG variables was observed after 20% volume replacement with plasma. The addition of factor concentrates normalized prothrombin time/international normalized ratio but not with plasma replacement. In cardiac patients, similar patterns were observed on TG in post-cardiopulmonary bypass samples. FVIIa/FX shortened clotting time (CT) in a concentration-dependent manner on CT on thromboelastometry. Plasma replacement did not improve CT, but a combination of plasma and FVIIa/FX (0.35 μg/mL) more effectively shortened CT than FVIIa/FX alone. CONCLUSIONS The combination of FVIIa and FX improved TG more efficiently than rFVIIa alone or plasma in dilutional coagulopathy models. The required FVIIa dose in FVIIa/FX was considerably lower than those reported during bypassing therapy in hemophilia patients (1.4-2.8 μg/mL). The combination of plasma could restore coagulation more efficiently compared to FVIIa/FX alone. Lesser FVIIa requirement to exert procoagulant activity may be favorable in terms of reducing systemic thromboembolic complications.
Energy-efficient modified LEACH protocol for IoT application

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have a wide range of applications in various fields. One of the most recent emerging applications are in the world of Internet of Things (IoT), which allows inter-connection of different objects or devices through the Internet. However, limited battery power is the major concern of WSNs as compared to mobile ad-hoc network, which affects the longevity of the network. Hence, a lot of research has been focused on to minimise the energy consumption of the WSNs. Designing of a hierarchical clustering algorithm is one of the numerous approaches to minimise the energy of the WSNs. In this study, the existing low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH) clustering protocol is modified by introducing a threshold limit for cluster head selection with simultaneously switching the power level between the nodes. The proposed modified LEACH protocol outperforms as compared to the existing LEACH protocol with 67% rise in throughput and extending the number of alive nodes to 1750 rounds which can be used to enhance the WSN lifetime. When compared with other energy efficient protocols, it is found that the proposed algorithm performs better in terms of stability period and network lifetime in different scenarios of area, energy and node density.
Identification of TAF1, HNF4A, and CALM2 as potential therapeutic target genes for liver fibrosis

The molecular mechanism of liver fibrosis caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) is not clear. The aim of this study is to understand the molecular mechanism of liver fibrosis induced by HCV and to identify potential therapeutic targets for hepatic fibrosis. We analyzed gene expression patterns between high liver fibrosis and low liver fibrosis samples, and identified genes related to liver fibrosis. We identified TAF1, HNF4A, and CALM2 were related to the development of liver fibrosis. HNF4A is important for hepatic fibrogenesis, and upregulation of HNF4A is an ideal choice for treating liver fibrosis. The gene expression of CALM2 is significantly lower in liver fibrosis samples than nonfibrotic samples. TAF1 may serve as a biomarker for liver fibrosis. The results were further validated by an independent data set GSE84044. In summary, our study described changes in the gene expression during the occurrence and development of liver fibrosis. The TAF1, HNF4A, and CALM2 may serve as novel targets for the treatment of liver fibrosis.
Detection of neovascularization in proliferative diabetic retinopathy fundus images

Neovascularization is a serious visual consequence disease arising from Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR). The condition causes progressive retinal damage in persons suffering from Diabetes mellitus, and is characterized by busted growth of abnormal blood vessels from the normal vasculature, which hampers proper blood flow into the retina because of oxygen insufficiency in retinal capillaries. The present paper aims at detecting PDR neovascularization with the help of the Adaptive Histogram Equalization technique, which enhances the green plane of the fundus image, resulting in enrichment of the details presented in the fundus image. The neovascularization blood vessels and the normal blood vessels were both segmented from the equalized image, using the Fuzzy C-means clustering technique. Marking of the neovascularization region, was achieved with a function matrix box based on a compactness classifier, which applied morphological and threshold techniques on the segmented image. Subsequently, the Feed Forward Back-propagation Neural Network interacted with extracted features (e.g., number of segments, gradient variation, mean, variance, standard deviation, contrast, correlation, entropy, energy, homogeneity, cluster shade towards the neovascularization detection region), in an attempt to achieve accurate identification. The above method was tested on images from three online datasets, as well as two hospital eye clinics. The performance of the detection technique was evaluated on these five image sources, and found to show an overall accuracy of 94.5% for sensitivity of 95.4% and of specificity 49.3% respectively, thus reiterating that the method would play a vital role in the study and analysis of Diabetic Retinopathy.
Making Big Sense From Big Data

From Science: The total number of monkeys in research labs has not changed much in the past few years, but more are being used in studies. That forecast frustrates Hartung, who says NIH should launch a review of the need for monkeys, similar to the one that led it to end its support for chimpanzee research. He challenges the idea, for instance, that nonhuman primates are more useful for drug testing than rats or mice. Nonhuman primates are more genetically variable than rodents, he argues, and researchers typically use relatively few monkeys for studies of drug efficacy and safety. As a result, those experiments could yield skewed data on how the drugs will act in humans. Scientists embracing monkey experiments, he says, are at risk of “repeating the mistakes of the past. ” https://www.sciencemag. org/news/2018 /11/record-number-monkeys-being-used-usresearch
Gaze-guided Image Classification for Reflecting Perceptual Class Ambiguity

Despite advances in machine learning and deep neural networks, there is still a huge gap between machine and human image understanding. One of the causes is the annotation process used to label training images. In most image categorization tasks, there is a fundamental ambiguity between some image categories and the underlying class probability differs from very obvious cases to ambiguous ones. However, current machine learning systems and applications usually work with discrete annotation processes and the training labels do not reflect this ambiguity. To address this issue, we propose an new image annotation framework where labeling incorporates human gaze behavior. In this framework, gaze behavior is used to predict image labeling difficulty. The image classifier is then trained with sample weights defined by the predicted difficulty. We demonstrate our approach's effectiveness on four-class image classification tasks.
RFIMatch: Distributed Batteryless Near-Field Identification Using RFID-Tagged Magnet-Biased Reed Switches

This paper presents a technique enabling distributed batteryless near-field identification (ID) between two passive radio frequency ID (RFID) tags. Each conventional ultra-high-frequency (UHF) RFID tag is modified by connecting its antenna and chip to a reed switch and then attaching a magnet to one of the reed switch's terminals, thus transforming it into an always-on switch. When the two modules approach each other, the magnets counteract each other and turn off both switches at the same time. The coabsence of IDs thus indicates a unique interaction event. In addition to sensing, the module also provides native haptic feedback through magnetic repulsion force, enabling users to perceive the system's state eyes-free, without physical constraints. Additional visual feedback can be provided through an energy-harvesting module and a light emitting diode. This specific hardware design supports contactless, orientation-invariant sensing, with a form factor compact enough for embedded and wearable use in ubiquitous computing applications.
Urease inhibitory potential of extracts and active phytochemicals of Hypochaeris radicata (Asteraceae)

Abstract Urease inhibition potential of compound (1), guaiane-type sesquiterpene (2), confertin (3) and scopoletin (4) was carried out with high throughout mechanism-based assay. These compounds were isolated from Hypochaeris radicata L. , an Asteraceae family member. The pure compounds were screened for their urease and carbonic anhydrase inhibitory activities. The ethyl acetate fractions were subjected to column chromatography, which resulted in the isolation and purification of four compounds (1–4). On evaluation, compounds (1–4) exhibited selective activity against urease enzyme with an IC50 value of 180.11 ± 2.00, 27.18 ± 0.80, 24.12 ± 0.2 and 30.12 ± 1.10 µM respectively. The compounds (1–4) were found to be inactive against carbonic anhydrase enzyme. Thiourea was used as standard inhibitor (21 ± 0.14 µM) of urease enzyme. Graphical Abstract
Interference mitigation and capacity enhancement using constraint field of view ADR in downlink VLC channel

The continued increase in several mobile applications forces to replace existing limited spectrum indoor radio-frequency wireless connections with high-speed ones. Visible light communication (VLC) is a promising license free indoor wireless technology that could offer high-speed connections. However, both co-channel interference (CCI) from more neighbour transmitters and inter-symbol interferences (ISI) from multipath reflections limit the performance of VLC downlink channel. In this study, a constraint field of view angular diversity receiver (CFOV-ADR) is proposed to mitigate these limitations. By optimising the photodetector's (PD) field of view (FOV) angle, the line of sight CCI could be totally eliminated and the ISI could be significantly reduced. The optimal range for FOV angle is calculated in a typical indoor scenario. Furthermore, the zero-forcing (ZF) algorithm is applied to the conventional ADR (ADR-ZF) which can significantly eliminate the ISI components. The received optical signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) is tested at various room positions. The simulation results show that the proposed CFOV-ADR can achieve higher SINR performance than single receiver, conventional ADR, and ADR-ZF at all positions and orientations.
Unambiguous across-track velocity estimation of moving targets for multichannel synthetic aperture radar-ground moving target indication systems

In this study, a method of estimating unambiguous across-track velocity of moving targets is presented. The method can be used for ground moving target indication mode of multichannel synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems. The basic idea is to decompose the unambiguous velocity into the fractional and the integer parts, and to estimate them individually. As such, an integrated velocity estimation scheme is proposed. In the scheme, the idea of clutter suppression interferometry is adopted to estimate the fractional velocity part via the along-track interferometry technique. For estimating the integer velocity part, the ideas behind the multilook beat frequency are adapted and applied to coarsely estimate the unambiguous velocity first, and then the coarsely estimated unambiguous velocity is combined with the fractional velocity part to obtain an estimate of the ambiguity number. Finally, the ambiguity number and the fractional velocity part are combined to otain an accurate estimate of the unambiguous velocity. The proposed algorithm is tested with real SAR data. The results show that the integrated scheme represents an accurate solution to the unambiguous across-track velocity estimation problem.
Throughput Analysis and Energy Efficiency Optimization for Standalone LTE-U Networks with Randomly Delayed CSI

To coexist with Wi-Fi friendly, a standalone long-term evolution network over unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) under listen-before-talk (LBT) mechanism can only access channel in a random and intermittent way, which results in random and time-variant delay in both data and signaling transmissions. In this work, we explore the impact of randomly delayed channel state information (CSI) on the performance of a standalone LTE-U network by analyzing its downlink throughput and users' energy efficiency (EE) under different CSI feedback schemes and frequency-domain schedulers. Further, aiming at maximizing users' EE of a standalone LTE-U network while guaranteeing fair coexistence with Wi-Fi, joint optimization on the medium access control (MAC) protocol and CSI feedback scheme is studied. Due to the non-convex and non-concave characteristic of the formulated optimization problems, decomposition-based low-complexity yet efficient algorithms are proposed. Simulation results not only verify the analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms but also show diverse impacts of CSI feedback scheme, frequency-domain scheduler, and traffic load of Wi-Fi on the standalone LTE-U network performance.
Towards a Symbiotic Human-Machine Depth Sensor: Exploring 3D Gaze for Object Reconstruction

Eye tracking is expected to become an integral part of future augmented reality (AR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) given that it can easily be integrated into existing hardware and provides a versatile interaction modality. To augment objects in the real world, AR HMDs require a three-dimensional understanding of the scene, which is currently solved using depth cameras. In this work we aim to explore how 3D gaze data can be used to enhance scene understanding for AR HMDs by envisioning a symbiotic human-machine depth camera, fusing depth data with 3D gaze information. We present a first proof of concept, exploring to what extend we are able to recognise what a user is looking at by plotting 3D gaze data. To measure 3D gaze, we implemented a vergence-based algorithm and built an eye tracking setup consisting of a Pupil Labs headset and an OptiTrack motion capture system, allowing us to measure 3D gaze inside a 50x50x50 cm volume. We show first 3D gaze plots of "gazed-at" objects and describe our vision of a symbiotic human-machine depth camera that combines a depth camera and human 3D gaze information.
Using Barometer on Smartphones to Improve GPS Navigation Altitude Accuracy

Today's GPS navigators have difficulty determining altitude such as whether a car is under or on an overpass. In this paper, we show how to use the barometers, which come with off-the-shelf smartphones, to improve vertical positioning accuracy. We will present performance testing results from different real road scenarios to show the feasibility of the proposed method.
RDF4Led: an RDF engine for lightweight edge devices

Semantic interoperability for the Internet of Things(IoT) is being enabled by standards and technologies from the Semantic Web. As recent research suggests a move towards decentralised IoT architectures, our focus is on how to enable scalable and robust RDF engines that can be embedded throughout the architecture, in particular at edge nodes. RDF processing at edge enables the creation of semantic integration gateways for locally connected low-level devices. We introduce a lightweight RDF engine, which comprises of RDF storage and SPARQL processor, for the lightweight edge devices, called RDF4Led. RDF4Led follows the RISCstyle (Reduce Instruction Set Computer) design philosophy. The design comprises a flash-aware storage structure, an indexing scheme and a low-memory-footprint join algorithm which improves scalability as well as robustness over competing solutions. With a significantly smaller memory footprint, we show that RDF4Led can handle 2 to 5 times more data than RDF engines such as Jena TDB and Virtuoso. On three types of ARM boards, RDF4Led requires 10--30% memory of its competitors to operate up to 30 million triples dataset; it can perform faster updates and can scale better than Jena TDB and Virtuoso. Furthermore, we demonstrate considerably faster query operations than Jena TDB.
Characterization of a Toxoplasma effector uncovers an alternative GSK3/β-catenin-regulatory pathway of inflammation

The intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii, hijacks evolutionarily conserved host processes by delivering effector proteins into the host cell that shift gene expression in a timely fashion. We identified a parasite dense granule protein as GRA18 that once released in the host cell cytoplasm forms versatile complexes with regulatory elements of the β-catenin destruction complex. By interacting with GSK3/PP2A-B56, GRA18 drives β-catenin up-regulation and the downstream effects on host cell gene expression. In the context of macrophages infection, GRA18 induces the expression of a specific set of genes commonly associated with an anti-inflammatory response that includes those encoding chemokines CCL17 and CCL22. Overall, this study adds another original strategy by which T. gondii tachyzoites reshuffle the host cell interactome through a GSK3/β-catenin axis to selectively reprogram immune gene expression.
Crucial role of poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP‐1) in cellular proliferation of Dictyostelium discoideum

The unicellular, as well as multicellular stages of Dictyostelium discoideum’s life cycle, make it an excellent model system for cell type determination, differentiation, development, and cell death studies. Our preliminary results show the involvement of poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase‐1 (PARP‐1) during D. discoideum growth by its constitutive downregulation as well as by its ortholog overexpression. The current study now analyzes and strengthens the role of the PARP‐1 ortholog in cellular proliferation of D. discoideum. ADPRT1A was knocked out (KO) from D. discoideum and studied for its effect on cell growth, cell cycle, morphology, and oxidative stress. The present findings show that ADPRT1A KO ( A KO) cells exhibited reduced cellular proliferation, stressed phenotype, and cell cycle arrest in G2‐M phase. Under oxidative stress, A KO cells exhibited slower growth and DNA damage. This is the first report where the involvement of ADPRT1A in growth in D. discoideum is established.
The Role of Life Satisfaction in Predicting Youth Violence and Offending: A Prospective Examination

Life satisfaction in adolescence has been shown to protect against numerous negative outcomes (e.g., substance use, sexual risk-taking), but limited work has directly explored the relationship between life satisfaction and youth violence and offending. As such, we conducted a prospective assessment to explore this relationship among community (n = 334) and at-risk youth (n = 99). Findings suggest life satisfaction is significantly associated with decreased offending and violence within both samples and adds incremental value above established risk factors in predicting violent and total offending among community youth. Furthermore, moderation analyses indicate that the protective value of life satisfaction is greater for youth with high callous–unemotional traits. Mediation analyses suggest that youth who are unsatisfied with their lives may seek out substance use, in turn elevating risk of offending. Together, these findings indicate that efforts to improve overall life satisfaction may help prevent adolescent offending. However, future research is needed.