Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proposed therapy, developed in a Pcdh15-deficient mouse, for progressive loss of vision in human Usher syndrome

Usher syndrome type I (USH1) is characterized by deafness, vestibular areflexia, and progressive retinal degeneration. The protein-truncating p.Arg245* founder variant of PCDH15 (USH1F) has an ~2% carrier frequency amongst Ashkenazi Jews accounts for ~60% of their USH1 cases. Here, longitudinal phenotyping in 13 USH1F individuals revealed progressive retinal degeneration, leading to severe vision loss with macular atrophy by the sixth decade. Half of the affected individuals were legally blind by their mid-50s. The mouse Pcdh15R250X variant is equivalent to human p.Arg245*. Homozygous Pcdh15R250X mice also have visual deficits and aberrant light-dependent translocation of the phototransduction cascade proteins, arrestin, and transducin. Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-specific retinoid cycle proteins, RPE65 and CRALBP, were also reduced in Pcdh15R250X mice, indicating a dual role for protocadherin-15 in photoreceptors and RPE. Exogenous 9-cis retinal improved ERG amplitudes in Pcdh15R250X mice, suggesting a basis for a clinical trial of FDA-approved retinoids to preserve vision in USH1F patients.
Bridging Green Gaps: The Buying Intention of Energy Efficient Home Appliances and Moderation of Green Self-Identity

This study investigates the factors influencing the buying intention of energy-efficient home appliances in Bangladesh. It also develops a conceptual framework that integrates additional constructs with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and borrows questions from past literature. Employing a convenience sampling technique, a total of 365 completed structured questionnaires were gathered from various super shops in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was thereafter used to analyze the data with the AMOS 21. The study established that environmental knowledge, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control significantly affected the consumers’ buying intention of energy-efficient home appliances (EEHA). The result revealed a significant relationship between environmental concern, environmental knowledge, subjective norms, eco-labeling, and attitude towards buying. It also confirmed that the green self-identity moderates the existent relationship between the attitude and buying intention of energy-efficient home appliances, while environmental knowledge does not. The research advances numerous policy suggestions to managers or marketers, as well as future research directions.
Predictive and Experimental Immunogenicity of Burkholderia Collagen-like Protein 8-Derived Antigens

Burkholderia pseudomallei is an infectious bacterium of clinical and biodefense concern, and is the causative agent of melioidosis. The mortality rate can reach up to 50% and affects 165,000 people per year; however, there is currently no vaccine available. In this study, we examine the antigen-specific immune response to a vaccine formulated with antigens derived from an outer membrane protein in B. pseudomallei, Bucl8. Here, we employed a number of bioinformatic tools to predict Bucl8-derived epitopes that are non-allergenic and non-toxic, but would elicit an immune response. From these data, we formulated a vaccine based on two extracellular components of Bucl8, the β-barrel loops and extended collagen and non-collagen domains. Outbred CD-1 mice were immunized with vaccine formulations—composed of recombinant proteins or conjugated synthetic peptides with adjuvant—to assess the antigen-specific immune responses in mouse sera and lymphoid organs. We found that mice vaccinated with either Bucl8-derived components generated a robust TH2-skewed antibody response when antigen was combined with the adjuvant AddaVax, while the TH1 response was limited. Mice immunized with synthetic loop peptides had a stronger, more consistent antibody response than recombinant protein antigens, based on higher IgG titers and recognition of bacteria. We then compared peptide-based vaccines in an established C57BL/6 inbred mouse model and observed a similar TH2-skewed response. The resulting formulations will be applied in future studies examining the protection of Bucl8-derived vaccines.
Analysis of parallel flow type internally cooled membrane based liquid desiccant dehumidifier using neural networks approach

In this paper, we report an intelligent model based on ANN to optimize the performance of an internally cooled membrane-based liquid desiccant dehumidifier (IMLDD). IMLDD can effectively mitigate dehumidification deterioration caused by changes in the temperature of the desiccant solution. The mediums of desiccant solution and air are isolated by means of a semi-permeable membrane on both sides in the IMLDD. The temperature of the desiccant solution is reduced by the cooling media that flows through the tubes placed within the solution channels. Generally, many fluid flow parameters like air, cooling water, desiccant solution, etc., play a critical role in controlling the performance of an IMLDD. For our study, inlet air temperature (Tai), inlet concentration of the desiccant solution (Cdsi), flow rate of the desiccant solution at the inlet and inlet cooling temperature of water (Tcwi) have been considered as the operating parameters/conditions. The outputs or responses namely dehumidification efficiency (ηdh), Exergy efficiency (ηex), and unmatched coefficient (ξum) analyze the performance of the IMLDD. The data comprising of massive input-output was achieved using the response surface methodology (RSM) based central composite design (CCD). Back propagation algorithm (BP), artificial bee colony (ABC), and genetic algorithm (GA) models were used to train the neural network (NN) parameters using the data collected from the CCD based response equation. Forward and reverse mapping models were developed using the trained ANNs. Forward modeling predicts the performance parameters of the IMLDD (i.e., ηdh, ηex, and ξuc) for known combinations of operating parameters (i.e., Tai, Cdsi, Tcwi). Similarly, reverse modeling aims at predicting the operating conditions for a known set of performance parameters. The performances of the employed NN models were tested using fifteen arbitrarily generated test cases. The experimental and neural network predicted results were found to be in line with each other for both forward and reverse models. The forward modeling results could assist engineers with off-line tracking, by predicting the response without executing experiments. The reverse modeling prediction will aid in dynamically adjusting the operating parameters to achieve the optimal thermodynamic output characteristics.
“When I think of me as a parent”: Procreative options and young adults’ identity motives

The current study explored whether and to what extent different procreative options (natural conception, adoption, homologous techniques, and heterologous techniques) were perceived as enriching or threatening to young adults’ expectation of identity motives fulfillment. Our sample consisted of 1380 Italian young adults (62.9% women) aged between 18 and 33 years who participated in a national online survey on young adulthood. Results showed that participants expect natural conception to be more enriching to their identity, whereas they expected heterologous techniques to be more threatening to their identity compared to all other procreative options. Moreover, participants perceived adoption in the event of one’s partner’s sterility to be more enriching to their identity compared to both homologous and heterologous assisted reproductive techniques. Data were also analyzed taking into account the participants’ sex, age, and religious beliefs.
Mutation rate and spectrum in obligately outcrossing Caenorhabditis elegans mutation accumulation lines subjected to RNAi-induced knockdown of the mismatch repair gene msh-2

Abstract DNA mismatch repair (MMR), an evolutionarily conserved repair pathway shared by prokaryotic and eukaryotic species alike, influences molecular evolution by detecting and correcting mismatches, thereby protecting genetic fidelity, reducing the mutational load, and preventing lethality. Herein we conduct the first genome-wide evaluation of the alterations to the mutation rate and spectrum under impaired activity of the MutSα homolog, msh-2, in Caenorhabditis elegans male–female fog-2(lf) lines. We performed mutation accumulation (MA) under RNAi-induced knockdown of msh-2 for up to 50 generations, followed by next-generation sequencing of 19 MA lines and the ancestral control. msh-2 impairment in the male–female background substantially increased the frequency of nuclear base substitutions (∼23×) and small indels (∼328×) relative to wildtype hermaphrodites. However, we observed no increase in the mutation rates of mtDNA, and copy-number changes of single-copy genes. There was a marked increase in copy-number variation of rDNA genes under MMR impairment. In C. elegans, msh-2 repairs transitions more efficiently than transversions and increases the AT mutational bias relative to wildtype. The local sequence context, including sequence complexity, G + C-content, and flanking bases influenced the mutation rate. The X chromosome exhibited lower substitution and higher indel rates than autosomes, which can either result from sex-specific mutation rates or a nonrandom distribution of mutable sites between chromosomes. Provided the observed difference in mutational pattern is mostly due to MMR impairment, our results indicate that the specificity of MMR varies between taxa, and is more efficient in detecting and repairing small indels in eukaryotes relative to prokaryotes.
In vitro cytotoxic and membrane stabilizing activities of Alternanthera versicolor L.

The crude methanolic extract of leaves of Alternanthera versicolor L . as well as their pet-ether, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and aqueous soluble fractions were tested to investigate the membrane stabilizing and cytotoxic activity. Among all extractives, dichloromethane soluble fraction (DCMSF) of crude extract of leaves of Alternanthera versicolor L . exhibited lowest cytotoxicity effect with LC 50 value 30.63 µg/ml. From investigation results it can also be seen that mortality increased gradually with an increase in concentration of the test samples and maximum mortalities took place at the highest concentration of 400µg/ml. In addition, aqueous soluble fraction (AQSF) shows highest % inhibition of hypotonic solution induces hemolysis of erythrocyte membrane and dichloromethane soluble fraction (DCMSF) shows highest % inhibition of heat induces hemolysis of erythrocyte membrane. Therefore, considering the potential bioactivity, the plant can further be studied extensively to find out their unexplored efficacy and to rationalize their uses of traditional medicine.
Stabilizing mixed cooperative adaptive cruise control traffic flow to balance capacity using car-following model

Abstract String stability is important for understanding traffic flow dynamics, while its analytical study for mixed traffic is deficient. We focus on an analytical framework on string stability of mixed traffic consisting of cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC), adaptive cruise control (ACC), and human vehicles. The analytical framework was conducted based on generalized car-following model formulations of the three vehicular types. Then string stability criterions of one-class traffic flow, mixed traffic flow, and local CACC/ACC platoons were derived. Taking into account the mixed flow with partial degenerations of CACC and three concrete car-following models, an example application was studied. The example application analyzed the string stability from the perspectives of the homogeneous flow, the mixed traffic flow, and the local CACC/ACC platoon, respectively. The example application also studied balance between stability and capacity for the mixed traffic with CACC vehicles. Results show the usefulness of the proposed analytical framework, in term of not only analyzing string stability but also providing suggestions for dynamic regulations of CACC/ACC management strategy to balance string stability and traffic capacity for the mixed CACC-human flow.
Multi-gene Phylogenetic Analysis and Genetic Diversity of Discrete Elytral Color Phenotypes in Menochilus sexmaculatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Weidong Huang1,2,3, Xinyue Liang1,2,3, Xiufeng Xie4, Xingmin Wang2, 3 and Xiaosheng Chen1,2,3* 1Department of Forest Protection, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510640, China. 2Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovaation and Application, Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510642, China 3Engineering Research Center of Biocontrol, Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510640, China. 4Guangdong Agriculture Industry Business Polytechnic College, Guangzhou 510507, China. Article Information Received 10 December 2019 Revised 23 March 2020 Accepted 25 March 2021 Available online 21 October 2021
Acoustic properties across the human skull

Transcranial ultrasound is emerging as a noninvasive tool for targeted treatments of brain disorders. Transcranial ultrasound has been used for remotely mediated surgeries, transient opening of the blood-brain barrier, local drug delivery, and neuromodulation. However, all applications have been limited by the severe attenuation and phase distortion of ultrasound by the skull. Here, we characterized the dependence of the aberrations on specific anatomical segments of the skull. In particular, we measured ultrasound propagation properties throughout the perimeter of intact human skulls at 500 kHz. We found that the parietal bone provides substantially higher transmission (average pressure transmission 31±7%) and smaller phase distortion (242±44 degrees) than frontal (13±2%, 425±47 degrees) and occipital bone regions (16±4%, 416±35 degrees). In addition, we found that across skull regions, transmission strongly anti-correlated (R = −0.79) and phase distortion correlated (R = 0.85) with skull thickness. This information guides the design, positioning, and skull correction functionality of next-generation devices for effective, safe, and reproducible transcranial focused ultrasound therapies.
An Aerosol Sensor for Multi-Sized Particles Detection Based on Surface Acoustic Wave Resonator and Cascade Impactor

This research proposed the design, fabrication, and experiments of a Surface Acoustic Wave Resonator (SAWR)-based multi-sized particles monitor. A wide range selection and monitoring of large coarse particles (LCP), inhalable particles (PM10), and fine inhalable particles (PM2.5) were achieved by combining high-performance 311 MHz SAWRs and a specially designed cascade impactor. This paper calculated the normalized sensitivity distribution of the chip to the mass loading effect, extracted the optimal response area for particle attachment, analyzed the influence of the distance between nozzle and chip surface on the particle distribution, and evaluated the collection efficiency of the specially designed 2 LPM (L/min) impactor through computational fluid dynamics simulation software. An experimental platform was built to conduct the response experiment of the sensor to particle-containing gas generated by the combustion of leaf fragments and repeatability test. We verified the results of the particle diameter captured at each stage. This research suggests that the sensor’s response had good linearity and repeatability, while the particles collected on the surface of the SAWR in each impactor stage met the desired diameter, observed through a microscope.
Does Face Consciousness Affect Tourist Behaviour at Festival Events? A Korean Perspective

This study aimed to (1) investigate whether face consciousness (or chemyon) and playfulness affect tourist behaviour and tourist satisfaction at a festival event from a South Korean perspective and (2) identify the moderating effects of both the frequency of visits and overnight trips. Structural equation modelling was conducted with a sample of 506 adults. The outcomes indicated that face consciousness and playfulness positively influenced tourist behaviour at festival events. In turn, these impacts were conducive to tourist satisfaction. However, the results were either positive or negative depending on specific tourist behaviour. Moreover, revisit travellers and overnight travellers exerted significant moderating impacts between certain paths. The integrative model can provide objective data for destination marketers and event organisers to support the enhancement of festival events in the post-COVID-19 era. The originality of this study lies in the initial attempt to adapt face consciousness to amalgamate tourist behaviour at festival events.
Genome-wide association study for residual concentrate intake using different approaches in Italian Brown Swiss

Abstract Residual feed intake (RFI) is the most used measure of feed efficiency. However, considering the importance of concentrates in the ration, a new index, the residual concentrate intake (RCI), was here defined. RCI aims to measure the individual efficiency in converting the concentrate into animal products. Brown Swiss young bulls (N = 736) were genotyped at 41,183 loci. Animals were housed in pens equipped with an automatic feeding system able to recognise the animal and record the concentrate intake. The diet consisted of concentrate and hay (ad libitum). The new RCI index was calculated as the residuals of the linear regression of concentrate intake on metabolic live weight and average daily gain. Animals were ranked according to their corrected RCI and divided into low (LRCI) and high phenotypes (HRCI). A low heritability (0.06 ± 0.03) was estimated using only genomics for this new index. Results from multivariate (M-GWAS) and Bayesian (B-GWAS) approaches were combined to identify SNP associated with RCI. The M-GWAS selected 698 SNPs potentially associated, whereas no significant markers were obtained in B-GWAS. Markers in the last approach were ranked according to their posterior inclusion probability and the first 698 were retained. Only SNPs in common between sorted B-GWAS and M-GWAS (N = 11) were considered associated with RCI. A total of 48 candidate genes were retrieved near these SNPs. Most of them were previously reported to be associated with feed efficiency and RFI. The combined use of multivariate and Bayesian techniques allow to identify SNPs associated with the investigated trait. Highlights RCI could be promising to select animals 48 candidate genes were found associated with RCI Multivariate technique allowed to identify significant SNPs
Discovering Daily Activity Patterns from Sensor Data Sequences and Activity Sequences

The necessity of caring for elderly people is increasing. Great efforts are being made to enable the elderly population to remain independent for as long as possible. Technologies are being developed to monitor the daily activities of a person to detect their state. Approaches that recognize activities from simple environment sensors have been shown to perform well. It is also important to know the habits of a resident to distinguish between common and uncommon behavior. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to discover a person’s common daily routines. The approach consists of sequence comparison and a clustering method to obtain partitions of daily routines. Such partitions are the basis to detect unusual sequences of activities in a person’s day. Two types of partitions are examined. The first partition type is based on daily activity vectors, and the second type is based on sensor data. We show that daily activity vectors are needed to obtain reasonable results. We also show that partitions obtained with generalized Hamming distance for sequence comparison are better than partitions obtained with the Levenshtein distance. Experiments are performed with two publicly available datasets.
Pengembangan Situs Sistem Pendaftaran Online Peserta Ujian Mandiri Universitas Negeri Jakarta

Banyaknya pendaftar ujian mandiri Universitas Negeri Jakarta menjadi sebuah landasan untuk membuat sebuah sistem pendaftaran online yang dapat melayani calon peserta dari seluruh kota di Indonesia dengan mudah. Pengembangan sistem pendaftaran online ujian mandiri Universitas Negeri Jakarta selalu dilakukan setiap tahun untuk meningkatkan pelayanan dan memperbaiki kesalahan teknis pada sistem yang ada sebelumnya. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengembangkan sebuah situs pendaftaran online Peserta Ujian Mandiri Universitas Negeri Jakarta yang sistematis dan user-friendly. Penelitian dilakukan di Pusat Teknologi Informasi dan Komunikasi Universitas Negeri Jakarta (PUSTIKOM UNJ) dari bulan Februari 2015 hingga Juni 2015. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah Research and Development, dan metode pengembangan perangkat lunak yang digunakan adalah metode Spiral. Berdasarkan hasil uji coba Black-Box, situs pendaftaran online ini telah terbukti berfungsi sesuai dengan yang diharapkan.
Effect of Localized Temperature Difference on Hydrogen Fermentation

In a lab-scale bioreactor system, (20 L of effective volume in our study) controlling a constant temperature inside bioreactor with a total volume 25 L is a simple process, whereas it is a complicated process in the actual full-scale system. There might exist a localized temperature difference inside the reactor, affecting bioenergy yield. In the present work, the temperature at the middle layer of bioreactor was controlled at 35 °C, while the temperature at top and bottom of bioreactor was controlled at 35 ± 0.1, ±1.5, ±3.0, and ±5.0 °C. The H2 yield of 1.50 mol H2/mol hexoseadded was achieved at ±0.1 and ±1.5 °C, while it dropped to 1.27 and 0.98 mol H2/mol hexoseadded at ±3.0 and ±5.0 °C, respectively, with an increased lactate production. Then, the reactor with automatic agitation speed control was operated. The agitation speed was 10 rpm (for 22 h) under small temperature difference (<±1.5 °C), while it increased to 100 rpm (for 2 h) when the temperature difference between top and bottom of reactor became larger than ±1.5 °C. Such an operation strategy helped to save 28% of energy requirement for agitation while producing a similar amount of H2. This work contributes to facilitating the upscaling of the dark fermentation process, where appropriate agitation speed can be controlled based on the temperature difference inside the reactor.
3D Printing of Thermal Insulating Polyimide/Cellulose Nanocrystal Composite Aerogels with Low Dimensional Shrinkage

Polyimide (PI)-based aerogels have been widely applied to aviation, automobiles, and thermal insulation because of their high porosity, low density, and excellent thermal insulating ability. However, the fabrication of PI aerogels is still restricted to the traditional molding process, and it is often challenging to prepare high-performance PI aerogels with complex 3D structures. Interestingly, renewable nanomaterials such as cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) may provide a unique approach for 3D printing, mechanical reinforcement, and shape fidelity of the PI aerogels. Herein, we proposed a facile water-based 3D printable ink with sustainable nanofillers, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). Polyamic acid was first mixed with triethylamine to form an aqueous solution of polyamic acid ammonium salts (PAAS). CNCs were then dispersed in the aqueous PAAS solution to form a reversible physical network for direct ink writing (DIW). Further freeze-drying and thermal imidization produced porous PI/CNC composite aerogels with increased mechanical strength. The concentration of CNCs needed for DIW was reduced in the presence of PAAS, potentially because of the depletion effect of the polymer solution. Further analysis suggested that the physical network of CNCs lowered the shrinkage of aerogels during preparation and improved the shape-fidelity of the PI/CNC composite aerogels. In addition, the composite aerogels retained low thermal conductivity and may be used as heat management materials. Overall, our approach successfully utilized CNCs as rheological modifiers and reinforcement to 3D print strong PI/CNC composite aerogels for advanced thermal regulation.