Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Machine Learning-Based Unobtrusive Intake Gesture Detection via Wearable Inertial Sensors

Dietary patterns can be the primary reason for many chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. State-of-the-art wearable sensor technologies can play a critical role in assisting patients in managing their eating habits by providing meaningful statistics on critical parameters such as the onset, duration, and frequency of eating. For an accurate yet fast food intake recognition, this work presents a novel Machine Learning (ML) based framework that shows promising results by leveraging optimized support vector machine (SVM) classifiers. The SVM classifiers are trained on three comprehensive datasets: OREBA, FIC, and CLEMSON. The developed framework outperforms existing algorithms by achieving F1-scores of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\bf 92\%$</tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\bf 94\%$</tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\bf 95\%$</tex-math></inline-formula>, and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\bf 85\%$</tex-math></inline-formula> on OREBA-SHA, OREBA-DIS, FIC, and CLEMSON datasets, respectively. In order to assess the generalization aspects, the proposed SVM framework is also trained on one of the three databases while being tested on the others and achieves acceptable F1-scores in all cases. The proposed algorithm is well suited for real-time applications since inference is made using a few support vector parameters compared to thousands in peer deep neural networks models.
How was the Earth–Moon system formed? New insights from the geodynamo

The most widely accepted scenario for the formation of the Earth–Moon system involves a dramatic impact between the proto-Earth and some other cosmic body. Many features of the present-day Earth–Moon system provide constraints on the nature of this impact. Any model of the history of the Earth must account for the physical, geochemical, petrological, and dynamical evidence. These constraints notwithstanding, there are several radically different impact models that could in principle account for all the evidence. Thus, in the absence of further constraints, we may never know for sure how the Earth–Moon system was formed. Here, we put forward the idea that additional constraints are indeed provided by the fact that the Earth is strongly magnetized. It is universally accepted that the Earth’s magnetic field is maintained by a dynamo operating in the outer liquid core. However, because of the rapid rotation of the Earth, this dynamo has the peculiar property that it can maintain a strong field but cannot amplify a weak one. Therefore, the Earth must have been magnetized at a very early epoch, either preimpact or as a result of the impact itself. Either way, any realistic model of the formation of the Earth–Moon system must include magnetic field evolution. This requirement may ultimately constrain the models sufficiently to discriminate between the various candidates.
Mitogenome-wide association study on body measurement traits of Wenshang Barred chickens

Abstract Mitochondria are best known for synthesizing ATP through the tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. The cytoplasmic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is important for maintaining the function. This study was designed to reveal the effect of mtDNA on chicken body measurement traits (BMTs). A population of 605 Wenshang Barred chickens were recorded BMTs, including body slope length, keel length, chest width, etc. The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of their mitogenomes were detected by PCR amplification and DNA sequencing. Totally 69 mutations in mitogenome were discovered, including 18 in noncoding region and 51 in coding region. By multi-sequence alignment and haplotype construction, the chickens were clustered into eight haplotypes and further three haplogroups. The association between BMTs and mtDNA SNPs, haplotypes and haplogroups were analyzed in the linear model by ASReml, respectively. Among them, the SNP mt11086 T/C in ND3 was found to significantly affect chest dept (p < .05) and was highly conservative by phylogenetic conservation analyses, which reflected the genetic effect on body size and growth of chickens. No significant association between the mitochondrial haplotypes or haplogroups and BMTs was found. The polymorphic site reflecting body size could be put into chicken breeding programs as the genetic marker.
The Vascular Disease of Diabetic Kidney Disease

Background: The incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is increased in patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Summary: Aortic stiffness is a well-accepted biomarker for cardiovascular (CV) events in all stages of CKD. The worldwide prevalence of diabetes continues to grow, as does the prevalence of DKD. Insulin resistance, hyperglycaemia, hypertension, and the metabolic abnormalities of type-2 diabetes are all involved in the pathogenesis of CVD. The effect of these toxins on cardiac and vascular function is amplified by the worsening of renal function and the parallel rise of uraemic toxins. Key Messages: In this narrative review, we analysed why arterial stiffening can be considered a vascular mediator between diabetes and cardiac dysfunction, and we discussed the strong CV and nephroprotective effects of sodium-glucose cotransporter type-2 inhibitors.
Effects of Exposure to an Entertainment-Based Genetic Testing Narrative on Genetic Testing Knowledge, Attitudes and Counseling Discussion Intentions

ABSTRACT This study explores the effects of exposure to a reality television narrative depicting genetic testing on attitudes and intentions, looking particularly at the effects of narratives containing elements of misinformation on genetics-related knowledge accuracy. In an experiment, participants completed a baseline survey, viewed a high versus low-accuracy narrative, then completed a follow-up survey. Exposure to a low-accuracy narrative was associated with lower knowledge accuracy. Indirect effects of identification and transportation on intentions to talk to a doctor about genetic testing also were detected via attitudes and reduced message counterarguing. Results illustrate the negative implications of inaccurate narratives on knowledge, which is concerning given the public’s low level of genetic literacy, as well as the critical role narrative engagement may play in shaping public attitudes and intentions regarding genetic testing.
Revealing the contribution of GbPR10.5D1 to resistance against Verticillium dahliae and its regulation for structural defense and immune signaling

As an important family of pathogenesis‐related (PR) proteins, the functional diversification and roles of PR10s in biotic stress have been well documented. However, the molecular basis of PR10s in plant defense responses against pathogens remains to be further understood. In the present study, we analyzed the phylogenetic relationship and function of a novel PR10 named GbPR10.5D1 in Sea‐Island (or Pima or Egyptian) cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.), which has been identified as a Verticillium dahliae Kleb. ‐induced protein in a previous proteomics study. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that GbPR10.5D1, located on chromosome 2, is a unique member of GbPR10. The expression of GbPR10.5D1 was preferably in the root and induced upon V. dahliae infection. GbPR10.5D1 proteins were distributed in both nucleus and cytoplasm. GbPR10.5D1‐virus‐induced gene‐silencing (VIGS) cotton plants were more susceptible to infection by V. dahliae, whereas overexpression (OE) of GbPR10.5D1 in cotton enhanced the resistance. By comparative transcriptome analysis between GbPR10.5D1‐OE and wild‐type (WT) plants and quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) verification, we found transcriptional activation of genes involved in cutin, suberine, and wax biosynthesis and mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling under normal conditions. Upon pathogen infection, defense signaling, fatty acid degradation, and glycerolipid metabolism were specifically activated in GbPR10.5D1‐OE plants; biological processes (BPs), including glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, DNA replication, and cell wall organization, were specifically repressed in WT plants. Collectively, we proposed that GbPR10.5D1 possibly mediated lipid metabolism pathway to strengthen structural defense and activate defense signaling, which largely released the repression of cell growth caused by V. dahliae infection.
Precuneus magnetic stimulation for Alzheimer’s disease: a randomized, sham-controlled trial

Abstract Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is emerging as a non-invasive therapeutic strategy in the battle against Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease patients primarily show alterations of the default mode network for which the precuneus is a key node. Here, we hypothesized that targeting the precuneus with TMS represents a promising strategy to slow down cognitive and functional decline in Alzheimer’s disease patients. We performed a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, phase 2, 24-week trial to determine the safety and efficacy of precuneus stimulation in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Fifty Alzheimer’s disease patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either receive precuneus or sham rTMS (mean age 73.7 years; 52% female). The trial included a 24-week treatment, with a 2-week intensive course in which rTMS (or sham) was applied daily five times per week, followed by a 22-week maintenance phase in which stimulation was applied once weekly. The Clinical Dementia Rating Scale–Sum of Boxes was selected as the primary outcome measure, in which post-treatment scores were compared to baseline. Secondary outcomes included score changes in the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive Subscale, Mini-Mental State Examination and Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study–Activities of Daily Living scale. Moreover, single-pulse TMS in combination with EEG was used to assess neurophysiological changes in precuneus cortical excitability and oscillatory activity. Our findings show that patients that received precuneus repetitive magnetic stimulation presented a stable performance of the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale–Sum of Boxes score, whereas patients treated with sham showed a worsening of their score. Compared with the sham stimulation, patients in the precuneus stimulation group also showed also significantly better performances for the secondary outcome measures, including the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive Subscale, Mini-Mental State Examination and Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study–Activities of Daily Living scale. Neurophysiological results showed that precuneus cortical excitability remained unchanged after 24 weeks in the precuneus stimulation group, whereas it was significantly reduced in the sham group. Finally, we found an enhancement of local gamma oscillations in the group treated with precuneus stimulation but not in patients treated with sham. We conclude that 24 weeks of precuneus rTMS may slow down cognitive and functional decline in Alzheimer’s disease. Repetitive TMS targeting the default mode network could represent a novel therapeutic approach in Alzheimer’s disease patients.
Brief paper: reliable control for networked control systems with probabilistic sensors and actuators faults

This study is concerned with the reliable controller design for networked control systems (NCS) against both probabilistic sensors faults and actuators faults. The faults of each sensor or actuator occur randomly and their failure rates are governed by two sets of unrelated random variables satisfying certain probabilistic distribution. In terms of the probabilistic failures of every sensor or actuator, new type of distribution-based NCS fault model is proposed. Based on the new built model, reliable controller is designed and sufficient conditions for the exponentially mean square stability (EMSS) of NCS are obtained by using Lyapunov functional method. The main contribution of the proposed fault model and methods lies with its practicality and generalisation, which contains many realistic problems in the NCS, such as probabilistic sensors or actuators failures, partial degradation, data distortion, packet dropout, network-induced delay and so on. Moreover, some existing models in the open literatures are deemed as special cases of the proposed fault model. To illustrate the implementation procedure, a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft system is given to show the effectiveness and application of the proposed method.
EcoTransLearn: an R-package to easily use transfer learning for ecological studies—a plankton case study

Abstract Summary In recent years, Deep Learning (DL) has been increasingly used in many fields, in particular in image recognition, due to its ability to solve problems where traditional machine learning algorithms fail. However, building an appropriate DL model from scratch, especially in the context of ecological studies, is a difficult task due to the dynamic nature and morphological variability of living organisms, as well as the high cost in terms of time, human resources and skills required to label a large number of training images. To overcome this problem, Transfer Learning (TL) can be used to improve a classifier by transferring information learnt from many domains thanks to a very large training set composed of various images, to another domain with a smaller amount of training data. To compensate the lack of ‘easy-to-use’ software optimized for ecological studies, we propose the EcoTransLearn R-package, which allows greater automation in the classification of images acquired with various devices (FlowCam, ZooScan, photographs, etc.), thanks to different TL methods pre-trained on the generic ImageNet dataset. Availability and implementation EcoTransLearn is an open-source package. It is implemented in R and calls Python scripts for image classification step (using reticulate and tensorflow libraries). The source code, instruction manual and examples can be found at https://github.com/IFREMER-LERBL/EcoTransLearn. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Effects of Dietary Copper and Escherichia coli Challenge on the Immune Response and Gill Oxidative Balance in the Freshwater Mussel Diplodon chilensis

Copper is a water and sediment pollutant that can be biomagnified by phytoplankton, and it often co‐occurs with fecal bacteria. We addressed the combined effects of copper and Escherichia coli on the immune response and gill oxidative balance of the freshwater mussel Diplodon chilensis. Bivalves were sorted into four groups fed with 1) control algae, 2) bacteria (E. coli), 3) copper‐enriched algae (Cu2+) algae, and 4) copper‐enriched algae followed by bacteria (Cu2+ + E. coli). Cellular and humoral immune and cytotoxic variables were analyzed in hemolymph, and detoxifying/antioxidant enzyme activities (glutathione S‐transferase [GST] and catalase [CAT]) and lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS]) were studied in gill tissue. The total hemocyte number increased after Cu2+ exposure, independently of the E. coli challenge. The proportion of hyalinocytes significantly diminished in the E. coli and Cu2+ groups but not in Cu2+ + E. coli groups; granulocytes significantly increased with E. coli but not with Cu2+ + E. coli treatments. Phagocytic activity was higher in all treatments than in control mussels. Acid phosphatase activity was increased by E. coli and inhibited by Cu2+ and Cu2+ + E. coli. Both E. coli and Cu2+ but not Cu2+ + E. coli augmented alkaline phosphatase activity. The Cu2+ and Cu2+ + E. coli treatments reduced the lysosomal membrane stability and cell viability. Humoral bacteriolytic and phenol oxidase activities were not affected by any treatment. The Cu2+ treatment induced gill CAT and GST activities and increased TBARS levels. The Cu2+ + E. coli treatment reversed this CAT and GST stimulation and increased the Cu2+ effect on TBARS. Dietary Cu2+ affects bivalves' immunological and oxidative status and impairs defensive responses against bacteria. In turn, E. coli potentiates the gill oxidative effects of Cu2+. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:154–165. © 2022 SETAC
Human-in-the-Loop Cooperative Control of a Walking Exoskeleton for Following Time-Variable Human Intention

This article presents a human-in-the-loop cooperative control of a walking exoskeleton to provide assistance to the user and enhance human mobility. First, a dynamic mathematical model of the human–exoskeleton system is derived, and then, a human-in-the-loop cooperative control framework is proposed in two ways: separable cooperative control (SCC) and interactive cooperative control (ICC), respectively. The SCC introduces a space division of the human and the exoskeleton, while the ICC allows the robot to perceive the human intention and follows human motor, thereby improving the collaborative performance. The ICC formulates the impedance connection between the human and the exoskeleton in the divided orthogonal subspaces of walking, such that the robot is able to modify its position of center of mass (COM) when its motor trajectory deviates the one of the human. In addition, a novel adaptation control is proposed to deal with the unmodeled dynamics and trajectory tracking. Finally, to validate the effectiveness of our proposed controller, a series of experiments are conducted in three adults in gait at different speeds. It shows that the proposed controller can preserve the periodic walking gait and inherit the robustness of dealing with perturbations during walking.
Functional analysis of the antigen binding sites on the MTB/HIV-1 peptide bispecific T-cell receptor complementarity determining region 3α

Objective: Mycobacterium tuberculosis/human immunodeficiency virus (MTB/HIV) coinfection has become an urgent problem in the field of prevention and control of infectious diseases in recent years. Adoptive cellular immunotherapy using antigen-specific T-cell receptor (TCR) engineered T cells which recognize the specific antigen artificially may have tremendous potential in anti-MTB/HIV coinfection. We have previously successfully identified a MTB Ag85B199–207 and HIV-1 Env120–128 peptide-bispecific TCR screened out from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a HLA-A∗0201+ healthy individual and have further studied that how residues on the predicted complementarity determining region (CDR) 3 of the β chain contribute to the bispecific TCR contact with the peptide-MHC. However, it is not clear which amino acids in the predicted CDR3α of the bispecific TCR play a crucial role in ligand recognition. Methods: The variants in the CDR3α of the bispecific TCR were generated using alanine substitution. We then evaluated the immune effects of the five variants on T-cell recognition upon encounter with the MTB or HIV-1 antigen. Results: Mutation of two amino acids (E112A, Y115A) in CDR3α of the bispecific TCR caused a markedly diminished T-cell response to antigen, whereas mutation of the other three amino acids (S113A, P114A, S116A) resulted in completely eliminated response. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that Ser113, Pro114 and Ser116 in CDR3α of the bispecific TCR are especially important for antigen recognition. These results will pave the way for the future development of an improved high-affinity bispecific TCR for use in adoptive cellular immunotherapy for MTB/HIV coinfected patients.
Picropodophyllotoxin Inhibits Cell Growth and Induces Apoptosis in Gefitinib-Resistant Non-Small Lung Cancer Cells by Dual-Targeting EGFR and MET

Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplification or sensitive mutations initially respond to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib, however, the treatment becomes less effective over time by resistance mechanism including mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) overexpression. A therapeutic strategy targeting MET and EGFR may be a means to overcoming resistance to gefitinib. In the present study, we found that picropodophyllotoxin (PPT), derived from the roots of Podophyllum hexandrum, inhibited both EGFR and MET in NSCLC cells. The antitumor efficacy of PPT in gefitinib-resistant NSCLC cells (HCC827GR), was confirmed by suppression of cell proliferation and anchorage-independent colony growth. In the targeting of EGFR and MET, PPT bound with EGFR and MET, ex vivo, and blocked both kinases activity. The binding sites between PPT and EGFR or MET in the computational docking model were predicted at Gly772/Met769 and Arg1086/Tyr1230 of each ATP-binding pocket, respectively. PPT treatment of HCC827GR cells increased the number of annexin V-positive and subG1 cells. PPT also caused G2/M cell-cycle arrest together with related protein regulation. The inhibition of EGFR and MET by PPT treatment led to decreases in the phosphorylation of the downstream-proteins, AKT and ERK. In addition, PPT induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and GRP78, CHOP, DR5, and DR4 expression, mitochondrial dysfunction, and regulated involving signal-proteins. Taken together, PPT alleviated gefitinib-resistant NSCLC cell growth and induced apoptosis by reducing EGFR and MET activity. Therefore, our results suggest that PPT can be a promising therapeutic agent for gefitinib-resistant NSCLC.
Identification of defactinib derivatives targeting focal adhesion kinase using ensemble docking, molecular dynamics simulations and binding free energy calculations

Abstract Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) belongs to the nonreceptor tyrosine kinases, which selectively phosphorylate tyrosine residues on substrate proteins. FAK is associated with bladder, esophageal, gastric, neck, breast, ovarian and lung cancers. Thus, FAK has been considered as a potential target for tumor treatment. Currently, there are six adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-competitive FAK inhibitors tested in clinical trials but no approved inhibitors targeting FAK. Defactinib (VS-6063) is a second-generation FAK inhibitor with an IC50 of 0.6 nM. The binding model of VS-6063 with FAK may provide a reference model for developing new antitumor FAK-targeting drugs. In this study, the VS-6063/FAK binding model was constructed using ensemble docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, the molecular mechanics/generalized Born (GB) surface area (MM/GBSA) method was employed to estimate the binding free energy between VS-6063 and FAK. The key residues involved in VS-6063/FAK binding were also determined using per-residue energy decomposition analysis. Based on the binding model, VS-6063 could be separated into seven regions to enhance its binding affinity with FAK. Meanwhile, 60 novel defactinib-based compounds were designed and verified using ensemble docking. Overall, the present study improves our understanding of the binding mechanism of human FAK with VS-6063 and provides new insights into future drug designs targeting FAK. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma
Lasso variable selection in functional regression

Functional Regression has been an active subject of research in the last two decades but still lacks a secure variable selection methodology. Lasso is a well known effective technique for parameters shrinkage and variable selection in regression problems. In this work we generalize the Lasso technique to select variables in the functional regression framework and show it performs well. In particular, we focus on the case of functional regression with scalar regressors and functional response. Reduce the associated functional optimization problem to a convex optimization on scalars. Find its solutions and stress their interpretability. We apply the technique to simulated data sets as well as to a new real data set: car velocity functions in low speed car accidents, a frequent cause of whiplash injuries. By “Functional Lasso” we discover which car characteristics influence more car speed and which can be considered not relevant