Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Probing the effect of clustering on EphA2 receptor signaling efficiency by subcellular control of ligand-receptor mobility

Clustering of ligand:receptor complexes on the cell membrane is widely presumed to have functional consequences for subsequent signal transduction. However, it is experimentally challenging to selectively manipulate receptor clustering without altering other biochemical aspects of the cellular system. Here, we develop a microfabrication strategy to produce substrates displaying mobile and immobile ligands that are separated by roughly 1 µm, and thus experience an identical cytoplasmic signaling state, enabling precision comparison of downstream signaling reactions. Applying this approach to characterize the ephrinA1:EphA2 signaling system reveals that EphA2 clustering enhances both receptor phosphorylation and downstream signaling activity. Single-molecule imaging clearly resolves increased molecular binding dwell times at EphA2 clusters for both Grb2:SOS and NCK:N-WASP signaling modules. This type of intracellular comparison enables a substantially higher degree of quantitative analysis than is possible when comparisons must be made between different cells and essentially eliminates the effects of cellular response to ligand manipulation.
Reelin restricts dendritic growth of interneurons in the neocortex.

Reelin is a large secreted glycoprotein that regulates neuronal migration, lamination and establishment of dendritic architecture in the embryonic brain. Reelin expression switches postnatally from Cajal-Retzius cells to interneurons. However, reelin function in interneuron development is still poorly understood. Here, we investigated the role of reelin in interneuron development in the postnatal neocortex. To preclude early cortical migration defects caused by reelin deficiency, we employed a conditional reelin knock-out (RelncKO) mouse to induce postnatal reelin deficiency. Induced reelin deficiency caused dendritic hypertrophy in distal dendritic segments of neuropeptide-Y positive (NPY+) and calretinin positive (Calr+) interneurons, and in proximal dendritic segments of parvalbumin positive (Parv+) interneurons. Chronic recombinant Reelin treatment rescued dendritic hypertrophy in Relncko interneurons. Moreover, we provide evidence that RelncKO interneuron hypertrophy is due to presynaptic GABABR dysfunction. Thus, GABABRs in RelncKO interneurons were unable to block N-type (Cav2.2) Ca2+ channels that control neurotransmitter release. Consequently, the excessive Ca2+ influx through AMPA receptors, but not NMDA receptors caused interneuron dendritic hypertrophy. These findings suggest that reelin acts as a "stop-growth-signal" for postnatal interneuron maturation.
Biological Responses to Short-Term Maximal Exercise in Male Police Officers

The specifics of short-term physical exercise are similar to the immediate reaction demands placed on police officers. Identifying the physiological predisposition to short-term high-intensity exercise in male law enforcement officers will assist in understanding their metabolism and make a significant contribution to a much more personal and individualized workout program. This will improve physical fitness of individual officers, improving their preparedness for such times of emergency. This cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the responses of hematological (erythrocytes, hemoglobin, hematocrit, leucocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes), hormonal (testosterone, cortisol, melatonin), biochemical (glucose, uric-acid, lactate, creatine-phosphokinase) data to short-term maximal exercise in male police officers (n = 20). Blood samples were collected before- and after- the running-based anaerobic sprint test (RAST), and biological values were corrected for fluid shifts. Data were mean ± standard deviation of differences (= after minus before RAST). After the RAST, values of cortisol, lactate, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes increased significantly by 7.01 ± 37.36 mmol/l, 7.55 ± 1.67 mmol/l, 0.17 ± 0.26 103/µl, 0.61 ± 0.28 103/µl, and 0.10 ± 0.13 103/µl, respectively. After the RAST, values of melatonin, uric-acid, creatine-phosphokinase, hemoglobin, and hematocrit decreased significantly by −13.24 ± 4.60 pg/ml, −13.28 ± 14.35 µmol/l, −10.23 ± 10.13 IU/l, −2.01 ± 0.81 g/dl, and −4.46 ± 0.59%, respectively. Biological data of male police officers were affected by sprint test. Understanding changes in biological data following short-term maximal exercise can further assist in a better understanding of anaerobic metabolism, which will be helpful to find available methods for coaches to quantify training loads.
Examination of testicular lumicrine regulation of activins and immunoregulatory genes in the epididymal caput

Immunoregulatory genes encoding activin A (Inhba) and B (Inhbb), and indolamine 2,3‐dioxygenase‐1 (Ido1) are highly expressed in the murine caput epididymidis, which also has a network of intraepithelial mononuclear phagocytes. This environment is postulated to promote immunological tolerance to epididymal sperm. The factors regulating the immunoregulatory agents in the epididymal caput are poorly understood.
Classification of wheelchair pressure relief maneuvers using changes in center of pressure and weight on the seat

Abstract Background Pressure injuries from prolonged sitting are a significant problem for wheelchair users incurring high costs in healthcare expenditures and reducing quality-of-life. There is a need to improve pressure relief training and adherence in a variety of settings. Objective To identify effective common wheelchair pressure relief (PR) manoeuvres based on changes to users’ seated centre of pressure (CoP) and seated weight. Participants 20 individuals who use manual wheelchairs as their primary means of mobility Methods Participants performed 5 types of PR including seated push-ups, leftward, rightward, forward, and backward leans—while sitting in a wheelchair equipped with a custom instrumented seat pan support. Data were analysed using both clustering and decision tree approaches to identify types of PR. Results Both clustering and decision tree approaches were able to identify and classify PR though neither could accurately distinguish between forward and backward PR. Conclusion Changes in the centre of pressure and the total weight on the wheelchair’s seat can be used to automatically characterise type, amplitude and duration of pressure relief manoeuvres. Building such a classification and quality assessment scheme into an algorithm could enable a virtual coaching system to track users’ pressure relief behaviour and make suggestions to improve adherence with clinical recommendations. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Multiple bending beam load cells can be used to measure wheelchair users’ seated centre of pressure independent of type of cushion used. Both cluster analysis and decision tree algorithms can classify commonly practiced pressure reliefs by measuring changes to the centre of pressure and total weight on the wheelchair’s seat. The combination of force sensing for centre of pressure determination and either algorithm could serve as the basis for an application to coach wheelchair users to do effective pressure reliefs.
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in humans and mice: embracing clinical complexity in mouse models

Abstract Heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a multifactorial disease accounting for a large and increasing proportion of all clinical HF presentations. As a clinical syndrome, HFpEF is characterized by typical signs and symptoms of HF, a distinct cardiac phenotype and raised natriuretic peptides. Non-cardiac comorbidities frequently co-exist and contribute to the pathophysiology of HFpEF. To date, no therapy has proven to improve outcomes in HFpEF, with drug development hampered, at least partly, by lack of consensus on appropriate standards for pre-clinical HFpEF models. Recently, two clinical algorithms (HFA-PEFF and H2FPEF scores) have been developed to improve and standardize the diagnosis of HFpEF. In this review, we evaluate the translational utility of HFpEF mouse models in the context of these HFpEF scores. We systematically recorded evidence of symptoms and signs of HF or clinical HFpEF features and included several cardiac and extra-cardiac parameters as well as age and sex for each HFpEF mouse model. We found that most of the pre-clinical HFpEF models do not meet the HFpEF clinical criteria, although some multifactorial models resemble human HFpEF to a reasonable extent. We therefore conclude that to optimize the translational value of mouse models to human HFpEF, a novel approach for the development of pre-clinical HFpEF models is needed, taking into account the complex HFpEF pathophysiology in humans.
In vivo imaging shows continued association of several IFT A, B and dynein complexes while IFT trains U-turn at the tip.

Flagellar assembly depends on intraflagellar transport (IFT), a bidirectional motility of protein carriers, the IFT trains. The trains are periodic assemblies of IFT-A and IFT-B subcomplexes and the motors kinesin-2 and IFT dynein. At the tip, anterograde trains are remodeled for retrograde IFT, a process that in Chlamydomonas involves kinesin-2 release and train fragmentation. However, the degree of train disassembly at the tip remains unknown. Two-color imaging of fluorescent protein-tagged IFT components indicates that IFT-A and IFT-B proteins from a given anterograde train usually return in the same set of retrograde trains. Similarly, concurrent turnaround was typical for IFT-B proteins and the IFT dynein subunit D1bLIC-GFP but severance was observed as well. Our data support a simple model of IFT turnaround, in which IFT-A, IFT-B, and IFT dynein typically remain associated at the tip and anterograde trains convert directly into retrograde trains without disassembly but for possible splitting into strings of IFT complexes. Continuous association of IFT-A, IFT-B and IFT dynein during tip remodeling could balance protein entry and exit preventing the build-up of IFT material in flagella.
A Humanoid Robot Learning Audiovisual Classification By Active Exploration

We present a novel neurorobotic setup and dataset for active object exploration and audiovisual classification based on their material properties. In the robotic setup, a humanoid drops an item on a sloped surface and records the video image frames and raw audio of the collision of the surface and object. The novel dataset includes 32800 images and 1600 s of audio recording from 800 samples for 16 objects and will be made publicly available. We propose a novel neural architecture for the classification of the objects. A detailed analysis of results shows that different materials are easier classified either in the audio or the visual modality. As a main contribution, we can show that combining modalities can achieve an even higher classification accuracy of 90%.
Robust Probabilistic Simplex Component Analysis

Simplex component analysis (SCA) is an important problem that finds diverse applications from hyperspectral imaging to topic mining and community detection. This contribution revisits SCA from a probabilistic point of view, with the aim of dealing with outliers in a disciplined and effective way. Towards this end, a mixture distribution is used to model the data, and the parameters of the mixture model are sought via a maximum likelihood formulation. A variational inference approximation is used to tackle the resulting problem, and the solution enables simultaneous nominal model estimation and outlier detection. Careful simulations with synthetic and semi-real data reveal that the proposed approach offers significantly improved robustness and outlier detection capabilities.
Gene therapy with AR isoform 2 rescues spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy phenotype by modulating AR transcriptional activity

AR isoform 2–encoded variant acts as a transcriptional modulator of AR genomic activity and is a target for therapy for SBMA. Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is an X-linked, adult-onset neuromuscular condition caused by an abnormal polyglutamine (polyQ) tract expansion in androgen receptor (AR) protein. SBMA is a disease with high unmet clinical need. Recent studies have shown that mutant AR-altered transcriptional activity is key to disease pathogenesis. Restoring the transcriptional dysregulation without affecting other AR critical functions holds great promise for the treatment of SBMA and other AR-related conditions; however, how this targeted approach can be achieved and translated into a clinical application remains to be understood. Here, we characterized the role of AR isoform 2, a naturally occurring variant encoding a truncated AR lacking the polyQ-harboring domain, as a regulatory switch of AR genomic functions in androgen-responsive tissues. Delivery of this isoform using a recombinant adeno-associated virus vector type 9 resulted in amelioration of the disease phenotype in SBMA mice by restoring polyQ AR–dysregulated transcriptional activity.
Desire: Leveraging the Best of Centralized and Decentralized Contact Tracing Systems

Contact tracing in case of pandemic is becoming an essential mitigation tool for national health services to break infection chains and prevent the virus from spreading further. To support manual tracing, several countries have been developing contact tracing apps that detect nearby mobile phones using Bluetooth. Such data collection raised privacy concerns and several privacy-preserving protocols have been proposed to prevent the leakage of personal and sensitive information. These solutions are mainly divided into two categories using a centralized or a decentralized exposure score computation. However, both approaches depict limitations. This article presents Desire, a novel exposure notification system that leverages the best of centralized and decentralized systems. As opposed to existing contact tracing schemes, Desire leverages Private Encounter Tokens (Pets) generated locally on the device that uniquely identify an encounter between two nodes while being private and unlinkable by the server. The role of the server is merely to match PETs generated by diagnosed users with the pets provided by requesting users. Our privacy risk analysis shows that Desire drastically improves privacy against malicious users (i.e., limitation of decentralized systems) and authority (i.e., limitation of centralised systems). We implemented Desire, evaluated it in real condition, and show it feasibility.
The making of the corporate carbon footprint: the politics behind emission scoping

ABSTRACT The key measurement standard used by the private sector to measure the carbon emission impact of an organization is the corporate carbon footprint. Known as the GHG Protocol, this standard was created in 2001 through a multi-stakeholder collaboration and is now used by thousands of companies globally. This article discusses the origins of the Protocol to better illuminate the politics surrounding the counting and measuring of carbon emissions as environmental intangibles that serve as a critical first step towards corporate climate action. Using archival research and interviews with key stakeholders, I underscore the actors involved and their motivations, which combined led to the development of certain internal accounting technologies, namely the practice of scoping. Scoping was proposed as a way to categorize emissions according to levels of legal ownership and control and avoid ‘double-counting’. Using Chiapello and Engels’ suggesting that integrating scoping was an effort to forge a compatibility between economic growth and climate protection and protect the financial interests of businesses by narrowly enclosing climate mitigation responsibility. To conclude, I discuss the lasting implications to measuring carbon with the corporate carbon footprint for meaningful climate action.
Unsnarling Excitation, Relaxation and Scattering Dynamics in Multi-Chiral Distributions of Carbon Nanotubes

This research begins the process of studying a polymer/carbon nanotube prototype solar cell. Inclusion of nanotubes in a photoactive polymer simultaneously overcomes the limited diffusion length of charge carriers and vastly extends the spectral sensitivity. Further improvements in these hybrid designs will now require a comprehensive understanding of the diverse contributions from, and limitations of, each component of these new solar cells. Research described in this dissertation focuses on the light harvesting component, a heterogenous distribution of individual carbon nanotubes in a photoactive polymer, with the goal of quantifying the contributions from each of the individual nanotubes to the harvested photocurrent. Absorption of light by photoactive polymers and nanotubes generates strongly bound excitons. To transform these short lived excitons into a harvestable photocurrent they must be efficiently dissociated and transported through the device, with minimal losses, before coupling to external leads. Designing an efficient solar cell then is aided by understanding every step in the evolution of charge carriers from excitation to harvested photocurrent. This research focuses on simultaneously measuring the excited states of a carbon nanotube distribution in comparison with the literature. The heterogenous distribution of carbon nanotubes provides a series of parallel detectors collectively contributing extended spectral sensitivity to the cell. Selectively observing carrier evolution from each nanotube species is accomplished through non-degenerate pump-probe measurements. The broadband measurements in spectrally congested neighborhoods of nanotubes limits selectivity needed to follow a single species. The challenge of simultaneously measuring the response of multiple nanotube species is addressed in two
Using RoboChick to Identify the Behavioral Features Promoting Social Interactions

Studies of social behaviors in animals are faced with various methodological difficulties, which can be addressed by using controlled artificial social agents. Previous studies have shown that various animal species interact with passive replicas or interactive robots that mimic their conspecifics. In the case of chickens, filial attachment (imprinting) to robots is observed in young chicks. However, the features and functions of the robots that maximize the efficiency of chicken-robot attachment have not yet been identified. Therefore, we designed RoboChick, a simple robot that can be easily customized with different features. Further, we developed a protocol for assessing the attractiveness of each feature. In the current study, we tested the attractiveness of two RoboChick features during robot-chick interactions: the presence of flashing lights and vocalizations in response to chick interactions. Our proposed protocol proved suitable for assessing the efficacy of the features. RoboChick, which is open and modular, can be easily reproduced by other research groups and adapted to test different features in different experimental conditions.
Impedance Analysis and Design of IPT System to Improve System Efficiency and Reduce Output Voltage or Current Fluctuations

With the increase of load resistance, the impedance angle of the rectifier with passive C filter also increases, which may have some negative effects on the characteristics of the inductive power transfer (IPT) system. This article presents an impedance analysis method for C-filter rectifiers in continuous conduction mode. The calculation formula of critical load resistance is given and the relevant values are calculated. An improved C-filter rectifier circuit is proposed to reduce the phase angle of the IPT system. A very tiny capacitance is connected in parallel at the input end of the rectifier to reduce the impedance angle as load resistance changes, with hardly increased costs. This improved method not only improves the system efficiency, but also reduces the fluctuation of output voltage or current. Simulation and experiment results verify the feasibility of the proposed topology. A 1 kW prototype with primary series, secondary series compensation topology was built. The maximum system efficiency from dc power supply to the load is 94.5%. The efficiency under rated load is as high as 93%. Compared with traditional method, it has increased by 0.6%.
Adaptive IIR Diffusion Networks for IoT Applications

Applications for Internet of Things (IoT) are rapidly growing, and in this work we propose infinite impulse response (IIR) adaptive networks to address such applications. We begin by addressing well known convergence limitations of standalone IIR adaptive filters (AFs), which may pose a major obstacle to their widespread use. For that, a new convex hybrid combination of a finite impulse response (FIR) and an IIR AFs based on Padé approximants mapping is introduced in order to accelerate the IIR AF convergence while preserving its steady-state performance. After addressing the standalone IIR AF applications, we propose a distributed estimation implementation, arriving at an IIR adaptive network that envisions IoT and sensor networks (SNs) applications. Simulations show that the proposed method is able to not only improve convergence for IIR standalone AFs, but also to motivate IIR adaptive networks, and that with much less computations, as compared to traditional FIR adaptive networks.
Line Failure Localization of Power Networks Part I: Non-Cut Outages

Transmission line failures in power systems propagate non-locally, making the control of the resulting outages extremely difficult. In this work, we establish a mathematical theory that characterizes the patterns of line failure propagation and localization in terms of network graph structure. It provides a novel perspective on distribution factors that precisely captures Kirchhoff's Law in terms of topological structures. Our results show that the distribution of specific collections of subtrees of the transmission network plays a critical role on the patterns of power redistribution, and motivates the block decomposition of the transmission network as a structure to understand long-distance propagation of disturbances. In Part I of this paper, we present the case when the post-contingency network remains connected after an initial set of lines are disconnected simultaneously. In Part II, we present the case when an outage separates the network into multiple islands.
Extractives of Cercidiphyllum japonicum twigs: isolation and structural elucidation of a new galloylflavonol glycoside, anomeric tannins and flavonoids

Abstract Cercidiphyllum japonicum is a deciduous tree that grows in East Asia, where its raw extracts have long been used in folk medicnes to treat various disorders or diseases. In the current work, extracts from C. japonicum twigs were studied for the first time. Seven individual compounds were isolated from the extracts, including a new galloylflavonol glycoside, namely 8-methoxykaempferol-4′-O-galloyl-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (VII), and six known phenolics [two anomeric galloyltannins (3,4,6-tri-O-galloyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (I) and 2,2′,5-tri-O-galloyl-α/β-D-hamamelose (III)), one anomeric ellagictannin, pedunculagin (II), one flavonol, kaempferol (V) and two flavonol derivatives (kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (IV) and 8-methoxykaempferol (VI))]. Structural elucidation of I–VII was conducted mainly on the basis of their spectroscopic [ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS)] and physicochemical analysis, as well as by comparison of the analytical data with those in the literature. Compounds I, II, IV and VI have not yet been reported in the genus Cercidiphyllum. Compound VII, a previously undescribed flavonoid, was isolated and elucidated in this work for the first time.