The application of BIM tools to explore the dynamic characteristics of smart materials in a contemporary Shanashil building design element

Traditional architecture is known for its crafted facade features that respond to environmental, social and cultural requirements. Contemporary architecture produced façade features that attempted to enhance local design identity and local culture. Despite the advantages of modern technology, architectural elements have difficulties in fulfilling the idea of sustainable elegance that once traditional elements provided. This problem calls for an interdisciplinary design approach to deliver sustainable design solutions that positively adapt to the surrounding environment as well as maintain the state of elegance in design. With this in mind, the research aims to explore the role of new glass technologies to improve the performance and at the same time maintain the design value of traditional façade element “shanashil” in Baghdadi buildings. This research utilises BIM tools and uses smart materials to restore the lost value in design, which mimics the dynamic characteristics observed in nature, inspired by biomimetics strategies. Such qualities are found in the characteristics of smart dynamic glazing material particularly in the switchable, reversible properties of transparency and coloration efficiency. The material characteristics are attached to a 3D digital prototype to visualise the difference between dynamic and static properties through the use of technology tools Revit plugin and smart glazing virtual reality prototype. This research concludes that the dynamic characteristics of smart glazing materials are effective in delivering a multifunctional design quality to collectively blend in harmony with the surrounding environment

HyperProv: Decentralized Resilient Data Provenance at the Edge with Blockchains

Data provenance and lineage are critical for ensuring integrity and reproducibility of information in research and application. This is particularly challenging for distributed scenarios, where data may be originating from decentralized sources without any central control by a single trusted entity. We present HyperProv, a general framework for data provenance based on the permissioned blockchain Hyperledger Fabric (HLF), and to the best of our knowledge, the first system that is ported to ARM based devices such as Raspberry Pi (RPi). HyperProv tracks the metadata, operation history and data lineage through a set of built-in queries using smart contracts, enabling lightweight retrieval of provenance data. HyperProv provides convenient integration through a NodeJS client library, and also includes off-chain storage through the SSH file system. We evaluate HyperProv's performance, throughput, resource consumption, and energy efficiency on x86-64 machines, as well as on RPi devices for IoT use cases at the edge

Demo abstract: Towards IoT service deployments on edge community network microclouds

Internet of Things (IoT) services for personal devices and smart homes provided by commercial solutions are typically proprietary and closed. These services provide little control to the end users, for instance to take ownership of their data and enabling services, which hinders these solutions' wider acceptance. In this demo paper, we argue for an approach to deploy professional IoT services on user-controlled infrastructure at the network edge. The users would benefit from the ability to choose the most suitable service from different IoT service offerings, like the one which satisfies their privacy requirements, and third-party service providers could offer more tailored IoT services at customer premises. We conduct the demonstration on microclouds, which have been built with the Cloudy platform in the Guifi.net community network. The demonstration is conducted from the perspective of end users, who wish to deploy professional IoT data management and analytics services in volunteer microclouds.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Pengembangan Pembelajaran Ips dengan Pendekatan Contextual Teaching And Learning (CTL) di SMPN 7 Purworejo

Tujuan Penelitian ini ada tiga. (1). Untuk mendeskripsikan pengembangan sumber belajar IPS dengan pendekatan CTL di SMPN 7 Purworejo. (2). Untuk mendeskripsikan pengembangan materi pembelajaran IPS dengan pendekatan CTL di SMPN 7 Purworejo. (3). Untuk mendeskripsikan pengembangan media pembelajaran IPS dengan pendekatan CTL di SMPN 7 Purworejo. Jenis Penelitian ini adalah kualitatif dengan desain etnografi. Subjek utama penelitian adalah guru, kepala sekolah dan siswa. Analisis data dilakukan dengan pengumpulan data, reduksi data, penyajian data, dan penarikan kesimpulan atau verifikasi. Uji keabsahan data menggunakan triangulasi. Ada tiga hal yang perlu disajikan sebagai hasil penelitian (1). Pengembangan sumber belajar IPS dengan pendekatan CTL di SMPN 7 Purworejo. Pembelajaran membantu guru mengaitkan isi pelajaran dengan situasi dunia nyata, materi pelajaran disampaikan berdasarkan standar isi, SK/KD, berdasarkan teori dan fakta-fakta, karakteristik sumber belajar (kongkrit, aktual, sistematis, mudah dipahami siswa, mudah didapat di lingkungan sekolah dan masyarakat), jenis sumber belajar berupa buku paket, lembar kerja siswa, gambar, peta, globe, internet, kriteria pemilihan sumber belajar mudah didapat/tersedia di sekolah dan masyarakat, mudah dipelajari siswa, mampu merealisasikan pencapaian tujuan pembelajaran, sesuai dengan SK/KD yang harus dikuasai siswa, guru menggunakan sumber belajar lingkungan masyarakat sekolah dan lingkungan tempat tinggal siswa, LK, mengakses data dari internet. (2). Pengembangan materi pembelajaran IPS dengan pendekatan CTL di SMPN 7 Purworejo meliputi materi dikembangkan dari materi yang sederhana dan mudah menuju materi yang sedang dan sukar, materi yang bersifat terbatas ke materi yang bersifat kompleks, kriteria materi yang diberikan sederhana dan menyeluruh (terpadu), riil, syarat life skill dan aktual, sumber materi pembelajaran berdasar kurikulum, buku paket, lingkungan, dan internet, pengembangan sumber belajar IPS dengan media dan metode. (3). Pengembangan media pembelajaran IPS dengan pendekatan CTL di SMPN 7 Purworejo. Upaya guru dalam mengembangkan media berupa membuat desain media, mengaplikasikan media, mengevaluasi dan merevisi media yang belum baik, pihak sekolah menyelenggarakan kegiatan pelatihan untuk mendukung kegiatan pengembangan media, jenis media yang dikembangkan oleh guru berupa simulasi, diskusi, proyek, peta konsep, guru melakukan analisis kebutuhan, biaya, keefektifan penggunaan dan ketepatan sesuai dengan SK/KD dan materi pembelajaran sebelum melakukan pengembangan media, hambatan pengembangan media (keterbatasan pengetahuan, pengalaman dan penguasaan IT)

Variation at the Klotho gene locus does not affect cognitive function in up to 335,074 British Caucasians in the UK Biobank

Version 2 issued 19 November 2019.Copyright © The Author(s)/Funder. The proportion of older adults in Western populations is increasing and there is, therefore, a need to define factors affecting maintenance of physical and cognitive health in old age. Variations in the Klotho (KL) gene, and specifically the KL-VS haplotype, have been identified by several authors as potentially influencing cognitive function and decline. We have attempted to verify the reported associations between KL variants, including the KL-VS haplotype, and cognitive function in up to 335,074 British Caucasian participants aged 40-79 years from the UK Biobank. We do not find evidence that KL-VS affects cognitive function or its decline with increasing age. We examined a further 244 KL variants and found that rs117650866 was associated with Prospective Memory, but could not replicate this in follow-up samples. In conclusion, there is insufficient evidence in the UK Biobank to support the concept that KL variants affect cognitive function or its rate of decline.Calico LLC (South San Francisco, California, United States)

Alcohol causes an increased risk of head and neck but not breast cancer in individuals from the UK Biobank study: A Mendelian randomisation analysis

This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource under project 44566 (https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/2018/12/genetic-and-non-genetic-factors-able-to-predict-and-modify-the-risk-of-different-types-of-cancer/). All bona fide researchers can apply to use the UK Biobank resource for health related research that is in the public interest.Copyright © The Author(s)/Funder. Alcohol intake and the risk of various types of cancers have been previously correlated. Correlation though does not always mean that a causal relationship between the two is present. Excessive alcohol consumption is also correlated with other lifestyle factors and behaviours, such as smoking and increased adiposity, that also affect the risk of cancer and make the identification and estimation of the causal effect of alcohol on cancer difficult. Here, using individual level data for 322,193 individuals from the UK Biobank, we report the observational and causal effects of alcohol consumption on types of cancer previously suggested as correlated to alcohol. Alcohol was observationally associated with cancers of the lower digestive system, head and neck and breast cancer. No associations were observed when we considered those keeping alcohol consumption below the recommended threshold of 14 units/week. When Mendelian randomisation was used to assess the causal effect of alcohol on cancer, we found that increasing alcohol consumption, especially above the recommended level, was causal to head and neck cancers but not breast cancer. Our results where replicated using a two sample MR method and data from the much larger COGS genome wide analysis of breast cancer. We conclude that alcohol is causally related to head and neck cancers, especially cancer of larynx, but the observed association with breast cancer are likely due to confounding. The suggested threshold of 14 units/week appears suitable to manage the risk of cancer due to alcohol.PhD studentship from the College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University London

α8β1 integrin regulates nutrient absorption through an Mfge8-PTEN dependent mechanism.

Coordinated gastrointestinal smooth muscle contraction is critical for proper nutrient absorption and is altered in a number of medical disorders. In this work, we demonstrate a critical role for the RGD-binding integrin α8β1 in promoting nutrient absorption through regulation of gastrointestinal motility. Smooth muscle-specific deletion and antibody blockade of α8 in mice result in enhanced gastric antral smooth muscle contraction, more rapid gastric emptying, and more rapid transit of food through the small intestine leading to malabsorption of dietary fats and carbohydrates as well as protection from weight gain in a diet-induced model of obesity. Mechanistically, ligation of α8β1 by the milk protein Mfge8 reduces antral smooth muscle contractile force by preventing RhoA activation through a PTEN-dependent mechanism. Collectively, our results identify a role for α8β1 in regulating gastrointestinal motility and identify α8 as a potential target for disorders characterized by hypo- or hyper-motility

Inhibitor of DNA binding 1 as a secreted angiogenic transcription factor in rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by enhanced blood vessel development in joint synovium. This involves the recruitment of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), allowing for de novo vessel formation and pro-inflammatory cell infiltration. Inhibitor of DNA Binding 1 (Id1) is a transcription factor characteristic of EPCs that influences cell maturation. Method Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to examine Id1 levels in synovial fluid (SF) and endothelial cells (ECs), respectively. Immunohistology was used to determine the expression of Id1 in synovial tissue (ST). Human dermal microvascular EC (HMVEC) migration and tube forming assays were used to determine if recombinant human Id1 (rhuId1) and/or RA SF immunodepleted Id1 showed angiogenic activity. We also utilized the RA ST severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mouse chimera to examine if Id1 recruits EPCs to RA synovium. Results ST samples immunostained for Id1 showed heightened expression in RA compared to osteoarthritis (OA) and normal (NL) ST. By immunofluorescence staining, we found significantly more Id1 in RA compared to OA and NL vasculature, showing that Id1 expressing cells, and therefore EPCs, are most active in vascular remodeling in the RA synovium. We also detected significantly more Id1 in RA compared to OA and other arthritis SFs by ELISA, which correlates highly with Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 16 (CXCL16) levels. In vitro chemotaxis assays showed that Id1 is highly chemotactic for HMVECs and can be attenuated by inhibition of Nuclear Factor κB and phosphoinositide 3-kinase. Using in vitro Matrigel assays, we found that HMVECs form tubes in response to rhuId1 and that Id1 immunodepleted from RA SF profoundly decreases tube formation in Matrigel in vitro. PCR showed that Id1 mRNA could be up-regulated in EPCs compared to HMVECs in response to CXCL16. Finally, using the K/BxN serum induced arthritis model, we found that EC CXCR6 correlated with Id1 expression by immunohistochemistry. Conclusions We conclude that Id1 correlates highly with CXCL16 expression, EPC recruitment, and blood vessel formation in the RA joint, and that Id1 is potently angiogenic and can be up-regulated in EPCs by CXCL16.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110805/1/13075_2013_Article_4258.pd

Exploring the contribution of lifestyle to the impact of education on the risk of cancer through Mendelian randomization analysis

Data availability: UK Biobank individual level data used in this work can be accessed after applying for access at https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/enable-your-research/apply-for-access. Genetic association data are publicly available in the original studies.Supplementary Information is available online at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1038/s41598-024-54259-7#Sec17 .Educational attainment (EA) has been linked to the risk of several types of cancer, despite having no expected direct biological connection. In this paper, we investigate the mediating role of alcohol consumption, smoking, vegetable consumption, fruit consumption and body mass index (BMI) in explaining the effect of EA on 7 cancer groupings. Large-scale genome wide association study (GWAS) results were used to construct the genetic instrument for EA and the lifestyle factors. We conducted GWAS in the UK Biobank sample in up to 335,024 individuals to obtain genetic association data for the cancer outcomes. Univariable and multivariable two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses and mediation analyses were then conducted to explore the causal effect and mediating proportions of these relations. MR mediation analysis revealed that reduced lifetime smoking index accounted for 81.7% (49.1% to 100%) of the protective effect of higher EA on lower respiratory cancer. Moreover, the effect of higher EA on lower respiratory cancer was mediated through vegetable consumption by 10.2% (4.4% to 15.9%). We found genetic evidence that the effect of EA on groups of cancer is due to behavioural changes in avoiding well established risk factors such as smoking and vegetable consuming.Brunel Research Initiative and Enterprise Fund to FD. This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource under project 44566 (https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/2018/12/genetic-and-non-genetic-factors-able-to-predict-and-modify-the-risk-of-different-types-of-cancer/)