Sequence-to-Sequence Imputation of Missing Sensor Data

Although the sequence-to-sequence (encoder-decoder) model is considered the state-of-the-art in deep learning sequence models, there is little research into using this model for recovering missing sensor data. The key challenge is that the missing sensor data problem typically comprises three sequences (a sequence of observed samples, followed by a sequence of missing samples, followed by another sequence of observed samples) whereas, the sequence-to-sequence model only considers two sequences (an input sequence and an output sequence). We address this problem by formulating a sequence-to-sequence in a novel way. A forward RNN encodes the data observed before the missing sequence and a backward RNN encodes the data observed after the missing sequence. A decoder decodes the two encoders in a novel way to predict the missing data. We demonstrate that this model produces the lowest errors in 12% more cases than the current state-of-the-art

Therapeutic DNA vaccine induces broad T cell responses in the gut and sustained protection from viral rebound and AIDS in SIV-infected rhesus macaques.

Immunotherapies that induce durable immune control of chronic HIV infection may eliminate the need for life-long dependence on drugs. We investigated a DNA vaccine formulated with a novel genetic adjuvant that stimulates immune responses in the blood and gut for the ability to improve therapy in rhesus macaques chronically infected with SIV. Using the SIV-macaque model for AIDS, we show that epidermal co-delivery of plasmids expressing SIV Gag, RT, Nef and Env, and the mucosal adjuvant, heat-labile E. coli enterotoxin (LT), during antiretroviral therapy (ART) induced a substantial 2-4-log fold reduction in mean virus burden in both the gut and blood when compared to unvaccinated controls and provided durable protection from viral rebound and disease progression after the drug was discontinued. This effect was associated with significant increases in IFN-γ T cell responses in both the blood and gut and SIV-specific CD8+ T cells with dual TNF-α and cytolytic effector functions in the blood. Importantly, a broader specificity in the T cell response seen in the gut, but not the blood, significantly correlated with a reduction in virus production in mucosal tissues and a lower virus burden in plasma. We conclude that immunizing with vaccines that induce immune responses in mucosal gut tissue could reduce residual viral reservoirs during drug therapy and improve long-term treatment of HIV infection in humans

Electric Field Control of Spin Transport

Spintronics is an approach to electronics in which the spin of the electrons is exploited to control the electric resistance R of devices. One basic building block is the spin-valve, which is formed if two ferromagnetic electrodes are separated by a thin tunneling barrier. In such devices, R depends on the orientation of the magnetisation of the electrodes. It is usually larger in the antiparallel than in the parallel configuration. The relative difference of R, the so-called magneto-resistance (MR), is then positive. Common devices, such as the giant magneto-resistance sensor used in reading heads of hard disks, are based on this phenomenon. The MR may become anomalous (negative), if the transmission probability of electrons through the device is spin or energy dependent. This offers a route to the realisation of gate-tunable MR devices, because transmission probabilities can readily be tuned in many devices with an electrical gate signal. Such devices have, however, been elusive so far. We report here on a pronounced gate-field controlled MR in devices made from carbon nanotubes with ferromagnetic contacts. Both the amplitude and the sign of the MR are tunable with the gate voltage in a predictable manner. We emphasise that this spin-field effect is not restricted to carbon nanotubes but constitutes a generic effect which can in principle be exploited in all resonant tunneling devices.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figure

Objective effect manifestation of pectus excavatum on load-stressed pulmonary function testing: a case report

Abstract Introduction Pectus excavatum is the most common congenital deformity of the anterior chest wall that, under certain conditions, may pose functional problems due to cardiopulmonary compromise and exercise intolerance. Case presentation We present the case of an otherwise physically-adept 21-year-old Chinese sportsman with idiopathic pectus excavatum, whose symptoms manifested only on bearing a loaded body vest and backpack during physical exercise. Corroborative objective evidence was obtained via load-stressed pulmonary function testing, which demonstrated restrictive lung function. Conclusion This report highlights the possible detrimental synergism of thoracic load stress and pectus excavatum on cardiopulmonary function. Thoracic load-stressed pulmonary function testing provides objective evidence in support of such a synergistic relationship.</p

A comparative study of MEA and DEA for post-combustion CO2 capture with different process configurations

This paper presented a comparative study of monoethanolamine (MEA) and diethanolamine (DEA) for post-combustion CO2 capture (PCC) process with different process configurations to study the interaction effect between solvent and process. The steady state process model of the conventional MEA-based PCC process was developed in Pro/II® and was validated with the experimental data. Then ten different process configurations were simulated for both MEA and DEA. Their performances in energy consumption were compared in terms of reboiler duty and total equivalent work. The results show that DEA generally has better thermal performances than MEA for all these ten process configurations. Seven process configurations provide 0.38%–4.61% total energy saving compared with the conventional PCC process for MEA, and other two configurations are not favourable. For DEA, except one configuration, other process configurations have 0.27%–4.50% total energy saving. This work also analyzed the sensitivities of three key parameters (amine concentration, stripper pressure and lean solvent loading) in conventional process and five process modifications to show optimization strategy

CDK5-mediated hyperphosphorylation contributes to the lossof-SIRT1 function during the development of endothelial senescence

Session S29 - Molecular and Cellular Cardiology / Vascular Biology, Basic Research: abstract no. 250BACKGROUND: During vascular aging, endothelial cells lying on the inner surface of the blood vessels present a senescent phonotype, triggering and accelerating atherosclerosis development. The anti-aging activity of SIRT1, a NAD-dependent deacetylase, is lost the during the occurrence of endothelial senescence (Cir Res 2010;106:1384-93). The present study aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the loss-of-SIRT1 function in senescent endothelial cells ...postprin

Stronger diversity effects with increased environmental stress : a study of multitrophic interactions between oak, powdery mildew and ladybirds

Recent research has suggested that increasing neighbourhood tree species diversity may mitigate the impact of pests or pathogens by supporting the activities of their natural enemies and/or reducing the density of available hosts. In this study, we attempted to assess these mechanisms in a multitrophic study system of young oak (Quercus), oak powdery mildew (PM, caused by Erysiphe spp.) and a mycophagous ladybird (Psyllobora vigintiduo-punctata). We assessed ladybird mycophagy on oak PM in function of different neighbourhood tree species compositions. We also evaluated whether these species interactions were modulated by environmental conditions as suggested by the Stress Gradient Hypothesis. We adopted a complementary approach of a field experiment where we monitored oak saplings subjected to a reduced rainfall gradient in a young planted forest consisting of different tree species mixtures, as well as a lab experiment where we independently evaluated the effect of different watering treatments on PM infections and ladybird mycophagy. In the field experiment, we found effects of neighbourhood tree species richness on ladybird mycophagy becoming more positive as the target trees received less water. This effect was only found as weather conditions grew drier. In the lab experiment, we found a preference of ladybirds to graze on infected leaves from trees that received less water. We discuss potential mechanisms that might explain this preference, such as emissions of volatile leaf chemicals. Our results are in line with the expectations of the Natural Enemies Hypothesis and support the hypothesis that biodiversity effects become stronger with increased environmental stress

Lateral Gene Expression in Drosophila Early Embryos Is Supported by Grainyhead-Mediated Activation and Tiers of Dorsally-Localized Repression

The general consensus in the field is that limiting amounts of the transcription factor Dorsal establish dorsal boundaries of genes expressed along the dorsal-ventral (DV) axis of early Drosophila embryos, while repressors establish ventral boundaries. Yet recent studies have provided evidence that repressors act to specify the dorsal boundary of intermediate neuroblasts defective (ind), a gene expressed in a stripe along the DV axis in lateral regions of the embryo. Here we show that a short 12 base pair sequence (“the A-box”) present twice within the ind CRM is both necessary and sufficient to support transcriptional repression in dorsal regions of embryos. To identify binding factors, we conducted affinity chromatography using the A-box element and found a number of DNA-binding proteins and chromatin-associated factors using mass spectroscopy. Only Grainyhead (Grh), a CP2 transcription factor with a unique DNA-binding domain, was found to bind the A-box sequence. Our results suggest that Grh acts as an activator to support expression of ind, which was surprising as we identified this factor using an element that mediates dorsally-localized repression. Grh and Dorsal both contribute to ind transcriptional activation. However, another recent study found that the repressor Capicua (Cic) also binds to the A-box sequence. While Cic was not identified through our A-box affinity chromatography, utilization of the same site, the A-box, by both factors Grh (activator) and Cic (repressor) may also support a “switch-like” response that helps to sharpen the ind dorsal boundary. Furthermore, our results also demonstrate that TGF-β signaling acts to refine ind CRM expression in an A-box independent manner in dorsal-most regions, suggesting that tiers of repression act in dorsal regions of the embryo

Identifying the structure of Zn-N-2 active sites and structural activation

Identification of active sites is one of the main obstacles to rational design of catalysts for diverse applications. Fundamental insight into the identification of the structure of active sites and structural contributions for catalytic performance are still lacking. Recently, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and density functional theory (DFT) provide important tools to disclose the electronic, geometric and catalytic natures of active sites. Herein, we demonstrate the structural identification of Zn-N-2 active sites with both experimental/theoretical X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra. Further DFT calculations reveal that the oxygen species activation on Zn-N-2 active sites is significantly enhanced, which can accelerate the reduction of oxygen with high selectivity, according well with the experimental results. This work highlights the identification and investigation of Zn-N-2 active sites, providing a regular principle to obtain deep insight into the nature of catalysts for various catalytic applications

Observation of a ppb mass threshoud enhancement in \psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p}) decay

The decay channel $\psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p})$ is studied using a sample of $1.06\times 10^8$ $\psi^\prime$ events collected by the BESIII experiment at BEPCII. A strong enhancement at threshold is observed in the $p\bar{p}$ invariant mass spectrum. The enhancement can be fit with an $S$-wave Breit-Wigner resonance function with a resulting peak mass of $M=1861^{+6}_{-13} {\rm (stat)}^{+7}_{-26} {\rm (syst)} {\rm MeV/}c^2$ and a narrow width that is $\Gamma<38 {\rm MeV/}c^2$ at the 90% confidence level. These results are consistent with published BESII results. These mass and width values do not match with those of any known meson resonance.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Chinese Physics