Investigating IoT Middleware Platforms for Smart Application Development

With the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, the data generated through these devices is also increasing. By 2030, it is been predicted that the number of IoT devices will exceed the number of human beings on earth. This gives rise to the requirement of middleware platform that can manage IoT devices, intelligently store and process gigantic data generated for building smart applications such as Smart Cities, Smart Healthcare, Smart Industry, and others. At present, market is overwhelming with the number of IoT middleware platforms with specific features. This raises one of the most serious and least discussed challenge for application developer to choose suitable platform for their application development. Across the literature, very little attempt is done in classifying or comparing IoT middleware platforms for the applications. This paper categorizes IoT platforms into four categories namely-publicly traded, open source, developer friendly and end-to-end connectivity. Some of the popular middleware platforms in each category are investigated based on general IoT architecture. Comparison of IoT middleware platforms in each category, based on basic, sensing, communication and application development features is presented. This study can be useful for IoT application developers to select the most appropriate platform according to their application requirement

Clinical Reasoning by Veterinary Students in the First-Opinion Setting: Is It Encouraged? Is It Practiced?

A mixed-methods study was performed to investigate the perceived importance and efficacy of teaching clinical reasoning (CR) skills among students and faculty in a university first-opinion veterinary practice, as this has not previously been described. Qualitative analysis of interview data, discussing objectives and factors considered important for effective learning and the understanding of CR, was performed alongside quantitative analysis of the Preceptor Thinking-Promotion Scale (PTPS) and the Learner Thinking-Behavior Scale (LTBS) (assessing the level of CR encouraged by clinicians and displayed by students) in peri-consultation discussions. Themes that emerged from analysis of the interviews regarding objectives included the desire to develop data acquisition and the need to improve data manipulation and CR. Themes associated with effective learning were a positive student-centered learning environment and feedback. Type II CR was fairly well described, but recognition of the importance of type I CR was poor among clinicians and students and, in some instances, was deemed to be inappropriate. Although many clinicians and students expressed a desire to develop student CR, there was little evidence of this actually occurring in the interactions analyzed, with low PTPS and LTBS scores achieved. There was also poor understanding of whether effective teaching of CR had occurred, demonstrated by a lack of correlation between LTBS and the interaction score for development of student CR. Further training of clinicians and students of the value of type I CR in first-opinion practice is required, as well as clinician education in how best to support the development of CR in students

A new 500 kb haplotype associated with high CD8+ T-lymphocyte numbers predicts a less severe expression of hereditary hemochromatosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hereditary Hemochromatosis(HH) is a common genetic disorder of iron overload where the large majority of patients are homozygous for one ancestral mutation in the <it>HFE </it>gene. In spite of this remarkable genetic homogeneity, the condition is clinically heterogeneous, varying from a severe disease to an asymptomatic phenotype with only abnormal biochemical parameters. The recent recognition of the variable penetrance of the HH mutation in different large population studies demands the need to search for new modifiers of its phenotypic expression. The present study follows previous observations that MHC class-I linked genetic markers, associated with the setting of CD8+ T-lymphocyte numbers, could be clinically relevant modifiers of the phenotypic expression in HH, and aimed to find new markers that could be used as more reliable prognostic variables.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Haplotype analysis, including seven genetic markers within a 1 Mb region around the microsatellite D6S105 was performed in a group of 56 previously characterized C282Y homozygous Portuguese patients. Parameters analyzed in this study were total body iron stores, clinical manifestations related with HH and immunological parameters (total lymphocyte numbers, CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocyte numbers). An independent group of 10 C282Y homozygous patients from Vancouver, Canada, were also included in this study and analyzed for the same parameters.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A highly conserved ancestral haplotype defined by the SNP markers PGBD1-A, ZNF193-A, ZNF165-T (designated as A-A-T) was found associated with both abnormally low CD8+ T-lymphocyte numbers and the development of a severe clinical expression of HH. In a small proportion of patients, another conserved haplotype defined by the SNP markers PGBD1-G, ZNF193-G, ZNF165-G (designated as G-G-G) was found associated with high CD8+ T-lymphocyte numbers and a milder clinical expression. Remarkably, the two conserved haplotypes defined in Portuguese patients were also observed in the geographically different population of Canadian patients, also predicting CD8+ T-lymphocyte numbers and the severity of disease.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results may have important implications not only for approaching the question of the penetrance of the hemochromatosis gene in different world populations but also to further narrow the region of interest to find a candidate gene involved in the setting of CD8+ T-lymphocyte numbers in humans.</p

Paternal obesity is associated with IGF2 hypomethylation in newborns: results from a Newborn Epigenetics Study (NEST) cohort

Data from epidemiological and animal model studies suggest that nutrition during pregnancy may affect the health status of subsequent generations. These transgenerational effects are now being explained by disruptions at the level of the epigenetic machinery. Besides in vitro environmental exposures, the possible impact on the reprogramming of methylation profiles at imprinted genes at a much earlier time point, such as during spermatogenesis or oogenesis, has not previously been considered. In this study, our aim was to determine associations between preconceptional obesity and DNA methylation profiles in the offspring, particularly at the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of the imprinted Insulin-like Growth Factor 2 (IGF2) gene

Adaptive Evolution of the Myo6 Gene in Old World Fruit Bats (Family: Pteropodidae)

PMCID: PMC3631194This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

The Anopheles gambiae Oxidation Resistance 1 (OXR1) Gene Regulates Expression of Enzymes That Detoxify Reactive Oxygen Species

OXR1 is an ancient gene, present in all eukaryotes examined so far that confers protection from oxidative stress by an unknown mechanism. The most highly conserved region of the gene is the carboxyl-terminal TLDc domain, which has been shown to be sufficient to prevent oxidative damage.OXR1 has a complex genomic structure in the mosquito A. gambiae, and we confirm that multiple splice forms are expressed in adult females. Our studies revealed that OXR1 regulates the basal levels of catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) expression, two enzymes involved in detoxification of hydrogen peroxide, giving new insight into the mechanism of action of OXR1. Gene silencing experiments indicate that the Jun Kinase (JNK) gene acts upstream of OXR1 and also regulates expression of CAT and GPx. Both OXR1 and JNK genes are required for adult female mosquitoes to survive chronic oxidative stress. OXR1 silencing decreases P. berghei oocyst formation. Unexpectedly, JNK silencing has the opposite effect and enhances Plasmodium infection in the mosquito, suggesting that JNK may also mediate some, yet to be defined, antiparasitic response.The JNK pathway regulates OXR1 expression and OXR1, in turn, regulates expression of enzymes that detoxify reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Anopheles gambiae. OXR1 silencing decreases Plasmodium infection in the mosquito, while JNK silencing has the opposite effect and enhances infection

An Epigenetic Blockade of Cognitive Functions in the Neurodegenerating Brain

Cognitive decline is a debilitating feature of most neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system, including Alzheimer’s disease. The causes leading to such impairment are only poorly understood and effective treatments are slow to emerge. Here we show that cognitive capacities in the neurodegenerating brain are constrained by an epigenetic blockade of gene transcription that is potentially reversible. This blockade is mediated by histone deacetylase 2, which is increased by Alzheimer’s-disease-related neurotoxic insults in vitro, in two mouse models of neurodegeneration and in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Histone deacetylase 2 associates with and reduces the histone acetylation of genes important for learning and memory, which show a concomitant decrease in expression. Importantly, reversing the build-up of histone deacetylase 2 by short-hairpin-RNA-mediated knockdown unlocks the repression of these genes, reinstates structural and synaptic plasticity, and abolishes neurodegeneration-associated memory impairments. These findings advocate for the development of selective inhibitors of histone deacetylase 2 and suggest that cognitive capacities following neurodegeneration are not entirely lost, but merely impaired by this epigenetic blockade