Tensions of Data-Driven Reflection: A Case Study of Real-Time Emotional Biosensing

Biosensing displays, increasingly enrolled in emotional reflection, promise authoritative insight by presenting users’ emotions as discrete categories. Rather than machines interpreting emotions, we sought to explore an alternative with emotional biosensing displays in which users formed their own interpretations and felt comfortable critiquing the display. So, we designed, implemented, and deployed, as a technology probe, an emotional biosensory display: Ripple is a shirt whose pattern changes color responding to the wearer’s skin conductance, which is associated with excitement. 17 participants wore Ripple over 2 days of daily life. While some participants appreciated the ‘physical connection’ Ripple provided between body and emotion, for others Ripple fostered insecurities about ‘how much’ feeling they had. Despite our design intentions, we found participants rarely questioned the display’s relation to their feelings. Using biopolitics to speculate on Ripple’s surprising authority, we highlight ethical stakes of biosensory representations for sense of self and ways of feeling

Deciphering the age-dependent changes of pulmonary fibroblasts in mice by single-cell transcriptomics

Background and objectives: The heterogeneity of pulmonary fibroblasts, a critical aspect of both murine and human models under physiological and pathological conditions, is well-documented. Yet, consensus remains elusive on the subtypes, lineage, biological attributes, signal transduction pathways, and plasticity of these fibroblasts. This ambiguity significantly impedes our understanding of the fibrotic processes that transpire in lung tissue during aging. This study aims to elucidate the transcriptional profiles, differentiation pathways, and potential roles of fibroblasts within aging pulmonary tissue.Methods: We employed single-cell transcriptomic sequencing via the 10x Genomics platform. The downstream data were processed and analyzed using R packages, including Seurat. Trajectory and stemness of differentiation analyses were conducted using the Monocle2 and CytoTRACE R packages, respectively. Cell interactions were deciphered using the CellChat R package, and the formation of collagen and muscle fibers was identified through Masson and Van Geison staining techniques.Results: Our analysis captured a total of 22,826 cells, leading to the identification of fibroblasts and various immune cells. We observed a shift in fibroblasts from lipogenic and immune-competent to fibrotic and myofibroblast-like phenotype during the aging process. In the aged stage, fibroblasts exhibited a diminished capacity to express chemokines for immune cells. Experimental validation confirmed an increase of collagen and muscle fiber in the aged compared to young lung tissues. Furthermore, we showed that TGFβ treatment induced a fibrotic, immunodeficient and lipodystrophic transcriptional phenotype in young pulmonary fibroblasts.Conclusion: We present a comprehensive single-cell transcriptomic landscape of lung tissue from aging mice at various stages, revealing the differentiation trajectory of fibroblasts during aging. Our findings underscore the pivotal role of fibroblasts in the regulation of immune cells, and provide insights into why age increases the risk of pulmonary fibrosis

Targeted insertion of regulatory elements enables translational enhancement in rice

In-locus editing of agronomically-important genes to optimize their spatiotemporal expression is becoming an important breeding approach. Compared to intensive studies on mRNA transcription, manipulating protein translation by genome editing has not been well exploited. Here, we found that precise knock-in of a regulating element into the 5’UTR of a target gene could efficiently increase its protein abundance in rice. We firstly screened a translational enhancer (AMVE) from alfalfa mosaic virus using protoplast-based luciferase assays with an 8.5-folds enhancement. Then the chemically modified donor of AMVE was synthesized and targeted inserted into the 5’UTRs of two genes (WRKY71 and SKC1) using CRISPR/Cas9. Following the in-locus AMVE knock-in, we observed up to a 2.8-fold increase in the amount of WRKY71 protein. Notably, editing of SKC1, a sodium transporter, significantly increased salt tolerance in T2 seedlings, indicating the expected regulation of AMVE knock-in. These data demonstrated the feasibility of such in-locus editing to enhance protein expression, providing a new approach to manipulating protein translation for crop breeding

Lucid Fabrication

The growing availability of digital fabrication tools has transformed how diverse communities of makers design, prototype, and manufacture physical objects. However, in order to fluently create physical objects using these tools, users must navigate a gauntlet of software packages to draft a digital model, devise a toolpath for manufacturing, and drive the fabrication machine itself. In my dissertation research, I consider alternative workflows and interactions that allow users to more fluidly engage with the capabilities of digital fabrication tools. My exploration in this domain is guided by the following question: How can digital fabrication tools engage and amplify opportunities for human judgment, skill, and creativity during the fabrication process?This dissertation engages with this question from three perspectives embodied in three respective interactive systems. First, how can design intent be directly communicated to a digital fabrication tool? I examine this through MatchSticks, a bespoke CNC system that localizes design and fabrication workflows, and allows users to rapidly design and create wood joinery in-situ. Second, how can the existing ways users interact with physical tools be augmented, rather than defenestrated, by computation? Using a manual lathe as a case study, I exchange the mechanical coupling between handwheels and tool position for a digital coupling: sensors, actuators, computation. Users directly control this lathe "by-wire", while being supported by capabilities more often associated with digital fabrication. Last, how can the capabilities we associate with digital authoring be broadly incorporated within hands-on making? I examine how commonly used workshop jigs and fixtures can be generated computationally using an industrial robot. The resulting interactions afford the tangible familiarity of physical jigs and fixtures while taking full advantage of reprogrammable software.All three approaches acknowledge and celebrate the process of fabrication as a site of creative exploration and problem solving. With this framing, I demonstrate how not only can capabilities of digital fabrication be realized outside of established workflows, but that hands-on fabrication itself can be imbued with the characteristics of digital authoring

Biosignals as Social Cues: Ambiguity and Emotional Interpretation in Social Displays of Skin Conductance

This paper explores the social meaning of clothing-based displays of biosignals. How do friends make sense of their own and each other’s skin conductance display in the context of a conversation? We developed Hint, a dynamic thermochromic t-shirt with ambiguous patterns that change color when its wearer’s skin conductance increases, an indication of sudden arousal. We investigated how pairs of friends, each wearing the shirt, conversed and interpreted the display. Participants shared a broad range of interpretations, and emotions such as joy and embarrassment were associated with an increase in skin conductance. Additionally, participants expressed desires for their skin conductance displays to help validate their feelings and show emotional engagement with others. We explore ambiguity in the context of clothing-based information displays and discuss how skin conductance display became part of social performance in our study. From there, we suggest framing biosignals as social cues along with facial expression, gestures, etc., and begin to question what design territories this might uncover

Mechanical overloading-induced miR-325-3p reduction promoted chondrocyte senescence and exacerbated facet joint degeneration

Abstract Objective Lumbar facet joint (LFJ) degeneration is one of the main causes of low back pain (LBP). Mechanical stress leads to the exacerbation of LFJ degeneration, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. This study was intended to investigate the mechanism of LFJ degeneration induced by mechanical stress. Methods Here, mice primary chondrocytes were used to screen for key microRNAs induced by mechanical overloading. SA-β-gal staining, qRT-PCR, western blot, and histochemical staining were applied to detect chondrocyte senescence in vitro and in vivo. We also used a dual-luciferase report assay to examine the targeting relationship of miRNA-325-3p (miR-325-3p) and Trp53. By using NSC-207895, a p53 activator, we investigated whether miR-325-3p down-regulated trp53 expression to reduce chondrocyte senescence. A mice bipedal standing model was performed to induce LFJ osteoarthritis. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) was intraarticularly injected to evaluate the effect of miR-325-3p on facet joint degeneration. Results We observed chondrocyte senescence both in human LFJ osteoarthritis tissues and mice LFJ after bipedally standing for 10 weeks. Mechanical overloading could promote chondrocyte senescence and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) expression. MicroRNA-array analysis identified that miR-325-3p was obviously decreased after mechanical overloading, which was further validated by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in vivo. Dual-luciferase report assay showed that miR-325-3p directly targeted Trp53 to down-regulated its expression. MiR-325-3p rescued chondrocyte senescence in vitro, however, NSC-207895 reduced this effect by activating the p53/p21 pathway. Intraarticular injection of AAV expressing miR-325-3p decreased chondrocyte senescence and alleviated LFJ degeneration in vivo. Conclusion Our findings suggested that mechanical overloading could reduce the expression of miR-325-3p, which in turn activated the p53/p21 pathway to promote chondrocyte senescence and deteriorated LFJ degeneration, which may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for LFJ degeneration