Chemically Mediated Arrestment of the Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius, by Volatiles Associated with Exuviae of Conspecifics.

Extracts of the exuviae (cast skins) of nymphal bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) were analyzed for volatile compounds that might contribute to arrestment of adult bed bugs. Four volatile aldehydes, (E)-2-hexenal, 4-oxo-(E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-octenal, and 4-oxo-(E)-2-octenal were consistently detected in the headspace of freshly shed exuviae regardless of the developmental stages from which the exuviae were obtained. Quantification of the aldehydes in the solvent extracts of homogenized fresh, 45- or 99-d aged 5th instar exuviae indicated that the aldehydes are present in the exuviae and dissipate over time, through evaporation or degradation. Microscopic observation of the fifth instar exuviae indicated that the dorsal abdominal glands on the exuviae maintained their pocket-like structures with gland reservoirs, within which the aldehydes might be retained. Two-choice olfactometer studies with the volatiles from exuviae or a synthetic blend mimicking the volatiles indicated that adult bed bugs tend to settle close to sources of the aldehydes. Our results imply that the presence and accumulation of bed bug exuviae and the aldehydes volatilizing from the exuviae might mediate bed bugs' interaction with their microhabitats

Towards the Design of a Gamified Application to Increase Tuberculosis Treatment Adherence in Vietnam

Despite being treatable, tuberculosis (TB) remains among the most common causes of death worldwide. One of the countries with the highest-burden from TB is Vietnam. A major factor responsible for the high mortality rate is nonadherence to medication and the subsequent outbreak of multidrug-resistant forms of TB, which are harder to treat and show a lower chance of survival. Existing measures to increase medication adherence focus on monitoring medication intake without considering the reasons for nonadherence – the stigmatization of TB patients. Addressing this problem, we design a concept for a patient-centered, gamified application aiming to reduce stigmatization and empower TB patients. Based on a literature review and interviews with experts from science and practice, including former TB patients, we elaborate on the functionalities and gamified elements of the application. Eventually, we present the design concept for the application based on Lui et al.’s framework for designing a gamified information system

Thrombospondin-3 augments injury-induced cardiomyopathy by intracellular integrin inhibition and sarcolemmal instability.

Thrombospondins (Thbs) are a family of five secreted matricellular glycoproteins in vertebrates that broadly affect cell-matrix interaction. While Thbs4 is known to protect striated muscle from disease by enhancing sarcolemmal stability through increased integrin and dystroglycan attachment complexes, here we show that Thbs3 antithetically promotes sarcolemmal destabilization by reducing integrin function, augmenting disease-induced decompensation. Deletion of Thbs3 in mice enhances integrin membrane expression and membrane stability, protecting the heart from disease stimuli. Transgene-mediated overexpression of α7β1D integrin in the heart ameliorates the disease predisposing effects of Thbs3 by augmenting sarcolemmal stability. Mechanistically, we show that mutating Thbs3 to contain the conserved RGD integrin binding domain normally found in Thbs4 and Thbs5 now rescues the defective expression of integrins on the sarcolemma. Thus, Thbs proteins mediate the intracellular processing of integrin plasma membrane attachment complexes to regulate the dynamics of cellular remodeling and membrane stability

A Generalised Labelled Multi-Bernoulli Filter for Extended Multi-target Tracking

Abstract-This paper addresses extended multi-target tracking in clutter, i.e. tracking targets that may produce more than one measurement on each scan. We propose a new algorithm for solving this problem, that is capable of initiating and maintaining labelled estimates of the target kinematics, measurement rates and extents. Our proposed technique is based on modelling the multi-target state as a generalised labelled multi-Bernoulli (GLMB), combined with the gamma Gaussian inverse Wishart (GGIW) distribution for a single extended target. Previously, probability hypothesis density (PHD) and cardinalised PHD (CPHD) filters based on GGIW mixtures have been proposed to solve the extended target tracking problem. Although these are computationally cheaper, they involve significant approximations, as well as lacking the ability to maintain target tracks over time. Here, we compare our proposed GLMB-based approach to the extended target PHD/CPHD filters, and show that the GLMB has improved performance

An allosteric regulator of R7-RGS proteins influences light-evoked activity and glutamatergic waves in the inner retina

In the outer retina, G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling mediates phototransduction and synaptic transmission between photoreceptors and ON bipolar cells. In contrast, the functions of modulatory GPCR signaling networks in the inner retina are less well understood. We addressed this question by determining the consequences of augmenting modulatory Gi/o signaling driven by endogenous transmitters. This was done by analyzing the effects of genetically ablating the R7 RGS-binding protein (R7BP), a membrane-targeting protein and positive allosteric modulator of R7-RGS (regulator of the G protein signaling 7) family that deactivates Gi/oα subunits. We found that R7BP is expressed highly in starburst amacrine cells and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). As indicated by electroretinography and multielectrode array recordings of adult retina, ablation of R7BP preserved outer retina function, but altered the firing rate and latency of ON RGCs driven by rods and cones but not rods alone. In developing retina, R7BP ablation increased the burst duration of glutamatergic waves whereas cholinergic waves were unaffected. This effect on glutamatergic waves did not result in impaired segregation of RGC projections to eye-specific domains of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. R7BP knockout mice exhibited normal spatial contrast sensitivity and visual acuity as assessed by optomotor reflexes. Taken together these findings indicate that R7BP-dependent regulation of R7-RGS proteins shapes specific aspects of light-evoked and spontaneous activity of RGCs in mature and developing retina

Proppant immobilization facilitated by carbon nanotube mediated microwave treatment of polymer-proppant structures

The application of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to facilitate the aggregation of ceramic particles (proppants) by embedding in the coating through localized microwave heating is reported. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to characterize a series of covalently functionalized proppants with carboxylic acids (lysine and fumaric acid). The bi-functional acids allow for a controlled reaction with a coating (resin and polymer). The addition of carbon nanotubes results in the melting of the coating under exposure to microwave irradiation (20 s @ 100 W) joining the particles. The significant reduction in reaction time (compared to the thermal treatments of 2–24 hours) is due to the presence of the MWCNTs. The microwave heating of the MWCNTs can thus be used to create interaction and adhesion between functionalized particles subject to a specific stimulus

Time-to-Event Modeling for Hospital Length of Stay Prediction for COVID-19 Patients

Providing timely patient care while maintaining optimal resource utilization is one of the central operational challenges hospitals have been facing throughout the pandemic. Hospital length of stay (LOS) is an important indicator of hospital efficiency, quality of patient care, and operational resilience. Numerous researchers have developed regression or classification models to predict LOS. However, conventional models suffer from the lack of capability to make use of typically censored clinical data. We propose to use time-to-event modeling techniques, also known as survival analysis, to predict the LOS for patients based on individualized information collected from multiple sources. The performance of six proposed survival models is evaluated and compared based on clinical data from COVID-19 patients