Estimator: An Effective and Scalable Framework for Transportation Mode Classification over Trajectories

Transportation mode classification, the process of predicting the class labels of moving objects transportation modes, has been widely applied to a variety of real world applications, such as traffic management, urban computing, and behavior study. However, existing studies of transportation mode classification typically extract the explicit features of trajectory data but fail to capture the implicit features that affect the classification performance. In addition, most of the existing studies also prefer to apply RNN-based models to embed trajectories, which is only suitable for classifying small-scale data. To tackle the above challenges, we propose an effective and scalable framework for transportation mode classification over GPS trajectories, abbreviated Estimator. Estimator is established on a developed CNN-TCN architecture, which is capable of leveraging the spatial and temporal hidden features of trajectories to achieve high effectiveness and efficiency. Estimator partitions the entire traffic space into disjointed spatial regions according to traffic conditions, which enhances the scalability significantly and thus enables parallel transportation classification. Extensive experiments using eight public real-life datasets offer evidence that Estimator i) achieves superior model effectiveness (i.e., 99% Accuracy and 0.98 F1-score), which outperforms state-of-the-arts substantially; ii) exhibits prominent model efficiency, and obtains 7-40x speedups up over state-of-the-arts learning-based methods; and iii) shows high model scalability and robustness that enables large-scale classification analytics.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Strategy for Mitigating Antibiotic Resistance by Biochar and Hyperaccumulators in Cadmium and Oxytetracycline Co-contaminated Soil

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical SocietyThe global prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is of increasing concern as a serious threat to ecological security and human health. Irrigation with sewage and farmland application of manure or biosolids in agricultural practices introduce substantial selective agents such as antibiotics and toxic metals, aggravating the transfer of ARGs from the soil environment to humans via the food chain. To address this issue, a hyperaccumulator (Sedum plumbizincicola) combined with biochar amendment was first used to investigate the mitigation of the prevalence of ARGs in cadmium and oxytetracycline co-contaminated soil by conducting a pot experiment. The addition of biochar affected the distribution of ARGs in soil and plants differently by enhancing their prevalence in the soil but restraining transmission from the soil to S. plumbizincicola. The planting of S. plumbizincicola resulted in an increase in ARGs in the soil environment. A structural equation model illustrated that mobile genetic elements played a dominant role in shaping the profile of ARGs. Taken together, these findings provide a practical understanding for mitigating the prevalence of ARGs in this soil system with complex contamination and can have profound significance for agricultural management in regard to ARG dissemination control.Peer reviewe

Associations between plasma metal mixture exposure and risk of hypertension: A cross-sectional study among adults in Shenzhen, China

BackgroundMetal exposure affects human health. Current studies mainly focus on the individual health effect of metal exposure on hypertension (HTN), and the results remain controversial. Moreover, the studies assessing overall effect of metal mixtures on hypertension risk are limited.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted by recruiting 1,546 Chinese adults who attended routine medical check-ups at the Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen. The plasma levels of 13 metals were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Multivariate logistic regression model, restricted cubic spline (RCS) model and the Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) model were applied to explore the single and combined effect of metals on the risk of HTN.ResultsA total of 642 (41.5%) participants were diagnosed with HTN. In the logistic regression model, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were 0.71 (0.52, 0.97) for cobalt, 1.40 (1.04, 1.89) for calcium, 0.66 (0.48, 0.90), and 0.60 (0.43, 0.83) for aluminum in the second and third quartile, respectively. The RCS analysis showed a V-shaped or an inverse V-shaped dose-response relationship between metals (aluminum or calcium, respectively) and the risk of HTN (P for non-linearity was 0.017 or 0.009, respectively). However, no combined effect was found between metal mixture and the risk of hypertension.ConclusionsPlasma levels of cobalt, aluminum and calcium were found to be associated with the risk of HTN. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and their potential mechanisms with prospective studies and experimental study designs

In Vitro Uptake of 140 kDa Bacillus thuringiensis Nematicidal Crystal Proteins by the Second Stage Juvenile of Meloidogyne hapla

Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are piercing/sucking pests, which cause severe damage to crops worldwide, and are difficult to control. The cyst and root-knot nematodes (RKN) are sedentary endoparasites that develop specialized multinucleate feeding structures from the plant cells called syncytia or giant cells respectively. Within these structures the nematodes produce feeding tubes, which act as molecular sieves with exclusion limits. For example, Heterodera schachtii is reportedly unable to ingest proteins larger than 28 kDa. However, it is unknown yet what is the molecular exclusion limit of the Meloidogyne hapla. Several types of Bacillus thuringiensis crystal proteins showed toxicity to M. hapla. To monitor the entry pathway of crystal proteins into M. hapla, second-stage juveniles (J2) were treated with NHS-rhodamine labeled nematicidal crystal proteins (Cry55Aa, Cry6Aa, and Cry5Ba). Confocal microscopic observation showed that these crystal proteins were initially detected in the stylet and esophageal lumen, and subsequently in the gut. Western blot analysis revealed that these crystal proteins were modified to different molecular sizes after being ingested. The uptake efficiency of the crystal proteins by the M. hapla J2 decreased with increasing of protein molecular mass, based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis. Our discovery revealed 140 kDa nematicidal crystal proteins entered M. hapla J2 via the stylet, and it has important implications in designing a transgenic resistance approach to control RKN

DNAJB4 promotes triple-negative breast cancer cell apoptosis via activation of the Hippo signaling pathway

Abstract Introduction Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is currently the most malignant subtype of breast cancer without effective targeted therapies. DNAJB4 (Dnaj heat shock protein family (Hsp40) member B4) is a member of the human heat shock protein family (Hsp40). The clinical significance of DNAJB4 in breast cancer has been reported in our previous study. However, the biological function of DNAJB4 in TNBC cell apoptosis remains unclear to date. Methods The expression of DNAJB4 in normal breast cells, breast cancer cells, four-paired TNBC tissues, and adjacent noncancerous tissues was quantified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot assay. The role of DNAJB4 in TNBC cell apoptosis was investigated using a number of gain- and loss-of-function in vitro and in vivo assays. The underlying molecular mechanisms in TNBC cell apoptosis were elucidated via Western blot assay. Results DNAJB4 expression was significantly downregulated in TNBC tissues and cell lines. DNAJB4 knockdown inhibited TNBC cell apoptosis and promoted tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo, but DNAJB4 overexpression resulted in the opposite. Mechanically, DNAJB4 knockdown inhibited TNBC cell apoptosis through suppression of the Hippo signaling pathway, and the result was reversed after DNAJB4 overexpression. Conclusions DNAJB4 promotes TNBC cell apoptosis by activating the Hippo signaling pathway. Therefore, DNAJB4 may act as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for TNBC