Predicting Mathematical Learning Difficulties Using Fundamental Calculative Ability Test (FCAT)

Background: Mathematical learning difficulty (MLD) during school years results from several factors, including dyscalculia. Traditional diagnostic tests for dyscalculia are time intensive and require skilled specialists. This prospective cohort study aimed to reveal that the less time intensive Fundamental Calculative Ability Test (FCAT), administered in first grade, can predict the outcome of mathematical school achievement, which was measured with the curriculum-based mathematical test for second grade (1.2 years after FCAT). Methods: A total of 362 Japanese first- and second-grade children participated. A new quick test measuring fundamental calculative abilities, the FCAT, ordinal, radix, addition, and subtraction, was conducted for the first graders (mean age: 7.1 years). Mathematical school achievement was measured during the tests [mathematics curriculum-based test in Tottori Prefecture (MCBT)] for first (MCBT-1, mean age: 7.3 years) and second graders (MCBT-2, mean age: 8.3 years). We analyzed the associations between FCAT and MCBT-1 and 2 using univariate regression analysis, and cutoff values for mathematical learning difficulty (MLD) at MCBT-2 using the rating operation curve and Youden index. MLD was set as a score of lower than 20% on the MCBT. Results: The FCAT score was significantly associated with the MCBT-1 (regression coefficient: 0.67, P < 0.001) and MCBT-2 scores (regression coefficient: 0.50, P < 0.001). A cutoff value of 47 points (deviation score: 47) at the FCAT score predicted MLD at MCBT-2 (sensitivity: 0.77, specificity: 0.73). For 62 participants with MLD at MCBT-1 score, FCAT scores below the cutoff value of 40 points (deviation score: 35) were at high risk of MLD at MCBT-2 (odds ratio: 6.2). Conclusion: The FCAT is easily conducted in a short time during regular schools and can predict mathematical school achievement. It can be used for the early diagnosis of children with mathematical problems

Performance Evaluation of Big Data Processing at the Edge for IoT-Blockchain Applications

Internet-of-Things (IoT) utilising sensors is effective in performing continuous monitoring, while Blockchain is ideal in guaranteeing integrity and immutability of these IoT data. There are many challenges in integrating IoT and Blockchain together mainly because IoT devices have limited computational resources, and storage capacity while Blockchain processing incurs high CPU cost and high latency in data transfer. We propose a fully distributed edge computing architecture coupled with an efficient storage system that is based on Non-Volatile Memory express Over Fabrics (NVMeOF) to provide efficient IoT data processing for supply chain management. The data is secured using Blockchain at the edge to ensure traceability, security and non-repudiation in the data. An evaluation of our implementation and performance comparison between NVMeOF and SATA storage interfaces for our IoT-Blockchain architecture is presented

Performance Evaluation of a Blockchain-based Content Distribution over Wireless Mesh Networks

This paper studies the performance of a proximity content distribution scheme over IEEE 802.11s mesh networks with reasonable user density among combinations of three network configurations and two transport mechanisms. For content access control, Hyperledger Sawtooth Blockchain with PoET (Proof of Elapsed Time) consensus algorithm is used as a decentralised storage of non-repudiated and rapid transactions for granting content access and distributing the content decryption key. An extensive performance evaluation of the content distribution and content access control protocols using ns-3 simulator was conducted. The results show that the integration of Blockchain and UDP multicast content distribution in a hybrid mesh network topology is highly feasible

Multicast Group Membership Management in Media Independent Handover Services

Abstract Currently we are witnessing an explosion of devices able to connect to a variety of wired and wireless access network technologies. This connectivity is increasingly integrating networks composed by sensors, actuators and even utility devices that use private and public networks to relay important information and measurements. The deployment of the so-called Smart Grid technologies allied to the rise of Machine-to-Machine communications require new mechanisms to optimally manage the change of point of attachment to the network of these huge clouds of nodes, assisting in tackling the scale of the problem. With this problematic in mind, the IEEE 802.21 WG started on March 2012 a new project, named IEEE 802.21d, Group Management Services. This amendment establishes the required changes to the original specification, in order to manage the mobility of groups of nodes. This work follows closely the progress of the Task Group on the use cases, requirements and gap analysis, providing in addition a potential solution, integrating new group mechanisms, extensions to the MIH Protocol and associated security enhancements. This solution has been implemented and validated in a custom built testbed, with results showing that the utilisation of Group Control procedures through multicast signalling achieves a lower cost when compared with unicast signalling, in group handover and sensor information dissemination scenarios

Stromal interaction molecule 1 haploinsufficiency causes maladaptive response to pressure overload

Stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1), an endo/sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ sensor, has been shown to control a Ca2+- dependent signal that promotes cardiac hypertrophy. However, whether STIM1 has adaptive role that helps to protect against cardiac overload stress remains unknown. We hypothesized that STIM1 deficiency causes a maladaptive response to pressure overload stress. We investigated STIM1 heterozygous KO (STIM1(+/)-) mice hearts, in which STIM1 protein levels decreased to 27% of wild-type (WT) with no compensatory increase in STIM2. Under stress-free conditions, no significant differences were observed in electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters or blood pressure between STIM1(+/)-and WT mice. However, when STIM1(+/)-mice were subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC), STIM1(+/-) mice had a higher mortality rate than WT mice. The TAC-induced increase in the heart weight to body weight ratio (mean mg/g +/- standard error of the mean) was significantly inhibited in STIM1(+/-) mice (WT sham, 4.12 +/- 0.14; WT TAC, 6.23 +/- 0.40; STIM1(+/-) sham, 4.53 +/- 0.16; STIM1(+/-) TAC, 4.63 +/- 0.08). Reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction analysis of the left ventricles of TAC-treated STIM1(+/-) mice showed inhibited induction of cardiac fetal genes, including those encoding brain and atrial natriuretic proteins. Western blot analysis showed upregulated expression of transient receptor potential channel 1 (TRPC1) in TAC-treated WT mice, but suppressed expression in TAC-treated STIM1(+/-) mice. Taken together, the hearts of STIM1 haploinsufficient mice had a superficial resemblance to the WT phenotype under stress-free conditions; however, STIM1 haploinsufficient mice showed a maladaptive response to cardiac pressure overload

Integration of IEEE 802.21 services and pre-authentication framework

Abstract: Providing multi-interface device users the ability to roam between different access networks is becoming a key requirement for service providers. The availability of multiple mobile broadband access technologies together with increasing use of real time multimedia applications is creating strong demand for handover solutions that can seamlessly and securely transfer user sessions across different access technologies. In this paper, we discuss how the Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Integration of IEEE 802.21 services and pre-authentication framework 173 IEEE 802.21 standard and its services address the challenges of seamless mobility for multi-interface devices. We focus on a proof-of-concept implementation that integrates IEEE 802.21 services and a pre-authentication framework, to optimise handover performance in two different scenarios. The first scenario is initiated by the mobile node and the second one is initiated by the network. We present the measurement results for realising these scenarios. Finally, we describe the implementation challenges and lessons learned throug

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target