Conwayhinson7495

Unlike most studies on facial expression generation, ExGenNets can produce multiple configurations for each facial expression and be transferred between robots. Experimental evaluations on two robots with highly human-like faces, Alfie (Furhat Robot) and the android robot Elenoide, show that ExGenNet can successfully generate sets of joint configurations for predefined facial expressions on both robots. This ability of ExGenNet to generate realistic facial expressions was further validated in a pilot study where the majority of human subjects could accurately recognize most of the generated facial expressions on both the robots.This article proposes a process to identify the standing stabilizer, namely, the controller in humans to keep upright posture stable against perturbations. We model the controller as a piecewise-linear feedback system, where the state of the center of mass (COM) is regulated by coordinating the whole body so as to locate the zero-moment point (ZMP) at the desired position. This was developed for humanoid robots and is possibly able to elaborate the fundamental control scheme used by humans to stabilize themselves. Difficulties lie on how to collect motion trajectories in a wide area of the state space for reliable identification and how to identify the piecewise-affine dynamical system. For the former problem, a motion measurement protocol is devised based on the theoretical phase portrait of the system. Regarding the latter problem, some clustering techniques including K-means method and EM (Expectation-and-Maximization) algorithm were examined. We found that a modified K-means method produced the most accurate result in this study. The method was applied to the identification of a lateral standing controller of a human subject. The result of the identification quantitatively supported a hypothesis that the COM-ZMP regulator reasonably models the human's controller when deviations of the angular momentum about the COM are limited.Ovarian reserve is a key factor in the reproductive function of the ovaries. Selleck Colivelin Ovarian aging is characterized by a gradual decline in the quantity and quality of follicles. The underlying mechanism of ovarian aging is complex and age-related oxidative stress is considered one of the most likely factors. Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) has been shown to have good scavenging ability against reactive oxygen species (ROS) which slowly accumulates in ovarian tissues. However, it is unknown whether SDG had beneficial effects on aging ovaries. In this study, we used 37-week-old female C57BL/6J mouse as a natural reproductive aging model to evaluate the role of SDG in ovarian aging. SDG (7 and 70 mg/kg) intragastric administration was performed in the mice daily. After 8 weeks, the effects of SDG on aging ovaries were evaluated by counting the number of follicles and the expression of follicle-stimulating hormone receptors (FSHR) in the ovary. The mechanism of SDG on the aging ovaries was further explored through ovarian metabolomics. It was found that SDG can effectively increase the number of growing follicles and increase the expression of the FSHR protein. The metabolomics results showed that the ovaries in the SDG intervention group achieved better uptake and transport of nutrients, including amino acids and glucose that are necessary for the development of oocytes. At the same time, the ovaries of the SDG intervention group showed that the drug reduced ROS generation. Additionally, we found that ovarian telomere length and ovarian mitochondrial DNA copy number that are highly susceptible to ROS damage and are also related to aging. The results showed that SDG can significantly increase mitochondrial DNA copy number and slow down the process of telomere shortening. These data indicate that SDG improves ovarian reserve by inhibiting oxidative stress.Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanosized particles released by numerous kinds of cells, which are now increasingly considered as essential vehicles of cell-to-cell communication and biomarkers in disease diagnosis and treatment. They contain a variety of biomolecular components, including lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. These functional molecules can be transmitted between tumor cells and other stromal cells such as endothelial cells, fibroblasts and immune cells utilizing EVs. As a result, tumor-derived EVs can deliver molecules to remodel the tumor microenvironment, thereby influencing cancer progression. On the one hand, tumor-derived EVs reprogram functions of endothelial cells, promote cancer-associated fibroblasts transformation, induce resistance to therapy and inhibit the immune response to form a pro-tumorigenic environment. On the other hand, tumor-derived EVs stimulate the immune response to create an anti-tumoral environment. This article focuses on presenting a comprehensive and critical overview of the potential role of tumor-derived EVs-mediated communication in the tumor microenvironment.Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecologic cancers in developed countries. Presently, it is imperative to develop a reliable, noninvasive, or minimally invasive detection method for EC. We explored the possibility of using DNA methylation marker from endometrial brush samples (with a "Tao brush") and cervical scrapes (with a "Pap brush") for early detection of EC. We analyzed the methylation data of EC and normal endometrial tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data sets. An optimized methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme combined with real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (MSRE-qPCR) was used for methylation detection. Included in the training set were 143 endometrial tissues, 103 Tao, and 109 Pap brush samples. The validation set included 110 Tao and 112 Pap brush samples. PCDHGB7 was significantly hypermethylated in EC compared with normal endometrial tissues in the TCGA and GEO data sets (AUC >0.95), which was verified in clinical samples. In the Pap brush samples, the AUC was 0.86 with 80.65% sensitivity and 82.81% specificity, whereas the Tao brush samples exhibited higher specificity (95.31%). The combination of Tao and Pap brush samples significantly increased the sensitivity to 90.32%. In the validation set, the final model yielded a sensitivity of 98.61%, specificity of 60.53%, positive predictive value of 82.56%, and negative predictive value of 95.83%. These results demonstrate the potential application of the novel methylation marker, hypermethylated PCDHGB7, in cervical scrapings and endometrial brush, which provides a viable, noninvasive, or minimally invasive method for early endometrial cancer detection across different clinical features and histologies to supplement current hysteroscopy diagnosis.Background BTBD10 serves as an activator of Akt family members through decreasing the protein phosphatase 2A-mediated dephosphorylation. The present study attempted to investigate the prognostic value of BTBD10 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), specially, its relationship with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Methods BTBD10 expression was evaluated in HCC using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Xijing Hospital database, and verified in HCC cell lines. Cox analyses were performed to analyze independent prognostic risk factors for HCC. The optimal cut-off value of BTBD10 was calculated, by which all patients were divided into two groups to compare the overall survival (OS). The signaling pathways were predicted, by which BTBD10 may affect the progression of HCC. To investigate the impact of BTBD10 on HCC immunotherapy, correlations between BTBD10 and TILs, immune checkpoints, m6A methylation-related genes and ferroptosis-related genes were assessed. The distribution of half-maximal inhibitory concentratmmunity in HCC and exhibits adverse effect on the prognosis of HCC, which could be a potential target for immunotherapy.Objective To investigate the regulatory function of exosome-transmitted miR-128 and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 18 (CCL18) on urothelial carcinomas (UCs). Methods Tumor tissues, paracancerous tissues, and serum were collected from 20 patients with UCs (diagnosed at Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University). CCL18 was detected by immunohistochemistry and ELISA. PCR was used to measure the expression levels of CCL18 and mir-183, miR-128, mir-33a in UCs. We acquired exosomes from mesenchymal stem cells and synthesized exosomes overexpressing miR-128 (HMSC-128-EV). The effects of miR-128 on the migration and invasion abilities, apoptosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of BUC T24 cells were investigated by co-culturing HMSC-128-EV. The therapeutic potential of miR-128 on disease models was explored by injecting HMSC-128-EV into nude mice. Results The expression of CCL18 in UCs was significantly higher than that in normal tissues (p less then 0.05), and the serum level of CCL18 in patients with UC was significantly increased compared with those in healthy controls (p less then 0.05). CCL18 overexpression or downregulation enhanced or suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of BUC T24 cells, resectively (p less then 0.05). The exosome-transmitted miR-128 can inhibit cell proliferation (p less then 0.05), invasion (p less then 0.05), and migration (p less then 0.05) in UCs, and these effects can be reversed by CCL18. In terms of apoptosis, miR-128 was able to promote the occurrence of BUC T24 apoptosis (p less then 0.05), which can also be reversed by CCL18. In addition, miR-128 can inhibit the proliferation (p less then 0.05) and metastasis (p less then 0.05) of UCs in nude mice. Conclusion The miR-128 inhibits the proliferation, invasion, migration of UCs, and promotes its apoptosis by regulating CCL18 secretion.Background Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a type of nephrotic syndrome leading to end-stage renal disease, and this study aimed to explore the hub genes and pathways associated with FSGS to identify potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Methods We downloaded the microarray datasets GSE121233 and GSE129973 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The datasets comprise 25 FSGS samples and 25 normal samples. The differential expression genes (DEGs) were identified using the R package "limma". Gene Ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed using the database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) to identify the pathways and functional annotation of the DEGs. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) was constructed based on the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database and visualized using Cytoscape software. The hub genes of the DEGs were then evaluated using th of the molecular underpinning of FSGS and provide potential therapeutic targets for the clinical management.Background Pilonidal sinus disease (PSD) is a chronic troublesome pathology of the natal cleft of the sacrococcygeal region, with an estimated incidence of 26 cases in every 100,000 inhabitants. The aim of this review is to give a snapshot of the current literature on the endoscopic approach to PSD. Methods A search on endoscopic treatment of pilonidal disease was performed according to PRISMA guidelines, adopting the following search terms (pilonidal OR sacrococcygeal) and (endoscopic OR VAAPS OR EPSiT OR minimally invasive OR video-assisted OR video assisted). Results Thirty-four articles were included in the final analysis, among which 23 were on adults and 11 were on pediatric population. The endoscopic approach is associated with painless postoperative pain, good aesthetic results, short time off work, and high patient satisfaction. Despite these advantages in short-term outcomes, results on recurrence rate in a long-term follow up are needed to definitively confirm the importance of this technique. Conclusions The endoscopic approach is associated with significant postoperative advantages over other standard surgical approaches, and it should be included in the surgical portfolio for the treatment of PSD.