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Hussain Abildgaard posted an update 4 hours, 2 minutes ago
Local differential privacy has become the gold-standard of privacy literature for gathering or releasing sensitive individual data points in a privacy-preserving manner. However, locally differential data can twist the probability density of the data because of the additive noise used to ensure privacy. In fact, the density of privacy-preserving data (no matter how many samples we gather) is always flatter in comparison with the density function of the original data points due to convolution with privacy-preserving noise density function. The effect is especially more pronounced when using slow-decaying privacy-preserving noises, such as the Laplace noise. This can result in under/over-estimation of the heavy-hitters. This is an important challenge facing social scientists due to the use of differential privacy in the 2020 Census in the United States. In this paper, we develop density estimation methods using smoothing kernels. We use the framework of deconvoluting kernel density estimators to remove the effect of privacy-preserving noise. This approach also allows us to adapt the results from non-parametric regression with errors-in-variables to develop regression models based on locally differentially private data. We demonstrate the performance of the developed methods on financial and demographic datasets.The high degree of conservation of toll-like receptors (TLRs), and yet their subtle variations for better adaptation of species in the host-pathogen arms race make them worthy candidates for understanding evolution. We have attempted to track the trend of TLR evolution in the most diverse vertebrate group-teleosts, where Clarias batrachus was given emphasis, considering its traits for terrestrial adaptation. Eleven C. batrachus TLRs (TLR1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 9, 13, 22, 25, 26) were identified in this study which clustered in proximity to its Siluriformes relative orthologues in the phylogenetic analysis of 228 TLRs from 25 teleosts. see more Ten TLRs (TLR1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 9, 13, 21, 22) with at least 15 member orthologues for each alignment were processed for selection pressure and coevolutionary analysis. TLR1, 7, 8 and 9 were found to be under positive selection in the alignment-wide test. TLR1 also showed maximum episodic diversification in its clades while the teleost group Eupercaria showed the maximum divergence in their TLR repertoire. Episodic diversification was evident in C. batrachus TLR1 and 7 alignments. These results present a strong evidence of a divergent TLR repertoire in teleosts which may be contributing towards species-specific variation in TLR functions.The positive association between the total duration of physical activity and performances of physical function may vary at different times of the day as circadian rhythm regulates individuals in response to external stimulations. We aimed to examine the association of timing-specific and overall moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with performances of physical function in older adults. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 118 older adults (mean age = 70.0 ± 5.0 years). We assessed and identified timing-specific (morning 0601-1200; afternoon 1201-1800; evening 1801-2400) and overall MVPA using a triaxial accelerometer. Different measures of physical function were evaluated including handgrip strength (by grip dynamometer), gait speed (5-m walk test), basic functional mobility (timed up and go test), and lower limb strength (five times sit-to-stand test). Multivariate linear regression models adjusting for covariates were used to investigate the associations. Participants spent 25.0 (± 26.2) disability among older adults.Menstrual blood-derived stromal cells (MenSCs) are emerging as a strong candidate for cell-based therapies due to their immunomodulatory properties. However, their direct impact on innate immune populations remains elusive. Since macrophages play a key role in the onset and development of inflammation, understanding MenSCs implication in the functional properties of these cells is required to refine their clinical effects during the treatment of inflammatory disorders. In this study, we assessed the effects that MenSCs had on the recruitment of macrophages and other innate immune cells in two mouse models of acute inflammation, a thioglycollate (TGC)-elicited peritonitis model and a monobacterial sepsis model. We found that, in the TGC model, MenSCs injection reduced the percentage of macrophages recruited to the peritoneum and promoted the generation of peritoneal immune cell aggregates. In the sepsis model, MenSCs exacerbated infection by diminishing the recruitment of macrophages and neutrophils to the site of infection and inducing defective bacterial clearance. Additional in vitro studies confirmed that co-culture with MenSCs impaired macrophage bactericidal properties, affecting bacterial killing and the production of reactive oxygen intermediates. Our findings suggest that MenSCs modulate the macrophage population and that this modulation must be taken into consideration when it comes to future clinical applications.Previously, we showed that embryonic deletion of TGF-β type 2 receptor in mouse sclerotome resulted in defects in fibrous connective tissues in the spine. Here we investigated how TGF-β regulates expression of fibrous markers Scleraxis, Fibromodulin and Adamtsl2. We showed that TGF-β stimulated expression of Scleraxis mRNA by 2 h and Fibromodulin and Adamtsl2 mRNAs by 8 h of treatment. Regulation of Scleraxis by TGF-β did not require new protein synthesis; however, protein synthesis was required for expression of Fibromodulin and Adamtsl2 indicating the necessity of an intermediate. We subsequently showed Scleraxis was a potential intermediate for TGF-β-regulated expression of Fibromodulin and Adamtsl2. The canonical effector Smad3 was not necessary for TGF-β-mediated regulation of Scleraxis. Smad3 was necessary for regulation of Fibromodulin and Adamtsl2, but not sufficient to super-induce expression with TGF-β treatment. Next, the role of several noncanonical TGF-β pathways were tested. We found that ERK1/2 was activated by TGF-β and required to regulate expression of Scleraxis, Fibromodulin, and Adamtsl2.