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10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.176602 | Spin Hall Effect and Origins of Nonlocal Resistance in Adatom-Decorated Graphene | Recent experiments reporting an unexpectedly large spin Hall effect (SHE) in graphene decorated with adatoms have raised a fierce controversy. We apply numerically exact Kubo and Landauer-Büttiker formulas to realistic models of gold-decorated disordered graphene (including adatom clustering) to obtain the spin Hall conductivity and spin Hall angle, as well as the nonlocal resistance as a quantity accessible to experiments. Large spin Hall angles of ∼0. 1 are obtained at zero temperature, but their dependence on adatom clustering differs from the predictions of semiclassical transport theories. Furthermore, we find multiple background contributions to the nonlocal resistance, some of which are unrelated to the SHE or any other spin-dependent origin, as well as a strong suppression of the SHE at room temperature. This motivates us to design a multiterminal graphene geometry which suppresses these background contributions and could, therefore, quantify the upper limit for spin-current generation in two-dimensional materials. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
DE 9200970 W | TRANSPORT SYSTEM | A device for transporting passengers and goods has at least one stationary magnetic track (2) for carrying a vehicle (1) provided with a magnetic levitation device. The vehicle (1) can also be provided with a driving mechanism for street traffic. The vehicle (1) is designed as an individual vehicle with an interchangeable energy supply block (13) for street traffic. The energy supply block (13) may be removed in the area of coupling points of the magnetic track (2) and loaded in the area of uncoupling points of the magnetic track (2). After passing the coupling points and joining the magnetic track (2), the vehicle can be accelerated by magnetic fields acting along the magnetic track (2) in high speed areas. After leaving the magnetic track (2), the vehicle (1) may be driven by another driving system. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1007/s11523-012-0217-x | Relevance of angiogenesis in neuroendocrine tumors | While traditional cytotoxic drugs have shown limited efficacy in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), their biological features have been characterized and can be exploited therapeutically. Their most prominent trait is an extraordinary vascularization in low-grade NETs and an hypoxia-dependent angiogenesis in high-grade NETs, which is associated to a significant expression of many proangio-genic molecules. Therefore, several antiangiogenic compounds have been tested in these malignancies, and among these, sunitinib has demonstrated activity in pancreatic NET patients by dually targeting the VEGFR and PDGFR pathways. In spite of these efficacious clinical results, apparent resistance to antiangiogenic therapies has been described in NET animal models and in clinical trials. Therefore, overcoming antiangiogenic resistance is a crucial step in the subsequent development of antiangiogenic therapies. Several strategies have been postulated to fight resistance, but preclinical studies and clinical trials will investigate and address these therapeutic approaches in the coming years in order to overcome resistance to antiangiogenic therapies in NETs. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
10.1002/jid.3146 | Rescuing Girls, Investing in Girls: A Critique of Development Fantasies | The girl child increasingly is at the centre of development programming. We draw on Slavoj Žižek's notion of fantasy to show how and, more importantly, why girl-centred initiatives reproduce the shortcomings of women and gender-focused programmes before them. Through an analysis of three girl-centred campaigns, we illustrate how experts identify and diagnose girls' problems and prescribe solutions that not only circumscribe girls' futures, but are also counterproductive. We argue that even as campaigns try to integrate lessons learned from earlier gender and development initiatives, the critical reflection that a Žižekian approach promotes would better enable development actors to reformulate campaigns and fundamental campaign assumptions. | [
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Texts and Concepts"
]
|
Q4186453 | ROME POUR LES ENFANTS 2.0 | LE PROJET VISE À METTRE EN ŒUVRE LE SITE AFIN DE LE RENDRE PLUS ACCESSIBLE AUX UTILISATEURS ET AUX CLIENTS QUI ACHÈTENT LA PUBLICITÉ. LES INTERVENTIONS PORTERONT DONC SUR LE MARKETING NUMÉRIQUE, LA RÉSERVATION ET LE PAIEMENT ET LA SÉCURITÉ NUMÉRIQUE. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1088/0004-637X/808/1/56 | A Blind Method To Detrend Instrumental Systematics In Exoplanetary Light Curves | The study of the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets requires a photometric precision, and repeatability, of one part in ?104. This is beyond the original calibration plans of current observatories, hence the necessity to disentangle the instrumental systematics from the astrophysical signals in raw data sets. Most methods used in the literature are based on an approximate instrument model. The choice of parameters of the model and their functional forms can sometimes be subjective, causing controversies in the literature. Recently, Morello et al. (2014, 2015) have developed a non-parametric detrending method that gave coherent and repeatable results when applied to Spitzer/IRAC data sets that were debated in the literature. Said method is based on independent component analysis (ICA) of individual pixel time-series, hereafter ?pixel-ICA?. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the limits and advantages of pixel-ICA on a series of simulated data sets with different instrument properties, and a range of jitter timescales and shapes, non-stationarity, sudden change points, etc. The performances of pixel-ICA are compared against the ones of other methods, in particular polynomial centroid division, and pixel-level decorrelation method. We find that in simulated cases pixel-ICA performs as well or better than other methods, and it also guarantees a higher degree of objectivity, because of its purely statistical foundation with no prior information on the instrument systematics. The results of this paper, together with previous analyses of Spitzer/IRAC data sets, suggest that photometric precision and repeatability of one part in 104 can be achieved with current infrared space instruments. | [
"Universe Sciences",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
223726 | How altered sensory experience changes the cortex: plasticity processes in the visual cortex and their relation to ecological real-life events under shifted perception condition | To properly function in daily life we need to interact with our surrounding world. How do these interactions forge our sensory cortices? And how does our visual cortex adapt in order to function in an altered environment? The proposed study combines functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and novel analysis of ecological real-life events with sensory-motor training in order to tackle these questions in both healthy and brain damaged individuals. We will use a specially designed virtual-reality-based prism-adaptation device (VR-PA) that creates a lateral shift in the user’s sensory experience, to probe experience-dependent changes in visual cortex functional connectivity. The VR-PA device will be used for rehabilitation of stroke patients suffering from an inability to attend stimuli in the left side of space (hemispatial neglect). We will explore the neuronal basis of this perceptual rehabilitation using functional connectivity methods in hemispatial neglect patients and in neurologically intact participants. We will use novel fMRI analyses to study how the severity of the perceptual impairment in neglect patients before treatment is reflected in altered pattern of intra-hemispheric connectivity in the primary visual cortex and in its connectivity with parietal areas. We will test whether exposure to VR-PA in healthy controls would result in a temporary imbalanced connectivity pattern, mimicking the patients’ condition. Conversely, in patients, VR-PA training, ameliorating perceptual deficits, would make connectivity patterns more similar to those of an intact brain. Multiple behavioural and physiological measures will be acquired during the training to identify key behavioural triggers of cortical plasticity. Combining the researcher's expertise in functional connectivity and the host specialization in multisensory-motor plasticity would create a platform for novel discoveries in the field of training-induced plasticity and its translational applications. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
223008 | General aviation improved navigation and surveillance | The objective is to validate concepts on avionics and use of instrument flight procedures tailored to General Aviation that enable integration and inclusion of GA within high density airspace or environments in which GA is constrained due to proximity of adjacent airports or airways for scheduled airlines or the military. The project builds on the concept demonstrated to the EVA project considering the suitability of ground monitoring from aerodromes with basic ATS or ground services and testing the viability for the use of PBN procedures more tailoured to the capabilities of GA and the limitations of operations in dense airspace. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1073/pnas.1814440116 | γδ-T cells promote IFN-γ–dependent Plasmodium pathogenesis upon liver-stage infection | Cerebral malaria (CM) is a major cause of death due to Plasmodium infection. Both parasite and host factors contribute to the onset of CM, but the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to its pathogenesis remain poorly characterized. Unlike conventional αβ-T cells, previous studies on murine γδ-T cells failed to identify a nonredundant role for this T cell subset in experimental cerebral malaria (ECM). Here we show that mice lacking γδ-T cells are resistant to ECM when infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA sporozoites, the liver-infective form of the parasite and the natural route of infection, in contrast with their susceptible phenotype if challenged with P. berghei ANKA-infected red blood cells that bypass the liver stage of infection. Strikingly, the presence of γδ-T cells enhanced the expression of Plasmodium immunogenic factors and exacerbated subsequent systemic and brain-infiltrating inflammatory αβ-T cell responses. These phenomena were dependent on the proinflammatory cytokine IFN-γ, which was required during liver stage for modulation of the parasite transcriptome, as well as for downstream immune-mediated pathology. Our work reveals an unanticipated critical role of γδ-T cells in the development of ECM upon Plasmodium liver-stage infection. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
EP 04450003 A | Transition element | The transmission piece consists of a hard connecting bush (1) with threads (8) on the inside and/or outside, with a plastic connecting bush (2) connected to it by an extension (3) fitting in a corresponding recess. There are shoulders (4, 5) on the inside and/or the outside of the extension, with a projection (6) on the plastic bush fitting into a recess in the hard bush. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
GB 443344 A | Improvements in and relating to ship propulsion | 598,654. Hydraulic power installations. BAXENDALE, B. F., PETTY, M. G. R.. and JONES, C. F. March 9, 1944, No. 4433. [Class 69 (ii)] [Also in Group XXXIII] A high-pressure hydraulic power installation comprises a number of Diesel engines 5 driving high-pressure piston-type pumps 6 connected by one or more mains 12a to one or more preferably reversible high-pressure piston-type motors 3, and means to control the speed, and preferably also the direction, of rotation of the shaft 24 of a ship's propeller driven by the motor, the fall power rating of any pump 6 being only a fractional part of the full power rating of any motor 3. The pumps and motors are preferably of the radial cylinder type, the number of engines 5 may equal, or be a multiple or sub-multiple of, the number of pumps 6, and the speed control means preferably acts on the engines 5. In the form shown, couplings 7 and reduction gears 8 are disposed between the engines 5 and pumps 6, the suction and delivery pipes 9, 12 of the pumps are provided with stop valves 10, 13, the motor 3 may be rotated in bearings 25 by hand gear 26 for inspection purposes as - described in Specification 598,666, and it is controlled by a pistonactuated valve 17. A shaft 21 carries cams 18, 19, 20 to actuate, respectively, a spring-controlled pilot valve 15, a spring-controlled distributing valve 16, and, through push-rods 23, the speed governors of the engines 5. With the control means in the stop condition, the high-pressure oil from the pumps is byepassed by valve 16 to the exhaust pipe 28. On initial turning of the cam-shaft 21, cam 18 moves pilot valve 15 which supplies oil to set the motor control valve 17 for direction of flow. On further turning of the cam-shaft, cam 19 moves distributing valve 16 which then supplies oil to the central inflow passage of the valve 17 and thence to the motor 3. On still further turning of the cam-shaft, cams 20 speed up the engines 5 without disturbing the settings of the valves, as described in Specification 598,668. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
W2043605514 | Chinese Singaporeans’ lay beliefs, adherence to Asian values, and subjective well-being | Abstract This study examined the relationships among Chinese Singaporeans’ lay beliefs about subjective well-being, adherence to Asian values (as measured by the Asian American Values Scale), and self-reported subjective well-being (as measured by the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the International Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Short Form). Participants were 210 undergraduate students of Chinese descent (mean age = 21.01 years) in a Singaporean university. Participants provided responses to an open-ended question about what it means to be happy. Participants’ responses were coded according to whether they endorsed positivity beliefs and dialectical beliefs about happiness. Positivity beliefs were positively related to life satisfaction, but only among those with low adherence to Asian values. Among participants who strongly adhered to Asian values, positivity beliefs were not significantly related to life satisfaction. Beliefs about happiness were not related to negative affect. However, participants who endorsed dialectical beliefs reported less positive affect. | [
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
W2090341713 | Comparative Analysis of Mafriwal (Bos taurus × Bos indicus) and Kedah Kelantan (Bos indicus) Sperm Proteome Identifies Sperm Proteins Potentially Responsible for Higher Fertility in a Tropical Climate | The fertility of zebu cattle (Bos indicus) is higher than that of the European purebred (Bos taurus) and crossbred (Bos taurus × Bos indicus) cattle in tropical areas. To identify proteins related to the higher thermo-tolerance and fertility of Zebu cattle, this study was undertaken to identify differences in sperm proteome between the high fertile Malaysian indigenous zebu cattle (Kedah Kelantan) and the sub-fertile crossbred cattle (Mafriwal). Frozen semen from three high performance bulls from each breed were processed to obtain live and pure sperm. Sperm proteins were then extracted, and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis performed to compare proteome profiles. Gel image analysis identified protein spots of interest which were then identified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry quadrupole time-of-flight (LC MS/MS Q-TOF). STRING network analysis predicted interactions between at least 20 of the identified proteins. Among the identified proteins, a number of motility and energy related proteins were present in greater abundance in Kedah Kelantan. Sperm motility evaluation by Computer Assisted Semen Analysis (CASA) confirmed significantly higher motility in Kedah Kelantan. While results from this study do identify proteins that may be responsible for the higher fertility of Kedah Kelantan, functional characterization of these proteins is warranted to reinforce our understanding of their roles in sperm fertility. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
10.1016/j.asr.2011.11.014 | Synergistic approach of asteroid exploitation and planetary protection | The asteroid and cometary impact hazard has long been recognised as an important issue requiring risk assessment and contingency planning. At the same time asteroids have also been acknowledged as possible sources of raw materials for future large-scale space engineering ventures. This paper explores possible synergies between these two apparently opposed views; planetary protection and space resource exploitation. In particular, the paper assumes a 5 tonne low-thrust spacecraft as a baseline for asteroid deflection and capture (or resource transport) missions. The system is assumed to land on the asteroid and provide a continuous thrust able to modify the orbit of the asteroid according to the mission objective. The paper analyses the capability of such a near-term system to provide both planetary protection and asteroid resources to Earth. Results show that a 5 tonne spacecraft could provide a high level of protection for modest impact hazards: airburst and local damage events (caused by 15-170 m diameter objects). At the same time, the same spacecraft could also be used to transport to bound Earth orbits significant quantities of material through judicious use of orbital dynamics and passively safe aero-capture manoeuvres or low energy ballistic capture. As will be shown, a 5 tonne low-thrust spacecraft could potentially transport between 12 and 350 times its own mass of asteroid resources by means of ballistic capture or aero-capture trajectories that pose very low dynamical pressures on the object. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0203-14.2014 | Accelerated Changes In White Matter Microstructure During Aging A Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study | It is well established that human brain white matter structure changes with aging, but the timescale and spatial distribution of this change remain uncertain. Cross-sectional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies indicate that, after a period of relative stability during adulthood, there is an accelerated decline in anisotropy and increase in diffusivity values during senescence; and, spatially, results have been discussed within the context of several anatomical frameworks. However, inferring trajectories of change from cross-sectional data can be challenging; and, as yet, there have been no longitudinal reports of the timescale and spatial distribution of age-related white matter change in healthy adults across the adult lifespan. In a longitudinal DTI study of 203 adults between 20 and 84 years of age, we used tract-based spatial statistics to characterize the pattern of annual change in fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity, radial diffusivity, and mean diffusivity and examined whether there was an acceleration of change with age. We found extensive and overlapping significant annual decreases in fractional anisotropy, and increases in axial diffusivity, radial diffusivity, and mean diffusivity. Spatially, results were consistent with inferior-to-superior gradients of lesser-to-greater vulnerability. Annual change increased with age, particularly within superior regions, with age-related decline estimated to begin in the fifth decade. Charting white matter microstructural changes in healthy aging provides essential context to clinical studies, and future studies should compare age trajectories between healthy participants and at-risk populations and also explore the relationship between DTI rates of change and cognitive decline. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
10.1107/s1600576719010562 | Alignment of sample position and rotation during in situ synchrotron X-ray micro-diffraction experiments using a Laue cross-correlation approach | Laue micro-diffraction has proven to be able to reveal material properties at the sub-grain scale for many polycrystalline materials and is now routinely available at several synchrotron facilities, providing an approach for nondestructive three-dimensional probing of the microstructures and mechanical states of materials. However, for in situ experiments, maintaining the positioning of the sample throughout the experiment, to achieve a good alignment of the characterized volumes, is a challenging issue. The aim of the present work is to address this problem by developing an approach based on digital image correlation of focused-beam Laue diffraction patterns. The method uses small changes in the diffraction signal as a focused X-ray beam is scanned over a surface region to allow corrections to be made for both sample lateral movement and rotation. The method is demonstrated using a tensile deformation experiment on an Al sample with 2. 5 µm average grain size. The results demonstrate an accuracy of 0. 5 µm for sample position registration and a precision in sample rotation of ∼0. 01°. The proposed method is fast to implement and does not require the use of additional surface markers. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1364/FIO.2017.JW3A.54 | Extreme twists of light in photonic crystal waveguides | We demonstrate that superchiral near fields, fields that are essentially more twisted than circularly polarized light, exist above conventional silicon photonic crystal waveguides. We envision using these fields to accurately sense chiral molecules. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
W2095301023 | Entanglement in a two-spin (1/2, 3/2) mixed-spin Heisenberg XXZ chain with an inhomogeneous external magnetic field | Using the concept of negativity, we investigate the thermal entanglement of a two-spin (1/2, 3/2) mixed-spin Heisenberg XXZ chain with an inhomogeneous external magnetic field. We obtain the analytical results of entanglement of this model. For the case of uniform magnetic field, we find that the critical temperature increases with the increase of the anisotropy parameter k, and for the same couplings, the critical temperature is higher than the results of the spin-1/2 XXZ chain and (1/2, 1) mixed-spin XXZ chain. Evidence of the quantum phase transition is found, and by adjusting the inhomogeneous magnetic parameter b, one is able to obtain more entanglement at higher temperature. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
]
|
10.1101/759159 | Alpha Activity Reflects The Magnitude Of An Individual Bias In Human Perception | Biases in sensory perception can arise from both experimental manipulations and personal trait-like features. These idiosyncratic biases and their neural underpinnings are often overlooked in studies on the physiology underlying perception. A potential candidate mechanism reflecting such idiosyncratic biases could be spontaneous alpha band activity, a prominent brain rhythm known to influence perceptual reports in general. Using a temporal order judgement task, we here tested the hypothesis that alpha power reflects the overcoming of an idiosyncratic bias. Importantly, to understand the interplay between idiosyncratic biases and contextual (temporary) biases induced by experimental manipulations, we quantified this relation before and after temporal recalibration. Using EEG recordings in human participants (male and female), we find that pre-stimulus frontal alpha power correlates with the tendency to respond relative to an own idiosyncratic bias, with stronger alpha leading to responses matching the bias. In contrast, alpha power does not predict response correctness. These results also hold after temporal recalibration and are specific to the alpha band, suggesting that alpha band activity reflects, directly or indirectly, processes that help to overcome an individual′s momentary bias in perception. We propose that combined with established roles of parietal alpha in the encoding of sensory information frontal alpha reflects complementary mechanisms influencing perceptual decisions. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1371/journal.pone.0158716 | Loss of renal tubular PGC-1α exacerbates diet-induced renal steatosis and age-related urinary sodium excretion in mice | The kidney has a high energy demand and is dependent on oxidative metabolism for ATP production. Accordingly, the kidney is rich in mitochondria, and mitochondrial dysfunction is a common denominator for several renal diseases. While the mitochondrial master regulator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) is highly expressed in kidney, its role in renal physiology is so far unclear. Here we show that PGC-1α is a transcriptional regulator of mitochondrial metabolic pathways in the kidney. Moreover, we demonstrate that mice with an inducible nephron-specific inactivation of PGC-1α in the kidney display elevated urinary sodium excretion, exacerbated renal steatosis during metabolic stress but normal blood pressure regulation. Overall, PGC-1α seems largely dispensable for basal renal physiology. However, the role of PGC-1α in renal mitochondrial biogenesis indicates that activation of PGC-1α in the context of renal disorders could be a valid therapeutic strategy to ameliorate renal mitochondrial dysfunction. | [
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
W3084075129 | Process Review as Panacea: A Critique of Process Review Advocacy in the European Union | This article responds to the trend of process review advocacy in EU academic literature. It offers a critical assessment of process review, broadly defined as the idea that the Court ought to focus on the process by which decisions are made when conducting its review of a given measure. The article explores John Hart Ely’s theory of process review, developed in the context of the US Supreme Court, and how this has influenced the EU’s own process review advocates. It seeks to add value to this literature by engaging with the extensive critique of Ely’s theory. In doing so, it argues that process review may fail to live up to the expectations placed upon it, both in terms of the outcomes of review and its legitimacy. | [
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
10.1042/BST20160019 | Durable Vesicles For Reconstitution Of Membrane Proteins In Biotechnology | The application of membrane proteins in biotechnology requires robust, durable reconstitution systems that enhance their stability and support their functionality in a range of working environments. Vesicular architectures are highly desirable to provide the compartmentalisation to utilise the functional transmembrane transport and signalling properties of membrane proteins. Proteoliposomes provide a native-like membrane environment to support membrane protein function, but can lack the required chemical and physical stability. Amphiphilic block copolymers can also self-assemble into polymersomes: tough vesicles with improved stability compared with liposomes. This review discusses the reconstitution of membrane proteins into polymersomes and the more recent development of hybrid vesicles, which blend the robust nature of block copolymers with the biofunctionality of lipids. These novel synthetic vesicles hold great promise for enabling membrane proteins within biotechnologies by supporting their enhanced in vitro performance and could also contribute to fundamental biochemical and biophysical research by improving the stability of membrane proteins that are challenging to work with. | [
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
W4205281575 | Resilience in Arts and Cultural Nonprofit Organizations: An Analysis of the Covid-19 Crisis in France | This article seeks to analyze the resilience of arts and cultural nonprofit organizations in France during the Covid-19 crisis. A broad survey and multiple logistic regressions highlight the resources availability, the crisis impact, the NPOs' needs and the reforms they conducted during the first French lockdown. This study shows that the resilience of these NPOs must be differentiated between activity continuity and organizational persistence. Resilience in culture and the arts is specific, based on reforms, and requires special support from partners.Cet article cherche à analyser la résilience des organisations à but non lucratif (associations) du secteur artistique et culturel en France pendant la crise de la Covid-19. Une large enquête et des régressions logistiques multiples mettent en évidence la disponibilité des ressources, l’impact de la crise, les besoins des OBNL et les réformes qu'elles ont menées lors du premier confinement français. Cette étude montre que la résilience de ces organisations doit être différenciée entre la continuité des activités et la persistance organisationnelle. La résilience dans le domaine de la culture et des arts est spécifique, repose sur des réformes et nécessite un soutien particulier des partenaires.Este artículo se propone analizar la capacidad de resiliencia de las organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro (OSAL) del sector artístico y cultural en Francia durante la crisis de Covid-19. Una amplia encuesta y múltiples regresiones logísticas ponen de manifiesto la disponibilidad de recursos, el impacto de la crisis, las necesidades de las OSAL y las reformas que llevaron a cabo durante la primera contención francesa. Este estudio muestra que la resiliencia de estas organizaciones debe diferenciarse entre la continuidad de la actividad y la persistencia de la organización. La resiliencia en el sector de la cultura y las artes es específica, se basa en reformas y requiere un apoyo especial de los socios. | [
"Studies of Cultures and Arts",
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
10.1038/nn.2996 | Emergence of a 'visual number sense' in hierarchical generative models | Numerosity estimation is phylogenetically ancient and foundational to human mathematical learning, but its computational bases remain controversial. Here we show that visual numerosity emerges as a statistical property of images in 'deep networks' that learn a hierarchical generative model of the sensory input. Emergent numerosity detectors had response profiles resembling those of monkey parietal neurons and supported numerosity estimation with the same behavioral signature shown by humans and animals. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1103/PhysRevB.97.241410 | Magnetoplasmonic enhancement of Faraday rotation in patterned graphene metasurfaces | Faraday rotation is a fundamental property present in all nonreciprocal optical elements. In the THz range, graphene displays strong Faraday rotation; unfortunately, it is limited to frequencies below the cyclotron resonance. Here, we show experimentally that in specifically designed metasurfaces, magnetoplasmons can be used to circumvent this limitation. We find excellent agreement between theory and experiment and provide physical insights and predictions on these phenomena. Finally, we demonstrate strong tunability in these metasurfaces using electric and magnetic field biasing. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
10.1080/14714787.2014.945133 | Transformative Beauty Art Museums In Industrial Britain | The most comprehensive collections of Victorian painting in Britain are undoubtedly to be found in the public art museums of the industrial Midlands and north-west. But until now, there has been no. . . | [
"Studies of Cultures and Arts"
]
|
EP 2016080861 W | COMPOSITION FOR DRESSING CUTANEOUS LESIONS AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF | The invention relates to a composition for cutaneous lesion dressing of cutaneous leishmanial lesions, comprising, based on the total weight of the composition: - 10.0 weight percent to 35 weight percent of a one or more diols, selected from the group comprising 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,2-pentanediol, 1,3- butanediol and 2,2'-[Ethane-1,2-diylbis(oxy)]di(ethan-1-ol) - 2.0 weight percent to 20 weight percent of at least one first film-forming agent, selected from one or more of a cellulose derivative, hemicellulose, a hemicellulose derivative, chitosan, a chitosan derivative, or oligoglucosamines, - 0.2 to 25.0 weight percent of at least one elastic second film-forming agent, selected from one or more thickening agents, - 0.2 to 25.0 weight percent of one or more polymeric surfactant - 0.005 to 0.5 weight percent chlorate-free chlorite - water adding up to 100.0 weight percent. | [
"Materials Engineering",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1162/tacl_a_00168 | Exploring the Role of Stress in Bayesian Word Segmentation using Adaptor Grammars | Stress has long been established as a major cue in word segmentation for English infants. We show that enabling a current state-of-the-art Bayesian word segmentation model to take advantage of stress cues noticeably improves its performance. We find that the improvements range from 10 to 4%, depending on both the use of phonotactic cues and, to a lesser extent, the amount of evidence available to the learner. We also find that in particular early on, stress cues are much more useful for our model than phonotactic cues by themselves, consistent with the finding that children do seem to use stress cues before they use phonotactic cues. Finally, we study how the model’s knowledge about stress patterns evolves over time. We not only find that our model correctly acquires the most frequent patterns relatively quickly but also that the Unique Stress Constraint that is at the heart of a previously proposed model does not need to be built in but can be acquired jointly with word segmentation. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1016/j.msea.2016.08.118 | Effect of annealing on mechanical properties of a nanocrystalline CoCrFeNiMn high-entropy alloy processed by high-pressure torsion | A CoCrFeNiMn high-entropy alloy (HEA) was processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) under 6. 0 GPa pressure up to 10 turns at room temperature. It is shown that there is a gradual evolution in hardness with increasing numbers of turns but full homogeneity is not achieved even after 10 turns. Microhardness measurements reveal that the material reaches a saturation hardness value of ~4. 41 GPa and in this condition the microstructure shows exceptional grain refinement with a grain size of ~10 nm. An ultimate strength value of ~1. 75 GPa and an elongation to fracture of ~4% were obtained in a sample processed for 5 turns. The nanostructured HEA was subjected to post-deformation annealing (PDA) at 473–1173 K and it is shown that the hardness increases slightly to 773 K due to precipitation and then decreases up to 1173 K due to a combination of recrystallization, grain growth and a dissolution of the precipitates. The formation of brittle precipitates, especially σ-phase, at 873 and 973 K significantly reduces the ductility. Short-term annealing for 10 min at 1073 K prevents grain growth and leads to a combination of high strength and good ductility including an ultimate tensile strength of ~830 MPa and an elongation to failure of ~65%. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1007/s40306-016-0197-5 | A Short Survey on the Integral Identity Conjecture and Theories of Motivic Integration | In Kontsevich-Soibelman’s theory of motivic Donaldson-Thomas invariants for 3-dimensional noncommutative Calabi-Yau varieties, the integral identity conjecture plays a crucial role as it involves the existence of these invariants. A purpose of this note is to show how the conjecture arises. Because of the integral identity’s nature, we shall give a quick tour on theories of motivic integration, which lead to a proof of the conjecture for algebraically closed ground fields of characteristic zero. | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1051/cocv/2019001 | Control of the Grushin equation: non-rectangular control region and minimal time | This paper is devoted to the study of the internal null-controllability of the Grushin equation. We determine the minimal time of controllability for a large class of non-rectangular control regions. We establish the positive result thanks to the fictitious control method and the negative one by interpreting the associated observability inequality as an L2 estimate on complex polynomials. | [
"Mathematics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1007/s00018-016-2311-1 | Environmental factors in autoimmune diseases and their role in multiple sclerosis | An increase in autoimmune diseases poses a socioeconomic challenge worldwide. Predisposing genetic risk has been identified, yet environmental factors make up a significant part of the risk in disease initiation and propagation. Next to improved hygiene and a gross reduction of infections, changes in dietary habits are one of the most evident Western lifestyle factors potentially associated with the increase in autoimmune diseases. Growing evidence suggests that particularly a typical ‘Western diet’, rich in saturated fat and salt and related pathologies can have a profound impact on local and systemic immune responses under physiologic and autoimmune conditions such as in multiple sclerosis (MS). In this review, we discuss recent findings on environmental factors influencing autoimmunity with an emphasis on the impact of ‘Western diet’ on immune homeostasis and gut microbiota in MS. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1002/adma.201400660 | Determination of the electronic energy levels of colloidal nanocrystals using field-effect transistors and Ab-Initio calculations | Colloidal nanocrystals electronic energy levels are determined by strong size-dependent quantum confinement. Understanding the configuration of the energy levels of nanocrystal superlattices is vital in order to use them in heterostructures with other materials. A powerful method is reported to determine the energy levels of PbS nanocrystal assemblies by combining the utilization of electric-double-layer-gated transistors and advanced ab-initio theory. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
10.1021/acsnano.5b07382 | Sequential Electron Transport and Vibrational Excitations in an Organic Molecule Coupled to Few-Layer Graphene Electrodes | Graphene electrodes are promising candidates to improve reproducibility and stability in molecular electronics through new electrode-molecule anchoring strategies. Here we report sequential electron transport in few-layer graphene transistors containing individual curcuminoid-based molecules anchored to the electrodes via π-π orbital bonding. We show the coexistence of inelastic co-tunneling excitations with single-electron transport physics due to an intermediate molecule-electrode coupling; we argue that an intermediate electron-phonon coupling is the origin of these vibrational-assisted excitations. These experimental observations are complemented with density functional theory calculations to model electron transport and the interaction between electrons and vibrational modes of the curcuminoid molecule. We find that the calculated vibrational modes of the molecule are in agreement with the experimentally observed excitations. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
759537 | Do Legislatures Enhance Democracy in Africa? | Do Legislatures Enhance Democracy in Africa?
This project seeks to investigate the role of legislatures in African electoral authoritarian regimes. There are two opposing theoretical views: While several studies have found that holding elections, introducing a national assembly and a multiparty system prolongs the life of autocracies, other authors claim the exact opposite: in their view, the more successive multiparty elections take place, the more democratic a regime becomes. Answering these questions is difficult due to the opaqueness of authoritarian regimes. Moreover, most work has concentrated on only a few cases – African cases, in particular, have remained largely absent from the research agenda.
This project attempts to fill these gaps by collecting data on authoritarian legislatures in seven African countries. We focus on three areas of investigation: 1) law-making; 2) interaction patterns and political dialogue between the ruling party and the opposition; and 3) representation and constituency responsiveness. The main question is whether legislatures in authoritarian countries actually have a potential to enhance democracy. We use a Mixed Methods-Design which combines qualitative and quantitative data. To answer Question 1, we use content analysis of parliamentary debates. For Question 2 and 3, we will conduct full population surveys in the national assemblies of our seven countries. We will collect biographical and opinion data, as well as data on the social interactions between government and opposition, which will be analyzed with the methods of Social Network Analysis. Furthermore, we employ process tracing to understand the causal mechanism between legislative behaviour and the level of democracy. With a strong team of partner institutions in seven African countries, this project fills a research gap by collecting extensive and systematic empirical evidence on legislative behaviour in electoral autocracies for the first time. | [
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
]
|
10.1093/mnras/stz1968 | The HST large programme on NGC 6752 – III. Detection of the peak of the white dwarf luminosity function | ABSTRACT
We report on the white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence of the old globular cluster NGC 6752, which is chemically complex and hosts a blue horizontal branch. This is one of the last globular cluster WD cooling sequences accessible to imaging by the Hubble Space Telescope. Our photometry and completeness tests show that we have reached the peak of the luminosity function of the WD cooling sequence, at a magnitude mF606W = 29. 4 ± 0. 1, which is consistent with a formal age of ∼14 Gyr. This age is also consistent with the age from fits to the main-sequence turn-off (13–14 Gyr), reinforcing our conclusion that we observe the expected accumulation of WDs along the cooling sequence. | [
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
10.1007/978-1-4614-5037-5_12 | The Ftsk Family Of Dna Pumps | Interest for proteins of the FtsK family initially arose from their implication in many primordial processes in which DNA needs to be transported from one cell compartment to another in eubacteria. In the first section of this chapter, we address a list of the cellular functions of the different members of the FtsK family that have been so far studied. Soon after their discovery, interest for the FstK proteins spread because of their unique biochemical properties: most DNA transport systems rely on the assembly of complex multicomponent machines. In contrast, six FtsK proteins are sufficient to assemble into a fast and powerful DNA pump; the pump transports closed circular double stranded DNA molecules without any covalent-bond breakage nor topological alteration; transport is oriented despite the intrinsic symmetrical nature of the double stranded DNA helix and can occur across cell membranes. The different activities required for the oriented transport of DNA across cell compartments are achieved by three separate modules within the FtsK proteins: a DNA translocation module, an orientation module and an anchoring module. In the second part of this chapter, we review the structural and biochemical properties of these different modules. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
W1517229563 | Alumina thin films prepared by direct liquid injection chemical vapor deposition of dimethylaluminum isopropoxide: a process-structure investigation | The development of a new process to obtain amorphous alumina thin films is presented. We show for the first time the direct liquid injection chemical vapor deposition (DLI CVD) of alumina thin films using dimethylaluminum isopropoxide (DMAI) precursor in two oxidizing atmospheres. At high process temperature (500-700 °C), the film growth takes place in the presence of O2 whereas at low temperature (150-300 °C) H2O vapor is used. The materials characteristics, such as the surface morphology and roughness (SEM and AFM), crystal structure (XRD), composition (EPMA) and chemistry (XPS) are discussed in detail. Very smooth films, with typical roughness values lower than 2.0 nm are obtained. The thin films are all composed of an amorphous material with varying composition. Supported by both EPMA and XPS results, film composition evolves from a partial oxyhydroxide to a stoichiometric oxide at low deposition temperature (150-300 °C) in the presence of H2O. At higher growth temperature (500-700 °C) in the presence of O2, the composition changes from that of a stoichiometric oxide to a mixture of an oxide with aluminum carbide. (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
221332 | Cybergenetics: theory and design tools for biomolecular control systems | We propose to develop a new theory and design tools for the estimation and real-time control of living cells. The control systems designed using these tools will precisely and robustly steer the dynamic behavior of living cells in real time to achieve desired objectives. Cells would be controlled either collectively at the population level, or individually as single cells. The control systems achieving this regulation will be realized either on a digital computer that is interfaced with living cells, or using de novo genetic circuits that are introduced into the cells where they are designed to function as molecular control systems. Our methods will explicitly confront the numerous challenges brought about by the special environment of the cell including nonlinearity, stochasticity, cell-to-cell variability, metabolic burden, etc. The theory and methods developed in this project will thus enable the systematic, rational, and effective feedback control of living cells at the gene level, and will lay the foundation for a new corresponding body of knowledge which we call ``Cybergenetics''. It will also open new research directions in the areas of control theory and estimation.
We also propose to design three cybergenetic control systems, each addressing an important application in biotechnology or therapeutics. In the first, the controller will use light and nutrient supply to precisely regulate gene expression and cell growth in E. coli to achieve high protein and low biomass production rates. The second involves multiple feedback controllers regulating in parallel a large number of single stem cells, and leading to their differentiation to desired fates, e.g. beta cells, with potential for therapeutic applications. Finally, we will engineer into living cells dynamic molecular control systems. Such controllers can be used to monitor physiological variables and secrete biological effectors in a feedback fashion for the treatment of diseases like Type 1 diabetes. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1121/1.3699230 | Estimating Head Related Transfer Functions Of Human Subjects From Pressure Velocity Measurements | Direct measurements of individual head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) with a probe microphone at the eardrum are unpleasant, risky, and unreliable and therefore have not been widely used. Instead, the HRTFs are commonly measured from the blocked ear canal entrance, which excludes the effects of the individual ear canals and eardrums. This paper presents a method that allows obtaining individually correct magnitude frequency responses of HRTFs at the eardrum from pressure–velocity (PU) measurements at the ear canal entrance with a miniature PU sensor. The HRTFs of 25 test subjects with nine directions of sound incidence were estimated using real anechoic measurements and an energy-based estimation method. To validate the approach, measurements were also conducted with probe microphones near the eardrums as well as at blocked ear canal entrances. Comparisons between the different methods show that the method presented is a valid and reliable technique for obtaining magnitude frequency responses of HRTFs. The HRTF filters designed using the PU measurements are also shown to yield more correct frequency responses at the eardrum than the filters designed using measurements from the blocked ear canal entrance. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.3758/s13428-018-01194-x | Mouse tracking as a window into decision making | Mouse tracking promises to be an efficient method to investigate the dynamics of cognitive processes: It is easier to deploy than eyetracking, yet in principle it is much more fine-grained than looking at response times. We investigated these claimed benefits directly, asking how the features of decision processes—notably, decision changes—might be captured in mouse movements. We ran two experiments, one in which we explicitly manipulated whether our stimuli triggered a flip in decision, and one in which we replicated more ecological, classical mouse-tracking results on linguistic negation (Dale & Duran, Cognitive Science, 35, 983–996, 2011). We concluded, first, that spatial information (mouse path) is more important than temporal information (speed and acceleration) for detecting decision changes, and we offer a comparison of the sensitivities of various typical measures used in analyses of mouse tracking (area under the trajectory curve, direction flips, etc. ). We do so using an “optimal” analysis of our data (a linear discriminant analysis explicitly trained to classify trajectories) and see what type of data (position, speed, or acceleration) it capitalizes on. We also quantify how its results compare with those based on more standard measures. | [
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.3390/s18072389 | ED-FNN: A New Deep Learning Algorithm to Detect Percentage of the Gait Cycle for Powered Prostheses | Throughout the last decade, a whole new generation of powered transtibial prostheses and exoskeletons has been developed. However, these technologies are limited by a gait phase detection which controls the wearable device as a function of the activities of the wearer. Consequently, gait phase detection is considered to be of great importance, as achieving high detection accuracy will produce a more precise, stable, and safe rehabilitation device. In this paper, we propose a novel gait percent detection algorithm that can predict a full gait cycle discretised within a 1% interval. We called this algorithm an exponentially delayed fully connected neural network (ED-FNN). A dataset was obtained from seven healthy subjects that performed daily walking activities on the flat ground and a 15-degree slope. The signals were taken from only one inertial measurement unit (IMU) attached to the lower shank. The dataset was divided into training and validation datasets for every subject, and the mean square error (MSE) error between the model prediction and the real percentage of the gait was computed. An average MSE of 0. 00522 was obtained for every subject in both training and validation sets, and an average MSE of 0. 006 for the training set and 0. 0116 for the validation set was obtained when combining all subjects’ signals together. Although our experiments were conducted in an offline setting, due to the forecasting capabilities of the ED-FNN, our system provides an opportunity to eliminate detection delays for real-time applications. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1002/adhm.201901792 | One-Step Photoactivation of a Dual-Functionalized Bioink as Cell Carrier and Cartilage-Binding Glue for Chondral Regeneration | Cartilage defects can result in pain, disability, and osteoarthritis. Hydrogels providing a chondroregeneration-permissive environment are often mechanically weak and display poor lateral integration into the surrounding cartilage. This study develops a visible-light responsive gelatin ink with enhanced interactions with the native tissue, and potential for intraoperative bioprinting. A dual-functionalized tyramine and methacryloyl gelatin (GelMA-Tyr) is synthesized. Photo-crosslinking of both groups is triggered in a single photoexposure by cell-compatible visible light in presence of tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)dichlororuthenium(II) and sodium persulfate as initiators. Neo-cartilage formation from embedded chondroprogenitor cells is demonstrated in vitro, and the hydrogel is successfully applied as bioink for extrusion-printing. Visible light in situ crosslinking in cartilage defects results in no damage to the surrounding tissue, in contrast to the native chondrocyte death caused by UV light (365–400 nm range), commonly used in biofabrication. Tyramine-binding to proteins in native cartilage leads to a 15-fold increment in the adhesive strength of the bioglue compared to pristine GelMA. Enhanced adhesion is observed also when the ink is extruded as printable filaments into the defect. Visible-light reactive GelMA-Tyr bioinks can act as orthobiologic carriers for in situ cartilage repair, providing a permissive environment for chondrogenesis, and establishing safe lateral integration into chondral defects. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
184768 | Rnai-Mediated epigenetic gene regulation | RNAi refers to the ability of small RNAs to silence expression of homologous sequences. A surprising link between epigenetics and RNAi was discovered more than a decade ago, and I was fortunate enough to be involved in this exciting field of research from the beginning. It is now well established that endogenous small RNAs have a direct impact on the genome in various organisms. Yet, the initiation of chromatin modifications in trans by exogenously introduced small RNAs has been inherently difficult to achieve in all eukaryotic cells. This has sparked controversy about the importance and conservation of RNAi-mediated epigenome regulation and hampered systematic mechanistic dissection of this phenomenon.
Using fission yeast, we have discovered a counter-acting mechanism that impedes small RNA-directed formation of heterochromatin and constitutes the foundation of this proposal. Our goal is to close several knowledge gaps and test the intriguing possibility that the suppressive mechanism we discovered is conserved in mammalian cells. We will employ yeast and embryonic stem cells and use cutting-edge technologies (i.e., chemical mutagenesis combined with whole-genome sequencing, genome editing with engineered nucleases, and single-cell RNA sequencing) to address fundamental, as yet unanswered questions.
My proposal consists of four major aims. In aim 1, I propose to use proteomics approaches and to perform yeast genetic screens to define additional pathway components and regulatory factors. Aim 2 builds on our ability to finally trigger de novo formation of heterochromatin by synthetic siRNAs acting in trans, addressing many of the outstanding mechanistic questions that could not be addressed in the past. In Aims 3 and 4, experiments conducted in yeast and mouse cells will elucidate missing fragments critical to our understanding of the conserved principles behind RNAi-mediated epigenetic gene regulation. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
W1981721092 | In Vitro Modeling of the Neurovascular Environment by Coculturing Adult Human Brain Endothelial Cells with Human Neural Stem Cells | Brain and vascular cells form a functionally integrated signalling network that is known as the neurovascular unit (NVU). The signalling (autocrine, paracrine and juxtacrine) between different elements of this unit, especially in humans, is difficult to disentangle in vivo. Developing representative in vitro models is therefore essential to better understand the cellular interactions that govern the neurovascular environment. We here describe a novel approach to assay these cellular interactions by combining a human adult cerebral microvascular endothelial cell line (hCMEC/D3) with a fetal ganglionic eminence-derived neural stem cell (hNSC) line. These cell lines provide abundant homogeneous populations of cells to produce a consistently reproducible in vitro model of endothelial morphogenesis and the ensuing NVU. Vasculature-like structures (VLS) interspersed with patches of differentiating neural cells only occurred when hNSCs were seeded onto a differentiated endothelium. These VLS emerged within 3 days of coculture and by day 6 were stabilizing. After 7 days of coculture, neuronal differentiation of hNSCs was increased 3-fold, but had no significant effect on astrocyte or oligodendrocyte differentiation. ZO1, a marker of adherens and tight junctions, was highly expressed in both undifferentiated and differentiated endothelial cells, but the adherens junction markers CD31 and VE-cadherin were significantly reduced in coculture by approximately 20%. A basement membrane, consisting of laminin, vitronectin, and collagen I and IV, separated the VLS from neural patches. This simple assay can assist in elucidating the cellular and molecular signaling involved in the formation of VLS, as well as the enhancement of neuronal differentiation through endothelial signaling. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
W2116766888 | Advancing Large Scale Many-Body QMC Simulations on GPU Accelerated Multicore Systems | The Determinant Quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) method is one of the most powerful approaches for understanding properties of an important class of materials with strongly interacting electrons, including magnets and superconductors. It treats these interactions exactly, but the solution of a system of $N$ electrons must be extrapolated to bulk values. Currently $N \approx 500$ is state-of-the-art. Increasing $N$ is required before DQMC can be used to model newly synthesized materials like functional multilayers. DQMC requires millions of linear algebra computations of order $N$ matrices and scales as $N^3$. DQMC cannot exploit parallel distributed memory computers efficiently due to limited scalability with the small matrix sizes and stringent procedures for numerical stability. Today, the combination of multisocket multicore processors and GPUs provides widely available platforms with new opportunities for DQMC parallelization. The kernel of DQMC, the calculation of the Green's function, involves long products of matrices. For numerical stability, these products must be computed using graded decompositions generated by the QR decomposition with column pivoting. The high communication overhead of pivoting limits parallel efficiency. In this paper, we propose a novel approach that exploits the progressive graded structure to reduce the communication costs of pivoting. We show that this method preserves the same numerical stability and achieves 70\% performance of highly optimized {\tt DGEMM} on a two-socket six-core Intel processor. We have integrated this new method and other parallelization techniques into QUEST, a modern DQMC simulation package. Using 36 hours on this Intel processor, we are able to compute accurately the magnetic properties and Fermi surface of a system of $N=1024$ electrons. This simulation is almost an order of magnitude more difficult than $N \approx 500$, owing to the $N^3$ scaling. This increase in system size will allow, for the first time, the computation of the magnetic and transport properties of layered materials with DQMC. In addition, we show preliminary results which further accelerate DQMC simulations by using GPU processors. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
282091 | The development of the hippocampal spatial representation system | This proposal will address how a multimodal cognitive system, the neural representation of space in the hippocampus, emerges during development. There is a long tradition in neuroscience of studying the development of primary sensory systems, but fewer studies have concentrated on the development of brain networks supporting higher-order cognitive representations.
Our recent findings (Wills, Cacucci et al. Science, 2010) provide a starting point to fill this gap, charting the emergence of spatial responses of hippocampal formation neurons, using in vivo recording in awake, behaving rats.
The hippocampal formation supports neural representations of the environment ('cognitive maps') by means of which an animal can locate itself and navigate to a goal location. It contains three classes of spatially-tuned cells: place cells, which code for location, head direction cells, which code for directional orientation and grid cells, which may code for distance travelled.
The key aim of this proposal is to delineate the developmental processes that create this neural representation of space, focusing on the representations of place and direction.
We will delineate which sensory information is capable of driving spatial firing, and whether early hippocampal coding is truly spatial in the sense of representing configurations of stimuli and not single cues. How are abstract spatial constructs (place and head direction) built from raw sensory information during development? We will test whether boundary sensitive neurons and angular velocity tuned neurons are the elemental 'building blocks' making up place and directional signals, as suggested by many theoretical models.
We will also investigate the role of experience in the construction of spatial representations. Do the network architectures underlying spatial firing emerge through experience-dependent learning mechanisms, or are they the result of self-organizing processes which take place independently of experience? | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
215941 | A pan-national collaborative analytics platform for the exploration and improvement of population health | Healthcare data analysis has become an integral part of public health policy making, medical research, the development of
new treatments and medical innovation. Governments, pharmaceutical industries, insurance companies, medical research
groups and hospitals increasingly use population-based healthcare data as a critical support to research and decisionmaking.
Citizens are also increasingly keen to learn about the distribution and outcome of conditions which they may be
suffering from. However, an affordable, user-friendly platform that brings together population health and research data from
multiple sources and enables it to be easily presented and ‘mined’ for this wide range of purposes does not currently exist.
iMoHEALTH will meet this need. The completed iMoHEALTH SMEI Phase 1 feasibility study enabled developers, FACE
Recording and Measurement Systems Ltd, to conduct a number of research and development activities to build a detailed
business plan. This, combined with the exceptionally enthusiastic response of both prospective users and potential
commercial partners, confirmed that the product meets a clear market need and will have major perceived benefits to
healthcare stakeholders across Europe. Indeed, the level of response suggested that the need is even greater and more
keenly felt than had been previously anticipated.
To build on the current TRL6, this project sets out to refine and improve the iMoHEALTH platform by both evolution of the back-end architecture and additional front-end functionality to reach TRL9, as well as performance verification in a broader range of healthcare contexts. FACE has over 20 years of experience in the health and social care sectors, developing solutions that meet the collective needs of practitioners, patients/service users and their carers, managers, policymakers and researchers. FACE has a national reputation for delivering high quality solutions, producing nationally accredited and awarding winning products. | [
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1109/ISPASS.2014.6844456 | Barrierpoint Sampled Simulation Of Multi Threaded Applications | Sampling is a well-known technique to speed up architectural simulation of long-running workloads while maintaining accurate performance predictions. A number of sampling techniques have recently been developed that extend well-known single-threaded techniques to allow sampled simulation of multi-threaded applications. Unfortunately, prior work is limited to non-synchronizing applications (e. g. , server throughput workloads); requires the functional simulation of the entire application using a detailed cache hierarchy which limits the overall simulation speedup potential; leads to different units of work across different processor architectures which complicates performance analysis; or, requires massive machine resources to achieve reasonable simulation speedups. In this work, we propose BarrierPoint, a sampling methodology to accelerate simulation by leveraging globally synchronizing barriers in multi-threaded applications. BarrierPoint collects microarchitecture-independent code and data signatures to determine the most representative inter-barrier regions, called barrierpoints. BarrierPoint estimates total application execution time (and other performance metrics of interest) through detailed simulation of these barrierpoints only, leading to substantial simulation speedups. Barrierpoints can be simulated in parallel, use fewer simulation resources, and define fixed units of work to be used in performance comparisons across processor architectures. Our evaluation of BarrierPoint using NPB and Parsec benchmarks reports average simulation speedups of 24. 7× (and up to 866. 6×) with an average simulation error of 0. 9% and 2. 9% at most. On average, BarrierPoint reduces the number of simulation machine resources needed by 78×. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1038/nsmb.3387 | Genome-wide mapping of long-range contacts unveils clustering of DNA double-strand breaks at damaged active genes | The ability of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) to cluster in mammalian cells has been a subject of intense debate in recent years. Here we used a high-throughput chromosome conformation capture assay (capture Hi-C) to investigate clustering of DSBs induced at defined loci in the human genome. The results unambiguously demonstrated that DSBs cluster, but only when they are induced within transcriptionally active genes. Clustering of damaged genes occurs primarily during the G1 cell-cycle phase and coincides with delayed repair. Moreover, DSB clustering depends on the MRN complex as well as the Formin 2 (FMN2) nuclear actin organizer and the linker of nuclear and cytoplasmic skeleton (LINC) complex, thus suggesting that active mechanisms promote clustering. This work reveals that, when damaged, active genes, compared with the rest of the genome, exhibit a distinctive behavior, remaining largely unrepaired and clustered in G1, and being repaired via homologous recombination in postreplicative cells. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
US 2015/0042364 W | RADIO RESOURCE CONTROL FOR D2D COMMUNICATION | This disclosure generally relates to radio resource control for D2D communication. In one embodiment, a master UE of the D2D communication may obtain radio resource information of a slave UE before performing radio resource configuration for the D2D communication between the master UE and the slave UE. Based on the radio resource information, the master UE may configure radio resource for the D2D communication. In this way, radio resource configuration may be performed for both the D2D communication and cellular communication without violating the slave UE's radio capability. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1021/ic8021497 | Heterotetranuclear Oxalato-Bridged Re <sup>IV</sup><inf>3</inf>M <sup>II</sup> (M ) Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) Complexes: A New Example of a Single-Molecule Magnet (M ) Ni) | The use of the mononuclear species (NBu 4) 2[Re IVCl 4(ox)] (NBu 4+ = tetra-n-butylammonium cation; ox =oxalate dianion) as a ligand toward fully solvated divalent first-row transition-metal ions affords the tetranuclear complexes (NBu 4) 4[{Re IVCl 4(μ-ox)} 3M II] with M ) Mn (1), Fe (2), Co (3), Ni (4), and Cu (5). Their structure is made up of discrete [{ReCl 4(μ-ox)} 3M] 4- anions and bulky NBu 4+ cations. The complexes 2-5 crystallize in the triclinic system with space group P1-; 2 and 5 as well as 3 and 4 are isostructural. The Re and M atoms exhibit somewhat distorted ReCl 4O 2 and MO 6 octahedral surroundings, with the oxalate groups adopting the bis-bidentate bridging mode. Magnetic susceptibility measurements on polycrystalline samples of 1-5 in the temperature range 1. 9-300 K show the occurrence of intramolecular antiferromagnetic [J ) -1. 30 cm -1 (1)] and ferromagnetic couplings [J ) +1. 62 (2), +3. 0 (3), +16. 3 (4), and +4. 64 cm -1 (5)], with the Hamiltonian being defined as H ) -J[S M(S Re1 + S Re2 + S Re3)]. Compound 4 is the first example of an oxalato-bridged heterometallic species that behaves as a single-molecule magnet with a ground-state spin S =11/2 and D =-0. 8(1) cm -1, as shown by the study of its static and dynamic magnetic properties and a high-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance study on polycrystalline samples together with detailed micro-SQUID measurements on single crystals. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
10.1038/s41558-018-0355-y | Taking climate model evaluation to the next level | Earth system models are complex and represent a large number of processes, resulting in a persistent spread across climate projections for a given future scenario. Owing to different model performances against observations and the lack of independence among models, there is now evidence that giving equal weight to each available model projection is suboptimal. This Perspective discusses newly developed tools that facilitate a more rapid and comprehensive evaluation of model simulations with observations, process-based emergent constraints that are a promising way to focus evaluation on the observations most relevant to climate projections, and advanced methods for model weighting. These approaches are needed to distil the most credible information on regional climate changes, impacts, and risks for stakeholders and policy-makers. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
3731720 | Foodsafetyguardian: using digital solutions to lower the risk of foodborne illnesses | Stricter food safety laws have been/are being implemented around the globe to minimise largely preventable foodborne diseases that currently afflict over 600 million people a year. A major challenge in verification processes is the inability to guarantee a finished food product is pathogen free. By monitoring and verifying the parameters that have been set are actually effective during food manufacturing, companies can minimise microbial risk.
Accordingly, Novolyze is developing FoodSafetyGuardian (FSG) - the first cloud-based software solution that integrates with equipment already in place at manufacturing plants, to collect data in real time for continuous analysis. FSG uses algorithims to determine if a change in set parameters (e.g. a specified temperature) should trigger an alarm or whether it is not a risk at the specific stage of food processing. FSG is the first platform that performs this level of analysis in real time. It also allows for add-ons such as a hygiene monitoring platform (HMP) to analyse cleaning and sanitation operations within a factory environment.
The aim of this EIC project is to complete development of software for FSG and the HMP and then test it amongst customers. These products are expected to streamline and transform the food safety market. Novolyze aims to take FSG and the HMP to TRL8. Following commercialisation activities post-EIC, both products will be ready for market entry. Novolyze then aims to dominate an estimated total, global addressable market, valued at EUR 457m by 2023.
The company has grown its organisation to ensure they have the expertise and competencies with the team to complete development in the EIC project and eventually launch the products on the market. This will lead to accelerated growth for the company. The current project is therefore central to the company’s long-term vision and growth. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1111/j.1600-0706.2012.00035.x | Integral projections models, their construction and use in posing hypotheses in ecology | Replicated experiments at the level of the population are often not feasible for field systems. Despite this, population-level observational studies play a critical role in biology. For example, they have revealed how environmental change generates ecological and evolutionary change in free-living populations. When replicated experiments are impossible, constructing models and using these to conduct in silico experiments is the next best thing. Recent advances in the construction and analysis of integral projection models (IPMs) mean they offer a remarkably powerful tool to study ecological and evolutionary dynamics. IPMs can be parameterised using data frequently collected by ecologists, but the ease with which they can be constructed and analysed is perhaps not as widely appreciated as it could be. In this paper, which is loosely related to the talk I gave when receiving the Per Brinck Oikos Award in 2012, I show how easily IPMs can be constructed and analysed, and I argue they play an important role in posing and testing hypotheses in population biology. | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1051/0004-6361/201526410 | Probing Highly Obscured Self Absorbed Galaxy Nuclei With Vibrationally Excited Hcn | We present high resolution (0. '' 4) IRAM PdBI and ALMA mm and submm observations of the (ultra) luminous infrared galaxies ((U)LIRGs) IRAS 17208-0014, Arp220, IC 860 and Zw049. 057 that reveal intense line emission from vibrationally excited (nu(2) = 1) J = 3-2 and 4-3 HCN. The emission is emerging from buried, compact (r 5 x 10(13) L-circle dot kpc(-2). These nuclei are likely powered by accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and/or hot (>200 K) extreme starbursts. Vibrational, nu(2) = 1, lines of HCN are excited by intense 14 mu m mid-infrared emission and are excellent probes of the dynamics, masses, and physical conditions of (U)LIRG nuclei when H-2 column densities exceed 10(24) cm(-2). It is clear that these lines open up a new interesting avenue to gain access to the most obscured AGNs and starbursts. Vibrationally excited HCN acts as a proxy for the absorbed mid-infrared emission from the embedded nuclei, which allows for reconstruction of the intrinsic, hotter dust SED. In contrast, we show strong evidence that the ground vibrational state (. = 0), J = 3-2 and 4-3 rotational lines of HCN and HCO+ fail to probe the highly enshrouded, compact nuclear regions owing to strong self-and continuum absorption. The HCN and HCO+ line profiles are double-peaked because of the absorption and show evidence of non-circular motions-possibly in the form of in-or outflows. Detections of vibrationally excited HCN in external galaxies are so far limited to ULIRGs and early-type spiral LIRGs, and we discuss possible causes for this. We tentatively suggest that the peak of vibrationally excited HCN emission is connected to a rapid stage of nuclear growth, before the phase of strong feedback. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
10.1103/PhysRevB.101.220201 | L2 localization landscape for highly excited states | The localization landscape [M. Filoche and S. Mayboroda, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109, 14761 (2012)PNASA60027-842410. 1073/pnas. 1120432109] gives direct access to the localization of bottom-of-band eigenstates in noninteracting disordered systems. We generalize this approach to eigenstates at arbitrary energies in systems with or without internal degrees of freedom by introducing a modified L2 landscape, and we demonstrate its accuracy in a variety of archetypal models of Anderson localization in one and two dimensions. This L2-landscape function can be efficiently computed using hierarchical methods that allow evaluating the diagonal of a well-chosen Green's function. We compare our approach to other landscape methods, bringing insights on their strengths and limitations. Our approach is general and can in principle be applied to both studies of topological Anderson transitions and many-body localization. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1182/blood-2017-05-782102 | Cytoprotective activated protein C averts Nlrp3 inflammasome–induced ischemia-reperfusion injury via mTORC1 inhibition | Key Points
aPC protects from myocardial and renal IRIs by restricting mTORC1-mediated activation of the Nlrp3 inflammasome. Nlrp3 inflammasome suppression by aPC is independent of its anticoagulant effect, depends on PAR-1, and can be mimicked by parmodulin-2. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
W3111618883 | Complexity of mixed Gaussian states from Fisher information geometry | We study the circuit complexity for mixed bosonic Gaussian states in harmonic lattices in any number of dimensions. By employing the Fisher information geometry for the covariance matrices, we consider the optimal circuit connecting two states with vanishing first moments, whose length is identified with the complexity to create a target state from a reference state through the optimal circuit. Explicit proposals to quantify the spectrum complexity and the basis complexity are discussed. The purification of the mixed states is also analysed. In the special case of harmonic chains on the circle or on the infinite line, we report numerical results for thermal states and reduced density matrices. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1038/nature08458 | Rapid ascent of rhyolitic magma at Chaitén volcano, Chile | Rhyolite magma has fuelled some of the Earths largest explosive volcanic eruptions. Our understanding of these events is incomplete, however, owing to the previous lack of directly observed eruptions. Chaitén volcano, in Chiles northern Patagonia, erupted rhyolite magma unexpectedly and explosively on 1 May 2008 (ref. 2). Chaitén residents felt earthquakes about 24 hours before ash fell in their town and the eruption escalated into a Plinian column. Although such brief seismic forewarning of a major explosive basaltic eruption has been documented, it is unprecedented for silicic magmas. As precursory volcanic unrest relates to magma migration from the storage region to the surface, the very short pre-eruptive warning at Chaitén probably reflects very rapid magma ascent through the sub-volcanic system. Here we present petrological and experimental data that indicate that the hydrous rhyolite magma at Chaitén ascended very rapidly, with velocities of the order of one metre per second. Such rapid ascent implies a transit time from storage depths greater than five kilometres to the near surface in about four hours. This result has implications for hazard mitigation because the rapidity of ascending rhyolite means that future eruptions may provide little warning. | [
"Earth System Science"
]
|
3739706 | Senescence as a key factor in leukemogenesis and bone marrow homeostasis in aging | Cancer is a major public health problem and one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In particular, it has been the second cause of death in Spain, Europe and United States. Although cancer can occur at any age, aging is one of the main risk factors for its development. Aging is a complex scarcely understood multi-step process associated with the gradual functional decline of organs and systems. In addition, age-dependent changes in epigenetic regulation occur, indicating that epigenetic regulation may also play an important role in aging. Similar changes have been observed at the cellular level in a mechanism known as senescence. This mechanism is a cellular response that limits the proliferation of aged or damaged cells, behaving as a tumor suppressor mechanism and transformation events lead to escape from it.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia are the most frequent types of leukemias and have median ages at diagnosis of 68 years. Both have a low incidence in the young population and increase with age. Thus, it is important to explore novel approaches to understand the mechanisms of aging favoring these types of leukemias, thereby unraveling new target molecules for treatment and prevention. We propose to explore the senescence epigenetic profile in leukemic cells, the impact of senolytic drugs in patients and in the development of AML in spontaneous animal model. The approach will bridge cancer epigenetics with senescence, aging and leukemogenesis.
This proposal will augment my scientific knowledge and practical skills. In addition, the complementary planned activities of the action will provide me to the additional tools to become an independent investigator in the near future. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1111/ahg.12204 | High Y-chromosomal Differentiation Among Ethnic Groups of Dir and Swat Districts, Pakistan | The ethnic groups that inhabit the mountainous Dir and Swat districts of northern Pakistan are marked by high levels of cultural and phenotypic diversity. To obtain knowledge of the extent of genetic diversity in this region, we investigated Y-chromosomal diversity in five population samples representing the three main ethnic groups residing within these districts, including Gujars, Pashtuns and Kohistanis. A total of 27 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) and 331 Y-chromosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNPs) were investigated. In the Y-STRs, we observed very high and significant levels of genetic differentiation in nine of the 10 pairwise between-group comparisons (RST 0. 179–0. 746), and the differences were mirrored in the Y-SNP haplogroup frequency distribution. No genetic differences were found between the two Pashtun subethnic groups Tarklanis and Yusafzais (RST = 0. 000). Utmankhels, also considered Pashtuns culturally, were not closely related to any of the other population samples (RST 0. 451–0. 746). Thus, our findings provide examples of both associations and dissociations between cultural and genetic legacies. When analyzed within a larger continental-scale context, these five ethnic groups fall mostly outside the previously characterized Y-chromosomal gene pools of the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent. Male founder effects, coupled with culturally and topographically based constraints upon marriage and movement, are likely responsible for the high degree of genetic structure in this region. | [
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
]
|
interreg_2163 | MARAKANDA | The Mediterranean area has a rich history of city markets which have for many centuries acted as focal points for social, commercial and cultural activities. Markets represent an important part of the Mediterranean heritage and are still catalysts for local development. However, the traditional functions of markets are currently being eroded raising concern over their future viability. MARAKANDA aims at preserving typical Mediterranean markets through the setting-up of a cross-border cluster to promote the integration of high quality agro-food/handicraft production chains and improve governance processes among private and public actors in city markets. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
]
|
10.1109/TNS.2013.2270115 | Toward Vip Pix A Low Noise Readout Asic For Pixelated Cdte Gamma Ray Detectors For Use In The Next Generation Of Pet Scanners | In this paper a low noise and low power consumption pixel readout electronics with digital output for pixelated Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) gamma-ray detectors is presented. The implemented smart-pixel will be part of a 2D pixel-array detector that will be connected, via solder bump bond, to the readout integrated circuit (ROIC) for use in various types of nuclear medicine imaging devices such as positron-emission tomography (PET) scanners, Compton gamma cameras, and positron-emission mammography (PEM) scanners. When a voxel of the CdTe detector is hit by a photon, the connected pixel readout provides the energy deposited with to-bit resolution. Simultaneously, the self-triggered pixel that is connected to a global time-to-digital converter (TDC) with 1 ns resolution provides the hit event's time stamp. The analog front-end and the analog to digital converter (A DC) from the pixel readout have been fabricated with TSMC 0. 25 Ilm mixed-signal CMOS technology and characterized with external test pulse. Every pixel readout electronics consumes 200 IlW from 2. 5 V supply. It offers 4 switchable gains from ±10 mV/fC to ±40 mV/fC and an input charge dynamic range up to ±70 fC for the minimum gain for both polarities. Based on noise measurements, the expected equivalent noise charge (ENC) is 65 eRMS at room temperature and a bump-bonded detector's capacitance of 100 fF. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
10.1162/jocn_a_00419 | Objects and categories: Feature statistics and object processing in the ventral stream | Recognizing an object involves more than just visual analyses; its meaning must also be decoded. Extensive research has shown that processing the visual properties of objects relies on a hierarchically organized stream in ventral occipitotemporal cortex, with increasingly more complex visual features being coded from posterior to anterior sites culminating in the perirhinal cortex (PRC) in the anteromedial temporal lobe (aMTL). The neurobiological principles of the conceptual analysis of objects remain more controversial. Much research has focused on two neural regions-the fusiform gyrus and aMTL, both of which show semantic category differences, but of different types. fMRI studies show category differentiation in the fusiform gyrus, based on clusters of semantically similar objects, whereas category-specific deficits, specifically for living things, are associated with damage to the aMTL. These category-specific deficits for living things have been attributed to problems in differentiating between highly similar objects, a process that involves the PRC. To determine whether the PRC and the fusiform gyri contribute to different aspects of an object's meaning, with differentiation between confusable objects in the PRC and categorization based on object similarity in the fusiform, we carried out an fMRI study of object processing based on a feature-based model that characterizes the degree of semantic similarity and difference between objects and object categories. Participants saw 388 objects for which feature statistic information was available and named the objects at the basic level while undergoing fMRI scanning. After controlling for the effects of visual information, we found that feature statistics that capture similarity between objects formed category clusters in fusiform gyri, such that objects with many shared features (typical of living things) were associated with activity in the lateral fusiform gyri whereas objects with fewer shared features (typical of nonliving things) were associated with activity in the medial fusiform gyri. Significantly, a feature statistic reflecting differentiation between highly similar objects, enabling object-specific representations, was associated with bilateral PRC activity. These results confirm that the statistical characteristics of conceptual object features are coded in the ventral stream, supporting a conceptual feature-based hierarchy, and integrating disparate findings of category responses in fusiform gyri and category deficits in aMTL into a unifying neurocognitive framework. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b01139 | Density of Nanometrically Thin Amorphous Films Varies by Thickness | Organisms in nature can alter the short-range order of an amorphous precursor phase, thereby controlling the resulting crystalline structure. This phenomenon inspired an investigation of the effect of modifying the short-range order within the amorphous phase of a selected material. Amorphous thin films of aluminum oxide deposited by atomic layer deposition method were found to vary structurally as a function of size. Thinner films, as predicted and also confirmed by atomistic simulations, exhibited more 4-coordinated Al sites. These atomistic alterations were expected to change the amorphous thin film's average density. The density indeed varied with the alumina layer thickness, and the measured effect was even stronger than predicted theoretically. This effect is explained in terms of the deposition process, where each newly deposited layer is a new surface layer that "remembers" its structure, which results in thin films of substantially lower density. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
W3093735665 | Asymmetric capital structure speed of adjustment, equity mispricing and Shari’ah compliance of Malaysian firms | Abstract Traditionally, equity mispricing has been documented as an important determinant of speed of adjustment to target leverage levels. More recently, the impact of Shari’ah compliance has been shown to significantly affect capital structure decisions. In this paper, we explore the effect of equity mispricing in Shari’ah compliant (vs. non-compliant) firms. We conduct our study on a comprehensive sample of Malaysian firms from year 1998–2016. We show that established findings in the dynamic trade-off theory do not hold for Shari’ah compliant firms. Shari’ah compliant firms increase their reliance on equity financing at greater levels than non-compliant firms when they are above target levels and equities are overpriced. In contrast, for Shari’ah compliant firms below target levels and where equity is under-priced, the rate of adjustment is slower than non-compliant firms. Our findings suggest that managers of Shari’ah compliant firms are inclined to time the equity market when above target levels to capture the impact of lower costs of equity during periods of over-valuation of equity. However, those managers tend to be reluctant to resort to debt financing when below target leverage even in the presence of equity under-pricing. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
10.1073/pnas.1705642114 | Understanding the mechanical response of double-stranded DNA and RNA under constant stretching forces using all-atom molecular dynamics | Multiple biological processes involve the stretching of nucleic acids (NAs). Stretching forces induce local changes in the molecule structure, inhibiting or promoting the binding of proteins, which ultimately affects their functionality. Understanding how a force induces changes in the structure of NAs at the atomic level is a challenge. Here, we use all-atom, microsecond-long molecular dynamics to simulate the structure of dsDNA and dsRNA subjected to stretching forces up to 20 pN. We determine all of the elastic constants of dsDNA and dsRNA and provide an explanation for three striking differences in the mechanical response of these two molecules: the threefold softer stretching constant obtained for dsRNA, the opposite twist-stretch coupling, and its nontrivial force dependence. The lower dsRNA stretching resistance is linked to its more open structure, whereas the opposite twist-stretch coupling of both molecules is due to the very different evolution of molecules’ interstrand distance with the stretching force. A reduction of this distance leads to overwinding in dsDNA. In contrast, dsRNA is not able to reduce its interstrand distance and can only elongate by unwinding. Interstrand distance is directly correlated with the slide base-pair parameter and its different behavior in dsDNA and dsRNA traced down to changes in the sugar pucker angle of these NAs. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
W2791360696 | Integrated biocircuits: engineering functional multicellular circuits and devices | Implantable neurotechnologies have revolutionized neuromodulatory medicine for treating the dysfunction of diseased neural circuitry. However, challenges with biocompatibility and lack of full control over neural network communication and function limits the potential to create more stable and robust neuromodulation devices. Thus, we propose a platform technology of implantable and programmable cellular systems, namely Integrated Biocircuits, which use only cells as the functional components of the device.We envision the foundational principles for this concept begins with novel in vitro platforms used for the study and reconstruction of cellular circuitry. Additionally, recent advancements in organoid and 3D culture systems account for microenvironment factors of cytoarchitecture to construct multicellular circuits as they are normally formed in the brain. We explore the current state of the art of these platforms to provide knowledge of their advancements in circuit fabrication and identify the current biological principles that could be applied in designing integrated biocircuit devices.We have highlighted the exemplary methodologies and techniques of in vitro circuit fabrication and propose the integration of selected controllable parameters, which would be required in creating suitable biodevices.We provide our perspective and propose new insights into the future of neuromodulaion devices within the scope of living cellular systems that can be applied in designing more reliable and biocompatible stimulation-based neuroprosthetics. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering"
]
|
10.1371/journal.pbio.3000057 | A small proportion of talin molecules transmit forces at developing muscle attachments in vivo | Cells in developing organisms are subjected to particular mechanical forces that shape tissues and instruct cell fate decisions. How these forces are sensed and transmitted at the molecular level is therefore an important question, one that has mainly been investigated in cultured cells in vitro. Here, we elucidate how mechanical forces are transmitted in an intact organism. We studied Drosophila muscle attachment sites, which experience high mechanical forces during development and require integrin-mediated adhesion for stable attachment to tendons. Therefore, we quantified molecular forces across the essential integrin-binding protein Talin, which links integrin to the actin cytoskeleton. Generating flies expressing 3 Fö rster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based Talin tension sensors reporting different force levels between 1 and 11 piconewton (pN) enabled us to quantify physiologically relevant molecular forces. By measuring primary Drosophila muscle cells, we demonstrate that Drosophila Talin experiences mechanical forces in cell culture that are similar to those previously reported for Talin in mammalian cell lines. However, in vivo force measurements at developing flight muscle attachment sites revealed that average forces across Talin are comparatively low and decrease even further while attachments mature and tissue-level tension remains high. Concomitantly, the Talin concentration at attachment sites increases 5-fold as quantified by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), suggesting that only a small proportion of Talin molecules are mechanically engaged at any given time. Reducing Talin levels at late stages of muscle development results in muscle–tendon rupture in the adult fly, likely as a result of active muscle contractions. We therefore propose that a large pool of adhesion molecules is required to share high tissue forces. As a result, less than 15% of the molecules experience detectable forces at developing muscle attachment sites at the same time. Our findings define an important new concept of how cells can adapt to changes in tissue mechanics to prevent mechanical failure in vivo. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1093/rfs/hhy052 | Banks response to higher capital requirements: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment | We study the impact of higher capital requirements on banks' balance sheets and their transmission to the real economy. The 2011 EBA capital exercise is an almost ideal quasi-natural experiment to identify this impact with a difference-in-differences matching estimator. We find that treated banks increase their capital ratios by reducing their risk-weighted assets, not by raising their levels of equity, consistent with debt overhang. Banks reduce lending to corporate and retail customers, resulting in lower asset, investment, and sales growth for firms obtaining a larger share of their bank credit from the treated banks. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
W3112293093 | Long-range correlations of polarization and number densities in dilute electrolytes | In dilute electrolytes, we calculate the pair correlation functions among the solvent polarization p, the solvent density n1, the cation density n2, and the anion density n3. We set up a simple Ginzburg-Landau free energy for these variables, so our results are valid at distances longer than the molecular size σ. In particular, we reproduce the Hoye-Stell result for the polarization correlation ⟨pα(r)pβ(0)⟩ (α, β = x, y, z) [J. S. Hoye and G. Stell, J. Chem. Phys. 68, 4145 (1978)], which is proportional to the second derivative ∂2(e-κr/r)/∂xα∂xβ for r ≫ σ with κ being the Debye wave number. We also show that size asymmetry between the cations and the anions gives rise to similar long-range correlations in ⟨pα(r)δn1(0)⟩ and ⟨δni(r)δn1(0)⟩ (i = 1, 2, 3). Moreover, we calculate the polarization time-correlation function. As a unique feature in dynamics, the longitudinal polarization fluctuations (∝∇ · p) consist of rapidly decaying and slowly decaying components, where the latter relax with the charge density ρ. As a result, the long-range part of the equal-time polarization correlation changes into a different long-ranged and long-lived form after the shorter polarization relaxation. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
10.1111/febs.15531 | A guide to plasma membrane solute carrier proteins | This review aims to serve as an introduction to the solute carrier proteins (SLC) superfamily of transporter proteins and their roles in human cells. The SLC superfamily currently includes 458 transport proteins in 65 families that carry a wide variety of substances across cellular membranes. While members of this superfamily are found throughout cellular organelles, this review focuses on transporters expressed at the plasma membrane. At the cell surface, SLC proteins may be viewed as gatekeepers of the cellular milieu, dynamically responding to different metabolic states. With altered metabolism being one of the hallmarks of cancer, we also briefly review the roles that surface SLC proteins play in the development and progression of cancer through their influence on regulating metabolism and environmental conditions. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
834161 | Targeting endothelial barriers to combat disease | Tissue homeostasis requires coordinated barrier function in blood and lymphatic vessels. Opening of junctions between endothelial cells (ECs) lining blood vessels leads to tissue fluid accumulation that is drained by lymphatic vessels. A pathological increase in blood vessel permeability or lack or malfunction of lymphatic vessels leads to edema and associated defects in macromolecule and immune cell clearance. Unbalanced barrier function between blood and lymphatic vessels contributes to neurodegeneration, chronic inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. In this proposal, we seek to gain mechanistic understanding into coordination of barrier function between blood and lymphatic vessels, how this process is altered in disease models and how it can be manipulated for therapeutic purposes. We will focus on two critical barriers with diametrically opposing functions, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the lymphatic capillary barrier (LCB). ECs of the BBB form very tight junctions that restrict paracellular access to the brain. In contrast, open junctions of the LCB ensure uptake of extravasated fluid, macromolecules and immune cells, as well as lipid in the gut. We have identified novel effectors of BBB and LCB junctions and will determine their role in adult homeostasis and in disease models. Mouse genetic gain and loss of function approaches in combination with histological, ultrastructural, functional and molecular analysis will determine mechanisms underlying formation of tissue specific EC barriers. Deliverables include in vivo validated targets that could be used for i) opening the BBB on demand for drug delivery into the brain, and ii) to lower plasma lipid uptake via interfering with the LCB, with implications for prevention of obesity, cardiovascular disease and inflammation. These pioneering studies promise to open up new opportunities for research and treatment of neurovascular and cardiovascular disease. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
US 0125456 W | ATTITUDE DETERMINATION USING A GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM | An apparatus and method for vehicle orientation determination is disclosed. A typical method comprises the steps of receiving position and velocity information data from a global positioning system receiver unit, receiving vehicle dynamics information data from one or more vehicle dynamics sensors and determining a vehicle attitude from the position and velocity information and the vehicle dynamics information data using a Kalman filter. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
US 2007/0011049 W | MODULATING AGENTS FOR ANTIMICROBIAL COATINGS | An exemplary medical device for subcutaneous disposal at least partially within a patient is disclosed, comprising an antimicrobial material comprising at least one metal and an agent that inhibits diffusion of the at least one metal from the antimicrobial material. The antimicrobial material comprises a coating formed over at least a portion of a surface of the medical device. Methods for preparing medical devices and methods of using the medical devices having the antimicrobial material are also disclosed. | [
"Materials Engineering",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
10.3390/ijms19041124 | Comparative genomics and transcriptome profiling in primary aldosteronism | Primary aldosteronism is the most common form of endocrine hypertension with a prevalence of 6% in the general population with hypertension. The genetic basis of the four familial forms of primary aldosteronism (familial hyperaldosteronism FH types I–IV) and the majority of sporadic unilateral aldosterone-producing adenomas has now been resolved. Familial forms of hyperaldosteronism are, however, rare. The sporadic forms of the disease prevail and these are usually caused by either a unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma or bilateral adrenal hyperplasia. Aldosterone-producing adenomas frequently carry a causative somatic mutation in either of a number of genes with the KCNJ5 gene, encoding an inwardly rectifying potassium channel, a recurrent target harboring mutations at a prevalence of more than 40% worldwide. Other than genetic variations, gene expression profiling of aldosterone-producing adenomas has shed light on the genes and intracellular signalling pathways that may play a role in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of these tumors. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
10.1137/15M1038633 | Guaranteed And Robust A Posteriori Bounds For Laplace Eigenvalues And Eigenvectors Conforming Approximations | This paper derives a posteriori error estimates for conforming numerical approximations of the Laplace eigenvalue problem with a homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition. In particular, upper and lower bounds for an arbitrary simple eigenvalue are given. These bounds are guaranteed, fully computable, and converge with optimal speed to the given exact eigenvalue. They are valid without restrictions on the computational mesh or on the approximate eigenvector; we only need to assume that the approximate eigenvalue is separated from the surrounding smaller and larger exact ones, which can be checked in practice. Guaranteed, fully computable, optimally convergent, and polynomial-degree robust bounds on the energy error in the approximation of the associated eigenvector are derived as well, under the same hypotheses. Remarkably, there appears no unknown (solution-, regularity-, or polynomial-degree-dependent) constant in our theory, and no convexity/regularity assumption on the computational domain/exact eigenvector(s) is needed. Two improvements of the multiplicative constant appearing in our estimates are presented. First, it is reduced by a fixed factor under an explicit, a posteriori calculable condition on the mesh and on the approximate eigenvector--eigenvalue pair. Second, when an elliptic regularity assumption on the corresponding source problem is satisfied with known constants, the multiplicative factor can be brought to the optimal value of one. Inexact algebraic solvers are taken into account; the estimates are valid on each iteration and can serve for the design of adaptive stopping criteria. The application of our framework to conforming finite element approximations of arbitrary polynomial degree is provided, along with a numerical illustration on a set of test problems. | [
"Mathematics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
173157 | Upscaling graphite electrochemical exfoliation | The possible utilization of graphene as key component in composites, energy storage and conversion devices is heavily hampered by the limited availability of high-quality graphene materials. The current graphene production methods, such as mechanical exfoliation, chemical vapor deposition and chemical oxidation and exfoliation, suffer from extremely low yield of product, limited scalability or a strong chemical oxidation by which a significant number of defects are irreversibly introduced to the graphene. Thereby, it is highly desirable to develop scalable and green preparation protocols for which the oxidation is reduced to a minimum but the production speed of graphene is still high. During the ERC 2DMATER project, we found that the electrochemical exfoliation of graphite is the ideal approach to serve this demand under optimized conditions. Here in this project, we will further develop a lab-scale equipment and process that will be able to produce high quality graphene powders and dispersions on a scale of 1 kg per day, starting from commercially available graphite sources, like graphite foils, rods and papers. We target at producing bulk graphene with electronic properties outperforming those generated by state-of-the-art wet chemistry protocols - but with reduced number of process steps. Moreover, the technologies gained in this project will be transferred towards cheaper raw materials where we aim for direct production of graphene flakes from unprocessed natural resources in cooperation with our industry partner that owns several high grade graphite deposits in Sweden. Eventually, the efficient upscaling of graphite exfoliation developed in this project will bridge the gap between current lab-scale graphene production methods and industry-relevant scales in the most economical way. This will finally pave the way towards the actual industrial application of graphene in a broad range of fields it has been envisioned for during the last decade. | [
"Materials Engineering",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
223941 | Computational oncology training alliance | Cancer is a major cause of death and suffering, rendering it a huge concern to the general public. Consequently, it has been targeted by application of the molecular techniques developed during the last 20-25 years, thereby improving diagnosis and treatment. Nevertheless, although current biomarker and treatment concepts often are successful initially, they subsequently frequently fail to achieve durable drug response and long-term survival for cancer patients. The study of somatic evolution in cancer is a very promising approach to rectify this situation. Fortunately, single cell genomic sequencing has recently begun to provide opportunity to unprecedented detailed insights into tumour evolution and new techniques are emerging for assaying the spatial distribution of tumour heterogeneity. Analysing and developing methods for these emerging data sets are under-researched areas that lie at the intersection of medical, evolutionary biology, and computational research. In CONTRA, European researchers with complementary expertise have joined forces in order to collectively facilitate training of future European computational cancer researchers. We will by applying modern recruitment and selection methods in combination with offering excellent training and employments conditions, including social security, facilitate recruitment of 15 excellent ESRs, across genders and geographical areas. We will train these 15 ESRs in the mathematical, computational, and applied skills required to tackle the complex analysis problems posed by somatic evolution in cancer. We will also teach them entrepreneurship and the requirements of pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Using a novel scheme, this substantial academic cancer expertise will be complemented with industrial expertise in software development, especially for biotech and pharmaceutical industry, which will unleash key components of the innovative force of the European commercial sector in the struggle against cancer. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
W2741480039 | Έλεγχοι κεφαλαίων, θεσμοί και χρηματοοικονομική ανάπτυξη | The imposition of controls on capital movements was the latest result of the prolonged economic difficulties experienced by the country. These controls are to this day part of the everyday life of natural and legal entities and a topic of discussion for the academic community, the media and the citizens. These were the motives behind the decision to investigate how financial development is influenced by the presence of such controls and the institutional level of each country. events of June 2015 wrote a new page in the book of the turbulent history of the Greek economy.
In order to examine these relationships we relied on a modified form of the econometric model developed by Chinn and Ito (2006). Compared with previous empirical studies, in this thesis the measurement of financial development and capital controls is achieved with the use of new indicators of the most recent available studies and the databases that accompany them. The sample that was formed consists of 70 countries and covers a time period of 19 years (1995-2013).
The results of our empirical analysis constitute a negative relationship between the level of restrictions on the free movement of capital and financial development. Conversely, a higher level of institutions is associated with better performance of the financial segment of the economy. Moreover, it was observed that countries with higher institutional development benefit more from a financial liberalization and the lifting of restrictions. Finally, the results show that when countries are categorized according to the national income, the negative impact capital controls on financial development is greater for countries that are classified in the high-income category. These findings come to reaffirm and strengthen similar findings of previous empirical studies and spur for more detailed future investigations. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
10.1051/0004-6361/201935350 | Ubiquitous Cold And Massive Filaments In Cool Core Clusters | Multi-phase filamentary structures around brightest cluster galaxies (BCG) are likely a key step of AGN-feedback. We observed molecular gas in three cool cluster cores, namely Centaurus, Abell S1101, and RXJ1539. 5, and gathered ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) and MUSE (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) data for 12 other clusters. Those observations show clumpy, massive, and long (3−25 kpc) molecular filaments, preferentially located around the radio bubbles inflated by the AGN. Two objects show nuclear molecular disks. The optical nebula is certainly tracing the warm envelopes of cold molecular filaments. Surprisingly, the radial profile of the Hα/CO flux ratio is roughly constant for most of the objects, suggesting that (i) between 1. 2 and 6 times more cold gas could be present and (ii) local processes must be responsible for the excitation. Projected velocities are between 100 and 400 km s−1, with disturbed kinematics and sometimes coherent gradients. This is likely due to the mixing in projection of several thin (and as yet) unresolved filaments. The velocity fields may be stirred by turbulence induced by bubbles, jets, or merger-induced sloshing. Velocity and dispersions are low, below the escape velocity. Cold clouds should eventually fall back and fuel the AGN. We compare the radial extent of the filaments, rfil, with the region where the X-ray gas can become thermally unstable. The filaments are always inside the low-entropy and short-cooling-time region, where tcool/tff < 20 (9 of 13 sources). The range of tcool/tff of 8−23 at rfil, is likely due to (i) a more complex gravitational potential affecting the free-fall time tff (sloshing, mergers, etc. ) and (ii) the presence of inhomogeneities or uplifted gas in the ICM, affecting the cooling time tcool. For some of the sources, rfil lies where the ratio of the cooling time to the eddy-turnover time, tcool/teddy, is approximately unity. | [
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
3738659 | Fictionalist mathematical structuralism | Mathematics is ubiquitous throughout the sciences and in everyday language and thought. Its applications across all disciplines - science, economics, engineering, computing and more - are central to the future development of a robust, creative, and driven society. The abstract character of mathematics raises difficult philosophical questions about the nature of mathematical entities (such as numbers, functions, and sets), how we have knowledge of such entities, and how they can be applied in the real world. This research project tackles such questions by integrating two perspectives in the philosophy of mathematics, viz. ""mathematical structuralism"" and ""mathematical fictionalism"". Both structuralism and fictionalism capture important aspects of how many working mathematicians approach their practice. But in contemporary philosophy of mathematics, structuralism and fictionalism are widely thought of as presenting competing views of the nature of mathematics. In contrast, this project will develop a new theory of mathematical structure that unifies structuralism and fictionalism, thereby shifting the debate and promoting new and fruitful lines of research in the philosophy of mathematics and mathematical practice. Crucially, this research will be informed and supported by interdisciplinary discussions of mathematical practice with mathematicians, mathematical scientists, linguists who work on meaning and reference, and psychologists whose research focuses on mathematical cognition. Drawing on aspects of their research, this project will build a new and distinctive positive theory of the nature of mathematics. With this comprehensive theory established, the project will show how it can be deployed to make progress on long-standing problems in the philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of science. | [
"Texts and Concepts",
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1038/nature19310 | Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East | We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 44 ancient Near Easterners ranging in time between ∼12,000 and 1,400BC, from Natufian hunter-gatherers to Bronze Age farmers. We show that the earliest populations of the Near East derived around half their ancestry from a 'Basal Eurasian' lineage that had little if any Neanderthal admixture and that separated from other non-African lineages before their separation from each other. The first farmers of the southern Levant (Israel and Jordan) and Zagros Mountains (Iran) were strongly genetically differentiated, and each descended from local hunter-gatherers. By the time of the Bronze Age, these two populations and Anatolian-related farmers had mixed with each other and with the hunter-gatherers of Europe to greatly reduce genetic differentiation. The impact of the Near Eastern farmers extended beyond the Near East: farmers related to those of Anatolia spread westward into Europe; farmers related to those of the Levant spread southward into East Africa; farmers related to those of Iran spread northward into the Eurasian steppe; and people related to both the early farmers of Iran and to the pastoralists of the Eurasian steppe spread eastward into South Asia. | [
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
10.1038/s41586-018-0618-9 | In-plane anisotropic and ultra-low-loss polaritons in a natural van der Waals crystal | Polaritons—hybrid light–matter excitations—enable nanoscale control of light. Particularly large polariton field confinement and long lifetimes can be found in graphene and materials consisting of two-dimensional layers bound by weak van der Waals forces1,2 (vdW materials). These polaritons can be tuned by electric fields3,4 or by material thickness5, leading to applications including nanolasers6, tunable infrared and terahertz detectors7, and molecular sensors8. Polaritons with anisotropic propagation along the surface of vdW materials have been predicted, caused by in-plane anisotropic structural and electronic properties9. In such materials, elliptic and hyperbolic in-plane polariton dispersion can be expected (for example, plasmon polaritons in black phosphorus9), the latter leading to an enhanced density of optical states and ray-like directional propagation along the surface. However, observation of anisotropic polariton propagation in natural materials has so far remained elusive. Here we report anisotropic polariton propagation along the surface of α-MoO3, a natural vdW material. By infrared nano-imaging and nano-spectroscopy of semiconducting α-MoO3 flakes and disks, we visualize and verify phonon polaritons with elliptic and hyperbolic in-plane dispersion, and with wavelengths (up to 60 times smaller than the corresponding photon wavelengths) comparable to those of graphene plasmon polaritons and boron nitride phonon polaritons3–5. From signal oscillations in real-space images we measure polariton amplitude lifetimes of 8 picoseconds, which is more than ten times larger than that of graphene plasmon polaritons at room temperature10. They are also a factor of about four larger than the best values so far reported for phonon polaritons in isotopically engineered boron nitride11 and for graphene plasmon polaritons at low temperatures12. In-plane anisotropic and ultra-low-loss polaritons in vdW materials could enable directional and strong light–matter interactions, nanoscale directional energy transfer and integrated flat optics in applications ranging from bio-sensing to quantum nanophotonics. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
221513 | Slovenian centre of excellence for agricultural sciences | In Slovenia Sustainable food production and Ecology are now key priorities of all national strategies. However as a small country it faces lack of financial and human resources which are moreover dispersed along different research institutions. A justified model for governmental investment in a top research CoE is to horizontally unite the research capacities around existing infrastructure. KIS being the only public research institute in the field of agriculture with its mission and research facilities and experimental stations across Slovenia, has the potential to integrate RDI efforts in the field.
The goal of the project is to establish a Slovenian Center of Excellence in Agricultural Sciences (SLO-ACE) as a joint initiative of Agricultural Institute of Slovenia - KIS (supported by five top research Slovenian institutes) and two world-class institutes i.e. Aarhus University (AU), Denmark and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France.
The Teaming project will aim to:
• improve research and innovation performance of KIS and capacity of Slovenian agriculture to achieve a competitive position on the national, regional and global level
• increase the Slovenian scientific capabilities and enable agriculture sector to engage in a strategic growth path for economic development
• establish links with innovative clusters
• provide access to foreign knowledge flanked with technological modernizations and increased mobility of qualified scientists
The expected impact is to achieve significant improvement of research in agriculture and food and innovation culture in Slovenia and to create a development model transferable within the South East European regions. Benefits will also accrue to the partners’ institutions from the more intensive R&I performers, in terms of access to new research avenues, increased creativity and development of new approaches as basis for innovation, as well as a source for increased mobility of scientists. | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1016/j.jalgebra.2016.10.022 | On the number of simple modules in a block of a finite group | We prove that if B is a p-block with non-trivial defect group D of a finite p-solvable group G, then ℓ(B)<pr, where r is the sectional rank of D. We remark that there are infinitely many p-blocks B with non-Abelian defect groups and ℓ(B)=pr−1. We conjecture that the inequality ℓ(B)≤pr holds for an arbitrary p-block with defect group of sectional rank r. We show this to hold for a large class of p-blocks of various families of quasi-simple and nearly simple groups. | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
637618 | The Quantum Geometric Langlands Topological Field Theory | We will use modern techniques in derived algebraic geometry, topological field theory and quantum groups to construct quantizations of character varieties, moduli spaces parameterizing G-bundles with flat connection on a surface. We will leverage our construction to shine new light on the geometric representation theory of quantum groups and double affine Hecke algebras (DAHA's), and to produce new invariants of knots and 3-manifolds.
Our previous research has uncovered strong evidence for the existence of a novel construction of quantum differential operators -- and their extension to higher genus surfaces -- in terms of a four-dimensional topological field theory, which we have dubbed the Quantum Geometric Langlands (QGL) theory. By construction, the QGL theory of a surface yields a quantization of its character variety; quantum differential operators form just the first interesting example. We thus propose the following long-term projects:
1. Build higher genus analogs of DAHA's, equipped with mapping class group actions -- thereby solving a long open problem -- by computing QGL theory of arbitrary surfaces; recover quantum differential operators and the (non-degenerate, spherical) DAHA of G, respectively, from the once-punctured and closed two-torus.
2. Obtain a unified construction of both the quantized A-polynomial and the Oblomkov-Rasmussen-Shende invariants, two celebrated -- and previously unrelated -- conjectural knot invariants which have received a great deal of attention.
3. By studying special features of our construction when the quantization parameter is a root of unity, realize the Verlinde algebra as a module over the DAHA, shedding new light on fundamental results of Cherednik and Witten.
4. Develop genus one, and higher, quantum Springer theory -- a geometric approach to constructing representations of quantum algebras -- with deep connections to rational and elliptic Springer theory, and geometric Langlands program. | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1016/j.bbamem.2010.06.019 | Structure of reconstituted bacterial membrane efflux pump by cryo-electron tomography | Complexes of OprM and MexA, two proteins of the MexA-MexB-OprM multidrug efflux pump from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic Gram-negative bacterium, were reconstituted into proteoliposomes by detergent removal. Stacks of protein layers with a constant height of 21. nm, separated by lipid bilayers, were obtained at stoichiometry of 1:1 (w/w). Using cryo-electron microscopy and tomography, we showed that these protein layers were composed of MexA-OprM complexes self-assembled into regular arrays. Image processing of extracted sub-tomograms depicted the architecture of the bipartite complex sandwiched between two lipid bilayers, representing an environment close to that of the native whole pump (i. e. anchored between outer and inner membranes of P. aeruginosa). The MexA-OprM complex appeared as a cylindrical structure in which we were able to identify the OprM molecule and the MexA moiety. MexA molecules have a cylindrical shape prolonging the periplasmic helices of OprM, and widening near the lipid bilayer. The flared part is likely composed of two MexA domains adjacent to the lipid bilayer, although their precise organization was not reachable mainly due to their flexibility. Moreover, the intermembrane distance of 21. nm indicated that the height of the bipartite complex is larger than that of the tripartite AcrA-AcrB-TolC built-up model in which TolC and AcrB are docked into contact. We proposed a model of MexA-OprM taking into account features of previous models based on AcrA-AcrB-TolC and our structural results providing clues to a possible mechanism of tripartite system assembly. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1145/2638546 | Query Rewriting And Optimization For Ontological Databases | Ontological queries are evaluated against a knowledge base consisting of an extensional database and an ontology (i. e. , a set of logical assertions and constraints that derive new intensional knowledge from the extensional database), rather than directly on the extensional database. The evaluation and optimization of such queries is an intriguing new problem for database research. In this article, we discuss two important aspects of this problem: query rewriting and query optimization. Query rewriting consists of the compilation of an ontological query into an equivalent first-order query against the underlying extensional database. We present a novel query rewriting algorithm for rather general types of ontological constraints that is well suited for practical implementations. In particular, we show how a conjunctive query against a knowledge base, expressed using linear and sticky existential rules, that is, members of the recently introduced Datalog± family of ontology languages, can be compiled into a union of conjunctive queries (UCQ) against the underlying database. Ontological query optimization, in this context, attempts to improve this rewriting process soas to produce possibly small and cost-effective UCQ rewritings for an input query. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1038/s41586-020-2702-1 | The calcium-permeable channel OSCA1.3 regulates plant stomatal immunity | Perception of biotic and abiotic stresses often leads to stomatal closure in plants1,2. Rapid influx of calcium ions (Ca2+) across the plasma membrane has an important role in this response, but the identity of the Ca2+ channels involved has remained elusive3,4. Here we report that the Arabidopsis thaliana Ca2+-permeable channel OSCA1. 3 controls stomatal closure during immune signalling. OSCA1. 3 is rapidly phosphorylated upon perception of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Biochemical and quantitative phosphoproteomics analyses reveal that the immune receptor-associated cytosolic kinase BIK1 interacts with and phosphorylates the N-terminal cytosolic loop of OSCA1. 3 within minutes of treatment with the peptidic PAMP flg22, which is derived from bacterial flagellin. Genetic and electrophysiological data reveal that OSCA1. 3 is permeable to Ca2+, and that BIK1-mediated phosphorylation on its N terminus increases this channel activity. Notably, OSCA1. 3 and its phosphorylation by BIK1 are critical for stomatal closure during immune signalling, and OSCA1. 3 does not regulate stomatal closure upon perception of abscisic acid—a plant hormone associated with abiotic stresses. This study thus identifies a plant Ca2+ channel and its activation mechanisms underlying stomatal closure during immune signalling, and suggests specificity in Ca2+ influx mechanisms in response to different stresses. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1063/1.4983221 | Communication Mean Field Theory Of Water Water Correlations In Electrolyte Solutions | Long-range ion induced water-water correlations were recently observed in femtosecond elastic second harmonic scattering experiments of electrolyte solutions. To further the qualitative understanding of these correlations, we derive an analytical expression that quantifies ion induced dipole-dipole correlations in a non-interacting gas of dipoles. This model is a logical extension of the Debye-Huckel theory that can be used to qualitatively understand how the combined electric field of the ions induces correlations in the orientational distributions of the water molecules in an aqueous solution. The model agrees with the results from molecular dynamics simulations and provides an important starting point for further theoretical work. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
EP 0212364 W | SOLID, STABILIZED, PROMPT- AND/OR MODIFIED-RELEASE THERAPEUTICAL SYSTEMS FOR THE ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF LIQUID ACTIVE PRINCIPLES, EXCIPIENTS OR FOODSTUFFS | A process for the formulation of liquid active ingredients in solid pharmaceutical, dietetic or alimentary compositions. The process comprises adding the active ingredients to a molten mass consisting of amphiphilic compounds with melting or softening point ranging from 30 DEG C to 60 DEG C and/or by lipophilic compounds with melting point ranging from 40 DEG C to 90 DEG C, and optionally adding powder active pharmaceuticals ingredients or excipients, then formulating the final compositions. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
Q4585515 | Digitalização e robotização da produção de engenharia dentro da empresa Korino Industry, spol.s r.o. | A empresa Korino Industry, spol. s r.o. quer se concentrar em usinagem, serralheiro e ferramentas. A fim de manter e reforçar ainda mais a competitividade, a empresa deve desenvolver, modernizar e melhorar constantemente os processos de produção. Como parte do desenvolvimento da empresa, a ênfase é colocada no desenvolvimento da digitalização e da robotização, que também é seguida por este projeto, que pretende desenvolver nesta área. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
CL 2009000022 W | SONOELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESSING OF METAL SULPHIDE CONCENTRATES | Process for the treatment of concentrates of copper sulphurates such as chalcopyrite realised in a cell formed by walls and a floor having in the interior thereof at least two chambers, a first anodic chamber having an anode and a first membrane, a second cathodic chamber having a cathode and a second membrane, wherein said process comprises the following stages: a) preparation of the electrolyte outside said chambers by a combination of sulphuric and hydrochloric acids with water; b) charging the first anodic chamber and second cathodic chamber with the electrolyte prepared in stage a); c) charging the concentrate of copper sulphides into the anodic chamber; d) stirring the anolyte mixed with the chalcopyrite; e) connecting the electrodes of the cell to the source of electric energy to generate chlorine at the anode; f1) generation of ultrasonic waves in the anodic chamber to destroy the layer of sulphur covering the particles of chalcopyrite, significantly improving the rate of lixiviation; f2) simultaneously in the cathodic chamber, electrodeposition of metallic copper from the copper lixiviated in the anodic chamber; g) adjustment of the electric potential of the cell to produce deposition of the copper, preventing some undesirable reduction reactions of other ionic species present in the solution; h) adjustment of the temperature to approximately 50°C; i) continually feeding the anolyte of the cell with concentrate of copper sulphides and water such as to continually generate the species HCl, H2SO4, FeSO4 and CuSO4, all thereof existing dissolved in ionic form; and j) continuous removal of catholyte solution from the cathodic chamber. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1039/C6DT02177H | Design And Synthesis Of Novel Organometallic Dyes For Nio Sensitization And Photo Electrochemical Applications | Two metallo-organic dyes were synthesized and used for NiO sensitization in view of their photoelectrochemical applications. The new dyes present an original π-conjugated structure containing the [Ru(dppe)2] metal fragment with a highly delocalized allenylidene ligand on one side and a σ-alkynyl ligand bearing an electron-rich group, i. e. a thiophene or triphenylamine unit, and one or two anchoring functions on the other side. The optoelectronic, electrochemical and photoelectrochemical properties of the dyes were systematically investigated. A broad photoresponse was observed with the absorption maximum at 600 nm. The X-ray crystal structure of one precursor was obtained to elucidate the structural conformation of the organometallic complexes and theoretical calculations were performed in order to address the photophysical properties of the new dyes. These photosensitizers were further implemented in NiO-based photocathodes and tested as photocurrent generators under pertinent aqueous conditions in association with [Co(NH3)5Cl]Cl2 as an irreversible electron acceptor. The dye-sensitized photocathodes provided good photocurrent densities (40 to 60 μA cm(-2)) at neutral pH in phosphate buffer and a high stability was observed for the two dyes. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1039/C8SC03831G | A Computationally Designed Binding Mode Flip Leads To A Novel Class Of Potent Tri Vector Cyclophilin Inhibitors | Cyclophilins (Cyps) are a major family of drug targets that are challenging to prosecute with small molecules because the shallow nature and high degree of conservation of the active site across human isoforms offers limited opportunities for potent and selective inhibition. Herein a computational approach based on molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations was combined with biophysical assays and X-ray crystallography to explore a flip in the binding mode of a reported urea-based Cyp inhibitor. This approach enabled access to a distal pocket that is poorly conserved among key Cyp isoforms, and led to the discovery of a new family of sub-micromolar cell-active inhibitors that offer unprecedented opportunities for the development of next-generation drug therapies based on Cyp inhibition. The computational approach is applicable to a broad range of organic functional groups and could prove widely enabling in molecular design. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
10.1109/PEDG.2012.6254087 | A Composite Passive Damping Method Of The Llcl Filter Based Grid Tied Inverter | This paper investigates the maximum and the minimum gain of the proportional resonant based grid current controller for a grid-tied inverter with a passive damped high-order power filter. It is found that the choice of the controller gain is limited to the local maximum amplitude determined by Q-factor around the characteristic frequency of the filter and grid impedance. To obtain the Q-factor of a high-order system, an equivalent circuit analysis method is proposed and illustrated through several classical passive damped LCL- and LLCL-filters. It is shown that both the RC parallel damper that is in parallel with the capacitor of the LCL-filter or with the L f -C f resonant circuit of the LLCL-filter, and the RL series damper in series with the grid-side inductor have their own application limits. Thus, a composite passive damped LLCL-filter for the grid-tied inverter is proposed, which can effectively suppress the possible resonance in case that the grid impedance varies in a wide range. Simulation results are good agreement with the theoretical analysis. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1371/journal.pone.0150251 | Analysis of transcriptional signatures in response to listeria monocytogenes infection reveals temporal changes that result from type i interferon signaling | Analysis of the mouse transcriptional response to Listeria monocytogenes infection reveals that a large set of genes are perturbed in both blood and tissue and that these transcriptional responses are enriched for pathways of the immune response. Further we identified enrichment for both type I and type II interferon (IFN) signaling molecules in the blood and tissues upon infection. Since type I IFN signaling has been reported widely to impair bacterial clearance we examined gene expression from blood and tissues of wild type (WT) and type I IFNαβ receptor-deficient (Ifnar1-/-) mice at the basal level and upon infection with L. monocytogenes. Measurement of the fold change response upon infection in the absence of type I IFN signaling demonstrated an upregulation of specific genes at day 1 post infection. A less marked reduction of the global gene expression signature in blood or tissues from infected Ifnar1-/- as compared toWT mice was observed at days 2 and 3 after infection, with marked reduction in key genes such as Oasg1 and Stat2. Moreover, on in depth analysis, changes in gene expression in uninfected mice of key IFN regulatory genes including Irf9, Irf7, Stat1 and others were identified, and although induced by an equivalent degree upon infection this resulted in significantly lower final gene expression levels upon infection of Ifnar1-/-mice. These data highlight how dysregulation of this network in the steady state and temporally upon infection may determine the outcome of this bacterial infection and how basal levels of type I IFN-inducible genes may perturb an optimal host immune response to control intracellular bacterial infections such as L. monocytogenes. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1038/onc.2014.163 | Src kinase function controls progenitor cell pools during regeneration and tumor onset in the Drosophila intestine | Src non-receptor kinases have been implicated in events late in tumor progression. Here, we study the role of Src kinases in the Drosophila intestinal stem cell (ISC) lineage, during tissue homeostasis and tumor onset. The adult Drosophila intestine contains only two progenitor cell types, division-capable ISCs and their daughters, postmitotic enteroblasts (EBs). We found that Drosophila Src42a and Src64b were required for optimal regenerative ISC division. Conversely, activation of Src42a, Src64b or another non-receptor kinase, Ack, promoted division of quiescent ISCs by coordinately stimulating G1/S and G2/M cell cycle phase progression. Prolonged Src kinase activation caused tissue overgrowth owing to cytokine receptor-independent Stat92E activation. This was not due to increased symmetric division of ISCs, but involved accumulation of weakly specified Notch + but division-capable EB-like cells. Src activation triggered expression of a mitogenic module consisting of String/Cdc25 and Cyclin E that was sufficient to elicit division not only of ISCs but also of EBs. A small pool of similarly division-capable transit-amplifying Notch + EBs was also identified in the wild type. Expansion of intermediate cell types that do not robustly manifest their transit-amplifying potential in the wild type may also contribute to regenerative growth and tumor development in other tissues in other organisms. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
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