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W2576911052 | Analyzing the constraints to private investment in manufacturing industry | This paper identifiesthe main impediments to investment and industrial productivity, which have ledto a decline in growth. This is done by analyzing the impediments andconstraints to productivity and investment using the World Bank’s 2007Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) data at the seven of level main industrialzones. An inadequate workforce, access to raw materials, and corruption wereranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. Will a market economy alwayssupply funds for profitable investment projects?The answer to this question isimportant for policy makers seeking economic efficiency at the micro level, andfor our understanding of the business cycle at the macro level. The purpose ofthis paper is to investigate the presence and the economic importance of creditmarket imperfections within a structural model of firm investment. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
US 201916501299 V | Vaccinium plant named ‘Hoogi045’ | A new cultivar of Vaccinium plant, ‘Hoogi045’, that is characterized by its young foliage that is variegated bright pink, salmon pink and green when young and variegated with creamy white and green when mature, its abundant berries that are that are sweet in taste. | [
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
]
|
757535 | A new vantage point on how gas flows regulate the build-up of galaxies in the early universe | Galaxies reside within a web of gas that feeds the formation of new stars. Following star formation, galaxies eject some of their gas reservoir back into this cosmic web. This proposal addresses the fundamental questions of how these inflows and outflows regulate the evolution of galaxies. My research team will tackle two key problems: 1) how gas accretion regulates the build-up of galaxies; 2) how efficiently outflows are in removing gas from star-forming regions. To characterise these flows across five billion years of cosmic history, we will pursue cutting-edge research on the halo gas, which is the material around the central galaxies, within dark matter halos. We will focus on scales ranging from a few kiloparsecs, where outflows originate, up to hundreds of kiloparsecs from galaxies, where inflows and outflows have visible impacts on halos. We will attack this problem using both simulations and observations with the largest telescopes on the ground and in space. With novel applications of absorption spectroscopy, we will gain a new vantage point on the astrophysics of these gas flows. Exploiting unprecedented datasets that I am currently assembling thanks to ground-breaking developments in instrumentation, we will directly connect the properties of halo gas to those of the central galaxies, investigating the impact that the baryonic processes probed in absorption have on galaxies seen in emission. In parallel, using new hydrodynamic simulations and radiative transfer calculations, we will go beyond present state-of-the-art methodologies to unveil the theory behind the origin of these gas flows, a crucial aspect to decode the physics probed by our observations. As a result of this powerful synergy between observations and simulations, this programme will provide the most advanced analysis of the impact that inflows and outflows have on galaxy evolution, shaping the direction of future work at 40m telescopes and the next generation of cosmological simulations. | [
"Universe Sciences",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1016/j.jaerosci.2011.11.005 | Aggregate morphology evolution by sintering: Number and diameter of primary particles | The structure of fractal-like agglomerates (physically bonded) and aggregates (chemically or sinter-bonded) is important in aerosol synthesis of nanoparticles, and in monitoring combustion emissions and atmospheric particles. It also influences particle mobility, scattering and eventually performance of nanocomposites, suspensions and devices made with such particles. Here, aggregate sintering by viscous flow of amorphous materials (silica, polymers) and grain boundary diffusion of crystalline ceramics (titania, alumina) or metals (Ni, Fe, Ag, etc. ) is investigated. A scaling law is found between average aggregate projected area and equivalent number of constituent primary particles during sintering: from fractal-like agglomerates to aggregates and eventually compact particles (e. g. spheres). This is essentially a relation independent of time, material properties and sintering mechanisms. It is used to estimate the equivalent primary particle diameter and number in aggregates. The evolution of aggregate morphology or structure is quantified by the effective fractal dimension (Df) and mass-mobility exponent (Dfm) and the corresponding prefactors. The Dfm increases monotonically during sintering converging to 3 for a compact particle. Therefore Dfm and its prefactor could be used to gage the degree or extent of sintering of agglomerates made by a known collision mechanism. This analysis is exemplified by comparison to experiments of silver nanoparticle aggregates sintered at different temperatures in an electric tube furnace. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
W1602015008 | More than a Caretaker: The Economic Policy of Gerald R. Ford | The reactions of politicians and the media to the death of Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth president of the United States, were almost universal in their predictability. Terms such as accidental or caretaker president were widespread, while agreed with President George W. Bush that, For a nation that needed healing and for an that needed a calm and steady hand, Gerald Ford came along when we needed him most (Bush 2006). Though much has been made of Ford's integrity and honesty, there has been little discussion of his significance in terms of policy or even his legacy. But, as Fred Greenstein has argued, Presidents and presidential advisers who dismiss the Ford experience will miss out on a rich set of precedents about how to manage the presidency. More fundamentally, they will fail to take account of the personal strengths of a chief executive who had an impressive capacity to withstand the pressures of office (2000, 193). No more so was this true than with regard to economic policy. This paper examines the Ford administration's reaction to the deepening recession of the mid-1970s and the unprecedented challenges of stagflation. This includes an analysis of the decision-making process within the White House, the administration's relationship with Congress, and the abandonment of almost 40 years of Keynesian orthodoxy that would see President Ford introduce a new conservative economic agenda as he sought to adapt traditional Republican economics to deal with new economic circumstances. Most studies of post-World War II economic policy in America have defined a number of key stages in the development of the political economy, beginning with President Franklin D. Roosevelt (see., e.g., Hibbs 1987; Morgan 1995; Stein 1994; Spulber 1989). The Roosevelt presidency is significant because of its response to the Great Depression, which dramatically increased the role of the federal government in the management of the American economy as it sought to reverse the waste of human and material resources by deliberately creating an expansion of output, employment, investment and consumption. A major factor in Roosevelt's approach was the theories of British economist John Maynard Keynes, and particularly his General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, written in 1936. (1) Keynes rejected the classical nineteenth-century laissez-faire notion of a self-adjusting economy and argued that government had to intervene to correct market problems by manipulating aggregate demand to prevent unemployment and inflation. As economist Herbert Stein noted, Keynes influenced politicians, economists, and intellectuals, as his theory appeared to offer the promise of economic prosperity and growth. This helped make expansionist fiscal policy the basis of an economic consensus that would last for 40 years. This was institutionalized and supported by the 1946 Employment Act, which committed future governments to seek maximum employment. Observed Stein, Without Keynes, and especially the interpretation of Keynes by his followers, expansionist fiscal policy might have remained an occasional emergency measure and not become a way of life (1994, 39). From 1945 through the early 1970s, the U.S. economy enjoyed international preeminence, and economic policy generally was successful at maintaining a strong growth rate, high employment, and low inflation. Such was the apparent success of Keynesianism that by the 1960s, economists and politicians alike believed that the economy could be fine-tuned to eradicate economic imbalances and make the business cycle obsolete (for insightful comments on this era, see, e.g., Okun 1970; Stein 1994; Tobin 1974). By the early 1970s, however, increasing competition from abroad, the economic consequences of the Vietnam War and the Great Society, and the oil price inflation that followed the OPEC price hike of 1973 had severely weakened the economy. The postwar dominance of Keynesianism began to be undermined by slow growth and the emergence of stagflation, which simultaneously produced unprecedented high inflation and rising unemployment. … | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
219107 | Intelligent gearbox for endurance advanced rotorcraft | The ultimate goal of the iGear (Intelligent Gearbox for Endurance Advanced Rotorcraft) project is the development of an on-the-fly Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). This innovative system will be applied to the lateral rotor gearboxes and engine to main gearbox reduction stages, in the framework of LifeRCraft demonstrator for the Fast Rotorcraft IADP. This topic is of high importance in order to promote enabling technologies for next generation gearboxes comprising new materials, namely composite or ceramic.
The primary objective of the iGear proposal is to assess technologies suitable to characterize health monitoring condition of gearboxes, mainly by enabling the provision of the localization and early detection of gearing and bearing failure. The ultimate goal is the early detection of on-going failures to allow for prompt maintenance or part replacement. This project inherits significant knowledge and developments made by Active Space Technologies and Cranfield University during former or ongoing research activities related to solutions performing in harsh environments, namely accelerometers, temperature detectors, and acoustic emission sensors.
In this project we will need an innovative approach to the use of ceramic ball bearings for the high speed shaft. The combination of vibration, oil analysis, among other technologies, will be used for both the Lateral Rotor Gearboxes and the Engine to Main Gearbox reduction stages. The key innovation we propose is the use of data fusion across condition indicators (Cis) to increase the robustness of diagnosis. We will seek to avoid excessive computation while maintaining traceability to acceptable rule-based diagnosis and probability, e.g. by adopting fuzzy logic for signal fusion. We will also examine the effectiveness of a system oriented approach, seeking to understand the sensitivities around the health state transitions, which must be transmitted to the user rather than solely focussing on damage measurements. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
W1978660457 | Towards integrating the detection of genetic variants into an in-memory database | Next-generation sequencing enables whole genome sequencing within a few hours at a minimum of cost, entailing advanced medical applications such as personalized treatments. However, this recent technology imposes new challenges to alignment and variant calling as subsequent analysis steps. Compared to former sequencing, both must deal with an increasing amount of data to process at a significantly lower data quality — and are currently not capable of that. In this work, we focus on addressing these challenges for identifying Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, i.e. SNP calling, in genome data as one subtask of variant calling. We propose the application of a column-store in-memory database for efficient data processing and apply the statistical model that is provided by the Genome Analysis Toolkit's UnifiedGenotyper. Comparisons with the UnifiedGenotyper show that our approach can exploit all computational resources available and accelerates SNP calling up to a factor of 22x. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
10.1002/jcc.23756 | Molecular dynamics simulation of configurational ensembles compatible with experimental FRET efficiency data through a restraint on instantaneous FRET efficiencies | Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements are widely used to investigate (bio)molecular interactions or/and association. FRET efficiencies, the primary data obtained from this method, give, in combination with the common assumption of isotropic chromophore orientation, detailed insight into the lengthscale of molecular phenomena. This study illustrates the application of a FRET efficiency restraint during classical atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of a mutant mastoparan X peptide in either water or 7 M aqueous urea. The restraint forces acting on the donor and acceptor chromophores ensure that the sampled peptide configurational ensemble satisfies the experimental primary data by modifying interchromophore separation and chromophore transition dipole moment orientations. By means of a conformational cluster analysis, it is seen that indeed different configurational ensembles may be sampled without and with application of the restraint. In particular, while the FRET efficiency and interchromophore distances monitored in an unrestrained simulation may differ from the experimentally-determined values, they can be brought in agreement with experimental data through usage of the FRET efficiency restraining potential. Furthermore, the present results suggest that the assumption of isotropic chromophore orientation is not always justified. The FRET efficiency restraint allows the generation of configurational ensembles that may not be accessible with unrestrained simulations, and thereby supports a meaningful interpretation of experimental FRET results in terms of the underlying molecular degrees of freedom. Thus, it offers an additional tool to connect the realms of computer and wet-lab experimentation. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1016/j.apcata.2013.10.013 | Comparison of flame-made rhodium on Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> or Ce <inf>0.5</inf>Zr<inf>0.5</inf>O<inf>2</inf> supports for the partial oxidation of methane | Catalytic partial oxidation of methane (CPOM) was investigated for rhodium supported on Al2O3 or on Ce0. 5Zr 0. 5O2. The catalysts were synthesized by flame spray pyrolysis and characterized by nitrogen adsorption, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). The Rh/Al2O3 catalysts exhibited an enhanced and stable CPOM activity compared to Rh/Ce0. 5Zr0. 5O2. Syngas formation was promoted for 0. 5 wt% Rh on Al2O3 close to the calculated thermodynamic equilibrium, outperforming 1 wt% Rh/Ce 0. 5Zr0. 5O2 in the temperature range 525-750 C. A proposed mechanism of the effect of support on Rh activity is discussed in terms of oxygen transport capacity of the support materials. Further, high oxygen concentrations showed that Al2O3 is a better support compared to Ce0. 5Zr0. 5O2. This could be attributed to the fact that the Al2O3 support inhibits Rh oxidation and therefore allows the presence of Rh in its metallic state, which is preferable for high syngas formation. After thermal treatment of the catalysts, the catalytic effectiveness of Rh was more than 5 times higher for Al2O3 than for Ce0. 5Zr0. 5O 2 supports. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
W2001670255 | An Efficient Multiple-Loop Sensor Configuration Applicable for Undisciplined Traffic | This paper presents an effective multiple-inductive-loop pattern suitable for heterogeneous and less lane-disciplined traffic and its performance evaluation. Vehicle detection system based on conventional inductive loops works well only for lane-based and homogeneous traffic. A multiple-loop system for sensing vehicles in a heterogeneous and less lane-disciplined condition has been reported recently. The scheme proposed in this paper employs a new configuration, where all the loops are connected in series, which considerably reduces the system complexity and improves reliability. Each loop has a unique resonance frequency and the excitation source given to the loops is programmed to have frequency components covering all the loop resonance frequencies. When a vehicle goes over a loop, the corresponding inductance and resonance frequency will change. The shift in frequency or its effect in any/every loop can be simultaneously monitored, and the vehicles can be detected and identified as a bicycle, a motorcycle, a car, a bus, etc., based on the signature. Another advantage of this scheme is that the loops are in parallel resonance; hence, the power drawn from the source will be minimal. A prototype multiple-loop system has been built and tested based on the proposed scheme. The developed system detected, classified, and counted vehicles accurately. Moreover, the system also computes and provides the speed of the vehicle detected using a single set of multiple loops. The accuracy of the speed measurement has been compared with actual values and found to be accurate and can be used for real-time intelligent transportation system (ITS) applications under heterogeneous and less lane-disciplined (e.g., Indian) conditions. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.5751/ES-08490-210252 | Hydrological And Economic Effects Of Oil Palm Cultivation In Indonesian Peatlands | Oil palm has increasingly been established on peatlands throughout Indonesia. One of the concerns is that the drainage required for cultivating oil palm in peatlands leads to soil subsidence, potentially increasing future flood risks. This study analyzes the hydrological and economic effects of oil palm production in a peat landscape in Central Kalimantan. We examine two land use scenarios, one involving conversion of the complete landscape including a large peat area to oil palm plantations, and another involving mixed land use including oil palm plantations, jelutung (jungle rubber; (Dyera spp. ) plantations, and natural forest. The hydrological effect was analyzed through flood risk modeling using a high-resolution digital elevation model. For the economic analysis, we analyzed four ecosystem services: oil palm production, jelutung production, carbon sequestration, and orangutan habitat. This study shows that after 100 years, in the oil palm scenario, about 67% of peat in the study area will be subject to regular flooding. The flood-prone area will be unsuitable for oil palm and other crops requiring drained soils. The oil palm scenario is the most profitable only in the short term and when the externalities of oil palm production, i. e. , the costs of CO2emissions, are not considered. In the examined scenarios, the social costs of carbon emissions exceed the private benefits from oil palm plantations in peat. Depending upon the local hydrology, income from jelutung, which can sustainably be grown in undrained conditions and does not lead to soil subsidence, outweighs that from oil palm after several decades. These findings illustrate the trade-offs faced at present in Indonesian peatland management and point to economic advantages of an approach that involves expansion of oil palm on mineral lands while conserving natural peat forests and using degraded peat for crops that do not require drainage. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.108423 | Using extracellular low frequency signals to improve the spike sorting of cerebellar complex spikes | Background: The challenge of spike sorting has been addressed by numerous electrophysiological studies. These methods tend to focus on the information conveyed by the high frequencies, but ignore the potentially informative signals at lower frequencies. Activation of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum by input from the climbing fibers results in a large amplitude dendritic spike concurrent with a high-frequency burst known as a complex spike. Due to the variability in the high-frequency component of complex spikes, previous methods have struggled to sort these complex spikes in an accurate and reliable way. However, complex spikes have a prominent extracellular low-frequency signal generated by the input from the climbing fibers, which can be exploited for complex spike sorting. New method: We exploited the low-frequency signal (20–400 Hz) to improve complex spike sorting by applying Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Results and comparisons: The low-frequency first PC achieves a better separation of the complex spikes from noise. The low-frequency data facilitate the detection of events entering into the analysis, and therefore can be harnessed to analyze the data with a larger signal to noise ratio. These advantages make this method more effective for complex spike sorting than methods restricted to the high-frequency signal (> 600 Hz). Conclusions: Gathering low frequency data can improve spike sorting. This is illustrated for the case of complex spikes in the cerebellum. Our characterization of the dendritic low-frequency components of complex spikes can be applied elsewhere to gain insights into processing in the cerebellum. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
173579 | St. bernard - emergency eeg and auditory evoked potentials for earlier diagnostics and treatment planning of unconscious patients | An ambulance crew is dispatched to help an unconscious man lying in the street. Is he having a stroke? Is he haemorrhaging in the brain? Has he hit his head? Is he an epileptic? Should the crew start thrombolytic treatment, stabilize the patient or give benzodiazepine? What next? These decisions need to be made every minute, every day around the world by first aid response units.
Brain-related injuries and dysfunctions cause high costs to society. The earlier the patient can be diagnosed, the more optimised the treatment path is, and the treatment outcome improves. All this saves money and time in one of the most expensive treatments and rehabilitation.
Mega Electronics has developed a solution for emergency brain (EEG) monitoring and plans to develop it into a new business concept. The concept allows easy-to-use, sub-hairline emergency EEG and auditory evoked potential (AEP) recordings and continuous monitoring during the entire patient care chain from emergency scene to hospital.
The recorded EEG signals (and biomarkers extracted from them) can be visualized and monitored both locally and remotely, even during medical imaging. Previous studies have proven excellent signal quality. Future challenges lie in expanding the signal information content while maintaining ease-of-use for emergency situations and in inclusion of AEP monitoring.
The product consists of an innovative, easy-to-use electrode strip, wireless transmission module and a remote monitoring system. No equivalent solutions are in the market yet. Users are medical professionals working in ambulances, hospitals and health care centres.
Feasibility assessment (phase 1) will develop the business concept, study the benefits of AEPs in emergency medicine, plan the technical modifications needed to current products, plan the validation measurements (for phase 2) and assess the risks of the system. Mega has a dealer network of 32 companies covering all continents and can start sales right away. | [
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1093/femsec/fiy088 | Stable isotope probing of hypoxic toluene degradation at the Siklós aquifer reveals prominent role of Rhodocyclaceae | The availability of oxygen is often a limiting factor for the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons in subsurface environments. However, while both aerobic and anaerobic degraders have been intensively studied, degradation betwixt, under micro- or hypoxic conditions has rarely been addressed. It is speculated that in environments with limited, but sustained oxygen supply, such as in the vicinity of groundwater monitoring wells, hypoxic degradation may take place. A large diversity of subfamily I. 2. C extradiol dioxygenase genes has been previously detected in a BTEX-contaminated aquifer in Hungary. Older literature suggests that such catabolic potentials could be associated to hypoxic degradation. Bacterial communities dominated by members of the Rhodocyclaceae were found, but the majority of the detected C23O genotypes could not be affiliated to any known bacterial degrader lineages. To address this, a stable isotope probing (SIP) incubation of site sediments with 13C7-toluene was performed under microoxic conditions. A combination of 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and T-RFLP fingerprinting of C23O genes from SIP gradient fractions revealed the central role of degraders within the Rhodocyclaceae in hypoxic toluene degradation. The main assimilators of 13C were identified as members of the genera Quatrionicoccus and Zoogloea, and a yet uncultured group of the Rhodocyclaceae. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering"
]
|
10.1016/j.dnarep.2015.04.022 | Chromatin plasticity in response to DNA damage: The shape of things to come | DNA damage poses a major threat to cell function and viability by compromising both genome and epigenome integrity. The DNA damage response indeed operates in the context of chromatin and relies on dynamic changes in chromatin organization. Here, we review the molecular bases of chromatin alterations in response to DNA damage, focusing on core histone mobilization in mammalian cells. Building on our current view of nucleosome dynamics in response to DNA damage, we highlight open challenges and avenues for future development. In particular, we discuss the different levels of regulation of chromatin plasticity during the DNA damage response and their potential impact on cell function and epigenome maintenance. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
10.1007/978-3-319-10404-1_79 | Learning Fully Connected Crfs For Blood Vessel Segmentation In Retinal Images | In this work, we present a novel method for blood vessel segmentation in fundus images based on a discriminatively trained, fully connected conditional random field model. Retinal image analysis is greatly aided by blood vessel segmentation as the vessel structure may be considered both a key source of signal, e. g. in the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, or a nuisance, e. g. in the analysis of pigment epithelium or choroid related abnormalities. Blood vessel segmentation in fundus images has been considered extensively in the literature, but remains a challenge largely due to the desired structures being thin and elongated, a setting that performs particularly poorly using standard segmentation priors such as a Potts model or total variation. In this work, we overcome this difficulty using a discriminatively trained conditional random field model with more expressive potentials. In particular, we employ recent results enabling extremely fast inference in a fully connected model. We find that this rich but computationally efficient model family, combined with principled discriminative training based on a structured output support vector machine yields a fully automated system that achieves results statistically indistinguishable from an expert human annotator. Implementation details are available at http://pages. saclay. inria. fr/ matthew. blaschko/projects/retina/. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
Q4938465 | (16807.19102018.132000655) MONTICELLI DIGITAL INNOVATION | THE MONTICELLI DIGITAL INNOVATION PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP:1) THE IMPLEMENTATION OF APPROPRIATE METHODOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LEAN APPLICATIONS AT THE LEVEL OF PRODUCTION SYSTEM 4.0 AND SPECIFICATIONS OF THE VARIOUS COMPANY OPERATIONS INVOLVED SUCH AS, FOR EXAMPLE:- TPM OR TOTAL PRODUCTIVE MAINTENANCE (MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE);- THE SMED OR SINGLE MINUTE EXCHANGE OF DIE (REDUCTION OF EQUIPMENT TIMES);- THE 6 SIGMA (QUALITY MANAGEMENT? INDUSTRIAL);- THE KANBAN MATERIAL FLOW CONTROL SYSTEM (PROGRAMMING AND CONTROL OF PRODUCTION).2) THE DEVELOPMENT OF? IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF PROCESSES IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THOSE THAT NEED INNOVATION.A CAREFUL CHOICE OF PROCESSES TO BE INNOVATED SHOULD BE MADE FOLLOWING THE FOLLOWING PATH: 1. IDENTIFY THE MAIN PROCESSES BY ENUMERATING THEM;2. DETERMINING AND CLASSIFYING THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF THE VARIOUS PROCESSES;3. VERIFYING THE STATE OF EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY OF INDIVIDUAL PROCESSES EXAMINES | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1039/9781849737241-00183 | Chapter 7 Electric Dipole Moments Of Small Polyatomic Molecules From First Principles | Accurate information on the electric dipole moment is an important prerequisite for simulations of molecular spectra. Modern electronic structure methods have the potential for producing intensities competitive with, and often more accurate than, laboratory intensity measurements even when they are available. Interpolation between geometries to create dipole moment surfaces is a part of such calculations. The intensities are generally sensitive to the way interpolation is done, especially in case of the high overtones. This review presents a catalogue of ab initio electric dipole functions of small polyatomic molecules for intensity and opacity applications. The examples of such applications are also given. The goal of the review is to provide an extensive picture of the electric dipole moments existing in the literature along with a compilation of useful data. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
]
|
10.1029/2008JD010663 | Aerosol Particle Dry Deposition To Canopy And Forest Floor Measured By Two Layer Eddy Covariance System | [1] We present, to our knowledge for the first time, results from subcanopy (forest trunk space) aerosol flux measurements with the eddy covariance (EC) technique. The measurements were performed at the SMEAR II measurement station located in a Scots pine forest in southern Finland during spring 2003 when the ground was snow covered and in situ biogenic particle formation took place almost every day. Spectral analysis showed that the EC method can be applied to estimate subcanopy aerosol fluxes and thereby ground deposition in a forest. By using the two-layer EC measurements we were able to investigate the fraction of the total aerosol deposition taking place in the canopy and on the forest floor. We found that the ratio of subcanopy to above-canopy flux is dependent on the strength of turbulence. When the friction velocity was low (u* 1. 0 m s−1) the ground deposition contributed only around 10% to the total deposition. Thus, it seems that increased turbulence enhances the importance of the canopy for aerosol deposition and the relative importance of the forest floor to the total deposition diminishes. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
W1983192837 | Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis of the Major Salivary Glands: A Case of Sialadenitis in a Young Patient | A 23-year-old man was referred to our Emergency Department due to an acute-onset hemoptysis and the associated bilateral swelling of all of his major salivary glands. The elevated levels of systemic inflammatory markers with hypereosinophilia and the concurrent presence of multiple lung infiltrates made it difficult to perform a differential diagnosis, as these symptoms can also be indicative of infectious, autoimmune or hematologic disorders. A histological examination of the patient's left submandibular gland revealed strong clues as to the final diagnosis of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis with an atypical clinical presentation, thus allowing for the administration of early and successful conservative therapy. The outcome of our case suggests that systemic vasculitis represents a rare but possible cause of acute bilateral sialadenitis in young patients. | [
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
]
|
W1906708342 | Preparation and Characterization of a Complex of Paeonol and Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin | Purpose: To improve the solubility of paeonol in water by complexing with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and also to characterize the physicochemical properties of the complex.Methods: The complex of paeonol and HP-β-CD was prepared by freeze-drying method. Its physicochemical properties were studied by phase-solubility method, ultraviolet-visible spectrometry (UV), infrared spectrometry (IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffractometry (XRD) and thermogravimetric/differential scanning calorimetry (TG/DSC).Results: The phase-solubility results showed that paeonol formed a 1:1 stoichiometric complex with HP-β-CD while UV and IR spectra suggested that HP-β-CD and paeonol in the complex interacted by a non-covalent bond. SEM and XRD indicate that the heat stability of paeonol was significantly improved by complexing with HP-β-CD.Conclusion: Paeonol can be efficiently complexed with HP-β-CD to form a complex by freeze-drying method. The aqueous solubility and heat stability of paeonol is significantly improved by complexation HP-β-CD.Keywords: Paeonol, Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, Complexation, Aqueous solubility, Heat stability | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
W59397737 | Teacher Learning with Lesson Study | Lesson study is a form of teacher professional development that originated in Japan. This article gives an overview of lesson study with its structure, variation, and history and reviews emerging lesson study research literature to explicate models of teacher learning with lesson study as well as to identify future research agendas. Teachers learn with lesson study by developing knowledge for teaching, establishing professional communities, and producing teaching resources. The challenges teachers face with lesson study in new cultures should be considered as learning opportunities by which teachers develop necessary inquiry skills, and that will help us understand teacher learning and existing teaching systems better. | [
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1112/jlms.12082 | Lagrangians of hypergraphs: The Frankl-Füredi conjecture holds almost everywhere: The | Frankl and Füredi conjectured in 1989 that the maximum Lagrangian of all r-uniform hypergraphs of fixed size m is realised by the initial segment of the colexicographic order. In particular, in the principal case m=tr their conjecture states that the maximum is attained on the clique of order t. We prove the latter statement for all r≥4 and large values of t (the case r=3 was settled by Talbot in 2002). More generally, we show for any r≥4 that the Frankl-Füredi conjecture holds whenever t-1r≤m≤tr-γrtr-2 for a constant γr>0, thereby verifying it for 'most' m∈N. Furthermore, for r=3 we make an improvement on the results of Talbot and of Tang, Peng, Zhang and Zhao. | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
W1972634155 | The Effects of Composition on the Interface Resistance in Bi-System Glass Frit | The front electrode should be used to make solar cell panel so as to collect electron. The front electrode is used by paste type, printed on the Si-solar cell wafer and sintered at about . The paste is composed Ag powder and glass frit which make the ohmic contact between Ag electrode and n-type semiconductor layer. From the previous study, the Ag electrodes which used two commercial glass frit of Bi-system were so different on the interface resistance. The main composition of them was Bi-Zn-B-Si-O and few additives added in one of them. In this study, glass frit was made with the ratio of and ZnO on the main composition, and then paste using glass frit was prepared respectively. And, also, the paste using the glass frit added oxide additives were prepared. The change of interface resistance was not large with the ratio of and ZnO. In the case of G6 glass frit, 78 wt% addition, the interface resistance was and most low. In the glass frit added oxide, the case of Ca increased over 10 times than it of G6 glass frit on the interface resistance. It was thaught that after sintering, Ca added glass frit was not flowed to the interface between Ag electrode and wafer but was in the Ag electrode. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
W2100973285 | Topics in machine learning for biomedical literature analysis and text retrieval | Life science researchers and health care professionals rely heavily on biomedical literature databases such as MEDLINE to access information essential for research, health care, education, as well as to keep up with the latest developments in their fields. Providing ways to efficiently access and analyze text information is critical and is becoming more challenging with the increasing volume of publications in the biomedical domain. The last decade has shown an exponential rate of growth of biomedical literature [1].
Natural language processing, a symbiosis of computer science and linguistics disciplines, addresses the computational aspects of automatic text processing. This field offers a fertile ground for machine learning algorithms. The challenges presented when processing natural language offer new opportunities to the existing machine learning methods and promote the development of new ones.
The special session of “Machine Learning in Biomedical Literature Analysis and Text Retrieval” was held for the first time as part of the 9th International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications, in Washington DC on December 12-14, 2010. The goal of this session was to present advancements in machine learning techniques that can improve the analysis of biomedical text.
In this supplement we present a collection of papers originally presented and published in the proceedings of the International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications (ICMLA 2010). These papers constitute an advance beyond the work originally presented at the conference and have gone through a separate rigorous review process. They represent a wide cross-section of the type of work that goes on in machine learning today, with its focus on biomedical literature.
Papers in this supplement touch on multiple existing machine learning methods such as wide margin classifiers and conditional random fields. They suggest novel applications for these methods as well as propose new machine learning techniques, such as novel methods for constructing training data and gold standards. From the literature analysis and text retrieval perspectives this collection of papers covers multiple topics including tokenization, named entity recognition, word-sense disambiguation, sequence labeling, and relationship extraction.
Tokenization is typically the first step in natural language processing and is often assumed to be trivial. Unfortunately, it is quite challenging, especially in the biomedical domain. Barrett and Weber-Jahnke [2] present an intriguing scheme for building a tokenizer.
Named entity recognition is an important component of text analysis tools. Three papers in the supplement touch on named entity recognition. Yeganova et al. [3] present a method of detecting abbreviations and their definitions in biomedical literature. Islamaj Dogan et al. [4] present an approach that detects with high accuracy clinical problems, treatment and test phrases in patient records and doctor notes. Benton at al. [5] present a system for de-identifying personal information in medical message board text.
Many applications are believed to benefit from identifying the correct word sense in entity recognition tasks. MetaMap [6], for example, is a system that provides UMLS [7] concept and semantic type annotation to free text and can significantly benefit from word-sense disambiguation. Jimeno-Yepes et al. [8] work on a knowledge-based word sense disambiguation approach that uses collocation analysis to improve the knowledge-based word sense disambiguation system.
Automatic extraction of bibliographic data, such as article titles, author names, abstracts, and references are essential to citation databases, such as MEDLINE. Zhang et al. [9] examine the task of identifying the components of bibliographic references. They treat the problem as a sequence labeling problem.
Accessibility to gold-standard training data allows scientist to focus on the solution of the problem at hand. In this collection we include two papers that are dedicated to this issue. Wilbur and Kim [10] treat human relevance judgments of MEDLINE document pairs to improve on gold standard annotations, whereas Yeganova et al. [3] present a method that relies on naturally occurring positive training examples and synthetically generated negative training examples to train their model.
Finally, Islamaj Dogan et al. [4] investigate a clinical relationship extraction problem. They approach it as a classification task, training classifiers to assign a relationship type to a pair of clinical concepts after performing entity recognition. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1038/mp.2016.1 | Overshadowed by the amygdala: The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis emerges as key to psychiatric disorders | The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a center of integration for limbic information and valence monitoring. The BNST, sometimes referred to as the extended amygdala, is located in the basal forebrain and is a sexually dimorphic structure made up of between 12 and 18 sub-nuclei. These sub-nuclei are rich with distinct neuronal subpopulations of receptors, neurotransmitters, transporters and proteins. The BNST is important in a range of behaviors such as: the stress response, extended duration fear states and social behavior, all crucial determinants of dysfunction in human psychiatric diseases. Most research on stress and psychiatric diseases has focused on the amygdala, which regulates immediate responses to fear. However, the BNST, and not the amygdala, is the center of the psychogenic circuit from the hippocampus to the paraventricular nucleus. This circuit is important in the stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Thus, the BNST has been largely overlooked with respect to its possible dysregulation in mood and anxiety disorders, social dysfunction and psychological trauma, all of which have clear gender disparities. In this review, we will look in-depth at the anatomy and projections of the BNST, and provide an overview of the current literature on the relevance of BNST dysregulation in psychiatric diseases. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
10.1039/c8cc09325c | Site-directed spin labelling of proteins by Suzuki–Miyaura coupling via a genetically encoded aryliodide amino acid | Kugele et al. report site-directed spin labelling via Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of a nitroxide boronic acid label with the genetically encoded amino acid 4-iodo-l-phenylalanine. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
Q4245228 | APOYO A LA LIQUIDEZ PARA LAS MICROEMPRESAS AFECTADAS POR LA EMERGENCIA DE LA COVID | APOYO A LA LIQUIDEZ DE LAS MICROEMPRESAS Y LAS PEQUEÑAS EMPRESAS DE LOS SECTORES MINORISTA, DE SUMINISTRO Y DE SERVICIOS PERSONALES CUYA ACTIVIDAD HA SIDO SUSPENDIDA COMO CONSECUENCIA DEL DECRETO DEL PRIMER MINISTRO DE 11 DE MARZO DE 2020 | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
174481 | People, objects and technologies at the interface – multiscalar interaction networks in the aegean bronze age (3100-1200 bc) | The aim of POTI is to investigate the relationship between people, objects and technologies at the interface of cultural encounters, and their role within multiscalar, diachronic interaction networks that characterise emerging complex social worlds within the Bronze Age Aegean (3100-1200 BC). The geographical setting of Aegean islands, with their connected seascapes and coastlines, offer a valuable arena for assessing the dynamics behind past cultural encounters and interaction networks. The primary training objective is to develop a diachronic approach for investigating material, technological and social interactions across multiple spatial scales. To achieve this, training in the application of broad comparative frameworks from island archaeology and Mediterranean network perspectives is needed to integrate the many interactions that constitute complex societies across multiple geographical and chronological horizons. By reassessing the rich assemblages and connections of the Bronze Age Aegean using this approach, cultural encounter interfaces for material culture change can be identified and characterised. Acquisition of GIS and multivariate statistical skills will enable the spatial and chronological mapping of these interfaces, which, anchored within theoretical frameworks of social vs. insular networks, will shed new light on these key arenas for understanding dynamic processes of social interaction, community participation and identity formation within the Bronze Age Aegean. | [
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
]
|
10.4319/lo.2014.59.5.1555 | Seasonal rates of benthic primary production in a Greenland fjord measured by aquatic eddy correlation | We present the first year-round estimates of benthic primary production at four contrasting shallow (3-22 m depth) benthic habitats in a southwest Greenland fjord. In situ measurements were performed using the noninvasive aquatic eddy-correlation (EC) oxygen (O2) flux method. A series of high-quality multiple-day EC data sets document the presence of a year-round productive benthic phototrophic community. The shallow-water sites were on average autotrophic during the spring and summer months, up to 43. 6 mmol O2 m-2 d-1, and heterotrophic or close to metabolic balance during the autumn and winter. Substantial benthic gross primary production (GPP) was measured year-round. The highest GPP rates were measured during the spring, up to 5. 7 mmol O2 m-2 h-1 (136. 8 mmol O2 m-2 d-1), and even at low light levels (< 80 μmol quanta m-2 s-1) during late autumn and winter we measured rates of up to 1. 8 mmol O2 m-2 h-1(43. 2 mmol O2 m-2 d-1) during peak irradiance. The benthic phototrophic communities responded seasonally to ambient light levels and exhibited year-round high photosynthetic efficiency. In situ downwelling irradiances as low as ~ 2 μmol quanta m-2 s-1 induced an autotrophic response and light saturation indices (Ik) were as low as 11 μmol quanta m-2 s-1 in the winter. On an annual timescale, the average areal rate of benthic GPP was 11. 5 mol O2 m-2 yr-1, which is ~ 1. 4 times higher than the integrated gross pelagic primary production of the ~ 30-50 m deep photic zone of the fjord. These results document the importance of benthic photosynthesis on an ecosystem level and indicate that the benthic phototrophic compartment should be accounted for when assessing carbon and nutrient budgets as well as responses of coastal Arctic ecosystems to climate change. | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
10.1093/bioinformatics/btz455 | Graphlet Laplacians for topology-function and topology-disease relationships | Motivation Laplacian matrices capture the global structure of networks and are widely used to study biological networks. However, the local structure of the network around a node can also capture biological information. Local wiring patterns are typically quantified by counting how often a node touches different graphlets (small, connected, induced sub-graphs). Currently available graphlet-based methods do not consider whether nodes are in the same network neighbourhood. To combine graphlet-based topological information and membership of nodes to the same network neighbourhood, we generalize the Laplacian to the Graphlet Laplacian, by considering a pair of nodes to be ‘adjacent’ if they simultaneously touch a given graphlet. We utilize Graphlet Laplacians to generalize spectral embedding, spectral clustering and network diffusion. Applying Graphlet Laplacian-based spectral embedding, we visually demonstrate that Graphlet Laplacians capture biological functions. This result is quantified by applying Graphlet Laplacian-based spectral clustering, which uncovers clusters enriched in biological functions dependent on the underlying graphlet. We explain the complementarity of biological functions captured by different Graphlet Laplacians by showing that they capture different local topologies. Finally, diffusing pan-cancer gene mutation scores based on different Graphlet Laplacians, we find complementary sets of cancer-related genes. Hence, we demonstrate that Graphlet Laplacians capture topology-function and topology-disease relationships in biological networks. Availability and implementation http://www0. cs. ucl. ac. uk/staff/natasa/graphlet-laplacian/index. html Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. | [
"Mathematics",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
773083 | Mitotic Bookmarking, Stem Cells and early Development | The goal of this proposal is to deliver a new theoretical framework to understand how transcription factors (TFs) sustain cell identity during developmental processes. Recognised as key drivers of cell fate acquisition, TFs are currently not considered to directly contribute to the mitotic inheritance of chromatin states. Instead, these are passively propagated through cell division by a variety of epigenetic marks. Recent discoveries, including by our lab, challenge this view: developmental TFs may impact the propagation of regulatory information from mother to daughter cells through a process known as mitotic bookmarking. This hypothesis, largely overlooked by mainstream epigenetic research during the last two decades, will be investigated in embryo-derived stem cells and during early mouse development. Indeed, these immature cell identities are largely independent from canonical epigenetic repression; hence, current models cannot account for their properties. We will comprehensively identify mitotic bookmarking factors in stem cells and early embryos, establish their function in stem cell self-renewal, cell fate acquisition and dissect how they contribute to chromatin regulation in mitosis. This will allow us to study the relationships between bookmarking factors and other mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance. To achieve this, unique techniques to modulate protein activity and histone modifications specifically in mitotic cells will be established. Thus, a mechanistic understanding of how mitosis influences gene regulation and of how mitotic bookmarking contributes to the propagation of immature cell identities will be delivered. Based on robust preliminary data, we anticipate the discovery of new functions for TFs in several genetic and epigenetic processes. This knowledge should have a wide impact on chromatin biology and cell fate studies as well as in other fields studying processes dominated by TFs and cell proliferation. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1038/d41586-019-03595-0 | Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against | The growing threat of abrupt and irreversible climate changes must compel political and economic action on emissions. [Figure not available: see fulltext. ] | [
"Earth System Science"
]
|
10.1080/0163853X.2014.955997 | The Timing And Construction Of Preference A Quantitative Study | Conversation-analytic research has argued that the timing and construction of preferred responding actions (e. g. , acceptances) differ from that of dispreferred responding actions (e. g. , rejections), potentially enabling early response prediction by recipients. We examined 195 preferred and dispreferred responding actions in telephone corpora and found that the timing of the most frequent cases of each type did not differ systematically. Only for turn transitions of 700 ms or more was the proportion of dispreferred responding actions clearly greater than that of preferreds. In contrast, an analysis of the timing that included turn formats (i. e. , those with or without qualification) revealed clearer differences. Small departures from a normal gap duration decrease the likelihood of a preferred action in a preferred turn format (e. g. , a simple “yes”). We propose that the timing of a response is best understood as a turn-constructional feature, the first virtual component of a preferred or dispreferred turn f. . . | [
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1007/JHEP03(2017)021 | Revisiting Fine Tuning In The Mssm | We evaluate the amount of fine-tuning in constrained versions of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), with different boundary conditions at the GUT scale. Specifically we study the fully constrained version as well as the cases of non-universal Higgs and gaugino masses. We allow for the presence of additional non-holomorphic soft-terms which we show further relax the fine-tuning. Of particular importance is the possibility of a Higgsino mass term and we discuss possible origins for such a term in UV complete models. We point out that loop corrections typically lead to a reduction in the fine-tuning by a factor of about two compared to the estimate at tree-level, which has been overlooked in many recent works. Taking these loop corrections into account, we discuss the impact of current limits from SUSY searches and dark matter on the fine-tuning. Contrary to common lore, we find that the MSSM fine-tuning can be as small as 10 while remaining consistent with all experimental constraints. If, in addition, the dark matter abundance is fully explained by the neutralino LSP, the fine-tuning can still be as low as $\sim$ 20 in the presence of additional non-holomorphic soft-terms. We also discuss future prospects of these models and find that the MSSM will remain natural even in the case of a non-discovery in the foreseeable future. | [
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
]
|
10.1126/science.aat2349 | Close Cassini flybys of Saturn’s ring moons Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Pandora, and Epimetheus | Saturn’s main ring system is associated with a set of small moons that either are embedded within it or interact with the rings to alter their shape and composition. Five close flybys of the moons Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Pandora, and Epimetheus were performed between December 2016 and April 2017 during the ring-grazing orbits of the Cassini mission. Data on the moons’ morphology, structure, particle environment, and composition were returned, along with images in the ultraviolet and thermal infrared. We find that the optical properties of the moons’ surfaces are determined by two competing processes: contamination by a red material formed in Saturn’s main ring system and accretion of bright icy particles or water vapor from volcanic plumes originating on the moon Enceladus. | [
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
10.1007/s10596-019-09909-5 | A posteriori error estimates for a compositional two-phase flow with nonlinear complementarity constraints | In this work, we develop an a posteriori-steered algorithm for a compositional two-phase flow with exchange of components between the phases in porous media. As a model problem, we choose the two-phase liquid–gas flow with appearance and disappearance of the gas phase formulated as a system of nonlinear evolutive partial differential equations with nonlinear complementarity constraints. The discretization of our model is based on the backward Euler scheme in time and the finite volume scheme in space. The resulting nonlinear system is solved via an inexact semismooth Newton method. The key ingredients for the a posteriori analysis are the discretization, linearization, and algebraic flux reconstructions allowing to devise estimators for each error component. These enable to formulate criteria for stopping the iterative algebraic solver and the iterative linearization solver whenever the corresponding error components do not affect significantly the overall error. Numerical experiments are performed using the Newton-min algorithm as well as the Newton–Fischer–Burmeister algorithm in combination with the GMRES iterative linear solver to show the efficiency of the proposed adaptive method. | [
"Mathematics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1073/pnas.1714691115 | Linked networks for learning and expressing location-specific threat | Learning locations of danger within our environment is a vital adaptive ability whose neural bases are only partially understood. We examined fMRI brain activity while participants navigated a virtual environment in which flowers appeared and were “picked. ” Picking flowers in the danger zone (one-half of the environment) predicted an electric shock to the wrist (or “bee sting”); flowers in the safe zone never predicted shock; and household objects served as controls for neutral spatial memory. Participants demonstrated learning with shock expectancy ratings and skin conductance increases for flowers in the danger zone. Patterns of brain activity shifted between overlapping networks during different task stages. Learning about environmental threats, during flower approach in either zone, engaged the anterior hippocampus, amygdala, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), with vmPFC–hippocampal functional connectivity increasing with experience. Threat appraisal, during approach in the danger zone, engaged the insula and dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC), with insula–hippocampal functional connectivity. During imminent threat, after picking a flower, this pattern was supplemented by activity in periaqueductal gray (PAG), insula–dACC coupling, and posterior hippocampal activity that increased with experience. We interpret these patterns in terms of multiple representations of spatial context (anterior hippocampus); specific locations (posterior hippocampus); stimuli (amygdala); value (vmPFC); threat, both visceral (insula) and cognitive (dACC); and defensive behaviors (PAG), interacting in different combinations to perform the functions required at each task stage. Our findings illuminate how we learn about location-specific threats and suggest how they might break down into overgeneralization or hypervigilance in anxiety disorders. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
175419 | A comprehensive approach to school choice and education | School choice is one of the most hotly debated policies in education. Advocates argue that school choice allows equal access to high quality schooling for all. High-income families have always had more choice, either through residential choice or through enrolment in private schools. Therefore increased choice should also improve equity by allowing minority and low-income students to choose too. On the other hand, school choice critics suggest that school choice can increase sorting between schools based on their socio-economics status, suggesting high-income families benefit more from these policies.
Three different and disconnected literatures in economics provide different and often contradicting answers to these questions. We propose a unified theoretical framework that merges these three literatures and allows for a comprehensive analysis on school choice design and its impact on actual choice, outcomes and segregation in schools and neighborhoods. Unique and newly constructed data sets are used to address novel empirical challenges. The data constructed for Barcelona shall become one of the largest and most comprehensive data sets not only on school choice but also on public education worldwide.
Using the data set from Barcelona we 1) estimate families’ preferences and, for the first time, evaluate the efficiency of different mechanism through structural estimation of our model and counterfactual analysis. We then 2) evaluate the impact that peer effects have on parents' choice and on outcomes. Exploiting the occurrence of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the aid programs implemented we aim at 3) estimating the distribution of willingness to pay for quality schools for families with different socio-economics. And last we exploit a policy change in Catalunya in 2009 to 4) provide evidence on how increased flexibility of the school system to adapt for differential maturity levels affects individual short and medium-term outcomes. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
]
|
643705 | Engineering a trustworthy society: the evolution, perception and impact of china’s social credit system | The Chinese Social Credit System (SCS) is an ambitious social engineering scheme of an unprecedented nature. It collects information from commercial, legal and social spheres; integrates this data into a centralised platform; and establishes reputations to steer the behaviour of individuals and organisations through incentives and sanctions. The SCS ties in with global discussions on information collection, governance and authoritarian rule. It is of major significance for European interests. Empirical research on the SCS is still in its infancy. What is the shape of this system, how does it vary across regions and how does it evolve? How does the Chinese public perceive and evaluate the SCS? What are its social, political and cultural impacts?
This 60-month project will provide answers to these questions and push forward theoretical debates on governance with information collection and classification schemes, data privacy, trust and trustworthiness. The project’s empirical strategy is centred on public opinion surveys, complemented by field research as well as qualitative and quantitative content analysis. Its survey data will allow an assessment of the utility of face-to-face and online survey methods and generate rarely available longitudinal data from China. The project will help to clarify important unresolved questions on the shape of the SCS and provide the public with empirically grounded insights. It will establish a centre of competence on the SCS in Austria and train junior scholars in social scientific China Studies.
The project is led by H. Christoph Steinhardt (Assistant Professor, University of Vienna, Department of East Asian Studies). The research team includes a post-doctoral researcher, a doctoral student and two student research assistants. For selected parts of the project, Steinhardt will work with collaborators in Austria, China and Germany. | [
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
10.1016/j.cellimm.2018.03.009 | Testicular macrophages: Guardians of fertility | Macrophages are innate immune cells present in essentially every organ of the body with dedicated tissue specific functions. We will present in this review the unique properties and functions of macrophage populations residing in the testis, an immune-privileged organ. Testicular macrophages (tMΦ) could be seen as guardians of fertility due to their immunosuppressive functions protecting spermatogenesis from auto immune-attack. They exhibit testis specific functions with essential roles in normal testis homeostasis and fetal testicular development. Recently, two distinct testicular macrophage populations have been characterized based on different localization, morphology, gene expression profiles, developmental origin and postnatal development. We will discuss the importance of these two testicular macrophage populations for organ specific functions such as testosterone production and spermatogenesis, as well as their role in establishing immuno-privilege highlighting the contributions of macrophages to male fertility. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
]
|
10.1145/2984751.2985703 | The Uist Video Browser Creating Shareable Playlists Of Video Previews | We introduce the UIST Video Browser which provides a rapid overview of the UIST 30-second video previews, based on the conference schedule. Attendees can see an overview of upcoming talks, search by topic, and create personalized, shareable video playlists that capture the most interesting or relevant papers. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1098/rspa.2014.0599 | Torsional locomotion | One edge of an elastic rod is inserted into a friction-less and fitting socket head, whereas the other edge is subjected to a torque, generating a uniform twisting moment. It is theoretically shown and experimentally proved that, although perfectly smooth, the constraint realizes an expulsive axial force on the elastic rod, which amount is independent of the shape of the socket head. The axial force explains why screwdrivers at high torque have the tendency to disengage from screw heads and demonstrates torsional locomotion along a perfectly smooth channel. This new type of locomotion finds direct evidence in the realization of a ‘torsional gun’, capable of transforming torque into propulsive force. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
324198 | Modern Moves: Kinetic Transnationalism and Afro-Diasporic Rhythm Cultures | The movement of Africans and Europeans to the Americas through expansionism, colonialism, and slavery also brought to the New World African percussive rhythms and European musical instruments and courtly dances. This project investigates the social dances that evolved out of this encounter, and retained African rhythm structures and body movement in American and Caribbean diasporic spaces. Under transnational conditions, Afro-diasporic social dances such as Swing, Mambo, Salsa, and Zouk have been diffused through Europe, Asia and back to Africa. Indeed, from the 1920s onwards, people the world over, often disconnected from African cultures, have used dances marked by 'African' traces to fashion themselves as modern subjects. The project will examine these 'modern moves' and their transnational developments, to argue that Afro-diasporic rhythm cultures, as manifested in these transnationalised dances, are intrinsic to global modernity. An interdisciplinary research team, led by the coordinator, will study their kinetic dimension: how specific dance steps evolved in correspondence to musical styles; the sites for their enjoyment and proliferation; song lyrics as sites of memory; and the socio-historical conditions under which these dance styles are assimilated into competing rhythm cultures, from 'Bollywood' to the dance fitness craze 'Zumba'. Moving away from Postcolonial Studies' reliance on textuality to highlight bodily pleasure and spectacularity, we will investigate ‘AfroPolitanism’—the nourishing of these social dances in urban spaces-- and ask how and why Afro-diasporic rhythms connect ‘AfroPolitans’ from postcolonial worlds that speak different languages and have inherited divergent colonial histories. The category of 'kinetic transnationalism' will guide our analysis of modernity's moves, from intra-community preservation to transnational affiliations, while revealing the place of Africa and the 'AfroPolitan' in the history of modernity. | [
"Studies of Cultures and Arts",
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
]
|
10.1093/mnras/stz2906 | Gravity-mode period spacings and near-core rotation rates of 611 γ Doradus stars with Kepler | We report our survey of γ Dor stars from the 4-yr Kepler mission. These stars pulsate mainly in g modes and r modes, showing period-spacing patterns in the amplitude spectra. The period-spacing patterns are sensitive to the chemical composition gradients and the near-core rotation, hence they are essential for understanding the stellar interior. We identified period-spacing patterns in 611 γ Dor stars. Almost every star pulsates in dipole g modes, while about 30% of stars also show clear patterns for quadrupole g modes and 16% of stars present r mode patterns. We measure periods, period spacings, and the gradient of the period spacings. These three observables guide the mode identifications and can be used to estimate the near-core rotation rate. We find many stars are hotter and show longer period-spacing patterns than theory. Using the Traditional Approximation of Rotation (TAR), we inferred the asymptotic spacings, the near-core rotation rates, and the radial orders of the g and r modes. Most stars have a near-core rotation rate around 1 d−1and an asymptotic spacing around 4000 s. We also find that many stars rotate more slowly than predicted by theory for unclear reasons. 11 stars show rotational splittings with fast rotation rates. We compared the observed slope–rotation relation with the theory and find a large spread. We detected rotational modulations in 58 stars and used them to derive the core-to-surface rotation ratios. The interiors rotate faster than the cores in most stars, but by no more than 5%. | [
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
10.1073/pnas.1307825110 | Electromagnetically driven westward drift and inner-core superrotation in Earth's core | A 3D numerical model of the earth's core with a èiscosity two orders of magnitude lower than the state of the art suggests a link between the obserèed westward drift of the magnetic field and superrotation of the inner core. In our model, the axial electromagnetic torque has a dominant influence only at the surface and in the deepest reaches of the core, where it respectièely drièes a broad westward flow rising to an axisymmetric equatorial jet and imparts an eastward-directed torque on the solid inner core. Subtle changes in the structure of the internal magnetic field may alter not just the magnitude but the direction of these torques. This not only suggests that the quasi-oscillatory nature of inner-core superrotation [Tkal ci c H, Young M, Bodin T, Ngo S, Sambridge M (2013) The shuffling rotation of the earth's inner core reèealed by earthquake doublets. Nat Geosci 6:497-502. ] may be drièen by decadal changes in the magnetic field, but further that historical periods in which the field exhibited eastward drift were contemporaneous with a westward inner-core rotation. The model further indicates a strong internal shear layer on the tangent cylinder that may be a source of torsional waèes inside the core. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
185622 | Monumental art of the christian and early islamic east: cultural identities and classical heritage | This project will analyse the monumental art (large decorative programmes on buildings) of two areas of the former eastern Roman Empire which came under Islamic rule but which have never been the subject of an integrated comprehensive study: Egypt and Syro-Palestine (modern Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel/Palestine). It aims to determine systematically how the strength and nature of the local ‘classical’ (Greco-Roman) traditions and expressions of identities influenced monumental art in these regions during Late Antiquity (AD 250–750), the period of transition from paganism to Christianity and, in turn, to Islam. By defining and distinguishing between the different strands of classical influence, both local and external (from the centres of Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria), and investigating the roles of local artists and artisans as creators rather than imitators, this project will transform our understanding of the artistic culture of the late antique Middle East.
To achieve these objectives, this 5-year project, with a team of 4 post-docs, will apply an interdisciplinary methodology, using archaeology, architecture, art history, and textual analysis to examine evidence in a range of media (floor and wall mosaics, paintings, relief sculptures). The results will be presented in a synthetic analytical volume written by the PI and two books on late antique and early Islamic mosaics by the post-docs, with material placed on the Manar al-Athar open-access website.
Monumental art is the most visible surviving artistic heritage in the Middle East, on major buildings such as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the Great Mosque in Damascus, ‘desert castles’, and church mosaic floors. This art is increasingly endangered, so it is essential to undertake this project now to show the importance of this art, the roles of ancestors of peoples of the Middle East in its creation, and the shared classical heritage of the Middle East and the West. | [
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Studies of Cultures and Arts"
]
|
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.145 | Effects of spatial heterogeneity in moisture content on the horizontal spread of peat fires | The gravimetric moisture content of peat is the main factor limiting the ignition and spread propagation of smouldering fires. Our aim is to use controlled laboratory experiments to better understand how the spread of smouldering fires is influenced in natural landscape conditions where the moisture content of the top peat layer is not homogeneous. In this paper, we study for the first time the spread of peat fires across a spatial matrix of two moisture contents (dry/wet) in the laboratory. The experiments were undertaken using an open-top insulated box (22 × 18 × 6 cm) filled with milled peat. The peat was ignited at one side of the box initiating smouldering and horizontal spread. Measurements of the peak temperature inside the peat, fire duration and longwave thermal radiation from the burning samples revealed important local changes of the smouldering behaviour in response to sharp gradients in moisture content. Both, peak temperatures and radiation in wetter peat (after the moisture gradient) were sensitive to the drier moisture condition (preceding the moisture gradient). Drier peat conditions before the moisture gradient led to higher temperatures and higher radiation flux from the fire during the first 6 cm of horizontal spread into a wet peat patch. The total spread distance into a wet peat patch was affected by the moisture content gradient. We predicted that in most peat moisture gradients of relevance to natural ecosystems the fire self-extinguishes within the first 10 cm of horizontal spread into a wet peat patch. Spread distances of more than 10 cm are limited to wet peat patches below 160% moisture content (mass of water per mass of dry peat). We found that spatial gradients of moisture content have important local effects on the horizontal spread and should be considered in field and modelling studies. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
]
|
10.1007/s00391-019-01663-8 | Bedeutung des Gesundheitsindikators bei der Analyse der Gesundheitsfolgen informeller Pflege | Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Die Analyse der Gesundheit informell Pflegender wird wichtiger. Frühere Forschung zeigte negative Folgen für ihre psychische Gesundheit. Die Ergebnisse für die körperliche Gesundheit waren weniger eindeutig. Unklar ist, inwieweit dies auf die Verwendung unterschiedlicher Gesundheitsindikatoren zurückgeführt werden kann. Fragestellung Welchen Einfluss haben die Wahl des Gesundheitsindikators und die Art der Pflege (innerhalb/außerhalb des Haushalts) auf die ermittelten Gesundheitsfolgen informeller Pflege? Material und Methode Mithilfe der Daten des Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, Wellen 1, 2, 4–6) wurde der Zusammenhang zwischen informeller Pflege inner- und außerhalb des Haushalts und der Gesundheit der Pflegenden modelliert. Richtung und Stärke dieses Zusammenhangs zwischen 8 Gesundheitsindikatoren wurden sowohl im Quer- als auch im Längsschnitt verglichen. Ergebnisse Für die meisten Gesundheitsindikatoren sowohl im Quer- als auch im Längsschnitt konnten negative Gesundheitsfolgen festgestellt werden. Pflegende außerhalb des Haushalts schätzten ihre Gesundheit als besser ein als Nichtpflegende. Im Längsschnitt ließ sich, je nach Gesundheitsindikator, sowohl eine Verbesserung als auch eine Verschlechterung der Gesundheit im Zuge der Pflegeaufnahme attestieren. Diskussion Die vorgestellte Arbeit bestätigt Gesundheitsunterschiede zwischen Pflegenden innerhalb und außerhalb des Haushalts. Sie zeigt für Pflegende außerhalb des Haushalts, dass je nach gewähltem Gesundheitsindikator unterschiedliche Auswirkungen von Pflege auf Gesundheit feststellbar sind. Dies verdeutlicht, dass die Wahl des Gesundheitsindikators und der Pflegendenpopulation einen substanziellen Einfluss auf die Analyseergebnisse und die daraus resultierenden Schlussfolgerungen hat. | [
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
W1966233746 | Short- and long-term forecasting by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) | CPB forecasts for the next year and for the next period of government should be seen as well-motivated estimates based on all recent information, plausible assumptions and expected trends. These assumptions and trends are partly based on econometric estimation methods and insights from economic theory. However, the economy is a chaotic system in which small events can have major effects at short notice. Even when major uncertainties and risks are well understood, it remains impossible to indicate where and when a little spark will kindle a great fire or when the bubble in (e.g.) the housing or stock market will burst. The more distant the look into the future, the more uncertain are the forecasts. For such long-term analyses, the CPB employs scenarios, extended sensitivity analyses and identification of major political choices. Policy making is like sailing in fog. The regular set of CPB forecasts helps to look forward and to monitor whether a change of course is necessary. Despite fundamental uncertainty about the future, the CPB forecasts provide a good base for political discussions and decision making, like a coalition agreement, budget and wage rate negotiations and defining a long-term policy strategy. These forecasts inform Dutch society, reduce transaction costs in economic and political decision making, and foster consensus on economic and fiscal policy. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
W2355159901 | The Relationship among Selling Price of Houses,Land Price and Rental Price in China | This paper maintains that there exists an effective housing behind the three markets:selling market of houses,land market and rental market. This implicit effective housing price is a common factor which could be for long driving prices in those three markets inherently. We implement Gonzalo-Granger permanent-instantaneous model and Hasbrouck information share model to make an empirical analysis of the Chinese housing price index in the long term,factorizing the long-memory components to get each price's contribution and the results of price discovery; we also adopt Granger causality test and the analysis of impulse response function from the perspective of short term. The results show that in a long term,the selling price of houses will be dominating in the Implicit Effective Housing Price,and in a short term,there will be a significant mutual causal relationship between land price and housing price; moreover,the rental market remains relatively isolated,with little influence on the forming system of house price. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
10.1098/rsta.2015.0171 | Existence, numerical convergence and evolutionary relaxation for a rate-independent phase-transformation model | We revisit the model for a two-well phase transformation in a linearly elastic body that was introduced and studied in Mielke et al. (2002 Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 162, 137-177). This energetic rateindependent system is posed in terms of the elastic displacement and an internal variable that gives the phase portion of the second phase. We use a new approach based on mutual recovery sequences, which are adjusted to a suitable energy increment plus the associated dissipated energy and, thus, enable us to pass to the limit in the construction of energetic solutions. We give three distinct constructions of mutual recovery sequences which allow us (i) to generalize the existence result in Mielke et al. (2002), (ii) to establish the convergence of suitable numerical approximations via space-time discretization and (iii) to perform the evolutionary relaxation from the pure-state model to the relaxed-mixture model. All these results rely on weak converge and involve the H-measure as an essential tool. | [
"Mathematics",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
10.1016/j.dib.2015.07.028 | A probabilistic atlas of the basal ganglia using 7 T MRI | A common localization procedure in functional imaging studies includes the overlay of statistical parametric functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) maps or coordinates with neuroanatomical atlases in standard space, e. g. , MNI-space. This procedure allows the identification of specific brain regions. Most standard MRI software packages include a wide range of atlases but have a poor coverage of the subcortex. We estimated that approximately 7% of the known subcortical structures are mapped in standard MRI-compatible atlases [1]. Here we provide a data description of a subcortical probabilistic atlas based on ultra-high resolution in-vivo anatomical imaging using 7 T (T) MRI. The atlas includes six subcortical nuclei: the striatum (STR), the globus pallidus internal and external segment (GPi/e), the subthalamic nucleus (STN), the substantia nigra (SN), and the red nucleus (RN). These probabilistic atlases are shared on freely available platforms such as NITRC and NeuroVault and are published in NeuroImage "Quantifying inter-individual anatomical variability in the subcortex using 7 T structural MRI" [2]. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1007/978-3-642-29834-9_2 | Reliable Contracts For Unreliable Half Duplex Communications | Recent trends in formal models of web services description languages and session types focus on the asynchronicity of communications. In this paper, we study a core of these models that arose from our modelling of the Sing# programming language, and demonstrate correspondences between Sing# contracts, asynchronous session behaviors, and the subclass of communicating automata with two participants that satisfy the half-duplex property. This correspondence better explains the criteria proposed by Stengel and Bultan for Sing# contracts to be reliable, and possibly indicate useful criteria for the design of WSDL. We moreover establish a polynomial-time complexity for the analysis of communication contracts under arbitrary models of asynchronicity, and we investigate the model-checking problems against LTL formulas. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
295845 | Investigating Networks of Zoonosis Innovation | INZI aims to analyse the complex interplay of actors, policies and projects that have shaped research into and control of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) until the present day. Research has mainly been steered from outside of Africa, firstly by colonial authorities and latterly by an array of agencies, foundations and international organisations. Despite this, investment in research and control measures has declined and fragmented across Africa. This project seeks to examine, in proper historical context and from a systematic perspective, the evolution of Africa’s HAT research apparatus, to gain insight into the relationship between science and development, and build our understanding of how science can work better for development.
INZI will generate a panoptic, integrated analysis of the evolving HAT global assemblage in order to extend our knowledge of 1) The evolving relationship between the organisation of science and the development of material technologies in developing country contexts; 2) The relationship between policy and practice in mediating particular scientific and technological trajectories; and 3) The nature of innovation, what it means in a developing country context, and how it may be promoted. This will significantly advance our understanding of how science is practiced in developing countries, how technologies emerge, and ultimately how science and technological innovation can be organised to ensure development is transformational, not unobtainable.
Empirical research will be focused around five ‘research strands’ that each reflects a key modality or dimension of HAT research and control. These strands are: 1) Institutions; 2) Markets; 3) Partnerships; 4) Systems, and 5) Locations. Alongside the development of these five research strands, and in constant interaction with them, a series of connective analytical activities will be designed to truly integrate analysis of ‘micro-level processes’ and ‘macro-structures and forces’. | [
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
W1917436491 | Effect of a 12-day balneotherapy programme on pain, mood, sleep, and depression in healthy elderly people | The main purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of a 12-day balneotherapy programme on pain, mood state, sleep, and depression in older adults.In this study, 52 elderly adults from different areas of Spain participated in a social hydrotherapy programme created by the government's Institute for Elderly and Social Services, known as IMSERSO; participants included 23 men (age, 69.74 ± 5.19 years) and 29 women (age, 70.31 ± 6.76 years). Pain was analyzed using the visual analogue scale. Mood was assessed using the Profile of Mood Status. Sleep was assessed using the Oviedo Sleep Questionnaire. Depression was assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale. The balneotherapy programme was undertaken at Balneario San Andrés (Jaén, Spain). The water at Balneario San Andrés, according to the Handbook of Spanish Mineral Water, is a hypothermic (≥20°C) hard water of medium mineralization, with bicarbonate, sulfate, sodium, and magnesium as the dominant ions.Balneotherapy produced significant improvements (P < 0.05) for all variables (pain, mood state, sleep, and depression) in the total sample. A differential effect was found between the sexes regarding pain improvement, with men, but not women, having significantly improvement (P < 0.01) after treatment. With regard to improving mood, sex differences were also shown, with women, but not men, significantly improved (P < 0.05) in both depression and fatigue.In conclusion, a 12-day balneotherapy programme has a positive effect on pain, mood, sleep quality, and depression in healthy older people. | [
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1089/ars.2013.5423 | Protein S-Mycothiolation functions as redox-switch and thiol protection mechanism in corynebacterium glutamicum under hypochlorite stress | Aims: Protein S-bacillithiolation was recently discovered as important thiol protection and redox-switch mechanism in response to hypochlorite stress in Firmicutes bacteria. Here we used transcriptomics to analyze the NaOCl stress response in the mycothiol (MSH)-producing Corynebacterium glutamicum. We further applied thiol-redox proteomics and mass spectrometry (MS) to identify protein S-mycothiolation. Results: Transcriptomics revealed the strong upregulation of the disulfide stress σH regulon by NaOCl stress in C. glutamicum, including genes for the anti sigma factor (rshA), the thioredoxin and MSH pathways (trxB1, trxC, cg1375, trxB, mshC, mca, mtr) that maintain the redox balance. We identified 25 S-mycothiolated proteins in NaOCl-treated cells by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), including 16 proteins that are reversibly oxidized by NaOCl in the thiol-redox proteome. The S-mycothiolome includes the methionine synthase (MetE), the maltodextrin phosphorylase (MalP), the myoinositol-1-phosphate synthase (Ino1), enzymes for the biosynthesis of nucleotides (GuaB1, GuaB2, PurL, NadC), and thiamine (ThiD), translation proteins (TufA, PheT, RpsF, RplM, RpsM, RpsC), and antioxidant enzymes (Tpx, Gpx, MsrA). We further show that S-mycothiolation of the thiol peroxidase (Tpx) affects its peroxiredoxin activity in vitro that can be restored by mycoredoxin1. LC-MS/MS analysis further identified 8 proteins with S-cysteinylations in the mshC mutant suggesting that cysteine can be used for S-thiolations in the absence of MSH. Innovation and Conclusion: We identified widespread protein S-mycothiolations in the MSH-producing C. glutamicum and demonstrate that S-mycothiolation reversibly affects the peroxidase activity of Tpx. Interestingly, many targets are conserved S-thiolated across bacillithiol-and MSH-producing bacteria, which could become future drug targets in related pathogenic Gram-positives. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1109/TVT.2015.2404132 | Target Tracking In Confined Environments With Uncertain Sensor Positions | To ensure safety in confined environments such as mines or subway tunnels, a (wireless) sensor network can be deployed to monitor various environmental conditions. One of its most important applications is to track personnel, mobile equipment and vehicles. However, the state-of-the-art algorithms assume that the positions of the sensors are perfectly known, which is not necessarily true due to imprecise placement and/or dropping of sensors. Therefore, we propose an automatic approach for simultaneous refinement of sensors' positions and target tracking. We divide the considered area in a finite number of cells, define dynamic and measurement models, and apply a discrete variant of belief propagation which can efficiently solve this high-dimensional problem, and handle all non-Gaussian uncertainties expected in this kind of environments. Finally, we use ray-tracing simulation to generate an artificial mine-like environment and generate synthetic measurement data. According to our extensive simulation study, the proposed approach performs significantly better than standard Bayesian target tracking and localization algorithms, and provides robustness against outliers. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1145/3316781.3323482 | Invited Design Principles For True Random Number Generators For Security Applications | The generation of high quality true random numbers is essential in security applications. For secure communication, we also require high quality true random number generators (TRNGs) in embedded and IoT devices. This paper provides insights into modern TRNG design principles and their evaluation, based on standard’s requirements and design experience. We illustrate our approach with a case study of a recently proposed delay chain based TRNG. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1088/0004-637X/776/1/11 | Ionization In Atmospheres Of Brown Dwarfs And Extrasolar Planets V Alfven Ionization | Observations of continuous radio and sporadic X-ray emission from low-mass objects suggest they harbor localized plasmas in their atmospheric environments. For low-mass objects, the degree of thermal ionization is insufficient to qualify the ionized component as a plasma, posing the question: what ionization processes can efficiently produce the required plasma that is the source of the radiation? We propose Alfv´ en ionization as a mechanism for producing localized pockets of ionized gas in the atmosphere, having sufficient degrees of ionization (10 −7 ) that they constitute plasmas. We outline the criteria required for Alfv´ en ionization and demonstrate its applicability in the atmospheres of low-mass objects such as giant gas planets, brown dwarfs, and M dwarfs with both solar and sub-solar metallicities. We find that Alfv´ en ionization is most efficient at mid to low atmospheric pressures where a seed plasma is easier to magnetize and the pressure gradients needed to drive the required neutral flows are the smallest. For the model atmospheres considered, our results show that degrees of ionization of 10 −6 –1 can be | [
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
10.1063/1.5042635 | Invited Article Distributed Analysis Of Nonlinear Wave Mixing In Fiber Due To Forward Brillouin Scattering And Kerr Effects | Forward stimulated Brillouin scattering (F-SBS) is a third-order nonlinear-optical mechanism that couples between two co-propagating optical fields and a guided acoustic mode in a common medium. F-SBS gives rise to nonlinear wave mixing along optical fibers, which adds up with four-wave mixing induced by the Kerr effect. In this work, we report the distributed mapping of nonlinear wave mixing processes involving both mechanisms along standard single-mode fiber, in analysis, simulation, and experiment. Measurements are based on a multi-tone, optical time-domain reflectometry setup, which is highly frequency-selective. The results show that F-SBS leads to nonlinear wave mixing processes that are more complex than those that are driven by the Kerr effect alone. The dynamics are strongly dependent on the exact frequency detuning between optical field components. When the detuning is chosen near an F-SBS resonance, the process becomes asymmetric. Power is coupled from an upper-frequency input pump wave to a lower-frequency one, and the amplification of Stokes-wave sidebands is more pronounced than that of anti-Stokes-wave sidebands. The results are applicable to a new class of distributed fiber-optic sensors, based on F-SBS. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1021/acs.est.7b02374 | Formation of Highly Oxidized Radicals and Multifunctional Products from the Atmospheric Oxidation of Alkylbenzenes | Aromatic hydrocarbons contribute significantly to tropospheric ozone and secondary organic aerosols (SOA). Despite large efforts in elucidating the formation mechanism of aromatic-derived SOA, current models still substantially underestimate the SOA yields when comparing to field measurements. Here we present a new, up to now undiscovered pathway for the formation of highly oxidized products from the OH-initiated oxidation of alkyl benzenes based on theoretical and experimental investigations. We propose that unimolecular H-migration followed by O2-addition, a so-called autoxidation step, can take place in bicyclic peroxy radicals (BPRs), which are important intermediates of the OH-initiated oxidation of aromatic compounds. These autoxidation steps lead to the formation of highly oxidized multifunctional compounds (HOMs), which are able to form SOA. Our theoretical calculations suggest that the intramolecular H-migration in BPRs of substituted benzenes could be fast enough to compete with bimolecular reactions with HO2 radicals or NO under atmospheric conditions. The theoretical findings are experimentally supported by flow tube studies using chemical ionization mass spectrometry to detect the highly oxidized peroxy radical intermediates and closed-shell products. This new unimolecular BPR route to form HOMs in the gas phase enhances our understanding of the aromatic oxidation mechanism, and contributes significantly to a better understanding of aromatic-derived SOA in urban areas. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
10.1093/mnras/staa579 | The GOGREEN survey: the environmental dependence of the star-forming galaxy main sequence at 1.0 < z < 1.5 | ABSTRACT
We present results on the environmental dependence of the star-forming galaxy main sequence in 11 galaxy cluster fields at 1. 0 < z < 1. 5 from the Gemini Observations of Galaxies in Rich Early Environments Survey (GOGREEN) survey. We use a homogeneously selected sample of field and cluster galaxies whose membership is derived from dynamical analysis. Using [$\rm{O{\small II}}$]-derived star formation rates (SFRs), we find that cluster galaxies have suppressed SFRs at fixed stellar mass in comparison to their field counterparts by a factor of 1. 4 ± 0. 1 (∼3. 3σ) across the stellar mass range: 9. 0 < log (M*/M⊙) < 11. 2. We also find that this modest suppression in the cluster galaxy star-forming main sequence is mass and redshift dependent: the difference between cluster and field increases towards lower stellar masses and lower redshift. When comparing the distribution of cluster and field galaxy SFRs to the star-forming main sequence, we find an overall shift towards lower SFRs in the cluster population, and note the absence of a tail of high SFR galaxies as seen in the field. Given this observed suppression in the cluster galaxy star-forming main sequence, we explore the implications for several scenarios such as formation time differences between cluster and field galaxies, and environmentally induced star formation quenching and associated time-scales. | [
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
10.1016/j.mcn.2018.04.003 | Trafficking mechanisms of synaptogenic cell adhesion molecules | Nearly every aspect of neuronal function, from wiring to information processing, critically depends on the highly polarized architecture of neurons. Establishing and maintaining the distinct molecular composition of axonal and dendritic compartments requires precise control over the trafficking of the proteins that make up these cellular domains. Synaptic cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), membrane proteins with a critical role in the formation, differentiation and plasticity of synapses, require targeting to the correct pre- or postsynaptic compartment for proper functioning of neural circuits. However, the mechanisms that control the polarized trafficking, synaptic targeting, and synaptic abundance of CAMs are poorly understood. Here, we summarize current knowledge about the sequential trafficking events along the secretory pathway that control the polarized surface distribution of synaptic CAMs, and discuss how their synaptic targeting and abundance is additionally influenced by post-secretory determinants. The identification of trafficking-impairing mutations in CAMs associated with various neurodevelopmental disorders underscores the importance of correct protein trafficking for normal brain function. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.3389/fcimb.2017.00126 | Genome dynamics of Escherichia coli during antibiotic treatment: Transfer, loss, and persistence of genetic elements in situ of the infant gut | Elucidating the adaptive strategies and plasticity of bacterial genomes in situ is crucial for understanding the epidemiology and evolution of pathogens threatening human health. While much is known about the evolution of Escherichia coli in controlled laboratory environments, less effort has been made to elucidate the genome dynamics of E. coli in its native settings. Here, we follow the genome dynamics of co-existing E. coli lineages in situ of the infant gut during the first year of life. One E. coli lineage causes a urinary tract infection (UTI) and experiences several alterations of its genomic content during subsequent antibiotic treatment. Interestingly, all isolates of this uropathogenic E. coli strain carried a highly stable plasmid implicated in virulence of diverse pathogenic strains from all over the world. While virulence elements are certainly beneficial during infection scenarios, their role in gut colonization and pathogen persistence is poorly understood. We performed in vivo competitive fitness experiments to assess the role of this highly disseminated virulence plasmid in gut colonization, but found no evidence for a direct benefit of plasmid carriage. Through plasmid stability assays, we demonstrate that this plasmid is maintained in a parasitic manner, by strong first-line inheritance mechanisms, acting on the single-cell level, rather than providing a direct survival advantage in the gut. Investigating the ecology of endemic accessory genetic elements, in their pathogenic hosts and native environment, is of vital importance if we want to understand the evolution and persistence of highly virulent and drug resistant bacterial isolates. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
W2488239231 | Collision free and permutation invariant formation control using the root locus principle | In this paper, permutation invariant and collision free trajectories for a formation control problem are generated by using the root locus principle. A polynomial based representation space of multiple robots in two dimensional space is proposed, and the invariant properties in this space are analyzed. The formation control problem is solved in the representation space. A set of permutation invariant trajectories is generated by the generalized root locus dynamics. This method can be realized without the knowledge of global coordinates, but only with the local interaction between robots. In addition, the generalized root locus principle gives one degree of freedom to choose a different assignment in the formation. At the end, an example of permutation invariant safe control is provided. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
802989 | Exploiting Energy Flow in Plasmonic-Catalytic Colloids | The aim of CATALIGHT is to use sunlight as a source of energy in order to trigger chemical reactions by harvesting photons with plasmonic nanoparticles and channelling the energy into catalytic materials. Plasmonic-catalytic devices would allow efficient harvest, transport, and injection of solar energy into molecules. To achieve this, imaging the energy flow at the nanoscale will be crucial for establishing the true potential of plasmonics, both in the context of yielding fundamental knowledge about the light-into-chemical energy conversion processes, and for moving from active towards efficient reactive devices within nanoscale environments.
CATALIGHT has roots in three underlying components, making this project an interwoven effort to break new grounds in a crucial field for the further development of nanoscale energy manipulation: A) Super-resolution imaging of the energy-flow at the nanoscale – with a view to unravel the most efficient mechanisms to guide solar energy into catalytic materials using plasmonic structures as photon harvesters. B) Scaling-up this process through the fabrication of hierarchical photocatalytic colloids – using image-learning for the design of colloidal sources for energy manipulation. C) Light-into-chemical energy conversion – boosting efficiencies in environmental and industrial catalytic processes using tailored photocatalysts.
The outcomes of this project will not only yield a substantial amount of fundamental knowledge in these crucial areas for the further development of the field, but also provide directly exploitable results for the applied sciences, particularly photocatalysis and fuel cells. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
Q2692572 | SUBVENCIÓN PARA CAPITAL CIRCULANTE ANDERSEN EURO TRADING SP. CON EL O.O. | El proyecto se refiere al apoyo del empresario a proporcionar liquidez financiera y apoyo a las actividades actuales debido a las dificultades financieras experimentadas por el empresario como consecuencia del brote de COVID-19. Ayuda financiera concedida en el marco del programa n.º SA.57015 (2020/N) | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
10.1061/9780784413609.159 | Probabilistic Sensitivity Analysis Of Corrugated Skins With Random Elastic Parameters And Surface Topology | The distinction between epistemic and aleatory uncertainty can sometimes be useful for practical purposes. In principle, epistemic uncertainty is reducible by obtaining more or better information. However, the boundaries between both types of uncertainties are often blurred. Fortunately, it is often the case that not all sources of uncertainty have the same impact on the predictive performance of numerical models, so that there is considerable computational benefit from investigating potential simplification in the number of parameters that should be modelled as being stochastic. In order to determine which parameters are the most important in terms of their contribution to the output’s uncertainty, probabilistic sensitivity analysis can be performed. We apply this idea to a numerical model of corrugated skins. Corrugated skins are particularly suitable for morphing applications in aerospace structures, largely due to the very high compliance they offer along the corrugation direction. | [
"Mathematics",
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1515/nanoph-2019-0126 | Coherent nonlinear optics of quantum emitters in nanophotonic waveguides | AbstractCoherent quantum optics, where the phase of a photon is not scrambled as it interacts with an emitter, lies at the heart of many quantum optical effects and emerging technologies. Solid-state emitters coupled to nanophotonic waveguides are a promising platform for quantum devices, as this element can be integrated into complex photonic chips. Yet, preserving the full coherence properties of the coupled emitter-waveguide system is challenging because of the complex and dynamic electromagnetic landscape found in the solid state. Here, we review progress toward coherent light-matter interactions with solid-state quantum emitters coupled to nanophotonic waveguides. We first lay down the theoretical foundation for coherent and nonlinear light-matter interactions of a two-level system in a quasi-one-dimensional system, and then benchmark experimental realizations. We discuss higher order nonlinearities that arise as a result of the addition of photons of different frequencies, more complex energy level schemes of the emitters, and the coupling of multiple emitters via a shared photonic mode. Throughout, we highlight protocols for applications and novel effects that are based on these coherent interactions, the steps taken toward their realization, and the challenges that remain to be overcome. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
W1966572277 | Generating Method Considering Magnetic Saturation of SRMG Using Parallel Switching Mechanism | A Switched Reluctance Motor and Generator (SRMG) has a simple double salient pole structure that uses reluctance torque and does not use a permanent magnet, making the unit price low. This kind of structure makes it mechanically tough, have outstanding output characteristics making it used as traction purpose. However the noise, vibration and torque ripple is bigger than other motors and because it does not have any magnetic flux in the rotor, it is not useful in regenerating.[[ In this paper, novel regenerating method with separate excitation driving technique is presented. It is different from the existing regenerating brake that uses the remnant flux on a separate excitation type by using a parallel switching base to redirect portion of the flux path to excitation and the rest to generation. The proposed method makes it able to use a larger portion in generating, there is no limitation in the excitation current in order to generate and the control of the output is simple. Because the proposed method is based on the parallel switching technique the number of switch per phase does increase. However in motor mode the division of current goes down making it easier to go in generating mode. The proposed method is generated upper 50% regenerating power rate more than general method. In order to prove the possibility, a simulation of flux flow using FEM is applied. The proposed method is also verified by experiment result. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1080/07036337.2016.1263624 | Secrecy And Security In Transatlantic Terrorism Finance Tracking | Access to and diffusion of information relating to the Terrorism Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP) has become a focal point for discussions about secrecy and democracy in the European Union. This paper analyses the dynamics of secrecy and publicity in the context of post-9/11 security programmes, in particular, the TFTP. Far from a binary between secrecy and transparency, the TFTP involves complex dynamics of knowledge, and strictly regulated information distribution. The purpose of the article is threefold. First, we contribute to debates on EU secrecy and democratic oversight, by advancing an understanding of secrecy as practice. Second, we document and discuss the longer trajectory of the contested secrecy and publicity of the TFTP, through examining three ‘secrecy controversies’. Third, we ask whether the logics of secrecy in the EU are being revised and challenged in the context of transatlantic security cooperation. The rationales of secrecy deployed in security practice hinge on particular notions of potential future harm that, we argue, are shifting in the face of current understandings of the terrorist threat. | [
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
]
|
10.1002/fld.4195 | Energy dissipative characteristic schemes for the diffusive Oldroyd-B viscoelastic fluid | In this paper, we propose new energy dissipative characteristic numerical methods for the approximation of diffusive Oldroyd-B equations that are based either on the finite element or finite difference discretization. We prove energy stability of both schemes and illustrate their behavior on a series of numerical experiments. Using both the diffusive model and the logarithmic transformation of the elastic stress, we are able to obtain methods that converge as mesh parameter is refined. | [
"Mathematics",
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
W1996475527 | A Finding Method of Business Risk Factors Using Characteristics of Probability Distributions of Effect Ratios on Qualitative and Quantitative Hybrid Simulation | We propose a finding method of business risk factors on qualitative and quantitative hybrid simulation in time series. Effect ratios of qualitative arcs in the hybrid simulation vary output values of the simulation, so we define effect ratios causing risk as business risk factors. Finding business risk factors in entire ranges of effect ratios is time-consuming. It is considered that probability distributions of effect ratios in present time step and ones in previous time step are similar, the probability distributions in present time step can be estimated. Our method finds business risk factors in only estimated ranges effectively. Experimental results show that a precision rate and a recall rate are 86%, and search time is decreased 20% at least. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.11.003 | Examination of climate risk using a modified uncertainty matrix framework-Applications in the water sector | Previous climate risk assessments provide important methodological insights into how to derive tractable research questions and the appropriate use of data under uncertainty, as well as identifying steps that benefit from stakeholder involvement. Here we propose the use of a framework for the systematic and objective exploration of climate risk assessments. The matrix facilitates a breakdown of information about aim and context, main results, methodological choices, stakeholder involvement, sources and characteristics of uncertainties and overall weaknesses. We then apply the matrix to three risk assessments in the water sector to explore some methodological strengths and weaknesses of approaches strongly linked to climate model outputs (top-down) versus those that originate from local knowledge of climate exposures (bottom-up), and demonstrate that closer integration with social and physical sciences is more likely to yield robust climate risk assessments. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
]
|
W1560477162 | Seasonal variation of serum KL-6 and SP-D levels in bird-related hypersensitivity pneumonitis. | Bird-related hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an immunologically mediated lung disease induced by inhalation of bird dropping extracts and antigens in feathers (1). Environmental assessment and removal of the avian antigen are crucial in the management of bird-related HP. Measurement of serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) and surfactant protein D (SP-D) is widely accepted in Japan, as a diagnostic test for interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) and as a marker of disease activity (2, 3). In our experience of patients with summer-type HP, serum KL-6 and SP-D levels increase together with disease activity in hot and humid times of year, when Trichosporon Asahii and other causative molds grow best (4). Conversely, patients with bird-related HP seem to present with higher serum levels of KL-6 and SP-D in winter.To our knowledge, no earlier reports have described seasonal differences of serum KL-6 and SP-D levels in patients with ILDs. We therefore decided to investigate the seasonal variations of serum KL-6 and SP-D levels in patients with bird-related HP. We collected data about serum KL-6 and SP-D levels retrospectively in patients with bird-related HP and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) diagnosed between 2002 and 2012 in our institution. The bird-related HP was diagnosed by inhalation provocation test using avian antigen (5) and IPF was diagnosed based on a multidisciplinary review according to established criteria (6). Twenty-five patients with bird-related HP and 28 patients with IPF were enrolled. No treatments were administered during the period between the first patient visit and enrollment in the study more than 1 year later, and serum KL-6 and SP-D were measured at least once every season in every patient. The serum cut-off levels were 500 U/ml (KL-6) and 110 ng/ml (SP-D). All statistical analyses were performed using Prism 6 (GraphPad Software, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA). The significance of differences among frequency data was evaluated using the chi-square test. Intergroup comparisons were assessed using the MannWhitney U test. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs test was used to compare serum KL-6 and SP-D levels from season to season. Significance was defined as p < 0.05. This study conformed to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the institutional review board (approval number: 1677). Patient’s characteristics are shown in Table 1. Of the patients with bird-related HP, 14 had histories of bird breeding and 23 had used duvets, jackets, or other products insulated with bird feathers mainly in winter. All cases of HP were chronic forms. Histologically, all 8 of the patients who underwent Seasonal variation of serum KL-6 and SP-D levels in birdrelated hypersensitivity pneumonitis | [
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
]
|
W2125505785 | Evaluation of urban-rural bioclimatic comfort differences over a ten-year period in the sample of Erzincan city reconstructed after a heavy earthquake | In this study, the extents of the effects of a medium-sized, unindustrialized and well planned city, Erzincan, in Turkey on human thermal comfort conditions tried to be determined comparing the results of thermal comfort calculations, by means of meteorological data (from 1999 to 2008) taken from rural and urban areas and thermohygrometric index (THI) and predicted mean vote (PMV), two of the most widely used bioclimatic condition calculation indices. According to the findings, the effect of the city on human thermal comfort was found to be statistically not significant (p = 0.0001) and percentage difference of index values between the areas were 2.2 and 0.7% (urban is more comfortable) for THI and PMV, respectively. Urban characteristics of the city were evaluated for human thermal comfort and some suggestions were offered to improve the environmental quality of urban areas considering the principles of landscape architecture and land use planning. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
]
|
10.1016/j.aim.2017.05.015 | Fourier quasicrystals and discreteness of the diffraction spectrum | We prove that a positive-definite measure in Rn with uniformly discrete support and discrete closed spectrum, is representable as a finite linear combination of Dirac combs, translated and modulated. This extends our recent results where we proved this under the assumption that also the spectrum is uniformly discrete. As an application we obtain that Hof's quasicrystals with uniformly discrete diffraction spectra must have a periodic diffraction structure. | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1017/S0266467414000352 | Stand Structure And Species Co Occurrence In Mixed And Monodominant Central African Tropical Forests | We compare forests dominated by Gilbertiodendron dewevrei at the Dja Biosphere Reserve (Cameroon) with adjacent high-diversity mixed forests in terms of tree-species composition and stand structure, in order to understand the co-occurrence of mixed forest tree species in the monodominant forest. A total of 18 1-ha permanent plots were established in the two forest types. In each plot, all trees with dbh 10 cm were identified as were those <10 cm dbh within a subsample of 300 m 2 . Species richness was significantly different between the two forest types. Mixed forest had an average of 109 species ha −1 for trees 10 cm dbh and 137 species for trees <10 cm dbh. By contrast, G. dewevrei-dominated forest had an average of 47 species ha −1 (10 cm dbh) and 92 species (<10 cm dbh). There was no significant difference in terms of stem density of the trees with dbh <10 cm between the two forests (mixed: 3. 7 stems m −2 ; monodominant: 3. 1 stems m −2 ). As G. dewevrei is a shade-tolerant species that can regenerate under its | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
10.1016/bs.mcb.2015.04.003 | Isolation, cryotomography, and three-dimensional reconstruction of centrioles | Centrioles and basal bodies (referred to hereafter as centrioles for simplicity) are microtubule-based cylindrical organelles that are typically ~450-nm long and ~250 nm in diameter. The centriole is composed of three distinct regions: the distal part characterized by microtubule doublets, the central core that harbors microtubule triplets, which are also present in the proximal part that also contains the cartwheel, a structure crucial for centriole assembly. The cartwheel was initially revealed by conventional electron microscopy of resin-embedded samples and is thought to impart the near universal ninefold symmetry of centrioles. Deciphering the native architecture of the cartwheel has proven challenging owing to its small dimensions and the difficulties in isolating it. Here, we present a method to purify and analyze the structure of the exceptionally long Trichonympha centriole by cryotomography and subtomogram averaging. Using this method, we revealed the native architecture of the proximal cartwheel-containing region at ~40 Å-resolution. This method can be applied as a general strategy for uncovering the structure of centrioles in other species. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
878287 | Cellsbox: a modular system for automated cell imaging experiments | Based on research from ERC CoG HydroSync where we developed both hardware and software approaches to cell imaging, we are in the position to develop translationally a cell culture and imaging unit, with integrated modular hardware and analysis software allowing automated robust performance. This promises to not just significantly bring down the costs for a broad spectrum of cell biology and single cell imaging experiments. It will also make these experiments more reproducible, systematic and easily accessible in standardised fashion. Perhaps most important of all, by designing in an integrated (whilst modular architecture) system all the components of the experiment (optics, mechanics, cell environment and fluids control, cell sample chambers, analysis), we make it possible to rapidly feedback information on the state of the sample into actions by any of the other modules, thus allowing a new space of experimental design. This automation in running the experimental stage of cell biology, microbiology, infectious disease models, early embryo developmental work, etc (i.e. any of the many situations where one aims to follow the properties of individual cells) also aligns to the current revolution triggered by machine and deep learning approaches. We can imagine a day when integrated experimental ""CellsBoxes"" perform, in a hypothesis-driven optimised and tireless fashion, a battery of experiments that today would simply be inconceivable. This project addresses one of the experimental bottlenecks that still make too much of biological and medical research subject to bias and poor reproducibility, and change the nature of point-of-care cell tissue analysis. It will be disruptive in the current landscape of optical cell imaging, a market > $1bn globally. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering"
]
|
10.1007/978-3-319-69483-2_3 | Better Automated Importance Splitting For Transient Rare Events | Statistical model checking uses simulation to overcome the state space explosion problem in formal verification. Yet its runtime explodes when faced with rare events, unless a rare event simulation method like importance splitting is used. The effectiveness of importance splitting hinges on nontrivial model-specific inputs: an importance function with matching splitting thresholds. This prevents its use by non-experts for general classes of models. In this paper, we propose new method combinations with the goal of fully automating the selection of all parameters for importance splitting. We focus on transient (reachability) properties, which particularly challenged previous techniques, and present an exhaustive practical evaluation of the new approaches on case studies from the literature. We find that using Restart simulations with a compositionally constructed importance function and thresholds determined via a new expected success method most reliably succeeds and performs very well. Our implementation within the Modest Toolset supports various classes of formal stochastic models and is publicly available. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1002/ejic.201200025 | Hard-X-ray-induced thermal hysteresis (HAXITH) in a molecular switchable solid | In this contribution, we report the first hard-X-ray-induced thermal hysteresis (HAXITH). The bistability in [Fe(phen) 2(SCN) 2] (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) is proven by alternately heating and cooling the sample under permanent irradiation with hard X-rays. Within the hysteresis a serpentine-like switching effect is observed. HAXITH is a new tool to monitor cooperativity among the switching units. It exhibits a threshold similar to that observed with visible light excitations. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
W2969312605 | Trade liberalization, consumption shifting and pollution: Evidence from Mexico's used vehicle imports | This paper develops a model of used vehicle trade between the United States and Mexico, countries with different environmental regulations regarding vehicle emissions. We demonstrate that the United States, with its strict environmental regulations, has a motive to export used vehicles to Mexico, which impacts air pollution emissions from vehicle driving in Mexico. Using unique data on the import and registration of vehicles in Mexico after NAFTA, we find that Mexico's used vehicle imports reduce pollution emissions generated from vehicle driving mainly because of the technique effect, that is, model–age-comparable vehicles imported from the United States emit less than those originally operated in Mexico. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1039/d0cp00572j | A quantum mechanical study of dehydration vs. decarbonylation of formamide catalysed by amorphous silica surfaces | Towards life: production of HCN, the key molecule for DNA/RNA bases, from formamide decomposition catalysed by amorphous silica. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
172884 | Interpreting dust polarization maps to characterize the role of the magnetic field in star formation processes | Rotation and angular momentum transport play a critical role in the formation and evolution of astrophysical objects, including the fundamental bricks of astrophysical structures: stars. Stars like our Sun form when rotating dense cores, in the interstellar medium, collapse until they eventually reach temperatures at which nuclear fusion begins; while planets, including the Earth, form in the rotationally supported disks around these same young stars. One of the major challenges of modern astrophysics is the “angular momentum problem"": observations show that a typical star-forming cloud needs to reduce its specific angular momentum by 5 to 10 orders of magnitude to form a typical star such as our Sun. It is also crucial to solve the angular momentum problem to understand the formation of protoplanetary disks, stellar binaries and the initial mass function of newly formed stars. Magnetic fields are one of the key ways of transporting angular momentum in astrophysical structures: understanding how angular momentum is transported to allow star formation requires characterizing the role of magnetic fields in shaping the dynamics of star-forming structures. The MagneticYSOs project aims at characterizing the role of magnetic field in the earliest stage of star formation, during the main accretion phase.
The simultaneous major improvements of instrumental and computational facilities provide us, for the first time, with the opportunity to confront observational information to magnetized models predictions. Polarization capabilities on the last generation of instrument in large facilities are producing sensitive observations of magnetic fields with a great level of detail, while numerical simulations of star formation are now including most of the physical ingredients for a detailed description of protostellar collapse at all the relevant scales, such as resistive MHD, radiative transfer and chemical networks. These new tools will undoubtedly lead to major discovery in the fields of planets and star formation in the coming years. It is necessary to conduct comprehensive projects able to combine theory and observations in a detailed fashion, which in turn require a collaboration with access to cutting edge observational datasets and numerical models. Through an ambitious multi-faceted program of dedicated observations probing magnetic fields (polarized dust emission and Zeeman effect maps), gas kinematics (molecular lines emission maps), ionization rates and dust properties in Class 0 protostars, and their comparison to synthetic observations of MHD simulations of protostellar collapse, we aim to transform our understanding of:
1) The long-standing problem of angular momentum in star formation
2) The origin of the stellar initial mass function
3) The formation of multiple stellar systems and circumstellar disks around young stellar objects (YSOs)
Not only this project will enable a major leap forward in our understanding of low-mass star formation, answering yet unexplored questions with innovative methods, but it will also allow to spread the expertise in interpreting high-angular resolution (sub-)mm polarization data. Although characterizing magnetic fields in astrophysical structures represents the next frontier in many fields (solar physics, evolved stars, compact objects, galactic nuclei are a few examples), only a handful of astronomers in the EU community are familiar with interferometric polarization data, mostly because of the absence of large european facilities providing such capabilities until the recent advent of ALMA. It is now crucial to strengthen the European position in this research field by training a new generation of physicists with a strong expertise on tailoring, analyzing and interpreting high angular resolution polarization data. | [
"Universe Sciences",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1016/j.celrep.2018.04.044 | mTOR Senses Environmental Cues to Shape the Fibroblast-like Synoviocyte Response to Inflammation | Accumulating evidence suggests that metabolic master regulators, including mTOR, regulate adaptive and innate immune responses. Resident mesenchymal tissue components are increasingly recognized as key effector cells in inflammation. Whether mTOR also controls the inflammatory response in fibroblasts is insufficiently studied. Here, we show that TNF signaling co-opts the mTOR pathway to shift synovial fibroblast (FLS) inflammation toward an IFN response. mTOR pathway activation is associated with decreased NF-κB-mediated gene expression (e. g. , PTGS2, IL-6, and IL-8) but increased STAT1-dependent gene expression (e. g. , CXCL11 and TNFSF13B). We further demonstrate how metabolic inputs, such as amino acids, impinge on TNF-mTORC1 signaling to differentially regulate pro-inflammatory signaling circuits. Our results define a critical role for mTOR in the regulation of the pro-inflammatory response in FLSs and unfold its pathogenic involvement in TNF-driven diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Karonitsch et al. show that TNF signaling co-opts the mTOR pathway in fibroblast-like synoviocytes. mTOR activation is associated with decreased NF-κB-mediated but increased STAT1-dependent gene expression. Thus, the metabolic checkpoint kinase mTOR regulates the synovial tissue response to inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
W2329118031 | The association between patient-reported incidents in hospitals and estimated rates of patient harm | The aim of this study was to test the association between the rates of patient-reported incidents and patient harm documented in the patient record.The study was a secondary analysis of two national hospital assessments conducted in 2011.Hospital services in Norway.The patient survey was a standard national patient-experience survey conducted at the hospital level for all 63 hospitals in Norway. The medical record review was performed by 47 Global Trigger Tools (GTTs) in all 19 hospital trusts and 4 private hospitals. The two data sets were matched at the unit level, yielding comparable patient experiences and GTT data for 7 departments, 16 hospitals and 11 hospital trusts.No intervention.The correlation at the unit level between the patient-reported incident in hospital instrument (PRIH-I) and estimated rates of patient harm from the GTT.The PRIH-I index was significantly correlated with all patient-reported experience indicators at the individual level, with estimates for all patient harm events (Categories E-I) at the unit level (r = 0.62, P < 0.01), and with estimates of more serious harm events in Categories F-I (r = 0.42, P < 0.05).Patient-reported incidents in hospitals, as measured by the PRIH-I, are strongly correlated with patient harm rates based on the GTT. This indicates that patient-reported incidents are related to patient safety, but more research is needed to confirm the usefulness of patient reporting in the evaluation of patient safety. | [
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2019.05.018 | Staphylococcus aureus responds to allicin by global S-thioallylation – Role of the Brx/BSH/YpdA pathway and the disulfide reductase MerA to overcome allicin stress | The prevalence of methicillin-resitant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)in hospitals and the community poses an increasing health burden, which requires the discovery of alternative antimicrobials. Allicin (diallyl thiosulfinate)from garlic exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against many multidrug resistant bacteria. The thiol-reactive mode of action of allicin involves its S-thioallylations of low molecular weight (LMW)thiols and protein thiols. To investigate the mode of action and stress response caused by allicin in S. aureus, we analyzed the transcriptome signature, the targets for S-thioallylation in the proteome and the changes in the bacillithiol (BSH)redox potential (EBSH)under allicin stress. Allicin caused a strong thiol-specific oxidative and sulfur stress response and protein damage as revealed by the induction of the PerR, HypR, QsrR, MhqR, CstR, CtsR, HrcA and CymR regulons in the RNA-seq transcriptome. Allicin also interfered with metal and cell wall homeostasis and caused induction of the Zur, CsoR and GraRS regulons. Brx-roGFP2 biosensor measurements revealed a strongly increased EBSH under allicin stress. In the proteome, 57 proteins were identified with S-thioallylations under allicin treatment, including translation factors (EF-Tu, EF-Ts), metabolic and redox enzymes (AldA, GuaB, Tpx, KatA, BrxA, MsrB)as well as redox-sensitive MarR/SarA-family regulators (MgrA, SarA, SarH1, SarS). Phenotype and biochemical analyses revealed that BSH and the HypR-controlled disulfide reductase MerA are involved in allicin detoxification in S. aureus. The reversal of protein S-thioallylation was catalyzed by the Brx/BSH/YpdA pathway. Finally, the BSSB reductase YpdA was shown to use S-allylmercaptobacillithiol (BSSA)as substrate to regenerate BSH in S. aureus. In conclusion, allicin results in an oxidative shift of EBSH and protein S-thioallylation, which can be reversed by YpdA and the Brx/BSH/YpdA electron pathways in S. aureus to regenerate thiol homeostasis. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
]
|
W1989136834 | Structural aggregates of rod–coil copolymer solutions | The optoelectronic properties of rod-coil diblock copolymers with π-conjugation are greatly affected by molecular packing, which is closely related to their micellar morphology. Self-assembly of rod-coil block copolymer B(y)A(x) in a selective solvent for its coil block is studied by using dissipative particle dynamics, where B(y)A(x) denotes the polymer comprising of y rodlike B beads and x coil-like A beads. The influences of polymer concentration, component compatibility, solvent quality for coil block, rod-block length, and π-π interaction on the resulting aggregate conformations are examined. It was found that distinctly different from coil-coil copolymers, the aggregates of rod-coil copolymers exhibit morphological and structural diversity induced by the intrinsically rigid nature of the rod blocks. In general, the aggregate adopts the overall shape of sphere, cylinder, perforated sheet, or network. The morphology of the rod-block domain within aggregate is even richer and the interesting structures such as porous sphere, spherical spiral, helical bundles, discrete chunks, and nematic cylinder are observed. The short-range order parameter indicates that as rod length is long enough, neighboring rods begin to orient parallel to one another and nematic domains appear. Moreover, in the presence of π-π interactions, the neighboring rods within the B domains become more coherently oriented and smectic domains can thus be formed. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
10.1364/OE.24.024896 | Adaptive illumination based on direct wavefront sensing in a light-sheet fluorescence microscope | A methodology for the adaptive control and correction of phase aberrations in the illumination arm of a light-sheet fluorescence microscope has been developed. The method uses direct wavefront sensing on epi-fluorescent light to detect the aberration present in the sample. Using this signal, the aberrations in the illumination arm are subsequently corrected with a spatial light modulator in a feedforward mode. Adaptive correction, resulting in significant improvement in the axial resolution, has been demonstrated by imaging Tg(fli:GFP) zebrafish embryos. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1242/jeb.218701 | Route-following ants respond to alterations of the view sequence | Ants can navigate by comparing the currently perceived view with memorised views along a familiar foraging route. Models regarding route-following suggest that the views are stored and recalled independently of the sequence in which they occur. Hence, the ant only needs to evaluate the instantaneous familiarity of the current view to obtain a heading direction. This study investigates whether ant homing behaviour is influenced by alterations in the sequence of views experienced along a familiar route, using the frequency of stop-and-scan behaviour as an indicator of the ant's navigational uncertainty. Ants were trained to forage between their nest and a feeder which they exited through a short channel before proceeding along the homeward route. In tests, ants were collected before entering the nest and released again in the channel, which was placed either in its original location or halfway along the route. Ants exiting the familiar channel in the middle of the route would thus experience familiar views in a novel sequence. Results show that ants exiting the channel scan significantly more when they find themselves in the middle of the route, compared with when emerging at the expected location near the feeder. This behaviour suggests that previously encountered views influence the recognition of current views, even when these views are highly familiar, revealing a sequence component to route memory. How information about view sequences could be implemented in the insect brain, as well as potential alternative explanations to our results, are discussed. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
]
|
10.1109/IECON.2017.8216933 | Voltage Quality Improvement In Smart Transformer Integrated Distribution Grid | With increased penetration of renewable energy sources in electric grid, maintaining quality voltage at the load terminal has become a challenge. Voltage disturbances like sag, swell, harmonics, etc. , can propagate from one section to another section of electric grid and degrade the performance of sensitive loads. This paper explores the capability of smart transformer (ST) to improve the voltage quality in medium voltage (MV) grid, by replacing one conventional power transformer (CPT) with an ST in a multifeeder electric grid. In addition to supplying ST low voltage loads, the voltage regulation in MV grid is achieved by controlling the reactive current injection to the MV grid. Harmonic damping capability is integrated with the control loop to damp out the grid voltage harmonics. An improved stability of MV grid voltage regulation control is achieved in the presence of harmonic damping loop and this is verified with theoretical analysis. Extensive simulation study is carried out to validate the ST features. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1016/j.molcel.2017.05.026 | The Histone Acetyltransferase Mst2 Protects Active Chromatin from Epigenetic Silencing by Acetylating the Ubiquitin Ligase Brl1 | Faithful propagation of functionally distinct chromatin states is crucial for maintaining cellular identity, and its breakdown can lead to diseases such as cancer. Whereas mechanisms that sustain repressed states have been intensely studied, regulatory circuits that protect active chromatin from inactivating signals are not well understood. Here we report a positive feedback loop that preserves the transcription-competent state of RNA polymerase II-transcribed genes. We found that Pdp3 recruits the histone acetyltransferase Mst2 to H3K36me3-marked chromatin. Thereby, Mst2 binds to all transcriptionally active regions genome-wide. Besides acetylating histone H3K14, Mst2 also acetylates Brl1, a component of the histone H2B ubiquitin ligase complex. Brl1 acetylation increases histone H2B ubiquitination, which positively feeds back on transcription and prevents ectopic heterochromatin assembly. Our work uncovers a molecular pathway that secures epigenome integrity and highlights the importance of opposing feedback loops for the partitioning of chromatin into transcriptionally active and inactive states. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
W1750379408 | Classification of Household Devices by Electricity Usage Profiles | This paper investigates how to classify household items such as televisions, kettles and refrigerators based only on their electricity usage profile every 15 minutes over a fixed interval of time. We address this time series classification problem through deriving a set of features that characterise the pattern of usage and the amount of power used when a device is on. We evaluate a wide range of classifiers on both the raw data and the derived feature set using both a daily and weekly usage profile and demonstrate that whilst some devices can be identified with a high degree of accuracy, others are very hard to disambiguate with this granularity of data. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
174691 | Structure and dynamics of low-complexity regions in proteins: the huntingtin case | Proteins hosting regions highly enriched in one or few amino acids, the so-called Low-Complexity Regions (LCR), are very common in eukaryotes and play crucial roles in biology. Homorepeats, a subfamily of LCR that present stretches of the same amino acid, perform very specialized functions facilitated by the localized enrichment of the same physicochemical property. In contrast, numerous severe pathologies have been associated to abnormally long repetitions. Despite the relevance of homorepeats, their high-resolution characterization by traditional structural biology techniques is hampered by the degeneracy of the amino acid environments and their intrinsic flexibility. In chemREPEAT, I will develop strategies to incorporate isotopically labelled and unnatural amino acids at specific positions within homorepeats that will overcome present limitations. These labelled positions will be unique probes to investigate for first time the structure and dynamics of homorepeats at atomic level using complementary biophysical techniques. Computational tools will be specifically developed to derive three-dimensional conformational ensembles of homorepeats by synergistically integrating experimental data.
chemREPEAT strategies will be developed on huntingtin (Htt), the prototype of repetitive protein. Htt hosts a glutamine tract that is linked with Huntington’s disease (HD), a deadly neuropathology appearing in individuals with more than 35 consecutive Glutamine residues that represent a pathological threshold. The application of the developed approaches to several Htt constructions with different number of Glutamines will reveal the structural bases of the pathological threshold in HD and the role played by the regions flanking the Glutamine tract.
The strategies designed in chemREPEAT will expand present frontiers of structural biology to unveil the structure/function relationships for LCRs. This capacity will pave the way for a rational intervention in associated diseases. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1016/j.physletb.2014.03.016 | Study of the <sup>K ±</sup>→<sup>π ±</sup>γγ decay by the NA62 experiment | A study of the dynamics of the rare decay K ±→π ±γγ has been performed on a sample of 232 decay candidates, with an estimated background of 17. 4 ± 1. 1 events, collected by the NA62 experiment at CERN in 2007. The results are combined with those from a measurement conducted by the NA48/2 Collaboration at CERN. The combined model-independent branching ratio in the kinematic range z=(mγγ/mK)2>0. 2 is BMI(z>0. 2)=(0. 965±0. 063)×10-6, and the combined branching ratio in the full kinematic range assuming a Chiral Perturbation Theory description is B(Kπγγ)=(1. 003±0. 056)×10-6. A detailed comparison of the results with the previous measurements is performed. | [
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
]
|
637388 | Non-Coding rna and intercellular communication in cardiac ageing | Life expectancy in the European Union is rising and the prevalence of age-induced cardiovascular disease increases concomitantly. The main clinical presentation of age-induced cardiovascular disease is heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). HFpEF is a complex disease involving different cell types and mechanisms that contribute to impaired relaxation of cardiomyocytes. Currently there is no appropriate treatment for HFpEF. This proposal aims to better understand the molecular mechanisms behind intercellular communication and ageing that lead to HFpEF.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as novel key regulators of cellular functions and we hypothesize that lncRNAs contribute to ageing-induced cardiac dysfunction, including HFpEF. Preliminary experiments show that several long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are differentially regulated during cardiac ageing, including the cardiomyocyte-enriched lncRNA Sarrah that is essential for cardiomyocyte survival. We propose to extensively characterize the role of Sarrah in HFpEF and to identify other lncRNAs that are involved in cardiac ageing. Importantly, we will focus those lncRNAs that are also affected in a cohort of human HFpEF patients. Furthermore, since disturbed intercellular communication is a hallmark of both ageing and HFpEF, we will identify lncRNAs that regulate endothelial cell-cardiomyocyte crosstalk. We will use state-of-the-art in vitro and in vivo models to assess cardiac ageing and function upon gain-of-function and loss-of-function of lncRNAs in a cell-type specific manner.
Understanding the role that Sarrah and other lncRNAs play in cardiac ageing and HFpEF will highlight novel potential therapeutic targets to attenuate age-induced cardiac dysfunction and will increase our knowledge of the underlying mechanisms controlling intercellular communication and cardiac function. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
10.1177/1468794119830533 | Walking As Transgenerational Methodology | The embodied practice of walking is said to make the city a cinematic experience that carves a path through to be read in multiple ways by future mobile bodies. De Certeau’s (1984) undifferentiated. . . | [
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"Studies of Cultures and Arts"
]
|
10.1038/srep27947 | Perceived visual time depends on motor preparation and direction of hand movements | Perceived time undergoes distortions when we prepare and perform movements, showing compression and/or expansion for visual, tactile and auditory stimuli. However, the actual motor system contribution to these time distortions is far from clear. In this study we investigated visual time perception during preparation of isometric contractions and real movements of the hand in two different directions (right/left). Comparable modulations of visual event-timing are found in the isometric and in the movement condition, excluding explanations based on movement-induced sensory masking or attenuation. Most importantly, and surprisingly, visual time depends on the movement direction, being expanded for hand movements pointing away from the body and compressed in the other direction. Furthermore, the effect of movement direction is not constant, but rather undergoes non-monotonic modulations in the brief moments preceding movement initiation. Our findings indicate that time distortions are strongly linked to the motor system, and they may be unavoidable consequences of the mechanisms subserving sensory-motor integration. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
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