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CZ 2015000058 W | A STABILIZED FORMULATION OF FESOTERODINE | The present invention relates to a stable pharmaceutical formulation, containing fesoterodine [2-[(1R)-3-(Di(propan-2-yl)amino)-1-phenylpropyl]-4- (hydroxymethyl)phenyl] 2-methyl propanoate of formula (I) and/or its salts, solvate ester and a method of its preparation. (Formula (I)) | [
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1039/c6ja00064a | Ultra-high-precision Nd-isotope measurements of geological materials by MC-ICPMS | We report novel techniques allowing the measurement of Nd-isotope ratios with unprecedented accuracy and precision by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
10.1038/ncomms15869 | Somatic mutations in clonally expanded cytotoxic T lymphocytes in patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis | Somatic mutations contribute to tumorigenesis. Although these mutations occur in all proliferating cells, their accumulation under non-malignant conditions, such as in autoimmune disorders, has not been investigated. Here, we show that patients with newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis have expanded CD8+ T-cell clones; in 20% (5/25) of patients CD8+ T cells, but not CD4+ T cells, harbour somatic mutations. In healthy controls (n=20), only one mutation is identified in the CD8+ T-cell pool. Mutations exist exclusively in the expanded CD8+ effector-memory subset, persist during follow-up, and are predicted to change protein functions. Some of the mutated genes (SLAMF6, IRF1) have previously been associated with autoimmunity. RNA sequencing of mutation-harbouring cells shows signatures corresponding to cell proliferation. Our data provide evidence of accumulation of somatic mutations in expanded CD8+ T cells, which may have pathogenic significance for RA and other autoimmune diseases. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
337128 | The Archaeology of Agricultural Resilience in Eastern Africa | The twin concepts of sustainability and conservation that are so pivotal within current debates regarding economic development and biodiversity protection both contain an inherent temporal dimension, since both refer to the need to balance short-term gains with long-term resource maintenance. Proponents of resilience theory and of development based on ‘indigenous knowledge’ have thus argued for the necessity of including archaeological, historical and palaeoenvironmental components within development project design. Indeed, some have argued that archaeology should lead these interdisciplinary projects on the grounds that it provides the necessary time depth and bridges the social and natural sciences. The project proposed here accepts this logic and endorses this renewed contemporary relevance of archaeological research. However, it also needs to be admitted that moving beyond critiques of the misuse of historical data presents significant hurdles. When presenting results outside the discipline, for example, archaeological projects tend to downplay the poor archaeological visibility of certain agricultural practices, and computer models designed to test sustainability struggle to adequately account for local cultural preferences. This field will therefore not progress unless there is a frank appraisal of archaeology’s strengths and weaknesses. This project will provide this assessment by employing a range of established and groundbreaking archaeological and modelling techniques to examine the development of two east Africa agricultural systems: one at the abandoned site of Engaruka in Tanzania, commonly seen as an example of resource mismanagement and ecological collapse; and another at the current agricultural landscape in Konso, Ethiopia, described by the UN FAO as one of a select few African “lessons from the past”. The project thus aims to assess the sustainability of these systems, but will also assess the role archaeology can play in such debates worldwide. | [
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
10.5194/acp-19-11765-2019 | In situ constraints on the vertical distribution of global aerosol | Abstract. Despite ongoing efforts, the vertical distribution of aerosols globally is
poorly understood. This in turn leads to large uncertainties in the
contributions of the direct and indirect aerosol forcing on climate. Using
the Global Aerosol Synthesis and Science Project (GASSP) database – the
largest synthesised collection of in situ aircraft measurements currently
available, with more than 1000 flights from 37 campaigns from around the
world – we investigate the vertical structure of submicron aerosols across
a wide range of regions and environments. The application of this unique
dataset to assess the vertical distributions of number size distribution and
cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the global aerosol–climate model
ECHAM-HAM reveals that the model underestimates accumulation-mode particles
in the upper troposphere, especially in remote regions. The processes
underlying this discrepancy are explored using different aerosol
microphysical schemes and a process sensitivity analysis. These show that
the biases are predominantly related to aerosol ageing and removal rather
than emissions. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
W1982382928 | Competition Between Viscoelasticity and Surfactant Dynamics in Flow Focusing Microfluidics | The goal of this work is to quantify the impact of viscoelasticity on a tipstreaming phenomenon observed in flow focusing microfluidic devices. Tipstreaming, or thread formation, is a phenomenon caused by surfactant transport to, from, and along, deforming interfaces that leads to long filaments in microfluidic devices. Viscoelasticity also leads to stable filaments, so possible synergies are investigated here. The ability to generate extremely long and thin filaments that will break up via interfacial instabilities will lead to the formation of droplets much smaller than the device lengthscales. Viscoelastic Boger fluids are used as the dispersed phase liquid in a flow focusing device and surfactant is added to the continuous phase liquid. We find a region of operating space in which viscoelasticity appears to couple with surfactant transport to form long threads. The phenomenon is described qualitatively and is related to fluid relaxation times. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
10.1111/arcm.12063 | Trace element analysis in provenancing Roman glass-making | In this study, the use of trace elements as a provenance indicator for Roman natron glass is evaluated. Suitable glass-making sand raw materials are analysed for their trace elemental composition and compared to glass from known production centres. It is shown that the combined use of Nd isotopic and trace element analysis can be efficient for the provenancing of Roman glass. Trace elements associated with (de)colourants of glass are only present in small concentrations in glass-making sands. Background levels introduced to the glass by the sand raw material are defined and a lower threshold for the concentrations influenced by recycling is determined. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Materials Engineering",
"The Study of the Human Past"
]
|
882990 | European e-infrastructure for extreme data analytics in sustainable development | Agriculture is a, literally, vital industry. Not only important for nourishment, but also a key determiant of health, economic and political stability; employment; business and biological ecosystems; and society. Because of its importance, most attention focuses on productivity but it is essential to have a global view in order to address environment sustainability problems. EUXDAT proposes an e-Infrastructure, which addresses agriculture, land monitoring and energy efficiency for a sustainable development, as a way to support planning policies.
In order to do so, we need to address the problems related to the current and future huge amount of heterogeneous data to be managed and processed. EUXDAT builds on existing mature components for solving them, by providing an advanced frontend, where users will develop applications on top of an infrastructure based on HPC and Cloud. The frontend provides monitoring information, visualization, different parallelized data analytic tools and enhanced data and processes catalogues, enabling Large Data Analytics-as-a-Service. EUXDAT will include a large set of data connectors (UAVs, Copernicus, field sensors, etc.), for scalable analytics.
As for the brokering infrastructure, EUXDAT aims at optimizing data and resources usage. In addition to a mechanism for supporting data management linked to data quality evaluation, EUXDAT proposes a way to orchestrate tasks execution, identifying whether the best target is a HPC center or a Cloud provider. It will use monitoring and profiling information for taking decisions based on trade-offs related to cost, data constraints, efficiency and resources availability.
During the project, EUXDAT will be in contact with scientific communities, in order to identify new trends and datasets, for guiding the evolution of the e-Infrastructure. The final result of the project will be and integrated e-Infrastructure which will encourage end users to create new applications for sustainable development. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
EP 2009061521 W | WASTE HEAT STEAM GENERATOR | The invention relates to a waste heat steam generator (1) having a plurality of evaporator tubes (4) which are connected in parallel on the flow medium side, a plurality of overheating tubes (26) being mounted downstream of the evaporator tubes by means of a water separation system. Said water separation system comprises a number of water separating elements (12), each water separation element being respectively mounted downstream of a plurality of evaporator tubes (4) and/or upstream of a plurality of overheating tubes (26). Each water separating element (12) comprises an inlet pipe (14) which is respectively connected upstream to the evaporator tubes (4), said inlet pipe extending into a water evacuation pipe when seen in the longitudinal direction. A plurality of outflow pipes (18) branch off in the transitional area, said pipes being connected to a inlet collector (28) of the overheating tubes (26) which are respectively connected downstream. The aim of the invention is to provide said type of waste heat steam generator which is characterised in that it has a particularly high level of operational flexibility with comparatively low construction and reparation complexity. As a result, a distribution element (34) is arranged on the steam side between the respective water separating element (12) and the inlet collector (28). | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
W2884045397 | Orchestrating cells on a chip: Employing surface acoustic waves towards the formation of neural networks | For the investigation of cell-cell interaction in general and for neural communication and future applications of neural networks, a controllable and well-defined network structure is crucial. We here propose the implementation of an acoustically driven system for tunable and deliberate stimulation and manipulation of cell growth on a chip. This piezoelectric chip allows us to generate a checkerboard-like standing surface acoustic wave pattern coupled to a fluid layer in a microfluidic chamber on top. Such a dynamically induced patterning lattice is shown to allow for the active positioning of the neurons and subsequent guided neurite outgrowth, thus finally overcoming the limitations of static approaches. After thorough characterization of the resulting tunable potential landscape, we successfully demonstrate cell adhesion and even growth of the such positioned cells within the well-defined pressure nodes. We demonstrate neuron growth at predetermined positions and observe a subsequent neurite outgrowth, even being correlated with the artificial potential landscape. For the very delicate and sensitive primary neural cells, this is a change of paradigm! Our experimental findings give us confidence that our hybrid lab-on-a-chip system in the near future will allow researchers to study cell-cell interaction of primary neurons. If scaled to a true network level, it will enable us to control and study how neural networks connect, interact, and communicate. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1145/3358220 | Fpga Stream Monitoring Of Real Time Properties | An essential part of cyber-physical systems is the online evaluation of real-time data streams. Especially in systems that are intrinsically safety-critical, a dedicated monitoring component inspecting data streams to detect problems at runtime greatly increases the confidence in a safe execution. Such a monitor needs to be based on a specification language capable of expressing complex, high-level properties using only the accessible low-level signals. Moreover, tight constraints on computational resources exacerbate the requirements on the monitor. Thus, several existing approaches to monitoring are not applicable due to their dependence on an operating system. We present an FPGA-based monitoring approach by compiling an RTLola specification into synthesizable VHDL code. RTLola is a stream-based specification language capable of expressing complex real-time properties while providing an upper bound on the execution time and memory requirements. The statically determined memory bound allows for a compilation to an FPGA with a fixed size. An advantage of FPGAs is a simple integration process in existing systems and superb executing time. The compilation results in a highly parallel implementation thanks to the modular nature of RTLola specifications. This further increases the maximal event rate the monitor can handle. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
670645 | A multi-resolution theory for systems and control across scales | The multi-resolution approach to science and engineering is key to tackle the complexity of systems that span across many temporal and spatial scales. This approach has revolutionized signal processing over the last two decades, most notably through wavelet theory, which builds upon the elementary concept of zooming in and out a mother signal localized in time and frequency. A similar revolution is needed in systems and control to address the most pressing engineering challenges of the 21st century, particularly in the field of medical neuroscience.
Our proposal is to lay the mathematical foundations of a multi-resolution behavioral theory. Multi-resolution behaviors are behaviors that can be modeled, analyzed, controlled, and designed at different resolutions. Our approach is based on the core novel idea that an elementary feedback principle regulates localization. Analogously to the wavelet in signal processing, we introduce the switchlet as an elementary nonlinear feedback system statically localized in range, dynamically localized in space and time. Analogously to filter banks in signal processing, our proposed interconnection theory of switchlets provides specific zooming in and out principles relying on synchronization principles.
The theory of our proposal is entirely inspired, steered, and benchmarked by the specific application of understanding the robustness and modulation principles of neuronal behaviors, in collaboration with experimental neuroscientists. We propose that the multi-resolution organizing principles that we have learned by studying neuronal behaviors provide entirely novel design principles for the control of natural and artificial behaviors across scales. The objective of our proposal is to demonstrate the potential impact of such principles in the emerging age of distributed sensing and actuating technology. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Mathematics",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System"
]
|
10.1056/NEJMoa1514762 | Early versus Late parenteral nutrition in critically ill children | BACKGROUND: Recent trials have questioned the benefit of early parenteral nutrition in adults. The effect of early parenteral nutrition on clinical outcomes in critically ill children is unclear. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial involving 1440 critically ill children to investigate whether withholding parenteral nutrition for 1 week (i. e. , providing late parenteral nutrition) in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) is clinically superior to providing early parenteral nutrition. Fluid loading was similar in the two groups. The two primary end points were new infection acquired during the ICU stay and the adjusted duration of ICU dependency, as assessed by the number of days in the ICU and as time to discharge alive from ICU. For the 723 patients receiving early parenteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition was initiated within 24 hours after ICU admission, whereas for the 717 patients receiving late parenteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition was not provided until the morning of the 8th day in the ICU. In both groups, enteral nutrition was attempted early and intravenous micronutrients were provided. RESULTS: Although mortality was similar in the two groups, the percentage of patients with a new infection was 10. 7% in the group receiving late parenteral nutrition, as compared with 18. 5% in the group receiving early parenteral nutrition (adjusted odds ratio, 0. 48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0. 35 to 0. 66). The mean (±SE) duration of ICU stay was 6. 5±0. 4 days in the group receiving late parenteral nutrition, as compared with 9. 2±0. 8 days in the group receiving early parenteral nutrition; there was also a higher likelihood of an earlier live discharge from the ICU at any time in the late-parenteral-nutrition group (adjusted hazard ratio, 1. 23; 95% CI, 1. 11 to 1. 37). Late parenteral nutrition was associated with a shorter duration of mechanical ventilatory support than was early parenteral nutrition (P = 0. 001), as well as a smaller proportion of patients receiving renal-replacement therapy (P = 0. 04) and a shorter duration of hospital stay (P = 0. 001). Late parenteral nutrition was also associated with lower plasma levels of γ-glutamyltransferase and alkaline phosphatase than was early parenteral nutrition (P = 0. 001 and P = 0. 04, respectively), as well as higher levels of bilirubin (P = 0. 004) and C-reactive protein (P = 0. 006). CONCLUSIONS: In critically ill children, withholding parenteral nutrition for 1 week in the ICU was clinically superior to providing early parenteral nutrition. | [
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1145/3173574.3174220 | Observations On Typing From 136 Million Keystrokes | We report on typing behaviour and performance of 168,000 volunteers in an online study. The large dataset allows detailed statistical analyses of keystroking patterns, linking them to typing performance. Besides reporting distributions and confirming some earlier findings, we report two new findings. First, letter pairs that are typed by different hands or fingers are more predictive of typing speed than, for example, letter repetitions. Second, rollover-typing, wherein the next key is pressed before the previous one is released, is sur- prisingly prevalent. Notwithstanding considerable variation in typing patterns, unsupervised clustering using normalised inter-key intervals reveals that most users can be divided into eight groups of typists that differ in performance, accuracy, hand and finger usage, and rollover. The code and dataset are released for scientific use. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1002/ijc.28945 | Lung tumours reprogram pulmonary Dendritic cell immunogenicity at the microrna level | Lung cancer arises in a context of tumour-induced immune suppression. Dendritic cells (DCs) are central players in the induction of anti-tumoural immunity, providing critical signals that drive the induction of cytotoxic T-cell responses. Meanwhile, microRNAs are associated with tumour development as well as immune regulation. We postulated that lung tumours escape immune control by reprogramming DC immunogenicity at the microRNA level. Using an orthotopic model of lung cancer, we first identified the DC population responsible for transport and cross-presentation of lung tumour-derived antigens to naïve T cells in the draining mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs). Profiling the full microRNA repertoire of these DCs revealed a restricted set of microRNAs that was consistently dysregulated in the presence of lung tumours, with miR-301a as one of the top upregulated transcripts. Overexpression of miR-301a in DCs suppressed IL-12 secretion, decreased IFN-γ release from antigenspecific cytotoxic T cells, and shifted antigen-specific T helper cytokine profile away from IFN-γ towards IL-13 and IL-17Asecreting T cells. Strikingly, DC-selective Dicer1 gene deletion resulted in delayed lung tumour growth and a survival benefit. Taken together, our data reveal that lung tumours induce an immunosuppressive microRNA signature in pulmonary DCs. Interfering with the DC-intrinsic capacity to remodel microRNA repertoires affects lung tumour outcome. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
W1780936642 | Glitazones are associated with reduced risk of COPD exacerbations and mortality among patients with diabetes | Introduction: Moderators of systemic inflammation may reduce risk of exacerbations among patients with COPD. Glitazones, used in the treatment of diabetes, also have anti-inflammatory properties. We sought to assess whether glitazones were associated with a decreased risk of COPD exacerbations and mortality. Study design: We performed a cohort study between 10/2005-09/2006 of all US veterans who received an oral antihypoglycemic medication (sulfonureas, biguanides, or glitazones) on more than one occasion. Our outcome measures included outpatient COPD exacerbations, hospitalization for COPD, and all cause mortality. Our primary exposure was glitazone use compared to sulfonureas and/or biguanides. We used GEE to estimate the effect of glitazones and to adjust for potential confounding factors. Results: We identified 600,366 patients. Adjustment for age, sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidity, and markers of COPD severity had minimal effects on the point estimates. In comparison to either a sulfonylurea or biguanide, glitazones were associated with a significantly reduced risk of outpatient exacerbation (Adjusted relative likelihood (Adj-RL), 95%CI: 0.79 (0.72-0.86), hospitalization for COPD exacerbation (Adj-RL, 95%CI: 0.82 (0.69-0.97)) and all cause mortality (Adj-RL, 95%CI: 0.89 (0.85-0.93)). These estimates were robust to sensitivity analyses that imposed increasingly strict definitions of COPD. Conclusion: Glitazones were associated with a significant reduction in COPD exacerbations and all cause mortality. We hypothesize that this association may be mediated through the anti-inflammatory properties of glitazones. Funding: Gilead Sciences, Inc., & VA HSRD | [
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
]
|
W4281839841 | Banco Comunitário Moeda Verde: uma proposta de ressignicação dos resíduos sólidos na Amazônia | A problemática da gestão de resíduos sólidos municipais é um desafio para administração pública, pois se trata de um espaço bastante complexo onde se confrontam interesses, havendo a necessidade de se pensar soluções criativas com diversidade de campos de influência; aumentar possibilidades para alternativas de inovação; e enfrentar estes desafios através do desenvolvimento de ações transversais, envolvendo diferentes atores sociais e setores da municipalidade. Este artigo visa descrever o Projeto do Banco Comunitário Moeda Verde, desenvolvendo um estudo de caso de abordagem qualitativa exploratória para compreensão da estrutura organizacional e do acesso ao microcrédito do projeto. O Moeda verde nasceu em 2018 como demanda do Instituto de Desenvolvimento Amazônia Sustentável – (IDEASSU) no município de Igarapé Açu, região nordeste do Estado do Pará. A proposta gerou o Movimento Popular Moeda Verde de mobilização social para a troca de material reciclável por moeda social. É uma experiência única na Amazônia, que extrai do lixo, múltiplas possibilidades de agregação de valor dos resíduos sólidos, geração de emprego e renda a população local. Este projeto é responsável pelo incentivo a redução no volume de resíduos recicláveis enviados para o lixão municipal e o descarte inadequado, reduzindo sistematicamente a pressão sobre os ecossistemas locais, principalmente sobre as nascentes dos igarapés do entorno do lixão, bem como, pelo aumento no número de munícipes engajados nas campanhas de educação ambiental que promovem a coleta seletiva na cidade e abertura de novos postos de trabalho para trabalhadores do lixão que sobrevivem da coleta de lixo na cidade. | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
W1985616978 | Asymmetric Synthesis of α-Amino-1,3-dithianes via Chiral <i>N</i>-Phosphonyl Imine-Based Umpolung Reaction Without Using Chromatography and Recrystallization | A series of α-amino-1,3-dithianes have been synthesized via the asymmetric Umpolung reaction of 2-lithio-1,3-dithianes with chiral N-phosphonyl imines in good chemical yields (up to 82%) and good to excellent diastereoselectivities (>99:1). The manner by which chiral N-phosphonyl imines are slowly added into the solution of 2-lithio-1,3-dithiane was found to be crucial for achieving excellent diastereoselectivity. The current synthesis was proven to follow the GAP chemistry (group-assistant-purification chemistry) process, which avoids traditional purification techniques of chromatography or recrystallization, i.e., the pure chiral α-amino-1,3-dithianes attached with the chiral N-phosphonyl group were readily obtained by washing the solid crude products with hexane or a mixture of hexane-ethyl acetate. | [
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
218043 | A handheld, ultra-sensitive device for rapid contactless explosive vapour detection in open air, based on ion mobility universal sensor technology | Explosives detection currently represents the biggest security challenge, being easy to acquire with limited resources and difficult to be detected in real-time. Recommended procedures for explosive detection are inherently unsafe: due to current technological limitations, EU regulations only prescribe screenings on a variable percentage of randomly chosen passengers. Being not portable, such devices can only be installed at screening lines - but in Brussels 2016 explosions happened way before them. Moreover, existing devices just allow to analyse swabbed points instead of the passengers’ total body. In the meantime, those procedures are slow (up to 30 s/passenger) and intrusive, requiring physical contact (swabbing): two major drawbacks, considering that airports competition is based today on passenger experience.
Eye on Air developed I-MUST, a handheld disruptive device based on a proprietary, ultra-thin and high sensitive Ion Mobility Spectrometry sensor. Embedded into I-MUST, it ensures the most secure detection of explosives, with a sensitivity 500 times higher than its competitors (0.1 ppb) and the detection of >150 compounds, i.e. 3 to 5 times more compounds than currently used technology. I-MUST can be used not only at screening lines, but everywhere in public places, allowing to introduce the concept of a “distributed security” and, thanks to the brief time of analysis (2 s), 100% passengers can be scanned. By using short ion beams and a small, annular drift space, Eye on Air obtained such performing, enabling technology, whose features have already been confirmed in October 2015 by TNO, the Dutch research institute devoted to the certification of airport screening devices.
During Phase 1 project, Eye on Air will assess the scale-up industrialization plan and will evaluate a sound go-to-market strategy to ensure successful commercialization of the I-MUST device for airport explosive detection. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
W3148071842 | Design and Analysis of a Novel Parallel Metamorphic Mechanism | 3-UPU parallel mechanisms, whose axes of hooke joint on base plate and moving plate fit different geometric constraints, can have translational or orientational output. A configuration-switch mechanism for 3-UPU parallel mechanism is designed based on the theory of metamorphic that change the orientations of kinematic pairs can lead to configuration transformation. This mechanism consists of two identical kinematic chains fixed on base plate and moving plate respectively. In order to change output and design a novel parallel metamorphic mechanism, the joint of two identical kinematic chains transforms to make axes of hooke joints change between parallel and jointed. A proper configuration-switch position affects the working performance of consequent configuration, since metamorphic mechanisms have multigroup couple relationship. Screw theory is adopted to calculate the DOF of this parallel metamorphic mechanism in different configuration respectively. Taking the mechanisms' workspace for example, the effect of the configuration-switch position on working performance of mechanisms in different configuration is analyzed. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
NL 8702306 A | Distance measuring device laser light source - has optics emitting light beam in measuring range optics projecting reflected light onto detector | The device for measuring distances has a laser light source with a first optical system with which a laser beam is emitted in the direction of a measuring range. There is also a positionally sensitive light detector and a second optical system with which light, reflected by an object in the range, is projected onto the detector. A supply circuit excites the laser source and is controlled by a signal which can vary the intensity of the emitted light rays within predetermined limits. The detector is connected to an intensity detecting circuit producing an output signal whose strength is related to the intensity. This light intensity dependent signal is compared in a threshold value circuit, to stimulate the supply circuit. Thus with an intensity dependent signal over the threshold value, the laser source provides a relatively high power for measuring purposes. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2365-14.2014 | Initial Investigation Of The Effects Of An Experimentally Learned Schema On Spatial Associative Memory In Humans | Networks of interconnected neocortical representations of prior knowledge, “schemas,” facilitate memory for congruent information. This facilitation is thought to be mediated by augmented encoding and accelerated consolidation. However, it is less clear how schema affects retrieval. Rodent and human studies to date suggest that schema-related memories are differently retrieved. However, these studies differ substantially as most human studies implement pre-experimental world-knowledge as schemas and tested item or nonspatial associative memory, whereas animal studies have used intraexperimental schemas based on item-location associations within a complex spatial layout that, in humans, could engage more strategic retrieval processes. Here, we developed a paradigm conceptually linked to rodent studies to examine the effects of an experimentally learned spatial associative schema on learning and retrieval of new object-location associations and to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying schema-related retrieval. Extending previous findings, we show that retrieval of schema-defining associations is related to activity along anterior and posterior midline structures and angular gyrus. The existence of such spatial associative schema resulted in more accurate learning and retrieval of new, related associations, and increased time allocated to retrieve these associations. This retrieval was associated with right dorsolateral prefrontal and lateral parietal activity, as well as interactions between the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and medial and lateral parietal regions, and between the medial prefrontal cortex and posterior midline regions, supporting the hypothesis that retrieval of new, schema-related object-location associations in humans also involves augmented monitoring and systematic search processes. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1371/journal.pntd.0003847 | Genotypic diversity is associated with clinical outcome and phenotype in cryptococcal meningitis across Southern Africa | Cryptococcal meningitis is a major cause of mortality throughout the developing world, yet little is known about the genetic markers underlying Cryptococcal virulence and patient outcome. We studied a cohort of 230 Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn) isolates from HIV-positive South African clinical trial patients with detailed clinical follow-up using multi-locus sequence typing and in vitro phenotypic virulence assays, correlating these data with clinical and fungal markers of disease in the patient. South African Cn displayed high levels of genetic diversity and locus variability compared to globally distributed types, and we identified 50 sequence types grouped within the main molecular types VNI, VNII and VNB, with 72% of isolates typed into one of seven 'high frequency' sequence types. Spatial analysis of patients’ cryptococcal genotype was not shown to be clustered geographically, which might argue against recent local acquisition and in favour of reactivation of latent infection. Through comparison of MLST genotyping data with clinical parameters, we found a relationship between genetic lineage and clinical outcome, with patients infected with the VNB lineage having significantly worse survival (n=8, HR 3. 35, CI 1. 51-7. 20, p=0. 003), and this was maintained even after adjustment for known prognostic indicators and treatment regimen. Comparison of fungal genotype with in vitro phenotype (phagocytosis, laccase activity and CSF survival) performed on a subset of 89 isolates revealed evidence of lineage-associated virulence phenotype, with the VNII lineage displaying increased laccase activity (p=0. 001) and ex vivo CSF survival (p=0. 0001). These findings show that Cryptococcus neoformans is a phenotypically heterogeneous pathogen, and that lineage plays an important role in cryptococcal virulence during human infection. Furthermore, a detailed understanding of the genetic diversity in Southern Africa will support further investigation into how genetic diversity is structured across African environments, allowing assessment of the risks different ecotypes pose to infection. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
10.1016/j.chom.2015.10.015 | Autophagy proteins promote repair of endosomal membranes damaged by the Salmonella type three secretion system 1 | Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Tm) is an enteropathogen requiring multiple virulence factors, including two type three secretion systems (T1 and T2). T1 triggers epithelium invasion in which the bacteria are taken up into endosomes that mature into Salmonella-containing vacuoles (SCV) and trigger T2 induction upon acidification. Mechanisms controlling endosome membrane integrity or pathogen egress into the cytosol are incompletely understood. We screened for host factors affecting invasion and SCV maturation and identified a role for autophagy in sealing endosomal membranes damaged by T1 during host cell invasion. S. Tm-infected autophagy-deficient (atg5-/-) cells exhibit reduced SCV dye retention and lower T2 expression but no effects on steps preceding SCV maturation. However, in the absence of T1, autophagy is dispensable for T2 induction. These findings establish a role of autophagy at early stages of S. Tm infection and suggest that autophagy-mediated membrane repair might be generally important for invasive pathogens and endosomal membrane function. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
]
|
228304 | Equidistribution in number theory | The purpose of this proposal is to investigate from various perspectives some equidistribution problems associated with homogeneous spaces of arithmetic type: a typical problem (basically solved) is the distribution of the set of representations of a large integer by an integral quadratic form. Another harder problem is the study of the distribution of special points on Shimura varieties. In a different direction (linked with quantum chaos), the study of the concentration of Laplacian (Maass) eigenforms or of sections of holomorphic bundles is related to similar problems. Given X such a space and G>L the underlying algebraic group and its corresponding lattice L, the above questions boil down to studying the distribution of H-orbits x.H (or more generally H-invariant measures)on the quotient L\G for some subgroups H. This question may be studied different methods: Harmonic Analysis (HA): given a function f on L\G one studies the period integral of f along x.H. This may be done by automorphic methods. In favorable circumstances, the above periods are related to L-functions which one may hope to treat by methods from analytic number theory (the subconvexity problem). Ergodic Theory (ET): one studies the properties of weak*-limits of the measures supported by x.H using rigidity techniques: depending on the nature of H, one might use either rigidity of unipotent actions or the more recent rigidity results for torus actions in rank >1. In fact, HA and ET are intertwined and complementary : the use of ET in this context require a substantial input from number theory and HA, while ET lead to a soft understanding of several features of HA. In addition, the Langlands correspondence principle make it possible to pass from one group G to another. Based on earlier experience, our goal is to develop these interactions systematically and to develop new approaches to outstanding arithmetic problems :eg. the subconvexity problem or the Andre/Oort conjecture. | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1098/rspa.2014.0232 | An elastica arm scale | The concept of a ‘deformable arm scale’ (completely different from a traditional rigid arm balance) is theoretically introduced and experimentally validated. The idea is not intuitive, but is the result of nonlinear equilibrium kinematics of rods inducing configurational forces, so that deflection of the arms becomes necessary for equilibrium, which would be impossible for a rigid system. In particular, the rigid arms of usual scales are replaced by a flexible elastic lamina, free to slide in a frictionless and inclined sliding sleeve, which can reach a unique equilibrium configuration when two vertical dead loads are applied. Prototypes designed to demonstrate the feasibility of the system show a high accuracy in the measurement of load within a certain range of use. Finally, we show that the presented results are strongly related to snaking of confined beams, with implications for locomotion of serpents, plumbing and smart oil drilling. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1111/jnc.13044 | Opposite control of frontocortical 2-arachidonoylglycerol turnover rate by cannabinoid type-1 receptors located on glutamatergic neurons and on astrocytes | This study examined the respective influences of cannabinoid type-1 (CB<inf>1</inf>) receptors expressed either in forebrain GABAergic neurons, in cortical glutamatergic neurons, or in astrocytes on the turnover rates of the endocannabinoids N-arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and the non-cannabinoid N-acylethanolamides, palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), and oleoylethanolamide (OEA), in mouse forebrain regions. To this end, conditional mutant mice lacking CB<inf>1</inf> receptors from either of these cell types were pre-treated systemically with JZL195, a dual inhibitor of fatty acid amide hydrolase, the enzyme degrading AEA, PEA, and OEA, and of monoacylglycerol lipase, the main 2-AG-degrading enzyme. The analyses of frontocortical, hippocampal, and striatal AEA, 2-AG, PEA, and OEA concentrations revealed that their respective baseline concentrations were not influenced by the mouse genotype. On the other hand, the accumulation of frontocortical and/or hippocampal 2-AG levels in JZL195-pre-treated mice was dependent on the mouse genotype. Thus, JZL195-induced 2-AG accumulation rates were diminished in the frontal cortex of mice lacking CB<inf>1</inf> receptors in glutamatergic neurons while their respective values were increased in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of mice lacking these receptors in astrocytes. These genotypic differences occurred with parallel and proportionate changes in the fractional rate constants for degradation of 2-AG, thus providing a mechanism whereby the baseline levels of 2-AG remained constant between genotypes. Besides suggesting a cell-type-specific control of frontocortical and/or hippocampal 2-AG synthesis and degradation rates by CB<inf>1</inf> receptors, this study highlights the interest of assessing endocannabinoid turnover rates when questioning the status of the endocannabinoid system. In mice lacking CB<inf>1</inf> receptors from glutamatergic neurons (Glu-CB<inf>1</inf><sup>-/-</sup>) or from astrocytes (GFAP-CB<inf>1</inf><sup>-/-</sup>), frontocortical and hippocampal 2-AG levels are not altered. Turnover studies indicate, however, that decreased 2-AG synthesis occurs with decreased degradation in Glu-CB<inf>1</inf><sup>-/-</sup> mice, whereas the opposite is observed in GFAP-CB<inf>1</inf><sup>-/-</sup> mice. 2-AG, 2-arachidonoylglycerol; CB<inf>1</inf>, cannabinoid type-1; Glu, glutamate. In mice lacking CB<inf>1</inf> receptors from glutamatergic neurons (Glu-CB<inf>1</inf><sup>-/-</sup>) or from astrocytes (GFAP-CB<inf>1</inf><sup>-/-</sup>), frontocortical and hippocampal 2-AG levels are not altered. Turnover studies indicate, however, that decreased 2-AG synthesis occurs with decreased degradation in Glu-CB<inf>1</inf><sup>-/-</sup> mice, whereas the opposite is observed in GFAP-CB<inf>1</inf><sup>-/-</sup> mice. 2-AG, 2-arachidonoylglycerol; CB<inf>1</inf>, cannabinoid type-1; Glu, glutamate. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1515/9783110614404-016 | The Distinctiveness Of Syntax For Varieties Of Post Classical And Byzantine Greek Linguistic Upgrading From The Third Century Bce To The Tenth Century Ce | Specialists of the history of Ancient Greek scholarship and modern-day sociolinguists alike have made observations regarding the seemingly “distinctive” status of syntax: the former have argued there is no coherent theory of syntax in Ancient grammatical treatises, and the latter that syntactic variation is much less prominent in modern languages than lexical or phonetic/orthographic variation. The aim of this contribution is to confront these two perspectives by studying linguistic variation in three different types of sources: petitions in the Katochoi of the Sarapieion archive (II BCE), Phrynichus’ Ecloga (II CE), and the Life of Euthymius and its later metaphrasis (VI/X CE). It appears that syntactic variation plays a different role in these three types of sources, which I explain by referring to the cognitive status of syntax, which is more schematic and complex than lexis, and therefore less easily focused upon in“observer-centered”sources such as the Ecloga. At thesametime, I suggest that culture-specific explanations should be taken into account, too. | [
"Texts and Concepts",
"The Study of the Human Past",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1080/13629387.2013.862775 | Integrating the Medieval Iberian Peninsula and North Africa in Islamic Architectural History | How do Islamic art survey texts present the architecture of the Islamic West, and how does this presentation shape the perception of the Maghrib in university classrooms? Examining the Great Mosque of Qayrawān and the Great Mosque of Cordoba as they appear in four representative and widely used art history survey texts, this article argues that a common art historical narrative characterises the art of early medieval North Africa as ultimately derivative of and artistically inferior to the art of early Islamic Iraq, Egypt, and the Iberian Peninsula. The article points to a shared chronological moment, which witnessed the expansion of the Cordoba prayer hall during the reign of 'Abd al-Rah{dot below}mān II and several building projects undertaken around the same time by the Aghlabid emirs of Ifrīqiya. Examining these two building programmes in relation to one another leads to different conclusions about these monuments of the Islamic West than are offered in the art history texts, which privilege formalist readings. The article proposes the utility of a pan-Straits approach emphasising specific contexts (historical, political, religious, social, and artistic) within the Islamic West in addressing the problematic issues raised by this narrative. Such an approach, especially if combined with critical studies of the colonial structures that informed early scholarship on the Islamic West, may offer a means for the discipline to re-evaluate the place of the Maghrib in the larger history of Islamic art. It may also provide a means to move beyond problematic inherited discourses of Islamic art history and its canon. | [
"Texts and Concepts",
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Studies of Cultures and Arts"
]
|
10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003508 | Dynamic Alignment Models for Neural Coding | Recently, there have been remarkable advances in modeling the relationships between the sensory environment, neuronal responses, and behavior. However, most models cannot encompass variable stimulus-response relationships such as varying response latencies and state or context dependence of the neural code. Here, we consider response modeling as a dynamic alignment problem and model stimulus and response jointly by a mixed pair hidden Markov model (MPH). In MPHs, multiple stimulus-response relationships (e. g. , receptive fields) are represented by different states or groups of states in a Markov chain. Each stimulus-response relationship features temporal flexibility, allowing modeling of variable response latencies, including noisy ones. We derive algorithms for learning of MPH parameters and for inference of spike response probabilities. We show that some linear-nonlinear Poisson cascade (LNP) models are a special case of MPHs. We demonstrate the efficiency and usefulness of MPHs in simulations of both jittered and switching spike responses to white noise and natural stimuli. Furthermore, we apply MPHs to extracellular single and multi-unit data recorded in cortical brain areas of singing birds to showcase a novel method for estimating response lag distributions. MPHs allow simultaneous estimation of receptive fields, latency statistics, and hidden state dynamics and so can help to uncover complex stimulus response relationships that are subject to variable timing and involve diverse neural codes. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.7717/peerj.2707 | Dominance relationships in a family pack of captive arctic wolves (Canis lupus arctos): The influence of competition for food, age and sex | Background. Dominance is one of the most pervasive concepts in the study of wolf social behaviour but recently its validity has been questioned. For some authors, the bonds between members of wolf families are better described as parent-offspring relationships and the concept of dominance should be used just to evaluate the social dynamics of non-familial captive pack members (e. g. , Mech & Cluff, 2010). However, there is a dearth of studies investigating dominance relationships and its correlates in wolf family packs. Methods. Here, we applied a combination of the most commonly used quantitative methods to evaluate the dominance relationships in a captive family pack of 19 Arctic wolves. Results. We found a significant linear and completely transitive hierarchy based on the direction of submissive behaviours and found that dominance relationships were not influenced by the competitive contexts (feeding vs. non-feeding context). A significant linear hierarchy also emerges amongst siblings once the breeding pair (the two top-ranking individuals) is removed from analyses. Furthermore, results suggest that wolves may use greeting behaviour as a formal signal of subordination. Whereas older wolves were mostly dominant over younger ones, no clear effect of sex was found. However, frequency of agonistic (submissive, dominant and aggressive) behaviours was higher between female-female and male-male dyads than female-male dyads and sex-separated linear hierarchies showed a stronger linearity than the mixed one. Furthermore, dominance status was conveyed through different behavioural categories during intra-sexual and inter-sexual interactions. Discussion. Current results highlight the importance of applying a systematic methodology considering the individuals' age and sex when evaluating the hierarchical structure of a social group. Moreover, they confirm the validity of the concept of dominance relationships in describing the social bonds within a family pack of captive wolves. | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
]
|
W1985702957 | Layer-by-layer structured polysaccharides film-coated cellulose nanofibrous mats for cell culture | Abstract For the first time, a novel fibrous polysaccharide scaffold for cell culture was fabricated by the combination of electrospinning and electrostatic layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly technique. Oppositely charged chitosan (CS) and alginate (ALG) in aqueous media were alternatively deposited onto the negatively charged cellulose nanofibrous mats which hydrolyzed from electrospun cellulose acetate mats. The morphology and biocompatibility of the resultant scaffolds were investigated by regulating the pH of dipping solutions, the number of deposition bilayers, and the composition of outermost layer. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images indicated that the scaffolds possessed the fibrous structure and the thickness of CS/ALG bilayer formed on fibers was estimated in the range of 8–15 nm. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results verified the existence of nitrogen element of CS on the surface of LBL films. The cell culture experiments demonstrated that the scaffolds have good biocompatibility for Beas-2B human bronchial epithelial cells in vitro. | [
"Materials Engineering",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
222993 | Manufacturing ecosystem of qualified resources exchange | The MANU-SQUARE project creates a European platform-enabled responsible ecosystem acting as a virtual marketplace, bringing available manufacturing capacity closer to production demand to achieve their optimal matching thus fostering, on the one hand, fast and efficient creation of local and distributed value networks for innovative providers of product-services and, on the other hand, reintroduction and optimization in the loop of unused capacity that would be wasted otherwise.
In a wider perspective the MANU-SQUARE project pursues a paradigm shift that disrupts the traditional static supply chain model and establishes dynamic value networks that can be arranged on-demand to couple the needs of buyers and the availability of sellers of manufacturing capacity. In so doing, this latter becomes an easily and efficiently tradable commodity towards lowered production costs for European companies and improved manufacturing ecosystem actual productivity. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
Q2701807 | BP CYCLADES-GRANT FOR WORKING CAPITAL | The project concerns support for working capital of a company in the event of a decline in turnover (sales revenue) caused by the negative effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
W2906171482 | Research on Wind & Thermal Power Joint Bidding Strategy Considering Penalties for Wind Power's Bidding Deviation | With the growing maturity of wind power technologies and the decrease of wind power construction costs, wind power producers, who are always price takers, gradually become the market participants with strategic bidding capacity in electricity market. However, wind power producers should be responsible for the loss caused by bidding deviation when they participate in electricity market due to uncertainty of wind power, which can cut down their benefits. In order to study the bidding strategies of the wind power producers in day-ahead market, a wind & thermal power joint (W&T) bidding model considering penalties for wind power's bidding deviation was established based on supply function equilibrium approach, in which Monte-Carlo method and backward reduction were used to simulate future wind power. In addition, particle swarm optimization method is used to solve the model. Compared with the independent bidding, a simulation example showed that wind & thermal power joint bidding can effectively improve the revenues of wind power producers, especially increase the incomes from day-ahead market, so that the initiative of wind power producers in day-ahead market can be greatly enhanced. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
758448 | Insular cortical circuits controlling fear and anxiety | How do emotions guide our behaviour? For an appropriate behavioural response, an individual has to constantly integrate bodily feelings, emotional states, and cues from the environment to evaluate the risks and benefits of a future action. A growing body of evidence indicates that the insular cortex, as part of a distributed neuronal network, plays a key role in influencing emotional behaviour. However, how neuronal circuits within the insular cortex function mechanistically is not known.
In this proposal, I will focus on the largely overlooked role of the insular cortex in mediating fear- and anxiety-related behaviours. I will address how the insular cortex processes sensory information of different emotional valence, whether it predicts risk, and how it influences emotional behaviour and decision-making. I will present a research program relying on modern tools to dissect neuronal circuit architecture and function in the mouse, such as viral tracing techniques, optogenetics, behavioural analysis and in vivo two-photon imaging in awake behaving mice.
Taking advantage of the technical expertise of my lab, we will reveal the architecture of connectivity-defined insular cortical microcircuits using monosynaptic viral tracing tools. We will address the necessity and sufficiency of connectivity- and cell-type defined microcircuits to express anxiety and learned safety using optogenetic manipulations. In vivo two-photon calcium imaging in awake behaving animals will allow us to examine how representations of sensory cues predicting danger or safety are processed in the insular cortex, which information amygdala afferents carry to the insular cortex, and whether and how neuronal processing in the insular cortex signals risky or safe outcomes.
The ultimate goal of this proposal is to provide novel insights into the function and organization
of the insular cortex from a network perspective down to the single cell level. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
W2112141492 | A Rapid Automatic Processing Platform for Bead Label–Assisted Microarray Analysis | Molecular diagnostics using microarrays are increasingly being used in clinical diagnosis because of their high throughput, sensitivity, and accuracy. However, standard microarray processing takes several hours and involves manual steps during hybridization, slide clean up, and imaging. Here we describe the development of an integrated platform that automates these individual steps as well as significantly shortens the processing time and improves reproducibility. The platform integrates such key elements as a microfluidic chip, flow control system, temperature control system, imaging system, and automated analysis of clinical results. Bead labeling of microarray signals required a simple imaging system and allowed continuous monitoring of the microarray processing. To demonstrate utility, the automated platform was used to genotype hereditary hearing-loss gene mutations. Compared with conventional microarray processing procedures, the platform increases the efficiency and reproducibility of hybridization, speeding microarray processing through to result analysis. The platform also continuously monitors the microarray signals, which can be used to facilitate optimization of microarray processing conditions. In addition, the modular design of the platform lends itself to development of simultaneous processing of multiple microfluidic chips. We believe the novel features of the platform will benefit its use in clinical settings in which fast, low-complexity molecular genetic testing is required. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1142/S0219199717500286 | Matrix Regularizing Effects Of Gaussian Perturbations | The addition of noise has a regularizing effect on Hermitian matrices. This effect is studied here for H = A + V, where A is the base matrix and V is sampled from the GOE or the GUE random matrix ensembles. We bound the mean number of eigenvalues of H in an interval, and present tail bounds for the distribution of the Frobenius and operator norms of H−1 and for the distribution of the norm of H−1 applied to a fixed vector. The bounds are uniform in A and exceed the actual suprema by no more than multiplicative constants. The probability of multiple eigenvalues in an interval is also estimated. | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
W2916603812 | Relation between Labour Productivity and Export Competitiveness of Indian Textile Industry: Co-integration and Causality Approach | The most important factor impacting the export competitiveness (EC) of an industry is productivity trends. One such significant variable of productivity can be labour productivity (LP). The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between LP and EC for the Indian textile industry in the post-liberalization period, that is, from 1991 to 2015. The present study uses Johansen and Juselius test for examining the co-integration between select variables and reveals the long-run relationship between the select variables for Indian textile industry. The study uses Granger causality test to explain the direction of causation between the select variables for the analysis. The results of the present study show the absence of feedback effects among the variables, and only unidirectional causality is found. The result of the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) reveals that there is no long-run or short-run causality running from independent variable to dependent variable. The diagnostic tests are performed, and the result indicates that the model has the property of goodness of fit. The study recommends that the productivity-based wages policy should be implemented by textile firms. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
695206 | Building tomorrow’s nanofactory | The aim of this project is to translate the concept of production line to the nanoworld to develop what could become tomorrow’s nanofactory. So far, nanostructures are either chemically synthesized or produced using top-down approaches such as nanolithography, but no processes exist to take a few nanostructures and perform the basic operations required to assemble them into a more complex system. This proposal aims at addressing this need by realizing at the nanoscale the different functions that are required for a production line: receiving and moving raw nanomaterial in position, where it can be immobilized and worked on or transformed; combining different elements into more complex systems that support new functionalities. The project uses optical forces generated by plasmonic traps as enabling mechanism to act on raw material and the entire production line will be integrated into microfluidics, which will perform as an advanced conveyor belt. Local electrophoresis and photo-curable polymerization are used to locally modify and assemble raw nanoparticles. In addition to implementing challenging nanotechnologies, such as nanoscale electric contacts and perforated membranes, this project will also explore a fair amount of completely new physics, including the van der Waals interaction – which will be studied numerically and experimentally – the competition between optical and chemical forces or electrostatic attraction, and the detailed determination of the trapping potential produced by plasmonic nanostructures. The foreseen research is very comprehensive, including modelling, nanofabrication and explorations at the nanoscale. This ground-braking proposal will demonstrate how additive manufacturing can be implemented at the nanoscale. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1007/jhep09(2020)185 | Topological correlators and surface defects from equivariant cohomology | Abstract
We find a one-dimensional protected subsector of $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 4 matter theories on a general class of three-dimensional manifolds. By means of equivariant localization we identify a dual quantum mechanics computing BPS correlators of the original model in three dimensions. Specifically, applying the Atiyah-Bott-Berline-Vergne formula to the original action demonstrates that this localizes on a one-dimensional action with support on the fixed-point submanifold of suitable isometries. We first show that our approach reproduces previous results obtained on S3. Then, we apply it to the novel case of S2× S1 and show that the theory localizes on two noninteracting quantum mechanics with disjoint support. We prove that the BPS operators of such models are naturally associated with a noncom- mutative star product, while their correlation functions are essentially topological. Finally, we couple the three-dimensional theory to general $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= (2, 2) surface defects and extend the localization computation to capture the full partition function and BPS correlators of the mixed-dimensional system. | [
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1002/chem.201601670 | The Catalytic Mechanism of the Marine-Derived Macrocyclase PatGmac | Cyclic peptides are a class of compounds with high therapeutic potential, possessing bioactivities including antitumor and antiviral (including anti-HIV). Despite their desirability, efficient design and production of these compounds has not been achieved to date. The catalytic mechanism of patellamide macrocyclization by the PatG macrocyclase domain has been computationally investigated by using quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics methodology, specifically ONIOM(M06/6-311++G(2d,2p):ff94//B3LYP/6-31G(d):ff94). The mechanism proposed herein begins with a proton transfer from Ser783 to His 618 and from the latter to Asp548. Nucleophilic attack of Ser783 on the substrate leads to the formation of an acyl–enzyme covalent complex. The leaving group Ala-Tyr-Asp-Gly (AYDG) of the substrate is protonated by the substrate's N terminus, leading to the breakage of the P1−P1′ bond. Finally, the substrate's N terminus attacks the P1 residue, decomposing the acyl–enzyme complex forming the macrocycle. The formation and decomposition of the acyl–enzyme complex have the highest activation free energies (21. 1 kcal mol−1and 19. 8 kcal mol−1respectively), typical of serine proteases. Understanding the mechanism behind the macrocyclization of patellamides will be important to the application of the enzymes in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
W2077840270 | Provisioning of QoS adaptability in wired-wireless integrated networks | The increasing number of mobile users and the popularity of real-time applications make wired-wireless integrated network extremely attractive. In this case, quality of service (QoS) adaptability is particularly important since some important features of the integrated network call for QoS adaptability, such as mobility, bursty applications and so on. Traditional QoS schemes include integrated service (IntServ) and differentiated service (DiffSev) as well as their variants. However, they are not able to balance well between scalability and QoS granularity. For example, IntServ faces the scalability problem, while DiffServ can only provide coarse granular QoS. In addition, they are also unable to efficiently support QoS adaptability. Therefore, a per-packet differentiated queueing service (DQS) was proposed. DQS was originally proposed to balance between scalability and QoS granularity in wired networks and then extended to wireless networks. This paper mainly discusses how to use DQS to support QoS adaptability in wired-wireless integrated networks. To this end, we propose a scheme to determine dynamic delay bounds, which is the key step to implement DQS to support QoS adaptability. Simulation studies along with some discussions are further conducted to investigate the QoS adaptability of the proposed scheme, especially in terms of its support of QoS adaptability to mobility and to bursty real-time applications. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1051/0004-6361/201731877 | Ionised gas structure of 100 kpc in an over-dense region of the galaxy group COSMOS-Gr30 at z ~ 0.7 | We report the discovery of a 104 kpc2 gaseous structure detected in [O ii]λλ3727, 3729 in an over-dense region of the COSMOS-Gr30 galaxy group at z ~ 0. 725 with deep MUSE Guaranteed Time Observations. We estimate the total amount of diffuse ionised gas to be of the order of (~5 ± 3) × 1010 M⊙ and explore its physical properties to understand its origin and the source(s) of the ionisation. The MUSE data allow the identification of a dozen group members that are embedded in this structure through emission and absorption lines. We extracted spectra from small apertures defined for both the diffuse ionised gas and the galaxies. We investigated the kinematics and ionisation properties of the various galaxies and extended gas regions through line diagnostics (R23, O32, and [O iii]/Hβ) that are available within the MUSE wavelength range. We compared these diagnostics to photo-ionisation models and shock models. The structure is divided into two kinematically distinct sub-structures. The most extended sub-structure of ionised gas is likely rotating around a massive galaxy and displays filamentary patterns that link some galaxies. The second sub-structure links another massive galaxy that hosts an active galactic nucleus (AGN) to a low-mass galaxy, but it also extends orthogonally to the AGN host disc over ~ 35 kpc. This extent is likely ionised by the AGN itself. The location of small diffuse regions in the R23 vs. O32 diagram is compatible with photo-ionisation. However, the location of three of these regions in this diagram (low O32, high R23) can also be explained by shocks, which is supported by their high velocity dispersions. One edge-on galaxy shares the same properties and may be a source of shocks. Regardless of the hypothesis, the extended gas seems to be non-primordial. We favour a scenario where the gas has been extracted from galaxies by tidal forces and AGN triggered by interactions between at least the two sub-structures. | [
"Universe Sciences",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1145/2610384.2628058 | Corebench Studying Complexity Of Regression Errors | Intuitively we know, some software errors are more complex than others. If the error can be fixed by changing one faulty statement, it is a simple error. The more substantial the fix must be, the more complex we consider the error. In this work, we formally define and quantify the complexity of an error w. r. t. the complexity of the error's least complex, correct fix. As a concrete measure of complexity for such fixes, we introduce Cyclomatic Change Complexity which is inspired by existing program complexity metrics. Moreover, we introduce CoREBench, a collection of 70 regression errors systematically extracted from several open-source C-projects and compare their complexity with that of the seeded errors in the two most popular error benchmarks, SIR and the Siemens Suite. We find that seeded errors are significantly less complex, i. e. , require significantly less substantial fixes, compared to actual regression errors. For example, among the seeded errors more than 42% are simple compared to 8% among the actual ones. This is a concern for the external validity of studies based on seeded errors and we propose CoREBench for the controlled study of regression testing, debugging, and repair techniques. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1007/978-3-319-18585-9_11 | Martingale Inequalities For The Maximum Via Pathwise Arguments | We study a class of martingale inequalities involving the running maximum process. They are derived from pathwise inequalities introduced by Henry-Labordere et al. (Ann. Appl. Probab. , 2015 [arxiv:1203. 6877v3]) and provide an upper bound on the expectation of a function of the running maximum in terms of marginal distributions at n intermediate time points. The class of inequalities is rich and we show that in general no inequality is uniformly sharp—for any two inequalities we specify martingales such that one or the other inequality is sharper. We use our inequalities to recover Doob’s L p inequalities. Further, for p = 1 we refine the known inequality and for p < 1 we obtain new inequalities. | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1109/CDC.2017.8263745 | On Inverse Optimal Control Via Polynomial Optimization | We consider the class of control systems where the differential equation, state and control system are described by polynomials. Given a set of trajectories and a class of Lagrangians, we are interested to find a Lagrangian in this class for which these trajectories are optimal. To model this inverse problem we use a relaxed version of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman optimality conditions, in the continuity of previous work in this vein. Then we provide a general numerical scheme based on polynomial optimization and positivity certificates, and illustrate the concepts on a few academic examples. | [
"Mathematics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1111/acel.12025 | A metabolic signature predicts biological age in mice | Our understanding of the mechanisms by which aging is produced is still very limited. Here, we have determined the sera metabolite profile of 117 wild-type mice of different genetic backgrounds ranging from 8 to 129 weeks of age. This has allowed us to define a robust metabolomic signature and a derived metabolomic score that reliably/accurately predicts the age of wild-type mice. In the case of telomerase-deficient mice, which have a shortened lifespan, their metabolomic score predicts older ages than expected. Conversely, in the case of mice that overexpress telomerase, their metabolic score corresponded to younger ages than expected. Importantly, telomerase reactivation late in life by using a TERT-based gene therapy recently described by us significantly reverted the metabolic profile of old mice to that of younger mice, further confirming an anti-aging role for telomerase. Thus, the metabolomic signature associated with natural mouse aging accurately predicts aging produced by telomere shortening, suggesting that natural mouse aging is in part produced by presence of short telomeres. These results indicate that the metabolomic signature is associated with the biological age rather than with the chronological age. This constitutes one of the first aging-associated metabolomic signatures in a mammalian organism. | [
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1038/srep40248 | A fibrolytic potential in the human ileum mucosal microbiota revealed by functional metagenomic | The digestion of dietary fibers is a major function of the human intestinal microbiota. So far this function has been attributed to the microorganisms inhabiting the colon, and many studies have focused on this distal part of the gastrointestinal tract using easily accessible fecal material. However, microbial fermentations, supported by the presence of short-chain fatty acids, are suspected to occur in the upper small intestine, particularly in the ileum. Using a fosmid library from the human ileal mucosa, we screened 20,000 clones for their activities against carboxymethylcellulose and xylans chosen as models of the major plant cell wall (PCW) polysaccharides from dietary fibres. Eleven positive clones revealed a broad range of CAZyme encoding genes from Bacteroides and Clostridiales species, as well as Polysaccharide Utilization Loci (PULs). The functional glycoside hydrolase genes were identified, and oligosaccharide break-down products examined from different polysaccharides including mixed-linkage β-glucans. CAZymes and PULs were also examined for their prevalence in human gut microbiome. Several clusters of genes of low prevalence in fecal microbiome suggested they belong to unidentified strains rather specifically established upstream the colon, in the ileum. Thus, the ileal mucosa-associated microbiota encompasses the enzymatic potential for PCW polysaccharide degradation in the small intestine. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
]
|
10.1093/jxb/ers262 | Microbial recognition and evasion of host immunity | Plants are able to detect microbes by pattern recognition receptors in the host cells that, upon recognition of the enemy, activate effective immune responses in the invaded tissue. Recognition of microbes occurs by common conserved structures called microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). Plant pathogens and beneficial soil-borne microbes live in close contact with their host. Hence, prevention of the host's defence programme is essential for their survival. Active suppression of host defences by microbial effector proteins is a well-known strategy employed by many successful plant-associated microbes. Evasion of host immune recognition is less well studied but is emerging as another important strategy. Escape from recognition by the host's immune system can be caused by alterations in the structure of the recognized MAMPs, or by active intervention of ligand-receptor recognition. This paper reviews the structure and recognition of common MAMPs and the ways that plant-associated microbes have evolved to prevent detection by their host. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b03316 | Electrodeposition and Screening of Photoelectrochemical Activity in Conjugated Polymers Using Scanning Electrochemical Cell Microscopy | A number of renewable energy systems require an understanding and correlation of material properties and photoelectrochemical activity on the micro to nanoscale. Among these, conducting polymer electrodes continue to be important materials. In this contribution, an ultrasensitive scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) platform is used to electrodeposit microscale thin films of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) on an optically transparent gold electrode and to correlate the morphology (film thickness and structural order) with photoactivity. The electrochemical growth of P3HT begins with a thin ordered film up to 10 nm thick, after which a second more disordered film is deposited, as revealed by micro-Raman spectroscopy. A decrease in photoactivity for the thicker films, measured in situ immediately following film deposition, is attributed to an increase in bulk film disorder that limits charge transport. Higher resolution ex situ SECCM phototransient measurements, using a smaller diameter probe, show local variations in photoactivity within a given deposit. Even after aging, thinner, more ordered regions within a deposit exhibit sustained enhanced photocurrent densities compared to areas where the film is thicker and more disordered. The platform opens up new possibilities for high-throughput combinatorial correlation studies, by allowing materials fabrication and high spatial resolution probing of processes in photoelectrochemical materials. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
W1499288673 | Metrological approaches to organic chemical purity: primary reference materials for vitamin D metabolites | Given the critical role of pure, organic compound primary reference standards used to characterize and certify chemical Certified Reference Materials (CRMs), it is essential that associated mass purity assessments be fit-for-purpose, represented by an appropriate uncertainty interval, and metrologically sound. The mass fraction purities (% g/g) of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) reference standards used to produce and certify values for clinical vitamin D metabolite CRMs were investigated by multiple orthogonal quantitative measurement techniques. Quantitative (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (qNMR) was performed to establish traceability of these materials to the International System of Units (SI) and to directly assess the principal analyte species. The 25(OH)D standards contained volatile and water impurities, as well as structurally-related impurities that are difficult to observe by chromatographic methods or to distinguish from the principal 25(OH)D species by one-dimensional NMR. These impurities have the potential to introduce significant biases to purity investigations in which a limited number of measurands are quantified. Combining complementary information from multiple analytical methods, using both direct and indirect measurement techniques, enabled mitigation of these biases. Purities of 25(OH)D reference standards and associated uncertainties were determined using frequentist and Bayesian statistical models to combine data acquired via qNMR, liquid chromatography with UV absorbance and atmospheric pressure-chemical ionization mass spectrometric detection (LC-UV, LC-ACPI-MS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Karl Fischer (KF) titration. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
949173 | Role of extreme events in Galaxy evolution | The primary goal of my proposal is to provide stringent observational constraints on the cosmic origins of elements heavier than iron and on the role of extreme objects in the evolution of the Milky Way. I will do this by employing abundances of different chemical elements for hundreds of thousands of stars from my high-resolution spectroscopic survey of the disk and bulge on the 4MOST instrument. These elements trace the production in a variety of extreme astrophysical sites: hydrostatic and explosive burning, s-process in asymptotic giant branch stars and in massive stars, r-process in compact binary mergers, neutrino-driven winds of core collapse supernovae, magnetars, and collapsars. I will use the novel Non-LTE models that I pioneered and successfully applied throughout my career to provide accurate and homogeneous chemical abundances of stars. I will quantify the trends of abundance ratios and their dispersions with metallicity, age, and location that will be directly compared with the predictions of Galactic chemical evolution models. My ERC project represents the first systematic investigation of s- and r-process nucleosynthesis in a large stellar sample. I will use the comprehensive maps of chemical enrichment to constrain the multimodality of the nuclear production sites, to confine the parameter space of stellar sources capable of hosting s- and r-process, and to test the role of these extreme events in the evolution of the Galaxy. | [
"Universe Sciences",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1038/s41467-018-06513-6 | A sustained change in the supply of parental care causes adaptive evolution of offspring morphology | Although cooperative social interactions within species are considered an important driver of evolutionary change, few studies have experimentally demonstrated that they cause adaptive evolution. Here we address this problem by studying the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. In this species, parents and larvae work together to obtain nourishment for larvae from the carrion breeding resource: parents feed larvae and larvae also self-feed. We established experimentally evolving populations in which we varied the assistance that parents provided for their offspring and investigated how offspring evolved in response. We show that in populations where parents predictably supplied more care, larval mandibles evolved to be smaller in relation to larval mass, and larvae were correspondingly less self-sufficient. Previous work has shown that antagonistic social interactions can generate escalating evolutionary arms races. Our study shows that cooperative interactions can yield the opposite evolutionary outcome: when one party invests more, the other evolves to invest less. | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
725422 | The evolutionary dynamics of pathogen emergence and establishment: from Reservoir Detection to Outbreak Control | Extracted evolutionary and epidemiological information from pathogen genomes has grown into an important instrument across infectious disease research. By harnessing such information, molecular epidemiologists aim to shed light on the origin and epidemic history of pathogens, from reservoir dynamics to emergence and adaptation to new hosts, and their spatiotemporal spread. However, despite the revolution in genome sequencing technologies and advances in statistical methodology, key questions about pathogen emergence and establishment in human populations remain unresolved for major viral epidemics. When confronted with new viral outbreaks, such as the recent devastating Ebola virus epidemic, we also struggle to deploy these technologies in a systematic and concerted way despite a critical need to support public health interventions.
In this project, we propose to unravel crucial steps in the emergence and establishment of key viral pathogens. We will scrutinise the reservoir dynamics of HCV by sequencing complete hepacivirus genomes from infected samples emerging from a large-scale screening of African rodents, and analyze the cross-species transmission history using novel evolutionary methods that accommodate spatial and temporal variability in selective pressures. To test hypotheses about the early establishment of HIV-1, we will carve a genomic window into the past epidemic history of the virus by integrating molecular work on archival samples from Central Africa and on samples representative of the current HIV-1 diversity, with the development of ancestral recombination graphs that accommodate dated tips and spatial diffusion, as well as population dynamic models that incorporate epidemiological information. Finally, we will take the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa as a model to develop high-performance statistical approaches for extracting practical and timely epidemiological information from virus genome sequences during epidemics as they unfold. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
]
|
223737 | Comic motifs in romances of chivalry of spanish golden age | Romances of chivalry are one of the most representative literary genres of Spanish Golden Age,
which gained great popularity in XVI century. In the last few years, critical studies have stressed the
importance of the uniformity of this corpus, which includes many imitations, sequels, and prequels resuming
the threads of the narration where they were dropped. The main consequence is that the genre involves a
great deal of stereotyping of the same situations, contexts, even episodes, which became common motifs and
recognizable formulas for the readers. The fictitious biography of a knight-errant, a Christian prince who
establishes his heroic credentials, finding love and power, is only the basic thread of a structure which
presents a reiterative pattern where themes and motifs are usually combined in the same fashion. A motif is
the smallest narrative unit of a tale, that shows persistence in the tradition, where it survived with a specific
identity, and can be included in different contexts; it is a recurrent unit with a fixed narrative or descriptive
content; generally, it concerns a specific episode or accident: the main action is consistent in every
manifestation of the motif, but details can (and do) change. The main focus of this proposal is the analysis
and categorisation of comic motifs (jokes and pranks) in the corpus of chivalric novels, starting from its most
famous cycles. The research is also meant to study poetic and literary treatises of XVI-XVII centuries, to
develop a reflection on the value, function and meaning of comic expression at the time. The comic elements
of the genre will be then compared to the parody of the romances of chivalry realised by Cervantes in Don
Quixote. This research will consolidate the general paradigm of the genre, studying its morphology; the
concept of motif will be used as the interpretative key to approach both the formal aspect of the genre and its
ideological background. | [
"Texts and Concepts",
"The Study of the Human Past"
]
|
W2334361602 | Terrestrial Animal- and Plant-Based Ingredients as Alternative Protein and Lipid Sources in the Diets for Juvenile Groupers: Current Status and Future Perspectives | The Epinephelinae groupers are strict carnivorous species. They are widely cultured in the Asia Pacific region as a result of high demand and market price especially in the live reed food fish trade. Groupers are commonly raised in net cages and fed with the unsustainable low value fish. Although this feeding practice has been gradually improved by using formulated diets, the production cost of these diets is high due to the increasing prices of fish meal and fish oil. In order to find sustainable replacements for these expensive commodities, research has been conducted to evaluate alternative ingredients effects on fish growth performances and immune function. This review covers different types of alternative ingredients tested on several species of juvenile grouper. In general, animal protein sources were able to replace fish meal at higher inclusion levels than plant protein sources. Lowered digestibility, deficiency in essential nutrients, and reduced palatability are major challenges in using alternative ingredients in grouper feeds. | [
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
10.5210/fm.v24i4.9934 | The politics of big borders: Data (in)justice and the governance of refugees | This article provides an overview of the collection and uses of data in relation to European border regimes. We analyse the significance of these developments for the governance of refugee populations and make the case that within the current policy context of European border control, data functions to systematically stigmatize, exclude and oppress ‘unwanted’ migrant populations through mechanisms of criminalisation, identification, and social sorting. This, we argue, highlights the need to engage with data politics in a way that considers both the politics in data as well as the politics of data, highlighting the agendas and interests that advance the implementation of these technologies, privileging justice concerns on terms that go beyond techno-legal solutions, and positioning those who are most impacted by developments at the forefront of discussions. | [
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
]
|
10.1016/j.chom.2015.09.001 | Pathogen Virulence Impedes Mutualist-Mediated Enhancement of Host Juvenile Growth via Inhibition of Protein Digestion | Summary The microbial environment impacts many aspects of metazoan physiology through largely undefined molecular mechanisms. The commensal strain Lactobacillus plantarumWJL (LpWJL) sustains Drosophila hormonal signals that coordinate systemic growth and maturation of the fly. Here we examine the underlying mechanisms driving these processes and show that LpWJL promotes intestinal peptidase expression, leading to increased intestinal proteolytic activity, enhanced dietary protein digestion, and increased host amino acid levels. LpWJL-mediated peptidase upregulation is partly driven by the peptidoglycan recognition and signaling cascade PGRP-LE/Imd/Relish. Additionally, this mutualist-mediated physiological benefit is antagonized upon pathogen infection. Pathogen virulence selectively impedes LpWJL-mediated intestinal peptidase activity enhancement and juvenile growth promotion but does not alter growth of germ-free animals. Our study reveals the adaptability of host physiology to the microbial environment, whereby upon acute infection the host switches to pathogen-mediated host immune defense at the expense of mutualist-mediated growth promotion. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
887266 | A platform to boost robotic innovation by enabling fast development cycles, reduced cost and low barrier to entry. | Our vision is to make robotic product development as accessible as online publishing is today. Our aim is to power the social and personal robotic revolution.
Today robotic companies have vertical models, they source, conceive, build, mass produce and distribute their own robots. This is a high cost and high risk endeavour that put the brakes on innovation and on the exploration of new markets. To reach its full potential, robotic must transition to a horizontal industry where companies become specialized in one layer of the robotic value chain.
We have conceived a disruptive modular robotic architecture, called Luos, that makes robotic product development much simpler. It takes the form of a set of embedded code libraries, hardware interfaces and control software that enables to bring robots to market in months rather than years. It is the result of years of expertise with patented technologies.
Our envisioned business model is one of a platform. Our basic tools are available in open source to create win-win situations and enable fast market uptake. Robotic companies would pay for premium features recurrently and in proportion with their revenues.
The expected impact is to enable more companies, and primarily technological startups, to develop products involving robotic technologies. This revolution will reach and disrupt a wide range of new markets previously unattainable with conventional development methods. As a result, more innovative products will be created which will lead to an improvement of living standards in our societies. To achieve this potential, it is crucial to build on a first mover advantage to gain time and market shares over competitors.
Our objective for this proposal is to bring our technology to TRL6 level. We target to develop three robotic platforms with three companies in three distinct markets. We will pursue market research and business analysis to identify a first niche market to demonstrate our technology and build reputation. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1681/ASN.2015070830 | The uromodulin gene locus shows evidence of pathogen adaptation through human evolution | Common variants in the UMOD gene encoding uromodulin, associated with risk of hypertension and CKD in the general population, increase UMOD expression and urinary excretion of uromodulin, causing salt-sensitive hypertension and renal lesions. To determine the effect of selective pressure on variant frequency, we investigated the allelic frequency of the lead UMOD variant rs4293393 in 156 human populations, in eight ancient human genomes, and in primate genomes. The T allele of rs4293393, associated with CKD risk, has high frequency in most modern populations and was the one detected in primate genomes. In contrast, we identified only the derived, C allele in Denisovan and Neanderthal genomes. The distribution of the UMOD ancestral allele did not follow the ancestral susceptibility model observed for variants associated with salt-sensitive hypertension. Instead, the global frequencies of the UMOD alleles significantly correlated with pathogen diversity (bacteria, helminths) and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections (UTIs). The inverse correlation found between urinary levels of uromodulin and markers of UTIs in the general population substantiates the link between UMOD variants and protection against UTIs. These data strongly suggest that the UMOD ancestral allele, driving higher urinary excretion of uromodulin, has been kept at a high frequency because of its protective effect against UTIs. | [
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
]
|
10.1016/j.ophtha.2017.12.023 | Genome-Wide Association Study Reveals Variants in CFH and CFHR4 Associated with Systemic Complement Activation: Implications in Age-Related Macular Degeneration | Purpose: To identify genetic variants associated with complement activation, which may help to select age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients for complement-inhibiting therapies. Design: Genome-wide association study (GWAS) followed by replication and meta-analysis. Participants: AMD patients and controls (n = 2245). Methods: A GWAS on serum C3d-to-C3 ratio was performed in 1548 AMD patients and controls. For replication and meta-analysis, 697 additional individuals were genotyped. A model for complement activation including genetic and non-genetic factors was built, and the variance explained was estimated. Haplotype analysis was performed for 8 SNPs across the CFH/CFHR locus. Association with AMD was performed for the variants and haplotypes found to influence complement activation. Main Outcome Measures: Normalized C3d/C3 ratio as a measure of systemic complement activation. Results: Complement activation was associated independently with rs3753396 located in CFH (Pdiscovery = 1. 09 × 10−15; Pmeta = 3. 66 × 10−21; β = 0. 141; standard error [SE] = 0. 015) and rs6685931 located in CFHR4 (Pdiscovery = 8. 18 × 10−7; Pmeta = 6. 32 × 10−8; β = 0. 054; SE = 0. 010). A model including age, AMD disease status, body mass index, triglycerides, rs3753396, rs6685931, and previously identified SNPs explained 18. 7% of the variability in complement activation. Haplotype analysis revealed 3 haplotypes (H1–2 and H6 containing rs6685931 and H3 containing rs3753396) associated with complement activation. Haplotypes H3 and H6 conferred stronger effects on complement activation compared with the single variants (P = 2. 53 × 10−14; β = 0. 183; SE = 0. 024; and P = 4. 28 × 10−4; β = 0. 144; SE = 0. 041; respectively). Association analyses with AMD revealed that SNP rs6685931 and haplotype H1–2 containing rs6685931 were associated with a risk for AMD development, whereas SNP rs3753396 and haplotypes H3 and H6 were not. Conclusions: The SNP rs3753396 in CFH and SNP rs6685931 in CFHR4 are associated with systemic complement activation levels. The SNP rs6685931 in CFHR4 and its linked haplotype H1–2 also conferred a risk for AMD development, and therefore could be used to identify AMD patients who would benefit most from complement-inhibiting therapies. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1126/science.aau4963 | Probing Rényi entanglement entropy via randomized measurements | Entanglement is a key feature of many-body quantum systems. Measuring the entropy of different partitions of a quantum system provides a way to probe its entanglement structure. Here, we present and experimentally demonstrate a protocol for measuring the second-order Rényi entropy based on statistical correlations between randomized measurements. Our experiments, carried out with a trapped-ion quantum simulator with partition sizes of up to 10 qubits, prove the overall coherent character of the system dynamics and reveal the growth of entanglement between its parts, in both the absence and presence of disorder. Our protocol represents a universal tool for probing and characterizing engineered quantum systems in the laboratory, which is applicable to arbitrary quantum states of up to several tens of qubits. | [
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
10.1002/anie.201814370 | Electrocatalytic Volleyball: Rapid Nanoconfined Nicotinamide Cycling for Organic Synthesis in Electrode Pores | In living cells, redox chains rely on nanoconfinement using tiny enclosures, such as the mitochondrial matrix or chloroplast stroma, to concentrate enzymes and limit distances that nicotinamide cofactors and other metabolites must diffuse. In a chemical analogue exploiting this principle, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and NADP + are cycled rapidly between ferredoxin–NADP + reductase and a second enzyme—the pairs being juxtaposed within the 5–100 nm scale pores of an indium tin oxide electrode. The resulting electrode material, denoted (FNR+E2)@ITO/support, can drive and exploit a potentially large number of enzyme-catalysed reactions. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1051/0004-6361/201424517 | Interpreting The Extended Emission Around Three Nearby Debris Disc Host Stars | Context. Cool debris discs are a relic of the planetesimal formation process around their host star, analogous to the solar system’s Edgeworth-Kuiper belt. As such, they can be used as a proxy to probe the origin and formation of planetary systems like our own. Aims. The Herschel open time key programmes “DUst around NEarby Stars” (DUNES) and “Disc Emission via a Bias-free Reconnaissance in the Infrared/Submillimetre” (DEBRIS) observed many nearby, sun-like stars at far-infrared wavelengths seeking to detect and characterize the emission from their circumstellar dust. Excess emission attributable to the presence of dust was identified from around 20% of stars. Herschel’s high angular resolution ( 7 00 FWHM at 100 m) provided the capacity for resolving debris belts around nearby stars with radial extents comparable to the solar system (50‐100 au). Methods. As part of the DUNES and DEBRIS surveys, we obtained observations of three debris disc stars, HIP 22263 (HD 30495), HIP 62207 (HD 110897), and HIP 72848 (HD 131511), at far-infrared wavelengths with the Herschel PACS instrument. Combining these new images and photometry with ancilliary data from the literature, we undertook simultaneous multi-wavelength modelling of the discs’ radial profiles and spectral energy distributions using three di erent methodologies: single annulus, modified black body, and a radiative transfer code. Results. We present the first far-infrared spatially resolved images of these discs and new single-component debris disc models. We characterize the capacity of the models to reproduce the disc parameters based on marginally resolved emission through analysis of two sets of simulated systems (based on the HIP 22263 and HIP 62207 data) with the noise levels typical of the Herschel images. We find that the input parameter values are recovered well at noise levels attained in the observations presented here. | [
"Universe Sciences",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1007/978-3-642-40760-4_34 | Joint Model Pixel Segmentation With Pose Invariant Deformable Graph Priors | This paper proposes a novel framework for image segmentation through a unified model-based and pixel-driven integrated graphical model. Prior knowledge is expressed through the deformation of a discrete model that consists of decomposing the shape of interest into a set of higher order cliques (triplets). Such decomposition allows the introduction of region-driven image statistics as well as pose-invariant (i. e. translation, rotation and scale) constraints whose accumulation introduces global deformation constraints on the model. Regional triangles are associated with pixels labeling which aims to create consistency between the model and the image space. The proposed formulation is pose-invariant, can integrate regional statistics in a natural and efficient manner while being able to produce solutions unobserved during training. The challenging problem of tagged cardiac MR image segmentation is used to demonstrate the performance potentials of the method. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
Q4426997 | Diversification of the activities of FOXBUY.COM Spółka Akcyjna by launching the production of innovative cosmetics for children | The project consists of launching the production of innovative cosmetics for children. Before starting production, it is necessary to: construction of a production hall and purchase of a technological line for the production of innovative products with auxiliary equipment. The implementation phases of the project are planned in such a way as not to disrupt the applicant’s financial liquidity, as well as that the subsequent stages are logically linked. The first step in the implementation of the project will be the selection of the contractor for construction works, then the construction of the hall and the selection of suppliers of purchased machinery and equipment in accordance with the procurement rules laid down in the ROP WZ. Stage 1. Construction of the production hall, Stage 2. Purchase of a technological line for the production of innovative products and auxiliary equipment, Stage 3. Start-up of equipment and start-up of the production line, Stage 4. Start of full production. Immediately after the completion of the project, the infrastructure will be ready to use its full functionality. The applicant has the technical, financial, human resources and knowledge to ensure that the above process is carried out correctly. The implementation of the project is planned for the period from 01.07.2021 to 30.06.2022. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
EP 2007053083 W | CELL SENSOR HAVING MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTIONS FOR THE DEFINITION OF QUALITY CRITERIA DURING THE PRODUCTION OF MATERIALS | Disclosed is a method for producing a cell sensor system used for defining quality criteria during the production of materials. Said method is characterized by the following steps: a) first cells of a specific type are cultivated in standard culture conditions (control group); b) second cells of said specific type are cultivated on/in/between different materials that are to be tested (test group); c) the cells are harvested; d) the gene activities of the cells of the control group and the cells of the test group are determined; e) the gene activities of the test group are compared to those of the control group; f) the genes are identified in which there is a difference in the gene activities between the control group and the test group; g) a microarray is established using the identified genes having a different gene activity as a gene profile, said established microarray being defined as a standard for the specific cell type; and h) third cells of the specific cell type are provided as a cell sensor. | [
"Materials Engineering",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02885 | Single-crystal diamond nanowire tips for ultrasensitive force microscopy | We report the fabrication, integration, and assessment of sharp diamond tips for ultrasensitive force microscopy experiments. Two types of tips, corresponding to the upper and lower halves of a diamond nanowire, were fabricated by top-down plasma etching from a single-crystalline substrate. The lower, surface-attached halves can be directly integrated into lithographically defined nanostructures, like cantilevers. The upper, detachable halves result in diamond nanowires with a tunable diameter (50-500 nm) and lengths of a few microns. Tip radii were around 10 nm and tip apex angles around 15°. We demonstrate the integration of diamond nanowires for use as scanning tips onto ultrasensitive pendulum-style silicon cantilevers. We find the noncontact friction and frequency jitter to be exceptionally low, with no degradation in the intrinsic mechanical quality factor (Q ≈ 130 000) down to tip-to-surface distances of about 10 nm. Our results are an encouraging step toward further improvement of the sensitivity and resolution of force-detected magnetic resonance imaging. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
US 2012/0036932 W | THERMOSTABLE CARBONIC ANHYDRASES AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF | The present compositions and methods relate to a thermostable carbonic anhydrases, polynucleotides encoding the carbonic anhydrase, and methods of make and/or use thereof. Formulations containing the carbonic anhydrase are suitable for use in extracting carbon dioxide. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
W1579144193 | Vesselness-guided Active Contour: A Coronary Vessel Extraction Method | Vessel extraction is a critical task in clinical practice. In this paper, we propose a new approach for vessel extraction using an active contour model by defining a novel vesselness-based term, based on accurate analysis of the vessel structure in the image. To achieve the novel term, a simple and fast directional filter bank is proposed, which does not employ down sampling and resampling used in earlier versions of directional filter banks. The proposed model not only preserves the performance of the existing models on images with intensity inhomogeneity, but also overcomes their inability both to segment low contrast vessels and to omit non-vessel structures. Experimental results for synthetic images and coronary X-ray angiograms show desirable performance of our model. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
US 0313039 W | THERMALLY-ACTIVATED ACTUATOR | An actuator having a hot-arm and a cold-arm wherein the hot-arm and cold-arm vertically offset from one another. The hot-arm is heated to cause the actuator to move both vertically and horizontally. When used as a relay, an electrostatic force latches the actuator when the electrodes are brought in close proximity to one another. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1177/0271678X16656864 | Quantitative T1 mapping under precisely controlled graded hyperoxia at 7T | Increasing the concentration of oxygen dissolved in water is known to increase the recovery rate (R1 = 1/T1) of longitudinal magnetization (T1 relaxation). Direct T1 changes in response to precise hyperoxic gas challenges have not yet been quantified and the actual effect of increasing arterial oxygen concentration on the T1 of brain parenchyma remains unclear. The aim of this work was to use quantitative T1 mapping to measure tissue T1 changes in response to precisely targeted hyperoxic respiratory challenges ranging from baseline end-tidal oxygen (PetO2) to approximately 500 mmHg. We did not observe measureable T1 changes in either gray matter or white matter parenchymal tissue. The T1 of peripheral cerebrospinal fluid located within the sulci, however, was reduced as a function of PetO2. No significant T1 changes were observed in the ventricular cerebrospinal fluid under hyperoxia. Our results indicate that care should be taken to distinguish actual T1 changes from those which may be related to partial volume effects with cerebrospinal fluid, or regions with increased fluid content such as edema when examining hyperoxia-induced changes in T1 using methods based on T1-weighted imaging. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1145/3132272.3135088 | Personalized Interactive Surfaces With Printed Electronics | Recent advances in printed electronics have enabled the design and fabrication of thin, flexible and customizable interactive surfaces. These interfaces create opportunities for a variety of novel interactions leveraging on the unique form factor, flexibility and customization options. Previous research has demonstrated the possibility of customizable multi-touch sensors, conformal on-skin interfaces and printable shape changing displays. The aim of this tutorial is to acquire basic conceptual and practical skills in developing interactive surfaces with printed electronics. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1016/j.stem.2020.01.002 | Defining the Adult Neural Stem Cell Niche Proteome Identifies Key Regulators of Adult Neurogenesis | The physical properties of stem cell niches are thought to mediate important regulatory functions. Here we provide a proteomic resource of the neural stem cell niche in comparison to gliogenic brain parenchyma, highlighting stiffness and the enzyme transglutaminase 2 as key regulators of neurogenesis. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
W1498306344 | O lugar do Sistema Mineiro de Avaliação da Educação Pública (Simave) na busca pela qualidade da educação no Brasil | The Mining System for Evaluation of Public Education (Simave), responsible for the development of integrated assessment of education in the state of Minas Gerais, emerges in the wake of implementation of regulatory policy of education in Brazil. This policy, in turn, is part of the reform movement of educational policies in the context of capitalist restructuring process. The purpose of this paper is to question its place in this system of evaluation in brazilian regulatory policy. With this objective, to weave accounts of its principles, goals and ways of operation. By analyzing historical and politically Simave, one may question its guidelines, based on the discussion of political and administrative reforms inLatin America. These reforms are linked to the entry of international organizations in the financing of national and local educational projects. The text points out the contradictions within the system and aspects of policy Simave subject to further discussion, such as the relationship between the principles underlying the system of assessment and prioritized strategies to improve the quality of education in Minas Gerais | [
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
628850 | Recycling shredded used tyres and rubber waste into personalized recovered carbon black to limit use of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emission | Rubber tyres have been with us for the last 130 years. Manufactured and used on a massive scale, they have a significant impact on our economy. But they also generate global problems related to handling of over 1.5 billion of used tyres every year, and consuming fossil fuels (mostly crude oil) to produce new ones. Only a small fraction of used tyres is rethreaded, while most end their life generating electricity or producing heat in steelworks or cement kilns, although generating high volumes of CO2. At Syntoil, we aim to change it by overcoming limitations of existing technologies and bringing to the market the continuous pyrolysis. We have developed a working limited-scale prototype with which we show how to minimize the emission of air pollutants, decrease the amount of necessary human labour in harmful environment, improve scalability and increase financial efficiency of the entire process. With CBreCycle, we go one step beyond that focusing on one of the main products of pyrolysis which is char (contaminated pyro-soot), rich in coal but containing ashes and other pollutants. As such, it is mainly used today to produce energy or a filler in construction despite being potentially a valuable recovered material. We developed a unique method able to recover Carbon Black (CB) from the char and replace traditional CB in tyre manufacturing and other applications. We do it at a price level lower than the market price of CB produced out of crude oil. Additionally, our cleaning technology allows for personalizing recovered CB which opens highly profitable applications in various industries. With our solution we can not only mitigate the use of fossil fuels but we minimise generated amounts of CO2. Within support from the EIC Accelerator we plan to develop an industrial scale demonstrator to confirm the scalability of our solution and prepare foundation for post-project commercialization addressing the new and rapidly growing rCB market worth nearly EUR 450M in 2023. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
W2038431427 | Comparison of 6th and 7th AJCC TNM Staging Classification for Carcinoma of the Stomach in China | The 7th edition of American Joint Committee on Cancer tumor-node-metastasis (AJCC TNM) staging system was put into use recently. The study aimed to evaluate its predictive ability on survival and compare the difference between the 6th and 7th editions of AJCC TNM system in gastric carcinoma.A total of 1000 gastric carcinoma patients receiving treatment in our center were selected for the analysis. Patients were staged using both the 6th and 7th editions AJCC TNM staging system. Survival analysis was performed with a Cox regression model.Of previous stage IV patients, 39.9% (112 of 281) migrated to a lower tier in the 7th edition. By setting the cutoff of positive lymph nodes as 0, 2, 6, and 15, the 7th edition strengthens the role of positive lymph nodes. Multivariable regression analysis showed that both 6th and 7th TNM stage systems were independent factors for overall survival. For lymph nodes negative patients, the 5-year overall survival for patients with fewer than 15 resected lymph nodes was significantly lower than those with more than 15.AJCC 7th is not superior to AJCC 6th in predicting the 5-year overall survival rates of gastric adenocarcinoma patients. The definition of stage IV and the selection of cutoffs for MLNC in the AJCC 7th system is much more reasonable compared with the AJCC 6th system. | [
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
10.1038/nature08798 | Antagonistic coevolution accelerates molecular evolution | The Red Queen hypothesis proposes that coevolution of interacting species (such as hosts and parasites) should drive molecular evolution through continual natural selection for adaptation and counter-adaptation. Although the divergence observed at some host-resistance and parasite-infectivity genes is consistent with this, the long time periods typically required to study coevolution have so far prevented any direct empirical test. Here we show, using experimental populations of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 and its viral parasite, phage 2 (refs 10, 11), that the rate of molecular evolution in the phage was far higher when both bacterium and phage coevolved with each other than when phage evolved against a constant host genotype. Coevolution also resulted in far greater genetic divergence between replicate populations, which was correlated with the range of hosts that coevolved phage were able to infect. Consistent with this, the most rapidly evolving phage genes under coevolution were those involved in host infection. These results demonstrate, at both the genomic and phenotypic level, that antagonistic coevolution is a cause of rapid and divergent evolution, and is likely to be a major driver of evolutionary change within species. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
]
|
W2107455682 | The role of pitch and temporal diversity in the perception and production of musical sequences | In two experiments we explored how the dimensions of pitch and time contribute to the perception and production of musical sequences. We tested how dimensional diversity (the number of unique categories in each dimension) affects how pitch and time combine. In Experiment 1, 18 musically trained participants rated the complexity of sequences varying only in their diversity in pitch or time; a separate group of 18 pianists reproduced these sequences after listening to them without practice. Overall, sequences with more diversity were perceived as more complex, but pitch diversity influenced ratings more strongly than temporal diversity. Further, although participants perceived sequences with high levels of pitch diversity as more complex, errors were more common in the sequences with higher diversity in time. Sequences in Experiment 2 exhibited diversity in both pitch and time; diversity levels were a subset of those tested in Experiment 1. Again diversity affected complexity ratings and errors, but there were no statistical interactions between dimensions. Nonetheless, pitch diversity was the primary factor in determining perceived complexity, and again temporal errors occurred more often than pitch errors. Additionally, diversity in one dimension influenced error rates in the other dimension in that both error types were more frequent relative to Experiment 1. These results suggest that although pitch and time do not interact directly, they are nevertheless not processed in an informationally encapsulated manner. The findings also align with a dimensional salience hypothesis, in which pitch is prioritised in the processing of typical Western musical sequences. | [
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
W2056185024 | Career Adapt-Abilities Scale–Short Form (CAAS-SF) | The Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) has become one of the most widely used questionnaires to assess career adaptability. To facilitate its integration into large surveys, in varied settings, the aim of this article was to develop a brief 12-item version, the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale–Short Form (CAAS-SF). A sample of 2,800 French- and German-speaking adults living in Switzerland completed the CAAS. On a first random subsample, a principal component analyses conducted on the CAAS-SF suggested a four-factor solution. A one-to-one association was found between these components and the subscales of the CAAS-SF. Confirmatory factor analyses, conducted on a second random subsample, confirmed the hierarchical factor structure of this short version. Based on Cheung and Rensvold’s criteria, the CAAS-SF reached measurement equivalence across linguistic and gender groups. Furthermore, the 12- and 24-item versions were strongly associated. The results supported the CAAS-SF as pertinent and economical alternative to the 24-item version. | [
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
]
|
10.1002/grl.50447 | Azimuthal anisotropy at Valhall: The Helmholtz equation approach | We used 6 h of continuous vertical records from 2320 sensors of the Valhall Life of Fields Seismic network to compute 2,690,040 cross-correlation functions between the full set of sensor pair combinations. We applied the "Helmholtz tomography" approach combined with the ambient noise correlation method to track the wave front across the network with every station considered as a virtual source. The gradient of the interpolated phase travel time gives us an estimate of the local phase speed and of the direction of wave propagation. By combining the individual measurements for every station, we estimated the distribution of Scholte's wave phase speeds with respect to azimuth. The observed cosine pattern indicates the presence of azimuthal anisotropy. The elliptic shape of the fast anisotropy direction is consistent with results of previous shear wave splitting studies and reflects the strong seafloor subsidence due to the hydrocarbon reservoir depletion at depth and is in good agreement with geomechanical modeling. All Rights Reserved. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
10.1113/JP272791 | Convergence of visual and whisker responses in the primary somatosensory thalamus (ventral posterior medial region) of the mouse | Key points: Using in vivo electrophysiology, we find that a subset of whisker-responsive neurons in the ventral posterior medial region (VPM) respond to visual stimuli. These light-responsive neurons in the VPM are particularly sensitive to optic flow. Presentation of optic flow stimuli modulates the amplitude of concurrent whisker responses. Visual information reaches the VPM via a circuit encompassing the visual cortex. These data represent a new example of cross-modal integration in the primary sensory thalamus. Abstract: Sensory signals reach the cortex via sense-specific thalamic nuclei. Here we report that neurons in the primary sensory thalamus of the mouse vibrissal system (the ventral posterior medial region; VPM) can be excited by visual as well as whisker stimuli. Using extracellular electrophysiological recordings from anaesthetized mice we first show that simple light steps can excite a subset of VPM neurons. We then test the ability of the VPM to respond to spatial patterns and show that many units are excited by visual motion in a direction-selective manner. Coherent movement of multiple objects (an artificial recreation of ‘optic flow’ that would usually occur during head rotations or body movements) best engages this visual motion response. We next show that, when co-applied with visual stimuli, the magnitude of responses to whisker deflections is highest in the presence of optic flow going in the opposite direction. Importantly, whisker response amplitude is also modulated by presentation of a movie recreating the mouse's visual experience during natural exploratory behaviour. We finally present functional and anatomical data indicating a functional connection (probably multisynaptic) from the primary visual cortex to VPM. These data provide a rare example of multisensory integration occurring at the level of the sensory thalamus, and provide evidence for dynamic regulation of whisker responses according to visual experience. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System"
]
|
10.1074/jbc.M114.621789 | Complex structure and biochemical characterization of the Staphylococcus aureus cyclic diadenylate monophosphate (c-di-AMP)-binding protein PstA, the founding member of a new signal transduction protein family | Signaling nucleotides are integral parts of signal transduction systems allowing bacteria to cope with and rapidly respond to changes in the environment. The Staphylococcus aureus PII-like signal transduction protein PstA was recently identified as a cyclic diadenylate monophosphate (c-di-AMP)-binding protein. Here, we present the crystal structures of the apo- and c-di-AMP-bound PstA protein, which is trimeric in solution as well as in the crystals. The structures combined with detailed bioinformatics analysis revealed that the protein belongs to a new family of proteins with a similar core fold but with distinct features to classical PII proteins, which usually function in nitrogen metabolism pathways in bacteria. The complex structure revealed three identical c-di-AMP-binding sites per trimer with each binding site at a monomer-monomer interface. Although distinctly different from other cyclic-di-nucleotide-binding sites, as the half-binding sites are not symmetrical, the complex structure also highlighted common features for c-di-AMP-binding sites. A comparison between the apo and complex structures revealed a series of conformational changes that result in the ordering of two anti-parallel β-strands that protrude from each monomer and allowed us to propose a mechanism on how the PstA protein functions as a signaling transduction protein. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
324202 | The Milking Revolution in Temperate Neolithic Europe | This project explores the introduction and spread of cattle-based agriculture by Neolithic Linearbandkeramik (LBK) farmers and its implications for modelling of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Northern and Central Europe beginning ca. 8,000 years ago. This revolutionary shift in human subsistence strategy completely reshaped prehistoric European culture, biology and economy, in ways which underlie modern life virtually worldwide. These changes underpinned the evolution of Lactase Persistence (LP) amongst modern Europeans, while the multi-billion Euro modern dairy economy is a direct consequence of human-induced biological reformulations made in this critical phase in European prehistory. The distinctive pottery that defines the LBK holds the key to understanding the changing roles of animals in the diets, economies and evolutionary genetics of LBK people. The project integrates three research themes: 1. Lipid biomarker and stable isotope analyses of food residues in LBK pottery to provide assessments of the major animal products acquired and processed, to test hypotheses emerging from recent genetic studies indicating the LBK as the core region for the emergence of LP; 2. State-of-the-art analyses, including stable isotope studies of domesticated animal teeth (and bone), of herding and slaughtering practices for cattle and sheep/goats and wild/hunted species compositions, butchery practices, meat and fat exploitation, to define animal husbandry related to the intensification of cattle herding and milking, and 3. Statistical modelling of lipid residue, isotopic and dating evidence from pottery and animal remains, with cultural and palaeoenvironmental records to identify the critical influences on managing and processing animals for meat and milk. The project will provide a unique picture of animal exploitation and milk use across the entire spatiotemporal range of the LBK embedded within a proper environmental and cultural framework. | [
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
221358 | Multifunctionnal cabin rest area | Airbus has defined the need for a multi-functional cabin rest area, under JTI-CS2-2016-CFP04-AIR-01-24 Program Area AIR – WP A-5.1.1. Zodiac answers to this call with project CRiSTA (Cabin ReST Area). Zodiac has an excellent track record in cabin concepts, crew rests and galleys (almost 90% market share of galleys in single aisle aircraft), and within the Zodiac group there is knowledge on all required building blocks such as: flexible cabin concepts, light-weight storage, high comfort cabin attendant seats, lighting and a wide variety of systems.
The concept envisaged by Zodiac, compliant to the call text, is a flexible, reconfigurable area with minimally (single aisle aircraft) one seat, one bed, a working position and medical equipment, all stowed and folded innovatively in an isolated space. The solution shall be intended for future large aircraft and be scalable to all existing platforms. The space can be used as crew rest, work station, medical area and cultural needs area (meditation, nurturing or prayer).
The project will impact resource efficiency (efficient weight/space use, less flight diversions for medical events) and societal needs with increased passenger comfort for passengers with different cultural backgrounds.
Zodiac has an excellent track record in obtaining user requirements from interviews with users and use of its cabin experience center in Alkmaar, The Netherlands. Based on requirements, building blocks will be defined and integrated for testing in a representative cabin environment. Additionally also regulatory impact will be defined (medical emergencies, crew resting times).
The CRiSTA total grant request to the CS2 JU is € 547.324,- and the total eligible project budget is €781.892,- for the whole consortium consisting of one Zodiac Business Unit which contains two legal entities, in The Netherlands and in the Czech Republic. The project will be conducted over 47 months in close alignment with the overall Airframe ITD needs. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1038/ncomms11126 | Sleeping Beauty transposase structure allows rational design of hyperactive variants for genetic engineering | Sleeping Beauty (SB) is a prominent Tc1/mariner superfamily DNA transposon that provides a popular genome engineering tool in a broad range of organisms. It is mobilized by a transposase enzyme that catalyses DNA cleavage and integration at short specific sequences at the transposon ends. To facilitate SB's applications, here we determine the crystal structure of the transposase catalytic domain and use it to model the SB transposase/transposon end/target DNA complex. Together with biochemical and cell-based transposition assays, our structure reveals mechanistic insights into SB transposition and rationalizes previous hyperactive transposase mutations. Moreover, our data enables us to design two additional hyperactive transposase variants. Our work provides a useful resource and proof-of-concept for structure-based engineering of tailored SB transposases. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering"
]
|
637503 | High precision isotopic measurements of heavy elements in extra-terrestrial materials: origin and age of the solar system volatile element depletion | The objectives of this proposal, PRISTINE (high PRecision ISotopic measurements of heavy elements in extra-Terrestrial materials: origIN and age of the solar system volatile Element depletion), are to develop new cutting edge high precision isotopic measurements to understand the origin of the Earth, Moon and solar system volatile elements and link their relative depletion in the different planets to their formation mechanism. In addition, the understanding of the origin of the volatile elements will have direct consequences for the understanding of the origin of the Earth’s water. To that end, we will approach the problem from two angles: 1) Develop and use novel stable isotope systems for volatile elements (e.g. Zn, Ga, Cu, and Rb) in terrestrial, lunar and meteoritic materials to constrain the origin of solar system’s volatile element depletion 2) Determine the age of the volatile element depletion by using a novel and original approach: calculate the original Rb/Sr ratio of the Solar Nebula by measuring the isotopic composition of the Sun with respect to Sr via the isotopic composition of solar wind implanted in lunar soil grains.
The stable isotope composition (goal #1) will give us new constraints on the mechanisms (e.g. evaporation following a giant impact or incomplete condensation) that have shaped the abundances of the volatile elements in terrestrial planets, while the timing (goal #2) will be used to differentiate between nebular events (early) from planetary events (late). These new results will have major implications on our understanding of the origin of the Earth and of the Moon, and they will be used to test the giant impact hypothesis of the Moon and the origin of the Earth’s water.
| [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Universe Sciences",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
10.1142/S0217751X17500208 | Implications Of Diphoton Searches For A Radion In The Bulk Higgs Scenario | In this work we point out that the apparent diphoton excess initially presented by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations could have originated from a radion in the bulk Higgs scenario within a warped extra dimension. In this scenario the couplings of the radion to massive gauge bosons are suppressed, allowing it to evade existing searches. In the presence of mixing with the Higgs, due to the strong constraints from diboson searches, only points near what we denominate the alignment region were able to explain the diphoton signal and evade other experimental constraints. In light of the new measurements presented at ICHEP 2016 by both LHC collaborations, which do not confirm the initial diphoton excess, we study the current and future collider constraints on a radion within the bulk-Higgs scenario. We find that searches in the diphoton channel provide the most powerful probe of this scenario and already exclude large regions of parameter space, particularly for smaller warp factors. The radion has a sizeable branching ratio into top pairs and this channel may also give competitive constraints in the future. Finally, diHiggs searches can provide a complementary probe in the case of non-zero radion-Higgs mixing but strong alignment. | [
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
]
|
10.1063/1.4818878 | Ultrafast Coherent Control Of Giant Oscillating Molecular Dipoles In The Presence Of Static Electric Fields | We propose a scheme to generate electric dipole moments in homonuclear molecular cations by creating, with an ultrashort pump pulse, a quantum superposition of vibrational states on electronic states strongly perturbed by very strong static electric fields. By field-induced molecular stabilization, the dipoles can reach values as large as 50 Debyes and oscillate on a time-scale comparable to that of the slow vibrational motion. We show that both the electric field and the pump pulse parameters can be used to control the amplitude and period of the oscillation, while preventing the molecule from ionizing or dissociating. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
]
|
10.1109/INES.2016.7555125 | Control Engineering Approaches At Obuda University For Physiological Problems | Medical devices and computerized medical applications are exponentially increasing nowadays. This is actively supported by the EU's personalized healthcare m-Health and e-Health research programs. The core of such researches is represented undoubtedly by the basic field of biomedical engineering, the physiological modeling, simulation and control topic. In 2013 the Physiological Controls Group of the Obuda University was created in order to integrate in a structural form the university researches in this sense and linking them with educational programs as well. The presentation gives an overview of the obtained results focusing on diabetes, tumor and hemodialysis, but presenting biostatistical approaches as well. The results are presented from the perspective of the recently rewarded ERC StG grant of the EU. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
W2031379437 | Effect of boron and nitrogen doping with native point defects on the vibrational properties of graphene | Abstract Boron and nitrogen doping in graphene has important implications in graphene-based devices. We investigate systematically the vibrational properties of B- and N-doped graphene with vacancies using forced vibrational method. We have calculated the phonon density of states (PDOSs), typical mode patterns and phonon localization length for different concentration of B, N and vacancies. We find that the interference between native point defects and B or N dopant break down the phonon degeneracy at the Г point of the LO and TO modes, distort and shift down the PDOSs significantly. We observe a broadening and softening of the Raman active E 2 g phonon mode with an increase of B and N atoms. The PDOS peaks for the mixture of vacancies and B or N atoms show the remarkable increase in the low-frequency region induced by their defect formations. Our computer experiments demonstrate that the disordered graphene show the spatially localized vibrations due to the resonant vibrations of the impurity atoms relative to the main C atoms. The calculated typical mode patterns for in-plane K point optical phonon modes indicate that the phonon is localized strongly within a region of several nanometers in the random disordered graphene structures. In particular, a typical localization length is on the order of ≈9.5 nm for B- and N-doping, ≈9 nm for mixture of B-doping and vacancy, and ≈8.5 nm for mixture of N-doping and vacancy concentrations of 20%. This study provides a useful basis for the understanding of a wide variety of physical properties such as thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and electron–phonon interaction, as well as in the experiments of infrared, Raman, and neutron-diffraction spectra of doped-graphene. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
W2090789248 | VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation | Eye movement studies have provided a strong foundation forming an understanding of how the brain acquires visual information in both the normal and dysfunctional brain.(1) However, development of a platform to stimulate and store eye movements can require substantial programming, time and costs. Many systems do not offer the flexibility to program numerous stimuli for a variety of experimental needs. However, the VisualEyes System has a flexible architecture, allowing the operator to choose any background and foreground stimulus, program one or two screens for tandem or opposing eye movements and stimulate the left and right eye independently. This system can significantly reduce the programming development time needed to conduct an oculomotor study. The VisualEyes System will be discussed in three parts: 1) the oculomotor recording device to acquire eye movement responses, 2) the VisualEyes software written in LabView, to generate an array of stimuli and store responses as text files and 3) offline data analysis. Eye movements can be recorded by several types of instrumentation such as: a limbus tracking system, a sclera search coil, or a video image system. Typical eye movement stimuli such as saccadic steps, vergent ramps and vergent steps with the corresponding responses will be shown. In this video report, we demonstrate the flexibility of a system to create numerous visual stimuli and record eye movements that can be utilized by basic scientists and clinicians to study healthy as well as clinical populations. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System"
]
|
W2094446804 | Neoliberal Logics of Voice: Playback Singing and Public Femaleness in South India | AbstractThis essay explores the impact of neoliberal logics of voice on the music-making and performance practices of female playback singers in the South Indian Tamil film industry. As singers whose voices are first recorded in the studio and then ‘played back’ on the set to be lip-synched by actors, playback singers have been professional musicians and public celebrities since the 1950s. Their careers are governed by practices of voice cultivation and by modes of performance and public self-presentation, in the studio, on stage, and increasingly in mediatised contexts. Since the 1990s, neoliberal logics of flexibility, entrepreneurship and self-marketing have redefined the role of the playback singer and the way singers conceive of their work in both social and aesthetic terms. These changes have occurred within a broader context in which anxieties about globalisation and expanding commodity culture are reflected in debates about the place of women in public. | [
"Texts and Concepts",
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Studies of Cultures and Arts"
]
|
Q7283135 | field notes- regionale und überregionale Strahlkraft zeitgenössicher Musik aus Berlin | Das Projekt „field notes“ zielt darauf ab, die Präsenz zeitgenössischer Musik in der Öffentlichkeit zu stärken. Damit soll die Steigerung der Auslastung der Veranstaltungen und die Vernetzung der Musiker / Komponisten / weiterer Akteure des Genres Neue Musik untereinander und auch mit Zulieferern erreicht werden. Folgende Maßnahmen sind Bestandteil des Vorhabens: 1. Beratung / überregionale Vernetzung / Professionalisierung der Akteure der freien Szene durch Einladung von Delegationen zum Monat der zeitgenössischen Musik sowie Durchführung von Workshops und Seminaren, 2. Repräsentation der Berliner Szene auf dem internationalen Klassik-Markt, 3. Durchführung von gezielten Marketingmaßnahmen, z.B. Herausgabe des field notes Maga-zins, Pflege des Konzertkalenders sowie Organisation des Monats der zeitgenössischen Musik, 4. Durchführung einer Schreibwerkstatt zur Steigerung der Sichtbarkeit in den Medien 5. Integratin des Jazz im field notes Magazin 6. Integration des Jazz in der Kommunikation über Newsletter und Social Media. | [
"Studies of Cultures and Arts",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
]
|
10.1038/nn.3532 | Membrane potential correlates of sensory perception in mouse barrel cortex | Neocortical activity can evoke sensory percepts, but the cellular mechanisms remain poorly understood. We trained mice to detect single brief whisker stimuli and report perceived stimuli by licking to obtain a reward. Pharmacological inactivation and optogenetic stimulation demonstrated a causal role for the primary somatosensory barrel cortex. Whole-cell recordings from barrel cortex neurons revealed membrane potential correlates of sensory perception. Sensory responses depended strongly on prestimulus cortical state, but both slow-wave and desynchronized cortical states were compatible with task performance. Whisker deflection evoked an early (<50 ms) reliable sensory response that was encoded through cell-specific reversal potentials. A secondary late (50-400 ms) depolarization was enhanced on hit trials compared to misses. Optogenetic inactivation revealed a causal role for late excitation. Our data reveal dynamic processing in the sensory cortex during task performance, with an early sensory response reliably encoding the stimulus and later secondary activity contributing to driving the subjective percept. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
10.1016/j.dnarep.2013.10.003 | The conserved Fanconi anemia nuclease Fan1 and the SUMO E3 ligase Pli1 act in two novel Pso2-independent pathways of DNA interstrand crosslink repair in yeast | DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs) represent a physical barrier to the progression of cellular machinery involved in DNA metabolism. Thus, this type of adduct represents a serious threat to genomic stability and as such, several DNA repair pathways have evolved in both higher and lower eukaryotes to identify this type of damage and restore the integrity of the genetic material. Human cells possess a specialized ICL-repair system, the Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway. Conversely yeasts rely on the concerted action of several DNA repair systems. Recent work in higher eukaryotes identified and characterized a novel conserved FA component, FAN1 (Fanconi anemia-associated nuclease 1, or FANCD2/FANCI-associated nuclease 1). In this study, we characterize Fan1 in the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Using standard genetics, we demonstrate that Fan1 is a key component of a previously unidentified ICL-resolution pathway. Using high-throughput synthetic genetic arrays, we also demonstrate the existence of a third pathway of ICL repair, dependent on the SUMO E3 ligase Pli1. Finally, using sequence-threaded homology models, we predict and validate key residues essential for Fan1 activity in ICL repair. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
10.1080/02626667.2016.1230674 | Adaptation Of Water Resources Systems To Changing Society And Environment A Statement By The International Association Of Hydrological Sciences | We explore how to address the challenges of adaptation of water resources systems under changing conditions by supporting flexible, resilient and low-regret solutions, coupled with on-going monitoring and evaluation. This will require improved understanding of the linkages between biophysical and social aspects in order to better anticipate the possible future co-evolution of water systems and society. We also present a call to enhance the dialogue and foster the actions of governments, the international scientific community, research funding agencies and additional stakeholders in order to develop effective solutions to support water resources systems adaptation. Finally, we call the scientific community to a renewed and unified effort to deliver an innovative message to stakeholders. Water science is essential to resolve the water crisis, but the effectiveness of solutions depends, inter alia, on the capability of scientists to deliver a new, coherent and technical vision for the future development of water systems. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
]
|
US 2005/0018113 W | BEVERAGE DISPENSER WITH AUTOMATIC CUP-FILLING CONTROL | A beverage dispenser for filling a container preferably has a nozzle through which the beverage is discharged and a pivoting lever located underneath the nozzle that detects the placement of a container so as to regulate the actuation of the dispenser. A conductive probe is in line with the discharged beverage stream, the lever also being conductive. A signal generator generates a varying-over-time signal that is applied to the probe or lever. As a result of beverage overflowing the container, the beverage stream establishes a conductive path between the probe and lever. The signal through this conductive path is compared to the signal produced by the signal generator. If the signals are substantially identical for a select period of time, the dispensing system is considered to be in an overflow state, and beverage dispensing is terminated. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
172729 | Europe’S lost frontiers: exploring climate change, settlement and colonisation of the submerged landscapes of the north sea basin using ancient dna, seismic mapping and complex systems modelling | The only lands on Earth that have not been explored in any depth by science are those that have been lost to the oceans. Global warming at the end of the last Ice Age led to the inundation of vast landscapes that had once been home to thousands of people. These lost lands hold a unique and largely unexplored record of settlement and colonisation linked to climate change over millennia. Amongst the most significant is Doggerland.
Occupying much of the North Sea basin between continental Europe and Britain it would have been a heartland of human occupation and central to the process of re-settlement and colonisation of north Western Europe during the Mesolithic and the Neolithic. Within this submerged landscape lies fragmentary yet valuable evidence for the lifestyles of its inhabitants including the changes resulting from both the encroaching sea and the introduction of Neolithic technologies.
This inundated landscape cannot be explored conventionally, however pioneering work by the applicant’s research group has led to the rediscovery of Doggerland through the creation of the first detailed topographic maps relating to human occupation in the Early Holocene. Within this project world-leading innovators in the fields of archaeo-geophysics, molecular biology and computer simulation will develop a ground-breaking new paradigm for the study of past environments, ecological change and the transition between hunter gathering societies and farming in north west Europe. It will:
1) use the latest seismic reflectance data available to generate topographical maps of the whole of early Holocene Doggerland that are as accurate and complete as possible.
2) reconstruct and simulate the palaeo-environments of Doggerland using ancient DNA extracted directly from sediment cores.
3) explore the Mesolithic landscapes and also identify incipient Neolithic signals indicating early contact and development within the region of Doggerland. | [
"Earth System Science",
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
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