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10.1103/PhysRevB.79.024428 | Ab initio study of atomic ordering and spin-glass transition in dilute CuMn alloys | An archetypical spin-glass metallic alloy, Cu0. 83Mn 0. 17, is studied by means of an ab initio based approach. First-principles calculations are employed to obtain effective chemical, strain-induced, and magnetic exchange interactions, as well as static atomic displacements, and the interactions are subsequently used in thermodynamic simulations. It is shown that the calculated atomic and magnetic short-range order accurately reproduces the results of neutron-scattering experiments. In particular, it is confirmed that the alloy exhibits a tendency toward ordering and the corresponding ordered phase is revealed. The magnetic structure is represented by spin-spiral clusters accompanied by weaker ferromagnetic short-range correlations. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1002/adma.201304368 | A polymer optoelectronic interface provides visual cues to a blind retina | A polymer bulk heterojunction structure utilized as an active photosensitive platform to evoke neuronal activity in a blind retina. The features of the elicited action potentials correlate with the optoelectronic properties of the polymer/electrolyte interface, and resembles the natural response of the retina to light. The polymer interface can be used as an optoelectronic epiretinal interface for retinal prosthesis with no requirement for external power sources or connection cables. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1029/2011JE003983 | Extensive Surface Pedogenic Alteration Of The Martian Noachian Crust Suggested By Plateau Phyllosilicates Around Valles Marineris | [1] Thousands of phyllosilicate-rich outcrops, mainly iron or magnesium-rich are exposed on Noachian terrains in the Martian southern highlands. We analyzed 90 CRISM observations and more than a hundred HiRISE images located on the plateaus surrounding Valles Marineris. We mapped an extensive Al- and Fe/Mg-phyllosilicate-rich formation covering at least ∼197,000 km2, for which we introduce the name “Plateau Phyllosilicates. ” Tens of meters in thickness, this light-toned formation crops out at various elevations on top of the Noachian units Npl1 and Npl2, as flat exposures on plateaus and along scarps such as valley walls, chasma walls, pit walls and impact crater rims. The Fe/Mg-phyllosilicate-rich lower member of the formation is composed of Fe/Mg-smectites (nontronite, saponite) and vermiculite. The Al-phyllosilicate-rich upper member of the formation contains Al-smectites (montmorillonite, beidellite) and locally kaolinite and/or halloysite. We suggest that the Plateau Phyllosilicates were mainly formed by pedogenesis related to the weathering of the Noachian bedrock by percolation of meteoric water or melted snow under a temperate and subarid climate during the Noachian Epoch in an alkaline to neutral environment. Kaolinite and/or halloysite may have formed in areas of more intense drainage at the surface under slightly acidic environments during the Noachian and Hesperian Epochs. Fluvial activity and deuteric alteration may have locally contributed to the genesis of phyllosilicates. This study suggests that the alteration of the Noachian basement of the plateaus surrounding Valles Marineris was widespread during the Noachian Epoch, and was still active during the Hesperian Epoch even though the water availability was limited. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
W4281901112 | ACCORDS VOLONTAIRES VERS L’APPLICATION DE L’ACCORD DE PARIS ET LA RESPONSABILITÉ SOCIÉTALE DES ENTREPRISES/RSE | La Responsabilité Sociétale des Entreprises/RSE ne peut pas tout. Les multiples accords volontaires existants dans l’environnement, dans le management ou dans la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique peuvent lui emboîter le pas de manière efficace. Finalement quels sont les meilleurs instruments d’application du développement durable du moment que ce concept mis sur orbite à Rio en 1992 génère une mutation positive de l’ensemble des acteurs plus soucieux de leur impact environnemental ? La méthodologie de recherche, utilisée dans cet article, est exploratoire et repose sur l’analyse de références d’articles, d’études bibliographiques et d’études de cas. | [
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
617989 | Rational design of scaffold architecture and functionalization to induce healing and tissue regeneration | When materials are implanted into the body they initiate an inflammatory response that is difficult to control. Consequently medical implants are tolerated by the body rather than fully integrated; the material is often sealed off from the body in a fibrotic capsule. Most recent research suggests that morphology is a decisive immunomodulatory trigger and may favor a healing-like reaction of the innate immune system, especially of macrophages.
I have pioneered a single-step method to generate non-woven fibrous scaffolds with surface chemistry control that allows specific cell adhesion. Additionally, my laboratory recently established melt electrospinning writing (MEW) that allows automated scaffold production by solvent-free electrostatic drawing with precise morphology control through rational deposition of polymer filaments in micrometer resolution.
Design2Heal is based on this world-wide unique combination of technologies and proposes to combine form (scaffold morphology) with function (surface chemistry) to generate biomaterials that are designed to heal and improve implant integration. Pioneering and ground breaking research within Design2Heal includes:
• A single-step procedure to fabricate MEW scaffolds with controlled surface functionalities for specific bioactivation.
• Unraveling the immunomodulatory potential of generic scaffold parameters (diameter, morphology) and surface functionalization (peptides, sugars, glycosaminoglycans) for rationally designed scaffolds in vitro with primary human innate immune cells.
• Resolve the immunomodulatory effects of cellular cross-talk and interaction between human immune cells, mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells in defined geometric confinements.
• In vivo proof-of-principle in the murine model
In case of success, Design2Heal will be a ground breaking first step towards actively healing implants independently of the affected tissue, with tremendous impact on healthcare worldwide. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1039/c9sc01299k | Exploring the thermodynamic criteria for responsive adsorption processes | A general thermodynamic model to investigate responsive adsorption processes in flexible porous materials. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.3847/0004-637X/830/2/155 | Constraining Dark Matter Properties With Cosmic Microwave Background Observations | We examine how the properties of dark matter, parameterised by an equation of state parameter $w$ and two perturbative Generalised Dark Matter (GDM) parameters $c^2_s$ (the sound speed) and $c^2_\text{vis}$ (the viscosity), are constrained by existing cosmological data, particularly the Planck 2015 data release. We find that the GDM parameters are consistent with zero, and are strongly constrained, showing no evidence for extending the dark matter model beyond the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) paradigm. The dark matter equation of state is constrained to be within $-0. 000896<w<0. 00238$ at the $99. 7\%$ confidence level, which is several times stronger than constraints found previously using WMAP data. The parameters $c^2_s$ and $c^2_\text{vis}$ are constrained to be less than $3. 21\times10^{-6}$ and $6. 06\times10^{-6}$ respectively at the $99. 7\%$ confidence level. The inclusion of the GDM parameters does significantly affect the error bars on several $\Lambda$CDM parameters, notably the dimensionless dark matter density $\omega_g$ and the derived parameters $\sigma_8$ and $H_0$. This can be partially alleviated with the inclusion of data constraining the expansion history of the universe. | [
"Universe Sciences",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
]
|
W4205092497 | JUNO physics and detector | The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a 20 kton LS detector at 700-m underground. An excellent energy resolution and a large fiducial volume offer exciting opportunities for addressing many important topics in neutrino and astro-particle physics. With 6 years of data, the neutrino mass ordering can be determined at 3-4 sigma and three oscillation parameters can be measured to a precision of 0.6% or better by detecting reactor antineutrinos. With 10 years of data, DSNB could be observed at 3-sigma; a lower limit of the proton lifetime of 8.34e33 years (90% C.L.) can be set by searching for p->nu_bar K^+; detection of solar neutrinos would shed new light on the solar metallicity problem and examine the vacuum-matter transition region. A core-collapse supernova at 10 kpc would lead to ~5000 IBD and ~2000 (300) all-flavor neutrino-proton (electron) scattering events. Geo-neutrinos can be detected with a rate of ~400 events/year. We also summarize the final design of the JUNO detector and the key R&D achievements. All 20-inch PMTs have been tested. The average photon detection efficiency is 28.9% for the 15,000 MCP PMTs and 28.1% for the 5,000 dynode PMTs, higher than the JUNO requirement of 27%. Together with the >20 m attenuation length of LS, we expect a yield of 1345 p.e. per MeV and an effective energy resolution of 3.02%/\sqrt{E (MeV)}$ in simulations. The underwater electronics is designed to have a loss rate <0.5% in 6 years. With degassing membranes and a micro-bubble system, the radon concentration in the 35-kton water pool could be lowered to <10 mBq/m^3. Acrylic panels of radiopurity <0.5 ppt U/Th are produced. The 20-kton LS will be purified onsite. Singles in the fiducial volume can be controlled to ~10 Hz. The JUNO experiment also features a double calorimeter system with 25,600 3-inch PMTs, a LS testing facility OSIRIS, and a near detector TAO. | [
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
10.1109/TIT.2016.2642994 | Capacity Of Remotely Powered Communication | Motivated by the recent developments in wireless power transfer, we study communication with a remotely powered transmitter. We propose an information-theoretic model where a charger can dynamically decide on how much power to transfer to the transmitter based on its side information regarding the communication, while the transmitter needs to dynamically adapt its coding strategy to its instantaneous energy state, which in turn depends on the actions previously taken by the charger. We characterize the capacity as an $n$ -letter mutual information rate under various levels of side information available at the charger. When the charger is finely tunable to different energy levels, referred to as a “precision charger,” we show that these expressions reduce to single-letter form and there is a simple and intuitive joint charging and coding scheme achieving capacity. The precision charger scenario is motivated by the observation that in practice the transferred energy can be controlled by simply changing the amplitude of the beamformed signal. When the charger does not have sufficient precision, for example, when it is restricted to use a few discrete energy levels, we show that the computation of the $n$ -letter capacity can be cast as a Markov decision process if the channel is noiseless. This allows us to numerically compute the capacity for specific cases and obtain insights on the corresponding optimal policy, or even to obtain closed-form analytical solutions by solving the corresponding Bellman equations, as we demonstrate through examples. Our findings provide some surprising insights on how side information at the charger can be used to increase the overall capacity of the system. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1016/j.jde.2017.09.005 | Periodic cycles of social outbursts of activity | We study the long-time behavior of a 2×2 continuous dynamical system with a time-periodic source term which is either of cooperative-type or activator–inhibitor type. This system was recently introduced in the literature [2] to model the dynamics of social outbursts and consists of an explicit field measuring the level of activity and an implicit field measuring the effective tension. The system can be used to represent a general type of phenomena in which one variable exhibits self-excitement once the other variable has reached a critical value. The time-periodic source term allows one to analyze the effect that periodic external shocks to the system play in the dynamics of the outburst of activity. For cooperative systems we prove that for small shocks the level of activity dies down whereas, as the intensity of the shocks increases, the level of activity converges to a positive periodic solution (excited cycle). We further show that in some cases there is multiplicity of excited cycles. We derive a subset of these results for the activator–inhibitor system. | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.23919/EUSIPCO.2017.8081288 | A Novel Non Iterative Algorithm For Low Multilinear Rank Tensor Approximation | Low-rank tensor approximation algorithms are building blocks in tensor methods for signal processing. In particular, approximations of low multilinear rank (mrank) are of central importance in tensor subspace analysis. This paper proposes a novel non-iterative algorithm for computing a low-mrank approximation, termed sequential low-rank approximation and projection (SeLRAP). Our algorithm generalizes sequential rank-one approximation and projection (SeROAP), which aims at the rank-one case. For third-order mrank-(1,R,R) approximations, SeLRAP's outputs are always at least as accurate as those of previously proposed methods. Our simulation results suggest that this is actually the case for the overwhelmingly majority of random third- and fourth-order tensors and several different mranks. Though the accuracy improvement is often small, we show it can make a large difference when repeatedly computing approximations, as happens, e. g. , in an iterative hard thresholding algorithm for tensor completion. | [
"Mathematics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101981 | Avoiding or mitigating flooding: Bottom-up drivers of urban resilience to climate change in the USA | Coastal areas around the world are urbanizing rapidly, despite the threat of sea level rise and intensifying floods. Such development places an increasing number of people and capital at risk, which calls for public flood management as well as household level adaptation measures that reduce social vulnerability to flooding and climate change. This study explores several private adaptation responses to flood risk, that are driven by various behavioral triggers. We conduct a survey among households in hazard-prone areas in eight coastal states in the USA, of which, some have recently experienced major flooding. While numerous empirical studies have investigated household-level flood damage mitigation, little attention has been given to examining the decision to retreat from flood zones. We examine what behavioral motives drive the choices for flood damage mitigation and relocation separately among property buyers and sellers. Hence, we focus on the drivers that shape demand for future development in flood-prone cities. We find that households’ choices to retreat from or to avoid flood zones (1) are highly sensitive to information that provokes people's feelings of fear, and (2) rely on hazardous events to trigger a protective action, which ideally would take place well before these events occur. We highlight that major flooding may cause a potential risk of large-scale outmigration and demographic changes in flood-prone areas, putting more low-income households at risk. Therefore, coordinated policies that integrate bottom-up drivers of individual climate adaptation are needed to increase urban resilience to floods. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
]
|
10.1098/rsif.2013.0529 | Interaction rules underlying group decisions in homing pigeons | Travelling in groups gives animals opportunities to share route information by following cues from each other's movement. The outcome of group navigation will depend on how individuals respond to each other within a flock, school, swarm or herd. Despite the abundance of modelling studies, only recently have researchers developed techniques to determine the interaction rules among real animals. Here, we use high-resolution GPS (global positioning system) tracking to study these interactions in pairs of pigeons flying home from a familiar site. Momentary changes in velocity indicate alignment with the neighbour's direction, as well as attraction or avoidance depending on distance. Responses were stronger when the neighbour was in front. From the flocking behaviour, we develop a model to predict features of group navigation. Specifically, we show that the interactions between pigeons stabilize a side-by-side configuration, promoting bidirectional information transfer and reducing the risk of separation. However, if one bird gets in front it will lead directional choices. Our model further predicts, and observations confirm, that a faster bird (as measured from solo flights) will fly slightly in front and thus dominate the choice of homing route. Our results explain how group decisions emerge from individual differences in homing flight behaviour. | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1016/j.cmet.2018.01.015 | Paracrine Interactions within the Pancreatic Islet Determine the Glycemic Set Point | Every animal species has a signature blood glucose level or glycemic set point. These set points are different, and the normal glycemic levels (normoglycemia) of one species would be life threatening for other species. Mouse normoglycemia can be considered diabetic for humans. The biological determinants of the glycemic set point remain unclear. Here we show that the pancreatic islet imposes its glycemic set point on the organism, making it the bona fide glucostat in the body. Moreover, and in contrast to rodent islets, glucagon input from the alpha cell to the insulin-secreting beta cell is necessary to fine-tune the distinctive human set point. These findings affect transplantation and regenerative approaches to treat diabetes because restoring normoglycemia may require more than replacing only the beta cells. Furthermore, therapeutic strategies using glucagon receptor antagonists as hypoglycemic agents need to be reassessed, as they may reset the overall glucostat in the organism. It is not known if there is a leading organ that maintains blood glucose levels within the narrow physiological range. Rodriguez-Diaz and colleagues show that the pancreatic islet serves as the systemic glucostat and that paracrine glucagon input from alpha cells is essential for setting the glycemic set point. Therapeutic strategies using glucagon receptor antagonists to lower glycemia should thus be reassessed. | [
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
W2057309254 | Adolescent Suicide: a Primary Care Issue | Death by suicide among adolescents continues to be a worldwide concern. It is estimated that approximately 200, 000 teenagers end their lives annually. Suicide remains the third leading cause of death among adolescents between the ages 13 and 19 and the second leading cause of death among 10–20 year olds. Suicide attempts occur more frequently during adolescents than at other periods of human development. This stage is a critical period of growth and development. Adjusting to the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual issues, pose tremendous burden on the adolescent who is trying to make meaning of all the changes that are occurring simultaneously. The impact of this problem has become a global public health concern; therefore, preventative measures are urgently needed to prevent self-destructive behaviors. A review of the literature will highlight the current statistics related to adolescent suicide attempt and suicide, associating factors, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and management, and preventative measures. | [
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
Q4937456 | (14508.17092020.172001836) INVESTMENTS CIONI | THE COMPANY INVESTS IN:- MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT FOR ITS ACTIVITIES — INCREASE ENERGY EFFICIENCY THROUGH AD-HOC INTERVENTIONS ON THE IMMOBILECOMPLETING THE INVESTMENT WITH WORKING CAPITAL EXPENSES FOR THE AUDITOR AND UTILITIES | [
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1016/j.celrep.2013.07.033 | Localization-dependent and -independent roles of SLX4 in regulating telomeres | SLX4, a scaffold for structure-specific DNA repair nucleases, is important for several types of DNA repair. Many repair proteins bind to sites of DNA damage, resulting in subnuclear "foci," but SLX4 forms foci in human cells even without DNA damage. Using several approaches, we show that most, but not all, SLX4 foci localize to telomeres in a range of human cell lines irrespective of the mechanisms used to maintain telomere length. The SLX1 Holliday-junction-processing enzyme is recruited to telomeresby SLX4, and SLX4, in turn, is recruited by a motif that binds to the shelterin subunit TRF2 directly. We also show that TRF2-dependent recruitment of SLX4 prevents telomere damage. Furthermore, SLX4 prevents telomere lengthening and fragility in a manner that appears to be independent of telomere association. These findings reveal that SLX4 plays multiple roles in regulating telomere homeostasis | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00065 | In search for boundary conditions of reconsolidation: A failure of fear memory interference | The presentation of a fear memory cue can result in mere memory retrieval, destabilization of the reactivatedmemory trace, or the formation of an extinction memory. The interaction between the degree of novelty during reactivation and previous learning conditions is thought to determine the outcome of a reactivation session. This study aimed to evaluate whether contextual novelty can prevent cue-induced destabilization and disruption of a fear memory acquired by non-asymptotic learning. To this end, fear memory was reactivated in a novel context or in the original context of learning, and fear memory reactivation was followed by the administration of propranolol, an amnestic drug. Remarkably, fear memory was not impaired by post-reactivation propranolol administration or extinction training under the usual conditions used in our lab, irrespective of the reactivation context. These unexpected findings are discussed in the light of our current experimental parameters and alleged boundary conditions on memory destabilization. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1051/0004-6361/201731965 | A Search For Radio Emission From Exoplanets Around Evolved Stars | The majority of searches for radio emission from exoplanets have to date focused on short period planets, i. e. , the so-called hot Jupiter type planets. However, these planets are likely to be tidally locked to their host stars and may not generate sufficiently strong magnetic fields to emit electron cyclotron maser emission at the low frequencies used in observations (typically >= 150 MHz). In comparison, the large mass-loss rates of evolved stars could enable exoplanets at larger orbital distances to emit detectable radio emission. Here, we first show that the large ionized mass-loss rates of certain evolved stars relative to the solar value could make them detectable with the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) at 150 MHz (lambda = 2 m), provided they have surface magnetic field strengths >50 G. We then report radio observations of three long period (>1 au) planets that orbit the evolved stars beta Gem, iota Dra, and beta UMi using LOFAR at 150 MHz. We do not detect radio emission from any system but place tight 3 sigma upper limits of 0. 98, 0. 87, and 0. 57 mJy on the flux density at 150 MHz for beta Gem, iota Dra, and beta UMi, respectively. Despite our non-detections these stringent upper limits highlight the potential of LOFAR as a tool to search for exoplanetary radio emission at meter wavelengths. | [
"Universe Sciences",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00025 | On the Face of It: No Differential Sensitivity to Internal Facial Features in the Dog Brain | Dogs are looking at and gaining information from human faces in a variety of contexts. Next to behavioral studies investigating the topic, recent fMRI studies reported face sensitive brain areas in dogs' temporal cortex. However, these studies used whole heads as stimuli which contain both internal (eyes, nose, mouth) and external facial features (hair, chin, face-outline). Behavioral studies reported that (1) recognition of human faces by dogs requires visibility of head contour and that (2) dogs are less successful in recognizing their owners from 2D pictures than from real human heads. In contrast, face perception in humans heavily depends on internal features and generalizes to 2D images. Whether putative face sensitive regions in dogs have comparable properties to those of humans has not been tested so far. In two fMRI experiments, we investigated (1) the location of putative face sensitive areas presenting only internal features of a real human face vs. a mono-colored control surface and (2) whether these regions show higher activity toward live human faces and/or static images of those faces compared to scrambled face images, all with the same outline. In Study 1 (n = 13) we found strong activity for faces in multiple regions, including the previously described temporo-parietal and occipital regions when the control was a mono-colored, homogeneous surface. These differences disappeared in Study 2 (n = 11) when we compared faces to scrambled faces, controlling for low-level visual cues. Our results do not support the assumption that dogs rely on a specialized brain region for processing internal facial characteristics, which is in line with the behavioral findings regarding dogs inability to recognize human faces based on these features. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.3390/polym11060942 | A Self-Adhesive Elastomeric Wound Scaffold for Sensitive Adhesion to Tissue | Pressure sensitive adhesives based on silicone materials are used particularly for skin adhesion, e. g. , the fixation of electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes or wound dressings. However, adhesion to sensitive tissue structures is not sufficiently addressed due to the risk of damage or rupture. We propose an approach in which a poly-(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based soft skin adhesive (SSA) acts as cellular scaffold for wound healing. Due to the intrinsically low surface free energy of silicone elastomers, functionalization strategies are needed to promote the attachment and spreading of eukaryotic cells. In the present work, the effect of physical adsorption of three different proteins on the adhesive properties of the soft skin adhesive was investigated. Fibronectin adsorption slightly affects adhesion but significantly improves the cellular interaction of L929 murine fibroblasts with the polymeric surface. Composite films were successfully attached to explanted tympanic membranes. This demonstrates the potential of protein functionalized SSA to act as an adhesive scaffold in delicate biomedical applications. | [
"Materials Engineering",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
10.1016/j.devcel.2016.10.013 | Live Imaging of Axolotl Digit Regeneration Reveals Spatiotemporal Choreography of Diverse Connective Tissue Progenitor Pools | Connective tissues—skeleton, dermis, pericytes, fascia—are a key cell source for regenerating the patterned skeleton during axolotl appendage regeneration. This complexity has made it difficult to identify the cells that regenerate skeletal tissue. Inability to identify these cells has impeded a mechanistic understanding of blastema formation. By tracing cells during digit tip regeneration using brainbow transgenic axolotls, we show that cells from each connective tissue compartment have distinct spatial and temporal profiles of proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Chondrocytes proliferate but do not migrate into the regenerate. In contrast, pericytes proliferate, then migrate into the blastema and give rise solely to pericytes. Periskeletal cells and fibroblasts contribute the bulk of digit blastema cells and acquire diverse fates according to successive waves of migration that choreograph their proximal-distal and tissue contributions. We further show that platelet-derived growth factor signaling is a potent inducer of fibroblast migration, which is required to form the blastema. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
216264 | Welfare state politics under pressure: identifying priorities, trade-offs and reform opportunities among citizens, political and economic elites | In times of austerity, the politics of the welfare state involve tough choices and even trade-offs: whose risks should benefit from social solidarity in a context of shrinking resources? Should the welfare state prioritize the needs of the elderly or those of the young? Those of people in the workforce or outside of the workforce? Of natives or of immigrants?
How countries answer these key questions depends on the welfare state priorities of citizens, political elites and economic elites. However, we know still very little about these priorities and their determinants, and we know even less about the mechanisms that foster support for social solidarity – i.e. support for inclusive social security beyond self-interest. This project wants to make use of recent methodological advances to investigate precisely these priorities and mechanisms.
The project will have two phases: the goal of the first phase is to identify the most salient distributive conflicts and welfare trade-offs in eight European countries. It includes an original data collection on social policy priorities among citizens, politicians, employers and trade unions (based on conjoint survey and interviews), as well as content analysis of the actual welfare politics in these countries.
The second phase builds on the findings of the first phase, but its objective is to go beyond conflict towards coalitions. It will again combine conjoint surveys and content analysis to identify the factors that foster support for social policies among those actors who are unlikely to benefit directly from these policies. The project will investigate the relative importance of three factors: compensation, framing and mediation.
The project breaks new theoretical and methodological ground in comparative welfare state research. It conceptualizes and studies both the trade-offs and the potentials for coalitions, which will determine the fate of the European welfare state in the 21st century. | [
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
10.3389/feart.2017.00112 | A review of the stable isotope bio-geochemistry of the global silicon cycle and its associated trace elements | Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and is an important nutrient in the ocean. The global Si cycle plays a critical role in regulating primary productivity and carbon cycling on the continents and in the oceans. Development of the analytical tools used to study the sources, sinks, and fluxes of the global Si cycle (e. g. , elemental and stable isotope ratio data for Ge, Si, Zn, etc. ) have recently led to major advances in our understanding of the mechanisms and processes that constrain the cycling of Si in the modern environment and in the past. Here, we provide background on the geochemical tools that are available for studying the Si cycle and highlight our current understanding of the marine, freshwater and terrestrial systems. We place emphasis on the geochemistry (e. g. , Al/Si, Ge/Si, Zn/Si, δ13 C, δ15 N, δ18 O, δ30 Si) of dissolved and biogenic Si, present case studies, such as the Silicic Acid Leakage Hypothesis, and discuss challenges associated with the development of these environmental proxies for the global Si cycle. We also discuss how each system within the global Si cycle might change over time (i. e. , sources, sinks, and processes) and the potential technical and conceptual limitations that need to be considered for future studies. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1097/AUD.0000000000000474 | Auditory And Audiovisual Close Shadowing In Post Lingually Deaf Cochlear Implanted Patients And Normal Hearing Elderly Adults | Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine the impact of auditory deprivation and age-related speech decline on perceptuo-motor abilities during speech processing in post-lingually deaf cochlear-implanted participants and in normal-hearing elderly participants. Design: A close-shadowing experiment was carried out on ten cochlear-implanted patients and ten normal-hearing elderly participants, with two groups of normal-hearing young participants as controls. To this end, participants had to categorize auditory and audiovisual syllables as quickly as possible, either manually or orally. Reaction times and percentages of correct responses were compared depending on response modes, stimulus modalities and syllables. Results: Responses of cochlear-implanted subjects were globally slower and less accurate than those of both young and elderly normal-hearing people. Adding the visual modality was found to enhance performance for cochlear-implanted patients, whereas no significant effect was obtained for the normal-hearing elderly group. Critically, oral responses were faster than manual ones for all groups. In addition, for normal-hearing elderly participants, manual responses were more accurate than oral responses, as was the case for normal-hearing young participants when presented with noisy speech stimuli. Conclusions: Faster reaction times were observed for oral than for manual responses in all groups, suggesting that perceptuo-motor relationships were somewhat successfully functional after cochlear implantation, and remain efficient in the normal-hearing elderly group. These results are in agreement with recent perceptuo-motor theories of speech perception. They are also supported by the theoretical assumption that implicit motor knowledge and motor representations partly constrain auditory speech processing. In this framework, oral responses would have been generated at an earlier stage of a sensorimotor loop, whereas manual responses would appear late, leading to slower but more accurate responses. The difference between oral and manual responses suggests that the perceptuo-motor loop is still effective for normal-hearing elderly subjects, and also for cochlear-implanted participants despite degraded global performance. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
10.1016/j.isci.2019.02.029 | Wnt Signaling Directs Neuronal Polarity and Axonal Growth | The establishment of neuronal polarity is driven by cytoskeletal remodeling that stabilizes and promotes the growth of a single axon from one of the multiple neurites. The importance of the local microtubule stabilization in this process has been revealed however, the external signals initiating the cytoskeletal rearrangements are not completely understood. In this study, we show that local activation of the canonical Wnt pathway regulates neuronal polarity and axonal outgrowth. We found that in the early stages of neuronal polarization, Wnt3a accumulates in one of the neurites of unpolarized cells and thereby could determine axon positioning. Subsequently, Wnt3a localizes to the growing axon, where it activates the canonical Wnt pathway and controls axon positioning and axonal length. We propose a model in which Wnt3a regulates the formation and growth of the axon by activating local intracellular signaling events leading to microtubule remodeling. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
W1529843597 | MicroRNAs as tools to predict glucocorticoid response in inflammatory bowel diseases | In spite of the introduction in therapy of highly effective biological agents, glucocorticoids (GCs) are still employed to induce remission in moderate to severe inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), but considerable inter-individual differences in their efficacy and side effects have been reported. The effectiveness of these drugs is indeed very variable and side effects, particularly severe in pediatric patients, are common and often unpredictable: the understanding of the complex gene regulation mediated by GCs could shed light on the causes of this variability. In this context, microRNAs (miRNAs) represent a new and promising field of research. miRNAs are small non-coding RNA molecules that suppress gene expression at post-transcriptional level, and are fine-tuning regulators of diverse biological processes, including the development and function of the immune system, apoptosis, metabolism and inflammation. Emerging data have implicated the deregulated expression of certain miRNA networks in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, such as IBD. There is a great interest in the identification of the role of miRNAs in the modulation of pharmacological response; however, the association between miRNA and GC response in patients with IBD has not yet been evaluated in a prospective clinical study. The identification of miRNAs differently expressed as a consequence of GC treatment in comparison to diagnosis, represents an important innovative approach that could be translated into clinical practice. In this review we highlight the altered regulation of proteins involved in GC molecular mechanism by miRNAs, and their potential role as molecular markers useful for predicting in advance GC response. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1051/0004-6361/201424343 | Forming The Cores Of Giant Planets From The Radial Pebble Flux In Protoplanetary Discs | The formation of planetary cores must proceed rapidly in order for the giant planets to accrete their gaseous envelopes before the dissipation of the protoplanetary gas disc ( 100 M_E), but preferentially form Neptune-mass planets or smaller (< 10 M_E). This is consistent with exoplanet surveys which show that gas giants are relatively uncommon around stars of low mass or low metallicity. | [
"Universe Sciences"
]
|
10.1109/TSP.2013.2294595 | Coordinated Multicell Multiuser Precoding For Maximizing Weighted Sum Energy Efficiency | Energy efficiency optimization of wireless systems has become urgently important due to its impact on the global carbon footprint. In this paper we investigate energy efficient multicell multiuser precoding design and consider a new criterion of weighted sum energy efficiency, which is defined as the weighted sum of the energy efficiencies of multiple cells. This objective is more general than the existing methods and can satisfy heterogeneous requirements from different kinds of cells, but it is hard to tackle due to its sum-of-ratio form. In order to address this non-convex problem, the user rate is first formulated as a polynomial optimization problem with the test conditional probabilities to be optimized. Based on that, the sum-of-ratio form of the energy efficient precoding problem is transformed into a parameterized polynomial form optimization problem, by which a solution in closed form is achieved through a two-layer optimization. We also show that the proposed iterative algorithm is guaranteed to converge. Numerical results are finally provided to confirm the effectiveness of our energy efficient beamforming algorithm. It is observed that in the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) region, the optimal energy efficiency and the optimal sum rate are simultaneously achieved by our algorithm; while in the middle-high SNR region, a certain performance loss in terms of the sum rate is suffered to guarantee the weighed sum energy efficiency. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1093/femsyr/foz062 | A teaching protocol demonstrating the use of EasyClone and CRISPR/Cas9 for metabolic engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Yarrowia lipolytica | ABSTRACT
We present a teaching protocol suitable for demonstrating the use of EasyClone and CRISPR/Cas9 for metabolic engineering of industrially relevant yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Yarrowia lipolytica, using β-carotene production as a case study. The protocol details all steps required to generate DNA parts, transform and genotype yeast, and perform a phenotypic screen to determine β-carotene production. The protocol is intended to be used as an instruction manual for a two-week practical course aimed at MSc and PhD students. The protocol details all necessary steps for students to engineer yeast to produce β-carotene and serves as a practical introduction to the principles of metabolic engineering including the concepts of boosting native precursor supply and alleviating rate-limiting steps. It also highlights key differences in the metabolism and heterologous production capacity of two industrially relevant yeast species. The protocol is divided into daily experiments covering a two week period and provides detailed instructions for every step meaning this protocol can be used ‘as is’ for a teaching course or as a case study for how yeast can be engineered to produce value-added molecules. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering"
]
|
W2008261974 | Massively parallel lossless compression of medical images using least-squares prediction and arithmetic coding | Medical imaging in hospitals requires fast and efficient image compression to support the clinical work flow and to save costs. Least-squares autoregressive pixel prediction methods combined with arithmetic coding constitutes the state of the art in lossless image compression. However, a high computational complexity of both prevents the application of respective CPU implementations in practice. We present a massively parallel compression system for medical volume images which runs on graphics cards. Image blocks are processed independently by separate processing threads. After pixel prediction with specialized border treatment, prediction errors are entropy coded with an adaptive binary arithmetic coder. Both steps are designed to match particular demands of the parallel hardware architecture. Comparisons with current image and video coders show efficiency gains of 3.3-13.6% while compression times can be reduced to a few seconds. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
10.1038/s41467-018-07048-6 | Roll-to-roll fabrication of touch-responsive cellulose photonic laminates | Hydroxypropyl-cellulose (HPC), a derivative of naturally abundant cellulose, can self-assemble into helical nanostructures that lead to striking colouration from Bragg reflections. The helical periodicity is very sensitive to pressure, rendering HPC a responsive photonic material. Recent advances in elucidating these HPC mechano-chromic properties have so-far delivered few real-world applications, which require both up-scaling fabrication and digital translation of their colour changes. Here we present roll-to-roll manufactured metre-scale HPC laminates using continuous coating and encapsulation. We quantify the pressure response of the encapsulated HPC using optical analyses of the pressure-induced hue change as perceived by the human eye and digital imaging. Finally, we show the ability to capture real-time pressure distributions and temporal evolution of a human foot-print on our HPC laminates. This is the first demonstration of a large area and cost-effective method for fabricating HPC stimuli-responsive photonic films, which can generate pressure maps that can be read out with standard cameras. | [
"Materials Engineering",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
335696 | The Higgs: A colored View from the Top at ATLAS | With the ground-breaking discovery of a new, Higgs-like boson on July 4th, 2012, by the CMS and ATLAS collaborations at CERN, a new era of particle physics has begun. The discovery is the first step in answering an unsolved problem in particle physics, the question how fundamental bosons and fermions acquire their mass. One of the major goals in collider physics in the next few years will be the deeper insight into the nature of the new particle, its connection to the known fundamental particles and possible extensions beyond the standard model (SM) of particle physics.
My project aims at a particular interesting field to study, the relation of the new particle with the heaviest known elementary particle, the top quark. I aim to develop new, innovative techniques and beyond state-of-the-art methods to extract the Yukawa coupling between the top quark and the Higgs boson, which is expected to be of the order of one - much higher than that of any other quark. I will analyse the only process where the top-Higgs Yukawa coupling can be measured, in associated production of top quark pairs and a Higgs boson. The Higgs boson mainly decays into a pair of b-quarks. This is one of the most challenging channels at the LHC, as huge background processes from gluon splitting contribute. In particular, I will develop and study color flow variables, which provide a unique, powerful technique to distinguish color singlet Higgs bosons from the main background, color octet gluons.
The ultimate goal of the project is the first measurement of the top-Higgs Yukawa coupling and its confrontation with SM and beyond SM Higgs boson models, resulting in an unprecedented insight into the fundamental laws of nature.
The LHC will soon reach a new energy frontier of 13 TeV starting in 2014. This new environment will provide never seen opportunities to study hints of new physics and precisely measure properties of the newly found particle. This sets the stage for the project. | [
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
]
|
10.1007/s11031-014-9415-4 | When focusing on a goal interferes with action control: action versus state orientation and over-maintenance of intentions | People vary in action versus state orientation, or the ease versus difficulty by which they can form and enact goals under demanding conditions (Kuhl and Beckmann in Volition and personality: action versus state orientation, Hogrefe, Göttingen, 1994). According to the over-maintenance hypothesis, state-oriented people are prone to think about their intentions in a narrow linguistic format that prevents flexible action control. Two studies tested this hypothesis by manipulating intention focus among action- versus state-oriented participants and examining how well they performed difficult actions. Focusing strongly (rather than weakly) on the task goal led state-oriented participants to make more errors during incongruent trials of a Stroop task (Study 1) and led to greater task-switch costs in response latencies (Study 2). Action-oriented participants showed the reverse pattern, and performed difficult actions more effectively when focusing on the task goal. These findings suggest that focusing on intentions may paradoxically impair action control among state-oriented people. | [
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1038/s41467-017-00461-3 | Different developmental histories of beta-cells generate functional and proliferative heterogeneity during islet growth | The proliferative and functional heterogeneity among seemingly uniform cells is a universal phenomenon. Identifying the underlying factors requires single-cell analysis of function and proliferation. Here we show that the pancreatic beta-cells in zebrafish exhibit different growth-promoting and functional properties, which in part reflect differences in the time elapsed since birth of the cells. Calcium imaging shows that the beta-cells in the embryonic islet become functional during early zebrafish development. At later stages, younger beta-cells join the islet following differentiation from post-embryonic progenitors. Notably, the older and younger beta-cells occupy different regions within the islet, which generates topological asymmetries in glucose responsiveness and proliferation. Specifically, the older beta-cells exhibit robust glucose responsiveness, whereas younger beta-cells are more proliferative but less functional. As the islet approaches its mature state, heterogeneity diminishes and beta-cells synchronize function and proliferation. Our work illustrates a dynamic model of heterogeneity based on evolving proliferative and functional beta-cell states. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
interreg_406 | Strategic tools towards a sustainable use of biomass for low carbon domestic heating | In the Alpine Region (AR) there is a need to support a better use of local resources and an increase of energy self-sufficiency while reducing impacts on climate and the environment (EUSALP,AG9).Biomass is a local and affordable RES and its combustion avoids fossil CO2 atmospheric emissions.For these reasons biomass use is strategic in the AR.Nevertheless, Biomass Burning (BB) leads to consistent particulate matter (PM) emissions, often unknown to population and local administrators.Actually, PM has an impact on natural ecosystems, on human health but even on climate change considering Black Carbon concentrations contained in PM emitted from BB. The main project objective is thus the development of transnational policies for a sustainable use of biomass for domestic heating (aligned to the Alpine Space SO2.1)to minimize the above cited impacts and improve a smart use of this resource in the AR.The project will focus on innovative open-source and interactive approaches for the awareness raising of citizens and local administrators about the critical aspects linked to BB and on the definition of strategic technological, economical and regulative tools to reduce the impact of BB in the Alpine valleys.The impact of the application of selected policies (following a participated search for potential solutions even involving citizens) will be evaluated through modelling activities.Innovative sustainable business models will ensure long term success of the defined solutions.The development of shared policy-relevant documents will favour the application of harmonized regulations for a sustainable use of biomass in the AR. Foreseeing the integrated collaboration of partners from 6 Countries of the AR and a large network of observers the project will drive an important behavioural,technological, environmental and regulative change in this Region but even at EU level since no common regulations at EU level actually exist for small scale biomass appliances. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
EA 200401195 A | SAFETY SYSTEM | A safety system including an event sensor (6), a source (7) of non-toxic and non-flammable alarm gas, and control means to release the alarm gas in response to a signal received from the event sensor (6) in response to the occurrence of a predeterminable event (8). The invention also discloses a method for operating a safety system in an underground mine (1). | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.3390/f11050523 | Within-Site Variability of Liana Wood Anatomical Traits: A Case Study in Laussat, French Guiana | Research Highlights: We investigated the variability of vessel diameter distributions within the liana growth form among liana individuals originating from a single site in Laussat, French Guiana. Background and Objectives: Lianas (woody vines) are key components of tropical forests. Lianas are believed to be strong competitors for water, thanks to their presumed efficient vascular systems. However, unlike tropical trees, lianas are overlooked in field data collection. As a result, lianas are often referred to as a homogeneous growth form while little is known about the hydraulic architecture variation among liana individuals. Materials and Methods: We measured several wood hydraulic and structural traits (e. g. , basic specific gravity, vessel area, and vessel diameter distribution) of 22 liana individuals in a single sandy site in Laussat, French Guiana. We compared the liana variability of these wood traits and the correlations among them with an existing liana pantropical dataset and two published datasets of trees originating from different, but species-rich, tropical sites. Results: Liana vessel diameter distribution and density were heterogeneous among individuals: there were two orders of magnitude difference between the smallest (4 µm) and the largest (494 µm) vessel diameters, a 50-fold difference existed between extreme vessel densities ranging from 1. 8 to 89. 3 vessels mm−2, the mean vessel diameter varied between 26 µm and 271 µm, and the individual theoretical stem hydraulic conductivity estimates ranged between 28 and 1041 kg m−1 s−1 MPa−1. Basic specific gravity varied between 0. 26 and 0. 61. Consequently, liana wood trait variability, even within a small sample, was comparable in magnitude with tree surveys from other tropical sites and the pantropical liana dataset. Conclusions: This study illustrates that even controlling for site and soil type, liana traits are heterogeneous and cannot be considered as a homogeneous growth form. Our results show that the liana hydraulic architecture heterogeneity across and within sites warrants further investigation in order to categorize lianas into functional groups in the same way as trees | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
644026 | Wireless optogenetics to elucidate the function of corticostriatal neurons in birdsong | Corticostriatal neurons are vital components of brain circuits that connect cortical areas to the striatum, and are known to play essential roles in the control of cognitive and motor functions. The contribution of these projection neurons in shaping vocal behaviors in the healthy brain and their implications in disease are nonetheless still not well understood. I will use songbirds as a model system to investigate the functional roles of a corticostriatal neuron population during the production of vocal sequences and in reinforcement learning of vocal features. Songbirds are the prime model system to study the neural basis of speech development and complex motor skill acquisition, due to the many parallels between birdsong and human speech and their respective neural correlates. I will investigate corticostriatal neurons in nucleus HVC (proper name), the songbird vocal premotor cortex analog. Neural activity in HVC has been thoroughly studied in the past, but the roles of individual HVC neuron types in mediating vocal sequences and the stereotypy and flexibility of song features remain poorly understood. I will be using optogenetics to manipulate activity in HVC’s corticostriatal neurons during the production of song sequences, and while birds are adapting song features in response to an externally applied aversive auditory stimulus. I will first develop novel tools to enable such investigations in songbirds, including new viral constructs to target specific projection neuron populations and wireless sensor nodes for performing vocal output-triggered optogenetic manipulations without movement restrictions for experimental animals. I will then apply the developed tools to conduct optogenetic manipulations of corticostriatal neurons in freely moving, vocalizing birds in social groups. These experiments will shine new light into the role of corticostriatal neurons in shaping complex vocal behaviors. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.7861/clinmedicine.14-4-428 | Genome-wide association studies: The good, the bad and the ugly | Before 2007 the number of common genetic variants reproducibly associated with common diseases and traits was fewer than 20. There are now many hundreds of variants reliably associated with all types of diseases and traits, from male pattern baldness to height to common disease predisposition, including metabolic disease, autoimmune disease and germline predisposition to cancer. Despite this success at identifying variants, the GWAS findings are not generally clinically useful to individual patients. Instead they represent a first step towards improved understanding of disease aetiology. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
10.1063/1.4913828 | Infrared Magneto Spectroscopy Of Two Dimensional And Three Dimensional Massless Fermions A Comparison | Here, we report on a magneto-optical study of two distinct systems hosting massless fermions—two-dimensional graphene and three-dimensional HgCdTe tuned to the zero band gap condition at the point of the semiconductor-to-semimetal topological transition. Both materials exhibit, in the quantum regime, a fairly rich magneto-optical response, which is composed from a series of intra- and interband inter-Landau level resonances with for massless fermions typical B dependence. The impact of the system's dimensionality and of the strength of the spin-orbit interaction on the optical response is also discussed. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1039/c5sm00592b | The role of solvent swelling in the self-assembly of squalene based nanomedicines | Squalene based nanoparticles obtained via nanoprecipitation are promising candidates as efficient anti-cancer drugs. | [
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
996833 | Regenerative medicine for cost- and time-efficient pet treatment | There are a number of different veterinary diseases for which current medicine (surgical techniques and drugs) offer absolutely no solution like osteoarthritis and neurological, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Today, the treatment of these disorders could get benefit from the administration of stem cells. At Vetherapy we provide stem cell therapies and regenerative products for veterinary application, in an easy, ready-to-use, and affordable manner. We have used our knowledge and experience to develop a whole set of products that use stem cells and stem cell’s derivatives to a variety of scenarios, from injury to degenerative disorders. The secret of our success is based on an innovative technology that allowed us to overcome one of the major difficulties of the application of stem cells: cell viability. Our technology extends cell viability up to 48h (vs. 4-6h of current methods) and enables the delivery of a ready-to-use high quality product, anywhere within this time frame.
Following very promising pre-clinical results where we tested the safety and efficacy of our product, we now plan to commercialize our inventions PET-STEM and WOUND FIX® by optimizing their design and carrying out a large veterinary clinical trial.
The proposed work in Phase 1 of the SME instrument fits into our overall plan to reach the market by contributing the financial resources needed to plan a fast sound wider deployment of PET-STEM and WOUND FIX® and their market uptake. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
Q2880529 | Adaptation Establishment Covid19 | The project aims to safeguard the health of customers,suppliers and employees,as well as to stimulate trust between them,the effects of the Covid pandemic19,through an investment effort in the reorganisation of the establishment,higienisation and purchase of equipment that contributes to this effect | [
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1021/np500390b | Xenortide biosynthesis by entomopathogenic Xenorhabdus nematophila | The biosynthesis gene cluster of the xenortides and a new derivative, xenortide D, which is produced in only trace amounts, was identified in Xenorhabdus nematophila. The structure of xenortide D was elucidated using a combination of labeling experiments followed by MS analysis and was confirmed by synthesis. Bioactivity tests revealed a weak activity of tryptamine-carrying xenortides against Plasmodium falciparum and Trypanosoma brucei. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
223298 | Micro quantum dot-light emitting diode and organic light emitting diode direct patterning (miledi) | The project MiLEDI aims to realise micro-Light Emitting Diodes (mQDL) and micro -Organic Light Emitting Diodes (mQDO) using direct laser or electron beam patterning of nanometer-scale Quantum Dots (QDs) to write the Red-Green-Blue (RGB) arrays for display manufacturing.
The main idea sustaining the project is to form the colored green-red light-emitting QDs directly over a matrix of blue emitting micro QDL/QDO arrays, so that the QDs act as frequency down-converters and constitute a RGB micro-display.
Both direct-writing technologies will be thoroughly developed to optimize the QD light emission spectrum of the display and its stability. They are expected to provide patterning resolution at micrometric scales, depending on the laser spot areas and particle beam dimensions and operation.
These techniques together with the direct formation of QDs assure highly flexible and simpler manufacturing processes, in few steps and with low chemical impact The MiLEDI approach for both micro QDL and QDO RGB displays manufactured by direct laser/electron beam patterning of QDs, is validated by the production of a final prototype of Rear Projection display through the existing supply chain of the project. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
W2341321189 | Public safety networks evolution toward broadband: sharing infrastructures and spectrum with commercial systems | Nowadays, efficient communication technologies are of paramount importance to provide effective and reliable emergency management systems. New wireless communications engineering approaches and value-added services could lead to great benefits, improving situational awareness and enhancing life-saving capabilities. For these reasons, governments and organizations involved in public safety and security (PSS) are devoting great interest in the transition from existing narrowband wireless systems toward broadband. For this purpose, a viable solution is to adapt the new LTE-A technology in order to provide IP-based broadband services with security and reliability characteristics typical of PSS networks. However, the migration of these systems to LTE-A is currently a critical issue. Costs, timing, and spectrum availability for the deployment of a PSS-dedicated network are demanding. In addition, providing mission-critical services on an LTE-based PSS system needs a proper network architecture solution in order to achieve and maintain required performance and reliability levels. To fully accomplish this task, research efforts can result in significant improvements and adjustments of future releases of the LTE-A standard. This article focuses on critical issues that impact PSS communications evolution toward new technologies and describes the related possible steps, starting from the exploitation of the already deployed LTE-A commercial networks up to a fully PSS-dedicated network infrastructure. Finally, advanced solutions are described and critically discussed. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
3742664 | Integration of rna biology for next-generation scientists | While there are ever-increasing interconnections and integration across CEITEC MU research programs as well as across different scientific fields in nearby faculties, most of the research is still performed within the boundaries of individual laboratories or research programmes. The CEITEC groups involved in this proposal have diverse research interests however they are all connected by the same fiber- RNA. The overarching aim of this project proposal is integration of these groups at the level of methodological approaches, research questions and training of young scientists. In addition, empowering excellence in science and training, research management and boosting institutional recognition will position CEITEC MU as an RNA excellent research cluster. We plan to achieve our aims through close collaborations in joint research, increased mobility of researchers, ESRs and research management staff and increase the impact through dissemination of the results at a local, national and international level. The Twinning partnerships will help create a synergistic environment enabling CEITEC MU to have the confidence and expertise to establish an excellence RNA cluster with a Europe-wide network and competitive technologies, while heading for the future of excellence. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
US 2017/0030329 W | HIGH TRIP RATE DRILLING RIG | A high trip rate drilling rig has first handling equipment to transport stands in/out of setback, second handling equipment to deliver stands to/from well center, and a hand-off position to set down stands for exchange between first/second equipment. Second equipment can include a top drive and a delivery arm translatable along the mast past each other, and a clasp on the arm slidable on the stand for constraint below the upper end, which can allow the top drive to engage/disengage the constrained stand above the arm. A high trip rate method transports stands in/out of setback, delivers stands to/from well center, and sets down and hands off stands at hand-off position between the setback transportation and well center delivery. The delivery can include engaging/dis engaging the top drive and a stand constrained by the clasp. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1145/2702123.2702391 | Iskin Flexible Stretchable And Visually Customizable On Body Touch Sensors For Mobile Computing | We propose iSkin, a novel class of skin-worn sensors for touch input on the body. iSkin is a very thin sensor overlay, made of biocompatible materials, and is flexible and stretchable. It can be produced in different shapes and sizes to suit various locations of the body such as the finger, forearm, or ear. Integrating capacitive and resistive touch sensing, the sensor is capable of detecting touch input with two levels of pressure, even when stretched by 30% or when bent with a radius of 0. 5cm. Furthermore, iSkin supports single or multiple touch areas of custom shape and arrangement, as well as more complex widgets, such as sliders and click wheels. Recognizing the social importance of skin, we show visual design patterns to customize functional touch sensors and allow for a visually aesthetic appearance. Taken together, these contributions enable new types of on-body devices. This includes finger-worn devices, extensions to conventional wearable devices, and touch input stickers, all fostering direct, quick, and discreet input for mobile computing. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.15252/embr.201540806 | Attenuation of pattern recognition receptor signaling is mediated by a MAP kinase kinase kinase | Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) play a key role in plant and animal innate immunity. PRR binding of their cognate ligand triggers a signaling network and activates an immune response. Activation of PRR signaling must be controlled prior to ligand binding to prevent spurious signaling and immune activation. Flagellin perception in Arabidopsis through FLAGELLIN-SENSITIVE 2 (FLS2) induces the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and immunity. However, the precise molecular mechanism that connects activated FLS2 to downstream MAPK cascades remains unknown. Here, we report the identification of a differentially phosphorylated MAP kinase kinase kinase that also interacts with FLS2. Using targeted proteomics and functional analysis, we show that MKKK7 negatively regulates flagellin-triggered signaling and basal immunity and this requires phosphorylation of MKKK7 on specific serine residues. MKKK7 attenuates MPK6 activity and defense gene expression. Moreover, MKKK7 suppresses the reactive oxygen species burst downstream of FLS2, suggesting that MKKK7-mediated attenuation of FLS2 signaling occurs through direct modulation of the FLS2 complex. Synopsis This study reports a MAP kinase kinase kinase as a negative regulator of pattern recognition receptor signaling and immunity. MKKK7 represses FLS2 signaling upstream of MAPK activation and reactive oxygen species burst. MKKK7 co-immunoprecipitates with FLS2. MKKK7 is transiently phosphorylated in response to flagellin perception. Phosphorylation of specific MKKK7 residues is required for its immunoregulatory function. This study reports a MAP kinase kinase kinase as a negative regulator of pattern recognition receptor signaling and immunity. MKKK7 represses FLS2 signaling upstream of MAPK activation and reactive oxygen species burst. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1126/sciadv.1501891 | Electrolytes induce long-range orientational order and free energy changes in the H-bond network of bulk water | Electrolytes interact with water in many ways: changing dipole orientation, inducing charge transfer, and distorting the hydrogen-bond network in the bulk and at interfaces. Numerous experiments and computations have detected short-range perturbations that extend up to three hydration shells around individual ions. We report a multiscale investigation of the bulk and surface of aqueous electrolyte solutions that extends from the atomic scale (using atomistic modeling) to nanoscopic length scales (using bulk and interfacial femtosecond second harmonic measurements) to the macroscopic scale (using surface tension experiments). Electrolytes induce orientational order at concentrations starting at 10 μM that causes nonspecific changes in the surface tension of dilute electrolyte solutions. Aside from ion-dipole interactions, collective hydrogen-bond interactions are crucial and explain the observed difference of a factor of 6 between light water and heavy water. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
10.23925/2176-2767.2019v66p397-411 | BRUNO SENA MARTINS: DIÁLOGOS SOBRE ENSINO, PESQUISA E EXTENSÃO | Bruno Sena Martins é investigador do Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra. É co-coordenador do programa de doutoramento «Human Rights in Contemporary Societies», e docente no programa de doutoramento em «Pós-colonialismos e cidadania global». Os seus temas de investigação são o corpo, a deficiência, o colonialismo, a memória social e os direitos humanos. Esta entrevista foi realizada por mim, Marcos Antonio Batista da Silva, doutor em Psicologia Social pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP) e pesquisador em pós-doutoramento junto ao Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal. | [
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Texts and Concepts",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1016/j.rbmo.2019.12.006 | Is early initiation of infertility treatment justified in women over the age of 35 years? | Research question: Natural fecundity and the success of IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) rate both decrease with age. For this reason, in women older than 35 years, it is generally recommended to start the infertility work-up after only 6 months. This assumption, however, may expose couples to over-diagnosis and over-treatment. Design: A theoretical model aimed at assessing the effects of starting the infertility work-up after 6 rather than 12 months of trying to conceive naturally was developed. The assumptions of the model were as follows: infertile women are treated with IVF/ICSI for up to three cycles; IVF/ICSI success rate at first cycle linearly declines with age (3% per year between the ages of 35 and 45 years); the drop-out rate after the first and second cycle is 18% and 25%, respectively; the relative reduction of the success rate at second and third cycle is 16% and 26%, respectively. Results: Early initiation of treatment moderately improved the cumulative chances of live birth resulting from a full IVF/ICSI programme. This improvement is dependent on age. Specifically, it increased from 2. 0% at age 35 years to 3. 0% at age 43 years. Conversely, the incremental success rate per single IVF cycle was mainly stable, varying only from 1. 4% at age 35 years to 1. 3% at age 43 years. Conclusions: In women older than 35 years, early initiation of the infertility work-up is associated with only a modest increase in the rate of success of IVF/ICSI. In most scenarios, this advantage may compare unfavourably with the chances of natural conception during the 6-month period. | [
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
]
|
W2253180304 | Einfluss des Substrat-Neigungswinkels auf die Hartsubstratlebensgemeinschaft im Comau Fjord, Chile | The substratum of the Chilean fjord region features a huge variety of inclination angels. In this study the impact of substrates inclination angles and exposition on hard-bottom assemblages is examined. On top the characteristics of abiotic parameters such as light intensity, current velocity and sedimentation rate at distinct angles have been observed. This study revealed differences in community structure at distinct inclination angles. Multivariate analyses showed clusters of similar assemblages. A photo census-analysis demonstrated that Bryozoa mainly settle on overhanging and sheltered substrate, while Octocorallia are more abundant at steep exposed surfaces. Rhodophyta are most abundant at horizontal exposed substrate, while Chaetopteridae colonize mainly horizontal sheltered surfaces and Serpulidae vertical substratum. The observed distinct structures may be caused by distinct habitats at different inclinations arised from a variation in abiotic parameters. Horizontal substrata are characterized by highest light intensity, decreasing towards overhanging substrata, obviously higher light intensities were measured at exposed compared to sheltered surfaces. There is no evidence indicating differences in current velocity in relation to substrate inclination. Highest sedimentation rates were observed at sheltered horizontal surfaces. This variation of abiotic parameters presumably effects species composition. As a result distinct communities form at different inclination angles due to different preferences on the amount of light intensity and sedimentation rate and differences in competiveness. | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
2715594 | Towards a new eu-lac partnership in research infrastructures | EU-LAC ResInfra will identify a number of Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Research Infrastructures (RIs) that may be considered eligible for the construction of a bi-regional collaboration. This will be carried out through the definition of minimal key requirements these RIs would need to develop in the coming years. To this aim, the Project will build on the prioritisation results of the EU-CELAC Senior Official Meeting on Science and Technology (SOM) Working Group (WG) on Research Infrastructures (RI) and, more specifically, will take as a reference the mapping exercises developed in previous EU funded projects. In addition, EU-LAC ResInfra will develop a map of National and Regional Research Infrastructure policies, and their corresponding strategies and plans, including funding mechanisms that might be used to support the construction and operation of future EU-LAC RIs.
Furthermore, EU-LAC ResInfra will use all the results and information obtained for drafting a Sustainability Plan, which will be presented to the EU-CELAC WG RI for discussion and endorsement. The Plan will include specific actions to support the bi-regional collaboration in a mid-term perspective. The objectives are to design specific variable geometry instruments for co-funding RIs of common interest, and to design measures that pursue the strengthening of the bi-regional RI cooperation, seeking to maximise the impact of the RI collaboration in the construction of the EU-CELAC Common Research Area.
Finally, the Project aims to show the feasibility of the EU-LAC RI collaboration through existing examples, thanks to the development of four Pilots in different scientific domains that are linked to some existing Research Infrastructures: INSTRUCT-ERIC, LIFEWATCH-ERIC, E-RIHS and RICAP. | [
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
10.1073/pnas.1620245114 | Impact of nutrition on social decision making | Food intake is essential for maintaining homeostasis, which is necessary for survival in all species. However, food intake also impacts multiple biochemical processes that influence our behavior. Here, we investigate the causal relationship between macronutrient composition, its bodily biochemical impact, and a modulation of human social decision making. Across two studies, we show that breakfasts with different macronutrient compositions modulated human social behavior. Breakfasts with a high-carbohydrate/protein ratio increased social punishment behavior in response to norm violations compared with that in response to a low carbohydrate/protein meal. We show that these macronutrient-induced behavioral changes in social decision making are causally related to a lowering of plasma tyrosine levels. The findings indicate that, in a limited sense, “we are what we eat” and provide a perspective on a nutrition-driven modulation of cognition. The findings have implications for education, economics, and public policy, and emphasize that the importance of a balanced diet may extend beyond the mere physical benefits of adequate nutrition. | [
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1021/acsami.5b01143 | Multisegmented FeCo/Cu nanowires: Electrosynthesis, characterization, and magnetic control of biomolecule desorption | In this paper, we report on the synthesis of FeCo/Cu multisegmented nanowires by means of pulse electrodeposition in nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide arrays supported on silicon chips. By adjustment of the electrodeposition conditions, such as the pulse scheme and the electrolyte, alternating segments of Cu and ferromagnetic FeCo alloy can be fabricated. The segments can be built with a wide range of lengths (15-150 nm) and exhibit a close-to-pure composition (Cu or FeCo alloy) as suggested by energy-dispersive X-ray mapping results. The morphology and the crystallographic structure of different nanowire configurations have been assessed thoroughly, concluding that Fe, Co, and Cu form solid solution. Magnetic characterization using vibrating sample magnetometry and magnetic force microscopy reveals that by introduction of nonmagnetic Cu segments within the nanowire architecture, the magnetic easy axis can be modified and the reduced remanence can be tuned to the desired values. The experimental results are in agreement with the provided simulations. Furthermore, the influence of nanowire magnetic architecture on the magnetically triggered protein desorption is evaluated for three types of nanowires: Cu, FeCo, and multisegmented FeCo15nm/Cu15nm. The application of an external magnetic field can be used to enhance the release of proteins on demand. For fully magnetic FeCo nanowires the applied oscillating field increased protein release by 83%, whereas this was found to be 45% for multisegmented FeCo15nm/Cu15nm nanowires. Our work suggests that a combination of arrays of nanowires with different magnetic configurations could be used to generate complex substance concentration gradients or control delivery of multiple drugs and macromolecules. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
10.1007/s10826-016-0389-6 | Integrating Evidence and Context to Develop a Parenting Program for Low-Income Families in South Africa | Children living in low- and middle-income countries, such as South Africa, face elevated risks of child maltreatment. Although evidence-based parenting programs have been shown to reduce rates of abuse in high-income countries, few studies have examined their effectiveness in low- and middle-income countries. Moreover, local cultural contexts may require the adaptation of evidence-based approaches in order to assure program acceptability and effectiveness. This study focused on the systematic development of an evidence-informed, locally relevant parenting program for socioeconomically disadvantaged families with parents of children aged 3–8 years, in Cape Town, South Africa. Intervention development took place over three stages: (a) identification of common core intervention components in evidence-based parenting programs (b) formative evaluation using qualitative in-depth interviews and semi-structured focus groups with local practitioners and low-income parents, and (c) development of intervention structure, format, and protocols. The process resulted in a manualized, group-based, 12-session parenting program that integrated existing evidence of effective components within a local, culturally relevant context. Recommended next steps are rigorous piloting to test feasibility and preliminary intervention effects followed by experimental trials to examine intervention effectiveness in a real-world setting. | [
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
]
|
222581 | Country of words: reading and reception of palestinian literature from 1948 to the present | This project proposes a deep and thorough study of Palestinian literature as an early and on-going case of literary displacement. It aims to find new ways to account for and analyse texts, literary production and reading publics that challenge and lie outside conventional conceptions of the nation-state. The proposed methodology will take a novel approach in merging textual analysis with reception theory and reading practices. The project is ambitious in seeking to be the first instance to explore its application on the scale of an entire ‘literature-of-a-nation’. By doing so, the project aims to introduce methodological innovations that can expand horizons beyond textual and national analyses towards interdisciplinary models that contend with the multi-faceted and unconventional dimensions of the Palestinian case, and generate a richer and more nuanced history of its literature.
The proposed project will explore, for the first time under one analytic roof, all the geographic fragments of Palestinian literature together, traditionally studied separately, or limited to certain authors or time periods. The project’s novelty also lies in broadening the horizons of literary analysis towards an interdisciplinary and transmedial approach that embeds literary production into a wider cultural web of intersecting media and genres. A creative approach will be developed to overcome the hurdles of working, in the Palestinian case, with few scholarly precedents, and scattered, lost or damaged primary and secondary sources. The project’s four work packages will trace connections and disconnections and transformations of publics and reading practices across dispersed Palestinian literary communities of writers and readers over time. The focus will be on identifying, tracing and elaborating key and/or turning point moments across the various localities of the Palestinian literary sphere. An online platform will visual, digitalize and make accessible the project’s outputs. | [
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Texts and Concepts"
]
|
10.1007/s00220-015-2535-1 | Recursion Relations for Double Ramification Hierarchies | In this paper we study various properties of the double ramification hierarchy, an integrable hierarchy of hamiltonian PDEs introduced in Buryak (CommunMath Phys 336(3):1085–1107, 2015) using intersection theory of the double ramification cycle in the moduli space of stable curves. In particular, we prove a recursion formula that recovers the full hierarchy starting from just one of the Hamiltonians, the one associated to the first descendant of the unit of a cohomological field theory. Moreover, we introduce analogues of the topological recursion relations and the divisor equation both for the Hamiltonian densities and for the string solution of the double ramification hierarchy. This machinery is very efficient and we apply it to various computations for the trivial and Hodge cohomological field theories, and for the r -spin Witten’s classes. Moreover, we prove the Miura equivalence between the double ramification hierarchy and the Dubrovin-Zhang hierarchy for the Gromov-Witten theory of the complex projective line (extended Toda hierarchy). | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1103/PhysRevB.86.241110 | Transformation-optics insight into nonlocal effects in separated nanowires | We present a transformation-optics approach which sheds analytical insight into the impact that spatial dispersion has on the optical response of separated dimers of metallic nanowires. We show that nonlocal effects are apparent at interparticle distances one order of magnitude larger than the longitudinal plasmon decay length, which coincides with the spatial regime where electron tunneling phenomena occur. Our method also clarifies the interplay between nonlocal and radiation effects taking place in the nanostructure, yielding the dimer dimensions that optimize its light harvesting capabilities. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1021/jacs.7b07225 | Toward a Soluble Model System for the Amyloid State | The formation and deposition of amyloids is associated with many diseases. β-Sheet secondary structure is a common feature of amyloids, but the packing of sheets against one another is distinctive relative to soluble proteins. Standard methods that rely on perturbing a polypeptide's sequence and evaluating impact on folding can be problematic for amyloid aggregates because a single sequence can adopt multiple conformations and diverse packing arrangements. We describe initial steps toward a minimum-sized, soluble model system for the amyloid state that supports comparisons among sequence variants. Critical to this goal is development of a new linking strategy to enable intersheet association mediated by side chain interactions, which is characteristic of the amyloid state. The linker design we identified should ultimately support exploration of relationships between sequence and amyloid state stability for specific strand-association modes. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
216358 | Innovative robotic applications for highly reconfigurable production lines - versatile | The recent trends of mass customization of products and lean approaches impacts production by a drastic reduction of
production lot sizes. However, traditional automation and robotics fail to be competitive in such a context since all individual
product variant would require a complete automation project. In addition, keeping up with the introduction of robots outside of
the traditional sectors require to automate much more complex manual tasks, where again traditional robotics automation
fails to provide a good ratio of cost vs robustness, mainly due to the rigidity of existing production equipment in terms of
programming and tools
The overall objective of the project is to provide a bridge for transferring, demonstrating and validating the latest R&D results
in robotics towards different industrial environments proving their applicability and effectiveness.
More specifically, VERSATILE will apply dual arm robots in executing complex tasks that are traditionally assigned to
humans due to their manipulation requirements. By providing the tools to quickly setup, program and operate innovative
robotic systems the end user will have robotic cells flexible enough to automatically adapt to the high number of products
variants.
In this context the project will focus on advancing the TRL level of the latest developments in the areas of:
- Perception for Operation in semi-structured environment
- Easy Programming framework to improve the re-configurability/ programmability of the robotic systems
- Mobile dual-arm robotics manipulation capabilities
- Open frameworks for the ‘Plug and Produce’ based coordination of these resources
This will be investigated in three industry driven use cases including both static and mobile dual arm robots. The project will
focus on three main applications:
- Automotive: assembly of vehicle dashboards at PSA
- Aerospace: assembly of aircraft wing parts at AIRBUS
- Consumer goods: handling and packaging of shaver handles at BIC | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.1364/OL.38.002472 | Raster Scan Optoacoustic Mesoscopy In The 25 125 Mhz Range | We developed a raster-scan acoustic resolution broadband optoacoustic mesoscopy system and investigated the imaging performance using ultrasonic frequencies up to 125 MHz. The developed system achieves 7 μm axial resolution and transverse resolution of 30 μm reaching depths of at least 5 mm. This unprecedented performance is achieved by operating at out-of-focus ultrasonic detection and tomographic reconstruction. We demonstrate the limits reached due to the width of the laser pulse employed and showcase the technique on drosophila fly and drosophila pupae ex vivo. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
]
|
EP 2017077936 W | A LAUNDRY WASHING-DRYING MACHINE WITH IMPROVED DRYING PERFORMANCE | The present invention relates to a laundry washing-drying machine (1) comprising a cabin (2); a tub (3) that is disposed in the cabin (2) and wherein the washing and drying processes are performed; a circulation duct (4) that is connected to the tub (3) and wherein the drying air circulation is performed; a fan (5) that is disposed on the circulation duct (4) and that enables the drying air to be circulated; a condenser (9) that is disposed on the circulation duct (4), that has an air inlet (6) and an air outlet (7) that open into the circulation duct (4) and wherein at least one drying channel (8) in which the humid drying air is condensed is provided; and at least one nozzle (10) that is disposed on the condenser (9) and that enables the condenser (9) to be cooled by spraying water onto the drying channel (8). | [
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
W1684347945 | Males of Hypsiboas goianus (Anura; Hylidae) do not assess neighbor fighting ability through acoustic interactions | In frogs, acoustic signals are the most important communication mechanism, since they may be used in several social contexts. In many anurans, the dominant frequency of calls is negatively related to body size, and in such species, this spectral parameter may be considered a good predictor of fighting ability. We experimentally investigated the vocal behavior of 30 male Hypsiboas goianus in central Brazil to answer the following questions: (1) Do males change the acoustic parameters of their calls in response to conspecific intruders? and (2) Does the acoustic behavior of H. goianus depend on the simulated body size of their opponent? We used playback of synthesized calls with high (3573 Hz) and low (3123 Hz) dominant frequency to simulate small and large males, respectively. Males reduced the rate of advertisement calling in response to playback but did not change vocal behavior in response to low-frequency and high-frequency playback. So, while males adjust their calling activity in response to simulated conspecifics, there was no evidence that they assess the fighting ability of their opponents through acoustic interactions. | [
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
896168 | Synthetic microbial consortia-based platform for flavonoids production using synthetic biology | This Project pursues the implementation a standardized pipeline for surrogate production of plant flavonoids in synthetic microbial consortia (SMCs) by means of standardization and systems-guided assembly of highly complex biological devices. Flavonoids are the more abundant and consumed group of phytonutrients, used in numerous applications including functional food & beverages, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Despite its growing demand, flavonoids production remains elusive to chemical synthesis and biotech-based approaches, thus current flavonoid market is constrained to the scarce plant-based sources. These compounds are synthetized in nature through complex pathways involving an intense chemicals trafficking through plant compartments. By facilitating component troubleshooting and re-usability—instead of optimizing a single whole-cell biocatalyst— SynBio4Flav will recreate such non-homogeneous scenario by breaking-down specific portions of the complexes and highly regulated biochemical routes between different microbial species, each of them genetically programmed to deliver an optimal output of the corresponding biosynthetic step(s) i.e. through a distributed catalysis engineered in a defined SMC. Enabling such novel approach, SynBio4Flav will push the existing boundaries of the synthetic biology by acting along the whole Synthetic Biology hierarchy abstraction, and remarkably, in those with high complexity level e.g. cell systems and microbial communities. By creating libraries of optimized cell systems programmed to deliver an optimal output, and novel synthetic biology tools for cell systems assembling into 3D SMCs, SysBio4Flav will reach a TRL5 in production of natural and new-to-nature glycosylated flavonoids. The durable output of SynBio4Flav will be a standardized platform containing hundreds of optimal cell systems for exploring the full combinatorial space of flavonoids biosynthesis, including thousands of new-to-nature analogues. | [
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
W1943390656 | Uncertainty analysis for extreme flood events in a semi-arid region | Extreme flood events are complex and inherently uncertain phenomenons. Consequently forecasts of floods are inherently uncertain in nature due to various sources of uncertainty including model uncertainty, input uncertainty, and parameter uncertainty. This paper investigates two types of natural and model uncertainties in extreme rainfall–runoff events in a semi-arid region. Natural uncertainty is incorporated in the distribution function of the series of annual maximum daily rainfall, and model uncertainty is an epistemic uncertainty source. The kinematic runoff and erosion model was used for rainfall–runoff simulation. The model calibration scheme is carried out under the generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation framework to quantify uncertainty in the rainfall–runoff modeling process. Uncertainties of the rainfall depths—associated with depth duration frequency curves—were estimated with the bootstrap sampling method and described by a normal probability density function. These uncertainties are presented in the rainfall–runoff modeling for investigation of uncertainty effects on extreme hydrological events discharge and can be embedded into guidelines for risk-based design and management of urban water infrastructure. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1109/TVT.2016.2606765 | Probabilistic Small Cell Caching Performance Analysis And Optimization | Small-cell caching utilizes the embedded storage of small-cell base stations (SBSs) to store popular contents for the sake of reducing duplicated content transmissions in networks and for offloading the data traffic from macrocell base stations to SBSs. In this paper, we study a probabilistic small-cell caching strategy, where each SBS caches a subset of contents with a specific caching probability. We consider two kinds of network architectures: 1) The SBSs are always active, which is referred to as the always-on architecture; and 2) the SBSs are activated on demand by mobile users (MUs), which is referred to as the dynamic on–off architecture. We focus our attention on the probability that MUs can successfully download content from the storage of SBSs. First, we derive theoretical results of this successful download probability (SDP) using stochastic geometry theory. Then, we investigate the impact of the SBS parameters, such as the transmission power and deployment intensity on the SDP. Furthermore, we optimize the caching probabilities by maximizing the SDP based on our stochastic geometry analysis. The intrinsic amalgamation of optimization theory and stochastic geometry based analysis leads to our optimal caching strategy, characterized by the resultant closed-form expressions. Our results show that in the always-on architecture, the optimal caching probabilities solely depend on the content request probabilities, while in the dynamic on–off architecture, they also relate to the MU-to-SBS intensity ratio. Interestingly, in both architectures, the optimal caching probabilities are linear functions of the square root of the content request probabilities. Monte-Carlo simulations validate our theoretical analysis and show that the proposed schemes relying on the optimal caching probabilities are capable of achieving substantial SDP improvement, compared with the benchmark schemes. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1088/1748-9326/ab1146 | Normalisation of Paris agreement NDCs to enhance transparency and ambition | The Paris Agreement takes a bottom-up approach to tackling climate change with parties submitting pledges in the form of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Studies show that the sum of these national pledges falls short of meeting the agreement's 2 °C target. To explore this discrepancy, we analyse individual pledges and classify them into four categories. By doing so, a lack of consistency and transparency is highlighted, which we correct for by performing a normalisation that makes pledges directly comparable. This involves calculating changes in emissions by 2030, using data for the most recent base year of 2015. We find that pledges framed in terms of absolute emission reductions against historical base years generally produce the greatest ambition, with average emission reductions of 16% by 2030. Pledges defined as GDP intensity targets perform the worst with average emission increases of 61% by 2030. We propose that a normalisation procedure of the type as we develop becomes part of the NDC process. It will allow to not only increase the transparency of pledges for policymakers and wider society, but also promote more effective NDCs upon revision as is foreseen to happen every 5 years under the 'ratcheting mechanism' of the agreement. | [
"Earth System Science",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
]
|
10.1016/j.pepi.2015.06.005 | Global scale observations of scattered energy near the inner-core boundary: Seismic constraints on the base of the outer-core | We have collected a global dataset of several thousands of high quality records of PKPdf, PKPbc, PKPbc-diff and PKPab phase arrivals in the distance range [149-178°]. Within this collection, we have identified an energy packet that arrives 5-20. s after the PKPbc (or PKPbc-diff) and represents a phase that is not predicted by 1D reference seismic models. We use array analysis techniques to enhance the signal of these scattered phases and show that they originate along the great-circle path in a consistent range of arrival times and narrow range of ray parameters. We therefore refer to this scattered energy the "M" phase. Using the cross-correlation technique to detect and measure the scattered energy arrival times, we compiled a dataset of 1116 records of this M phase. There are no obvious variations with source or station location, nor with the depth of the source. After exploration of possible location for this M phase, we show that its origin is most likely in the vicinity of the inner-core boundary. A tentative model is found that predicts an M-like phase, and produces good fits to its travel times as well as those of the main core phases. In this model, the P velocity profile with depth exhibits an increased gradient from about 400 km to 50 km above the ICB (i. e. slightly faster velocities than in AK135 or PREM), and a ~50 km thick lower velocity layer right above the ICB. | [
"Earth System Science"
]
|
Q4754196 | TOURISM COMPANY T2C_43 | THE PLAN CONSISTS OF THE CREATION OF A WELLNESS CENTER, PURCHASE OF FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT FOR THE PREPARATION OF A SPA | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
802729 | Digital Radio Detectors for Galactic PeV Particles | The most energetic particles in our Galaxy are accelerated by yet unknown sources to energies much beyond the reach of human-made accelerators such as LHC at CERN. The detection of PeV photons from such a natural Galactic accelerator will be a fundamental breakthrough. For this purpose I propose a digital radio array for air showers at South Pole building on my proven expertise in successfully setting up and managing an antenna array in Siberia. Recently, we have discovered that by using higher radio frequencies than before the energy threshold can be lowered dramatically from 100 PeV to about 1 PeV. The new radio array will significantly enhance the present PeV particle detectors at South Pole in both, accuracy and aperture towards lower elevations. One of the most promising candidates for the origin of cosmic rays, the Galactic Center presently outside of the field of view, will be observable 24/7 with the radio array. The extrapolation of classical TeV observations predicts more than twenty PeV photons to be detected by the radio array within three years. Since the radio array is sensitive simultaneously to cosmic photons and charged particles from all directions of the sky, the search for any photon sources can be done in parallel to cosmic-ray physics with unprecedented accuracy and exposure in the energy range of 1 PeV to 1 EeV. Thus, this radio array will create highest impact in astroparticle physics by the following scientific objectives all targeting the most energetic particles in our Galaxy: PeV photons and their correlation with sources of neutrinos and charged cosmic rays, mass separation of cosmic rays, search for mass-dependent anisotropies, particle physics beyond the reach of LHC. This timely proposal is a unique chance for European leadership in this novel technique. It provides the chance for scientific breakthrough by detection of the first PeV photons ever, and by the discovery of natural accelerators of multi-PeV particles. | [
"Universe Sciences",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
]
|
10.1007/jhep09(2019)061 | The cosmic Galois group and extended Steinmann relations for planar $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 4 SYM amplitudes | Abstract
We describe the minimal space of polylogarithmic functions that is required to express the six-particle amplitude in planar
$$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 4 super-Yang-Mills theory through six and seven loops, in the NMHV and MHV sectors respectively. This space respects a set of extended Steinmann relations that restrict the iterated discontinuity structure of the amplitude, as well as a cosmic Galois coaction principle that constrains the functions and the transcendental numbers that can appear in the amplitude at special kinematic points. To put the amplitude into this space, we must divide it by the BDS-like ansatz and by an additional zeta-valued constant ρ. For this normalization, we conjecture that the extended Steinmann relations and the coaction principle hold to all orders in the coupling. We describe an iterative algorithm for constructing the space of hexagon functions that respects both constraints. We highlight further simplifications that begin to occur in this space of functions at weight eight, and distill the implications of imposing the coaction principle to all orders. Finally, we explore the restricted spaces of transcendental functions and constants that appear in special kinematic configurations, which include polylogarithms involving square, cube, fourth and sixth roots of unity. | [
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1142/9789813200616_0008 | Bose Einstein Condensation Of Photons Versus Lasing And Hanbury Brown Twiss Measurements With A Condensate Of Light | The advent of controlled experimental accessibility of Bose-Einstein condensates, as realized with e. g. cold atomic gases, exciton-polaritons, and more recently photons in a dye-filled optical microcavity, has paved the way for new studies and tests of a plethora of fundamental concepts in quantum physics. We here describe recent experiments studying a transition between laser-like dynamics and Bose-Einstein condensation of photons in the dye microcavity system. Further, measurements of the second-order coherence of the photon condensate are presented. In the condensed state we observe photon number fluctuations of order of the total particle number, as understood from effective particle exchange with the photo-excitable dye molecules. The observed intensity fluctuation properties give evidence for Bose-Einstein condensation occurring in the grand-canonical statistical ensemble regime. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
]
|
692617 | Control of Action Diversification by Descending Motor Circuits Control of action diversification by descending motor circuits | Movement is the behavioral output of the nervous system. Animals carry out an enormous repertoire of distinct actions, spanning from seemingly simple repetitive tasks like walking to much more complex movements such as forelimb manipulation tasks. An important question is how neuronal circuits are organized and function to choose, maintain, adjust and terminate these many distinct motor behaviors. Recent technological advances in neuroscience have made it possible to begin to unravel the links between the organization of specific neuronal circuit elements in the CNS and the control of movement, a topic that will be central to this research program.
While past work proposes that supraspinal centers in the brainstem are instrumental to the control of action diversification, little is known about how brainstem circuits translate movement intention to body control, how competing motor programs are selected, and how behavioral state influences movement control. The goal of this research project is to unravel the circuit blueprint of mouse descending motor pathways at a fine-scale level and to probe the intersection between revealed circuit organization and their behavioral function at many levels. The focus will be on studies on the interactions between brainstem neurons and spinal circuits to determine how initiation, duration, termination and selection of motor programs are implemented through specific neuronal subpopulations. Mapping descending connectivity matrices of motor circuits will serve as entry point and we will make use of state-of-the art intersectional technology including mouse genetics, viral approaches, in vivo neuronal recordings and activity manipulations of specific neuronal populations during behavior. Together, our project will elucidate the circuit organization and function of the descending motor output system and thereby uncover principles of how the nervous system generates diverse actions. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
10.1002/anie.201400474 | Asymmetric catalysis on the nanoscale: The organocatalytic approach to helicenes | The first asymmetric organocatalytic synthesis of helicenes is reported. A novel SPINOL-derived phosphoric acid, bearing extended π-substituents, catalyzes the asymmetric synthesis of helicenes through an enantioselective Fischer indole reaction. A variety of azahelicenes and diazahelicenes could be obtained with good to excellent yields and enantioselectivities. Twisting indoles: A novel chiral Brønsted acid, specifically designed for long-range control on a nanoscale, catalyzes the asymmetric synthesis of azahelicenes through a Fischer indolization. The method has the advantage of starting from simple achiral starting materials, which can be modified by changing the protecting group (R2) or the terminal substituents (R1, R3). The products can be further oxidized to polyaromatic systems. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
]
|
185203 | Xcore: enabling breakthrough weight reduction for the next generation of cars | The main objective of the overall innovation project is to provide a technical solution, XCORE, for cost-efficient production of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) structural components for the automotive industry. This breakthrough innovation enables Europe to create the next generation, low emission and high safety car.
European climate policy sets mandatory emission reduction targets for new cars. Car weight reduction with a CFRP chassis is an effective measure to reduce fuel consumption, increase passenger safety and extend electric and hybrid vehicles range. The mainstream automotive industry has not adopted CFRP for chassis production due to the high costs of CFRP production.
XCORE has an overall cost reduction of 40% with respect to conventional CFRP manufacturing. XCORE uses an expanding foam with gas filled thermoplastic microspheres in a closed mould to create the high pressure necessary for curing, while conventional production is based on expensive autoclave technology.
The key market consists of the car manufacturing companies in Europe, which produce yearly 17.3 million vehicles. The ambition of Donkervoort is a 10% market share of chassis production with XCORE in 2023. The XCORE chassis reduces the car weight with 10 to 12%, resulting in a yearly European fuel consumption reduction of 1.21 billion litres, a cost reduction of EUR 1.17 billion and reduction of 3 billion kilogramme of CO2.
In this feasibility assessment the final hurdles will be taken towards an Europe wide market introduction supported by a convincing demonstration with two large car manufacturing companies. The technical feasibility of reducing cycle time and fully automate the production process of XCORE on a commercial scale is assessed. The economic viability depends on substantiating the environmental and economic benefits, creating a competent consortium for executing the demonstration project, and writing a strong market implementation roadmap. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c01744 | Cu(I) Controls Conformational States in Human Atox1 Metallochaperone: An EPR and Multiscale Simulation Study | Atox1 is a human copper metallochaperone that is responsible for transferring copper ions from the main human copper transporter, hCtr1, to ATP7A/B in the Golgi apparatus. Atox1 interacts with the Ctr1 C-terminal domain as a dimer, although it transfers the copper ions to ATP7A/B in a monomeric form. The copper binding site in the Atox1 dimer involves Cys12 and Cys15, while Lys60 was also suggested to play a role in the copper binding. We recently showed that Atox1 can adopt various conformational states, depending on the interacting protein. In the current study, we apply EPR experiments together with hybrid quantum mechanics-molecular mechanics molecular dynamics simulations using a recently developed semiempirical density functional theory approach, to better understand the effect of Atox1's conformational states on copper coordination. We propose that the flexibility of Atox1 occurs owing to protonation of one or more of the cysteine residues, and that Cys15 is an important residue for Atox1 dimerization, while Cys12 is a critical residue for Cu(I) binding. We also show that Lys60 electrostatically stabilizes the Cu(I)-Atox1 dimer. | [
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1186/s12915-017-0403-5 | Life behind the wall: Sensing mechanical cues in plants | There is increasing evidence that all cells sense mechanical forces in order to perform their functions. In animals, mechanotransduction has been studied during the establishment of cell polarity, fate, and division in single cells, and increasingly is studied in the context of a multicellular tissue. What about plant systems? Our goal in this review is to summarize what is known about the perception of mechanical cues in plants, and to provide a brief comparison with animals. | [
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
10.1109/IECON.2017.8217371 | Optimized Modulation In Parallel Neutral Point Clamped Inverters For Circulating Current Reduction A Space Vector Analysis | Parallel Neutral-Point Clamped (NPC) inverters are commonly employed in medium voltage high power applications, such as wind energy system, smart transformer, and power conditioners. In literature, it is shown that the Phase Disposition modulation (PD) strategy provides better performance in terms of harmonic profile and current ripple for single NPC application. Therefore, the PD has been commonly employed as an optimal solution and used for optimized Space Vector Modulation (SVM). However, in case of interleaved operation and common dc-link, one of the main challenges is: the circulating current between inverters. With this consideration, comparisons between the PD and another carrier-based modulation — Alternative Phase Opposite Disposition (APOD) are carried out based on the space vector representation. The analysis shows that the APOD modulation offers much lower circulating current compared to the PD modulation, maintaining similar current ripple as well as spectrum quality of the total current. As a result, an APOD-based SVM technique is proposed in this paper, in order to reduce the circulating current and meanwhile maintain other superior characteristics. Full switching sequences as well as design criteria are presented for all sectors. Simulation and experimental results are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed modulation technique. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1111/j.1755-0998.2011.03010.x | Next-generation sequencing of transcriptomes: A guide to RNA isolation in nonmodel animals | Next Generation Sequencing technologies (NGS) are rapidly invading many evolutionary and ecological fields, such as phylogenomics, molecular evolution, population genomics and molecular ecology. Among the potential targets of NGS is transcriptome sequencing, a fast and relatively cheap way to generate massive amounts of coding sequence data, offering promising perspectives for the analysis of molecular diversity in the wild. A number of molecular ecology research groups therefore may switch from DNA-based to RNA-based typing in the near future. Sample preparation from natural populations, however, requires specific care and protocols when RNA is the target. Furthermore, NGS sequencing of transcriptome requires high amount of good-quality RNA. Here we present the results of RNA extraction experiments from various samples of 39 animal species caught in the wild. We compared tissue preparation and storage conditions, evaluated and improved standard RNA extraction protocols, and achieved RNA yield and quality suitable for NGS in all cases. We derive general guidelines for the production of ready-to-sequence RNA in nonmodel animals sampled in the field. | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering"
]
|
10.1109/CEFC.2016.7816105 | Eddy Current Loss Calculation In Burred Laminated Cores | Cores of electrical machines are usually laminated to reduce eddy current loss. Punching and pressing of the electrical sheets can deteriorate the interlaminar insulation and hence, can cause interlaminar currents to flow across the stack. In this paper, eddy current loss due to interlaminar currents is studied considering the conductivity of the sheets in both across and along the lamination direction. A statistical study of random interlaminar contacts and thermal measurements are also presented in this paper. | [
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
]
|
10.1002/sta4.148 | When is the mode functional the Bayes classifier? | In classification problems, the mode of the conditional probability distribution, that is, the most probable category, is the Bayes classifier under zero-one or misclassification loss. Under any other cost structure, the mode fails to persist. | [
"Mathematics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
]
|
10.1093/nar/gkz396 | Remodeling and destabilization of chromosome 1 pericentromeric heterochromatin by SSX proteins | Rearrangement of the 1q12 pericentromeric heterochromatin and subsequent amplification of the 1q arm is commonly associated with cancer development and progression and may result from epigenetic deregulation. In many premalignant and malignant cells, loss of 1q12 satellite DNA methylation causes the deposition of polycomb factors and formation of large polycomb aggregates referred to as polycomb bodies. Here, we show that SSX proteins can destabilize 1q12 pericentromeric heterochromatin in melanoma cells when it is present in the context of polycomb bodies. We found that SSX proteins deplete polycomb bodies and promote the unfolding and derepression of 1q12 heterochromatin during replication. This further leads to segregation abnormalities during anaphase and generation of micronuclei. The structural rearrangement of 1q12 pericentromeric heterochromatin triggered by SSX2 is associated with loss of polycomb factors, but is not mediated by diminished polycomb repression. Instead, our studies suggest a direct effect of SSX proteins facilitated though a DNA/chromatin binding, zinc finger-like domain and a KRAB-like domain that may recruit chromatin modifiers or activate satellite transcription. Our results demonstrate a novel mechanism for generation of 1q12-associated genomic instability in cancer cells. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
10.1016/j.concog.2019.01.018 | Unconscious processing of coarse visual information during anticipatory threat | Rapid detection of threats has been proposed to rely on automatic processing of their coarse visual features. However, it remains unclear whether such a mechanism is restricted to detection of threat cues, or whether it reflects a broader sensitivity to even neutral coarse visual information features during states of threat. We used a backward masking task in which participants discriminated the orientation of subliminally presented low (3 cpd) and high (6 cpd) spatial frequency gratings, under threat (of shock) and safe conditions. Visual awareness of the gratings was assessed objectively using an additional localization task. When participants were unaware of the gratings, above chance and improved discrimination of low-spatial frequency gratings was observed under threat compared to safe trials. These findings demonstrate unconscious processing of neutral coarse visual information during threat state, supporting the view that automatic threat detection may rely on a general facilitation of coarse features irrespective of threat content. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1109/ICRC.2019.8914709 | Fast Solution Of Linear Systems With Analog Resistive Switching Memory Rram | The in-memory solution of linear systems with analog resistive switching memory in one computational step has been recently reported. In this work, we investigate the time complexity of solving linear systems with the circuit, based on the feedback theory of amplifiers. The result shows that the computing time is explicitly independent on the problem size N, rather it is dominated by the minimal eigenvalue of an associated matrix. By addressing the Toeplitz matrix and the Wishart matrix, we show that the computing time increases with log(N) or N1/2, respectively, thus indicating a significant speed-up of in-memory computing over classical digital computing for solving linear systems. For sparse positive-definite matrix that is targeted by a quantum computing algorithm, the in-memory computing circuit also shows a computing time superiority. These results support in-memory computing as a strong candidate for fast and energy-efficient accelerators of big data analytics and machine learning. | [
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Mathematics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
]
|
10.5194/acpd-13-30841-2013 | Intercomparison and evaluation of aerosol microphysical properties among AeroCom global models of a range of complexity | Abstract. Many of the next generation of global climate models will include aerosol schemes which explicitly simulate the microphysical processes that determine the particle size distribution. These models enable aerosol optical properties and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations to be determined by fundamental aerosol processes, which should lead to a more physically based simulation of aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcings. This study examines the global variation in particle size distribution simulated by twelve global aerosol microphysics models to quantify model diversity and to identify any common biases against observations. Evaluation against size distribution measurements from a new European network of aerosol supersites shows that the mean model agrees quite well with the observations at many sites on the annual mean, but there are some seasonal biases common to many sites. In particular, at many of these European sites, the accumulation mode number concentration is biased low during winter and Aitken mode concentrations tend to be overestimated in winter and underestimated in summer. At high northern latitudes, the models strongly underpredict Aitken and accumulation particle concentrations compared to the measurements, consistent with previous studies that have highlighted the poor performance of global aerosol models in the Arctic. In the marine boundary layer, the models capture the observed meridional variation in the size distribution, which is dominated by the Aitken mode at high latitudes, with an increasing concentration of accumulation particles with decreasing latitude. Considering vertical profiles, the models reproduce the observed peak in total particle concentrations in the upper troposphere due to new particle formation, although modelled peak concentrations tend to be biased high over Europe. Overall, the multi-model-mean dataset simulates the global variation of the particle size distribution with a good degree of skill, suggesting that most of the individual global aerosol microphysics models are performing well, although the large model diversity indicates that some models are in poor agreement with the observations. Further work is required to better constrain size-resolved primary and secondary particle number sources, and an improved understanding of nucleation and growth (e. g. the role of nitrate and secondary organics) will improve the fidelity of simulated particle size distributions. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
10.1039/C4SM00348A | Direct Evidence Of Plastic Events And Dynamic Heterogeneities In Soft Glasses | By using fluid-kinetic simulations of confined and concentrated emulsion droplets, we investigate the nature of space non-homogeneity in soft-glassy dynamics and provide quantitative measurements of the statistical features of plastic events in the proximity of the yield-stress threshold. Above the yield stress, our results show the existence of a finite stress correlation scale, which can be mapped directly onto the cooperativity scale, recently introduced in the literature to capture non-local effects in the soft-glassy dynamics. In this regime, the emergence of a separate boundary (wall) rheology with higher fluidity than the bulk is highlighted in terms of near-wall spontaneous segregation of plastic events. Near the yield stress, where the cooperativity scale cannot be estimated with sufficient accuracy, the system shows a clear increase of the stress correlation scale, whereas plastic events exhibit intermittent clustering in time, with no preferential spatial location. A quantitative measurement of the space-time correlation associated with the motion of the interface of the droplets is key to spot the elastic rigidity of the system. | [
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
]
|
10.1371/journal.pone.0183799 | Top-down influence on gaze patterns in the presence of social features | Visual saliency maps reflecting locations that stand out from the background in terms of their low-level physical features have proven to be very useful for empirical research on attentional exploration and reliably predict gaze behavior. In the present study we tested these predictions for socially relevant stimuli occurring in naturalistic scenes using eye tracking. We hypothesized that social features (i. e. human faces or bodies) would be processed preferentially over non-social features (i. e. objects, animals) regardless of their low-level saliency. To challenge this notion, we included three tasks that deliberately addressed nonsocial attributes. In agreement with our hypothesis, social information, especially heads, was preferentially attended compared to highly salient image regions across all tasks. Social information was never required to solve a task but was regarded nevertheless. More so, after completing the task requirements, viewing behavior reverted back to that of free-viewing with heavy prioritization of social features. Additionally, initial eye movements reflecting potentially automatic shifts of attention, were predominantly directed towards heads irrespective of top-down task demands. On these grounds, we suggest that social stimuli may provide exclusive access to the priority map, enabling social attention to override reflexive and controlled attentional processes. Furthermore, our results challenge the generalizability of saliency-based attention models. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
]
|
10.1038/s41593-019-0542-9 | Affective memory rehearsal with temporal sequences in amygdala neurons | Affective learning and memory are essential for daily behavior, with both adaptive and maladaptive learning depending on stimulus-evoked activity in the amygdala circuitry. Behavioral studies further suggest that post-association offline processing contributes to memory formation. Here we investigated spike sequences across simultaneously recorded neurons while monkeys learned to discriminate between aversive and pleasant tone–odor associations. We show that triplets of neurons exhibit consistent temporal sequences of spiking activity that differed from firing patterns of individual neurons and pairwise correlations. These sequences occurred throughout the long post-trial period, contained valence-related information, declined as learning progressed and were selectively present in activity evoked by the recent pairing of a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus. Our findings reveal that temporal sequences across neurons in the primate amygdala serve as a coding mechanism and might aid memory formation through the rehearsal of the recently experienced association. | [
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
]
|
10.1038/mi.2014.36 | Caspase-11 is expressed in the colonic mucosa and protects against dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis | Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are major inflammatory syndromes that affect millions of patients. Caspase-11 confers protection against Gram-negative enteropathogens, but its role during colitis is unknown. Here, we show that caspase-11 was constitutively expressed in the colon, and that caspase-11-deficient (caspase-11 -/-) mice were hypersusceptible to dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. Notably, pro-inflammatory Prevotella species were strongly reduced in the gut microbiota of caspase-11 -/- mice. Co-housing with wild-type mice leveled Prevotella contents, but failed to protect caspase-11 -/- mice from increased susceptibility to DSS-induced colitis. We therefore addressed the role of caspase-11 in immune signaling. DSS-induced tissue damage, release of the pyroptosis/necroptosis marker HMGB1, and inflammatory cell infiltration in the gut were markedly increased in caspase-11 -/- mice. Moreover, caspase-11 -/- mice showed normal or increased production of mature interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18, whereas IL-1β and IL-18 secretion was blunted in animals lacking both caspases 1 and 11. In conclusion, we showed that caspase-11 shapes the gut microbiota composition, and that caspase-11 -/- mice are highly susceptible to DSS-induced colitis. Moreover, DSS-induced inflammasome activation relied on caspase-1, but not caspase-11. These results suggest a role for other caspase-11 effector mechanisms such as pyroptosis in protection against intestinal inflammation. | [
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
]
|
US 2017/0012337 W | SUBSEA CASING TIEBACK | Techniques and systems to couple a high pressure casing string to a blowout preventer or a subsea shut-in device. A device includes a locking mechanism configured to interface with a terminal end of a casing string of an offshore platform to couple the device to the terminal end of the casing string. The device also includes a sealing mechanism configured to fluidly seal an area around the terminal end of the casing string, wherein the locking mechanism and the sealing mechanism are disposed at separate positions along a vertical orientation of the device. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.018 | RNA clamping by Vasa assembles a piRNA amplifier complex on transposon transcripts | Germline-specific Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) protect animal genomes against transposons and are essential for fertility. piRNAs targeting active transposons are amplified by the ping-pong cycle, which couples Piwi endonucleolytic slicing of target RNAs to biogenesis of new piRNAs. Here, we describe the identification of a transient Amplifier complex that mediates biogenesis of secondary piRNAs in insect cells. Amplifier is nucleated by the DEAD box RNA helicase Vasa and contains the two Piwi proteins participating in the ping-pong loop, the Tudor protein Qin/Kumo and antisense piRNA guides. These components assemble on the surface of Vasa's helicase domain, which functions as an RNA clamp to anchor Amplifier onto transposon transcripts. We show that ATP-dependent RNP remodeling by Vasa facilitates transfer of 5′ sliced piRNA precursors between ping-pong partners, and loss of this activity causes sterility in Drosophila. Our results reveal the molecular basis for the small RNA amplification that confers adaptive immunity against transposons. | [
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
]
|
10.1137/15M1017776 | Lower Bounds On Blowing Up Solutions Of The Three Dimensional Navier Stokes Equations In Dot H 3 2 Dot H 5 2 And Dot B 5 2 _ 2 1 | If $u$ is a smooth solution of the Navier--Stokes equations on ${\mathbb R}^3$ with first blowup time $T$, we prove lower bounds for $u$ in the Sobolev spaces $\dot H^{3/2}$, $\dot H^{5/2}$, and the Besov space $\dot B^{5/2}_{2,1}$, with optimal rates of blowup: we prove the strong lower bounds $\|u(t)\|_{\dot H^{3/2}}\ge c(T-t)^{-1/2}$ and $\|u(t)\|_{\dot B^{5/2}_{2,1}}\ge c(T-t)^{-1}$; in $\dot H^{5/2}$ we obtain $\limsup_{t\to T^-}(T-t)\|u(t)\|_{\dot H^{5/2}}\ge c$, a weaker result. The proofs involve new inequalities for the nonlinear term in Sobolev and Besov spaces, both of which are obtained using a dyadic decomposition of $u$. | [
"Mathematics"
]
|
10.1017/S1744552316000495 | State Intervention In The Lives Of People With Disabilities The Case For A Disability Neutral Framework | People with disabilities continue to experience a disproportionately high level of state intervention in their private lives. Many disabled people's organisations have long sought to challenge this discriminatory approach and, in recent times, have relied upon the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in support of their claims. In this paper, we argue for the abolition of disability-specific legal bases for state intervention in the private lives of adults. We also argue for the introduction of a narrower disability-neutral legislative framework for state intervention in the lives of all adults – based on risk of imminent and serious harm to the individual's life, health or safety, while providing greater respect for the person's legal capacity as expressed through her will and preferences. | [
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
]
|
W2886417607 | Techno-economical optimization of wind power production including lithium and/or hydrogen sizing in the context of the day ahead market in island grids | In this article an optimal storage sizing based on technical and economical modeling is presented. A focus is made on wind power producers participating in day-ahead markets for island networks and energy storage using Li-Ion and H2/O2 batteries. The modeling approach is based on power flow models and detailed optimization-oriented techniques. An importance is given to the storage device ageing effects on the overall hybrid system levelized cost of the energy. The results are presented for the special case of renewable power integration in the French islands networks. The analysis obtained after the results shows the importance of this type of modeling tool for decision making during the initial conceptual design level. | [
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Mathematics",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
]
|
10.1088/1742-6596/675/1/012032 | The 144Ce Source For Sox | The SOX (Short distance neutrino Oscillations with BoreXino) project aims at testing the light sterile neutrino hypothesis. To do so, two artificials sources of antineutrinos and neutrinos respectively will be consecutively deployed at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in close vicinity to Borexino, a large liquid scintillator detector. This document reports on the source production and transportation. The source should exhibit a long lifetime and a high decay energy, a requirement fullfilled by the 144Ce-144Pr pair at secular equilibrium. It will be produced at FSUE "Mayak" PA using spent nuclear fuel. It will then be shielded and packed according to international regulation and shipped to LNGS across Europe. Knowledge of the Cerium antineutrino generator (CeANG) parameters is crucial for SOX as it can strongly impact the experiment sensitivity. Several apparatuses are being used or designed to characterize CeANG activity, radioactive emission and content. An overview of the measurements performed so far is presented here. | [
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
]
|
10.1111/1365-2435.12034 | Unravelling The Architecture Of Functional Variability In Wild Populations Of Polygonum Viviparum L | Summary
Functional variability (FV) of populations can be decomposed into three main features: the individual variability of multiple traits, the strength of correlations between those traits and the main direction of these correlations, the latter two being known as ‘phenotypic integration’. Evolutionary biology has long recognized that FV in natural populations is key to determining potential evolutionary responses, but this topic has been little studied in functional ecology. Here, we focus on the arctico-alpine perennial plant species Polygonum viviparum L. . We used a comprehensive sampling of seven functional traits in 29 wild populations covering the whole environmental niche of the species. The niche of the species was captured by a temperature gradient, which separated alpine stressful habitats from species-rich, competitive subalpine ones. We sought to assess the relative roles of abiotic stress and biotic interactions in shaping different aspects of functional variation within and among populations, that is, the multi-trait variability, the strength of correlations between traits and the main directions of functional trade-offs. Populations with the highest extent of functional variability were found in the warm end of the gradient, whereas populations exhibiting the strongest degree of phenotypic integration were located in sites with intermediate temperatures. This could reveal both the importance of environmental filtering and population demography in structuring FV. Interestingly, we found that the main axes of multivariate functional variation were radically different within and across population. Although the proximate causes of FV structure remain uncertain, our study presents a robust methodology for the quantitative study of functional variability in connection with species' niches. It also opens up new perspectives for the conceptual merging of intraspecific functional patterns with community ecology. | [
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
]
|
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