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W1991325854
|
Fatigue Severity and Factors Associated with High Fatigue Levels in Korean Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
|
Many patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often complain of fatigue. To date, only a few studies in Western countries have focused on fatigue related to IBD, and fatigue has never been specifically studied in Asian IBD patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the fatigue level and fatigue-related factors among Korean IBD patients.Patients in remission or with mild to moderate IBD were included. Fatigue was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue and the Brief Fatigue Inventory. Corresponding healthy controls (HCs) also completed both fatigue questionnaires.Sixty patients with Crohn disease and 68 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) were eligible for analysis. The comparison group consisted of 92 HCs. Compared with the HCs, both IBD groups were associated with greater levels of fatigue (p<0.001). Factors influencing the fatigue score in UC patients included anemia and a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).Greater levels of fatigue were detected in Korean IBD patients compared with HCs. Anemia and ESR were determinants of fatigue in UC patients. Physicians need to be aware of fatigue as one of the important symptoms of IBD to better understand the impact of fatigue on health-related quality of life.
|
[
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
] |
170962
|
Climatic and temporal control on microbial diversity-ecosystem functioning: insights from a novel conceptual model (climifun).
|
Despite the importance of soil microbial communities for ecosystem functioning and human welfare, little is known about the mechanisms controlling the composition and diversity of these communities, and the role of their attributes in providing multiple ecosystem functions and services such as nutrient cycling and decomposition (i.e. multifunctionality). Many studies have identified climate, stage of ecosystem development and soil characteristics as main drivers of plant and animal diversity. However, much less is known about the interactive effects of climate, soil properties and time in controlling microbial diversity and multifunctionality during ecosystem succession. This lack of knowledge hampers our ability to predict microbial community shifts and their consequences for ecosystem functioning under climate change, and limits the inclusion of soil microbes in global biogeochemical models. The main research objective of this action is to gain a deeper insight into the patterns and mechanisms that drive soil microbial diversity and multifunctionality under changing environments. We will use a novel conceptual framework combining long-term chronosequences, climate change experiments and structural equation modelling to quantitatively evaluate the role of time, climate and multiple soil drivers in controlling microbial diversity and multifunctionality. The research outlined in this proposal includes a range of state-of-the-art biochemical, molecular and genomic methods for the analysis of microbial communities and multifunctionality that ensure the maximum utility and impact of our results. Altogether, CLIMIFUN will reveal the factors that control soil microbial diversity and multiple functions linked to plant production and nutrient cycling under a changing environment. This work will thus address a key knowledge gap relevant to supporting increases in global demand for food and fibre over the next decades, and a research priority for H2020.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
] |
10.1037/neu0000292
|
The neural mechanism of hedonic processing and judgment of pleasant odors: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis
|
Objective: Pleasure is essential to normal healthy life. Olfaction, as 1 of the neurobehavioral probes of hedonic capacity, has a unique advantage compared to other sensory modalities. However, it is unclear how olfactory hedonic information is processed in the brain. This study aimed to investigate olfactory hedonic processing in the human brain. Method: We conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis on 16 functional imaging studies that examined brain activation in olfactory hedonic processing-related tasks in healthy adults. Results: The results show that there is a core olfactory hedonic processing network, which consists of the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus/amygdala (BA34), the left middle frontal gyrus (BA6), the right middle frontal gyrus/lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC; BA10), the bilateral cingulate gyrus (BA32), the right lentiform nucleus/lateral globus pallidus, the right medial frontal gyrus/medial OFC (BA11), the left superior frontal gyrus (BA10), and the right insula (BA13). Moreover, our findings highlight that the right hemisphere is predominant in explicit odor hedonic judgment. Finally, the results indicate that there are significant differences in brain activation for hedonic judgment and passive smelling. Conclusion: These results support the hypothesis that the OFC plays a key role in explicit hedonic judgment.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
] |
224384
|
Advanced nanomembranes for exact polymer production
|
The production of synthetic polymers with precisely defined monomer sequences – exact polymers, which I call “exactymers” – is highly challenging. Iterative synthesis, in which specific monomers are added one-at-a-time to the end of a growing polymer chain, affords exquisite control over the final sequence, but requires accurate purification of the growing polymer with each and every cycle. EXACTYMER will create new super-stable, ultra-selective nanomembranes, with high permeances, enabling rapid, repeated purifications, which will transform exactymer fabrication. Multiple growing polymer chains will be attached to a central hub molecule to create a macromolecular homostar with enhanced molecular size, promoting accurate separation of the growing exactymer from reaction debris via nanomembrane processing. Automation and engineering will enable rapid, accurate and precise cycles of exactymer chain growth. EXACTYMER objectives will be achieved through curiosity-driven research into (1) the creation of nanomembranes with exquisite molecular selectivity between growing homostars and monomer plus reaction debris; (2) advancing the chemistry of iterative synthesis by creating strategies for step-wise growth of polyethers, polysiloxanes, and polyesters, and side chain functionalised monomers of these species; (3) combining iterative chemistry and nanomembranes together in an automated homostar nanofiltration platform, and; (4) exploring the use of exactymers in healthcare, nanotechnology and information storage. EXACTYMER will undertake pioneering research at the boundaries of membrane technology, polymer synthesis, process engineering and nanotechnology. The most profound anticipated outcome is a new capability to produce synthetic polymers, over 20 monomers in length, with exactly defined monomer sequences to an unprecedented accuracy, at multi-gram scale. New scientific insights will derive from the properties and performances of these newly accessible molecules.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.1038/ncomms15111
|
Hepatic p63 regulates steatosis via IKKβ/ER stress
|
p53 family members control several metabolic and cellular functions. The p53 ortholog p63 modulates cellular adaptations to stress and has a major role in cell maintenance and proliferation. Here we show that p63 regulates hepatic lipid metabolism. Mice with liver-specific p53 deletion develop steatosis and show increased levels of p63. Down-regulation of p63 attenuates liver steatosis in p53 knockout mice and in diet-induced obese mice, whereas the activation of p63 induces lipid accumulation. Hepatic overexpression of N-terminal transactivation domain TAp63 induces liver steatosis through IKKβ activation and the induction of ER stress, the inhibition of which rescues the liver functions. Expression of TAp63, IKKβ and XBP1s is also increased in livers of obese patients with NAFLD. In cultured human hepatocytes, TAp63 inhibition protects against oleic acid-induced lipid accumulation, whereas TAp63 overexpression promotes lipid storage, an effect reversible by IKKβ silencing. Our findings indicate an unexpected role of the p63/IKKβ/ER stress pathway in lipid metabolism and liver disease.
|
[
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1038/srep28595
|
Ecological Responses to Extreme Flooding Events: A Case Study with a Reintroduced Bird
|
In recent years numerous studies have documented the effects of a changing climate on the world's biodiversity. Although extreme weather events are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity and are challenging to organisms, there are few quantitative observations on the survival, behaviour and energy expenditure of animals during such events. We provide the first data on activity and energy expenditure of birds, Eurasian cranes Grus grus, during the winter of 2013-14, which saw the most severe floods in SW England in over 200 years. We fitted 23 cranes with telemetry devices and used remote sensing data to model flood dynamics during three consecutive winters (2012-2015). Our results show that during the acute phase of the 2013-14 floods, potential feeding areas decreased dramatically and cranes restricted their activity to a small partially unflooded area. They also increased energy expenditure (+15%) as they increased their foraging activity and reduced resting time. Survival did not decline in 2013-14, indicating that even though extreme climatic events strongly affected time-energy budgets, behavioural plasticity alleviated any potential impact on fitness. However under climate change scenarios such challenges may not be sustainable over longer periods and potentially could increase species vulnerability.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
] |
W3122225655
|
The geography of money and politics: Population density, social networks, and political contributions
|
We examine the social antecedents of contributing to campaigns, with a particular focus on the role of population density and social networking opportunities. Using 10 years of US campaign contribution data from the Federal Election Commission and a national survey of party leaders, we find that recruiting contributors is easier in a densely populated region, where the daily opportunity of individuals being exposed to the same information via their social networks is high. Furthermore, the effect of population density is heterogeneous with respect to mobility: if a region has substantial commuting outflow, the chance of being mobilized from the place of residence decreases, but the chance of mobilization in their place of work increases. This analysis also reveals differences between political parties. Democrats are more dependent on social networking in population dense areas. This difference in the importance of social networking opportunities present in geographical space helps explain macro-level patterns in party fundraising.
|
[
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
] |
10.1080/10618600.2020.1754226
|
Massive Parallelization Boosts Big Bayesian Multidimensional Scaling
|
Big Bayes is the computationally intensive co-application of big data and large, expressive Bayesian models for the analysis of complex phenomena in scientific inference and statistical learning. S. . .
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Mathematics"
] |
305003
|
Ultrafast quantum physics on the sub-cycle time scale
|
The physics of condensed matter depends on ultrafast dynamics of its atomic constituents. Femtosecond light pulses have been exploited to monitor these phenomena by stroboscopic means. Yet, the time resolution is limited by the duration of the intensity envelope of the light pulses used. We propose a new class of sub-cycle optics, which harnesses the absolute optical phase and amplitude of ultrashort transients to control condensed matter faster than an oscillation cycle of light. Merging latest terahertz technology with nanooptics, we tailor extreme electric and magnetic near-fields of phase-locked infrared pulses in all four spatio-temporal dimensions. This unprecedented laboratory allows us to pioneer long sought-after non-adiabatic quantum physics of all relevant elementary degrees of freedom: electronic charge and spin as well as photons.
(i) Optical acceleration of electrons in the sub-cycle limit will permit to test yet unobserved key concepts of relativistic quantum transport, such as Zitterbewegung of Dirac fermions and Bloch oscillations in bulk semiconductors.
(ii) We aim to switch the spin direction in magnetic materials by giant magnetic or electric fields, of 10 GV/m and several 10 Tesla, promising record control speeds and unique vistas onto the fastest magnetic elementary processes.
(iii) By advancing the sensitivity of electro-optic sampling to the few-photon level the quantum nature of the oscillating carrier wave will be detected in the time domain. Spontaneous creation of photons out of quantum vacua, reminiscent of Hawking radiation of black holes, may be traced.
The project breaks grounds for basic research, shedding new light onto the foundations of quantum electrodynamics, solid state physics and magnetism, as well as a new kind of field resolved quantum optics.
|
[
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
10.1186/s41118-018-0029-7
|
Expectation of life at old age: revisiting Horiuchi-Coale and reconciling with Mitra
|
Data quality issues at advanced old age, such as incompleteness of registration of vital events and age misreporting, compromise estimates of the death rates and remaining life expectancy at those ages. Following up on Horiuchi and Coale (Population Studies 36: 317-326, 1982), Mitra (Population Studies 38: 313-319, 1984, Population Studies 39: 511–512, 1985), and Coale (Population Studies 39: 507–509, 1985), we examine the conventional approaches to constructing life tables from data deficient at advanced ages and the two adjustment methods by the mentioned authors. Contrary to earlier reports by Horiuchi, Coale, and Mitra, we show that the two methods are consistent and useful in drastically reducing the estimation errors in life expectancy as compared to the conventional approaches, i. e. , the classical open age interval model and extrapolation of the death rates. Our results suggest complementing the classical estimates of life expectancy by adjustments using Horiuchi-Coale, Mitra, or other appropriate methods and avoiding the extrapolation method as a tool for estimating the life expectancy.
|
[
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"Mathematics"
] |
10.1117/12.925164
|
Carmenes I Instrument And Survey Overview
|
CARMENES (Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exo-earths with Near-infrared and optical Echelle Spectrographs) is a next-generation instrument for the 3. 5m telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory, built by a consortium of eleven Spanish and German institutions. The CARMENES instrument consists of two separate echelle spectrographs covering the wavelength range from 0. 55 μm to 1. 7 μm at a spectral resolution of R = 82, 000, fed by fibers from the Cassegrain focus of the telescope. Both spectrographs are housed in temperature-stabilized vacuum tanks, to enable a long-term 1 m/s radial velocity precision employing a simultaneous calibration with Th-Ne and U-Ne emission line lamps. CARMENES has been optimized for a search for terrestrial planets in the habitable zones (HZs) of low-mass stars, which may well provide our first chance to study environments capable of supporting the development of life outside the Solar System. With its unique combination of optical and near-infrared ´echelle spectrographs, CARMENES will provide better sensitivity for the detection of low-mass planets than any comparable instrument, and a powerful tool for discriminating between genuine planet detections and false positives caused by stellar activity. The CARMENES survey will target 300 M dwarfs in the 2014 to 2018 time frame.
|
[
"Universe Sciences",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
W2317037230
|
Antioxidant and Free Radical Scavenging Capacity of Extensively Used Medicinal Plants in Sri Lanka
|
The burden of chronic diseases is rapidly increasing worldwide. Diet and nutrition are important factors in the promotion and maintenance of good health throughout the entire life course. Physiological and biochemical alterations in the human body may result in overproduction of free radicals leading to oxidative damage to biomolecules (e.g. lipids, proteins, DNA). Use of medicinal plant based products has increased recently because of their exerted beneficial properties such as antioxidant, anticancer, hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic activities. The present study was designed to assess the in vitro antioxidant activity and free radical scavenging capacity of ten medicinal plants which are extensively used in the Ayurvedic treatment systems in Sri Lanka. Water extracts were prepared and evaluated for their free-radical scavenging capacity and antioxidant activity using a number of chemical assays; DPPH, ABTS and FRAP. The total Phenolic (TPC) and Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) were also assessed. The TPC and TFC values of the extracts varied from 295.94±3.65 – 5.22±0.08 (mg Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE)/g dry weight) and 115.01±1.69 – 0.97±0.002 (mg Catechin Equivalent (CE)/g dry weight) respectively. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities were higher for the Nelli (Phyllanthus emblica) extract while the least activity was observed in Venivel (Cosciniumfenestratum) extract. The FRAP activity of the extracts was well proved with the DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities. A positive, significant linear relationship between antioxidant activity and TPC and TFC content showed that phenolic compounds and flavonoids were the dominant antioxidant components in the medicinal herbs studied.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
interreg_2843
|
Preserving biodiversity from plastics in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas
|
The Mediterranean Sea is one of the areas most affected by Marine Litter (ML) in the world. The impacts of ML on marine biota within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), including endangered species, remain poorly addressed, however it is clear that prevention and mitigation measures are urgently needed. The overall objective of the PlasticBusters MPAs project is to contribute to maintaining biodiversity and preserving natural ecosystems in pelagic and coastal MPAs, by defining and implementing a harmonized approach against ML. The project entails actions that address the whole management cycle of ML, from monitoring and assessment to prevention and mitigation, as well as actions to strengthen networking between and among pelagic and coastal MPAs located in Italy, France, Spain, Croatia, Albania and Greece. This is the first project at basin scale where EU and IPA countries join forces to tackle ML via a coordinated approach in order to: i) diagnose ML impacts on biodiversity in MPAs, including the identification of "ML hotspots"; ii) define and test tailor-made ML surveillance, prevention and mitigation measures in MPAs; iii) develop a common framework of ML actions for Interreg Med regions towards the conservation of biodiversity in Med MPAs. A joint governance plan will be defined through a participatory approach and the concretized commitment of Med MPAs (MoUs) to implement it will result in an increased surface area of habitats supported to attain a better conservation status.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
W1991460429
|
Debating heritage authenticity:<i>kastom</i>and development at the Vanuatu Cultural Centre
|
In October 2003, 28 cultural expressions from around the world were proclaimed Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, complementing the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. This proclamation has been part of the broader remit of the international organisation to protect the world’s cultural diversity from modernity and globalisation. Inherent in this is an underlying notion of cultural authenticity, implying that certain expressions, which are considered to be endangered and therefore in need of institutional protection, constitute ‘original’ and ‘pure’ manifestations of cultural identity. Taking forward debates on the safeguarding of intangible heritage, this paper examines cultural authenticity in the context of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, the principal cultural organisation, museum and research institution of the Melanesian archipelago. The proclamation of the practice of sandroing (sand drawing) as a masterpiece of intan...
|
[
"Studies of Cultures and Arts",
"The Study of the Human Past"
] |
10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b05106
|
The Role of the Copper Oxidation State in the Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO <inf>2</inf> into Valuable Hydrocarbons
|
Redox-active copper catalysts with accurately prepared oxidation states (Cu 0 , Cu + , and Cu 2+ ) and high selectivity to C 2 hydrocarbon formation, from electrocatalytic cathodic reduction of CO 2 , were fabricated and characterized. The electrochemically prepared copper-redox electro-cathodes yield higher activity for the production of hydrocarbons at lower oxidation state. By combining advanced X-ray spectroscopy and in situ microreactors, it was possible to unambiguously reveal the variation in the complex electronic structure that the catalysts undergo at different stages (i. e. , during fabrication and electrocatalytic reactions). It was found that the surface, subsurface, and bulk properties of the electrochemically prepared catalysts are dominated by the formation of copper carbonates on the surface of cupric-like oxides, which prompts catalyst deactivation by restraining effective charge transport. Furthermore, the formation of reduced or partially reduced copper catalysts yields the key dissociative proton-consuming reactive adsorption of CO 2 to produce CO, allowing the subsequent hydrogenation into C 2 and C 1 products by dimerization and protonation. These results yield valuable information on the variations in the electronic structure that redox-active copper catalysts undergo in the course of the electrochemical reaction, which, under extreme conditions, are mediated by thermodynamics, but critically, kinetics dominate near the oxide/metal phase transitions.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
] |
10.1038/nchem.1546
|
A near-infrared fluorophore for live-cell super-resolution microscopy of cellular proteins
|
The ideal fluorescent probe for bioimaging is bright, absorbs at long wavelengths and can be implemented flexibly in living cells and in vivo. However, the design of synthetic fluorophores that combine all of these properties has proved to be extremely difficult. Here, we introduce a biocompatible near-infrared silicon-rhodamine probe that can be coupled specifically to proteins using different labelling techniques. Importantly, its high permeability and fluorogenic character permit the imaging of proteins in living cells and tissues, and its brightness and photostability make it ideally suited for live-cell super-resolution microscopy. The excellent spectroscopic properties of the probe combined with its ease of use in live-cell applications make it a powerful new tool for bioimaging.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
W1986433116
|
Efficiency of Glaucoma Drug Regulation in 5 European Countries
|
To compare the evolution of prostaglandin analog (PGA) and β-blocker (BB) prescriptions across 5 European countries.Data were extracted from various sources: (1) IMS data for France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, (2) glaucoma-treated patients from the United Kingdom General Practice Research Database (UK-GPRD), (3) prescriptions delivered by the territorial pharmaceutical service of Monselice of the Padova region (Italy). Drugs were grouped into 3 classes: PGAs, BBs, and other drugs. Yearly market shares were calculated. Treatment persistence survival curves were estimated for Italian and UK data, and the 3 drug groups were compared using the Cochran Mantel Haenszel test.According to Padova data, BBs decreased in market share, whereas PGAs increased. A linear extrapolation of these market shares, based on 1998 to 2003 data, predicted that the 2 curves should cross in 2005, a prediction reinforced by the European Medicines Agency authorization (2002) of PGAs as first-line glaucoma treatments. That this did not occur may be explained by Italy's refusal to reimburse PGAs as first-line therapy. IMS data identified Italy and Germany as 2 countries in which BBs are still more frequently prescribed than PGAs. Treatment persistence with PGAs as monotherapy, in PGA-naive patients, was longer than for BBs according to both Padova and UK-GPRD data. This held true for both first-line and second-line PGA prescriptions (UK-GPRD); the persistence of second-line PGA equalled first-line BB treatment.Health care regulations impacted upon glaucoma prescribing and may be one of the reasons for different annual evolution rates of PGA and BB prescriptions.
|
[
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
10.1155/2014/379340
|
Lentiviral Protein Transduction With Genome Modifying Hiv 1 Integrase I Ppoi Fusion Proteins Studies On Specificity And Cytotoxicity
|
Rare-cutting endonucleases, such as the I-PpoI, can be used for the induction of double strand breaks (DSBs) in genome editing and targeted integration based on homologous recombination. For therapeutic approaches, the specificity and the pattern of off-target effects are of high importance in these techniques. For its applications, the endonuclease needs to be transported into the target cell nucleus, where the mechanism of transport may affect its function. Here, we have studied the lentiviral protein transduction of the integrase (IN)-PpoI fusion protein using the cis-packaging method. In genome-wide interaction studies, IN-fusion proteins were verified to bind their target sequence containing 28S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes with a 100-fold enrichment, despite the well-documented behavior of IN to be tethered into various genomic areas by host-cell factors. In addition, to estimate the applicability of the method, DSB-induced cytotoxic effects with different vector endonuclease configurations were studied in a panel of cells. Varying the amount and activity of endonuclease enabled the adjustment of ratio between the induced DSBs and transported DNA. In cell studies, certain cancerous cell lines were especially prone to DSBs in rRNA genes, which led us to test the protein transduction in a tumour environment in an in vivo study. In summary, the results highlight the potential of lentiviral vectors (LVVs) for the nuclear delivery of endonucleases.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1146/annurev-conmatphys-031016-025507
|
Diagonalizing transfer matrices and matrix product operators: A medley of exact and computational methods
|
Transfer matrices and matrix product operators play a ubiquitous role in the field of many-body physics. This review gives an idiosyncratic overview of applications, exact results, and computational aspects of diagonalizing transfer matrices and matrix product operators. The results in this paper are a mixture of classic results, presented from the point of view of tensor networks, and new results. Topics discussed are exact solutions of transfer matrices in equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical physics, tensor network states, matrix product operator algebras, and numerical matrix product state methods for finding extremal eigenvectors of matrix product operators.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Mathematics"
] |
AU 1950/002014 W
|
A METHOD FOR IDENTIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC AGENTS
|
The present invention relates generally to the field of identification and determination of bioactive amino acid sequences. In particular, the present invention provides method(s) for determining the influence of variation in host genes on selection of microorganisms with particular amino acid variants for the purpose of therapeutic drug or vaccine design or individualisation of such treatment. The invention also provides methods for identifying HLA allele-specific microorganism sequence polymorphisms that result from HLA restriction of antigen-specific cellular immune responses. It also provides diagnostic and therapeutic methodologies that may be used to measure or treat infection by a microorganism or to prevent infection by the microorganism.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1093/oep/gpt002
|
Announcements as an equilibrium selection device
|
We address the coordination failures that arise in models with multiple equilibria and study how they may be resolved by reconsidering the role of cheap talk communication as an equilibrium selection device. We introduce an outside option (representing common-knowledge expected outcomes in the absence of coordination), and show that a player may be forced to make an announcement leading to a sub-optimal outcome with respect to the commitment solution (a binding message) in order to keep the message credible. The main contribution is to show, by means of examples taken from standard macro- and microeconomic decision making problems, how the existing tools of bargaining can be applied to models with multiple equilibria to produce sensible outcomes. The purpose is to provide a formal underpinning for methods that resolve multiple equilibrium problems by exploiting the power of policy announcements.
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
] |
IB 2013002253 W
|
PANEL CONSTRUCTION FOR MAKING SOUND-ABSORBING AND -INSULATING COATINGS FOR CEILINGS AND WALLS
|
A panel construction, for making sound-absorbing and -insulating coatings for ceilings and walls, comprises a plate element including a plurality of blind holes each of which has a labyrinth cross-section for restraining and disperse sound waves. The construction advantageously comprises a first plate element and a second plate element, so coupled to one another as to be substantially parallel, through an interposition of a corrugated coupling element; said construction comprising more- over an insulating material arranged in a space between the two plate elements and the corrugated element bends. The plate elements and the corrugated coupling element are advantageously constituted by corrugated cardboard elements. The insulating material comprises metal filaments, or other materials having insulating characteristics, such as rock wool and glass wool.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.063008
|
Surface-electrode Rydberg-stark decelerator
|
Hydrogen atoms in Rydberg states with principal quantum numbers between 23 and 70 have been accelerated, decelerated, and electrostatically trapped using a surface-electrode Rydberg-Stark decelerator. By applying a set of oscillating electrical potentials to a two-dimensional array of electrodes on a printed circuit board (PCB), a continuously moving, three-dimensional electric trap with a predefined velocity and acceleration is generated. From an initial longitudinal velocity of 760m/s, final velocities of the Rydberg atoms ranging from 1200m/s to zero velocity in the laboratory-fixed frame of reference were achieved. Accelerated or decelerated atoms were detected directly by pulsed electric-field ionization. Atoms trapped at zero mean velocity above the PCB were reaccelerated off the PCB before field ionization.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
] |
10.1089/scd.2017.0089
|
Protein and Molecular Characterization of a Clinically Compliant Amniotic Fluid Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicle Fraction Capable of Accelerating Muscle Regeneration Through Enhancement of Angiogenesis
|
The secretome of human amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSCs) has great potential as a therapeutic agent in regenerative medicine. However, it must be produced in a clinically compliant manner before it can be used in humans. In this study, we developed a means of producing a biologically active secretome from AFSCs that is free of all exogenous molecules. We demonstrate that the full secretome is capable of promoting stem cell proliferation, migration, and protection of cells against senescence. Furthermore, it has significant anti-inflammatory properties. Most importantly, we show that it promotes tissue regeneration in a model of muscle damage. We then demonstrate that the secretome contains extracellular vesicles (EVs) that harbor much, but not all, of the biological activity of the whole secretome. Proteomic characterization of the EV and free secretome fraction shows the presence of numerous molecules specific to each fraction that could be key regulators of tissue regeneration. Intriguingly, we show that the EVs only contain miRNA and not mRNA. This suggests that tissue regeneration in the host is mediated by the action of EVs modifying existing, rather than imposing new, signaling pathways. The EVs harbor significant anti-inflammatory activity as well as promote angiogenesis, the latter may be the mechanistic explanation for their ability to promote muscle regeneration after cardiotoxin injury.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1038/jid.2011.13
|
Essential role of the keratinocyte-specific endonuclease DNase1L2 in the removal of nuclear DNA from hair and nails
|
Degradation of nuclear DNA is a hallmark of programmed cell death. Epidermal keratinocytes die in the course of cornification to function as the dead building blocks of the cornified layer of the epidermis, nails, and hair. Here, we investigated the mechanism and physiological function of DNA degradation during cornification in vivo. Targeted deletion of the keratinocyte-specific endonuclease DNase1-like 2 (DNase1L2) in the mouse resulted in the aberrant retention of DNA in hair and nails, as well as in epithelia of the tongue and the esophagus. In contrast to our previous studies in human keratinocytes, ablation of DNase1L2 did not compromise the cornified layer of the epidermis. Quantitative PCRs showed that the amount of nuclear DNA was dramatically increased in both hair and nails, and that mitochondrial DNA was increased in the nails of DNase1L2-deficient mice. The presence of nuclear DNA disturbed the normal arrangement of structural proteins in hair corneocytes and caused a significant decrease in the resistance of hair to mechanical stress. These data identify DNase1L2 as an essential and specific regulator of programmed cell death in skin appendages, and demonstrate that the breakdown of nuclear DNA is crucial for establishing the full mechanical stability of hair.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
805338
|
Targeting genetic and epigenetic mechanisms in pediatric sarcomas.
|
Sarcomas are an extremely heterogeneous group of mesenchymal tumors that arise in a multitude of tissues from many different cell types. Several genetic events have been identified in different sarcoma sub-types, but very few models were developed to study their role in tumorigenesis aiming at exploiting them as therapeutic vulnerabilities. As a result, the treatment of sarcoma has extremely limited advancement in therapeutic options compared to other cancers. Therefore, the generation of faithful in vitro and in vivo models for sarcoma research is urgently needed to provide insights into the pathobiology of these tumors and discover novel vulnerabilities in these lethal but yet understudied disease. Many types of soft tissue sarcomas arising in children and young adults have a unifying underlying genetic mechanism, where chromosomal translocations generate fusion oncoproteins that serve as drivers of the disease. Exploiting this genetic simplicity provides an exceptional opportunity to develop effective and specific therapies. My past research has applied cutting edge technology to define epigenetic vulnerabilities associated with the SS18-SSX gene fusion, the defining event in synovial sarcoma (one subgroup of pediatric sarcomas), and to study its chromatin occupancy genome-wide. In this proposal my team will combine a toolbox consisting of CRISPR/Cas9, RNAi technology and expertise in mouse models to systematically elucidate key genetic and epigenetic mechanisms in the pathobiology of pediatric sarcomas. This work will help to understand key players in epigenetic deregulation in pediatric sarcomas, generate new sarcoma models to assist clinical translation, and identify new therapeutic targets for these deadly diseases.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
10.1051/0004-6361/201628446
|
Modelling The Cosmic Ray Electron Propagation In M 51
|
Context. Cosmic ray electrons (CREs) are a crucial part of the interstellar medium and are observed via synchrotron emission. While much modelling has been carried out on the CRE distribution and propagation of the Milky Way, little has been done on normal external star-forming galaxies. Recent spectral data from a new generation of radio telescopes enable us to find more robust estimations of the CRE propagation. Aims. To model the synchrotron spectral index of M 51 using the diffusion energy-loss equation and to compare the model results with the observed spectral index determined from recent low-frequency observations with LOFAR. Methods. We solve the time-dependent diffusion energy-loss equation for CREs in M 51. This is the first time that this model for CRE propagation has been solved for a realistic distribution of CRE sources, which we derive from the observed star formation rate, in an external galaxy. The radial variation of the synchrotron spectral index and scale-length produced by the model are compared to recent LOFAR and older VLA observational data and also to new observations of M 51 at 325 MHz obtained with the GMRT. Results. We find that propagation of CREs by diffusion alone is sufficient to reproduce the observed spectral index distribution in M 51. An isotropic diffusion coefficient with a value of 6. 6 ± 0. 2 × 10 28 cm 2 s -1 is found to fit best and is similar to what is seen in the Milky Way. We estimate an escape time of 11 Myr from the central galaxy to 88 Myr in the extended disk. It is found that an energy dependence of the diffusion coefficient is not important for CRE energies in the range 0. 01 GeV–3 GeV. We are able to reproduce the dependence of the observed synchrotron scale-lengths on frequency, with l ∝ ν − 1 / 4 in the outer disk and l ∝ ν − 1 / 8 in the inner disk.
|
[
"Universe Sciences",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
] |
10.1098/rspb.2014.2350
|
Experimental manipulation of avian social structure reveals segregation is carried over across contexts
|
Our current understanding of animal social networks is largely based on observations or experiments that do not directly manipulate associations between individuals. Consequently, evidence relating to the causal processes underlying such networks is limited. By imposing specified rules controlling individual access to feeding stations, we directly manipulated the foraging social network of a wild bird community, thus demonstrating how external factors can shape social structure. We show that experimentally imposed constraints were carried over into patterns of association at unrestricted, ephemeral food patches, as well as at nesting sites during breeding territory prospecting. Hence, different social contexts can be causally linked, and constraints at one level may have consequences that extend into other aspects of sociality. Finally, the imposed assortment was lost following the cessation of the experimental manipulation, indicating the potential for previously perturbed social networks of wild animals to recover from segregation driven by external constraints.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
638364
|
The Role of Cortico-Hippocampal Interactions during Memory Encoding
|
This research proposal’s goal is to investigate the role of cortico-hippocampal interactions during the encoding and consolidation of a memory. Current memory consolidation models postulate that memory storage in our brains occurs by a dynamic process- a recent episodic experience is initially encoded in the hippocampus, and during off-line states such as sleep, the encoded memory is gradually transferred to neocortex for long-term storage. One potential neural mechanism by which this could occur is replay, a phenomenon where neural activity patterns in the hippocampus evoked by a previous experience reactivate spontaneously during non-REM sleep, leading to coordinated cortical reactivation. While previous work suggests that hippocampal replay is important for encoding new memories, how memory consolidation is accomplished through cortico-hippocampal interactions is not well understood.
This research project has three major aims- 1) examine how cortical feedback influences which spatial trajectory is replayed by the hippocampus, 2) investigate how the hippocampal replay of a behavioural episode modifies cortical circuits, 3) measure the causal role of cortico-hippocampal interactions in consolidating memories. We will record ensemble activity from freely moving rats during an auditory-spatial association task and during post-behavioural sleep sessions. We will focus our ensemble recordings on two brain regions: 1) the dorsal CA1 region of the hippocampus, where the phenomenon of sleep replay has been most extensively examined, and 2) auditory cortex, a region of the brain critical for both auditory perception and long-term memory storage. This work will use behavioral and molecular-genetic techniques in combination with large-scale electrophysiological recordings, to help elucidate the role of cortico-hippocampal interactions in memory encoding and consolidation.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
W4206977104
|
Lo strano caso delle streghe di Sicilia: donne de fora, streghe, fate e guaritrici (XVI‑XIX sec.)
|
donne de fora, sorcières, fées et guérisseuses (XVI e -XIX e siècle)
|
[
"Texts and Concepts",
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Studies of Cultures and Arts"
] |
W3037953181
|
Optimizing the widely used nuclear protein‐coding gene primers in beetle phylogenies and their application in the genus<i>Sasajiscymnus</i>Vandenberg (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)
|
Advances in genomic biology and the increasing availability of genomic resources allow developing hundreds of nuclear protein-coding (NPC) markers, which can be used in phylogenetic research. However, for low taxonomic levels, it may be more practical to select a handful of suitable molecular loci for phylogenetic inference. Unfortunately, the presence of degenerate primers of NPC markers can be a major impediment, as the amplification success rate is low and they tend to amplify nontargeted regions. In this study, we optimized five NPC fragments widely used in beetle phylogenetics (i.e., two parts of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase: CADXM and CADMC, Topoisomerase, Wingless and Pepck) by reducing the degenerate site of primers and the length of target genes slightly. These five NPC fragments and 6 other molecular loci were amplified to test the monophyly of the coccinellid genus Sasajiscymnus Vandenberg. The analysis of our molecular data set clearly supported the genus Sasajiscymnus may be monophyletic but confirmation with an extended sampling is required. A fossil-calibrated chronogram was generated by BEAST, indicating an origin of the genus at the end of the Cretaceous (77.87 Myr). Furthermore, a phylogenetic informativeness profile was generated to compare the phylogenetic properties of each gene more explicitly. The results showed that COI provides the strongest phylogenetic signal among all the genes, but Pepck, Topoisomerase, CADXM and CADMC are also relatively informative. Our results provide insight into the evolution of the genus Sasajiscymnus, and also enrich the molecular data resources for further study.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
W2349487082
|
Elucidating reaction mechanisms on quantum computers
|
Significance Our work addresses the question of compelling killer applications for quantum computers. Although quantum chemistry is a strong candidate, the lack of details of how quantum computers can be used for specific applications makes it difficult to assess whether they will be able to deliver on the promises. Here, we show how quantum computers can be used to elucidate the reaction mechanism for biological nitrogen fixation in nitrogenase, by augmenting classical calculation of reaction mechanisms with reliable estimates for relative and activation energies that are beyond the reach of traditional methods. We also show that, taking into account overheads of quantum error correction and gate synthesis, a modular architecture for parallel quantum computers can perform such calculations with components of reasonable complexity.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1088/0264-9381/32/9/095007
|
On The Convexity Of Relativistic Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics
|
We analyze the influence of the magnetic field in the convexity properties of the relativistic magnetohydrodynamics system of equations. To this purpose we use the approach of Lax, based on the analysis of the linearly degenerate/genuinely nonlinear nature of the characteristic fields. Degenerate and non-degenerate states are discussed separately and the non-relativistic, unmagnetized limits are properly recovered. The characteristic fields corresponding to the material and Alfven waves are linearly degenerate and, then, not affected by the convexity issue. The analysis of the characteristic fields associated with the magnetosonic waves reveals, however, a dependence of the convexity condition on the magnetic field. The result is expressed in the form of a generalized fundamental derivative written as the sum of two terms. The first one is the generalized fundamental derivative in the case of purely hydrodynamical (relativistic) flow. The second one contains the effects of the magnetic field. The analysis of this term shows that it is always positive, leading to the remarkable result that the presence of a magnetic field in the fluid reduces the domain of thermodynamical states for which the equation of state is non-convex.
|
[
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Mathematics"
] |
10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01204
|
Luminescent and Photoconductive Layered Lead Halide Perovskite Compounds Comprising Mixtures of Cesium and Guanidinium Cations
|
Interest in hybrid organic-inorganic lead halide compounds with perovskite-like two-dimensional crystal structures is growing due to the unique electronic and optoelectronic properties of these compounds. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis, thermal and optical properties, and calculations of the electronic band structures for one- and two-layer compounds comprising both cesium and guanidinium cations: Cs[C(NH2)3]PbI4 (I), Cs[C(NH2)3]PbBr4 (II), and Cs2[C(NH2)3]Pb2Br7 (III). Compounds I and II exhibit intense photoluminescence at low temperatures, whereas compound III is emissive at room temperature. All of the obtained substances are stable in air and do not thermally decompose until 300 °C. Since Cs+ and C(NH2)3+ are increasingly utilized in precursor solutions for depositing polycrystalline lead halide perovskite thin films for photovoltaics, exploring possible compounds within this compositional space is of high practical relevance to understanding the photophysics and atomistic chemical nature of such films.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
10.3934/dcdss.2018060
|
Hybrid optimal control problems for a class of semilinear parabolic equations
|
A class of optimal control problems of hybrid nature governed by semilinear parabolic equations is considered. These problems involve the optimization of switching times at which the dynamics, the integral cost, and the bounds on the control may change. First- and second-order optimality conditions are derived. The analysis is based on a reformulation involving a judiciously chosen transformation of the time domains. For autonomous systems and a time-independent integral cost, we prove that the Hamiltonian is constant in time when evaluated along the optimal controls and trajectories. A numerical example is provided.
|
[
"Mathematics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
10.1038/nprot.2014.074
|
Microinjection of membrane-impermeable molecules into single neural stem cells in brain tissue
|
This microinjection protocol allows the manipulation and tracking of neural stem and progenitor cells in tissue at single-cell resolution. We demonstrate how to apply microinjection to organotypic brain slices obtained from mice and ferrets; however, our technique is not limited to mouse and ferret embryos, but provides a means of introducing a wide variety of membrane-impermeable molecules (e. g. , nucleic acids, proteins, hydrophilic compounds) into neural stem and progenitor cells of any developing mammalian brain. Microinjection experiments are conducted by using a phase-contrast microscope equipped with epifluorescence, a transjector and a micromanipulator. The procedure normally takes ∼1/42 h for an experienced researcher, and the entire protocol, including tissue processing, can be performed within 1 week. Thus, microinjection is a unique and versatile method for changing and tracking the fate of a cell in organotypic slice culture.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System"
] |
W1119168921
|
Performance of textile and non-woven materials against penetration and permeation of liquid pesticides
|
According to Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 on plant protection products (pesticides), when the conditions require the use of protective clothing, the effectiveness of this protection must be verified. The performance of protective clothing against penetration and permeation by pesticides was assessed according to ISO 22608:2004 and EN ISO 6529:2001, respectively. The penetration percentages for working coveralls, obtained on three replicates, varied widely and were highly dependent on the products and the dilutions. However, low penetration percentages were obtained for working coveralls that were treated with a water repellent. For coveralls that were certified according to Directive 89/686/EEC, the penetration percentages were low and depended on the products and the dilutions. For the certified coveralls (category III type 4 according to Directive 89/686/EEC), cumulative permeations were collected over a wide range and depended strongly on the products and dilutions. However, low cumulative permeations were obtained for the certified coveralls and gowns (category III type 3).
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.1016/j.chroma.2013.02.011
|
Phase system selection with fractional factorial design for purification of recombinant cyanovirin-N from a hydroponic culture medium using centrifugal partition chromatography
|
Centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) with an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) was used to purify recombinant cyanovirin-N (CV-N) from other proteins which were co-secreted into a hydroponic plant medium in a rhizosecretion process. To achieve satisfactory protein concentration, the purification was preceded by ultrafiltration performed on a 5kDa filter. ATPS, because of their gentle nature, were selected as the phase system for CPC. A systematic phase system selection was applied. This involved studying the effect of seven parameters of ATPS: polymer type, salt type, the polymer and salt concentration, the polymer molecular weight, pH, and presence of two additional salts; NaCl and NaClO4, which all together gave 320 combinations. design of experiment (DoE) software allowed the reduction of this number to 46. Having tested partitioning of cyanovirin-N and impurities in 46 ATPS, the three best potential phase systems generated by the programme were then tested on the CPC. Out of these three, 13/13% PEG4000 sodium phosphate, pH 3. 0, proved to be most effective phase system in the purification of cyanovirin-N, judged by ELISA and SDS-PAGE analysis, as it eliminated most of the impurities from the final cyanovirin-N preparation.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
] |
885552
|
Investors and Climate Change
|
Should firms maximize financial value without regard to any environmental and social damages? If not, how should shareholders convey their social and environmental preferences? And, how should investors form their portfolio strategies and engage with the companies they invest in to mitigate climate change and other externalities? These are new fundamental questions firms and investors are confronted with in the face of accelerating climate change, and the new role financial markets are expected to play in the fight against climate change. Another transformational development is the rise of institutional investors –asset managers, insurance companies, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds—who together own more than 70% of the shares of publicly traded companies. These institutional investors are de facto the critical actors to aggregate investor preferences and engage with companies on their behalf.
This research project is divided into two major themes: (A) to determine how financial markets provide the asset price signals and information to help investors shape their portfolio strategies in the face of climate change risk; (B) to identify how institutional investors approach climate change and engage with companies to lead them to accelerate the transition towards renewable energy. These two themes cannot be separated from public policy towards climate change, and the broader context of the global fight against climate change by governments, municipalities, regulators and civil society. Accordingly, a major aspect of the research is to make explicit how public policy shapes corporate behaviour through the actions of institutional investors.
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
W1592615575
|
Einwirkungskombinationen für Flachbodentanks nach Eurocode - Beispiele (Teil 2)
|
Fur den der Nachweis Standsicherheit von Flachbodentanks mussen Statiker und Hersteller insbesondere kombinierte Lasteinwirkungen zuverlassig ermitteln. Dazu zahlen unter anderem Wind- oder Schneelasten genauso wie Verkehrslasten auf den Dachern oder Drucke und Sogwirkungen. Das Tragverhalten von Flachbodentanks ist aufgrund ihrer Konstruktion komplex. Die verschiedenen Einwirkungen werden zunachst individuell und dann in Kombination bestimmt, um wiederum ihre Auswirkungen auf das Bauwerk zu ermitteln. Die Herausforderung: Bautechnische Standsicherheitsnachweise sind mit Einfuhrung des Eurocodes teilweise aufwandiger. Auserdem weichen dessen Regeln, um die Kombination von Lasten zu bestimmen, von jenen der DIN 18800 ab. Wahrend der erste Teil dieses Beitrags [1] eine einheitliche Anwendung und ein praxisgerechtes, allgemein abgestimmtes Vorgehen diskutiert hat, stehen im zweiten Teil die Beispiele im Vordergrund.
Load combinations for flat-bottom storage tanks according to Eurocodes – Examples (part 2). Structural engineers and manufacturers must produce reliable calculations, particularly of load combinations, to establish the structural integrity of flat-bottom storage tanks. Load types include for example wind or snow and live loads on tank roofs as well as pressure and suction. Given by the design and construction of flat-bottom tanks, their load-bearing characteristics are complex. The various load types must be determined, first individually and then in combination, before their impact on the structure can be calculated. The challenging nature of the task is exacerbated by the increased complexity of structural stability analyses that has accompanied the introduction of the Eurocode. In addition, the rules specified in the Code for the calculation of load combinations deviate from those in the DIN 18800 standard. The first part of the article [1] examined possibilities for uniform application and a practical procedure in line with general consensus, while the second section focuses on examples.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering"
] |
10.1080/14682745.2018.1544972
|
Balancing Between The Comecon And The Eec Hungarian Elite Debates On European Integration During The Long 1970S
|
This article intends to uncover the internal disputes about foreign and trade policy between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s, and to highlight the Hungarian motives in both Council for Mutual Econ. . .
|
[
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
W1494848370
|
The Thousand Year Flood: The Ohio-Mississippi Disaster of 1937
|
The Thousand Year Flood: The Ohio-Mississippi Disaster of 1937. By David Welky. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011. Pp. xiv, 355. Maps, illustrations, acknowledgments, notes, index. $27.50.) David Welky's well-written and informative book provides the only comprehensive account of the most serious flood of the twentieth century, one that struck the Ohio and lower Mississippi River valleys with great ferocity in 1937. Published by the University of Chicago Press, which is issuing some of the best books in environmental history these days, The Thousand Year Flood may cause historians to rethink the primacy of the more famous 1927 flood in reshaping government policy toward natural disasters. In its early chapters, the book provides an in-depth analysis of nineteenth and early twentieth-century engineering perspectives on flood control and the role of the Army Corps of Engineers. A later chapter focuses, in part, on the emerging science of weather forecasting and how its limitations affected the disaster. One of the most fascinating aspects of this book, however, is Welky's careful elucidation of how Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal coped with the disaster. His book covers much of the same ground that Sarah T. Phillips traverses in This Nation, This Land: Conservation Policy, Rural America, and the New Deal (2007), but while Phillips provides a more general study of Roosevelt's larger perspective on conservation, Welky uses the flood of 1937 to shed light on policy-making during a specific and terrible national disaster and its long-term implications. Welky's treatment of the nineteenth-century rivalry between the Army Corps of Engineers' Andrew Humphreys and Charles Ellet, Jr., then a civil engineer, is more comprehensive than John Barry's analysis in Rising Tide (1997), a book that covered the 1927 flood. Welky's account is also more engaging. While Barry fashioned his narrative with a broad brush, perhaps oversimplifying the contest between the two engineers, Welky does more than simply fill in some gaps. His narrative includes crucial biographical information about both men, information that is at once more illuminating and memorable. Both were deeply flawed and highly ambitious men-onthe- make who espoused very different perspectives on controlling the nation's rivers. Although not entirely sound, Ellet's mix of levees and reservoirs was the better approach, but his untimely death in 1862 leftthe field open to Humphreys. …
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
] |
W1972470324
|
Anonymity guarantees of the UMTS/LTE authentication and connection protocol
|
The UMTS/LTE protocol for mobile phone networks has been designed to offer a limited form of anonymity for mobile phone users. In this paper, we quantify precisely what this limited form of anonymity actually provides via a formal security model. The model considers an execution where the home and roaming network providers are considered as one entity. We consider two forms of anonymity, one where the mobile stations under attack are statically selected before the execution, and a second where the adversary selects these stations adaptively. We prove that the UMTS/LTE protocol meets both of these security definitions. Our analysis requires new assumptions on the underlying keyed functions for UMTS, namely that a set of pseudorandom functions are agile. This assumption, while probably true, has not previously been brought to the fore.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
interreg_990
|
Delivering Efficient Sustainable Tourism with low-carbon transport Innovations: Sustainable Mobility, Accessibility and Responsible Travel
|
Integration of regional/local policies for Sustainable Mobility, Accessibility & low-carbon Responsible Travel, with policies for efficient sustainable tourism towards a low-carbon economy, requires particular attention in the EU. This is a common challenge that public regional/local and transport authorities increasingly face, particularly at busy destinations with high tourism travel flows (inc. in South Europe, coastal, maritime & insular, mass tourism destinations). Immediate action is needed through interregional cooperation to capitalise best practices, improve policy instruments & prepare action plans with implementation monitoring & evaluation.
The DESTI-SMART project, addresses the above towards 'Smart Destinations', for sustainable & responsible tourism development in Europe, with low-carbon, multimodal sustainable mobility & accessibility.
The overall objective is to improve the transport and tourism policies of EU destinations, by integrating strategies for sustainable mobility, accessibility and responsible travel with efficient & sustainable tourism development, for transition to a low-carbon economy, through efficiency, resilience, multimodality, novel low-carbon transport systems, cycling & walking, with implementation innovations, policy learning and capacity building.
The following pressing issues are addressed:
- Investments in low-carbon transport systems for mode shift to sustainable tourism mobility, incl. Electro-Mobility.
- Intermodality facilities for visitors, including ICT, Mobile Aps & MaaS.
- Accessible tourism for all.
- Cycling & Walking facilities & promotion for visitors.
Main outputs:
- policy learning & capacity building for public authorities & their stakeholders.
- improved policy instruments & action plans in 9 destinations, with close involvement of stakeholders.
- advances in EU2020 objectives.
- communication & dissemination learning materials.
- network of public authorities towards low-carbon S.M.A.R.T. destinations in Europe.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
10.1038/ni.1993
|
Fate mapping of IL-17-producing T cells in inflammatory responses
|
Here we describe a reporter mouse strain designed to map the fate of cells that have activated interleukin 17A (IL-17A). We found that IL-17-producing helper T cells (TH17 cells) had distinct plasticity in different inflammatory settings. Chronic inflammatory conditions in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) caused a switch to alternative cytokines in TH17 cells, whereas acute cutaneous infection with Candida albicans did not result in the deviation of TH17 cells to the production of alternative cytokines, although IL-17A production was shut off in the course of the infection. During the development of EAE, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and other proinflammatory cytokines in the spinal cord were produced almost exclusively by cells that had produced IL-17 before their conversion by IL-23 ('ex-TH17 cells'). Thus, this model allows the actual functional fate of effector T cells to be related to TH17 developmental origin regardless of IL-17 expression.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
] |
W4288513899
|
Damage assessment for architectural heritage: the Cavallerizza Reale complex in Turin / La stima dei danni al patrimonio architettonico: il caso della Cavallerizza Reale di Torino
|
Damage assessment for architectural heritage stands as a relevant issue from an appraisal perspective due to heritage properties’ peculiar technological and building techniques and their complex social values. The specificity of Italian cultural heritage, widespread on the national territory, even in high environmental risk (landslides, earthquakes, and floods) areas, calls for dealing with the damage assessment theme by considering tangible and intangible features. Indeed, architectural heritage value is not limited only to its market or use value but must be expressed as a Total Economic Value, in its tangible and intangible components, that can be destroyed or affected by damages. In this context, the paper provides a relevant case study concerning the assessment of fire, lack of maintenance, and occupation damages for the ‘Pagliere’ buildings, located within the building complex ‘Cavallerizza Reale’ in Turin, which is included in the Unesco World Heritage list. Thanks to the specificities and the historical-architectural significance of the properties under analysis, this case study provided an interesting reflection on the methodological approach for the total damage assessment, given by the sum of its three different components: fire damage, lack of maintenance damage, and abandonment damage. Based on the discussion of the results, the paper proposes some possible insights for future research focusing on assessing architectural heritage damages. La stima dei danni al patrimonio storico-architettonico rappresenta una questione interessante da un punto di vista estimativo in considerazione delle particolari caratteristiche tecnologiche-costruttive dei manufatti in oggetto e dei valori sociali complessi di cui essi sono espressione. La specificità del modello italiano di patrimonio culturale, diffuso sul territorio in modo capillare, anche in aree dove sono presenti alti rischi ambientali (frane, terremoti ed alluvioni), pone il tema della stima dei danni rispetto sia alle componenti tangibili sia a quelle intangibili. Il valore del patrimonio architettonico, pertanto, non si limita ai soli valori di mercato e ai valori d’uso, ma si estende al Valore Economico Totale, nelle sue dimensioni tangibili e intangibili, che possono essere distrutte o compromesse dal danno. In questo quadro, il paper presenta un caso studio di rilevante interesse, relativo alla stima dei danni da incendio, da mancata manutenzione e da abbandono del compendio delle Pagliere, sito all’interno del complesso immobiliare, patrimonio dell’Unesco, della Cavallerizza Reale a Torino. Data la particolarità dell’immobile oggetto di analisi e le caratteristiche storico-architettonico di evidente rilievo, il caso ha sollecitato interessanti riflessioni in merito alla metodologia da adottare per la stima del danno nel suo complesso, nonché alla stima delle sue singole componenti, ossia danno da incendio, occupazione e abbandono. A partire da una discussione dei risultati, il contributo traccia potenziali spunti per avviare ricerche che possano essere di supporto all’esercizio della stima del danno arrecato al patrimonio culturale.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Studies of Cultures and Arts"
] |
219017
|
Image-Based high-resolution in-silico modeling of total cardiac function
|
Advances in medical imaging have enabled unprecedented ability to image cardiac anatomy and function. So far these technologies have had relatively modest clinical impact as the analysis of such rich multi-modal datasets has proven challenging.
In silico models hold vast potential to better harness such datasets by enabling their integration into quantitative frameworks that can aid in gaining better mechanistic insight into cardiac function in health and disease, and thus paving the way towards optimal therapeutic strategies.
Our objective is to develop the most advanced biophysically detailed in-silico model of total electro-mechano-fluidic function of the heart.
This model will be parametrized, verified and used to study cause-effect relationships between flow and pressure and their impact upon pumping performance.
A novel set of features such as combined models of both heart and attached outflow vessels and the computational efficiency will provide a unique platform for translational research.
This ambitious endeavor is feasible only by combining the expertise of the applicant in modeling soft tissue mechanics and his supervisors in modeling electrophysiology (Gernot Plank, MUG) and blood flow (Shawn Shadden, UC Berkeley).
Clinical input and datasets for model parametrization and validation are provided by Titus Kühne (DHZ Berlin) and by clinical collaborators of Prof. Shadden at UCSF.
During the return-phase, the applicant will use the infrastructure of Prof. Plank’s lab and the large network of academic and industrial collaborations as an incubator for building up his own research group in computational hemodynamics. This is ideal in many regards, as the expertise of the applicant's group will be entirely orthogonal to the expertise in Prof. Plank's lab, thus promoting a fast pathway towards full indepence, and core expertise necessary for further developing and maintaining a highly complex computing environment is synergistically shared between the labs.
|
[
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1063/1.4964296
|
Versatile Soft X Ray Optical Cross Correlator For Ultrafast Applications
|
We present an X-ray-optical cross-correlator for the soft ( >150 eV) up to the hard X-ray regime based on a molybdenum-silicon superlattice. The cross-correlation is done by probing intensity and position changes of superlattice Bragg peaks caused by photoexcitation of coherent phonons. This approach is applicable for a wide range of X-ray photon energies as well as for a broad range of excitation wavelengths and requires no external fields or changes of temperature. Moreover, the cross-correlator can be employed on a 10 ps or 100 fs time scale featuring up to 50% total X-ray reflectivity and transient signal changes of more than 20%.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
] |
10.1016/j.devcel.2018.07.006
|
FACT Sets a Barrier for Cell Fate Reprogramming in Caenorhabditis elegans and Human Cells
|
The chromatin regulator FACT (facilitates chromatin transcription) is essential for ensuring stable gene expression by promoting transcription. In a genetic screen using Caenorhabditis elegans, we identified that FACT maintains cell identities and acts as a barrier for transcription factor-mediated cell fate reprogramming. Strikingly, FACT's role as a barrier to cell fate conversion is conserved in humans as we show that FACT depletion enhances reprogramming of fibroblasts. Such activity is unexpected because FACT is known as a positive regulator of gene expression, and previously described reprogramming barriers typically repress gene expression. While FACT depletion in human fibroblasts results in decreased expression of many genes, a number of FACT-occupied genes, including reprogramming-promoting factors, show increased expression upon FACT depletion, suggesting a repressive function of FACT. Our findings identify FACT as a cellular reprogramming barrier in C. elegans and humans, revealing an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for cell fate protection. Known barriers to cell fate reprogramming repress gene expression to prevent ectopic fates. Kolundzic et al. now show that the histone chaperone FACT, a positive regulator of gene expression, safeguards cell identities and acts as an evolutionarily conserved barrier for cell fate reprogramming in both C. elegans and human cells.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1126/science.aaf3617
|
Atmospheric photochemistry at a fatty acid-coated air-water interface
|
Although fatty acids are believed to be photochemically inert in the actinic region, complex volatile organic compounds are produced during illumination of an air-water interface coated solely with a monolayer of carboxylic acid. When aqueous solutions containing nonanoic acid (NA) at bulk concentrations that give rise to just over a monolayer of NA coverage are illuminated with actinic radiation, saturated and unsaturated aldehydes are seen in the gas phase, and more highly oxygenated products appear in the aqueous phase. This chemistry is probably initiated by triplet-state NA molecules excited by direct absorption of actinic light at the water surface. Because fatty acids-covered interfaces are ubiquitous in the environment, such photochemical processing will have a substantial impact on local ozone and particle formation.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Earth System Science"
] |
10.1038/nsmb.3366
|
Site-specific mapping of the human SUMO proteome reveals co-modification with phosphorylation
|
Small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMOs) are post-translational modifications (PTMs) that regulate nuclear cellular processes. Here we used an augmented K0-SUMO proteomics strategy to identify 40,765 SUMO acceptor sites and quantify their fractional contribution for 6,747 human proteins. Structural-predictive analyses revealed that lysines residing in disordered regions are preferentially targeted by SUMO, in notable contrast to other widespread lysine modifications. In our data set, we identified 807 SUMOylated peptides that were co-modified by phosphorylation, along with dozens of SUMOylated peptides that were co-modified by ubiquitylation, acetylation and methylation. Notably, 9% of the identified SUMOylome occurred proximal to phosphorylation, and numerous SUMOylation sites were found to be fully dependent on prior phosphorylation events. SUMO-proximal phosphorylation occurred primarily in a proline-directed manner, and inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases dynamically affected co-modification. Collectively, we present a comprehensive analysis of the SUMOylated proteome, uncovering the structural preferences for SUMO and providing system-wide evidence for a remarkable degree of cross-talk between SUMOylation and other major PTMs.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
10.1117/12.2514805
|
Lasing Wavelength In Dielectric Distributed Feedback Lasers With A Distributed Phase Shift
|
Distributed-feedback waveguide lasers based on Bragg-grating resonators generate ultranarrow-linewidth emission. Oscillation at the center of the reflection band ensures maximum reflectivity, hence . . .
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
10.1145/3236112.3236118
|
S5 Selective Sensing Of Single Sound Sources
|
The sense of hearing provides humans with information about their surroundings and is the primary means of communication, yet it is limited in its ability to focus on particular stimuli. To provide this ability, we designed and built S5, a mobile proof-of-concept prototype that allows Selective Sensing of Single Sound Sources. Our design consists of a head-mounted directional microphone attached to a smart-phone, which acts as controller, filter and amplifier. Users hear the selective signal through headphones and activate the device by touching their ear. To evaluate this sensory augmentation, we conducted a study with 16 participants that showed the system was appealing and perceived as useful. Based on our findings, we conclude that the proposed augmentation is feasible and we provide insights for further development of the concept.
|
[
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
175517
|
The role of plant primary and secondary metabolism in pollination
|
Pollination contributes to more than $200 billion of revenue, about 10% of the global agricultural production. In addition to higher yields and better quality of fruits and vegetables, pollination has evolutionary implications. Understanding the cues that attract and sustain pollinators will positively impact agriculture and our knowledge on how to preserve biodiversity. This project aims to unravel the role of plant metabolism in pollination by exploiting the genotypic variation existing among natural accessions of Arabidopsis and in combination with metabolomics and transcriptomics to identify genes that regulate the traits that plants use to attract and reward pollinators. These are fragrance, colour and nectar. Volatiles emitted from flowers of a collection of 360 Arabidopsis ecotypes will be analysed via GC-MS, and sugars, amino acids and secondary metabolites measured via HPLC and LC-MS. Genome-wide association studies will be used to correlate metabolic phenotypes and single nucleotide polymorphisms to loci that regulate pollination traits, which will be further studied to establish gene functions. Metabolites and RNA extracted at time points during flower development will be used to identify the regulatory elements of pollination-related metabolite formation. To assess the contribution of pollination traits to flower attractiveness, behavioural experiments with hoverflies will be performed. Finally, the knowledge acquired from the model plant Arabidopsis will be transferred to the oilseed crop Camelina, in which pollination efficiency will be measured as seed production. The project combines multidisciplinary approaches to expand the skills of the fellow. In turn, the fellow will bring expertise about Camelina and CRISPR to the host. At its completion, the project will provide the host institution with a large dataset of metabolic signatures for the generation and validation of new hypotheses with regard to scent, colour and nectar formation.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
CA 2581553 A
|
AUTO-TUNED RFID READER ANTENNA
|
A reader for an RFID system includes an antenna assembly, a signal driver and a controller. The antenna assembly has an antenna coupled to an antenna tuning circuit which includes a variable capacitance circuit. The signal driver is coupled to the antenna assembly to apply a drive signal to the antenna assembly. The controller is coupled to the antenna assembly to determine a difference between an antenna impedance and a signal driver impedance and to set the variable capacitance at a set capacitance value which reduces the impedance difference.
|
[
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
] |
262853
|
The plasticity of the self: experimenting with self-identity in the face of change
|
We normally entertain a fairly continuous and stable sense of personal identity, as we acknowledge that we are the same person, independently of what happens to us. The question of how our sense of self is maintained or changed across time is a key topic in psychology. Our self must possess sufficient plasticity, that is, adaptive processes of re-organization, to ensure assimilation of changes and a sense of continuity over time. To study the plasticity of the self, we will investigate how the experience of a changing body updates or alters our sense of self, in two parallel projects.
First, we will study what is currently considered to be the most radical change in one’s body, the case of face-transplantation. In face-transplantation, the acquisition of a new face is a medical fact, while the experience of a new identity is an unexplored psychological outcome. We will investigate the plasticity and continuity of the self caused by face-transplantation by testing self-identification in individuals before and after the operation, using experimental psychology and functional neuroimgaing methods. Second, we ask how our own body-image affects the way we perceive other people. We will address this second question by investigating how changes in body-representation, caused by experimental manipulations of bodily illusions, can consequently affect social cognition processes, using experimental and social psychology methods.The question of the plasticity of the self is timely, because the modern self, due to societal, technological and medical advances, seems to be exposed to new, often radical, possibilities of change. The proposed project aims at understanding the basic mechanisms behind the plasticity of the self, by integrating research methods from experimental and social psychology, cognitive neurosciences, and medicine in wide-ranging and innovative ways.”
|
[
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System"
] |
10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.07.003
|
Transitions in European land-management regimes between 1800 and 2010
|
Land use is a cornerstone of human civilization, but also intrinsically linked to many global sustainability challenges-from climate change to food security to the ongoing biodiversity crisis. Understanding the underlying technological, institutional and economic drivers of land-use change, and how they play out in different environmental, socio-economic and cultural contexts, is therefore important for identifying effective policies to successfully address these challenges. In this regard, much can be learned from studying long-term land-use change. We examined the evolution of European land management over the past 200 years with the aim of identifying (1) key episodes of changes in land management, and (2) their underlying technological, institutional and economic drivers. To do so, we generated narratives elaborating on the drivers of land use-change at the country level for 28 countries in Europe. We qualitatively grouped drivers into land-management regimes, and compared changes in management regimes across Europe. Our results allowed discerning seven land-management regimes, and highlighted marked heterogeneity regarding the types of management regimes occurring in a particular country, the timing and prevalence of regimes, and the conditions that result in observed bifurcations. However, we also found strong similarities across countries in the timing of certain land-management regime shifts, often in relation to institutional reforms (e. g. , changes in EU agrarian policies or the emergence and collapse of the Soviet land management paradigm) or to technological innovations (e. g. , drainage pipes, tillage and harvesting machinery, motorization, and synthetic fertilizers). Land reforms frequently triggered changes in land management, and the location and timing of reforms had substantial impacts on land-use outcomes. Finally, forest protection policies and voluntary cooperatives were important drivers of land-management changes. Overall, our results demonstrate that land-system changes should not be conceived as unidirectional developments following predefined trajectories, but rather as path-dependent processes that may be affected by various drivers, including sudden events.
|
[
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"Earth System Science"
] |
10.1007/s00030-016-0418-6
|
Heteroclinic solutions of singular quasilinear bistable equations
|
In this note we consider the action functional (Formula presented. ) where W is a double well potential and ω is a bounded domain of RN-1. We prove existence, one-dimensionality and uniqueness (up to translations) of a smooth minimizing phase transition between the two stable states u= - 1 and u= 1. The question of existence of at least one minimal heteroclinic connection for the non-autonomous model (Formula presented. ) is also addressed. For this functional, we look for the possible assumptions on a(t) ensuring the existence of a minimizer.
|
[
"Mathematics"
] |
10.1371/journal.ppat.1006525
|
Abundance and co-occurrence of extracellular capsules increases environmental breadth: Implications for the emergence of pathogens
|
Extracellular capsules constitute the outermost layer of many bacteria, are major virulence factors, and affect antimicrobial therapies. They have been used as epidemiological markers and recently became vaccination targets. Despite the efforts to biochemically serotype capsules in a few model pathogens, little is known of their taxonomic and environmental distribution. We developed, validated, and made available a computational tool, CapsuleFinder, to identify capsules in genomes. The analysis of over 2500 prokaryotic genomes, accessible in a database, revealed that ca. 50% of them—including Archaea—encode a capsule. The Wzx/Wzy-dependent capsular group was by far the most abundant. Surprisingly, a fifth of the genomes encode more than one capsule system—often from different groups—and their non-random co-occurrence suggests the existence of negative and positive epistatic interactions. To understand the role of multiple capsules, we queried more than 6700 metagenomes for the presence of species encoding capsules and showed that their distribution varied between environmental categories and, within the human microbiome, between body location. Species encoding capsules, and especially those encoding multiple capsules, had larger environmental breadths than the other species. Accordingly, capsules were more frequent in environmental bacteria than in pathogens and, within the latter, they were more frequent among facultative pathogens. Nevertheless, capsules were frequent in clinical samples, and were usually associated with fast-growing bacteria with high infectious doses. Our results suggest that capsules increase the environmental range of bacteria and make them more resilient to environmental perturbations. Capsules might allow opportunistic pathogens to profit from empty ecological niches or environmental perturbations, such as those resulting from antibiotic therapy, to colonize the host. Capsule-associated virulence might thus be a by-product of environmental adaptation. Understanding the role of capsules in natural environments might enlighten their function in pathogenesis.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1016/j.neuron.2018.01.022
|
Synaptogyrin-3 Mediates Presynaptic Dysfunction Induced by Tau
|
Synaptic dysfunction is an early pathological feature of neurodegenerative diseases associated with Tau, including Alzheimer's disease. Interfering with early synaptic dysfunction may be therapeutically beneficial to prevent cognitive decline and disease progression, but the mechanisms underlying synaptic defects associated with Tau are unclear. In disease conditions, Tau mislocalizes into pre- and postsynaptic compartments; here we show that, under pathological conditions, Tau binds to presynaptic vesicles in Alzheimer's disease patient brain. We define that the binding of Tau to synaptic vesicles is mediated by the transmembrane vesicle protein Synaptogyrin-3. In fly and mouse models of Tauopathy, reduction of Synaptogyrin-3 prevents the association of presynaptic Tau with vesicles, alleviates Tau-induced defects in vesicle mobility, and restores neurotransmitter release. This work therefore identifies Synaptogyrin-3 as the binding partner of Tau on synaptic vesicles, revealing a new presynapse-specific Tau interactor, which may contribute to early synaptic dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases associated with Tau. Tau mislocalizes to presynaptic terminals in human disease conditions. Here McInnes et al. show that interaction between Tau and the presynaptic vesicle protein Synaptogyrin-3 restricts synaptic vesicle mobility, driving defects in neurotransmission in fly and mouse models of Tauopathy.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
W2174212016
|
Leveraging Lotteries for School Value-Added: Testing and Estimation
|
Conventional value-added models (VAMs) compare average test scores across schools after regression-adjusting for students’ demographic characteristics and previous scores. This article tests for VAM bias using a procedure that asks whether VAM estimates accurately predict the achievement consequences of random assignment to specific schools. Test results from admissions lotteries in Boston suggest conventional VAM estimates are biased, a finding that motivates the development of a hierarchical model describing the joint distribution of school value-added, bias, and lottery compliance. We use this model to assess the substantive importance of bias in conventional VAM estimates and to construct hybrid value-added estimates that optimally combine ordinary least squares and lottery-based estimates of VAM parameters. The hybrid estimation strategy provides a general recipe for combining nonexperimental and quasi-experimental estimates. While still biased, hybrid school value-added estimates have lower mean squared error than conventional VAM estimates. Simulations calibrated to the Boston data show that, bias notwithstanding, policy decisions based on conventional VAMs that control for lagged achievement are likely to generate substantial achievement gains. Hybrid estimates that incorporate lotteries yield further gains.
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Mathematics"
] |
10.1016/j.ceb.2009.09.007
|
Sister chromatid tension and the spindle assembly checkpoint
|
The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) is a feedback control system that monitors the state of kinetochore/microtubule attachment during mitosis and halts cell cycle progression until all chromosomes are properly aligned at the metaphase plate. The state of chromosome-microtubule attachment is implicated as a crucial factor in the checkpoint response. On the contrary, lack of tension in the centromere-kinetochore region of sister chromatids has been shown to regulate a pathway of correction of undesired chromosome-microtubule connections, while the presence of tension is believed to promote the stabilization of attachments. We discuss how tension-sensitive phenomena, such as attachment correction and stabilization, relate to the SAC and we speculate on the existence of a single pathway linking error correction and SAC activation.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1042/BJ20121907
|
Structural Basis For Phosphorylation Triggered Autophagic Clearance Of Salmonella
|
Selective autophagy is mediated by the interaction of autophagy modifiers and autophagy receptors that also bind to ubiquitinated cargo. Optineurin is an autophagy receptor that plays a role in the clearance of cytosolic Salmonella. The interaction between receptors and modifiers is often relatively weak, with typical values for the dissociation constant in the low micromolar range. The interaction of optineurin with autophagy modifiers is even weaker, but can be significantly enhanced through phosphorylation by the TBK1 {TANK [TRAF (tumour-necrosis-factor-receptor-associated factor)-associated nuclear factor κB activator]-binding kinase 1}. In the present study we describe the NMR and crystal structures of the autophagy modifier LC3B (microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 beta) in complex with the LC3 interaction region of optineurin either phosphorylated or bearing phospho-mimicking mutations. The structures show that the negative charge induced by phosphorylation is recognized by the side chains of Arg¹¹ and Lys⁵¹ in LC3B. Further mutational analysis suggests that the replacement of the canonical tryptophan residue side chain of autophagy receptors with the smaller phenylalanine side chain in optineurin significantly weakens its interaction with the autophagy modifier LC3B. Through phosphorylation of serine residues directly N-terminally located to the phenylalanine residue, the affinity is increased to the level normally seen for receptor-modifier interactions. Phosphorylation, therefore, acts as a switch for optineurin-based selective autophagy.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
] |
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3008-15.2016
|
Optogenetic Activation Of Dorsal Raphe Serotonin Neurons Rapidly Inhibits Spontaneous But Not Odor Evoked Activity In Olfactory Cortex
|
Serotonin (5-hydroxytriptamine; 5-HT) is implicated in a variety of brain functions including not only the regulation of mood and control of behavior but also the modulation of perception. 5-HT neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) often fire locked to sensory stimuli, but little is known about how 5-HT affects sensory processing, especially on this timescale. Here, we used an optogenetic approach to study the effect of 5-HT on single-unit activity in the mouse primary olfactory (anterior piriform) cortex. We show that activation of DRN 5-HT neurons rapidly inhibits the spontaneous firing of olfactory cortical neurons, acting in a divisive manner, but entirely spares sensory-driven firing. These results identify a new role for serotonergic modulation in dynamically regulating the balance between different sources of neural activity in sensory systems, suggesting a possible role for 5-HT in perceptual inference. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Serotonin is implicated in a wide variety of (pato)physiological functions including perception, but its precise role has remained elusive. Here, using optogenetic tools in vivo , we show that serotonergic neuromodulation prominently inhibits the spontaneous electrical activity of neurons in the primary olfactory cortex on a rapid (<1 s) timescale but leaves sensory responses unaffected. These results identify a new role for serotonergic modulation in rapidly changing the balance between different sources of neural activity in sensory systems.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1145/3067695.3082052
|
20 Years Of Reality Gap A Few Thoughts About Simulators In Evolutionary Robotics
|
Simulators in Evolutionary Robotics (ER) are often considered as a "temporary evil" until experiments can be conducted on real robots. Yet, after more than 20 years of ER, most experiments still happen in simulation and nothing suggests that this situation will change in the next few years. In this short paper, we describe the requirements of ER from simulators, what we tried, and how we successfully crossed the "reality gap" in many experiments. We argue that future simulators need to be able to estimate their confidence when they predict a fitness value, so that behaviors that are not accurately simulated can be avoided.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
10.1080/00343404.2019.1672146
|
Pushing Regional Studies Beyond Its Borders
|
This paper explores how to push the field of regional studies beyond its present institutional, conceptual and methodological borders. It does this from five perspectives: innovation and competitiv. . .
|
[
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
10.1063/1.4961598
|
Inverse Barocaloric Effects In Ferroelectric Batio3 Ceramics
|
We use calorimetry to identify pressure-driven isothermal entropy changes in ceramic samples of the prototypical ferroelectric BaTiO3. Near the structural phase transitions at ∼400 K (cubic-tetragonal) and ∼280 K (tetragonal-orthorhombic), the inverse barocaloric response differs in sign and magnitude from the corresponding conventional electrocaloric response. The differences in sign arise due to the decrease in unit-cell volume on heating through the transitions, whereas the differences in magnitude arise due to the large volumetric thermal expansion on either side of the transitions.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
W2299769160
|
Novel biocatalysts for glycerol conversion into 2,3-butanediol
|
Abstract Bioconversion of biodiesel-derived waste glycerol into high-value products is proposed as a solution to improve economic viability of biorefineries. Several microorganisms are able to metabolize glycerol into 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD), a promising bulk chemical with wide applications: solvent, fuel additive, and feedstock for synthetic rubber production, among them. In the present work, a wide screening of microorganisms present both into the waste water treatment system in a biodiesel industry and in culture collections was carried out in order to evaluate their potential as new 2,3-BD producer biocatalysts. Two microorganisms for 2,3-BD production from glycerol as sole carbon source have been selected, namely Raoultella planticola CECT 843 and Raoultella terrigena CECT 4519. Raoultella strains belong to the non‐pathogenic bacteria class (biosafety level 1). This genus has not been previously described as biocatalyst for the studied process. The influence of operational temperature, organic acid addition, and yeast extract concentration on 2,3-BD yield and productivity have been studied through Taguchi design methodology as well as initial glycerol concentration. Based on these results, the feasibility of the process employing pure glycerol and different samples of raw glycerol has been demonstrated.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering"
] |
BR 112018014785 A
|
biela de taxa de compressão variável
|
é provido um conjunto que inclui uma biela, uma bucha e um pino de bloqueio capaz de prover diferentes taxas de compressão em um motor. a bucha é disposta em um furo da biela. uma superfície externa da bucha inclui um par de entalhes, e uma superfície interna da biela inclui um entalhe correspondente para receber o pino de bloqueio. os entalhes são espaçados um do outro por mais de 380º e por não mais que 190º. o pino de bloqueio é móvel no entalhe, permitindo que a bucha gire de uma posição de baixa compressão para uma posição de alta compressão, ou vice-versa. a bucha tem uma espessura variável, e, portanto, um eixo central de uma abertura da bucha está mais próximo do eixo do corpo da biela quando a bucha estiver na orientação de baixa compressão do que na orientação de alta compressão.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.1093/bioinformatics/bty406
|
MASCOT: Parameter and state inference under the marginal structured coalescent approximation
|
Motivation The structured coalescent is widely applied to study demography within and migration between sub-populations from genetic sequence data. Current methods are either exact but too computationally inefficient to analyse large datasets with many sub-populations, or make strong approximations leading to severe biases in inference. We recently introduced an approximation based on weaker assumptions to the structured coalescent enabling the analysis of larger datasets with many different states. We showed that our approximation provides unbiased migration rate and population size estimates across a wide parameter range. Results We extend this approach by providing a new algorithm to calculate the probability of the state of internal nodes that includes the information from the full phylogenetic tree. We show that this algorithm is able to increase the probability attributed to the true sub-population of a node. Furthermore we use improved integration techniques, such that our method is now able to analyse larger datasets, including a H3N2 dataset with 433 sequences sampled from five different locations. Availability and implementation The presented methods are part of the BEAST2 package MASCOT, the Marginal Approximation of the Structured COalescenT. This package can be downloaded via the BEAUti package manager. The source code is available at https://github. com/nicfel/Mascot. git. Supplementary informationSupplementary dataare available at Bioinformatics online.
|
[
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Mathematics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1021/jo500342x
|
Does a cyclopropane ring enhance the electronic communication in dumbbell-type C<inf>60</inf> dimers?
|
Two C60 dumbbell molecules have been synthesized containing either cyclopropane or pyrrolidine rings connecting two fullerenes to a central fluorene core. A combination of spectroscopic techniques reveals that the cyclopropane dumbbell possesses better electronic communication between the fullerenes and the fluorene. This observation is underpinned by DFT transport calculations, which show that the cyclopropane dumbbell gives a higher calculated single-molecule conductance, a result of an energetically lower-lying LUMO level that extends deeper into the backbone. This strengthens the idea that cyclopropane behaves as a quasi-double bond.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
] |
10.1073/pnas.1905447116
|
Earth’s radiative imbalance from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present
|
The energy imbalance at the top of the atmosphere determines the temporal evolution of the global climate, and vice versa changes in the climate system can alter the planetary energy fluxes. This interplay is fundamental to our understanding of Earth’s heat budget and the climate system. However, even today, the direct measurement of global radiative fluxes is difficult, such that most assessments are based on changes in the total energy content of the climate system. We apply the same approach to estimate the long-term evolution of Earth’s radiative imbalance in the past. New measurements of noble gas-derived mean ocean temperature from the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C ice core covering the last 40,000 y, combined with recent results from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core and the sea-level record, allow us to quantitatively reconstruct the history of the climate system energy budget. The temporal derivative of this quantity must be equal to the planetary radiative imbalance. During the deglaciation, a positive imbalance of typically +0. 2 W⋅m−2 is maintained for ∼10,000 y, however, with two distinct peaks that reach up to 0. 4 W⋅m−2 during times of substantially reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. We conclude that these peaks are related to net changes in ocean heat uptake, likely due to rapid changes in North Atlantic deep-water formation and their impact on the global radiative balance, while changes in cloud coverage, albeit uncertain, may also factor into the picture.
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
985961
|
Life and death of a virtual copepod in turbulence
|
Life is tough for planktonic copepods, constantly washed by turbulent flows. Yet, these millimetric crustaceans dominate the oceans in numbers. What have made them so successful? Copepod antennae are covered with hydrodynamic and chemical sensing hairs that allow copepods to detect preys, predators and mates, although they are blind. How do copepods process this sensing information? How do they extract a meaningful signal from turbulence noise? Today, we do not know.
C0PEP0D hypothesises that reinforcement learning tools can decipher how copepod process hydrodynamic and chemical sensing. Copepods face a problem similar to speech recognition or object detection, two common applications of reinforcement learning. However, copepods only have 1000 neurons, much less than in most artificial neural networks. To approach the simple brain of copepods, we will use Darwinian evolution together with reinforcement learning, with the goal of finding minimal neural networks able to learn.
If we are to build a learning virtual copepod, challenging problems are ahead: we need fast methods to simulate turbulence and animal-flow interactions, new models of hydrodynamic signalling at finite Reynolds number, innovative reinforcement learning algorithms that embrace evolution and experiments with real copepods in turbulence. With these theoretical, numerical and experimental tools, we will address three questions:
Q1: Mating. How do male copepods follow the pheromone trail left by females?
Q2: Finding. How do copepods use hydrodynamic signals to ‘see’?
Q3: Feeding. What are the best feeding strategies in turbulent flow?
C0PEP0D will decipher how copepods process sensing information, but not only that. Because evolution is explicitly considered, it will offer a new perspective on marine ecology and evolution that could inspire artificial sensors. The evolutionary approach of reinforcement learning also offers a promising tool to tackle complex problems in biology and engineering.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
10.4204/EPTCS.259.3
|
Causality Based Model Checking
|
Model checking is usually based on a comprehensive traversal of the state space. Causality-based model checking is a radically different approach that instead analyzes the cause-effect relationships in a program. We give an overview on a new class of model checking algorithms that capture the causal relationships in a special data structure called concurrent traces. Concurrent traces identify key events in an execution history and link them through their cause-effect relationships. The model checker builds a tableau of concurrent traces, where the case splits represent different causal explanations of a hypothetical error. Causality-based model checking has been implemented in the ARCTOR tool, and applied to previously intractable multi-threaded benchmarks.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
W2084740118
|
Refraction of the cyclonic microbarom signal by the cyclonic winds
|
Non-linear interaction of the ocean surface and atmosphere is known to produce narrow-band, low frequency, continuous acoustic and seismic radiation termed microbaroms and microseisms, respectively. The microbarom signal typically has an amplitude of a few microbars and a peak at 0.2 Hz. The microbaroms are generated by counter-propagating surface waves of equal period. The microbarom source location associated with a hurricane is believed to be due to the interaction of the waves produced by the cyclonic winds with the background ocean wave field and is generally located many kilometers from the eye of the storm, along a perpendicular to the direction of the ambient winds. Following up on a suggestion of Bedard and coworkers, propagation of the microbarom signal through the storm wind structure has been investigated using geometric acoustics in an inhomogeneous moving medium. Strong refraction of the signal is predicted. To observe this refraction we have deployed infrasound arrays along the US eastern seaboard. Predicted and measured back azimuths for propagation through the wind structure have been compared to the data recorded during the 2010 and 2011 Atlantic hurricane seasons.
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
] |
10.1111/gcb.15209
|
Contrasting mechanisms underlie short- and longer-term soil respiration responses to experimental warming in a dryland ecosystem
|
Soil carbon losses to the atmosphere through soil respiration are expected to rise with ongoing temperature increases, but available evidence from mesic biomes suggests that such response disappears after a few years of experimental warming. However, there is lack of empirical basis for these temporal dynamics in soil respiration responses, and for the mechanisms underlying them, in drylands, which collectively form the largest biome on Earth and store 32% of the global soil organic carbon pool. We coupled data from a 10 year warming experiment in a biocrust-dominated dryland ecosystem with laboratory incubations to confront 0–2 years (short-term hereafter) versus 8–10 years (longer-term hereafter) soil respiration responses to warming. Our results showed that increased soil respiration rates with short-term warming observed in areas with high biocrust cover returned to control levels in the longer-term. Warming-induced increases in soil temperature were the main drivers of the short-term soil respiration responses, whereas longer-term soil respiration responses to warming were primarily driven by thermal acclimation and warming-induced reductions in biocrust cover. Our results highlight the importance of evaluating short- and longer-term soil respiration responses to warming as a mean to reduce the uncertainty in predicting the soil carbon–climate feedback in drylands.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
] |
10.1007/s00281-014-0441-9
|
MCMV avoidance of recognition and control by NK cells
|
Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in virus control during infection. Many viruses have developed mechanisms for subversion of NK cell responses. Murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) is exceptionally successful in avoiding NK cell control. Here, we summarize the major MCMV evasion mechanisms targeting NK cell functions and their role in viral pathogenesis. The mechanisms by which NK cells regulate CD8+ T cell response, particularly with respect to the role of NK cell receptors recognizing viral antigens, are discussed. In addition, we discuss the role of NK cell receptors in generation and maintenance of memory NK cells. Final part of this review illustrates how the NK cell response and its viral regulation can be exploited in designing recombinant viral vectors able to induce robust and protective CD8+ T cell response.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1088/0953-4075/49/6/062001
|
Advances In Attosecond Science
|
Attosecond science offers formidable tools for the investigation of electronic processes at the heart of important physical processes in atomic, molecular and solid-state physics. In the last 15 years impressive advances have been obtained from both the experimental and theoretical points of view. Attosecond pulses, in the form of isolated pulses or of trains of pulses, are now routinely available in various laboratories. In this review recent advances in attosecond science are reported and important applications are discussed. After a brief presentation of various techniques that can be employed for the generation and diagnosis of sub-femtosecond pulses, various applications are reported in atomic, molecular and condensed-matter physics.
|
[
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
10.3390/ijms21093057
|
Hepatitis C Virus and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: When the Host Loses Its Grip
|
Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Novel treatments with direct-acting antivirals achieve high rates of sustained virologic response; however, the HCC risk remains elevated in cured patients, especially those with advanced liver disease. Long-term HCV infection causes a persistent and accumulating damage of the liver due to a combination of direct and indirect pro-oncogenic mechanisms. This review describes the processes involved in virus-induced disease progression by viral proteins, derailed signaling, immunity, and persistent epigenetic deregulation, which may be instrumental to develop urgently needed prognostic biomarkers and as targets for novel chemopreventive therapies.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
Q2692273
|
Manutenzione dei posti di lavoro in KLT TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS Sp. z o.o.
|
Il progetto riguarda il sostegno dell'imprenditore nel fornire liquidità finanziaria e il sostegno alle attività in corso a causa delle difficoltà finanziarie incontrate dall'imprenditore a causa dell'epidemia di COVID-19. Assistenza finanziaria erogata nell'ambito del programma n. SA.57015 (2020/N)
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
] |
EP 98306831 A
|
Toner concentration control
|
A method adjusting variations in toner concentration in a printing machine by first determining a pixel count of documents to be imaged. The system then provides two test targets (114,116) on the imaging surface (12) one of the test targets (114) having a relatively low reflectance and the other test target (116) having a medium reflectance. The reflectance value of the test targets is sensed and the difference between the reflectance values is calculated and compared to a reference value to provide an error value. The system then uses the error value and the pixel count of documents to be imaged to determine a time period of dispense for a toner dispenser. <IMAGE>
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
10.1163/15718182-02803006
|
Children’s Capacities and Role in Matters of Great Significance for Them
|
How do decision-makers in the judiciary approach children’s capacities as set out in Article 5 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child? Children in public care who cannot be reunified with their birth parents may be adopted, but are children given agency in these cases that are highly important to the involved children? We examine all judgments on adoptions from care made in Norway in a six-year period (2011-2016) involving children aged 4-17 years old, a total of 169 judgments. These cases are decided after a two- to three-day hearing in the court-like County Board. The results of our analysis are discouraging because many children are absent in the decision-maker’s justification and conclusion about adoption. Young children do not have their capacity assessed, and older children’s capacity undergoes a shallow assessment at best, and typically only their opinion is mentioned. Age is commonly used as a proxy for competency and maturity, and the role children’s opinion plays in the cases as well as in the decision-making is unclear overall. Possible explanations for this situation may be lack of guidelines for how to give children agency, that decision-makers do not have sufficient competency in assessing children’s capabilities, and/or that decision-makers are not aware of their obligations or are not willing to give children agency.
|
[
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
10.1007/JHEP05(2010)094
|
Type Iib Supergravity On Squashed Sasaki Einstein Manifolds
|
We provide a consistent N=4 Kaluza-Klein truncation of type IIB supergravity on general 5-dimensional squashed Sasaki-Einstein manifolds. Our reduction ansatz keeps all and only the supergravity modes dual to the universal gauge sector of the associated conformal theories, via the gauge/gravity correspondence. The reduced 5-dimensional model displays remarkable features: it includes both zero-modes as well as massive iterations of the Kaluza-Klein operators on the internal manifold; it contains tensor fields dual to vectors charged under a non-abelian gauge group; it has a scalar potential with a non-supersymmetric AdS vacuum in addition to the supersymmetric one.
|
[
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Mathematics"
] |
10.1088/0067-0049/199/1/21
|
A Kinetic Database For Astrochemistry Kida
|
We present a novel chemical database for gas-phase astrochemistry. Named the KInetic Database for Astrochemistry (KIDA), this database consists of gas-phase reactions with rate coefficients and uncertainties that will be vetted to the greatest extent possible. Submissions of measured and calculated rate coefficients are welcome, and will be studied by experts before inclusion into the database. Besides providing kinetic information for the interstellar medium, KIDA is planned to contain such data for planetary atmospheres and for circumstellar envelopes. Each year, a subset of the reactions in the database (kida. uva) will be provided as a network for the simulation of the chemistry of dense interstellar clouds with temperatures between 10 K and 300 K. We also provide a code, named Nahoon, to study the time-dependent gas-phase chemistry of 0D and 1D interstellar sources.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Universe Sciences"
] |
AU 1967/083001 W
|
A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REINFORCING AND CONSOLIDATING EARTH STRUCTURES
|
A reinforcing and or confining structure for an earth formation comprising a plurality of anchor members (1) anchored at spaced intervals in an earth formation, the anchor members (1) being connected to the adjacent anchor members (1) by tensile members (4) to form a substantially continuous tensile member adjacent the surface of the ground formation. Point loads resulting from earth movements are dissipated as a tensile load throughout the system. The anchor members (1) may be tensionable to reinforce the earth formation. The tensile elements (4) may be formed integrally with the anchor members (1) in a substantially L shaped configuration or they may be separate therefrom. The substantially continuous tensile members may be formed in spaced parallel rows or they may overlap or be interconnected to form a mesh-like structure.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.1051/0004-6361/202038107
|
The Sphere Infrared Survey For Exoplanets Shine Iii The Demographics Of Young Giant Exoplanets Below 300 Au With Sphere
|
The SpHere INfrared Exoplanet (SHINE) project is a 500-star survey performed with SPHERE on the Very Large Telescope for the purpose of directly detecting new substellar companions and understanding their formation and early evolution. Here we present an initial statistical analysis for a subsample of 150 stars spanning spectral types from B to M that are representative of the full SHINE sample. Our goal is to constrain the frequency of substellar companions with masses between 1 and 75 MJup and semimajor axes between 5 and 300 au. For this purpose, we adopt detection limits as a function of angular separation from the survey data for all stars converted into mass and projected orbital separation using the BEX-COND-hot evolutionary tracks and known distance to each system. Based on the results obtained for each star and on the 13 detections in the sample, we use a Markov chain Monte Carlo tool to compare our observations to two different types of models. The first is a parametric model based on observational constraints, and the second type are numerical models that combine advanced core accretion and gravitational instability planet population synthesis. Using the parametric model, we show that the frequencies of systems with at least one substellar companion are 23. 0−9. 7+13. 5, 5. 8−2. 8+4. 7, and 12. 6−7. 1+12. 9% for BA, FGK, and M stars, respectively. We also demonstrate that a planet-like formation pathway probably dominates the mass range from 1–75 MJup for companions around BA stars, while for M dwarfs, brown dwarf binaries dominate detections. In contrast, a combination of binary star-like and planet-like formation is required to best fit the observations for FGK stars. Using our population model and restricting our sample to FGK stars, we derive a frequency of 5. 7−2. 8+3. 8%, consistent with predictions from the parametric model. More generally, the frequency values that we derive are in excellent agreement with values obtained in previous studies.
|
[
"Universe Sciences"
] |
W2002655027
|
Time series geophysical monitoring of permanganate injections and in situ chemical oxidation of PCE, OU1 area, Savage Superfund Site, Milford, NH, USA
|
In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) treatment with sodium permanganate, an electrically conductive oxidant, provides a strong electrical signal for tracking of injectate transport using time series geophysical surveys including direct current (DC) resistivity and electromagnetic (EM) methods. Effective remediation is dependent upon placing the oxidant in close contact with the contaminated aquifer. Therefore, monitoring tools that provide enhanced tracking capability of the injectate offer considerable benefit to guide subsequent ISCO injections. Time-series geophysical surveys were performed at a superfund site in New Hampshire, USA over a one-year period to identify temporal changes in the bulk electrical conductivity of a tetrachloroethylene (PCE; also called tetrachloroethene) contaminated, glacially deposited aquifer due to the injection of sodium permanganate. The ISCO treatment involved a series of pulse injections of sodium permanganate from multiple injection wells within a contained area of the aquifer. After the initial injection, the permanganate was allowed to disperse under ambient groundwater velocities. Time series geophysical surveys identified the downward sinking and pooling of the sodium permanganate atop of the underlying till or bedrock surface caused by density-driven flow, and the limited horizontal spread of the sodium permanganate in the shallow parts of the aquifer during this injection period. When coupled with conventional monitoring, the surveys allowed for an assessment of ISCO treatment effectiveness in targeting the PCE plume and helped target areas for subsequent treatment.
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
216448
|
The cybernetic lower-limb cognitive ortho-prosthesis plus plus
|
The global goal of the CYBERLEGs Plus Plus project is to validate the technical and economic viability of the powered robotic ortho-prosthesis developed within the framework of the FP7-ICT-CYBERLEGs project as a means to enhance/restore the mobility of transfemoral amputees and to enable them to perform locomotion tasks such as ground-level walking, walking up and down slopes, climbing/descending stairs, standing up, sitting down and turning in scenarios of real life. Restored mobility will allow amputees to perform physical activity thus counteracting physical decline and improving the overall health status and quality of life.
This consortium will pursue the achievement of the global goal by addressing four specific innovation objectives. 1) Further developments of the existing CYBERLEGs hardware modules, namely the 2-degree-of-freedom active transfemoral prosthesis, the active wearable orthotic device, and the wearable sensory apparatus. 2) Further developments of the existing multi-layered CYBERLEGs control system, to enhance its reliable use in real-life scenarios. 3) Carrying out two multi-centre clinical studies, that validate the therapeutic potentialities and the economic viability of a robotic ortho-prosthesis which restores the amputees’ locomotion abilities in scenarios of activities of daily living. 4) Implementation of a 3-phase strategy to foster the start of the market exploitation within the time frame of the CLs++ project.
This proposal focuses on the demonstration in an operational environment (TRL=7) from both the technical and economic viability view point of a modular robotics technology for healthcare, with the ultimate goal of fostering its market exploitation. The proposals involve players from academia, end users, as well as robotics and healthcare industry. Therefore this proposal fits the specific challenge of the scope c of the call H2020-ICT-25-2016-2017.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
Q2461936
|
AVVISO PUBBLICO PER LA PRESENTAZIONE DI PROGETTI DI INTERNAZIONALIZZAZIONE MEDIANTE LA PARTECIPAZIONE A FIERE INTERNAZIONALI ¿ 2019
|
AVVISO PUBBLICO PER LA PRESENTAZIONE DI PROGETTI DI INTERNAZIONALIZZAZIONE MEDIANTE LA PARTECIPAZIONE A FIERE INTERNAZIONALI ¿ 2019
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
172311
|
Dynamics of femtosecond laser ablation of trapped dielectric and metallic nanoparticles
|
During the last decades the use of pulsed lasers has been increasingly exploited for many applications in research, industry and healthcare via cutting, removing or depositing material. What many of these processes have in common is that so much energy is deposited in the target that its optical properties change during an individual laser pulse. Moreover, in applications like EUV generation and pulsed laser deposition, the optical properties of the ejected particles become spatially inhomogeneous. Thus, to predict/optimize the energy deposition, one needs to understand the complex interplay between the laser and the dynamically and spatially changing material properties.
The ADMEP project aims to theoretically and experimentally study the dynamics of the material properties in nano- to micro-scale particles upon irradiation with fs-laser pulses. In order to theoretically model the absorption of light, the spatial inhomogeneity must be taken into account by performing finite-difference time-domain simulations in which the optical properties are dynamically updated each time step. To isolate the effects of the dynamics of the carrier density and temperature from the ones of their spatial inhomogeneity, experiments on trapped small spherical nanoparticles will be carried out. For small enough spheres, the transient material properties can be assumed to be homogeneous over their size. Afterwards, the laser interaction with larger and non-spherical particles will be studied. Finally, the aftermath (expansion of e- plasma, melting and ablation) will be investigated via fs-resolved microscopy both at the host and secondment facilities. These findings will find their way through a network consisting of researchers at the secondment (ARCNL, ASML) and at the University of Twente.
The theoretical and experimental experience, combined with working with a private/public partnership will prepare the candidate for a career as a group leader in basic and applied research.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
W2004729896
|
Effect of Dwell Time and Heating Rate on Thermal Residual Stresses in Co-Cured Aluminum/Composite Hybrid Shaft
|
In this work, thermal residual stresses and deformation of an aluminum/composite hybrid shaft was studied using ABAQUS FEM software. In order to reduce the thermal residual stresses and deformation produced during co-cure bonding stages due to the difference of coefficients of thermal expansions (CTE) of the composite and the aluminum tube, the curing temperature field was optimized. The effects of dwell time and heating rate were investigated. The results show that residual stresses can be reduced obviously by reasonable dwell time and slow heating rate. The dwell time and heating rate also effect the degree of cure which influenced the mechanic property of aluminum/composite hybrid structure directly.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.1016/j.agrformet.2010.10.012
|
The importance of dissolved organic carbon fluxes for the carbon balance of a temperate Scots pine forest
|
Efforts to increase our understanding of the terrestrial carbon balance have resulted in a dense global network of eddy covariance towers, which are able to measure the net ecosystem exchange of CO2, H2O and energy between ecosystems and the atmosphere. However, the typical set-up on an eddy covariance tower does not monitor lateral CO2- and carbon fluxes such as dissolved organic carbon (DOC). By ignoring DOC fluxes eddy covariance-based CO2 balances overestimate the carbon sink of ecosystems as part of the DOC drains into the inland waters and get respired outside the footprint of the eddy covariance tower. In this study we quantify 7 years (2000-2006) of DOC fluxes from a temperate Scots pine forest in Belgium and analyse its inter-annual variability. On average, 10gCm-2year-1 is leached from the pine forest as DOC. If the DOC fluxes are considered relative to the gross ecosystem carbon fluxes we see that DOC fluxes are small: 0. 8±0. 2% relative to gross primary productivity, 1. 0±0. 3% relative to ecosystem respiration, and (2. 4±0. 4%) relative to soil respiration. However, when compared to net fluxes such as net ecosystem productivity and net biome productivity the DOC flux is no longer negligible (11±7% and 17%, respectively), especially because the DOC losses constitute a systematic bias and not a random error. The inter-annual variability of the DOC fluxes followed that of annual water drainage. Hence, drainage drives DOC leaching at both short and long time scales. Finally, it is noted that part of the carbon that is leached from the ecosystem as DOC is respired or sequestered elsewhere, so the physical boundaries of accounting should always be reported together with the carbon budget.
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
W4211258322
|
Las faringoamigdalitis y sus complicaciones
|
En Francia, por ejemplo, las faringoamigdalitis agudas representan una afección extremadamente frecuente en la práctica cotidiana, con cerca de 9 millones de casos anuales. Las faringoamigdalitis eritematosas o eritematopultáceas son de origen viral en un 60-80% de los casos. Entre las etiologías bacterianas, predomina el estreptococo betahemolítico del grupo A (EBGA). Las faringoamigdalitis causadas por esta bacteria pueden detectarse en la consulta mediante la prueba de diagnóstico rápido (PDR) para infecciones por estreptococos y requieren una antibioticoterapia para evitar complicaciones postestreptocócicas, principalmente el reumatismo articular agudo (RAA). El tratamiento antibiótico no tiene ningún papel preventivo demostrado frente a la aparición de supuraciones perifaríngeas (flemones periamigdalinos, abscesos preestiloideos y celulitis cervicales). Las faringoamigdalitis seudomembranosas y ulceronecróticas tienen etiologías y tratamientos diversos.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1016/j.envres.2020.110249
|
Exposure to environmental phthalates during preschool age and obesity from childhood to young adulthood
|
Obesity rates are increasing globally, and recent theories suggest that phthalates may contribute to obesity development. This longitudinal study aimed to investigate associations between environmental phthalate exposure during childhood and obesity, utilizing data from 100 participants from a Swedish birth cohort. The participants were followed repeatedly from birth and provided spot urine samples at 4 years. Weight and height were measured at ages 4, 8, 16 and 24 years, as well as additional anthropometric indices at 24 years. Urine samples were analysed for 10 phthalate metabolites using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Generalized estimating equation models were performed to assess overall and age-specific associations between urinary phthalate concentrations and BMI groups; thin/normal weight vs overweight/obese. After adjustment for potential confounders, overall associations were observed for diisononyl phthalate (DiNP) metabolites mono(oxo-isononyl) phthalate (MOiNP) (OR per increase ng/ml: 1. 18; 95% CI: 1. 05, 1. 33), mono(carboxy-isooctyl) phthalate (MCiOP) (OR: 1. 06; 95% CI: 1. 01, 1. 11) and ∑DiNP (OR: 1. 02; 95% CI:1. 00, 1. 04) and development of overweight/obesity up to age 24 years. Age-specific associations were observed for the same metabolites at 8, 16 and 24 years. Furthermore, linear regression analysis revealed associations between increased body fat % at age 24 years and MHiNP (β: 2. 42; 95% CI: 0. 44, 4. 39), MOiNP (β: 2. 32; 95% CI: 0. 46, 4. 18), MCiOP (β: 2. 65; 95% CI: 0. 41, 4. 89) and ∑DiNP (β: 2. 65; 95% CI: 0. 52, 4. 77). These findings suggest that DiNP exposure during preschool age may be associated with subsequent obesity, however these findings need to be corroborated by further research.
|
[
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
10.1042/BST20140095
|
The Biochemical Determinants Of Tissue Regeneration
|
The field of regenerative medicine offers tantalizing hope for the repair and replacement of damaged organs and tissues, with the ultimate goal of restoring normal tissue function. This field represents an enormous range of biological, chemical and biophysical technologies that harness the restorative properties of living materials, especially human cells, to produce new molecular and cellular medicines, diagnostics, devices and healthcare research tools. The goal of this Biochemical Society Annual Symposium was to explore the key biochemical determinants of tissue regeneration, and we highlight the contribution of biochemistry to this emerging field of regenerative medicine.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
208319
|
Intramolecular force mapping of enzymes in action: the role of strain in motor mechanisms
|
A fundamental but unexplored problem in biology is whether and how enzymes use mechanical strain during their functioning. It is now evident that the knowledge of atomic structures and chemical interactions is not sufficient to understand the intricate mechanisms underlying enzyme specificity and efficiency. Several lines of evidence suggest that mechanical effects play crucial roles in enzyme activity. Therefore we aim to create detailed force maps that reveal how the intramolecular distribution of mechanical strains changes during the enzyme cycle and how these rearrangements drive the enzyme processes. The applicability of current nanotechniques for the investigation of this problem is limited because they do not allow simultaneous measurement of mechanical and enzymatic parameters. Thus we seek to open new avenues of research by developing site-specific sensors and passive or photoinducible molecular springs to measure force-dependent chemical/structural changes with high spatiotemporal resolution in myosin. Since force perturbations occur very rapidly, we are able to combine experimental studies with quasi-realistic in silico simulations to describe the physical background of enzyme function. We expect that our research will yield fundamental insights into the role of intramolecular strains in enzymes and thus greatly aid the design and control of enzyme processes (specificity, activity, regulation). Our studies may also lead to new paradigms in the understanding of motor systems.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
] |
10.1063/1.5090179
|
Competing Chemical And Hydrodynamic Interactions In Autophoretic Colloidal Suspensions
|
At the surfaces of autophoretic colloids, slip velocities arise from local chemical gradients that are many-body functions of particle configuration and activity. For rapid chemical diffusion, coupled with slip-induced hydrodynamic interactions, we deduce the chemohydrodynamic forces and torques between colloids. Near a no-slip wall, the forces can be expressed as gradients of a non-equilibrium potential which, by tuning the type of activity, can be varied from repulsive to attractive. When this potential has a barrier, we find arrested phase separation with a mean cluster size set by competing chemical and hydrodynamic forces. These are controlled in turn by the monopolar and dipolar contributions to the active chemical surface fluxes.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
] |
10.1103/PhysRevB.96.115441
|
What makes a good descriptor for heterogeneous ice nucleation on OH-patterned surfaces
|
Freezing of water is arguably one of the most common phase transitions on Earth and almost always happens heterogeneously. Despite its importance, we lack a fundamental understanding of what makes substrates efficient ice nucleators. Here we address this by computing the ice nucleation (IN) ability of numerous model hydroxylated substrates with diverse surface hydroxyl (OH) group arrangements. Overall, for the substrates considered, we find that neither the symmetry of the OH patterns nor the similarity between a substrate and ice correlate well with the IN ability. Instead, we find that the OH density and the substrate-water interaction strength are useful descriptors of a material's IN ability. This insight allows the rationalization of ice nucleation ability across a wide range of materials and can aid the search and design of novel potent ice nucleators in the future.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
] |
786643
|
New energy Consumer roles and smart technologies – Actors, Practices and Equality
|
The transition to a low-carbon society is vital and requires major changes in everyday life for European households, including new prosumer roles linking renewable energy production and household consumption by use of smart technologies. This implies major alterations in the materiality as well as the social organisation of everyday life. To guide this low-carbon transition, new theory development on the role of technological systems in everyday life is needed. Practice theories represent a strong approach in this; however, they have developed in opposition to understanding actors and structures as mutually interlinked. This means that major drivers, as well as consequences, for sustainable transition are being overlooked. This project will contribute with important new theory development to understand and promote a low-carbon transition as well as to ensure that this transition does not indirectly become a driver of gender and social inequality.
Three theoretical lines within theories of practice will be developed:
1. The importance of gender and social structures when studying household practices, including how these social structures influence formation of practices and how, in turn, social structures are formed by the development of practices.
2. The role of the ethical consumer in developing new practices, including how learning processes, media discourses and institutionalised knowledge influence formation of practices.
3. The inclusion of non-humans as carriers and performers of practices, rather than seeing the material arrangements only as the context for practices, especially when dealing with automated and internet connected technologies.
Quantitative and qualitative empirical research guided by these theoretical approaches will contribute with work on how future low-carbon living can be achieved and the theoretical developments will form an essential foundation for policy development towards a mandatory low-carbon transition.
|
[
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
] |
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2732-13.2014
|
Auditory and tactile signals combine to influence vision during binocular rivalry
|
Resolution of perceptual ambiguity is one function of cross-modal interactions. Here we investigate whether auditory and tactile stimuli can influence binocular rivalry generated by interocular temporal conflict in human subjects. Using dichoptic visual stimuli modulating at different temporal frequencies, we added modulating sounds or vibrations congruent with one or the other visual temporal frequency. Auditory and tactile stimulation both interacted with binocular rivalry by promoting dominance of the congruent visual stimulus. This effect depended on the cross-modal modulation strength and was absent when modulation depth declined to 33%. However, when auditory and tactile stimuli that were too weak on their own to bias binocular rivalry were combined, their influence over vision was very strong, suggesting the auditory and tactile temporal signals combined to influence vision. Similarly, interleaving discrete pulses of auditory and tactile stimuli also promoted dominance of the visual stimulus congruent with the supramodal frequency. When auditory and tactile stimuli were presented atmaximumstrength, but in antiphase, they had no influence over vision for low temporal frequencies, a null effect again suggesting audio-tactile combination. We also found that the cross-modal interaction was frequency-sensitive at low temporal frequencies, when information about temporal phase alignment can be perceptually tracked. These results show that auditory and tactile temporal processing is functionally linked, suggesting a common neural substrate for the two sensory modalities and that at low temporal frequencies visual activity can be synchronized by a congruent cross-modal signal in a frequency-selective way, suggesting the existence of a supramodal temporal binding mechanism.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
] |
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