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853291
|
Fundamental physics from the large-scale structure of the Universe
|
The last 30 years have been a golden era of cosmological discoveries, which revolutionized our understanding of the physical concepts, which govern our Universe. New discoveries indicate that the beginning of our Universe might have been dominated by the inflaton field, which decayed during the first second of the Universe’s existence, introducing tiny ripples in the matter distribution, which ultimately sourced later galaxy formation. The future of our Universe is dominated by dark energy, which causes the current Universe to accelerate in its expansion. Both inflation and dark energy are theoretical constructs, which help to explain current observational results, but their fundamental role in physics is not yet understood.
The distribution of galaxies in the Universe encodes an enormous amount of information, which holds the key to unravel new fundamental concepts of nature. The main goal of this proposal is to use galaxy surveys to uncover convincing evidence for the inflationary scenario and to reveal clues that will help to determine the nature of dark energy.
My team will make use of data from the DESI and Euclid experiments, a new generation of galaxy surveys, which will provide datasets more than an order of magnitude larger than what is available today, thus allowing a decisive step forward with an exciting discovery potential. Such measurements will face significant challenges in systematics control, non-linear modeling, and computational limitations. In this proposal, I will outline my plan to develop new statistical estimators, apply cutting-edge modeling techniques, and access new observables to constrain cosmological models. This project will produce results going beyond cosmology, impacting particle- as well as high energy physics. With DESI starting in late 2019 and Euclid in 2021 this work is timely and my experience in the clustering analysis with such datasets puts me in a unique position to lead the cosmological exploitation of these experiments.
|
[
"Universe Sciences",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1177/1362480611433433
|
The Earth Is One But The World Is Not Criminological Theory And Its Geopolitical Divisions
|
The article addresses the prevailing assumptions about geo-political context in criminological theory. It draws on a well-developed and prolonged critique within sociology, gender and postcolonial . . .
|
[
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
interreg_3560
|
Connecting the hinterland via sub-nodes to the TEN-T core network
|
SubNodes tackles the weak intermodal integration of peri-urban hinterland regions to primary TEN-T hubs. Suitable medium-sized cities in these areas shall be developed into attractive intermodal secondary hubs (so called "subnodes"), which better connect the hinterland to the TEN-T rail network. The project intends to establish this approach in the participating regions and beyond by adopting a SubNodes Strategy, conceptualizing its implementation and testing innovative actions in real world conditions. Policy recommendations derived from this process will be integrated into the transport plans of the regions. Planning capacities of transport authorities will be enhanced by mutual-learning platforms so that they can respond more targeted to passenger needs in peri-urban regions. Through the pilots the modal split of the connections concerned will change in favour of public transport already during project lifetime, through policy integration of the strategy and the action plans this trend shall sustain beyond. Project results will immediately be used by the partners as transport authorities or operators, and by the general public regarding pilots; the latter being indirectly the end users. Further stakeholders will benefit through transfer and capacity building events. SubNodes was born by the notion that many regions are seeking solutions how to adapt their secondary transport network to an upgraded or new TEN-T node within or close to their territories (e.g. VDE8 in Thuringia). Rooted in the Territorial Agenda 2020, SubNodes is a strategic approach to promote polycentric development in the public transport sector in light of changing settlement patterns and locational advantages due to major investments in TEN-T. The development of subnodes on a transnational level is an instrument to better exploit accessibility gains also in the hinterland, therefore SubNodes' transnational added value is to enhance the effects of the transnational TEN-T infrastructure.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
] |
interreg_2753
|
Multicultural journey between Italy and Slovenia through the prism of minorities
|
The common challenge of the programme area to which the PRIMIS project will contribute is the "Conservation, protection and restoration of cultural and natural heritage". The overall project objective is to enhance the value of the linguistic, cultural and natural heritage of the linguistic communities in the programme area in order to attract sustainable tourism. This area is by nature multicultural and multilingual, due to the presence of Slovenian and Italian national minorities and other language communities (Cimbrians, Ladins, Friulians) making it unique compared to other territories in Italy and Slovenia. The project will bring about a new perception of the multicultural and multilingual identity of the PA for both tourists and residents. The main outputs are the creation of 4 Multimedia Centres for the dissemination of the specificities and peculiarities of the indigenous language communities; a multimedia platform and a digital guide; the enhancement and promotion of cultural events in the PA; information and training activities for specific target groups. The beneficiaries are: tourists, residents, young people, SMEs, project partners. The intended approach is to transfer the multicultural and multilingual peculiarities of the indigenous communities to the tourism sector and the promotion of the cross-border territory through the use of innovative, interactive and multimedia tools with immersive and virtual reality in the Multimedia Centres. The approach will go beyond the current practices of the sector (sea-mountain) because it will help to create tourism products based on the cultural and linguistic heritage of the PA. Cross-border cooperation is necessary because it brings together the diversities and peculiarities linked to multiculturalism and multilingualism to create a unique image of the PA. The project is original because it considers the material and immaterial cultural heritage of the indigenous language communities as an added value for an economic activity - cultural and sustainable tourism.
|
[
"Studies of Cultures and Arts",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
] |
W2053327450
|
Do background colors improve program comprehension in the #ifdef hell?
|
Software-product-line engineering aims at the development of variable and reusable software systems. In practice, software product lines are often implemented with preprocessors. Preprocessor directives are easy to use, and many mature tools are available for practitioners. However, preprocessor directives have been heavily criticized in academia and even referred to as #ifdef hell, because they introduce threats to program comprehension and correctness. There are many voices that suggest to use other implementation techniques instead, but these voices ignore the fact that a transition from preprocessors to other languages and tools is tedious, erroneous, and expensive in practice. Instead, we and others propose to increase the readability of preprocessor directives by using background colors to highlight source code annotated with ifdef directives. In three controlled experiments with over 70 subjects in total, we evaluate whether and how background colors improve program comprehension in preprocessor-based implementations. Our results demonstrate that background colors have the potential to improve program comprehension, independently of size and programming language of the underlying product. Additionally, we found that subjects generally favor background colors. We integrate these and other findings in a tool called FeatureCommander, which facilitates program comprehension in practice and which can serve as a basis for further research.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
W3047024411
|
Evaluation of groundwater contamination sources by plant protection products in hilly vineyards of Northern Italy
|
Abstract In Europe, 25% of groundwater has poor chemical status. One of the main stressors is agriculture, with nitrates and plant protection products (PPPs) causing failure in 18% and 6.5%, respectively, of groundwater bodies (by area). EU legislation for the placement of the PPPs on the market is one of the most stringent in the world. However, recent monitoring studies in hilly vineyards of Tidone Valley, north-west of Italy, show presence of PPPs used for grapevine cultivation in 15 out of 26 groundwater wells monitored, at values above the Environment Quality Standard (EQS) for groundwater (0.1 μg/L). However, no information about the contamination sources are available. Therefore, the objective of the present work is to evaluate the groundwater contamination sources by PPPs, in a small catchment with intensive viticulture, by collecting and integrating monitoring data, sub-surface water movement data and territorial characteristics. The results show that in wells used for PPP's mixture preparation and sprayer washing located at the top of hilly vineyards, with low slope and no water movement in the surrounding soil, the contamination is most likely from point sources. On the contrary, for wells located in a fenced area at the bottom of the hill, far away from vineyards and being used for drinking water production, the contamination is most likely from diffuse sources. Our results were used to raise awareness on groundwater contamination from PPPs among farmers in the study area; moreover a waterproof platform for sprayers washing, equipped with wastewater recovery and disposal system, able to avoid point-source contamination, was implemented in a local demonstration farm. Several demonstration activities were then organised with the farmers of the entire Valley in order to show its functionality and promote its diffuse use.
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
] |
10.1109/TIT.2012.2233859
|
Robust Sparse Analysis Regularization
|
This paper investigates the theoretical guarantees of l1-analysis regularization when solving linear inverse problems. Most of previous works in the literature have mainly focused on the sparse synthesis prior where the sparsity is measured as the l1 norm of the coefficients that synthesize the signal from a given dictionary. In contrast, the more general analysis regularization minimizes the l1 norm of the correlations between the signal and the atoms in the dictionary, where these correlations define the analysis support. The corresponding variational problem encompasses several well-known regularizations such as the discrete total variation and the fused Lasso. Our main contributions consist in deriving sufficient conditions that guarantee exact or partial analysis support recovery of the true signal in presence of noise. More precisely, we give a sufficient condition to ensure that a signal is the unique solution of the l1 -analysis regularization in the noiseless case. The same condition also guarantees exact analysis support recovery and l2-robustness of the l1-analysis minimizer vis-a-vis an enough small noise in the measurements. This condition turns to be sharp for the robustness of the sign pattern. To show partial support recovery and l2 -robustness to an arbitrary bounded noise, we introduce a stronger sufficient condition. When specialized to the l1-synthesis regularization, our results recover some corresponding recovery and robustness guarantees previously known in the literature. From this perspective, our work is a generalization of these results. We finally illustrate these theoretical findings on several examples to study the robustness of the 1-D total variation, shift-invariant Haar dictionary, and fused Lasso regularizations.
|
[
"Mathematics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1038/s41467-020-15309-6
|
Rapid expansion of Treg cells protects from collateral colitis following a viral trigger
|
AbstractFoxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells are essential for maintaining peripheral tolerance and preventing autoimmunity. While genetic factors may predispose for autoimmunity, additional environmental triggers, such as viral infections, are usually required to initiate the onset of disease. Here, we show that viral infection with LCMV results in type I IFN-dependent Treg cell loss that is rapidly compensated by the conversion and expansion of Vβ5+ conventional T cells into iTreg cells. Using Vβ5-deficient mice, we show that these Vβ5+ iTreg cells are dispensable for limiting anti-viral immunity. Rather, the delayed replenishment of Treg cells in Vβ5-deficient mice compromises suppression of microbiota-dependent activation of CD8+ T cells, resulting in colitis. Importantly, recovery from clinical symptoms in IBD patients is marked by expansion of the corresponding Vβ2+ Treg population in humans. Collectively, we provide a link between a viral trigger and an impaired Treg cell compartment resulting in the initiation of immune pathology.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
] |
10.1126/science.aam6851
|
A global brain state underlies C. Elegans sleep behavior
|
How the brain effectively switches between and maintains global states, such as sleep and wakefulness, is not yet understood. We used brainwide functional imaging at single-cell resolution to show that during the developmental stage of lethargus, the Caenorhabditis elegans brain is predisposed to global quiescence, characterized by systemic down-regulation of neuronal activity. Only a few specific neurons are exempt from this effect. In the absence of external arousing cues, this quiescent brain state arises by the convergence of neuronal activities toward a fixed-point attractor embedded in an otherwise dynamic neural state space. We observed efficient spontaneous and sensory-evoked exits from quiescence. Our data support the hypothesis that during global states such as sleep, neuronal networks are drawn to a baseline mode and can be effectively reactivated by signaling from arousing circuits.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
] |
W259372378
|
Seriously Data-Driven Decision Making: Searching for Solutions to Operational Challenges, Big City Districts Found Answers for Each Other
|
With the economy still stuck in low gear and states approaching the funding cliff that marks the end of federal stimulus help for education, almost all school districts will be feeling even more financial pain than they're experiencing now. The nation's largest urban school districts typically feel this pain more acutely than most, squeezed between their commitment to higher achievement and the disproportionate effect of unemployment on high-density areas. But there's good news amid the bad: Contrary to the stale stereotype of big city districts having bloated budgets, some of these school systems are showing schools nationwide a way to save money by working together. In 2004, years before the economy went south, chief financial officers of the nation's largest districts proactively set a stiff challenge for themselves under the aegis of the Council of the Great City Schools: To save their schools serious money, they would build a data system that would be the envy of any cutting-edge corporation. The Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system now allows each of the nation's largest urban school districts to compare, at high levels of detail, the performance of business operations, finance, human resources, and information technology across all 65 of the largest urban school districts in the nation. District leaders can calibrate comparisons based on geography, cost of living, union status, and hundreds of other variables, and use dynamic data modeling to instantly calculate the effect of potential changes to the bottom line. The idea was to make themselves as highly accountable financially as their districts had become academically. In much the same way that student data systems have helped foster responsiveness in teaching and learning, the Key Performance Indicator system uses sophisticated data modeling to help districts cut costs, improve efficiency, and serve student populations more effectively. Using Six Sigma methodologies for defining, quantifying, and aggregating data, participating districts share and compare information on more than 3,000 data points. Dynamic data modeling allows leaders to analyze the effect of a variety of what if scenarios on their district's bottom line and has been key to creating the benchmarks that have saved participating districts millions of dollars. In many districts, the extensive data analysis and modeling afforded by KPI has led to surprising solutions to financial woes. In Florida, for example, Orange County Public Schools sold 271 of its buses after comparing its transportation metrics with comparable districts--an unexpected $1.9-million boon for the district. In New Mexico, Albuquerque Public Schools used the system's metrics as leverage in negotiations with its Internet service provider, ultimately saving the district $200,000 a year. Comparing operations with similar districts has also helped school officials eliminate bottlenecks. For example, Seattle Public Schools used data from the system to revamp its requisition process for textbooks, computers, desks, and other essentials, shifting the brunt of those requests online. In Ohio, Cincinnati Public Schools tapped KPI to revamp staffing and supply practices in food and custodial services, and increased maintenance training. …
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
171063
|
Ex anatolia lux. the linguistic origins of europe: word-formation and lexicon in anatolian and core indo-european.
|
The understanding of the linguistic origins of Europe begins with Proto-Indo-European (PIE), the reconstructed language from which all Indo-European (IE) languages descend, including modern languages like English, Spanish, Russian and Hindi, and are spoken by more than half of the world’s population. In particular, a proper understanding of Proto-Indo-European begins with the extinct Anatolian languages, e.g. Hittite and Lycian, known from ancient clay tablets and inscriptions and spoken in the Asian part of Turkey and part of northern Syria during 16th-2nd century BCE. The Anatolian branch plays a key role since it was the first to split off from the IE language family and has several specific features, which are not shared by other IE languages. As the first of its kind, this project will shed light on the position and development of Anatolian in relation to the rest of the IE family by a systematic study of Anatolian word formation and vocabulary. The results will integrate a ‘free access database' established 2013 by the Research Centre ‘Roots of Europe’ (RoE), which will also be a new useful research instrument for other disciplines as philology, epigraphy and archaeology in a perspective of interdisciplinary collaboration and mutual benefit. The Roots of Europe, headed by my supervisor Prof. B. A. Rasmussen (Olsen) and based at the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics of the UCPH, is the most appropriate institution for this project: the scientific expertise and interdisciplinary profile of the research team in the topics involved in the research, including a specific project of the IE homeland, the training and the knowledge transfer will be the winning combination not only for the achievements of the goals set up for my project, but also to make my profile as an independent researcher more competitive.
|
[
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Texts and Concepts"
] |
10.1038/ncomms12984
|
Chemotaxis towards autoinducer 2 mediates autoaggregation in Escherichia coli
|
Abstract
Bacteria communicate by producing and sensing extracellular signal molecules called autoinducers. Such intercellular signalling, known as quorum sensing, allows bacteria to coordinate and synchronize behavioural responses at high cell densities. Autoinducer 2 (AI-2) is the only known quorum-sensing molecule produced by Escherichia coli but its physiological role remains elusive, although it is known to regulate biofilm formation and virulence in other bacterial species. Here we show that chemotaxis towards self-produced AI-2 can mediate collective behaviour—autoaggregation—of E. coli. Autoaggregation requires motility and is strongly enhanced by chemotaxis to AI-2 at physiological cell densities. These effects are observed regardless whether cell–cell interactions under particular growth conditions are mediated by the major E. coli adhesin (antigen 43) or by curli fibres. Furthermore, AI-2-dependent autoaggregation enhances bacterial stress resistance and promotes biofilm formation.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
W2260261752
|
RELIABILITY OF A POWERPOINT METHOD FOR WEAR MEASUREMENT AFTER TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY: A RETRIEVAL STUDY USING THREE-DIMENSIONAL LASER SCANS
|
The PowerPoint (2007 Version; Microsoft, Redmond, Wash) method is reported to have improved repeatability and reproducibility and is better able to detect differences in radiographs than previously established manual wear measurement methods. In this study, the PowerPoint method and the Dorr and Wan method were used to calculate the polyethylene liner wear volume. The wear volumes of retrieved polyethylene liners calculated from the 3D laser scanning method were compared with each method. This study hypothesized that the wear volume calculated by the PowerPoint method would correlate well with the wear volume measured by 3D laser scanning method. Between March 2004 and June 2009, 22 polyethylene liners from 20 patients were collected during revision Total hip arthroplasty(THA). Exclusion criteria included (1) missing an early primary postoperative radiograph or prerevision radiograph, (2) evidence of acetabular loosening or migration, (3) existence of significant mismatch between early primary postoperative radiograph and prerevision radiographs on vertical axis, and (4) liner wear-through. After applying these exclusion criteria, 17 retrieved polyethylene liners from 16 patients were included in this study. Wear volumes were calculated using the PowerPoint, the Dorr and Wan methods by 3 independent experienced observers who were unaware of the study design, and 3-dimensional (3D) laser scanning methods. Spearman correlation coefficients for wear volume results indicated strong correlations between the PowerPoint and 3D laser scanning methods (range, 0.89–0.93). On the other hand, Spearman correlation analysis revealed only moderate correlations between the Dorr and Wan and 3D laser scanning methods (range, 0.67–0.77). The PowerPoint method is an efficient tool for the sequential radiologic follow-up of patients after THA. The PowerPoint method can be used to monitor linear wear after THA and could serve as an alternative method when computerized methods are not available.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1503/jpn.120205
|
Cerebellar motor learning deficits in medicated and medication-free men with recent-onset schizophrenia
|
Background: The notion that cerebellar deficits may underlie clinical symptoms in people with schizophrenia is tested by evaluating 2 forms of cerebellar learning in patients with recent-onset schizophrenia. A potential medication effect is evaluated by including patients with or without antipsychotics. Methods: We assessed saccadic eye movement adaptation and eyeblink conditioning in men with recentonset schizophrenia who were taking antipsychotic medication or who were antipsychotic-free and in age-matched controls. Results: We included 39 men with schizophrenia (10 who were taking clozapine, 16 who were taking haloperidol and 13 who were antipsychoticfree) and 29 controls in our study. All participants showed significant saccadic adaptation. Adaptation strength did not differ between healthy controls and men with schizophrenia. The speed of saccade adaptation, however, was significantly lower in men with schizophrenia. They showed a significantly lower increase in the number of conditioned eyeblink responses. Over all experiments, no consist - ent effects of medication were observed. These outcomes did not correlate with age, years of education, psychopathology or dose of anti psychotics. Limitations: As patients were not randomized for treatment, an influence of confounding variables associated with medi - cation status cannot be excluded. Individual patients also varied along the schizophrenia spectrum despite the relative homogeneity with respect to onset of illness and short usage of medication. Finally, the relatively small number of participants may have concealed effects as a result of insufficient statistical power. Conclusion: We found several cerebellar learning deficits in men with schizophrenia that we cannot attribute to the use of antipsychotics. Although this finding, combined with the fact that deficits are already present in patients with recent-onset schizophrenia, could suggest that cerebellar impairments are a trait deficit in people with schizophrenia. This should be confirmed in longitudinal studies.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
10.1016/j.ces.2015.06.025
|
Preparation of biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles for pharmaceutical applications using glass capillary microfluidics
|
The aim of this study was to develop a new microfluidic approach for the preparation of nanoparticles with tuneable sizes based on micromixing/direct nanoprecipitation in a coaxial assembly of tapered-end glass capillaries. The organic phase was 1wt% poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) or poly(dl-lactic acid) (PLA) in tetrahydrofuran and the antisolvent was Milli-Q water. The size of nanoparticles was precisely controlled over a range of 190-650nm by controlling phase flow rates, orifice size and flow configuration (two-phase co-flow or counter-current flow focusing). Smaller particles were produced in a flow focusing device, because the organic phase stream was significantly narrower than the orifice and remained narrow for a longer distance downstream of the orifice. The mean size of PCL particles produced in a flow focusing device with an orifice size of 200μm, an organic phase flow rate of 1. 7mLh-1 and an aqueous-to-organic flow rate ratio of 10 was below 200nm. The size of nanoparticles decreased with decreasing the orifice size and increasing the aqueous-to-organic phase flow rate ratio. Due to higher affinity for water and amorphous structure, PLA nanoparticles were smaller and exhibited a smoother surface and more rounded shape than PCL particles.
|
[
"Materials Engineering",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
10.1098/rsta.2013.0146
|
Warm climates of the past-a lesson for the future?
|
This Discussion Meeting Issue of the Philosophical Transactions A had its genesis in a Discussion Meeting of the Royal Society which took place on 10- 11 October 2011. The Discussion Meeting, entitled 'Warm climates of the past:A lesson for the future? ', brought together 16 eminent international speakers from the field of palaeoclimate, and was attended by over 280 scientists and members of the public. Many of the speakers have contributed to the papers compiled in this Discussion Meeting Issue. The papers summarize the talks at the meeting, and present further or related work. This Discussion Meeting Issue asks to what extent information gleaned from the study of past climates can aid our understanding of future climate change. Climate change is currently an issue at the forefront of environmental science, and also has important sociological and political implications. Most future predictions are carried out by complex numerical models; however, these models cannot be rigorously tested for scenarios outside of the modern, without making use of past climate data. Furthermore, past climate data can inform our understanding of how the Earth system operates, and can provide important contextual information related to environmental change. All past time periods can be useful in this context; here, we focus on past climates that were warmer than the modern climate, as these are likely to be the most similar to the future. This introductory paper is not meant as a comprehensive overview of all work in this field. Instead, it gives an introduction to the important issues therein, using the papers in this Discussion Meeting Issue, and other works from all the Discussion Meeting speakers, as exemplars of the various ways in which past climates can inform projections of future climate. Furthermore, we present new work that uses a palaeo constraint to quantitatively inform projections of future equilibrium ice sheet change.
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
W2136581624
|
The use of subjective indicators to assess how natural and social capital support residents’ quality of life in a small volcanic island
|
Abstract Quality of life is a multi-dimensional concept and it is essentially subjective even if we can often find objectively measurable proxies for it. High levels of quality of life are the results of the interplay of social, economic and environmental aspects that together make people satisfied with their life. People living in small islands can enhance their quality of life through appropriate programs that guarantee the conservation of natural capital, provided by ecosystems, and networks and norms that facilitate good governance and social cohesion. In this paper an integration of natural and social capital subjectively evaluated by people living in Vulcano Island (Sicily Region, Italy) is proposed as a first approximation of the perception of quality of life. This paper explores whether there are differences in such perception between permanent and seasonal residents, who live there only for tourist economic reasons. Results show that the perception of natural capital is high in both communities, while social capital and the quality of life is less perceived by seasonal respect to permanent residents. The results of this research highlight that natural capital and social capital, taken into account independently, provide only a partial vision of quality of life that is strongly dependent on the combination of both. In this respect, a list of potential subjective social–environmental indicators useful to assess the quality of life is proposed.
|
[
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Earth System Science"
] |
10.1016/j.compscitech.2016.03.024
|
Synergistic effect of graphene nanoplatelets and carbon black in multifunctional EPDM nanocomposites
|
Ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer rubber (EPDM)-based nanocomposites containing carbon black (CB), graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), and mixtures of the two fillers were prepared. The influence of the relative amounts of the two fillers on the dynamic and static friction coefficients was examined. The static analysis of the coefficient of friction suggests that the partial substitution GNPs into the EPDM/CB blend did not produce a significant variation of the surface grip. The sample comprising EPDM/CB composite and an effective amount of GNPs dispersed in the matrix provides an increase of the thermal conductivity, damping (i. e. shock absorbing properties) and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy and micro tomography analyses showed that the replacement of CB with GNPs reduces the CB aggregation and, hence, improving the percolation of the hybrid fillers and the interface resistance of the composite. The development of thermally conducting elastomeric nanocomposites could envisage their utilization in the processing of rubber blends satisfying the increasing demand to reduce both the duration of the vulcanization process and thus the cost of the vulcanized rubbers.
|
[
"Materials Engineering",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
] |
866537
|
Collective signaling oscillations in embryonic patterning – revealing underlying principles
|
In this proposal, we study collective signaling oscillations during embryonic patterning. Signaling oscillations during vertebrate embryo segmentation are governed by a molecular oscillatory machinery referred to as segmentation clock (Palmeirim et al., 1997). The segmentation clock is linked to periodic activity of the Notch, Wnt and Fgf pathway in presomitic mesoderm (PSM) cells (period~2 hours in mouse embryos). Importantly, PSM cells display complex, collective synchronization and, as a result, wave-like activity patterns (phase waves) sweep periodically along the embryonic axis. We have previously shown that phase waves are an emergent and collective phenomenon in PSM cells (Tsiairis and Aulehla, 2016).
Conceptually, this proposal builds on our previous discovery that the relative timing between Wnt/Notch oscillations is critical for proper mesoderm patterning (Sonnen et al., 2018). What are the principles underlying the emergence of collective synchronization and how do PSM cells decode relative timing of signalling oscillations?
As outlined in this proposal, we are now in a unique position to address these fundamental questions in novel ways. Importantly, we have established an entrainment strategy that enables, for the first time, precise experimental control of oscillation dynamics (Sonnen et al., 2018). Our strategy is to further expand the entrainment approach, including the future use of optogenetics, and also combine it with our expertise in quantitative, multi-scale analysis of signalling dynamics and functional, genetic perturbations.
A central aim of this ERC proposal is to build on discoveries made in versatile in vitro assays that we developed and to address their significance in vivo. To this end, we propose a novel line of research using the medaka fish model. We will entrain and challenge collective synchronization in vivo to address how signalling oscillations are integrated with growth dynamics to yield robust embryonic patterning.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
10.1038/nchem.2382
|
Reconstitution of [Fe]-hydrogenase using model complexes
|
[Fe]-Hydrogenase catalyses the reversible hydrogenation of a methenyltetrahydromethanopterin substrate, which is an intermediate step during the methanogenesis from CO2 and H2. The active site contains an iron-guanylylpyridinol cofactor, in which Fe2+ is coordinated by two CO ligands, as well as an acyl carbon atom and a pyridinyl nitrogen atom from a 3,4,5,6-substituted 2-pyridinol ligand. However, the mechanism of H 2 activation by [Fe]-hydrogenase is unclear. Here we report the reconstitution of [Fe]-hydrogenase from an apoenzyme using two FeGP cofactor mimics to create semisynthetic enzymes. The small-molecule mimics reproduce the ligand environment of the active site, but are inactive towards H2 binding and activation on their own. We show that reconstituting the enzyme using a mimic that contains a 2-hydroxypyridine group restores activity, whereas an analogous enzyme with a 2-methoxypyridine complex was essentially inactive. These findings, together with density functional theory computations, support a mechanism in which the 2-hydroxy group is deprotonated before it serves as an internal base for heterolytic H2 cleavage.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1021/bm201032v
|
Two mechanisms for supercontraction in Nephila spider dragline silk
|
Supercontraction in dragline silk of Nephila edulis spider is shown to have two distinct components revealed by single fiber measurements using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. The first component relies on a contraction of maximum 13% and seems to be associated with relaxation processed through the glass transition, T g, as is induced by increasing temperature and/or humidity. The second component is induced by liquid water to the total contraction of 30%. The T g-induced contraction is linearly correlated with the restraining stress on the fiber, and the mechanical properties of the partially contracted silk have mechanical profiles that differ from both native and fully supercontracted fibers. Here we present novel supercontraction data and discuss their structural origins, examining the relaxation of stretched orientation in the different primary structure sequences.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
W2037595175
|
Spectroscopic studies on the binding interaction of novel 13-phenylalkyl analogs of the natural alkaloid berberine to nucleic acid triplexes
|
In this study we have characterized the capability of six 13-phenylalkyl analogs of berberine to stabilize nucleic acid triplex structures, poly(rA)⋅2poly(rU) and poly(dA)⋅2poly(dT). Berberine analogs bind to the RNA and DNA triplexes non-cooperatively. As the chain length of the substitution increased beyond CH2, the affinity enhanced up to critical length of (CH2)4, there after which the binding affinity decreased for both the triplexes. A remarkably stronger intercalative binding of the analogs compared to berberine to the triplexes was confirmed from ferrocyanide fluorescence quenching, fluorescence polarization and viscosity results. Circular dichroism results had indicated strong conformational changes in the triplexes on binding of the analogs. The analogs enhanced the stability of the Hoogsteen base paired third strand of both the triplexes while no significant change in the high-temperature duplex-to-single strand transitions was observed. Energetics of the interaction revealed that as the alkyl chain length increased, the binding was more entropy driven. This study demonstrates that phenylalkyl substitution at the 13-position of berberine increased the triplex binding affinity of berberine but a threshold length of the side chain is critical for the strong intercalative binding to occur.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1111/j.1365-2958.2011.07764.x
|
MukBEF on the march: Taking over chromosome organization in bacteria?
|
Smc-ScpAB complexes, also called bacterial condensin, are comprised of highly conserved proteins present in a wide variety of bacteria and archaea. They facilitate bacterial chromosome segregation probably by organizing and/or compacting nascent sister chromosomes. In some γ-proteobacteria however the Smc-ScpAB complex appears to have been replaced by a different SMC complex, called MukBEF. Petrushenko, (2011) now show in this issue of Molecular Microbiology that distantly related homologues of MukBEF, called MksBEF, can be found in the genomes of many more species of bacteria (such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus cereus) that seem to be scattered over the phylogenetic tree. The newly identified MksBEF proteins are organized in operons like MukBEF and occur in combination with Smc-ScpAB and/or MukBEF. Mutations in mksBEF in P. aeruginosa result in the formation of anucleate cells whereas its mild overexpression can suppress the accumulation of anucleate cells in smc null mutants. These findings suggest that MksBEF and Smc-ScpAB share their duties in chromosome partitioning in P. aeruginosa and possibly in other bacteria too. Thus, chromosome organization and segregation in bacteria appear to be governed by up to three distinct condensin complexes, indicating that this process could be much more sophisticated than previously appreciated.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
10.1039/d0sc00697a
|
Insights into the formation of metal carbon nanocomposites for energy storage using hybrid NiFe layered double hydroxides as precursors
|
NiFe-carbon magnetic nanocomposites prepared using hybrid sebacate intercalated layered double hydroxides (LDHs) as precursors are shown to be of interest as supercapacitors. Here, the low-temperature formation mechanism of these materials has been deciphered by means of a combined study using complementary in situ (temperature-dependent) techniques. Specifically, studies involving X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetry coupled to mass spectrometry (TG-MS), statistical Raman spectroscopy (SRS), aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) have been carried out. The experimental results confirm the early formation of FeNi3 nanoparticles at ca. 200-250 °C, preceding the concerted collapse of the starting NiFe-LDH laminar structure over just 50 °C (from 350 to 400 °C). At the same time, the catalytic interactions between the metallic atoms and the organic molecules permit the concomitant formation of a graphitic carbon matrix leading to the formation of the final FeNi3-carbon nanocomposite. Furthermore, in situ temperature-dependent experiments in the presence of the intrinsic magnetic field of the STEM-EELS allow observing the complete metal segregation of Ni and Fe even at 400 °C. These results provide fundamental insights into the catalytic formation of carbon-based nanocomposites using LDHs as precursors and pave the way for the fine-tuning of their properties, with special interest in the field of energy storage and conversion. This journal is
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
10.1063/1.5124566
|
On The Temperature Dependence Of The Efficiency Of Electroluminescence
|
Electroluminescent cooling (ELC) of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) generally requires very high light emission efficiency. Earlier studies of electroluminescence and photoluminescence suggest that temperature strongly affects the light emission efficiency and, therefore, it is useful to explore the temperature range below room temperature (RT) where ELC might be easier to observe. With that purpose in mind, we electrically characterized four differently sized (0. 2, 0. 5, and 1 mm diameter) test devices, consisting of LEDs coupled with integrated photodetectors, at temperatures ranging from 100 K to 300 K to investigate how the temperature affects the efficiency of the structures in practice. We found that, for the studied devices, both the quantum efficiency and the overall efficiency indeed increase for low temperatures and reach peak values at temperatures clearly below RT. We also found that the temperature at which the peak efficiency occurs shifts toward higher values as the absolute value of the efficiency increases. Electroluminescent cooling (ELC) of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) generally requires very high light emission efficiency. Earlier studies of electroluminescence and photoluminescence suggest that temperature strongly affects the light emission efficiency and, therefore, it is useful to explore the temperature range below room temperature (RT) where ELC might be easier to observe. With that purpose in mind, we electrically characterized four differently sized (0. 2, 0. 5, and 1 mm diameter) test devices, consisting of LEDs coupled with integrated photodetectors, at temperatures ranging from 100 K to 300 K to investigate how the temperature affects the efficiency of the structures in practice. We found that, for the studied devices, both the quantum efficiency and the overall efficiency indeed increase for low temperatures and reach peak values at temperatures clearly below RT. We also found that the temperature at which the peak efficiency occurs shifts toward higher values as the absolute value of the effici. . .
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
Q4254851
|
SOSTEGNO ALLA LIQUIDITA' PER MICROIMPRESE COLPITE DALL'EMERGENZA COVID
|
SOSTEGNO ALLA LIQUIDITA' DELLE MICRO E PICCOLE IMPRESE DEI SETTORI COMMERCIO AL DETTAGLIO, SOMMINISTRAZIONE E SERVIZI ALLA PERSONA, LA CUI ATTIVITA' SIA STATA SOSPESA PER EFFETTO DEL DPCM 11 MARZO 2020
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
] |
716136
|
Development of Direct Dehydrogenative Couplings mediated by Dioxygen
|
The field of C-H bond activation has evolved at an exponential pace in the last 15 years. What appeals most in those novel synthetic techniques is clear: they bypass the pre-activation steps usually required in traditional cross-coupling chemistry by directly metalating C-H bonds. Many C-H bond functionalizations today however, rely on poorly atom and step efficient oxidants, leading to significant and costly chemical waste, thereby seriously undermining the overall sustainability of those methods. As restrictions in sustainability regulations will further increase, and the cost of certain chemical commodities will rise, atom efficiency in organic synthesis remains a top priority for research.
The aim of 2O2ACTIVATION is to develop novel technologies utilizing O2 as sole terminal oxidant in order to allow useful, extremely sustainable, thermodynamically challenging, dehydrogenative C-N and C-O bond forming coupling reactions. However, the moderate reactivity of O2 towards many catalysts constitutes a major challenge. 2O2ACTIVATION will pioneer the design of new catalysts based on the ultra-simple propene motive, capable of direct activation of O2 for C-H activation based cross-couplings. The project is divided into 3 major lines: O2 activation using propene and its analogues (propenoids), 1) without metal or halide, 2) with hypervalent halide catalysis, 3) with metal catalyzed C-H activation.
The philosophy of 2O2ACTIVATION is to focus C-H functionalization method development on the oxidative event.
Consequently, 2O2ACTIVATION breakthroughs will dramatically shortcut synthetic routes through the use of inactivated, unprotected, and readily available building blocks; and thus should be easily scalable. This will lead to a strong decrease in the costs related to the production of many essential chemicals, while preserving the environment (water as terminal by-product). The resulting novels coupling methods will thus have a lasting impact on the chemical industry.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
] |
10.1109/ICWS.2011.83
|
Adaptive Service Composition Based On Runtime Requirements Monitoring
|
In today's service computing environments, user needs and expectations are constantly changing. New services emerge while old ones become obsolete and need to be replaced. In such settings, composite services need to be adaptive to changes in user requirements and the environment. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for modeling compositional adaptation for services founded on a requirements monitoring facility. This facility helps maintain adherence between user requirements changes and the dynamics of service composition structure and quality attributes. Specifically, user requirements are represented as goals and soft goals, service composition structure is represented with a CSP-like grammar, and the adaptation mechanism is based on AI planning. The proposed approach is evaluated in a service simulation environment of real-world supply-chain adaptation scenarios.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
W2786286034
|
Model-based 2-D look-up table calibration tool development
|
Look-up tables are used in a great variety of fields; their simple structure makes them a common choice for nonlinear models. In automotive applications, engine control unit (ECU) software includes many 1-D and 2-D look-up tables. These tables need to be calibrated with expert engineer during long hours of testing. The look-up tables might require being created from the measurement data, or they might require being updated due to several reasons. A simple and fast mathematical approach is introduced in this work for these requirements. The algorithm is applied to a soot emission measurement data, which is provided from FEV Europe GmbH. It is demonstrated that the created generic look-up table results in the low amount of error. In addition to details of the algorithm, and the simulation demonstration; further improvements and other possible applications of the approach is given throughout the paper.
|
[
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Mathematics"
] |
10.1093/ve/vez036
|
Divergence dating using mixed effects clock modelling: An application to HIV-1
|
Abstract
The need to estimate divergence times in evolutionary histories in the presence of various sources of substitution rate variation has stimulated a rich development of relaxed molecular clock models. Viral evolutionary studies frequently adopt an uncorrelated clock model as a generic relaxed molecular clock process, but this may impose considerable estimation bias if discrete rate variation exists among clades or lineages. For HIV-1 group M, rate variation among subtypes has been shown to result in inconsistencies in time to the most recent common ancestor estimation. Although this calls into question the adequacy of available molecular dating methods, no solution to this problem has been offered so far. Here, we investigate the use of mixed effects molecular clock models, which combine both fixed and random effects in the evolutionary rate, to estimate divergence times. Using simulation, we demonstrate that this model outperforms existing molecular clock models in a Bayesian framework for estimating time-measured phylogenies in the presence of mixed sources of rate variation, while also maintaining good performance in simpler scenarios. By analysing a comprehensive HIV-1 group M complete genome data set we confirm considerable rate variation among subtypes that is not adequately modelled by uncorrelated relaxed clock models. The mixed effects clock model can accommodate this rate variation and results in a time to the most recent common ancestor of HIV-1 group M of 1920 (1915–25), which is only slightly earlier than the uncorrelated relaxed clock estimate for the same data set. The use of complete genome data appears to have a more profound impact than the molecular clock model because it reduces the credible intervals by 50 per cent relative to similar estimates based on short envelope gene sequences.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1016/j.celrep.2018.12.074
|
A Meiotic Checkpoint Alters Repair Partner Bias to Permit Inter-sister Repair of Persistent DSBs
|
Garcia-Muse et al. show that the checkpoint kinases ATM and ATR respond to excessive or unrepaired meiotic DSBs by phosphorylating the core synaptonemal complex, which channels repair via the sister chromatid. These findings reveal a mechanism that switches repair partner bias to protect meiotic cells from unscheduled DNA breaks.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3261-13.2013
|
New Approaches For Studying Synaptic Development Function And Plasticity Using Drosophila As A Model System
|
The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been established as a premier experimental model system for neuroscience research. These organisms are genetically tractable, yet their nervous systems are sufficiently complex to study diverse processes that are conserved across metazoans, including neural cell fate determination and migration, axon guidance, synaptogenesis and function, behavioral neurogenetics, and responses to neuronal injury. For several decades, Drosophila neuroscientists have taken advantage of a vast toolkit of genetic and molecular techniques to reveal fundamental principles of neuroscience illuminating to all systems, including the first behavioral mutants from Seymour Benzer's pioneering work in the 1960s and 1970s, the cloning of the first potassium channel in the 1980s, and the identification of the core genes that orchestrate axon guidance and circadian rhythms in the 1990s. Over the past decade, new tools and innovations in genetic, imaging, and electrophysiological technologies have enabled the visualization, in vivo, of dynamic processes in synapses with unprecedented resolution. We will review some of the fresh insights into synaptic development, function, and plasticity that have recently emerged in Drosophila with an emphasis on the unique advantages of this model system.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
10.1016/j.conb.2016.11.004
|
Human-specific genomic signatures of neocortical expansion
|
Neocortex evolutionary expansion is primarily due to increased proliferative capacity of neural progenitor cells during cortical development. Exploiting insights into the cell biology of cortical progenitors gained during the past two decades, recent studies uncovered a variety of gene expression differences that underlie differential cortical progenitor behavior. These comprise both, differences between cortical areas that likely provide a molecular basis for cortical folding, and differences across species thought to be responsible for increases in neocortex size. Human-specific signatures have been identified for gene regulatory elements, non-coding gene products, and protein-encoding genes, and have been functionally examined in in vivo as well as novel in vitro model systems.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
10.1093/ije/dyw314
|
Triangulation in aetiological epidemiology
|
Triangulation is the practice of obtaining more reliable answers to research questions through integrating results from several different approaches, where each approach has different key sources of potential bias that are unrelated to each other. With respect to causal questions in aetiological epidemiology, if the results of different approaches all point to the same conclusion, this strengthens confidence in the finding. This is particularly the case when the key sources of bias of some of the approaches would predict that findings would point in opposite directions if they were due to such biases. Where there are inconsistencies, understanding the key sources of bias of each approach can help to identify what further research is required to address the causal question. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how triangulation might be used to improve causal inference in aetiological epidemiology. We propose a minimum set of criteria for use in triangulation in aetiological epidemiology, summarize the key sources of bias of several approaches and describe how these might be integrated within a triangulation framework. We emphasize the importance of being explicit about the expected direction of bias within each approach, whenever this is possible, and seeking to identify approaches that would be expected to bias the true causal effect in different directions. We also note the importance, when comparing results, of taking account of differences in the duration and timing of exposures. We provide three examples to illustrate these points.
|
[
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1098/rsif.2014.0525
|
Housing tubes from the marine worm
Chaetopterus
sp.: biomaterials with exceptionally broad thermomechanical properties
|
The housing tube material of the marine worm
Chaetopterus
sp
. exhibits thermal stability up to 250°C, similar to other biological materials such as mulberry silkworm cocoons. Interestingly, however, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis conducted in both air and water elucidated the lack of a glass transition in the organic tube wall material. In fact, the viscoelastic properties of the anhydrous and undried tube were remarkably stable (i. e. constant and reversible) between –75°C and 200°C in air, and 5°C and 75°C in water, respectively. Moreover, it was found that hydration and associated-water plasticization were key to the rubber-like flexible properties of the tube; dehydration transformed the material behaviour to glass-like. The tube is made of bionanocomposite fibrils in highly oriented arrangement, which we argue favours the biomaterial to be highly crystalline or cross-linked, with extensive hydrogen and/or covalent bonds. Mechanical property characterization in the longitudinal and transverse directions ascertained that the tubes were not quasi-isotropic structures. In general, the higher stiffness and strength in the transverse direction implied that there were more nanofibrils orientated at ±45° and ±65° than at 0° to the tube axis. The order of the mechanical properties of the soft–tough tubes was similar to synthetic rubber-like elastomers and even some viscid silks. The complex structure–property relations observed indicated that the worm has evolved to produce a tubular housing structure which can (i) function stably over a broad range of temperatures, (ii) endure mechanical stresses from specific planes/axes, and (iii) facilitate rapid growth or repair.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.1080/13632469.2018.1531090
|
Disaster Resilience Assessment Of Building And Transportation System
|
The paper presents a new methodology to assist decision-makers in the management of critical events such as earthquakes evaluating the recovery time, and the resilience index of a building system t. . .
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
3727330
|
Chemical space for antimicrobials on a peptide basis
|
Multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria represent a global public health threat against which new drugs are urgently needed. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), mostly derived from naturally occurring linear or cyclic peptides, can contribute to solving the problem. AMPs are already in clinical use, do not easily lead to resistance, and can rely on a strong manufacturing sector and established protocols for clinical development. However, most AMPs are degraded by proteases and have poor pharmacokinetics.
SPACE4AMPS aims to identify new AMPs with diverse peptide chain topologies and building blocks and with the following characteristics: i) Broad activity spectrum, ii) High activity, iii) Low probability for induced resistance, iv) Low proteolysis, v) Better pharmacokinetics.
To reach its goal SPACE4AMPS will create computational tools to explore the extremely vast chemical space of large molecules such as peptides and natural products, which now lies within reach of the latest computer hardware developments.
To better understand antimicrobial drugs, we will design a molecular fingerprint relating antimicrobial activity to molecular structure and use it to draw a tree-map of the antimicrobial chemical space. We will enrich this map with new compounds from generative models using neural networks.
To identify new AMPs, we will use a genetic algorithm carrying out cycles of molecule generation and similarity calculations to select cyclic peptides and peptide dendrimers including lipidated, peptoid (N-alkyl glycines) and N-methylated residues, synthesize and test these molecules against MDR bacteria, fungi and parasites, screen actives for toxicity, and study their structure and mode of action.
By its ground-breaking and unprecedented computational/synthetic/biological approach, SPACE4AMPS can help solve the antibiotics crisis, revolutionize knowledge on antimicrobial compounds, and create new methods enabling computer-aided drug discovery for large molecules.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
10.2533/chimia.2017.768
|
Time-resolved element-selective probing of charge carriers in solar materials
|
We review our recent results on the implementation of picosecond (ps) X-ray absorption spectroscopy to probe the electronic and geometric structure of centres formed by photoexcitation of solar materials such as TiO2 polymorphs and inorganic Cs-based perovskites. The results show electron localization at Ti defects in TiO2 anatase and rutile and small hole polaron formation in the valence band of CsPbBr3, all within 80 ps. This method is promising for the study of the ultrafast time scales of such processes, especially with the advent of the Swiss X-ray Free Electron Laser (SwissFEL).
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
] |
309834
|
Dosage sensitive genes in evolution and disease
|
Evolutionary change of gene copy number through gene duplication is a relatively pervasive phenomenon in eukaryotic genomes. However, for a subset of genes such changes are deleterious because they result in imbalances in the cell. Such dosage-sensitive genes have been increasingly implicated in disease, particularly through the association of copy number variants (CNVs) with pathogenicity.
In my lab we have previously discovered that many genes in the human genome which were retained after whole genome duplication (WGD) are refractory to gene duplication both over evolutionary timescales and within populations. These are expected characteristics of dosage-balanced genes. Many of these genes are implicated in human disease. I now propose to take a computational (dry-lab) approach to examine the evolution of dosage-balanced genes further and to develop a sophisticated model of evolutionary constraint of copy number. These models will enable the identification of dosage-balanced genes and their consideration as novel candidate disease loci.
Recognising and interpreting patterns of constraint is the cornerstone of molecular evolution. Through careful analysis of genome sequences with respect to gene duplication over evolutionary times and within populations, we will develop a formal and generalised model of copy-number evolution and constraint. We will use these models to identify candidate disease loci within pathogenic CNVs. We will also study the characteristics of known disease genes in order to identify novel candidate loci for dosage-dependent disease.
This is an ambitious and high impact project that has the potential to yield major insights into gene copy-number constraint and its relationship to complex disease.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
W2058359235
|
Practicing a Professional Ethic: Leading for Students’ Best Interests
|
This research examined secondary administrators’ perspectives about the expression “the best interests of the student.” Principals’ intimate reflections provided empirical insights into what they mean when they use the expression, “the best interests of the student” and whether such a common catch phrase could provide ethical guidance. A modified phenomenological research method suited for an educational research context was used to capture administrators’ perspectives and experiences. Results challenge the theoretical notion that the expression, “serve the best interests of the student” is, or should be, used in some primary, rule-based first order manner by administrators to inform their ethical decision making. Ethical judgment was more complicated and contextually defined than following a fundamental professional injunction, but the expression resonated with administrators, typifying dispositions that promote moral practice. Results and interpretations bring conceptual clarification to the moral leade...
|
[
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
] |
10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.02.021
|
Facial coloration tracks changes in women's estradiol
|
Red facial coloration is an important social cue in many primate species, including humans. In such species, the vasodilatory effects of estradiol may cause red facial coloration to change systematically during females' ovarian cycle. Although increased red facial coloration during estrus has been observed in female mandrills (. Mandrillus sphinx) and rhesus macaques (. Macaca mulatta), evidence linking primate facial color changes directly to changes in measured estradiol is lacking. Addressing this issue, we used a longitudinal design to demonstrate that red facial coloration tracks within-subject changes in women's estradiol, but not within-subject changes in women's progesterone or estradiol-to-progesterone ratio. Moreover, the relationship between estradiol and facial redness was observed in two independent samples of women (. N=. 50 and N=. 65). Our results suggest that changes in facial coloration may provide cues of women's fertility and present the first evidence for a direct link between estradiol and female facial redness in a primate species.
|
[
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
AU 2012/202772 A
|
Form-fill-seal machine
|
A form-fill-seal machine 100 has a pull-down belt mechanism 23, a vertical sealing mechanism 2, and a controller 29. The pull-down belt mechanism conveys a cylindrical film Fm. The vertical sealing mechanism applies pressure and ultrasonic oscillation to the 5 cylindrical film which is conveyed by the pull-down belt mechanism, and seals the cylindrical film. The controller controls the pull-down belt mechanism, and the pressure and the amplitude of the ultrasonic oscillation applied to the cylindrical film by the vertical sealing mechanism. The controller applies pressure and ultrasonic oscillation to the cylindrical film immediately before reaching a first point in time when the cylindrical film [0 begins to be conveyed. The controller changes at least one of the pressure and the amplitude of the ultrasonic oscillation applied to the film according to the speed of the film in a time period after reaching the first point in time. co O c 2- Fm LEFT SIDE REAR SIDE FRONT SIDE RIGHT SIDE 0o 4 C z z 0J _ 0 : zz
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
10.1097/RLI.0000000000000044
|
Initial Evaluation Of Non Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Angiography In Patients With Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease At 7 T
|
OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to achieve initial experience with non-contrast-enhanced (ne) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) of the lower leg arteries in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) at 7 T. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seven patients with PAOD were examined on a 7-T whole-body magnetic resonance system. A custom-built 16-channel transmit/receive coil and a manually positionable AngioSURF table were used for multistation imaging. For ne-MRA, an axial T1-weighted Turbo-fast low angle shot sequence (repetition time, 700 milliseconds; echo time, 3. 84 milliseconds; bandwidth, 930 Hz/pixel; voxel volume, 1 × 1 × 2 mm; matrix, 384 × 288) with phonocardiogram gating was acquired at 7 T. Acquisition time of an entire angiogram covering the vasculature from pelvis to feet amounted to approximately 30 minutes, depending on the patient's heart frequency. All patients underwent a contrast-enhanced MRA (ce-MRA) at 1. 5 T as standard of reference. The presence of stenosis and occlusions was evaluated segment based and compared for both MRA techniques. The degree of stenosis was defined as low grade (<50%), high grade (50%-99%), and occlusion (100%). High-grade stenosis and occlusion were considered to be hemodynamically significant stenosis. RESULTS The 7-T ne-MRA enabled a homogenous, hyperintense artery signal and nearly total venous suppression with accurate delineation of arterial anatomy both proximal and distal to stenotic disease. A total of 154 artery segments were depicted with ce-MRA at 1. 5 T. At 7 T, only 124 segments (80. 5%) were displayed and involved for analysis, as the iliacal region was displayed incompletely in 4 patients because of the fact that the fixed coil diameter was too small to contain the lower abdomen and pelvis of these patients. In comparison with ce-MRA at 1. 5 T as the reference standard, there was total agreement regarding the characterization of an artery segment as being normal or having any kind of stenosis. Of the 124 included segments, 28 segments (23%) had hemodynamically significant stenosis evaluated with 7-T ne-MRA and 26 segments (21%) assessed with 1. 5-T ce-MRA. The sensitivity and specificity values of 7-T ne-MRA for detecting segments with hemodynamically significant stenosis were 93% and 98%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Non-contrast-enhanced MRA by means of T1-weighted Turbo-fast low angle shot imaging at 7 T in patients with PAOD is feasible and allowed for good visualization of stenosis and occlusions in all analyzed artery segments in this small patient group. However, this study also shows the challenges of ultrahigh-field body imaging, and more experience is required to determine the impact of 7-T ne-MRA in clinical practice.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
] |
10.1007/978-3-319-03041-8_27
|
Spiral Shocks Cooling And The Origin Of Star Formation Rates
|
We have performed the first numerical simulations to resolve the star formation process on sub-parsec scales, whilst also following the dynamics of the interstellar medium (ISM) on galactic scales. The warm low density ISM gas flows into the spiral arms where orbit crowding produces the shock formation of dense clouds, held together temporarily by their external pressure. Cooling allows the gas to be compressed to sufficiently high densities that local regions collapse under their own gravity and form stars. The star formation rates follow a Schmidt-Kennicutt \(\varSigma _{\mathrm{SFR}} \propto \varSigma _{\mathrm{gas}}^{1. 4}\) type relation with the local surface density of gas while following a linear relation with the dense cold gas. Cooling is the primary driver of star formation and the star formation rates as it determines the amount of cold gas available for gravitational collapse.
|
[
"Universe Sciences"
] |
10.1039/c4cp00093e
|
Molecules in the mirror: how SERS backgrounds arise from the quantum method of images
|
The SERS background can be derived from the interaction of a molecule near a plasmonic surface with its image molecule.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics"
] |
10.1093/cercor/bht265
|
Projections from caudal ventrolateral prefrontal areas to brainstem preoculomotor structures and to basal ganglia and cerebellar oculomotor loops in the macaque
|
The caudal part of the macaque ventrolateral prefrontal (VLPF) cortex hosts several distinct areas or fields - 45B, 45A, 8r, caudal 46vc, and caudal 12r - connected to the frontal eye field (area 8/FEF). To assess whether these areas/fields also display subcortical projections possibly mediating a role in controlling oculomotor behavior, we examined their descending projections, based on anterograde tracer injections in each area/field, and compared them with those of area 8/FEF. All the studied areas/fields displayed projections to brainstem preoculomotor structures, precerebellar centers, and striatal sectors that are also targets of projections originating from area 8/FEF. Specifically, these projections involved: 1) the intermediate and superficial layers of the superior colliculus; 2) the mesencephalic and pontine reticular formation; 3) the dorsomedial and lateral pontine nuclei and the reticularis tegmenti pontis; and 4) the body of the caudate nucleus. Furthermore, area 45B projected also to the regions around the trochlear nucleus and to the raphe interpositus. The present data provide evidence for a role of the caudal VLPF areas/fields in controlling oculomotor behavior not only through their connections to area 8/FEF, but also in parallel through a direct access to preoculomotor brainstem structures and to the cerebellar and basal ganglia oculomotor loops.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System"
] |
W1990532360
|
The use of nitrogen-stable isotope technique to identify L-leucine extracted from human hair
|
The production of L-leucine from pure botanical sources is expensive and time consuming. Hence, most fraudulent manufacturers in China use cheap and sometimes unwholesome sources of raw materials such as human hair and duck feathers in its production. Consequently, major concerns on health, economic, religious, legal and allergic reaction cases have been raised about this economically motivated adulteration. Notably, consumers of dietary supplements across the globe are beginning to request for non-animal and non-human sources. Hence, the prediction of the respective sources is essential for consumer protection. Therefore, this study provides discrimination between leucine derived from human hair and pure botanical sources as well as other sources such as duck feathers and pig fur by using the nitrogen stable isotope technique. An elemental analyzer which was connected to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer operated in the continuous flow mode was utilized. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA. The results obtained showed δ15N values between 8.24 and 8.46 ‰ for the L-leucine extracted from human hair whereas ranges of 0.82–2.23, 5.41–5.47 and 5.88–6.01 ‰ were recorded for that of maize, pig fur and duck feather samples, respectively. It was shown that there is a clear difference between the δ15N composition of L-leucine extracted from human hair and the other sources. The difference confirms the predictable trophic enrichment of δ15N composition of organisms in a food web. This study adds to the efforts already in place to help curb food safety menace.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
10.1016/j.neuron.2018.03.030
|
Alternative 3′ UTRs Modify the Localization, Regulatory Potential, Stability, and Plasticity of mRNAs in Neuronal Compartments
|
Neurons localize mRNAs near synapses where their translation can be regulated by synaptic demand and activity. Differences in the 3′ UTRs of mRNAs can change their localization, stability, and translational regulation. Using 3′ end RNA sequencing of microdissected rat brain slices, we discovered a huge diversity in mRNA 3′ UTRs, with many transcripts showing enrichment for a particular 3′ UTR isoform in either somata or the neuropil. The 3′ UTR isoforms of localized transcripts are significantly longer than the 3′ UTRs of non-localized transcripts and often code for proteins associated with axons, dendrites, and synapses. Surprisingly, long 3′ UTRs add not only new, but also duplicate regulatory elements. The neuropil-enriched 3′ UTR isoforms have significantly longer half-lives than somata-enriched isoforms. Finally, the 3′ UTR isoforms can be significantly altered by enhanced activity. Most of the 3′ UTR plasticity is transcription dependent, but intriguing examples of changes that are consistent with altered stability, trafficking between compartments, or local “remodeling” remain. Tushev, Glock, et al. use 3′ end sequencing together with hippocampal slice microdissection to separately examine transcripts arising from somata or the neuropil. They discover a huge diversity in neuronal mRNA 3′ UTRs, which give rise to differences in localization, stability, translation, and plasticity.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1002/anie.201400541
|
Selective encapsulation and sequential release of guests within a self-sorting mixture of three tetrahedral cages
|
A mixture of two triamines, one diamine, 2-formylpyridine and a Zn II salt was found to self-sort, cleanly producing a mixture of three different tetrahedral cages. Each cage bound one of three guests selectively. These guests could be released in a specific sequence following the addition of 4-methoxyaniline, which reacted with the cages, opening each in turn and releasing its guest. The system here described thus behaved in an organized way in three distinct contexts: cage formation, guest encapsulation, and guest release. Such behavior could be used in the context of a more complex system, where released guests serve as signals to other chemical actors. Well sorted: Three discrete metal-organic cages were prepared through the one-pot reaction of five subcomponents, that is, three amines, 2-formylpyridine, and a Zn II salt. Each cage selectively accommodates a single guest within a mixture of three guests, and each guest can be sequentially released following the addition of a chemical stimulus.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
] |
10.1088/0004-637X/772/1/23
|
The Burst Cluster Dark Matter In A Cluster Merger Associated With The Short Gamma Ray Burst Grb 050509B
|
We have identified a merging galaxy cluster with evidence of two distinct subclusters. The X-ray and optical data suggest that the subclusters are presently moving away from each other after closest approach. This cluster merger was discovered from observations of the first well-localized short-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB), GRB 050509B. The Swift/Burst Alert Telescope error position of the source is coincident with a cluster of galaxies ZwCl 1234. 0+02916, while the subsequent Swift/X-Ray Telescope localization of the X-ray afterglow found the GRB coincident with 2MASX J12361286+2858580, a giant red elliptical galaxy in the cluster. Deep multi-epoch optical images were obtained in this field to constrain the evolution of the GRB afterglow, including a total of 27,480 s exposure in the F814W band with Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys, among the deepest imaging ever obtained toward a known galaxy cluster in a single passband. We perform a weak gravitational lensing analysis based on these data, including mapping of the total mass distribution of the merger system with high spatial resolution. When combined with Chandra X-ray Observatory Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer and Swift/XRT observations, we are able to investigate the dynamical state of the merger to better understand the nature of the dark matter component. Our weak gravitational lensing measurements reveal a separation of the X-ray centroid of the western subcluster from the center of the mass and galaxy light distributions, which is somewhat similar to that of the famous "Bullet cluster," and we conclude that this "Burst cluster" adds another candidate to the previously known merger systems for determining the nature of dark matter, as well as for studying the environment of a short GRB. Finally, we discuss potential connections between the cluster dynamical state and/or matter composition, and compact object mergers, which is currently the leading model for the origin of short GRBs. We also present our results from a weak-lensing survey based on archival Very Large Telescope images in the areas of five other short GRBs, which do not provide any firm detections of mass concentrations representative of rich clusters.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Universe Sciences"
] |
10.1080/09640568.2016.1157458
|
We Cannot Let This Happen Again Reversing Uk Flood Policy In Response To The Somerset Levels Floods 2014
|
The Multiple Streams Framework offers a theoretical account of how policy proposals move from latent possibilities to becoming favored for implementation. We apply this framework in the context of the policy response to the 2013–2014 flooding of the Somerset Levels and Moors. Stakeholder interviews and analysis of news media coverage evidence the way in which a specific policy option that had fallen out of favor with the national Environment Agency – dredging – came to the fore and was eventually adopted during the period in which the conjunction of problem, policy, and political pressures came to a head. Local political activists mobilized a wider campaign with the help of social media and capitalized on national political sensitivities to successfully promote dredging. What is less clear is the longevity of the policy reversal, given funding constraints.
|
[
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"Earth System Science"
] |
10.1109/LCOMM.2014.2323242
|
Maximum Throughput Gain Of Compute And Forward For Multiple Unicast
|
Compute-and-Forward (CF), also known as reliable physical layer network coding, is a technique that provides the possibility of exploiting the features of broadcast and superposition in wireless networks. It has been shown that the throughput for multiple unicast traffic can be significantly boosted by CF. In this letter, the limit of such improvement is investigated by comparing the performance of CF with the traditional routing-based transmission schemes. For networks characterized by local interference and half-duplex constraints, it is proven that the throughput gain of CF over traditional routing, expressed by an improvement factor, is upper bounded by $3K$, where $K$ is the number of unicast sessions. Furthermore, a class of networks is presented for which an improvement by a factor of $K/2$ is feasible by applying CF. Hence, the throughput gain of CF is at most on the order of $K$ for any network, and a gain in that order is indeed achievable for some networks.
|
[
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
W1474589743
|
Integrating interventions on maternal mortality and morbidity and HIV: a human rights-based framework and approach.
|
Maternal mortality and morbidity (MMM) and HIV represent interlinked challenges arising from common causes, magnifying their respective impacts and producing related consequences. Accordingly, an integrated response will lead to the most effective approach for both. Shared structural drivers include gender inequality; gender-based violence (including sexual violence); economic disempowerment; and stigma and discrimination in access to services or opportunities based on gender and HIV. Further, shared system-related drivers also contribute to a lack of effective access to acceptable, high-quality health services and other development resources from birth forward. HIV and MMM are connected in both outcomes and solutions: in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV is the leading cause of maternal death, while the most recent global report on HIV identifies prevention of unintended pregnancy and access to contraception as two of the most important HIV-related prevention efforts.1 Both are central to reducing unsafe abortion--another leading cause of maternal death globally, and particularly in Africa. A human rights-based framework helps to identify these shared determinants. A human rights-based approach works to establish the health-related human rights standards to which all women are entitled, as well to outline the indivisible and intersecting human rights principles which inform and guide efforts to prevent, protect from, respond to, and provide remedy for human rights violations-in this case related to HIV and maternal mortality and morbidity.The Millennium Declaration and Development Goals (MDGs) help to both set quantifiable goals for achieving the components identified within the human rights-based framework and document the international consensus that no single goal--such as those addressing HIV and MMM--can be achieved without progress on all development goals.
|
[
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
] |
10.1088/2041-8205/743/1/L21
|
The Formation Of Shell Galaxies Similar To Ngc 7600 In The Cold Dark Matter Cosmogony
|
We present new deep observations of 'shell' structures in the halo of the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC 7600, alongside a movie of galaxy formation in a cold dark matter universe (available at this http URL). The movie, based on an ab initio cosmological simulation, shows how continuous accretion of clumps of dark matter and stars creates a swath of diffuse circumgalactic structures. The disruption of a massive clump on a near-radial orbit creates a complex system of transient concentric shells which bare a striking resemblance to those of NGC 7600. With the aid of the simulation we interpret NGC 7600 in the context of the CDM model.
|
[
"Universe Sciences",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1093/mnrasl/slu006
|
Effect of rotational disruption on the size-frequency distribution of the main belt asteroid population
|
The size distribution of small asteroids in the Main Belt is assumed to be determined by an equilibrium between the creation of new bodies out of the impact debris of larger asteroids and the destruction of small asteroids by collisions with smaller projectiles. However, for a diameter less than 6 km, we find that YORP-induced rotational disruption significantly contributes to the erosion even exceeding the effects of collisional fragmentation. Including this additional grinding mechanism in a collision evolution model for the asteroid belt, we generate size-frequency distributions from either an accretional or an 'Asteroids were born big' initial size-frequency distribution that are consistent with observations reported in Gladman et al. Rotational disruption is a new mechanism that must be included in all future collisional evolution models of asteroids.
|
[
"Universe Sciences"
] |
216331
|
Peptieuforce: a game-changing ingredient for the pre-diabetic population
|
Diabetes is accepted as a global and EU epidemic, with 415 million people suffering type 2 diabetes worldwide. Europe has 60 ml. diabetics, swallowing 13% of the EU healthcare budget, or €290bn. This is before we add the 318 ml. people globally with impaired glucose tolerance (prediabetics). The EU has highlighted functional foods as a valuable solution to prevent diabetes but to date, no advances of any significance have been made in scientifically proven functional food solutions in the diabetes arena. Existing methods for discovering such solutions are ancient and are exceedingly time, resource, and cost heavy. Nuritas Founder, Dr Nora Khaldi disrupts the paradigm using artificial intelligence and DNA analysis to find new disease-beating molecules in natural foodstuffs. She pioneers the field of food bioinformatics where she has won multiple EU competitive grants in her 11-year long academic research career. Recognised as having the potential to grow bigger than Facebook in size, Nuritas boasts the world’s largest peptide database, which along with a unique discovery method has helped find a groundbreaking, scientifically validated and patent-filed peptide molecule. This regulates blood sugar, which is key in the battle with diabetes type 2. Together with the exclusivity of our 20-year patent protection, it will deliver a very significant and on-going partnership with a food/pharma multinational company. Nuritas is expected to generate significant global sales by 2024 with a resultant high delivery on job creation through the development of this peptide. The significant learnings from this project will also be utilised on Nuritas’ consistently expanding portfolio of other novel life-changing molecules. The European and global socio economic impact will be huge. This is both in terms of longer, better lives and substantial savings delivered for overstretched healthcare budgets already groaning under the ever increasing epidemic of diabetes.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
249892
|
Gene networks controlling embryonic polarity, regulation and twinning
|
Much of what we know about how embryos determine their axes of symmetry comes from research in invertebrates (mainly Drosophila) and cold-blooded vertebrates (mainly Xenopus). In both cases, polarity is set up by the localisation of maternal determinants in the cytoplasm of the fertilised egg. These determinants are inherited differentially by daughter cells, leading them to acquire different fates, which effectively fixes the axes of the embryo by the 8 cell stage. In contrast, in amniotes (reptiles, birds and mammals) embryonic polarity remains plastic until much later, just before gastrulation, when the embryo may contain as many as 50,000 cells. If an embryo at this stage is cut into fragments, each fragment can generate a complete embryo. This property, called "embryonic regulation", is thought to be responsible for the generation of monozygotic (identical) and conjoined ( Siamese ) twins in humans and other amniotes. We know almost nothing about how polarity is determined in higher vertebrates or about the mechanisms of embryonic regulation and twinning. This project uses a multi-disciplinary systems approach to reveal the gene interaction network controlling polarity, regulation and twinning. The project will also generate a mathematical model of early development or "virtual embryo", allowing prediction of experimental outcomes and clinical scenarios.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
US 9804195 W
|
LINER HOLDER ASSEMBLY
|
A holder assembly, for use with disposable baby feeding bottle liners, includes a holder having a longitudinal slot (12) and a member. The member has a disk and a finger-operated attachment (28) joined to the disk at a single location. The attachment engages the longitudinal slot to mount the disk slidably within the holder. The attachment is readily adapted to assembly and disassembly. The holder, preferably, has a dual set of markings (50, 60) for determining the volume of liquid entering into the liner and the volume of liquid remaining in the liner as the baby is feeding.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering"
] |
320570
|
Exciton-Polaritons: New Physics and Long Term Applications
|
This proposal combines novel experimentation and physical insight with state-of-the-art advances in technology to establish the field of exciton-polariton physics in major new directions. The new physics takes advantage of unique polariton properties including very light mass, strong non-linearities, bosonic character and direct access to density, phase and quantum statistics. The major goals are:
1. Transform the field into the regime of non-classical polariton physics. Major steps forward will include the polariton blockade where one polariton prevents the passage of the next, and very fast 10-100 GHz single photon sources, opening the way to realisation of a variety of strongly correlated photon phenomena in a solid state system.
2. Achieve a quantum phase transition in a system with strong inter-particle interactions, with particular opportunities deriving from the non-equilibrium nature of the polariton system.
3. In the many particle regime, create non-dispersing polariton wave-packets, study collisions and create the first polariton circuits, capitalising on advantageous soliton and condensate properties.
As well as the polariton area, the project will impact on several broader fields: semiconductor physics in revealing new interaction phenomena on the nanoscale, quantum optics and information science in the realisation of very fast single photon sources and quantum circuit functions, and new high density collective phase physics towards exploitation as opto-electronic logic gates and circuits. Advances in technology will be crucial to enable the new directions. They will include fabrication of highly uniform cavities using innovation in crystal growth, the pioneering of a new type of polariton system, waveguide polaritons, and the use of open cavities to permit the application of very short wavelength periodic potentials. These technology goals are challenging but achievable, and have potential to enable major advances over the next 5 to 10 years.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.242002
|
How Bright is the Proton? A Precise Determination of the Photon Parton Distribution Function
|
It has become apparent in recent years that it is important, notably for a range of physics studies at the Large Hadron Collider, to have accurate knowledge on the distribution of photons in the proton. We show how the photon parton distribution function (PDF) can be determined in a model-independent manner, using electron-proton (ep) scattering data, in effect viewing the ep→e+X process as an electron scattering off the photon field of the proton. To this end, we consider an imaginary, beyond the Standard Model process with a flavor changing photon-lepton vertex. We write its cross section in two ways: one in terms of proton structure functions, the other in terms of a photon distribution. Requiring their equivalence yields the photon distribution as an integral over proton structure functions. As a result of the good precision of ep data, we constrain the photon PDF at the level of 1%-2% over a wide range of momentum fractions.
|
[
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
] |
10.1002/anie.202003287
|
Catalytically Active Hollow Fiber Membranes with Enzyme-Embedded Metal–Organic Framework Coating
|
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are suitable enzyme immobilization matrices. Reported here is the in situ biomineralization of glucose oxidase (GOD) into MOF crystals (ZIF-8) by interfacial crystallization. This method is effective for the selective coating of porous polyethersulfone microfiltration hollow fibers on the shell side in a straightforward one-step process. MOF layers with a thickness of 8 μm were synthesized, and fluorescence microscopy and a colorimetric protein assay revealed the successful inclusion of GOD into the ZIF-8 layer with an enzyme concentration of 29±3 μg cm−2. Enzymatic activity tests revealed that 50 % of the enzyme activity is preserved. Continuous enzymatic reactions, by the permeation of β-d-glucose through the GOD@ZIF-8 membranes, showed a 50 % increased activity compared to batch experiments, emphasizing the importance of the convective transport of educts and products to and from the enzymatic active centers.
|
[
"Materials Engineering",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
] |
W2267084524
|
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF COMPRESSYVE STRENGTH AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE PRODUCED WITH GROUND BARITE
|
ABSTRACT In this study, compressive strength test and physical tests were made on concrete which was produced by using ground barite provided from Foreign Trade Inc. in Mu? province. Two different procedures were used in the experiments. In the first, concrete samples were prepared by decreasing the amount of aggregate in concrete mix at the rates of 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%, respectively, and by adding ground barite at the same proportions. In the second, the samples were prepared by substituting cement with ground barite in the mixture at the proportions of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%, respectively, in order to understand whether ground barite had binding feature. The results of the first experiment showed that concrete unit weight and Ultrasonic pulse velocity test (PGH) values were increased by the addition of ground barite instead of normal aggregate, whereas surface hardness was decreased. Compressive strength was also increased by the addition of ground barite up to 40%. The second experiment showed that dry unit weight was increased linearly by the increase in the amount of ground barite in the concrete mixture. On the hand, while compressive strength was increased until the addition of ground barite up to 20%, it was observed to decrease by the addition of ground barite at higher proportions.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.1002/ijc.32603
|
The antibody-based delivery of interleukin-12 to solid tumors boosts NK and CD8<sup>+</sup> T cell activity and synergizes with immune checkpoint inhibitors
|
We describe the cloning and characterization of a novel fusion protein (termed L19-mIL12), consisting of murine interleukin-12 in single-chain format, sequentially fused to the L19 antibody in tandem diabody format. The fusion protein bound avidly to the cognate antigen (the alternatively spliced EDB domain of fibronectin), retained the activity of the parental cytokine and was able to selectively localize to murine tumors in vivo, as shown by quantitative biodistribution analysis. L19-mIL12 exhibited a potent antitumor activity in immunocompetent mice bearing CT26 carcinomas and WEHI-164 sarcomas, which could be boosted by combination with checkpoint blockade, leading to durable cancer eradication. L19-mIL12 also inhibited tumor growth in mice with Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC), but in this case, cancer cures could not be obtained, both in monotherapy and in combination. A microscopic analysis and a depletion experiment of tumor-infiltrating leukocytes illustrated the contribution of NK cells and CD8+ T cells for the anticancer activity observed in both tumor models. Upon L19-mIL12 treatment, the density of regulatory T cells (Tregs) was strongly increased in LLC, but not in CT26 tumors. A FACS analysis also revealed that the majority of CD8+ T cells in CT26 tumors were specific to the retroviral AH1 antigen.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
Q2716073
|
Working capital subsidy for “Emilia Hair Salon” Emilia Pustuła
|
The project concerns support to the company to provide liquidity and to support its day-to-day operations in view of the financial difficulties that have occurred in the company as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Financial aid under scheme SA.57015.
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
10.1051/0004-6361/201321522
|
Planck 2013 Results Xxi All Sky Compton Parameter Power Spectrum And High Order Statistics
|
We have constructed the first all-sky map of the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (tSZ) effect by applying specifically tailored component separation algorithms to the 100 to 857 GHz frequency channel maps from the Planck survey. These maps show an obvious galaxy cluster tSZ signal that is well matched with blindly detected clusters in the Planck SZ catalogue. To characterize the signal in the tSZ map we have computed its angular power spectrum. At large angular scales ($\ell 500$) the clustered Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB) and residual point sources are the major contaminants. These foregrounds are carefully modelled and subtracted. We measure the tSZ power spectrum in angular scales, $0. 17^{\circ} \lesssim \theta \lesssim 3. 0^{\circ}$, that were previously unexplored. The measured tSZ power spectrum is consistent with that expected from the Planck catalogue of SZ sources, with additional clear evidence of signal from unresolved clusters and, potentially, diffuse warm baryons. We use the tSZ power spectrum to obtain the following cosmological constraints:
$\sigma_8(\Omega_{\mathrm{m}}/0. 28)^{3. 2/8. 1}=0. 784 \pm 0. 016 (68% C. L. ). Marginalized band-powers of the Planck tSZ power spectrum and the best-fit model are given. The non-Gaussianity of the Compton parameter map is further characterized by computing its 1D probability distribution function and its bispectrum. These are used to place additional independent constraints on $\sigma_{8}$.
|
[
"Universe Sciences",
"Mathematics"
] |
10.1007/s11562-018-0431-0
|
A minority within a minority?: the complexity and multilocality of transnational Twelver Shia networks in Britain
|
Academic scholarship on Shia Muslim minorities in the West has described them as ‘a minority within a minority’ (Sachedina 1994: 3) or as ‘the other within the other’ (Takim 2009: 143), referring to a certain sense of double-marginalization of Shia Muslims in non-Muslim societal contexts. They need to undertake particular efforts to maintain both an Islamic as well as particular Shia identity in terms of communal activities and practices and public perception and recognition, responding to the rise of Islamophobia more generally and anti-Shia sectarianism more specifically. This article problematizes this notion of a double-marginalization of Shia minorities in the West as too simplistic. The article investigates the dynamics around the creation of transnational Shia communal spaces in north-west London, the public representation of Shia Muslim identities by networks and organizations based there to illustrate their multilocal connectivities and internal heterogeneity. The article is based on research in the borough of Brent, north-west London, and presents novel insights into Shia spaces in Britain and thereby makes an important contribution to complexifying academic discourse on Muslims in Britain which has focussed on Sunni Muslims almost exclusively. The ethnographic data is contextualized by providing background information on the historical and social formations of the networks and the centres examined in the article. To analyze the multilocal spatial manifestations and connections of these network, the article utilizes Werbner’s notion of ‘complex diasporas’ (2002, 2004, 2010) and recent contributions to the development of a spatial methodology in Religious Studies (Knott 2005; Vásquez 2010; Tweed 2006; McLoughlin and Zavos 2014). The article thereby constitutes the very first attempt to apply recent contributions on the nature of diasporic religions and their spatial multilocality to the case study of Twelver Shia networks based in London.
|
[
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Studies of Cultures and Arts"
] |
W1981377883
|
Numerical Simulation of Solidification of Work Roll in Centrifugal Casting Process
|
A program on the solidification process of horizontal centrifugal casting coupled with eutectic carbides segregation has been developed in this paper. Due to the geometrical features of work roll, a cylindrical coordinate system was used. The temperature field of the outer layer at the end of filling process was imported as the initial temperature condition for the solidification process. The model of eutectic carbides segregation caused by different densities between eutectic MC and the molten steel was coupled in the program. The temperature field of the outer layer of work roll during horizontal centrifugal casting process was investigated. Results show that the outer layer has a sandwich shape solid fraction manner. Results also indicate that the segregation of eutectic MC is quite severe during centrifugal casting process. It forms four zones of different content of carbides in radial direction. The simulated results of MC carbides segregation phenomenon agree with the experimental observations.
|
[
"Materials Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
] |
10.1109/FOCS.2014.48
|
Online Bipartite Matching In Offline Time
|
This paper investigates the problem of maintaining maximum size matchings in incremental bipartite graphs. In this problem a bipartite graph G between n clients and n servers is revealed online. The clients arrive in an arbitrary order and request to be matched to a subset of servers. In our model we allow the clients to switch between servers and want to maximize the matching size between them, i. e. , after a client arrives we find an augmenting path from a client to a free server. Our goals in this model are twofold. First, we want to minimize the number of times clients are reallocated between the servers. Second, we want to give fast algorithms that recompute such reallocation. As for the number of changes, we propose a greedy algorithm that chooses an augmenting path π that minimizes the maximum number of times each server in π was used by augmenting paths so far. We show that in this algorithm each server has its client reassigned O(√n) times. This gives an O(n3/2) bound on the total number of changes, what gives a progres towards the main open question risen by Chaudhuri et al. (INFOCOM'09) who asked to prove O(nlog n) upper bound. Next, we argue that the same bound holds in the decremental case. Moreover, we show incremental and decremental algorithms that maintain (1 -- e)-approximate matching with total of O(e -- 1n) reallocations, for any e>0. Finally, we address the question of how to efficiently compute paths given by this greedy algorithm. We show that by introducing proper amortization we can obtain an incremental algorithm that maintains the maximum size matching in total O(√nm) time. This matches the running time of one of the fastest static maximum matching algorithms that was given by Hopcroft and Karp (SIAM J. Comput '73). We extend our result to decremental case where we give the same total bound on the running time. Additionally, we show O(e -- 1m) time incremental and decremental algorithms that maintain (1 -- e)-approximate matching for any e > 0. Observe that this bound matches the running time of the fastest approximate static solution as well.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
996718
|
High-Quality energy performance assessment and certification in europe accelerating deep energy renovation (qualdeepc)
|
The QualDeEPC project is aiming to both improve quality and cross-EU convergence of Ener-gy Performance Certificate (EPC) schemes, and the link between EPCs and deep renovation: High-quality Energy Performance Assessment and Certification in Europe Accelerating Deep Energy Renovation (QualDeEPC). The objective of the project is to improve the practical implementation of the assessment, is-suance, design, and use of EPCs as well as their renovation recommendations, in the partici-pating countries and beyond. Recommendations for renovation shall be made coherent with deep energy renovation towards a nearly-zero energy building stock by 2050. In order to reach these objectives, the project will organise its activities in four stages: 1 | Analysis of existing EPC schemes, good practice, shortcomings, and priorities for improvement 2 | Development and testing of concrete proposals and tools for enhanced EPC assessment, certifi-cation, and verification, as well as Deep Renovation Network Platforms 3 | Adaptation to country needs and implementation of consensus elements, and developing a roadmap for further dialogue and 4 | Sustainability Strategy and Conclusive policy recommendations, dialogue, and transfer. Project partners will work to achieve consensus and implementation during the project for as many improvements as possible, seeking the cooperation of certification bodies, energy agen-cies and other organisations. Some of these are project partners, many others agreed to sup-port the project as associated partners. However, many of the potential improvements to EPC assessment, certification, and independent monitoring and verification will need adaptation of standards, regulations, or even legislation. The QualDeEPC project will stimulate such changes by (1) intensive dialogue involving the important stakeholders at all levels from the very beginning in the above four project stages and (2) disseminating its findings among the relevant target audiences in Europe.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
10.1145/1953355.1953358
|
A3 Self Adaptation Capabilities Through Groups And Coordination
|
Modern software systems challenge engineers with new critical requirements. Software must adapt effectively and efficiently with respect to the environment in which it is deployed. In this paper we introduce A-3: a framework for engineering distributed, component-based systems that facilitates the coordination of its components and the implementation of adaptive features. In A-3, a system's components are dynamically organized into groups. Groups solve the common pitfalls of completely centralized or decentralized approaches. They increase scalability, avoid single points of failure and bottlenecks, and provide a means to reason on a system at a local level, but still reach global results. The paper presents the model behind A-3, a prototype framework implementation, and detailed examples of how coordination and adaptation can be achieved. It also presents an initial empirical evaluation of the prototype that shows that the framework scales well to hundreds of components.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
10.1007/JHEP03(2014)075
|
A Low Fermi Scale From A Simple Gaugino Scalar Mass Relation
|
In supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, the Fermi scale of electroweak symmetry breaking is determined by the pattern of supersymmetry breaking. We present an example, motivated by a higher-dimensional GUT model, where a particular mass relation between the gauginos, third-generation squarks and Higgs fields of the MSSM leads to a Fermi scale smaller than the soft mass scale. This is in agreement with the measured Higgs boson mass. The mu parameter is generated independently of supersymmetry breaking, however the mu problem becomes less acute due to the little hierarchy between the soft mass scale and the Fermi scale as we will argue. The resulting superparticle mass spectra depend on the localization of quark and lepton fields in higher dimensions. In one case, the squarks of the first two generations as well as the gauginos and higgsinos can be in the range of the LHC. Alternatively, only the higgsinos may be accessible at colliders. The lightest superparticle is the gravitino.
|
[
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
] |
10.3389/fncir.2013.00111
|
Direction selectivity in the visual system of the zebrafish larva
|
Neural circuits in the vertebrate retina extract the direction of object motion from visual scenes and convey this information to sensory brain areas, including the optic tectum. It is unclear how computational layers beyond the retina process directional inputs. Recent developmental and functional studies in the zebrafish larva, using minimally invasive optical imaging techniques, indicate that direction selectivity might be a genetically hardwired property of the zebrafish brain. Axons from specific direction-selective (DS) retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) appear to converge on distinct laminae in the superficial tectal neuropil where they serve as inputs to DS postsynaptic neurons of matching specificity. In addition, inhibitory recurrent circuits in the tectum might strengthen the DS response of tectal output neurons. Here we review these recent findings and discuss some controversies with a particular focus on the zebrafish tectum's role in extracting directional features from moving visual scenes.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
] |
679704
|
Labour market dynamics and optimal policies
|
From pension reforms to UI extensions, the optimal tax and program design literature is often ill-equipped to provide clear guidance in policy debates on the reform of social insurance and tax-and-benefit systems. The reason is that this literature is mostly focused on static settings, while these programs are inherently dynamic: they specify a schedule of tax and benefits that is time or state dependent and they affect individuals’ decisions throughout their lifetime.
DYNAMICSS will offer a simple and general approach to the analysis of optimal dynamic policies that connects to the data. The key idea of DYNAMICSS is to extend the sufficient statistics (SS) approach to dynamic settings and characterize the full time profile, rather than the average generosity, of social insurance and transfer policies. By expressing optimal policy as a function of a limited set of statistics, the SS approach has the advantage of making clear the trade-offs implied in optimal tax or benefit formulae and of tightly integrating the theory and the empirics of optimal policy analysis, to offer robust policy guidance.
DYNAMICSS will use unique administrative data and cutting-edge econometric techniques to exploit compelling variations in policy profiles and offer significant contributions to the empirical analysis of dynamic behavioural responses to policies. A central contribution will be to create a unique measure of consumption expenditures based on leveraging complete administrative information on income, transfers and wealth to offer ground-breaking evidence of the effect of social insurance on consumption dynamics.
Part I will use and extend the SS framework to analyse the optimal time profile of UI benefits. Part II will develop this approach for analysing the optimal design of retirement pension systems. Part III will address optimal family policies with a focus on understanding the different dynamics of men and women in the labour market, and exploring the role of cultural norm
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
10.1007/978-3-319-10404-1_9
|
Exploiting Enclosing Membranes And Contextual Cues For Mitochondria Segmentation
|
In this paper, we improve upon earlier approaches to segmenting mitochondria in Electron Microscopy images by explicitly modeling the double membrane that encloses mitochondria, as well as using features that capture context over an extended neighborhood. We demonstrate that this results in both improved classification accuracy and reduced computational requirements for training.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
W2084060515
|
Catheterless Long-Term Ambulatory Urodynamic Measurement Using a Novel Three-Device System
|
Long-term urodynamics are required because bladder-emptying disorders are often not clearly revealed by conventional urodynamics. Patients with severe clinical overactive bladder symptoms, for instance, often show normal results. This may be due to the short evaluation time and psychological factors that complicate conventional urodynamics. This study aimed to develop an ambulatory three-component urodynamic measurement system that is easy to operate, registers urodynamic parameters for several days, and has no negative impact on the patient.We developed an intravesical capsule combined with a hand-held device to register voiding desire and micturition, and an alarm pad device that detects urine loss. Recently, the intravesical capsule and its proven function were detailed in the literature. Here, we present detailed in vitro results using a female bladder model. The flexible capsule was C-shaped to minimize the risk of expulsion from the bladder during micturition. Results of biocompatibility evaluation of the intravesical capsule, which is called Wille Capsule (WiCa) are described.The WiCa with an oval nose and a maximum outer diameter of 5.5 mm was easily inserted through a 25-French cystoscope. Removing the WiCa by grasping the nose using the female model with bladder was easily conducted. Expulsion of the WiCa during voiding was avoided through a novel C-shaped device design. Based on in vitro cytotoxicity studies, the capsule is a promising and safe device.Our novel system is an innovative minimally-invasive tool for accurate long-term urodynamic measurement, and does not require inserting a transurethral catheter.
|
[
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.1364/QIM.2012.QM1B.2
|
Generation Of A Macroscopic Singlet State In An Atomic Ensemble
|
We report on an experiment for generating singlet states in a cold atomic ensemble. We use quantum non-demolition measurement and feedback control to produce a macroscopic spin state with total spin zero and reduced spin fluctuations.
|
[
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
] |
W2117130104
|
The evolution of land plant cilia
|
Contents
Summary 526
I. Introduction 526
II. Plant cilia: a model for evolution and development 530
III. Future perspectives: Marchantia and Ceratopteris as models for cilia research 535
Acknowledgements 536
References 536
Summary
Eukaryotic cilia/flagella are ancient organelles with motility and sensory functions. Cilia display significant ultrastructural conservation where present across the eukaryotic phylogeny; however, diversity in ciliary biology exists and the ability to produce cilia has been lost independently on a number of occasions. Land plants provide an excellent system for the investigation of cilia evolution and loss across a broad phylogeny, because early divergent land plant lineages produce cilia, whereas most seed plants do not. This review highlights the differences in cilia form and function across land plants and discusses how recent advances in genomics are providing novel insights into the evolutionary trajectory of ciliary proteins. We propose a renewed effort to adopt ciliated land plants as models to investigate the mechanisms underpinning complex ciliary processes, such as number control, the coordination of basal body placement and the regulation of beat patterns.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
10.1111/imr.12571
|
Extracellular nucleosides and nucleotides as immunomodulators
|
Some anticancer agents induce immunogenic cell death that is accompanied by the emission of danger signals into the tumor microenvironment, thus attracting and activating innate immune effectors and finally inducing anticancer immunity. The release of extracellular nucleosides such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from the tumor in response to anticancer therapy plays a pivotal role in the attraction of antigen presenting cells and the activation of inflammasome-mediated proinflammatory cascades. In contrast, the ectonucleotidase-catalyzed phosphohydrolysis of nucleotides to nucleosides reduces the extracellular availability of nucleotides, hence limiting the recruitment and activation of antigen-presenting cells. In addition, the (over-)production of nucleosides including adenosine by ectonucleotidases located on cancer cells and regulatory T cells can induce immunosuppression, as adenosine directly inhibits the proliferation and activation of effector T cells. Here, we discuss the importance of death metabolites for immunomodulation in general, and the role of the purine nucleotide ATP and its derivative adenosine in particular. In addition, we provide an overview on therapeutic interventions that reinstate tumor immunogenicity in conditions where nucleotide-dependent immunostimulation is obstructed.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1007/978-3-319-78372-7_22
|
Updatable Encryption With Post Compromise Security
|
An updatable encryption scheme allows to periodically rotate the encryption key and move already existing ciphertexts from the old to the new key. These ciphertext updates are done with the help of a so-called update token and can be performed by an untrusted party, as the update never decrypts the data. Updatable encryption is particularly useful in settings where encrypted data is outsourced, e. g. , stored on a cloud server. The data owner can produce an update token, and the cloud server can update the ciphertexts.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1016/j.hrthm.2017.03.001
|
Novel algorithm for accelerated electroanatomic mapping and prediction of earliest activation of focal cardiac arrhythmias using mathematical optimization
|
Background Premature beats (PBs) are a common finding in patients suffering from structural heart disease, but they can also be present in healthy individuals. Catheter ablation represents a suitable therapeutic approach. However, the exact localization of the origin can be challenging, especially in cases of low PB burden during the procedure. Objective The aim of this study was to develop an automated mapping algorithm on the basis of the hypothesis that mathematical optimization would significantly accelerate the localization of earliest activation. Methods The algorithm is based on iterative regression analyses. When acquiring local activation times (LATs) within a 3-dimensional anatomic map of the corresponding heart chamber, this algorithm is able to identify that exact position where a next LAT measurement adds maximum information about the predicted site of origin. Furthermore, on the basis of the acquired LAT measurements, the algorithm is able to predict earliest activation with high accuracy. Results A systematic retrospective analysis of the mapping performance comparing the operator with simulated search processes by the algorithm within 17 electroanatomic maps of focal spreading arrhythmias revealed a highly significant reduction of necessary LAT measurements from 55 ± 8. 8 to 10 ± 0. 51 (n = 17; P <. 0001). Conclusion On the basis of mathematical optimization, we developed an algorithm that is able to reduce the number of LAT measurements necessary to locate the site of earliest activation. This algorithm might significantly accelerate the mapping procedure by guiding the operator to the optimal position for the next LAT measurement. Furthermore, the algorithm would be able to predict the site of origin with high accuracy early during the mapping procedure.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Mathematics",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1111/anti.12382
|
The Financialisation of Rental Housing 2.0: Releasing Housing into the Privatised Mainstream of Capital Accumulation
|
This article presents two cases of listed real estate companies that operate in the Ruhr metropolitan region of Germany. The first is Immeo Wohnen, a subsidiary of the French real estate investment trust (REIT) Foncière des Régions that was previously owned by a US hedge fund. The second is Vonovia, Germany's largest real estate company, originally a subsidiary of a British private equity firm. Both examples embody what we call the shift from financialisation 1. 0 to financialisation 2. 0, i. e. the transition from pure speculation to long-term investment. We show that long-term investment strategies are used by REITs and listed funds in order to release housing into the privatised mainstream of capital accumulation. With the advent of the financialisation of rental housing 2. 0, the long-term investment focus of these funds paradoxically enables a short-term investment focus by buying and selling shares in these funds on the stock exchange.
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
10.1080/13658816.2014.914521
|
Detecting The Dynamics Of Urban Structure Through Spatial Network Analysis
|
To summarize, our approach yields important insights into urban phenomena generated by human movements. It represents a quantitative approach to urban analysis, which explicitly identifies ongoing urban transformations.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
] |
10.1146/annurev-micro-091213-112949
|
Lipoteichoic acid synthesis and function in gram-positive bacteria
|
Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is an important cell wall polymer found in gram-positive bacteria. Although the exact role of LTA is unknown, mutants display significant growth and physiological defects. Additionally, modification of the LTA backbone structure can provide protection against cationic antimicrobial peptides. This review provides an overview of the different LTA types and their chemical structures and synthesis pathways. The occurrence and mechanisms of LTA modifications with d-alanyl, glycosyl, and phosphocholine residues will be discussed along with their functions. Similarities between the production of type I LTA and osmoregulated periplasmic glucans in gram-negative bacteria are highlighted, indicating that LTA should perhaps be compared to these polymers rather than lipopolysaccharide, as is presently the case. Lastly, current efforts to use LTAs as vaccine candidates, synthesis proteins as novel antimicrobial targets, and LTA mutant strains as improved probiotics are highlighted.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1109/ACCESS.2016.2633441
|
A High-Throughput FPGA Architecture for Joint Source and Channel Decoding
|
In the wireless transmission of multimedia information, the achievable transmission throughput and latency may be limited by the processing throughput and latency associated with source and channel coding. Ultra-high throughput and ultra-low latency processing of source and channel coding are required by the emerging new video transmission applications, such as the first-person remote control of unmanned vehicles. The recently proposed unary error correction (UEC) code facilitates the joint source and channel coding (JSCC) of video information at transmission throughputs that approach the capacity of the wireless channel. In this paper, we propose the first hardware implementation of the UEC code that achieves the high processing throughputs as well as ultra-low processing latencies required. This is achieved by extending the application of the recently proposed fully parallel turbo decoder (FPTD) from pure stand-alone channel coding to JSCC. This paper also proposes several novel improvements to the FPTD, in order to increase its hardware efficiency and supported frame length. We demonstrate the application of these improvements to both the long term evolution turbo code and the UEC code. We synthesize the proposed fully parallel design on a mid-range field programmable gate array, achieving a throughput of 450 Mbps, as well as a factor of 2. 4 hardware efficiency improvement over previous implementations of the FPTD.
|
[
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-13-1315
|
Histone Chaperone Chaf1A Inhibits Differentiation And Promotes Aggressive Neuroblastoma
|
Neuroblastoma arises from the embryonal neural crest secondary to a block in differentiation. Long-term patient survival correlates inversely with the extent of differentiation, and treatment with retinoic acid or other prodifferentiation agents improves survival modestly. In this study, we show the histone chaperone and epigenetic regulator CHAF1A functions in maintaining the highly dedifferentiated state of this aggressive malignancy. CHAF1A is a subunit of the chromatin modifier chromatin assembly factor 1 and it regulates H3K9 trimethylation of key target genes regulating proliferation, survival, and differentiation. Elevated CHAF1A expression strongly correlated with poor prognosis. Conversely, CHAF1A loss-of-function was sufficient to drive neuronal differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Transcriptome analysis of cells lacking CHAF1A revealed repression of oncogenic signaling pathways and a normalization of glycolytic metabolism. Our findings demonstrate that CHAF1A restricts neural crest differentiation and contributes to the pathogenesis of high-risk neuroblastoma.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1088/1361-6544/aac760
|
Stiff-response-induced instability for chemotactic bacteria and flux-limited Keller-Segel equation
|
Collective motion of chemotactic bacteria such as Escherichia coli relies, at the individual level, on a continuous reorientation by runs and tumbles. It has been established that the length of run is decided by a stiff response to a temporal sensing of chemical cues along the pathway. We describe a novel mechanism for pattern formation stemming from the stiffness of chemotactic response relying on a kinetic chemotaxis model which includes a recently discovered formalism for the bacterial chemotaxis. We prove instability both for a microscopic description in the space-velocity space and for the macroscopic equation, a flux-limited Keller-Segel equation, which has attracted much attention recently. A remarkable property is that the unstable frequencies remain bounded, as it is the case in Turing instability. Numerical illustrations based on a powerful Monte Carlo method show that the stationary homogeneous state of population density is destabilized and periodic patterns are generated in realistic ranges of parameters. These theoretical developments are in accordance with several biological observations.
|
[
"Mathematics",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1093/ijpor/edy003
|
One Size Fits All? Testing the Dimensional Structure of EU Attitudes in 21 Countries
|
Citizens' attitudes toward the European Union (EU) are important, changing, and multidimensional. Still comparative studies of the dimensional structure of EU-attitudes are virtually absent. Using an extensive battery of EU attitude-items in a 21-country study, we test the dimensional structure of EU attitudes cross-nationally and assess the variation in this dimensional structure. We find (1) that EU attitudes are indeed multidimensional, also comparatively, (2) that the structure varies, but (3) that the structure is widely applicable especially when the EU is more salient in a country. Surprisingly, the attitudinal structure is not more pronounced in long-standing member states, and the structure is most outspoken in countries experiencing a change in migration. The implications for the study of EU attitudes are discussed.
|
[
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
] |
10.1016/j.biochi.2015.03.014
|
LncRNAs in vertebrates: Advances and challenges
|
Beyond the handful of classic and well-characterized long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), more recently, hundreds of thousands of lncRNAs have been identified in multiple species including bacteria, plants and vertebrates, and the number of newly annotated lncRNAs continues to increase as more transcriptomes are analyzed. In vertebrates, the expression of many lncRNAs is highly regulated, displaying discrete temporal and spatial expression patterns, suggesting roles in a wide range of developmental processes and setting them apart from classic housekeeping ncRNAs. In addition, the deregulation of a subset of these lncRNAs has been linked to the development of several diseases, including cancers, as well as developmental anomalies. However, the majority of vertebrate lncRNA functions remain enigmatic. As such, a major task at hand is to decipher the biological roles of lncRNAs and uncover the regulatory networks upon which they impinge. This review focuses on our emerging understanding of lncRNAs in vertebrate animals, highlighting some recent advances in their functional analyses across several species and emphasizing the current challenges researchers face to characterize lncRNAs and identify their in vivo functions.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
] |
W2135537810
|
Limits as of -Laplacian concave–convex problems
|
Abstract We study the behavior as p → ∞ of the sequel of positive weak solutions of the concave–convex problem (P ) { − div ( | ∇ u | p − 2 ∇ u ) = λ u q ( p ) + u r ( p ) in Ω u > 0 in Ω u = 0 on ∂ Ω , where Ω ⊂ R n is a bounded domain, λ > 0 and the exponents q , r satisfy lim p → ∞ q ( p ) p − 1 = Q , lim p → ∞ r ( p ) p − 1 = R , with 0 Q 1 R . We characterize any positive uniform limit of a sequence of weak solutions of (P) as a viscosity solution of min { | ∇ u Λ | − max { Λ u Λ Q , u Λ R } , − Δ ∞ u Λ } = 0 in Ω . Notice that the limit process decouples the nonlinearity. We obtain existence, non-existence and global multiplicity of positive viscosity solutions of the limit problem in terms of the parameter Λ .
|
[
"Mathematics"
] |
10.1175/jas-d-19-0221.1
|
Cloud-Top Entrainment in Mixed-Phase Stratocumulus and Its Process-Level Representation in Large-Eddy Simulation
|
Cloud-top entrainment is a crucial process for the evolution of stratocumulus and is driven by interactions of radiation, microphysics, and turbulence on scales reaching down to less than one meter. Regardless of this fact, most large-eddy simulation studies still apply a horizontal resolution of tens of meters, not resolving these interactions sufficiently. Here, based on an extensive observational campaign, we define a weak-shear benchmark scenario for large-eddy simulation over Arctic ice and for the first time perform large-eddy simulation of mixed-phase stratocumulus with horizontal resolutions of 35, 10, and 3. 5 m. Thereby, we investigate the processes contributing to cloud-top entrainment and their role for the evolution of stratocumulus with a particular focus on resolution sensitivity. First, we find that a horizontal grid spacing larger than 10 m insufficiently represents the effects of small-scale microphysical cooling and turbulent engulfment on cloud-top entrainment. Indeed, the small size of energy-containing eddies—a consequence of the intense stratification in the vicinity of the cloud-top region—violates the underlying assumptions of subgridscale models by buoyant suppression of eddies at the large-eddy simulation filter scale. Second, the decrease in cloud-top entrainment due to these insufficiently represented processes results in 15% less cloud water after 6 h of simulation and a corresponding optical thinning of the cloud. Third, we show that the applied nonequilibrium microphysics cause microphysical heating beneath the cloud top, which partly counteracts the evaporative cooling.
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
10.3389/fgene.2016.00087
|
Functions of ubiquitin and SUMO in DNA replication and replication stress
|
Complete and faithful duplication of its entire genetic material is one of the essential prerequisites for a proliferating cell to maintain genome stability. Yet, during replication DNA is particularly vulnerable to insults. On the one hand, lesions in replicating DNA frequently cause a stalling of the replication machinery, as most DNA polymerases cannot cope with defective templates. This situation is aggravated by the fact that strand separation in preparation for DNA synthesis prevents common repair mechanisms relying on strand complementarity, such as base and nucleotide excision repair, from working properly. On the other hand, the replication process itself subjects the DNA to a series of hazardous transformations, ranging from the exposure of single-stranded DNA to topological contortions and the generation of nicks and fragments, which all bear the risk of inducing genomic instability. Dealing with these problems requires rapid and flexible responses, for which posttranslational protein modifications that act independently of protein synthesis are particularly well suited. Hence, it is not surprising that members of the ubiquitin family, particularly ubiquitin itself and SUMO, feature prominently in controlling many of the defensive and restorative measures involved in the protection of DNA during replication. In this review we will discuss the contributions of ubiquitin and SUMO to genome maintenance specifically as they relate to DNA replication. We will consider cases where the modifiers act during regular, i. e. , unperturbed stages of replication, such as initiation, fork progression, and termination, but also give an account of their functions in dealing with lesions, replication stalling and fork collapse.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
] |
670949
|
LightNet - Tracking the Coherent Light Path in Photosynthetic Networks
|
ature has developed photosynthesis to power life. Networks of light harvesting antennas capture the sunlight to funnel the photonic energy towards reaction centres. Surprisingly, quantum coherences are observed in the energy transfer of photosynthetic complexes, even at room temperature.
Does nature exploit quantum concepts? Does the coherence help to find an optimal path for robust or efficient transfer? How are the coherences sustained? What is their spatial extent in a real light-harvesting network? So far only solutions of complexes were studied, far from the natural network operation, putting on hold conclusions as to a biological role of the coherences.
My group recently succeeded in the first detection of coherent oscillations of a single photo-synthetic complex at physiological conditions, and non-classical photon emission of individual complexes. These pioneering results, together with our expertise in nanophotonics, pave the way to address photosynthetic networks in real nano-space and on femtosecond timescale. Specific objectives are:
--Ultrafast single protein detection: tracing the fs coherent energy transfer path of an individual complex; addressing the very nature of the persistent coherences.
-Beyond fluorescence: light harvesting complex are designed for light transport, not emission. I will explore innovative alternatives: optical antennas to enhance quantum efficiency; detection of stimulated emission; and electrical read-out on graphene.
-Nanoscale light transport: using local excitation and detection by nanoholes, nanoslits and scanning antenna probes I will spatially map the extent of the inter-complex transfer.
-The network: combining both coherent fs excitation and localized nanoscale excitation/detection I will track the extent of coherences throughout the network.
The impact of this first exploration of light transport in a nanoscale bionetwork ranges to solar energy management, molecular biology, polymer chemistry and material science.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1093/mnras/staa1147
|
Stellar property statistics of massive haloes from cosmological hydrodynamics simulations: common kernel shapes
|
ABSTRACT We study stellar property statistics, including satellite galaxy occupation, of haloes in three cosmological hydrodynamics simulations: BAHAMAS + MACSIS, IllustrisTNG, and Magneticum Pathfinder. Applying localized linear regression, we extract halo mass-conditioned normalizations, slopes, and intrinsic covariance for (i) Nsat, the number of stellar mass-thresholded satellite galaxies within radius R200c of the halo; (ii) $M_{\star , \rm tot}$, the total stellar mass within that radius, and (iii) $M_{\star ,\rm BCG}$, the gravitationally bound stellar mass of the central galaxy within a $100 \, \rm kpc$ radius. The parameters show differences across the simulations, in part from numerical resolution, but there is qualitative agreement for the $N_{\rm sat}\!-\! M_{\star ,\rm BCG}$ correlation. Marginalizing over Mhalo, we find the Nsat kernel, $p(\ln N_{\rm sat}\, |\, M_{\rm halo}, z)$ to be consistently skewed left in all three simulations, with skewness parameter γ = −0. 91 ± 0. 02, while the $M_{\star , \rm tot}$ kernel shape is closer to lognormal. The highest resolution simulations find γ ≃ −0. 8 for the z = 0 shape of the $M_{\star ,\rm BCG}$ kernel. We provide a Gaussian mixture fit to the low-redshift Nsat kernel as well as local linear regression parameters tabulated for $M_{\rm halo}\gt 10^{13. 5} \, {\rm M}_\odot$ in all simulations.
|
[
"Universe Sciences",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1101/gr.169243.113
|
Dissection of thousands of cell type-specific enhancers identifies dinucleotide repeat motifs as general enhancer features
|
Gene expression is determined by genomic elements called enhancers, which contain short motifs bound by different transcription factors (TFs). However, how enhancer sequences and TF motifs relate to enhancer activity is unknown, and general sequence requirements for enhancers or comprehensive sets of important enhancer sequence elements have remained elusive. Here, we computationally dissect thousands of functional enhancer sequences from three different Drosophila cell lines. We find that the enhancers display distinct cis-regulatory sequence signatures, which are predictive of the enhancers' cell type-specific or broad activities. These signatures contain transcription factor motifs and a novel class of enhancer sequence elements, dinucleotide repeat motifs (DRMs). DRMs are highly enriched in enhancers, particularly in enhancers that are broadly active across different cell types. We experimentally validate the importance of the identified TF motifs and DRMs for enhancer function and show that they can be sufficient to create an active enhancer de novo from a nonfunctional sequence. The function of DRMs as a novel class of general enhancer features that are also enriched in human regulatory regions might explain their implication in several diseases and provides important insights into gene regulation.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
] |
10.1038/ncomms11852
|
Long-lived self-renewing bone marrow-derived macrophages displace embryo-derived cells to inhabit adult serous cavities
|
Peritoneal macrophages are one of the most studied macrophage populations in the body, yet the composition, developmental origin and mechanisms governing the maintenance of this compartment are controversial. Here we show resident F4/80 hi GATA6 + macrophages are long-lived, undergo non-stochastic self-renewal and retain cells of embryonic origin for at least 4 months in mice. However, Ly6C + monocytes constitutively enter the peritoneal cavity in a CCR2-dependent manner, where they mature into short-lived F4/80lo MHCII+ cells that act, in part, as precursors of F4/80 hi GATA6 + macrophages. Notably, monocyte-derived F4/80 hi macrophages eventually displace the embryonic population with age in a process that is highly gender dependent and not due to proliferative exhaustion of the incumbent embryonic population, despite the greater proliferative activity of newly recruited cells. Furthermore, although monocyte-derived cells acquire key characteristics of the embryonic population, expression of Tim4 was impaired, leading to cumulative changes in the population with age.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
] |
726176
|
The Combined Effects of Climatic Warming and Habitat Fragmentation on Biodiversity, Community Dynamics and Ecosystem Functioning
|
Climatic warming and habitat fragmentation are the largest threats to biodiversity and ecosystems globally. To forecast and mitigate their effects is the environmental challenge of our age. Despite substantial progress on the ecological consequences of climatic warming and habitat fragmentation individually, there is a fundamental gap in our understanding and prediction of their combined effects.
The goal of FRAGCLIM is to determine the individual and combined effects of climatic warming and habitat fragmentation on biodiversity, community dynamics, and ecosystem functioning in complex multitrophic communities. To achieve this, it uses an integrative approach that combines the development of new theory on metacommunities and temperature-dependent food web dynamics in close dialogue with a unique long-term aquatic mesocosm experiment. It is articulated around five objectives. In the first three, FRAGCLIM will determine the effects of (i) warming, (ii) fragmentation, and (iii) warming and fragmentation combined, on numerous facets of biodiversity, community structure, food web dynamics, spatial and temporal stability, and key ecosystem functions. Then, it will (iv) investigate the extent of evolutionary thermal adaptation to warming and isolation due to fragmentation, and its consequences for biodiversity dynamics. Finally, (v) it will provide creative solutions to mitigate the combined effects of warming and fragmentation.
FRAGCLIM proposes an ambitious integrative and innovative research programme that will provide a much-needed new perspective on the ecological and evolutionary consequences of warming and fragmentation. It will greatly contribute to bridging the gaps between theoretical and empirical ecology, and between ecological and evolutionary responses to global change. FRAGCLIM will foster links with environmental policy by providing new mitigation measures to climate change in fragmented systems that derive from our theoretical and empirical findings.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
] |
10.1016/S2214-109X(14)70274-8
|
Effects Of The Introduction Of New Vaccines In Guinea Bissau On Vaccine Coverage Vaccine Timeliness And Child Survival An Observational Study
|
Summary Background In 2008, the GAVI Alliance funded the introduction of new vaccines (including pentavalent diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis [DTP] plus hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b antigens) in Guinea-Bissau. The introduction was accompanied by increased vaccination outreach services and a more restrictive wastage policy, including only vaccinating children younger than 12 months. We assessed coverage of all vaccines in the Expanded Program on Immunizations before and after the new vaccines' introduction, and the implications on child survival. Methods This observational cohort study used data from the Bandim Health Project, which has monitored vaccination status and mortality in randomly selected village clusters in Guinea-Bissau since 1990. We assessed the change in vaccination coverage using cohort data from children born in 2007 and 2009; analysed the proportion of children who received measles vaccine after 12 months of age using data from 1999–2006; and compared child mortality after age 12 months in children who had received measles vaccine and those who had not using data from 1999 to 2006. Findings The proportion of children who were fully vaccinated by 12 months of age was 53% (468 of 878) in the 2007 cohort and 53% (467 of 879) in the 2009 cohort (relative risk [RR] 1·00, 95% CI 0·89–1·11). Coverage of DTP-3 and pentavalent-3 increased from 73% (644 of 878) in 2007 to 81% (712 of 879) in 2009 (RR 1·10, 95% CI 1·04 −1·17); by contrast, the coverage of measles vaccination declined from 71% (620 of 878) to 66% (577 of 879; RR 0·93, 0·85–1·01). The effect of the changes was significantly different for DTP-3 coverage compared with measles vaccine coverage (p=0·002). After 12 months of age, the adjusted mortality rate ratio was 0·71 (95% CI 0·56–0·90) for children who had received measles vaccine compared with those who had not (0·59 [0·43–0·80] for girls and 0·87 [0·62–1·23] for boys). Interpretation The introduction of the new vaccination programme in 2008 was associated with increased coverage of DTP, but decreased coverage of measles vaccine. In 1999–2006, child mortality was higher in children who had not received measles vaccine than in those who had. Funding DANIDA, European Research Council, the Danish Independent Research Council, European Union FP7 via OPTIMUNISE, and Danish National Research Foundation.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
172354
|
A holistic multi-actor approach towards the design of new tomato varieties and management practices to improve yield and quality in the face of climate change
|
The world demographic growth and global climate change are major challenges for human society,hence the need to design new strategies for maintaining high crop yield in unprecedented environmental conditions.The objective of TomGEM is to design new strategies aiming to maintain high yields of fruit and vegetables at harsh temperature conditions, using tomato as a reference fleshy fruit crop.As yield is a complex trait depending on successful completion of different steps of reproductive organ development, including flower differentiation and efficient flower fertilization,TomGEM will use trans-disciplinary approaches to investigate the impact of high temperature on these developmental processes.The core of the project deals with mining and phenotyping a vast range of genetic resources to identify cultivars/genotypes displaying yield stability and to uncover loci/genes controlling flower initiation,pollen fertility and fruit set.Moreover,since high yield and elevated temperatures can be detrimental to quality traits,TomGEM will also tackle the fruit quality issue.The goal is to provide new targets and novel strategies to foster breeding of new tomato cultivars with improved yield.The main strength of TomGEM resides in the use of unique and unexplored genetic resources available to members of the consortium.It gathers expert academic researchers and private actors committed to implement a multi-actor approach based on demand driven innovation.Tomato producers and breeders are strongly involved from design to implementation of the project and until the dissemination of results.TomGEM will provide new targets and novel strategies to foster the breeding of new tomato cultivars with improved yield under suboptimal temperature conditions.TomGEM will translate scientific insights into practical strategies for better handling of interactions between genotype,environment and management to offer holistic solutions to the challenge of increasing food quality and productivity.
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[
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering"
] |
EP 2014001477 W
|
A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING THE STATUS OF BATTERY CELLS
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The invention relates to a method for monitoring the status of a plurality of connected battery cells (C1-C10) in a battery pack (7a), said method comprising: arranging said battery cells (C1-C10) in at least two groups (G1-G6) of cells; connecting said groups (G1-G6) of cells to a sensor unit (7b); and providing a measurement of at least one parameter indicative of the state of operation of said battery pack (7a) by means of said sensor unit (7b). The method according to the invention further comprises: arranging said groups (G1-G6) of cells (C1-C10) in a manner so that at least two of said groups (G1-G6) comprise two or more cells and at least two of said groups (G1-G6) overlap so that a cell forms part of said overlapping groups; and connecting said sensor unit (7b) to said groups (G1-G6); and wherein the number of groups (G1-G6) is less than the number of cells (C1- C10).
|
[
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
] |
10.1126/science.aay5958
|
Global ecosystem thresholds driven by aridity
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Aridity, which is increasing worldwide because of climate change, affects the structure and functioning of dryland ecosystems. Whether aridification leads to gradual (versus abrupt) and systemic (versus specific) ecosystem changes is largely unknown. We investigated how 20 structural and functional ecosystem attributes respond to aridity in global drylands. Aridification led to systemic and abrupt changes in multiple ecosystem attributes. These changes occurred sequentially in three phases characterized by abrupt decays in plant productivity, soil fertility, and plant cover and richness at aridity values of 0. 54, 0. 7, and 0. 8, respectively. More than 20% of the terrestrial surface will cross one or several of these thresholds by 2100, which calls for immediate actions to minimize the negative impacts of aridification on essential ecosystem services for the more than 2 billion people living in drylands.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
] |
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