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10.1088/1367-2630/17/12/123008
|
Self Induced Back Action Optical Trapping In Nanophotonic Systems
|
Optical trapping is an indispensable tool in physics and the life sciences. However, there is a clear trade off between the size of a particle to be trapped, its spatial confinement, and the intensities required. This is due to the decrease in optical response of smaller particles and the diffraction limit that governs the spatial variation of optical fields. It is thus highly desirable to find techniques that surpass these bounds. Recently, a number of experiments using nanophotonic cavities have observed a qualitatively different trapping mechanism described as 'self-induced back-action trapping' (SIBA). In these systems, the particle motion couples to the resonance frequency of the cavity, which results in a strong interplay between the intra-cavity field intensity and the forces exerted. Here, we provide a theoretical description that for the first time captures the remarkable range of consequences. In particular, we show that SIBA can be exploited to yield dynamic reshaping of trap potentials, strongly sub-wavelength trap features, and significant reduction of intensities seen by the particle, which should have important implications for future trapping technologies.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
] |
W2170054126
|
The max quasi-independent set problem
|
In this paper, we deal with the problem of finding quasi-independent sets in graphs. This problem is formally defined in three versions, which are shown to be polynomially equivalent. The one that looks most general, namely, f-max quasi-independent set, consists of, given a graph and a non-decreasing function f, finding a maximum size subset Q of the vertices of the graph, such that the number of edges in the induced subgraph is less than or equal to f(|Q|). For this problem, we show an exact solution method that runs within time $O^{*}(2^{\frac{d-27/23}{d+1}n})$ on graphs of average degree bounded by d. For the most specifically defined ?-max quasi-independent set and k-max quasi-independent set problems, several results on complexity and approximation are shown, and greedy algorithms are proposed, analyzed and tested.
|
[
"Mathematics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
725061
|
Teleost mucosal B1-like lymphocytes at the crossroad of tolerance and immunity
|
B cells are one of the main players of immunity, responsible for the production of immunoglobulins (Igs). In 2011, I was granted an ERC Starting grant to undertake the phenotypical and functional characterization of teleost B lymphocytes based on the hypothesis that they do not behave as mammalian B2 cells (conventional B cells) but closely resemble mammalian innate B1 lymphocytes involved in extrafollicular T-independent (TI) responses. Since then, my laboratory has gathered considerable evidences that strengthen this hypothesis. These studies were mostly carried out in central lymphoid compartments, but did not address how teleost B1-like cells regulate the delicate balance between immunity and tolerance at mucosal interfaces, in species lacking follicular structures. In this new project, I want to pursue my studies on B lymphocyte functionality, focusing on how teleost mucosal B cells are regulated, still under the assumption that fish B lymphocytes resemble better a B1 model. We will study how fish B cells differentiate to antibody secreting cells (ASCs) and establish extrafollicular long-term memory, taking into account novel results in mammals that have challenged traditional paradigms and revealed that long-term immunological memory can be established through TI IgM B1-like responses. Furthermore, we will also study the role of IgD in the gills, as previous studies from my group suggest that this Ig plays a key role in the regulation of immunity in this specific mucosa, as it seems to do in humans in areas such as the upper respiratory tract.
Addressing how fish B cells mount a protective mucosal immune response in the absence of T cell help from organized follicles could provide new mechanistic insights into IgM and IgD responses emerging in humans. From a practical view, our work will contribute to understand why satisfactory mucosal vaccination is still an unreached goal for most diseases in both mammals and fish, despite their strong demand.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
W2289550695
|
Variations on the IRE pattern in a French beginner task-based classroom
|
The use of the Initiation–Response–Evaluation (IRE) sequence is common in education and, although classroom research does not preclude its practice in pedagogy, it recommends introducing other forms of talk into teaching. The present study, inspired by Task-Based Language Teaching research on learner language, uses Conversation Analysis to explore the variations on the IRE pattern that take place in a class of French beginners as they complete a learning task. Based on audio-recorded data collected in situ, the study uncovers two IRE subcategories and one pattern of interaction that diverges from the standard IRE pattern. These variations reflect changes in the lesson phase and show how a three-phase lesson plan focused on a specific task can move classroom participants away from the exclusive use of IRE.
|
[
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
] |
10.1016/j.compfluid.2018.02.014
|
Fluid flow around NACA 0012 airfoil at low-Reynolds numbers with hybrid lattice Boltzmann method
|
We simulate the two-dimensional fluid flow around National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 0012 airfoil using a hybrid lattice Boltzmann method (HLBM), which combines the standard lattice Boltzmann method with an unstructured finite-volume formulation. The aim of the study is to assess the numerical performances and the robustness of the computational method. To this purpose, after providing a convergence study to estimate the overall accuracy of the method, we analyze the numerical solution for different values of the angle of attack at a Reynolds number equal to 103. Subsequently, flow fields at Reynolds numbers up to 104 are computed for a zero angle of attack configuration. A grid refinement scheme is applied to the uniformly spaced component of the overlapping grid system to further enhance the numerical efficiency of the model. The results demonstrate the capability of the HLBM to achieve high accuracy near solid curved walls, thus providing a viable alternative in the realm of off-lattice Boltzmann methods based on body-fitted mesh.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1111/imr.12363
|
TRIM21: A cytosolic Fc receptor with broad antibody isotype specificity
|
Antibodies are key molecules in the fight against infections. Although previously thought to mediate protection solely in the extracellular environment, recent research has revealed that antibody-mediated protection extends to the cytosolic compartment of cells. This postentry viral defense mechanism requires binding of the antibody to a cytosolic Fc receptor named tripartite motif containing 21 (TRIM21). In contrast to other Fc receptors, TRIM21 shows remarkably broad isotype specificity as it does not only bind IgG but also IgM and IgA. When viral pathogens coated with these antibody isotypes enter the cytosol, TRIM21 is rapidly recruited and efficient neutralization occurs before the virus has had the time to replicate. In addition, inflammatory signaling is induced. As such, TRIM21 acts as a cytosolic sensor that engages antibodies that have failed to protect against infection in the extracellular environment. Here, we summarize our current understanding of how TRIM21 orchestrates humoral immunity in the cytosolic environment.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1016/j.cmet.2014.04.016
|
DNAJC19, a mitochondrial cochaperone associated with cardiomyopathy, forms a complex with prohibitins to regulate cardiolipin remodeling
|
Prohibitins form large protein and lipid scaffolds in the inner membrane of mitochondria that are required for mitochondrial morphogenesis, neuronal survival, and normal lifespan. Here, we have defined the interactome of PHB2 in mitochondria and identified DNAJC19, mutated in dilated cardiomyopathy with ataxia, as binding partner of PHB complexes. We observed impaired cell growth, defective cristae morphogenesis, and similar transcriptional responses in the absence of either DNAJC19 or PHB2. The loss of PHB/DNAJC19 complexes affects cardiolipin acylation and leads to the accumulation of cardiolipin species with altered acyl chains. Similar defects occur in cells lacking the transacylase tafazzin, which is mutated in Barth syndrome. Our experiments suggest that PHB/DNAJC19 membrane domains regulate cardiolipin remodeling by tafazzin and explain similar clinical symptoms in two inherited cardiomyopathies by an impaired cardiolipin metabolism in mitochondrial membranes.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
US 0018357 W
|
METHOD OF CRYSTALLIZING POLYCARBONATE PREPOLYMER
|
The invention relates to a method of crystallizing an aromatic polycarbonate prepolymer having a molecular weight of from about 1,000 to about 20,000 and having from about 5 to about 95 mole % aryl carbonate terminal end groups, based on total end groups, the method comprising effecting contact of the prepolymer with a crystallizing agent comprising an alcohol, preferably, at least 95 % by weight of an alcohol.
|
[
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.2337/db16-1278
|
Disruption of lipid uptake in astroglia exacerbates diet-induced obesity
|
Neuronal circuits in the brain help to control feeding behavior and systemic metabolism in response to afferent nutrient and hormonal signals. Although astrocytes have historically been assumed to have little relevance for such neuroendocrine control, we investigated whether lipid uptake via lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in astrocytes is required to centrally regulate energy homeostasis. Ex vivo studies with hypothalamus-derived astrocytes showed that LPL expression is upregulated by oleic acid, whereas it is decreased in response to palmitic acid or triglycerides. Likewise, astrocytic LPL deletion reduced the accumulation of lipid droplets in those glial cells. Consecutive in vivo studies showed that postnatal ablation of LPL in glial fibrillary acidic protein–expressing astrocytes induced exaggerated body weight gain and glucose intolerance in mice exposed to a high-fat diet. Intriguingly, astrocytic LPL deficiency also triggered increased ceramide content in the hypothalamus, which may contribute to hypothalamic insulin resistance. We conclude that hypothalamic LPL functions in astrocytes to ensure appropriately balanced nutrient sensing, ceramide distribution, body weight regulation, and glucose metabolism.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
W2050801031
|
Unpacking the 2 × 2 table
|
Statistics estimated from a 2 × 2 contingency table, such as sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios, are usually presented in contexts of diagnostic decision making or evaluation of screening tests. However, their use is not restricted to those contexts. The purpose of this article is to summarize for clinicians and researchers in nursing and other health care disciplines the conceptual basis, calculation, application, and limitations of statistics derivable from a 2 × 2 table and to provide a worked example based on previous research. It will be shown that these statistics can potentially be used for analyzing any binary outcome (e.g., occurrence vs. nonoccurrence of some event) with a binary predictor (e.g., present vs. absent or above vs. below some cut point). Most can be estimated with a hand-held or online calculator, and, apart from chi-square statistics, without first converting observed data to a test-statistic. Clearer understanding of the derivation and clinical meaning of these statistics will encourage their wider use in health research and clinical practice.
|
[
"Mathematics",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
W1990678906
|
Narrow Band Imaging Cystoscopy and Bipolar Plasma Vaporization for Large Nonmuscle-invasive Bladder Tumors—Results of a Prospective, Randomized Comparison to the Standard Approach
|
To evaluate the efficacy of narrow band imaging (NBI) cystoscopy associated with bipolar plasma vaporization (BPV) in cases of large nonmuscle-invasive bladder tumors (NMIBTs) compared with white light cystoscopy (WLC) and monopolar transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURBTs).A total of 220 cases with ≥ 1 bladder tumor >3 cm determined by abdominal ultrasonography, computed tomography, and flexible WLC were included in the present trial. The patients in the first arm underwent WLC and NBI cystoscopy followed by BPV, and the patients in the second arm underwent only WLC and TURBT. The patients with NMIBTs underwent standard repeat TUR at 4 weeks and follow-up urinary cytology and WLC at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.The carcinoma in situ, Stage pTa, and overall NMIBT detection rates were significantly improved for NBI compared with WLC. BPV provided lower obturator nerve stimulation and bladder wall perforation rates and significantly reduced the mean hemoglobin decrease, catheterization period, and hospital stay compared with TURBT. The repeat TUR overall and primary site residual tumor rates were significantly decreased in the NBI-BPV group (6.3% vs 17.5% and 4.2% vs 13.4%, respectively). The overall and other site 1-year recurrence rates were significantly reduced in the NBI-BPV series (7.9% vs 17.8% and 3.4% vs 12.2%, respectively).NBI cystoscopy significantly improved the diagnostic accuracy in cases of large NMIBTs, and BPV emphasized superior efficacy and safety compared with TURBT. This combined approach provided a lower residual tumor rate at repeat TUR and a reduced 1-year recurrence rate.
|
[
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
10.1016/j.pbi.2018.03.008
|
Volatiles as inducers and suppressors of plant defense and immunity — origins, specificity, perception and signaling
|
Volatiles from attacked plants, microbes and herbivores can enhance plant defenses. However, the absence of volatiles rather than their presence has sometimes been associated with enhanced defense, suggesting that volatiles may also act as defense suppressors. Recent work provides a potential mechanistic explanation for these observations by showing that volatile cues can modulate different hormonal pathways, including jasmonate (JA), salicylic acid (SA) and auxin (IAA) signaling. Many of these pathways interact with each other through crosstalk. Thus, volatiles may suppress plant defenses through negative hormonal crosstalk. Hormonal crosstalk may also allow plants to integrate different volatile cues to respond specifically and appropriately to environmental change.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
637015
|
Next-Generation quantum light-matter interfaces based on atom arrays and nanophotonic waveguides
|
The fellow will investigate the use of atom arrays as next-generation quantum light-matter interfaces. He will be hosted by the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, Spain. At ICFO, he will be integrated in the Theoretical Quantum-Nano Physics group under the supervision of Prof. Darrick Chang.
Quantum atom-light interfaces have the potential to significantly impact all four domains of Quantum Computation, Communication, Metrology, and Simulation prioritized by the European Quantum Technologies Roadmap. All these future quantum technologies require the ability to efficiently interface light and matter at the level of single quanta. However, despite decades of research in quantum optics, current light-matter interfaces still struggle to meet this requirement at the level needed for robust applications.
LuMiNouS is a multidisciplinary, theoretical study of a novel approach based on one-dimensional subwavelength arrays of atoms near nanophotonic waveguides, which are now becoming available experimentally. We aim to show that the spatial ordering and low dimensionality give rise to powerful, previously unexploited interference effects. This new paradigm promises exponential improvements in the fidelity of quantum information processing protocols. LuMiNouS on one hand aims to develop novel protocols with dramatically better error scalings than currently known approaches, and on the other hand will remove the disconnect between theory and experiment by understanding and exploiting real-world complexities.
To reach the first objective, we will, in particular, focus on using atom arrays to significantly improve the performance of quantum repeaters, and on realizing high-fidelity interactions between individual photons, a prerequisite for realizing coherent photon-photon gates. Our efforts towards the second objective will be focused on mitigating imperfect lattice filling, and exploiting the atoms' quantized motion as a powerful, previously untapped resource.
|
[
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
638707
|
Black holes and their host galaxies: coevolution across cosmic time
|
Galaxy formation is one of the most fascinating yet challenging fields of astrophysics. The desire to understand
galaxy formation has led to the design of ever more sophisticated telescopes which show a bewildering variety
of galaxies in the Universe. However, the degree to which an interpretation of this wealth of data can succeed
depends critically on having accurate and realistic theoretical models of galaxy formation. While cosmological
simulations of galaxy formation provide the most powerful technique for calculating the non-linear evolution of
cosmic structures, the enormous dynamic range and poorly understood baryonic physics are main uncertainties
of present simulations. This impacts on their predictive power and is the major obstacle to our understanding of
observational data. The objective of this proposal is to drastically improve upon the current state-of-the-art by i)
including more realistic physical processes, such as those occurring at the sphere of influence of a galaxy’s central
black hole and ii) greatly extending spatial dynamical range with the aid of a novel technique I have developed.
With this technique I want to address one of the major unsolved issues of galaxy formation: “How do galaxies and
their central black holes coevolve?” Specifically, I want to focus on three crucial areas of galaxy formation: a) How
and where the very first black holes form, what are their observational signatures, and when is the coevolution with
host galaxies established? b) Is black hole heating solely responsible for the morphological transformation and
quenching of massive galaxies, or are other processes important as well? c) What is the impact of supermassive
black holes on galaxy clusters and can we calibrate baryonic physics in clusters to use them as high precision
cosmological probes? The requested funding is for 50% of the PI’s time and three postdoctoral researchers to
establish an independent research group at the KICC and IoA, Cambridge.
|
[
"Universe Sciences"
] |
224585
|
Hypoglycaemia - redefining solutions for better lives
|
Diabetes is one of the most prevalent global non-communicable diseases, affecting 60 million people in Europe, 10% of whom with type 1 diabetes. Normalising elevated glucose levels decreases symptoms, prevents microvascular complications, improves cardiovascular health and saves lives, but creates a significant risk for hypoglycaemia when insulin treatment is required. Hypoglycaemia is a serious event associated with cognitive decline, reduced quality of life, cardiovascular events and mortality. Hypoglycaemia remains the principal barrier to achieve glucose levels necessary to prevent diabetic complications of chronic hyperglycaemia.
The overall objective of Hypo-RESOLVE is to alleviate the burden and consequences of hypoglycaemia, to be achieved by answering several key questions through a unique public-private partnership. Hypo-RESOLVE will construct secure sustainable databases with data from 100-150 clinical trials offering huge statistical power to establish the glucose threshold(s) below which hypoglycaemia constitutes a risk for poor outcomes in various populations. This will provide valuable input for an evidence based classification of hypoglycaemia to be adopted by regulators, patient organisations and other stakeholders, for application in future trials, the clinic and epidemiologic studies. The basic science and translational research line of Hypo-RESOLVE will advance our understanding on mechanisms underlying consequences of hypoglycaemia and explore novel pathways for the restoration of impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia. Finally, we will determine the significance of CGM-detected low glucose and investigate psychological and economic impacts of hypoglycaemia to quantify the burden of hypoglycaemia both for the individual and next-of-kin, as well as for society.
Altogether, Hypo-RESOLVE will importantly further our knowledge of hypoglycaemia, (facilitate to) reduce its burden and contribute to a better life for patients with insulin-treated diabetes
|
[
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1074/mcp.M116.058263
|
Proteomic analysis of the plasmodium berghei gametocyte egressome and vesicular bioid of osmiophilic body proteins identifies merozoite trap-like protein (MTRAP) as an essential factor for parasite transmission
|
Malaria transmission from an infected host to the mosquito vector requires the uptake of intraerythrocytic sexual precursor cells into the mosquito midgut. For the release of mature extracellular gametes two membrane barriers-the parasite parasitophorous vacuole membrane and the host red blood cell membrane-need to be dissolved. Membrane lysis occurs after the release of proteins from specialized secretory vesicles including osmiophilic bodies. In this study we conducted proteomic analyses of the P. berghei gametocyte egressome and developed a vesicular bioID approach to identify hitherto unknown proteins with a potential function in gametocyte egress. This first Plasmodium gametocyte egressome includes the proteins released by the parasite during the lysis of the parasitophorous vacuole membrane and red blood cell membrane. BioID of the osmiophilic body protein MDV1/PEG3 revealed a vesicular proteome of these gametocyte-specific secretory vesicles. Fluorescent protein tagging and gene deletion approaches were employed to validate and identify a set of novel factors essential for this lysis and egress process. Our study provides the first in vivo bioID for a rodent malaria parasite and together with the first Plasmodium gametocyte egressome identifies MTRAP as a novel factor essential for mosquito transmission. Our data provide an important resource for proteins potentially involved in a key step of gametogenesis.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
] |
10.1093/scan/nsw074
|
Conditioned social dominance threat: Observation of others' social dominance biases threat learning
|
Social groups are organized along dominance hierarchies, which determine how we respond to threats posed by dominant and subordinate others. The persuasive impact of these dominance threats on mental and physical well-being has been well described but it is unknown how dominance rank of others bias our experience and learning in the first place. We introduce a model of conditioned social dominance threat in humans, where the presence of a dominant other is paired with an aversive event. Participants first learned about the dominance rank of others by observing their dyadic confrontations. During subsequent fear learning, the dominant and subordinate others were equally predictive of an aversive consequence (mild electric shock) to the participant. In three separate experiments, we show that participants' eye-blink startle responses and amygdala reactivity adaptively tracked dominance of others during observation of confrontation. Importantly, during fear learning dominant vs subordinate others elicited stronger and more persistent learned threat responses as measured by physiological arousal and amygdala activity. Our results characterize the neural basis of learning through observing conflicts between others, and how this affects subsequent learning through direct, personal experiences.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
] |
W979843761
|
Entrepreneurial Growth and Ownership under Market Socialism in China: A Longitudinal Case Study of Small Business Growth
|
How firms grow is still a mystery and a definitive explanation remains elusive. This is especially the case for emerging economies, where the development of research into business growth has been notably slow whilst emerging business ventures are developing at hyper speed. Since most empirical studies have focused on the quantitative differences in growth across firms, this paper adopts a longitudinal case study approach to explore the qualitative differences in terms of how various types of firm achieve their growth outcomes in the organisational development process over a prolonged period of time. Through a theoretical lens which focuses on growth process approaches, this study not only demonstrates that entrepreneurial processes take different forms and dimensions in different contexts, but it also provides insight into the interactions of various organisational factors underpinning the strategies and changes that lead to contrasting growth outcomes. Case study findings assert that the ownership factor is a key contingent factor that shapes management structure and resources which, in turn, affect particular entrepreneurial outcomes. Furthermore, a combination of leadership style and the approach to knowledge management also play critical roles in the learning process which tends to determine the strategy choice of either high or low value added product strategy. The findings of this research are that small firms with a low value product strategy can improve their survival chances and growth through the vertical broadening of a product portfolio in synchrony with increasing production and technology advancement. The case study companies show a tendency to reinforce their industry position by adopting contrasting choices for growth. The paper addresses the challenges and managerial implications for Western company managers in different growth contexts.
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
] |
10.1084/jem.20170829
|
Developmental origin and maintenance of distinct testicular macrophage populations
|
Testicular macrophages (tMφ) are the principal immune cells of the mammalian testis. Beyond classical immune functions, they have been shown to be important for organogenesis, spermatogenesis, and male hormone production. In the adult testis, two different macrophage populations have been identified based on their distinct tissue localization and morphology, but their developmental origin and mode of homeostatic maintenance are unknown. In this study, we use genetic lineage–tracing models and adoptive transfer protocols to address this question. We show that embryonic progenitors give rise to the interstitial macrophage population, whereas peritubular macrophages are exclusively seeded postnatally in the prepuberty period from bone marrow (BM)–derived progenitors. As the proliferative capacity of interstitial macrophages declines, BM progenitors also contribute to this population. Once established, both the peritubular and interstitial macrophage populations exhibit a long life span and a low turnover in the steady state. Our observations identify distinct developmental pathways for two different tMφ populations that have important implications for the further dissection of their distinct roles in organ homeostasis and testicular function.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
] |
10.1109/JSTSP.2018.2877405
|
Subspace Estimation From Incomplete Observations A High Dimensional Analysis
|
We present a high-dimensional analysis of three popular algorithms, namely, Oja's method, GROUSE, and PETRELS, for subspace estimation from streaming and highly incomplete observations. We show that, with proper time scaling, the time-varying principal angles between the true subspace and its estimates given by the algorithms converge weakly to deterministic processes when the ambient dimension $n$ tends to infinity. Moreover, the limiting processes can be exactly characterized as the unique solutions of certain ordinary differential equations (ODEs). A finite sample bound is also given showing that the rate of convergence toward such limits is $\mathcal {O}(1/\sqrt{n})$ . In addition to providing asymptotically exact predictions of the dynamic performance of the algorithms, our high-dimensional analysis yields several insights, including an asymptotic equivalence between Oja's method and GROUSE, and a precise scaling relationship linking the amount of missing data to the signal-to-noise ratio. By analyzing the solutions of the limiting ODEs, we also establish phase transition phenomena associated with the steady-state performance of these techniques.
|
[
"Mathematics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
W1985517477
|
Microconcrete with partial replacement of Portland cement by fly ash and hydrated lime addition
|
Abstract The reduction in Portland cement consumption means lower CO 2 emissions. Partial replacement of Portland cement by pozzolans such as fly ash has its limitations due to the quantity of calcium hydroxide generated in the mix. In this work we have studied the contribution of the addition of hydrated lime to Portland cement + fly ash systems. We have also studied several levels of cement replacement, ranging from 15% to 75%. The best mechanical results were obtained replacing 50% of Portland cement by the same amount of fly ash plus the addition of hydrated lime (20% respect to the amount of fly ash). In these systems, an acid-base self-neutralization of the matrix has occurred through a pozzolanic reaction of fly ash with portlandite liberated in the hydration of Portland cement and the added hydrated lime. It has been identified for these mixtures a significant amount of hydrated gehlenite, typical reaction product from rich-alumina pozzolans.
|
[
"Materials Engineering",
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
10.1098/rsta.2011.0338
|
Water in exoplanets
|
Exoplanets—planets orbiting around stars other than our own Sun—appear to be common. Significant research effort is now focused on the observation and characterization of exoplanet atmospheres. Species such as water vapour, methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide have been observed in a handful of hot, giant, gaseous planets, but cooler, smaller planets such as Gliese 1214b are now analysable with current telescopes. Water is the key chemical dictating habitability. The current observations of water in exoplanets from both space and the ground are reviewed. Controversies surrounding the interpretation of these observations are discussed. Detailed consideration of available radiative transfer models and linelists are used to analyse these differences in interpretation. Models suggest that there is a clear need for data on the pressure broadening of water transitions by H
2
at high temperatures. The reported detections of water appear to be robust, although final confirmation will have to await the better quality observational data provided by currently planned dedicated space missions.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Universe Sciences"
] |
10.1038/nature13821
|
Quantum tomography of an electron
|
The complete knowledge of a quantum state allows the prediction of the probability of all possible measurement outcomes, a crucial step in quantum mechanics. It can be provided by tomographic methods which have been applied to atomic, molecular, spin and photonic states. For optical or microwave photons, standard tomography is obtained by mixing the unknown state with a large-amplitude coherent photon field. However, for fermions such as electrons in condensed matter, this approach is not applicable because fermionic fields are limited to small amplitudes (at most one particle per state), and so far no determination of an electron wavefunction has been made. Recent proposals involving quantum conductors suggest that the wavefunction can be obtained by measuring the time-dependent current of electronic wave interferometers or the current noise of electronic Hanbury-Brown/Twiss interferometers. Here we show that such measurements are possible despite the extreme noise sensitivity required, and present the reconstructed wavefunction quasi-probability, or Wigner distribution function, of single electrons injected into a ballistic conductor. Many identical electrons are prepared in well-controlled quantum states called levitons by repeatedly applying Lorentzian voltage pulses to a contact on the conductor. After passing through an electron beam splitter, the levitons are mixed with a weak-amplitude fermionic field formed by a coherent superposition of electron-hole pairs generated by a small alternating current with a frequency that is a multiple of the voltage pulse frequency. Antibunching of the electrons and holes with the levitons at the beam splitter changes the leviton partition statistics, and the noise variations provide the energy density matrix elements of the levitons. This demonstration of quantum tomography makes the developing field of electron quantum optics with ballistic conductors a new test-bed for quantum information with fermions. These results may find direct application in probing the entanglement of electron flying quantum bits, electron decoherence and electron interactions. They could also be applied to cold fermionic (or spin-1/2) atoms.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
] |
10.1007/978-3-642-54631-0_21
|
Leakage Resilient Signatures With Graceful Degradation
|
We investigate new models and constructions which allow leakage-resilient signatures secure against existential forgeries, where the signature is much shorter than the leakage bound. Current models of leakage-resilient signatures against existential forgeries demand that the adversary cannot produce a new valid message/signature pair m, i¾? even after receiving some λ bits of leakage on the signing key. If i¾?i¾?i¾?≤λ, then the adversary can just choose to leak a valid signature i¾?, and hence signatures must be larger than the allowed leakage, which is impractical as the goal often is to have large signing keys to allow a lot of leakage. We propose a new notion of leakage-resilient signatures against existential forgeries where we demand that the adversary cannot produce $n = \lfloor \lambda / \vert \sigma \vert \rfloor + 1$ distinct valid message/signature pairs m1, i¾?1, ', mn, i¾?n after receiving λ bits of leakage. If λ=0, this is the usual notion of existential unforgeability. If 1<λ<i¾?i¾?i¾?, this is essentially the usual notion of existential unforgeability in the presence of leakage. In addition, for λi¾?i¾?i¾?i¾? our new notion still guarantees the best possible, namely that the adversary cannot produce more forgeries than he could have leaked, hence graceful degradation. Besides the game-based notion hinted above, we also consider a variant which is more simulation-based, in that it asks that from the leakage a simulator can "extract" a set of n-1 messages to be thought of as the messages corresponding to the leaked signatures, and no adversary can produce forgeries not in this small set. The game-based notion is easier to prove for a concrete instantiation of a signature scheme. The simulation-based notion is easier to use, when leakage-resilient signatures are used as components in larger protocols. We prove that the two notion are equivalent and present a generic construction of signature schemes meeting our new notion and a concrete instantiation under fairly standard assumptions. We further give an application, to leakage-resilient identification.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
W1524502272
|
Control of protein concentrations in heterogeneous cell populations
|
In this work we propose a synthetic gene circuit for controlling the variability in protein concentration at a population level. The circuit, based on the use of an intracellular nonlinear controller coupled to a cell-to-cell communication mechanism, allows for independent control of the mean and variance of a signalling molecule across cell population. Via a piecewise affine approximation of the nonlinearity, we provide set invariance results that imply the stability of the closed loop system. We also obtain closed-form expressions for the mean and variance as a function of the tuneable parameters of the controller. The predictions offered by the theoretical analysis are in agreement with numerical simulations performed with physiologically realistic parameters in Escherichia coli.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
] |
10.1093/gerona/glz276
|
Dietary Restriction Improves Fitness of Aging Parents But Reduces Fitness of Their Offspring in Nematodes
|
Dietary restriction (DR) is a well-established intervention to extend lifespan across taxa. Recent studies suggest that DR-driven lifespan extension can be cost-free, calling into question a central tenant of the evolutionary theory of aging. Nevertheless, boosting parental longevity can reduce offspring fitness. Such intergenerational trade-offs are often ignored but can account for the “missing costs” of longevity. Here, we use the nematode Caenorhabditis remanei to test for effects of DR by fasting on fitness of females and their offspring. Females deprived of food for 6 days indeed had increased fecundity, survival, and stress resistance after re-exposure to food compared with their counterparts with constant food access. However, offspring of DR mothers had reduced early and lifetime fecundity, slower growth rate, and smaller body size at sexual maturity. These findings support the direct trade-off between investment in soma and gametes challenging the hypothesis that increased somatic maintenance and impaired reproduction can be decoupled.
|
[
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
10.1016/j.neuron.2020.03.022
|
PNOC<sup>ARC</sup> Neurons Promote Hyperphagia and Obesity upon High-Fat-Diet Feeding
|
Calorie-rich diets induce hyperphagia and promote obesity, although the underlying mechanisms remain poorly defined. We find that short-term high-fat-diet (HFD) feeding of mice activates prepronociceptin (PNOC)-expressing neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC). PNOCARC neurons represent a previously unrecognized GABAergic population of ARC neurons distinct from well-defined feeding regulatory AgRP or POMC neurons. PNOCARC neurons arborize densely in the ARC and provide inhibitory synaptic input to nearby anorexigenic POMC neurons. Optogenetic activation of PNOCARC neurons in the ARC and their projections to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis promotes feeding. Selective ablation of these cells promotes the activation of POMC neurons upon HFD exposure, reduces feeding, and protects from obesity, but it does not affect food intake or body weight under normal chow consumption. We characterize PNOCARC neurons as a novel ARC neuron population activated upon palatable food consumption to promote hyperphagia.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
10.1103/PhysRevB.89.140402
|
Bias-controlled ultrafast demagnetization in magnetic tunnel junctions
|
We report on the possibility of controlling the maximum demagnetization induced by a femtosecond laser pulse in a CoFeB-based magnetic tunnel junction, by tuning the external bias applied to the junction. We explain this effect in terms of laser-induced spin-polarized currents which can be controlled by tuning the conductivity of the junction. This demonstrates the contribution of spin-polarized currents for laser-induced demagnetization and may pave the way to increase the speed of spintronic devices, using ultrashort laser pulses.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
W2021634022
|
Tetrandrine Induces Mitochondria-Mediated Apoptosis in Human Gastric Cancer BGC-823 Cells
|
Tetrandrine, a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid isolated from the dried root of Hang-Fang-Chi (Stephaniatetrandra S. Moore), has been reported to possess anti-cancer effects on many tumors. In this study, we investigated tetrandrine-induced apoptosis on human gastric cancer BGC-823 cells in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that tetrandrine significantly inhibited cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner and induced apoptosis. It increased the apoptosis; upregulation of Bax, Bak, and Bad; and downregulation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl in BGC-823 cells. Moreover, tetrandrine increased the activation of caspase-3 and -9, release of cytochrome c, and upregulation of apaf-1, suggesting that tetrandrine-induced apoptosis was related to the mitochondrial pathway. Meanwhile, pretreatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk in BGC-823 cells reduced tetrandrine-induced apoptosis by blocking activation of caspases. Furthermore, tetrandrine effectively inhibited tumor growth via apoptosis induction, which was verified by immunohistochemical analysis in a nude mouse xenograft model. Taken together, we concluded that tetrandrine significantly inhibited the proliferation of gastric cancer BGC-823 cells through mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, which may play a promising role in gastric cancer therapy.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
726001
|
Topological nano-photonics
|
One of the most fascinating phenomena in nature is the interplay between quantum mechanics and the flow of electrons in solids. A tangible example is the quantum hall effect, where electrons flow with virtually zero dissipation. That is because electrons can flow only in one direction, which makes them move around objects without scattering, representing robustness by topological protection. Essential for this effect is the magnetic field that breaks time-reversal symmetry.
Recently, however, with the advent of novel exotic quantum materials, completely new concepts for topological and non-reciprocal phenomena have appeared on the horizon, without the need to apply any magnetic field. These materials exhibit intrinsic topological character due to quantum mechanical interferences. TOPONANOP’s vision is to exploit these extraordinary quantum properties in order to control light at the nanoscale in a radically new way. One of the main objectives is to generate nanoscale optical fields (plasmons) that propagate in only one direction and implement topologically protected plasmons such that they move around defects and corners. At the same time, visualizing and controlling electromagnetic excitations will be used as a tool to unravel extraordinary phenomena in exotic quantum materials.
To this end, TOPONANOP will apply novel low-temperature, THz and infrared, near-field imaging and spectroscopy techniques to directly spatially visualize the plasmon non-reciprocity and topological character.
Topological nano-photonics is a new paradigm for novel quantum materials and will enable novel future applications in miniaturized photonic isolators, diodes and logic circuits and could lead to completely new concepts for communication systems, optical transistors and optical information processing.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.3389/fmicb.2015.00865
|
Warming reduces the cover and diversity of biocrust-forming mosses and lichens, and increases the physiological stress of soil microbial communities in a semi-arid Pinus halepensis plantation
|
Soil communities dominated by lichens and mosses (biocrusts) play key roles in maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning in drylands worldwide. However, few studies have explicitly evaluated how climate change-induced impacts on biocrusts affect associated soil microbial communities. We report results from a field experiment conducted in a semiarid Pinus halepensis plantation, where we setup an experiment with two factors: cover of biocrusts (low [<15%] versus high [>50%]), and warming (control versus a ~2°C temperature increase). Warming reduced the richness and cover (~45%) of high biocrust cover areas 53 months after the onset of the experiment. This treatment did not change the ratios between the major microbial groups, as measured by phospholipid fatty acid analysis. Warming increased the physiological stress of the Gram negative bacterial community, as indicated by the cy17:0/16:1ω7 ratio. This response was modulated by the initial biocrust cover, as the increase in this ratio with warming was higher in areas with low cover. Our findings suggest that biocrusts can slow down the negative effects of warming on the physiological status of the Gram negative bacterial community. However, as warming will likely reduce the cover and diversity of biocrusts, these positive effects will be reduced under climate change.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
] |
10.1039/d0sc03727c
|
Engineering micromechanics of soft porous crystals for negative gas adsorption
|
We characterise the elastic properties of molecular building blocks and how they impact the mechanical properties of soft porous crystals.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
Q4430522
|
Implementação de tecnologia inovadora de segurança microbiológica em produtos à base de carne orgânicos, convencionais e livres melhorados JK sp z o.o. — Plant Meat Jasiołka em Dukla
|
O resultado do projeto através da aquisição de ativos fixos e obras de construção será a criação e implementação de uma nova tecnologia de produção de produtos à base de carne com a adição de soro de leite sem adição de nitritos e nitratos. A nova tecnologia será inovadora e será a primeira a ser aplicada à escala industrial na Polónia.«Tecnologia de soro de leite» tem por objetivo eliminar, até à data, a utilização corrente na indústria de conservantes, como os nitratos e os nitritos, que têm um efeito negativo na saúde humana devido a efeitos mutagénicos e patogénicos. Os nitratos e os nitritos serão substituídos pelo soro de leite ácido obtido a partir do leite de vaca. Os produtos à base de carne criados pela nova tecnologia do soro de leite serão seguros para a saúde e podem ser considerados alimentos saudáveis, e a tecnologia do soro de leite será inovadora e inovadora. A patente tem um efeito sobre: — coloração do produto final — o que dá a possibilidade de eliminar os nitratos (conservantes) da produção — reduzindo significativamente o teor de microrganismos patogénicos naturais na carne — o que se reveste de grande importância, nomeadamente na produção de produtos de cura crus — reduzindo o tempo necessário para preparar a carne para a produção, — melhorando os valores gustativos do produto final através de uma trituração mais eficaz da carne -, prolongando o prazo de conservação do produto final, afetando a transformação das proteínas e dos ingredientes gordos contidos na carne. A tecnologia protegida por patentes permitirá a produção de 3 grupos de produtos: produtos à base de carne certificados por bioalimentos, convencionais e de maturação livre, incluindo a produção de alimentos dietéticos, tais como: •alimentos para crianças, dieta recomendada para uso no tratamento de doenças, com baixo teor de sódio, com teor reduzido de nitratos, contendo sais minerais, para diabéticos e desportos O custo total do projeto é de... mil PLN, incluindo financiamento — «prêmio tecnológico» é... mil PLN. O projeto será executado de... a um ano.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering"
] |
10.1137/16M1066920
|
Asymptotics Of Stochastic Protein Assembly Models
|
Protein polymerization is involved in many important biological phenomena and gives rise to spontaneous formation of amyloid fibrils or, more generally, polymers. The starting point of this process, called nucleation, exhibits an important variability among replicated experiments. To analyze the stochastic nature of this phenomenon, one of the simplest models considers two populations of chemical components: free monomers and polymerized monomers. Initially there are only monomers. There are two reactions for the polymerization of a monomer: either two monomers collide to combine into two polymerized monomers or a monomer is polymerized after the encounter of a polymerized monomer. It turns out that this simple model does not explain completely the variability observed in the experiments. This paper investigates extensions of this model to take into account other mechanisms of the polymerization process that may have an impact on fluctuations. The first variant consists in introducing a preliminary conformation step to take into account the biological fact that, before being polymerized, a monomer has two states, regular or misfolded. Only misfolded monomers can be polymerized so that the fluctuations of the number of misfolded monomers can also be a source of variability of the number of polymerized monomers. For the second variant, based on numerical considerations, the reaction rate $\alpha$ of spontaneous formation of a polymer is of the order of $N^{-\nu}$ for some large scaling variable $N$ representing the reaction volume and $\nu$ some positive constant. Asymptotic results involving different time scales are obtained for the corresponding Markov processes. First and second order results for the starting instant of nucleation are derived from these limit theorems. The proofs of the results rely on a study of a stochastic averaging principle for a model related to an Ehrenfest urn model, and also on a scaling analysis of a population model.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1109/TPEL.2017.2658340
|
Modeling Of Vsc Based Power Systems In The Extended Harmonic Domain
|
Averaged modeling is a commonly used approach used to obtain mathematical representations of VSC-based systems. However, essential characteristics mainly related to the modulation process and the harmonic distortion of the signals are not able to be accurately captured and analyzed. The extended harmonic domain (EHD) has recently been seen as an alternative modeling framework since it allows us to consider the harmonic interaction explicitly. However, there is not a clearly established methodology to derive the EHD models in the presence of power electronic switches. This paper presents a generalized methodology based on the switching instants to obtain large-signal EHD models of VSC-based power systems. Three model order reduction approaches are also proposed to address the increased size of the resulting EHD models. Analytic formulas of three modulation techniques: sinusoidal pulse-width modulation, third harmonic injection pulse-width modulation, and space vector pulse-width modulation are provided to obtain the open-loop large signal EHD models. A performance assessment of the proposed modeling approach in respect to model size, the computational time and the accuracy is presented based on simulations and experimental case studies. The obtained results show that the resulting EHD models are accurate and reliable, while the memory and computation time are improved with the proposed model order reductions.
|
[
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Mathematics"
] |
10.1016/j.dnarep.2015.09.014
|
Chromatin dynamics after DNA damage: The legacy of the access-repair-restore model
|
Eukaryotic genomes are packaged into chromatin, which is the physiological substrate for all DNA transactions, including DNA damage and repair. Chromatin organization imposes major constraints on DNA damage repair and thus undergoes critical rearrangements during the repair process. These rearrangements have been integrated into the "access-repair-restore" (ARR) model, which provides a molecular framework for chromatin dynamics in response to DNA damage. Here, we take a historical perspective on the elaboration of this model and describe the molecular players involved in damaged chromatin reorganization in human cells. In particular, we present our current knowledge of chromatin assembly coupled to DNA damage repair, focusing on the role of histone variants and their dedicated chaperones. Finally, we discuss the impact of chromatin rearrangements after DNA damage on chromatin function and epigenome maintenance.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
] |
10.2514/1.46681
|
Light Levitated Geostationary Cylindrical Orbits Are Feasible
|
This paper discusses a new family of non-Keplerian orbits for solar sail spacecraft displaced above or below the Earth's equatorial plane. The work aims to prove the assertion in the literature that displaced geostationary orbits exist, possibly to increase the number of available slots for geostationary communications satellites. The existence of displaced non-Keplerian periodic orbits is ¯rst shown analytically by linearization of the solar sail dynamics around a geostationary point. The full displaced periodic solution of the non-linear equations of motion is then obtained using a Hermite-Simpson collocation method with inequality path constraints. The initial guess to the collocation method is given by the linearized solution and the inequality path constraints are enforced as a box around the linearized solution. The linear and nonlinear displaced periodic orbits are also obtained for the worst-case Sun-sail orientation at the solstices. Near-term and high-performance sails can be displaced between 10 km and 25 km above the Earth's equatorial plane during the summer solstice, while a perforated sail can be displaced above the usual station-keeping box (75 £ 75 km) of nominal geostationary satellites. Light-levitated orbit applications to Space Solar Power are also considered.
|
[
"Universe Sciences",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
885996
|
Health, environment, agriculture, rural development: training network for land management
|
Livestock farming is increasingly in the spotlight because of its impacts on the environment and human health. Global livestock production, specifically ruminant farming, has been associated with land use change, methane emissions, climate change, deforestation and biodiversity loss. At the same time, consumption of livestock proteins exceeds total human protein requirements for a healthy diet in most European Member States.
However, ruminants can convert biomass unsuitable for direct human consumption (e.g. grass resources) into valuable food, including essential macro and micro-nutrients for humans. While grazing, ruminants contribute to: maintaining the landscape and, in specific local conditions, to; enhancing biodiversity and increasing carbon sequestration.
The contemporary industry challenge is therefore to develop livestock production systems that simultaneously enhance environmental sustainability and support a healthy diet. This is a knowledge-intensive process. Therefore, this European Industrial Doctorate (EID) programme – HEARTLAND+ will connect one of the most notable industry to the cutting-edge scientific knowledge while maximising the impact of the programme by working closely with experts in communication (to multiple audiences) and dissemination (to potential end-users).
The objectives of HEARTLAND+ can be summarized as follows:
1. To train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative PhD graduates in the multidisciplinary topic of soil-to-society
2. To design, implement and evaluate a soil, sward, and grazing farm management system aimed at maximising the positive impact on the environment, improving the nutritional and sensory quality of meat, and consequently improving human health in component and systems research
3. To upscale the findings to contribute to the sectoral development of sustainable production systems and land management
4. To communicate, disseminate and exploit the findings
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
] |
EP 89810221 A
|
Device for the sequential treatment of submerged objects and kit containing such a device.
|
The device is intended for the sequential treatment of submerged objects by means of dissolved reactive products, and comprises the following elements: a container (1) intended to contain the solution of reactive products, a receptacle (2) enabling the objects to be treated to be kept submerged in the container (1), a covering piece (3) attached to the top of the container (1), supporting at its centre a drive member connected to a timer (4), and having in the vicinity of its periphery an aperture (5) allowing unit doses of reactive products to be transferred to the interior of the container (1) and a mobile distributor (6) for unit doses of reactive products, centred on the covering piece (3) and bearing on the said piece (3), the said distributor being designed to be driven in rotation by the drive member (4) and possessing, in the vicinity of its periphery, means (7) for bringing each of the unit doses of reactive products separately opposite the aperture (5) in the piece (3). <??>Such a device can be used, inter alia, for the cleaning or treatment of contact lenses. <??>A kit is likewise described which consists of the device and of a storage receptacle for the unit doses of reactive products. <IMAGE>
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
224639
|
Information diffusion on networks
|
This two-year research project aims to analyse the simultaneous diffusion of multiple pieces of information on (social) networks; how messages may interact, how rumours diffuse in the presence of truthful information and verification, and how network structure interacts with the virality of information. Misinformation can have severe consequences, such as the debunked myth of a link between vaccinations and autism or AIDS denialism. Political examples also abound. The rise in communication through online networks is often quoted as contributing to an increased spread of rumours and misinformation. Yet, in truth the state of the art has little to say about how alternative pieces of information interact on networks, and even less why rumours might be propagated without prior verification. This project aims to build rigorous economic models which can shed light on the processes and decisions involved, thus addressing the tangible threat that the spread of misinformation poses to society. I am an experienced researcher and have worked for various years in the area of information diffusion on networks, providing me with excellent insights and methodological tools to work on this project under the supervision of Professor Sergio Currarini, a leading expert in network theory. My stay at Ca’Foscari University of Venice will allow me to establish new (international) collaborations and additional training, particularly regarding interdisciplinary tools to bring to the economic study of (mis)information diffusion. Together the training, network, and publications inherent in the development of this project will have an extremely positive impact on my career, including increased possibilities to apply for future funding calls by the EU. By forming the basis of a long-run research agenda focusing on online information diffusion the project will contribute to the EU’s Digital Market Strategy and to its international reputation as a world leading research destination.
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
] |
172360
|
The origin of heavy elements: a nuclear physics and astrophysics challenge
|
Where in the universe are heavy elements synthesized? How are these elements produced? These are two exciting and interdisciplinary questions in nuclear astrophysics today and will be investigated in my ERC project EUROPIUM. The favored astrophysical sites are neutrino-driven winds following core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers, where extreme conditions enable the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). We will perform long-time multidimensional simulations of these two scenarios and combine them with nucleosynthesis calculations. In neutron star mergers, the radioactive decay of neutron-rich nuclei triggers an electromagnetic signal known as kilonova. This was potentially observed in 2013 after a short gamma ray burst, associated with a neutron star merger. We will simulate the neutrino- and viscous-driven ejecta from the disk that forms after the merger around the central compact object. In addition, we will investigate supernova neutrino-driven winds that produce lighter heavy elements from strontium to silver. We will explore the impact of rotation, improved microphysics, and magnetic fields on the wind evolution and nucleosynthesis. Because the synthesis of lighter heavy elements elements occurs closer to stability, the nuclear physics uncertainties will be reduced by experiments in the near future. This will uniquely allow us to combine observations and nucleosynthesis calculations to constrain the astrophysical conditions and gain new insights into core-collapse supernovae. In nuclear physics, a new era for extreme neutron-rich isotopes is starting with new experimental facilities. Based on our simulations, we will study the impact of the nuclear physics input (nuclear masses, beta decays, neutron captures, and fission) going beyond the state-of-the-art by providing r-process abundances with uncertainties. Comparing our results with forefront observations of the oldest stars will in turn provide new insights about the origin of heavy elements.
|
[
"Universe Sciences",
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter"
] |
10.1371/journal.pone.0051540
|
The Smc5-Smc6 Complex Regulates Recombination at Centromeric Regions and Affects Kinetochore Protein Sumoylation during Normal Growth
|
The Smc5-Smc6 complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is both essential for growth and important for coping with genotoxic stress. While it facilitates damage tolerance throughout the genome under genotoxin treatment, its function during unperturbed growth is mainly documented for repetitive DNA sequence maintenance. Here we provide physical and genetic evidence showing that the Smc5-Smc6 complex regulates recombination at non-repetitive loci such as centromeres in the absence of DNA damaging agents. Mutating Smc6 results in the accumulation of recombination intermediates at centromeres and other unique sequences as assayed by 2D gel analysis. In addition, smc6 mutant cells exhibit increased levels of Rad52 foci that co-localize with centromere markers. A rad52 mutation that decreases centromeric, but not overall, levels of Rad52 foci in smc6 mutants suppresses the nocodazole sensitivity of these cells, suggesting that the Smc6-mediated regulation of recombination at centromeric regions impacts centromere-related functions. In addition to influencing recombination, the SUMO ligase subunit of the Smc5-Smc6 complex promotes the sumoylation of two kinetochore proteins and affects mitotic spindles. These results suggest that the Smc5-Smc6 complex regulates both recombination and kinetochore sumoylation to facilitate chromosomal maintenance during growth.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4330-13.2014
|
Impaired path integration and grid cell spatial periodicity in mice lacking GluA1-containing AMPA receptors
|
The hippocampus and the parahippocampal region have been proposed to contribute to path integration. Mice lacking GluA1-containing AMPA receptors (GluA1-/- mice) were previously shown to exhibit impaired hippocampal place cell selectivity. Here we investigated whether path integration performance and the activity of grid cells of the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) are affected in these mice. We first tested GluA1-/- mice on a standard food-carrying homing task and found that they were impaired in processing idiothetic cues. To corroborate these findings, we developed an L-maze task that is less complex and is performed entirely in darkness, thereby reducing numerous confounding variables when testing path integration. Also in this task, the performance of GluA1-/- mice was impaired. Next, we performed in vivo recordings in the MEC of GluA1-/- mice. MEC neurons exhibited altered grid cell spatial periodicity and reduced spatial selectivity, whereas head direction tuning and speed modulation were not affected. The firing associations between pairs of neurons in GluA1-/- mice were stable, both in time and space, indicating that attractor states were still present despite the lack of grid periodicity. Together, these results support the hypothesis that spatial representations in the hippocampal-entorhinal network contribute to path integration.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
10.1016/j.jeconom.2019.10.009
|
Posterior distribution of nondifferentiable functions
|
This paper examines the asymptotic behavior of the posterior distribution of a possibly nondifferentiable function g(θ), where θ is a finite-dimensional parameter of either a parametric or semiparametric model. The main assumption is that the distribution of a suitable estimator θ̂n, its bootstrap approximation, and the Bayesian posterior for θ all agree asymptotically. It is shown that whenever g is locally Lipschitz, though not necessarily differentiable, the posterior distribution of g(θ) and the bootstrap distribution of g(θ̂n) coincide asymptotically. One implication is that Bayesians can interpret bootstrap inference for g(θ) as approximately valid posterior inference in a large sample. Another implication—built on known results about bootstrap inconsistency—is that credible intervals for a nondifferentiable parameter g(θ) cannot be presumed to be approximately valid confidence intervals (even when this relation holds true for θ).
|
[
"Mathematics"
] |
IN 2006000293 W
|
INHERENTLY COLOURED POLYESTER POLYMERS, FIBERS OR FILAMENTS AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING THEM
|
Inherently coloured polyester polymers, fibers or filaments with controlled branching or even linear structures comprising chromophoric co-monomer in their backbone. Processes for preparing the above inherently coloured polyester polymers, fibers or filaments is also disclosed. Inherently coloured polyester of the invention is used in many forms or applications selected from fibres, filaments, woven and non-woven yarns, knitted or moulded articles.
|
[
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.11600/1692715x.18204
|
«No he sido juvenólogo»: una conversación con Carlos Mario Perea
|
El artículo aborda la trayectoria del historiador colombiano Carlos Mario Perea, centrándose en sus aportaciones a los estudios sobre juventud. A partir de una conversación con Carles Feixa, se reconstruyen las principales etapas de su vida, como joven, militante político e investigador, desde sus recuerdos como estudiante en la Bogotá de los años setentas, hasta su compromiso con el proceso de paz en los últimos años, pasando por su militancia en el M-19, su trabajo en organizaciones de base en Medellín en los años ochentas, su trayectoria académica en el Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Relaciones Internacionales y sus incluyentes estudios sobre pandillas juveniles. El texto concluye con una lúcida crítica sobre los aportes y déficits teóricos de la juvenología latinoamericana y con una emotiva reflexión sobre la relación del juvenólogo —que no se reconoce como tal— con sus propios hijos.
|
[
"The Study of the Human Past",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
] |
10.1051/0004-6361/201629946
|
Co2 Infrared Emission As A Diagnostic Of Planet Forming Regions Of Disks
|
[Abridged] The infrared ro-vibrational emission lines from organic molecules in the inner regions of protoplanetary disks are unique probes of the physical and chemical structure of planet forming regions and the processes that shape them. The non-LTE excitation effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) are studied in a full disk model to evaluate: (i) what the emitting regions of the different CO2 ro-vibrational bands are; (ii) how the CO2 abundance can be best traced using CO2 ro-vibrational lines using future JWST data and; (iii) what the excitation and abundances tell us about the inner disk physics and chemistry. CO2 is a major ice component and its abundance can potentially test models with migrating icy pebbles across the iceline. A full non-LTE CO2 excitation model has been built. The characteristics of the model are tested using non-LTE slab models. Subsequently the CO2 line formation has been modelled using a two-dimensional disk model representative of T-Tauri disks. The CO2 gas that emits in the 15 $\mu$m and 4. 5 $\mu$m regions of the spectrum is not in LTE and arises in the upper layers of disks, pumped by infrared radiation. The v$_2$ 15 $\mu$m feature is dominated by optically thick emission for most of the models that fit the observations and increases linearly with source luminosity. Its narrowness compared with that of other molecules stems from a combination of the low rotational excitation temperature (~250 K) and the inherently narrower feature for CO2. The inferred CO2 abundances derived for observed disks are more than two orders of magnitude lower than those in interstellar ices (~10$^5$), similar to earlier LTE disk estimates. Line-to-continuum ratios are low, of order a few %, thus high signal-to-noise (S/N > 300) observations are needed for individual line detections. Prospects of accurate abundance retreival with JWST-MIRI and JWST-NIRSpec are discussed.
|
[
"Universe Sciences",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
10.1016/j.ccell.2017.05.006
|
Kupffer Cell-Derived Tnf Triggers Cholangiocellular Tumorigenesis through JNK due to Chronic Mitochondrial Dysfunction and ROS
|
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a highly malignant, heterogeneous cancer with poor treatment options. We found that mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress trigger a niche favoring cholangiocellular overgrowth and tumorigenesis. Liver damage, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and paracrine tumor necrosis factor (Tnf) from Kupffer cells caused JNK-mediated cholangiocellular proliferation and oncogenic transformation. Anti-oxidant treatment, Kupffer cell depletion, Tnfr1 deletion, or JNK inhibition reduced cholangiocellular pre-neoplastic lesions. Liver-specific JNK1/2 deletion led to tumor reduction and enhanced survival in Akt/Notch- or p53/Kras-induced ICC models. In human ICC, high Tnf expression near ICC lesions, cholangiocellular JNK-phosphorylation, and ROS accumulation in surrounding hepatocytes are present. Thus, Kupffer cell-derived Tnf favors cholangiocellular proliferation/differentiation and carcinogenesis. Targeting the ROS/Tnf/JNK axis may provide opportunities for ICC therapy.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
724705
|
Pushing the frontiers of biological imaging with genetically encoded fluorescence switches
|
Biological imaging is essential for revealing the inner workings of living systems. Among the numerous imaging modalities, light microscopy has revolutionized biological research. In addition to advances in optics and detectors, imaging has benefited from the development of molecular tools to observe biomolecules in action. Although the last decade’s breakthroughs in imaging have led to new discoveries in biology, there are still extraordinary opportunities for basic and clinical research in further advancing imaging capabilities. This project proposes to develop new classes of probes to advance biological imaging and allow the study of biological processes in all their complexity. First, I propose to push the boundaries of multiplexing and super-resolution imaging in living cells developing a new class of fluorogenic probes that act as genetically encoded fluorescence on/off switches. Highly multiplexed images will be built up over sequential activation of orthogonal fluorescence on/off switches, while continuous switching will allow implementing innovative dynamic super-resolution techniques in living cells. Then, I will develop dynamic fluorescence on/off switches enabling to reveal the dynamics of intracellular processes, focusing in particular on the visualization of interaction dynamics in real-time, and the dynamic detection of endogenous molecules (e.g. proteins, nucleic acids) in living cells. The final part will be dedicated to the development of probes acting as molecular integrator switches to identify active cell circuits in whole tissues or organisms through permanent labeling of transiently activated cells. Overall, this project will enable to push back the frontiers of biological imaging providing innovative tools to interrogate quantitatively and comprehensively living systems at the molecular, cellular and network levels.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
W2587632062
|
Leadership through fellowship: distributed leadership in a professional recognition scheme for university educators
|
ABSTRACTResearchers in the field of teaching and learning in higher education have identified concerns with top-down leadership models. Distributed (or shared) leadership approaches may provide more successful engagement with institutional change agendas, and provide more options to reward and recognise staff leading teaching and learning initiatives. Through empirical research, Jones and colleagues have conceptualised the key criteria, dimensions and values that constitute effective distributed leadership in the Action Self-Enabling Reflective Tool (ASERT), together with benchmarks through which action taken to enable distributed leadership can be evaluated. Opportunities for distributed leadership were incorporated into the design of an Australian university’s professional recognition scheme for university educators. Through analysis of this case study in the context of the ASERT attributes and the benchmarks for distributed leadership, this paper explores the potential for systematic professional recog...
|
[
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
] |
W637340501
|
Research Design in European Studies: Establishing Causality in Europeanization
|
Europeanization: The Challenge of Establishing Causality C.M.Radaelli Looking for Causality in the Literature on Europeanization T.Exadaktylos & C.M.Radaelli Causality in Quantitative Approaches A.E.Toller Europeanization: A Critical Realist Perspective I.Bache , S.Bulmer & D.Gunay Discursive Institutional Analytical Strategies K.Lynggaard Beyond Non-compliance with Legal Norms S.Saurugger Delayed Europeanization: Multiple Hypotheses and Small Number of Cases D.Panke The Europeanization of Healthcare: Processes and Factors D.S.Martinsen How Cities Encounter Europe: Mechanisms and Modes S.Dossi Understanding Causality and Change in Party Politics R.Ladrech Europeanization of Foreign Policy outside the Common Foreign and Security Policy T.Exadaktylos Rival Hypotheses: Comparing the Roles of the EU and Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization in Good Governance Reforms S.Ladi Being Clear Enough to be Wrong: Europeanization Refuted and Defended K.Moumoutzis Lessons Learned: Beyond Causality C.M.Radaelli & T.Exadaktylos
|
[
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
] |
982022
|
Bio-Based strategies and roadmaps for enhanced rural and regional development in the eu
|
The overall goal of BE-Rural is to realise the potential of regional and local bio-based economies by supporting relevant actors in the participatory development of bioeconomy strategies and roadmaps. BE-Rural will investigate the particular characteristics of the selected regions at a macro level, as well as existing best practices and business models geared towards the bioeconomy. This higher-level analysis will aid in the assessment of the 'bioeconomy potential' of the selected regions. This work will set the foundation for the implementation of a series of regional Open Innovation Platforms to kick-start the co-creation process, bringing together key stakeholders from academia, policy, business and civil society to develop ideas and capitalise on this bioeconomy potential. Activities will include research & innovation capacity building workshops, educational seminars and webinars, summer schools, and Bio-based Pop-up Stores. Building from this, the proposed 'Network of Knowledge' will aim to share knowledge and lessons learned from the Open Innovation Platforms at an inter-regional level, further disseminating best practices, closing the information gap on issues related to sustainability, and increasing capacities of regional authorities and stakeholders.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
] |
W2170991750
|
Perceptions of individuals living with spinal cord injury toward preference-based quality of life instruments: a qualitative exploration
|
Generic preference-based health-related quality of life instruments are widely used to measure health benefit within economic evaluation. The availability of multiple instruments raises questions about their relative merits and recent studies have highlighted the paucity of evidence regarding measurement properties in the context of spinal cord injury (SCI). This qualitative study explores the views of individuals living with SCI towards six established instruments with the objective of identifying 'preferred' outcome measures (from the perspective of the study participants).Individuals living with SCI were invited to participate in one of three focus groups. Eligible participants were identified from Vancouver General Hospital's Spine Program database; purposive sampling was used to ensure representation of different demographics and injury characteristics. Perceptions and opinions were solicited on the following questionnaires: 15D, Assessment of Quality of Life 8-dimension (AQoL-8D), EQ-5D-5L, Health Utilities Index (HUI), Quality of Well-Being Scale Self-Administered (QWB-SA), and the SF-36v2. Framework analysis was used to analyse the qualitative information gathered during discussion. Strengths and limitations of each questionnaire were thematically identified and managed using NVivo 9 software.Major emergent themes were (i) general perceptions, (ii) comprehensiveness, (iii) content, (iv) wording and (v) features. Two sub-themes pertinent to content were also identified; 'questions' and 'options'. All focus group participants (n = 15) perceived the AQoL-8D to be the most relevant instrument to administer within the SCI population. This measure was considered to be comprehensive, with relevant content (i.e. wheelchair inclusive) and applicable items. Participants had mixed perceptions about the other questionnaires, albeit to varying degrees.Despite a strong theoretical underpinning, the AQoL-8D (and other AQoL instruments) is infrequently used outside its country of origin (Australia). Empirical comparative analyses of the favoured instruments identified in this qualitative study are necessary within the context of spinal cord injury.
|
[
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System"
] |
W2005554182
|
Analyte quantification with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography: Assessment of methods for baseline correction, peak delineation, and matrix effect elimination for real samples
|
Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) is used widely to separate and measure organic chemicals in complex mixtures. However, approaches to quantify analytes in real, complex samples have not been critically assessed. We quantified 7 PAHs in a certified diesel fuel using GC×GC coupled to flame ionization detector (FID), and we quantified 11 target chlorinated hydrocarbons in a lake water extract using GC×GC with electron capture detector (μECD), further confirmed qualitatively by GC×GC with electron capture negative chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ENCI-TOFMS). Target analyte peak volumes were determined using several existing baseline correction algorithms and peak delineation algorithms. Analyte quantifications were conducted using external standards and also using standard additions, enabling us to diagnose matrix effects. We then applied several chemometric tests to these data. We find that the choice of baseline correction algorithm and peak delineation algorithm strongly influence the reproducibility of analyte signal, error of the calibration offset, proportionality of integrated signal response, and accuracy of quantifications. Additionally, the choice of baseline correction and the peak delineation algorithm are essential for correctly discriminating analyte signal from unresolved complex mixture signal, and this is the chief consideration for controlling matrix effects during quantification. The diagnostic approaches presented here provide guidance for analyte quantification using GC×GC.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1136/jnnp-2016-314728
|
Reward and punishment enhance motor adaptation in stroke
|
Background and objective The effects of motor learning, such as motor adaptation, in stroke rehabilitation are often transient, thus mandating approaches that enhance the amount of learning and retention. Previously, we showed in young individuals that reward and punishment feedback have dissociable effects on motor adaptation, with punishment improving adaptation and reward enhancing retention. If these findings were able to generalise to patients with stroke, they would provide a way to optimise motor learning in these patients. Therefore, we tested this in 45 patients with chronic stroke allocated in three groups. Methods Patients performed reaching movements with their paretic arm with a robotic manipulandum. After training (day 1), day 2 involved adaptation to a novel force field. During the adaptation phase, patients received performance-based feedback according to the group they were allocated: Reward, punishment or no feedback (neutral). On day 3, patients readapted to the force field but all groups now received neutral feedback. Results All patients adapted, with reward and punishment groups displaying greater adaptation and readaptation than the neutral group, irrespective of demographic, cognitive or functional differences. Remarkably, the reward and punishment groups adapted to similar degree as healthy controls. Finally, the reward group showed greater retention. Conclusions This study provides, for the first time, evidence that reward and punishment can enhance motor adaptation in patients with stroke. Further research on reinforcement-based motor learning regimes is warranted to translate these promising results into clinical practice and improve motor rehabilitation outcomes in patients with stroke.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
10.1038/ncomms6360
|
Biallelic loss-of-function mutation in NIK causes a primary immunodeficiency with multifaceted aberrant lymphoid immunity
|
Primary immunodeficiency disorders enable identification of genes with crucial roles in the human immune system. Here we study patients suffering from recurrent bacterial, viral and Cryptosporidium infections, and identify a biallelic mutation in the MAP3K14 gene encoding NIK (NF- B-inducing kinase). Loss of kinase activity of mutant NIK, predicted by in silico analysis and confirmed by functional assays, leads to defective activation of both canonical and non-canonical NF- B signalling. Patients with mutated NIK exhibit B-cell lymphopenia, decreased frequencies of class-switched memory B cells and hypogammaglobulinemia due to impaired B-cell survival, and impaired ICOSL expression. Although overall T-cell numbers are normal, both follicular helper and memory T cells are perturbed. Natural killer (NK) cells are decreased and exhibit defective activation, leading to impaired formation of NK-cell immunological synapses. Collectively, our data illustrate the non-redundant role for NIK in human immune responses, demonstrating that loss-of-function mutations in NIK can cause multiple aberrations of lymphoid immunity.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1371/journal.pone.0125250
|
Influence of extracellular matrix components on the expression of integrins and regeneration of adult retinal ganglion cells
|
Purpose Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are exposed to injury in a variety of optic nerve diseases including glaucoma. However, not all cells respond in the same way to damage and the capacity of individual RGCs to survive or regenerate is variable. In order to elucidate factors that may be important for RGC survival and regeneration we have focussed on the extracellular matrix (ECM) and RGC integrin expression. Our specific questions were: (1) Do adult RGCs express particular sets of integrins in vitro and in vivo? (2) Can the nature of the ECM influence the expression of different integrins? (3) Can the nature of the ECM affect the survival of the cells and the length or branching complexity of their neurites? Methods Primary RGC cultures from adult rat retina were placed on glass coverslips treated with different substrates: Poly-L-Lysine (PL), or PL plus laminin (L), collagen I (CI), collagen IV (CIV) or fibronectin (F). After 10 days in culture, we performed double immunostaining with an antibody against βIII-Tubulin to identify the RGCs, and antibodies against the integrin subunits: αV, α1, α3, α5, β1orβ3. The number of adhering and surviving cells, the number and length of the neurites and the expression of the integrin subunits on the different substrates were analysed. Results PL and L were associated with the greatest survival of RGCs while CI provided the least favourable conditions. The type of substrate affected the number and length of neurites. L stimulated the longest growth. We found at least three different types of RGCs in terms of their capacity to regenerate and extend neurites. The different combinations of integrins expressed by the cells growing on different substrata suggest that RGCs expressed predominantly α1β1orα3β1onL,α1β1 on CI and CIV, and α5β3 on F. The activity of the integrins was demonstrated by the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Conclusions Adult rat RGCs can survive and grow in the presence of different ECM tested. Further studies should be done to elucidate the different molecular characteristics of the RGCs subtypes in order to understand the possible different sensitivity of different RGCs to damage in diseases like glaucoma in which not all RGCs die at the same time.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
] |
Q2072357
|
LAVADO DE COCHES EN AUTOSERVICIO 24/24
|
LAVADO DE COCHES EN AUTOSERVICIO ABIERTO 24/24 TAMBIÉN CON CONDICIONES INVERNALES (CONGELAR) YA QUE FUNCIONA EN AMBIENTE CERRADO Y VIDEOVIGILANCIA CALENTADA Y GESTIONADA A DISTANCIA. GESTIÓN AUTOMÁTICA DE LA APERTURA DE LAS PUERTAS DENTRO Y FUERA DEL COCHE. RECUPERACIÓN Y RECICLAJE DEL AGUA DE PROCESAMIENTO. POSIBILIDAD DE VARIOS TIPOS DE PAGO (EN EFECTIVO, FICHAS, TARJETAS DE FIDELIDAD, ETIQUETAS CONTACTLEES).
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
10.1016/j.bpj.2015.02.032
|
The mechanical properties of early drosophila embryos measured by high-speed video microrheology
|
In early development, Drosophila melanogaster embryos form a syncytium, i. e. , multiplying nuclei are not yet separated by cell membranes, but are interconnected by cytoskeletal polymer networks consisting of actin and microtubules. Between division cycles 9 and 13, nuclei and cytoskeleton form a two-dimensional cortical layer. To probe the mechanical properties and dynamics of this self-organizing pre-tissue, we measured shear moduli in the embryo by high-speed video microrheology. We recorded position fluctuations of injected micron-sized fluorescent beads with kHz sampling frequencies and characterized the viscoelasticity of the embryo in different locations. Thermal fluctuations dominated over nonequilibrium activity for frequencies between 0. 3 and 1000 Hz. Between the nuclear layer and the yolk, the cytoplasm was homogeneous and viscously dominated, with a viscosity three orders of magnitude higher than that of water. Within the nuclear layer we found an increase of the elastic and viscous moduli consistent with an increased microtubule density. Drug-interference experiments showed that microtubules contribute to the measured viscoelasticity inside the embryo whereas actin only plays a minor role in the regions outside of the actin caps that are closely associated with the nuclei. Measurements at different stages of the nuclear division cycle showed little variation.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration"
] |
10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-2-w15-743-2019
|
THE DIGITALIZATION OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COFFINS: A DISCUSSION OVER DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES FOR RECORDING FINE DETAILS
|
. This work starts from the request to have a physical high-resolution 3D model of the external, anthropoid coffin of the scribe Butehamon, held at the Museo Egizio, Turin. At the time of writing, a replica of the coffin, based on this survey work, functions as final and focal installation of the temporary exhibition Archeologia Invisibile of the Museo Egizio, Turin, running from March 2019 to January 2020. The replica acts as support for a micro-mapping installation meant to re-project a pattern of images onto the coffin’s surface, including the results of different radiometric and colourimetric analyses performed in the recent past by Museo Egizio and Musei Vaticani. This collaborative work encouraged a thorough discussion on the interaction between scientists and humanists engaged in the study of archaeological finds, on the needs and expectations of both sides, and on the technical problems relating to handling objects of different sizes.
|
[
"The Study of the Human Past",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
W2519496951
|
The Highly Insidious Extreme Phishing Attacks
|
One of the most severe and challenging threats to Internet security is phishing, which uses spoofed websites to steal users' passwords and online identities. Phishers mainly use spoofed emails or instant messages to lure users to the phishing websites. A spoofed email or instant message provides the first-layer context to entice users to click on a phishing URL, and the phishing website further provides the second-layer context with the look and feel similar to a targeted legitimate website to lure users to submit their login credentials. In this paper, we focus on the second-layer context to explore the extreme of phishing attacks; we explore the feasibility of creating extreme phishing attacks that have the almost identical look and feel as those of the targeted legitimate websites, and evaluate the effectiveness of such phishing attacks. We design and implement a phishing toolkit that can support both the traditional phishing and the newly emergent Web Single Sign-On (SSO) phishing; our toolkit can automatically construct unlimited levels of phishing webpages in real time based on user interactions. We design and perform a user study to evaluate the effectiveness of the phishing attacks constructed from this toolkit. The user study results demonstrate that extreme phishing attacks are indeed highly effective and insidious. It is reasonable to assume that extreme phishing attacks will be widely adopted and deployed in the future, and we call for a collective effort to effectively defend against them.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
interreg_1686
|
Intermodal Connections in Adriatic-Ionian Region to Upgrowth Seamless solutions for passenger
|
ICARUS aims at improving passenger intermodal transport connections and easing coast-hinterland sustainable accessibility, promoting car-independent lifestyles.
The project fights against problems generated by the massive use of private cars by introducing solutions based on innovative technologies to adapt smart mobility in a digital world. Moreover, it intends to activate a behavioral change in mobility, using the “Mobility as a Service” which is a concept representing the shift from personally owned modes of transportation towards mobility solutions that are consumed as a service.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
] |
W2066541517
|
Responses of two lithosomes of Lower Cretaceous coarse clastic rocks to tectonism in Kuqa foreland sub-basin, Northern Tarim Basin, Northwest China
|
Abstract Coarse clastic rocks, developed widely at foredeep adjacent to orogene, were usually regarded as the mark of renewed thrusting action. However a good example from the Lower Cretaceous in Kuqa foreland sub-basin illustrated that the coarse clastic rocks developed not only in initial thrusting stage but in early quiescence stage. The Kuqa foreland sub-basin, adjacent to the south Tianshan Orogene, lies to the north of Tarim Basin, northwest China. The Lower Cretaceous outcrop in the front of south Tianshan Orogene was identified as a filling sequence of foredeep which includes two depositional cycles of Kapushaliang Group and Bashijiqike Formation. Each of them presents fining-upwards and then coarsening-upwards sequences. Two lithosomes of coarse clastic rocks developed in the lower of Yageliemu Formation of Kapushaliang Group and Bashijiqike Formation, respectively. Both of them are mainly composed of thick-bedded, massive and chaotic conglomerate with debris flow microfacies of fan delta plain. The analyses on stratigraphic and depositional records for tectonism revealed abrupt sedimentary change from delta facies to fan delta facies, stratal geometry transformation, and reflection termination migration of truncation and top-lap between the Kapushaliang Group and the Bashijiqike Formation. These records indicated that: foredeep subsided rapidly while forebulge uplifted in the development of Kapushaliang Group, which coincided perfectly with lithosphere deformation during thrusting stage; foredeep uplifted rapidly while forebulge subsided in the later development of Bashijiqike Formation, which coincided with lithosphere deformation during quiescence stage of foreland basin development. Therefore, the Lower Cretaceous recorded a whole episode of foreland basin evolution from earlier thrusting to later quiescence. The underfilled cycle of Kapushaliang Group, corresponding to the thrusting stage, is much thick with mainly muddy and silty sediments. The overfilled cycle of Bashijiqike Formation, corresponding to the quiescence stage, is thin with mainly sandy sediments. The two lithosomes of coarse clastic rocks were very similar with each other in the lithology and sedimentology. However, the one from lower Yageliemu Formation is responded to the renewed thrusting, but the other from the lower Bashijiqike Formation is responded to the lithosphere rebounding during primary quiescence stage. Therefore, cannot only coarse clastic rocks indicated a renewed thrusting.
|
[
"Earth System Science"
] |
864045
|
Deep Serpentinization, H2, and high-pressure abiotic CH4
|
The deep subsurface biosphere is the largest microbiological habitat on Earth, with biomass and contribution to biogeochemical cycles comparable to surface biosphere. Deciphering the parameters that control and sustain deep subsurface life is vital in understanding the functioning of our planet, and additionally provides key information on how life emerged and where it could exist elsewhere. Among these parameters are the sources of essential energy for deep life, such as H2 and CH4. Great effort has been made to identify geological processes producing these compounds within the subsurface biosphere. Conversely, the identification of deeper sources of H2 and CH4 produced outside the parameter space for life is lacking, even though they could dramatically change our understanding of the distribution and magnitude of deep life on Earth and potentially beyond. Convergent margins focus the largest recycling of C from the deep Earth to the biosphere and atmosphere. Current models of deep C cycling do not include H2-CH4 deep fluxes and therefore cannot assess their potential role in sustaining deep life. My recent work indicates that H2 and CH4 can be produced in large amounts abiotically in subduction zones well below the biosphere by high-P serpentinization processes. This opens new fundamental questions: What is the magnitude of deep H2 and CH4 at convergent margins? How do they affect deep C cycling? To what extent deep H2 and CH4 fluxes sustain the biosphere? DeepSeep will answer these questions by providing the first ever estimates of deep H2-CH4 fluxes, as well as the missing means to detect source areas at depth, and will establish deep H2-CH4 role on deep C cycling and on deep biosphere processes. By bridging the two most striking peculiarities of Earth, subduction and life, DeepSeep has the potential for transformative discoveries, with long-term implications for global C cycle modeling, climatology, and the emergence and search for life on Earth and beyond.
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
W2163558759
|
Species distribution and depth habitat of recent planktic foraminifera in Fram Strait, Arctic Ocean
|
To describe the horizontal and vertical distribution of recent planktic foraminifera in Fram Strait (Arctic), plankton samples were collected in the early summer of 2011 using a MultiNet sampler (>63 µm) at 10 stations along a west–east transect at 78°50′N. Five depth intervals were sampled from the sea surface down to 500 m. Additionally, sediment surface samples from the same locations were analysed. The ratio between absolute abundances of planktic foraminifera in the open ocean, at the ice margin and in the ice-covered ocean was found to be approximately 2:4:1. The assemblage was dominated by the polar Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sin.) and the subpolar Turborotalita quinqueloba , which accounted for 76 and 15% of all tests in the warm, saline Atlantic waters and 90 and 5% in the cold and fresh Polar waters, respectively. Both species had maximum absolute abundances between 0 and 100 m water depth, however, they apparently lived shallower under the ice cover than under ice-free conditions. This indicates that the depth habitat of planktic foraminifera in the study area is predominantly controlled by food availability and not by temperature. The distribution pattern obtained by plankton tows was clearly reflected on the sediment surface and we conclude that the assemblage on the sediment surface can be used as an indicator for modern planktic foraminiferal fauna. Keywords : Planktic foraminifera; Fram Strait; Arctic Ocean; depth habitat; N. pachyderma (sin.); T. quinqueloba . (Published: 27 May 2014) To access the supplementary material for this article, please see Supplementary files in the column to the right (under Article Tools). Citation: Polar Research 2014, 33 , 22483, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/polar.v33.22483
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution"
] |
Q3847243
|
Support for small enterprises with a turnover of more than BGN 500 000 to overcome the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
|
Support for small enterprises with a turnover of more than BGN 500 000 to overcome the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
|
[
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations"
] |
10.1007/978-3-319-62127-2_43
|
A Polynomial Kernel For Distance Hereditary Vertex Deletion
|
A graph is distance-hereditary if for any pair of vertices, their distance in every connected induced subgraph containing both vertices is the same as their distance in the original graph. The Distance-Hereditary Vertex Deletion problem asks, given a graph G on n vertices and an integer k, whether there is a set S of at most k vertices in G such that \(G-S\) is distance-hereditary. This problem is important due to its connection to the graph parameter rank-width [19]; distance-hereditary graphs are exactly the graphs of rank-width at most 1. Eiben, Ganian, and Kwon (MFCS’ 16) proved that Distance-Hereditary Vertex Deletion can be solved in time \(2^{\mathcal {O}(k)}n^{\mathcal {O}(1)}\), and asked whether it admits a polynomial kernelization. We show that this problem admits a polynomial kernel, answering this question positively. For this, we use a similar idea for obtaining an approximate solution for Chordal Vertex Deletion due to Jansen and Pilipczuk (SODA’ 17) to obtain an approximate solution with \(\mathcal {O}(k^3\log n)\) vertices when the problem is a Yes-instance, and we exploit the structure of split decompositions of distance-hereditary graphs to reduce the total size.
|
[
"Mathematics",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1080/2150704X.2016.1142681
|
Segmentation And Tracking Of Marine Cellular Clouds Observed By Geostationary Satellites
|
Marine stratocumulus MSC are shallow marine boundary layer clouds that have a significant cooling contribution to the Earth’s radiative balance. The amplitude of this cooling effect strongly depends on the properties of closed and open cells comprising MSC cloud fields. Systematic study of the underlying processes associated with cloud cell properties requires accurate and reliable cell characterization. Here we propose a method for cell segmentation of MSC clouds as observed from geostationary satellite images. The method, which is based on watershed transformation, is found to be highly efficient in segmentation of both open and closed MSC scenes. Application of the suggested methodology over a Lagrangian framework that track the clouds as they are advected by the wind and comparison of the results between pairs of consecutive images indicate that the resulted segmentation is robust and consistent. The methodology developed in this work opens the way to systematic investigation of spatiotemporal changes in MSC cloud field properties, which will improve our understanding of MSC clouds and their role in regulating Earth’s radiative budget.
|
[
"Earth System Science",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
311736
|
Elucidating early pathogenic mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease through a humanized dynamic in vitro model
|
Our understanding of Parkinson’s disease (PD) pathogenesis is currently limited by difficulties in obtaining live neurons from patients and the inability to model the sporadic, most frequent, form of PD. It may be possible to overcome these challenges by reprogramming somatic cells from patients into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). In preliminary studies, we have generated a collection of 50 iPSC lines representing both sporadic PD and familial PD patients, and identified distinct PD-related neurodegeneration phenotypes arising, upon long-term culture, in DAn differentiated from these PD-iPSC. Here, I propose to take advantage of this genuinely human PD model to investigate: i) mechanistic insights responsible for the PD phenotype identified in our model (by combining molecular and biochemical analyses to study mitochondrial function and redox profile, as well as genome-wide transcriptional profile of control versus PD-patient specific iPSC-derived DAn); ii) early functional alterations in patient-specific iPSC-derived DAn, which would predate neurodegeneration signs and provide valuable information as to ways to prevent, rather than rescue, neurodegeneration in PD patients (by electrophysiological recordings in in vitro reconstructed neuronal/glial networks to assess synaptic dynamics together with neuronal excitability); iii) further refinements in our iPSC-based PD model, including the generation of iPSC lines representing asymptomatic patients carrying pathogenic mutations, and the correction of known mutations by gene edition, all of which will allow exploring the relationship between pathogenic mutations and the genetic makeup of patients; and iv) whether DAn degeneration in PD is solely a cell-autonomous phenomenon, or whether it is influenced by an altered cross-talk between DAn and glial cells. These studies may impact significantly on our understanding of PD pathogenesis and on the development of new therapy strategy.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1145/3318464.3389721
|
On Multiple Semantics For Declarative Database Repairs
|
We study the problem of database repairs through a rule-based framework that we refer to as Delta Rules. Delta rules are highly expressive and allow specifying complex, cross-relations repair logic associated with Denial Constraints, Causal Rules, and allowing to capture Database Triggers of interest. We show that there are no one-size-fits-all semantics for repairs in this inclusive setting, and we consequently introduce multiple alternative semantics, presenting the case for using each of them. We then study the relationships between the semantics in terms of their output and the complexity of computation. Our results formally establish the tradeoff between the permissiveness of the semantics and its computational complexity. We demonstrate the usefulness of the framework in capturing multiple data repair scenarios for an academic search database and the TPC-H databases, showing how using different semantics affects the repair in terms of size and runtime, and examining the relationships between the repairs. We also compare our approach with SQL triggers and a state-of-the-art data repair system.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
10.1371/journal.pone.0053179
|
Comprehensive Histone Phosphorylation Analysis and Identification of Pf14-3-3 Protein as a Histone H3 Phosphorylation Reader in Malaria Parasites
|
The important role of histone posttranslational modifications, particularly methylation and acetylation, in Plasmodium falciparum gene regulation has been established. However, the role of histone phosphorylation remains understudied. Here, we investigate histone phosphorylation utilizing liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry to analyze histones extracted from asexual blood stages using two improved protocols to enhance preservation of PTMs. Enrichment for phosphopeptides lead to the detection of 14 histone phospho-modifications in P. falciparum. The majority of phosphorylation sites were observed at the N-terminal regions of various histones and were frequently observed adjacent to acetylated lysines. We also report the identification of one novel member of the P. falciparum histone phosphosite binding protein repertoire, Pf14-3-3I. Recombinant Pf14-3-3I protein bound to purified parasite histones. In silico structural analysis of Pf14-3-3 proteins revealed that residues responsible for binding to histone H3 S10ph and/or S28ph are conserved at the primary and the tertiary structure levels. Using a battery of H3 specific phosphopeptides, we demonstrate that Pf14-3-3I preferentially binds to H3S28ph over H3S10ph, independent of modification of neighbouring residues like H3S10phK14ac and H3S28phS32ph. Our data provide key insight into histone phosphorylation sites. The identification of a second member of the histone modification reading machinery suggests a widespread use of histone phosphorylation in the control of various nuclear processes in malaria parasites.
|
[
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems"
] |
10.1016/j.chom.2017.11.002
|
A Large Polysaccharide Produced by Helicobacter hepaticus Induces an Anti-inflammatory Gene Signature in Macrophages
|
Interactions between the host and its microbiota are of mutual benefit and promote health. Complex molecular pathways underlie this dialog, but the identity of microbe-derived molecules that mediate the mutualistic state remains elusive. Helicobacter hepaticus is a member of the mouse intestinal microbiota that is tolerated by the host. In the absence of an intact IL-10 signaling, H. hepaticus induces an IL-23-driven inflammatory response in the intestine. Here we investigate the interactions between H. hepaticus and host immune cells that may promote mutualism, and the microbe-derived molecule(s) involved. Our results show that H. hepaticus triggers early IL-10 induction in intestinal macrophages and produces a large soluble polysaccharide that activates a specific MSK/CREB-dependent anti-inflammatory and repair gene signature via the receptor TLR2. These data identify a host-bacterial interaction that promotes mutualistic mechanisms at the intestinal interface. Further understanding of this pathway may provide novel prevention and treatment strategies for inflammatory bowel disease. Host-microbiota interactions are of mutual benefit, and chronic intestinal inflammation develops when this dialog is altered. Danne et al. identified a polysaccharide produced by Helicobacter hepaticus that induces a specific anti-inflammatory and repair program in macrophages by activating the TLR2/MSK/CREB pathway. Further understanding may provide prevention and treatment strategies for IBD.
|
[
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
10.1109/LPT.2016.2625808
|
Unity Rate Codes Maximize The Normalized Throughput Of On Off Keying Visible Light Communication
|
In this letter, we aim for maximizing the throughput of a visible light communication (VLC) system. Explicitly, we conceive a soft-in soft-out decoder providing soft feedback for the classic run length limited (RLL) codes, hence facilitating iterative decoding for exchanging valuable extrinsic information between the RLL and the error correction modules of a VLC system. Furthermore, we propose a unity rate code for our VLC system, which, hence, becomes capable of matching the ON–OFF keying capacity, while maintaining a flicker-free dimming value of 50%.
|
[
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
US 9924482 W
|
NETWORK DOCUMENT DELIVERY SYSTEM
|
A system of networked computers and peripherals and document delivery software which provides a user with a familiar simple user interface (12) to deliver documents to a variety of different destinations. Each document generation device participating in the system is provided with a unified print driver which translates an electronic document into a non-specific or printer independent printer language file and appends to this file a job ticket containing any other rendering characteristics which may not be supported by the printer independent language (24). This entire file is then transmitted to the system server which analyzes the file, including the rendering characteristics; determines the best output device(s); appends output device specific (18) commands to the general printer language file; and transmits this file to the device(s) for final output.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
W1639798798
|
Design for manufacturing of surfaces to improve accuracy in Fused Deposition Modeling
|
Fused Deposition Modeling is an Additive Manufacturing technology able to fabricate prototypes, tooling and functional parts without geometrical complexity limitations. Despite of the potential advantages of this technology, a limiting aspect of its industrial diffusion is the obtainable accuracy. The literature highlighted that significant deviations from the nominal values are observed: these deviations are not constant over all the part surfaces but strictly depend upon the process parameters, i.e. the layer thickness and the deposition angle. This involves poor surface quality: the parts could not satisfy the design specifications nor assure the functionality and the assembly fit with other components. The aim of this work is the development of a design for manufacturing methodology able to improve the dimensional accuracy obtainable by this technology. It operates in the design model step performing a virtual model preprocessing: an anisotropic offset is applied to the surfaces, defined by a mathematical formulation, in order to compensate for the abovementioned dimensional deviations. This way, without to eliminate the physical sources of the errors, it is possible to obtain a part with dimensional values very close to nominal ones. This method does not require any additional resources for its application such as preliminary artifact construction and measurements. A design for manufacturing to improve FDM part accuracy is proposed.A redesign of the solid allows compensating for the dimensional deviation.The model surfaces are modified by means of an anisotropic offset.The proposed method is applied to parts defined by a mathematical formulation.The method is validated through the application to three mechanical components.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.1088/0004-637X/803/1/40
|
Ultraviolet Spectroscopy Of Type Iib Supernovae Diversity And The Impact Of Circumstellar Material
|
We present new Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-epoch ultraviolet (UV) spectra of the bright Type IIb SN 2013df, and undertake a comprehensive analysis of the set of four SNe IIb for which HST UV spectra are available (SN 1993J, SN 2001ig, SN 2011dh, and SN 2013df). We find strong diversity in both continuum levels and line features among these objects. We use radiative-transfer models that fit the optical part of the spectrum well, and find that in three of these four events we see a UV continuum flux excess, apparently unaffected by line absorption. We hypothesize that this emission originates above the photosphere, and is related to interaction with circumstellar material (CSM) located in close proximity to the SN progenitor. In contrast, the spectra of SN 2001ig are well fit by single-temperature models, display weak continuum and strong reverse-fluorescence features, and are similar to spectra of radioactive 56Ni-dominated SNe Ia. A comparison of the early shock-cooling components in the observed light curves with the UV continuum levels which we assume trace the strength of CSM interaction suggests that events with slower cooling have stronger CSM emission. The radio emission from events having a prominent UV excess is perhaps consistent with slower blast-wave velocities, as expected if the explosion shock was slowed down by the CSM that is also responsible for the strong UV, but this connection is currently speculative as it is based on only a few events.
|
[
"Universe Sciences",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences"
] |
10.1038/nature12791
|
Cytokinin signalling inhibitory fields provide robustness to phyllotaxis
|
How biological systems generate reproducible patterns with high precision is a central question in science. The shoot apical meristem (SAM), a specialized tissue producing plant aerial organs, is a developmental system of choice to address this question. Organs are periodically initiated at the SAM at specific spatial positions and this spatiotemporal pattern defines phyllotaxis. Accumulation of the plant hormone auxin triggers organ initiation, whereas auxin depletion around organs generates inhibitory fields that are thought to be sufficient to maintain these patterns and their dynamics. Here we show that another type of hormone-based inhibitory fields, generated directly downstream of auxin by intercellular movement of the cytokinin signalling inhibitor ARABIDOPSIS HISTIDINE PHOSPHOTRANSFER PROTEIN 6 (AHP6), is involved in regulating phyllotactic patterns. We demonstrate that AHP6-based fields establish patterns of cytokinin signalling in the meristem that contribute to the robustness of phyllotaxis by imposing a temporal sequence on organ initiation. Our findings indicate that not one but two distinct hormone-based fields may be required for achieving temporal precision during formation of reiterative structures at the SAM, thus indicating an original mechanism for providing robustness to a dynamic developmental system.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2013.07.009
|
Long-range correlations identified in time-series of volcano seismicity during dome-forming eruptions using detrended fluctuation analysis
|
Understanding the underlying structure of data from volcano monitoring is essential to identify precursors to changes in eruptive activity and to comprehend volcanic processes. However, effective analysis of longer-term trends in these signals is challenging as volcanic data are not necessarily statistically stationary or linear, particularly those from lava dome-forming volcanoes, which are commonly characterised by pulsatory eruptive activity. Here, we use detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), a statistical technique previously applied to nonstationary data, to identify long-range (slowly decaying, e. g. power-law) correlations in a number of time-series of volcano seismicity recorded during the recent dome-forming eruptions of Volcán de Colima, Mexico, and Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat. For all the time-series analysed, correlation strength varies through time and/or on different timescales; in some cases, this variation is periodic, seasonal, and/or related to activity. These results may provide new insights into eruptive processes and possibly further constrain the generation mechanisms of a number of the volcano-seismic event classes analysed. Furthermore, the correlation properties of real-time seismic measurements are shown (retrospectively) to contain information valuable to real-time volcano monitoring that is not identifiable by conventional analysis techniques. This study therefore demonstrates that long-range correlation analysis may be useful for extracting additional information from monitoring data at dome-forming or similar volcanoes.
|
[
"Mathematics",
"Earth System Science"
] |
10.1007/s00441-016-2427-5
|
Dynamic zonation of liver polyploidy
|
The liver is a polyploid organ, consisting of hepatocytes with one or two nuclei each containing 2, 4, 8 or more haploid chromosome sets. The dynamic changes in the spatial distributions of polyploid classes across the liver lobule, its repeating anatomical unit, have not been characterized. Identifying these spatial patterns is important for understanding liver homeostatic and regenerative turnover, as well as potential division of labor among ploidy classes. Here, we use single molecule-based tissue imaging to reconstruct the spatial zonation profiles of liver polyploid classes in mice of different ages. We find that liver polyploidy proceeds in spatial waves, advancing more rapidly in the mid-lobule zone compared to the periportal and perivenous zones. We also measure the spatial zonation profiles of S-phase entry at different ages and identify more rapid S-phase entry in the mid-lobule zone at older ages. Our findings reveal fundamental features of liver spatial heterogeneity and highlight their dynamic changes during development and aging.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
172136
|
Addressing neural declines to promote healthy ageing
|
This multidisciplinary proposal combines behavioural science, neuroscience, and ageing research with the goal of providing an innovative, state-of-the-art approach to address age related declines in human performance.
The ageing population presents unprecedented challenges for society, and developing novel approaches to understand and address age related declines is an key field for research. Response selection provides a novel and ideal model to examine the effects of ageing on behaviour. The rapid selection of appropriate responses is an essential part of our everyday lives; for example, if we see a red light while driving, it is critical that we can quickly select the correct response of braking. Such behaviour depends not only on our ability to learn to match an essentially arbitrary cue (the red light) with the required response (pushing the brake pedal), but also to automate this response through practice. Response selection thus lies at the intersection between cognitive function and movement control, both of which decline in healthy ageing; older individuals require more time to select correct movement responses even in relatively simple tasks.
This fellowship will 1) broaden the scientific understanding of response selection using a novel behavioural task, 2) improve this important function in an impaired population using non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, 3) capture the underlying neural mechanisms of both deficit and improvement using a multidisciplinary combination of non-invasive brain stimulation and electroencephalography, and 4) develop biomarkers using magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological data to understand and predict interindividual differences.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
] |
10.1080/19420889.2015.1029210
|
Algal Viruses Hitchhiking On Zooplankton Across Phytoplankton Blooms
|
Viruses infecting marine phytoplankton are key biogeochemical 'engines' of the oceans, regulating the dynamics of algal populations and the fate of their extensive blooms. In addition they are important ecological and evolutionary drivers of microbial diversification. Yet, little is known about mechanisms influencing viral dispersal in aquatic systems, enabling the rapid infection and demise of vast phytoplankton blooms. In a recent study we showed that migrating zooplankton as copepods that graze on marine phytoplankton can act as transmission vectors for algal viruses. We demonstrated that these grazers can concentrate virions through topical adsorption and by ingesting infected cells and then releasing back to the medium, via detachment or defecation, high viral titers that readily infect host populations. We proposed that this zooplankton-driven process can potentially boost viral dispersal over wide oceanic scales and enhance bloom termination. Here, we highlight key results and further discuss the ecological and evolutionary consequences of our findings.
|
[
"Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution",
"Earth System Science"
] |
172682
|
Preparedness and resilience to address urban vulnerability
|
The challenge posed by urban vulnerability is immense and is being compounded by rapid unplanned urbanisation, climate change and resource pressures. While the realisation that there is a fundamental shift in the landscape of crises to cities is no longer contested, aid actors are nonetheless grappling with the complexities of adapting their approaches to the urban context. The Preparedness and Resilience to address Urban Vulnerability (PRUV) Consortium aims to inform the pressing need to reshape how humanitarian action and development aid is undertaken in urban areas to address the challenge posed by urban vulnerability.
Assembled within the PRUV Consortium is an exciting mix of actors with considerable experience and expertise in urban contexts that will transcend disciplines and sectors to frame a new resilience and preparedness paradigm to respond to urban challenges. It seeks to combine existing best practice with innovative thinking and technology to challenge current state of the art thinking in order to arrive at a novel approach with affected urban populations at the centre.
By combining legal, social, cultural, political and public health perspectives in a holistic manner, considerable purchase is added to the research around preparedness and resilience, which, while not new within the aid sector more generally, has not been focussed sufficiently on the urban context to date. The opportunities to carry out the research in test-bed sites in Africa, Asia and Latin America adds to the potentially broad utility and transferability of the findings globally.
|
[
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
] |
W3092188341
|
Pressure Analysis of the Initial Process of Diffusion Combustion Surge in a 350 kW Gas Boiler
|
In order to meet the increasingly stringent requirements for nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from gas boilers, flue gas recirculation (FGR) technology is commonly used to achieve ultra-low NOx emissions. However, under some ultra-low NOx combustion conditions with FGR, a surge phenomenon occurs in the boiler, which causes a flameout in severe cases, and seriously affects the safe and stable operation of the boiler. In this study, the diffusion combustion surge of gas boiler with a rated power of 350 kW and equipped with FGR device was investigated. Pressure characteristic analysis results of the initial process of combustion surge showed that the high-frequency component of pressure is closely related to combustion stability and its change can provide reference for the occurrence of surge. Besides, the initial process of surge was analyzed by wavelet packet entropy method. Results indicated that the wavelet packet entropy of pressure signals could effectively reflect the stability of combustion in the furnace, and it could also be used to study the occurrence of surge.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Products and Processes Engineering"
] |
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.031
|
The spatiotemporal neural dynamics underlying perceived similarity for real-world objects
|
The degree to which we perceive real-world objects as similar or dissimilar structures our perception and guides categorization behavior. Here, we investigated the neural representations enabling perceived similarity using behavioral judgments, fMRI and MEG. As different object dimensions co-occur and partly correlate, to understand the relationship between perceived similarity and brain activity it is necessary to assess the unique role of multiple object dimensions. We thus behaviorally assessed perceived object similarity in relation to shape, function, color and background. We then used representational similarity analyses to relate these behavioral judgments to brain activity. We observed a link between each object dimension and representations in visual cortex. These representations emerged rapidly within 200 ms of stimulus onset. Assessing the unique role of each object dimension revealed partly overlapping and distributed representations: while color-related representations distinctly preceded shape-related representations both in the processing hierarchy of the ventral visual pathway and in time, several dimensions were linked to high-level ventral visual cortex. Further analysis singled out the shape dimension as neither fully accounted for by supra-category membership, nor a deep neural network trained on object categorization. Together our results comprehensively characterize the relationship between perceived similarity of key object dimensions and neural activity.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"The Human Mind and Its Complexity"
] |
10.1007/s11769-018-0942-x
|
China’s Global Shipping Connectivity: Internal and External Dynamics in the Contemporary Era (1890–2016)
|
China’s global shipping connectivity had been somewhat overlooked as the bulk of related studies predominantly focused on the throughput volume of its own port cities. This article tackles such lacunae by providing a relational perspective based on the extraction of vessel movement archives from the Lloyd’s List corpus. Two complementary analyses are proposed: long-term dynamics with all ships included (1890–2008) and medium-term dynamics focusing on container flows (1978–2016). Each analysis examines China’s maritime connectivity in various ways and on different spatial scales, from the global to the local, in terms of concentration, vulnerability, and expansion. The main results underline the influence of technological, economic, and political factors on the changing distribution of connectivity internally and externally. In particular, China has managed to reduce its dependence upon external transit hubs, to increase the internal connectivity of its own port system, and to strengthen its dominance towards an increasing number of foreign nodes and trade partners through the maritime network.
|
[
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems"
] |
10.1007/s10584-020-02842-y
|
Public views on carbon taxation and its fairness: a computational-linguistics analysis
|
Carbon taxes evoke a variety of public responses, often with negative implications for policy support, implementation, and stringency. Here we use topic modeling to analyze associations of Spanish citizens with a policy proposal to introduce a carbon tax. This involves asking two key questions, to elicit (1) citizens’ associations with a carbon tax and (2) their judgment of the fairness of such a policy for distinct uses of tax revenues. We identify 11 topics for the first question and 18 topics for the second. We perform regression analysis to assess how respondents’ associations relate to their carbon tax acceptability, knowledge, and sociodemographic characteristics. The results show that, compared to people accepting the carbon tax, those rejecting it show less trust in politicians, think that the rich should pay more than the poor, consider the tax to be less fair, and stress more a lack of renewable energy or low-carbon transport. Respondents accepting a carbon tax emphasize more the need to solve environmental problems and care about a just society. These insights can help policymakers to improve the design and communication of climate policy with the aim to increase its public acceptability.
|
[
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
641759
|
Peristaltic multistage micro-mechanical pump for next generation diabetes management
|
More than 30 million people are living with diabetes in the EU, with a prevalence expected to grow to over 10% of the adult population by the year 2030. Despite modern treatments, the life expectancy of patients with type 1 diabetes remains reduced as compared to healthy people due to lack of efficient therapies. An “artificial pancreas” is the ultimate solution for such therapy: a device performing a continuous glucose measurement and pumping precise doses of insulin and other hormones needed for the treatment. The closed-loop artificial pancreases promises an agile solution where the diabetes patients may effectively feel relieved from their disease as the blood glucose level is automatically controlled using a mixture of multiple hormones simultaneously. Such an innovative technology alleviates the burden of carbohydrate counting and automatically ensuring the optimal glucose level at all times. However, a small, lightweight device which is able to administrate multiple hormones is still lacking. This proposal seeks to develop a novel micro-peristaltic pump on silicon, to be integrated with a transdermal smart patch loaded with the three hormones delivered by silicon microneedles. The PRISMA innovation is possible thanks to the achievements of the FET-OPEN project “BioWings”, where the concept of thin-film micropump using actuating materials has been prototyped.
|
[
"Products and Processes Engineering",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Materials Engineering"
] |
10.3982/ECTA13533
|
Altruism In Networks
|
We provide the first theoretical analysis of altruism in networks. Agents are embedded in a fixed, weighted network and care about their direct friends. Given some initial distribution of incomes, they may decide to support their poorer friends. We study the resulting non-cooperative transfer game. Our analysis highlights the importance of indirect gifts, where an agent gives to a friend because his friend himself has a friend in need. We uncover four main features of this interdependence. First, we show that there is a unique profile of incomes after transfers, for any network and any utility functions. Uniqueness in transfers holds on trees, but not on arbitrary networks. Second, there is no waste in transfers in equilibrium. In particular, transfers flow through indirect paths of highest altruistic strength. Third, a negative shock on one agent cannot benefit others and tends to affect socially closer agents first. In addition, an income redistribution that decreases inequality ex-ante can increase inequality ex-post. Fourth, altruistic networks decrease income inequality. In contrast, more altruistic or more homophilous networks can increase inequality.
|
[
"Mathematics",
"Individuals, Markets and Organisations",
"The Social World and Its Interactions"
] |
267985
|
Electroweak Symmetry Breaking, Flavor and Dark
Matter: One Solution for Three Mysteries
|
In the next five years, experiments will give us a unique opportunity to unravel the mysteries of Electroweak Symmetry Breaking, Flavor and Dark Matter. The LHC at CERN will push the Energy frontier well into the TeV region and shed light on electroweak symmetry breaking. The LHCb experiment, super-B factories and other dedicated experiments, also in the lepton sector, will push forward the Intensity frontier and test the Standard Model description of flavor and CP violation with unprecedented accuracy. Earth- and space-based experiments will push forward the Astroparticle frontier, in particular direct and indirect searches for Dark Matter. My goal is to identify a coherent explanation of the three mysteries, as complete and as unique as possible, by combining the vast information coming from the Energy, Intensity and Astroparticle frontiers. This requires a global strategy, making use of highly qualified competences in the relevant branches of theory and phenomenology. I will put together some of the leading particle theorists operating in SISSA, Padua and Rome into a unique and extraordinarily strong team. The variety of competences, ranging from phenomenological fits and data interpretation to unified models and fundamental theories, will be used to interpret the results coming from a wide range of experiments and to formulate a coherent framework to account for them. With the essential contribution of the researchers paid on the project funds, the project will catalyze results going much beyond what the team members could individually achieve. The main support requested to the ERC is for hiring six experienced researchers, the rest of the funds are for optimizing the effectiveness of the team and the research environment.
|
[
"Fundamental Constituents of Matter",
"Universe Sciences"
] |
10.1016/j.cellsig.2019.03.010
|
The role and therapeutic potential of connexins, pannexins and their channels in Parkinson's disease
|
Lack of effective medication for slowing down progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) as a highly prevalent neurodegenerative disorder requires novel avenues of scientific investigation to elucidate the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms. Studying connexins, pannexins and their channels has uncovered their potential role in mediating communication and signaling pathways that drive neurodegenerative diseases, including PD. Indeed, given their critical role in tissue homeostasis, it is not surprising that connexins, pannexins and their channels are frequently involved in pathological processes. For this reason, pharmacological tools to further clarify their functions and to validate connexins, pannexins and their channels as drug targets for the development of novel therapies for PD treatment are urgently needed. In this paper, a state-of-the-art overview is provided of current neuropathological and molecular understanding of PD. Focus is put on the roles of connexins, pannexins and their channels, in particular in the development of potential innovative disease-modifying therapies for PD treatment.
|
[
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions"
] |
224215
|
Chemistry and transport properties of bridgmanite controlling lower-mantle dynamics
|
Seismic observations imply that slab descent and plume ascent are impeded in the mid-mantle (MM) (depths of 660–1000 km, pressures of 23–40 GPa). A recent evaluation of viscosity variation suggested the presence of a viscosity increase or maximum in the MM that could drag the slab and plume motions. The viscosity variation may be caused by a change in the rheology of bridgmanite (Brg), the dominant mineral in the lower mantle (LM). The absence of seismic anisotropy suggests the dominance of diffusion creep in the majority of the LM. Element diffusivities and grain size are two essential factors of diffusion creep, and defect chemistry controls diffusivity. Hence, this project will determine defect chemistry, diffusivity and the grain growth rate of Brg. Since plume ascent originates in deep parts in the LM, these three properties need to be determined at pressures up to 80 GPa. Although use of a large-volume press (LVP) is vital for obtaining reliable high-pressure experimental data on mineral and rock properties, conventional LVP with carbide anvils can only generate 27 GPa. Recent LVP technology can generate over 100 GPa using sintered diamond (SD) anvils, but the process is currently very difficult for practical use. We developed a method to generate 50 GPa using hard carbide (HWC) anvils that allows practical investigation of Brg properties at mantle temperatures. We will investigate the three properties of Brg up to 50 GPa using LVP with HWC. We will develop LVP technology with SD to reliably generate pressures up to 80 GPa at mantle temperatures, and we will investigate the Brg properties under these conditions. These data will enable numerical modelling of slab and plume dynamics to explain the seismic observations. Through such modelling, we will investigate how materials are transported between the surface and deep mantle reservoirs, which can provide insight into Earth’s evolution and surface habitability.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Earth System Science"
] |
W1862681752
|
Intracranial hemangiopericytoma: MR imaging findings and diagnostic usefulness of minimum ADC values
|
To describe the clinical and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging features of primary intracranial hemangiopericytoma (HPC), and to assess the usefulness of minimum apparent diffusion coefficient (MinADC) value of HPC in the differential diagnosis from meningioma.From 2004 to 2010, fifteen patients with primary intracranial HPC were included. The clinical data, conventional MR findings (n = 15), and diffusion weighted image (DWI) features (n = 10) were retrospectively analyzed. MinADC value of the HPCs (n = 10) was measured on ADC map and was compared with that of meningiomas (n = 37).In 15 cases of HPC, isointense signal was detected on both T1-weighted images (T1WI) and T2-weighted images (T2WI) in 11 cases, and heterogeneous signal was demonstrated in 4 cases. Isointensity (n = 9) and iso- and slight hyperintensity (n = 1) were shown on DWI. The mean MinADC value of HPC [(1.116 ± 0.127) × 10(-3) mm(2) /s] was significantly higher than that of meningioma [(0.875 ± 0.104) × 10(-3) mm(2) /s] (P < 0.01). For the differentiation between HPC and meningioma, the critical cutoff MinADC value was 0.991 × 10(-3) mm(2) /s, which provided the best combination of sensitivity (88.9%) and specificity (82.4%).MinADC value may be an useful tool for the differentiation between HPC and meningioma.
|
[
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases",
"Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System"
] |
10.1039/c6ce01094f
|
Structural analysis and optical properties of the Bi2−xYxWO6 system
|
The structural and optical properties of the Bi2−xYxWO6, system are reported.
|
[
"Condensed Matter Physics",
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials"
] |
W1591571939
|
F 0 estimation using SRH based on TV-CAR speech analysis
|
This paper proposes novel robust speech F 0 estimation using SRH (Summation Residual Harmonics) based on TV-CAR (Time-Varying Complex AR) analysis. We have already proposed robust F 0 estimation based on the TV-CAR analysis in which weighted auto-correlation for complex residual signals is used as the criterion. In the SRH method, the criterion is calculated from LP residual signals. The criterion is summation of residual spectrum value for harmonics. In this paper, we propose SRH-based F 0 estimation based on the TV-CAR analysis, in which the criterion is calculated from the complex AR residual. Since complex AR residual provides higher resolution of spectrum, the criterion might be effective for F 0 estimation. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method performs better than conventional methods.
|
[
"Systems and Communication Engineering",
"Computer Science and Informatics"
] |
W1991048147
|
Surrogation and the politics of remembering slavery in Savannah, Georgia (USA)
|
Abstract There are growing calls from some African Americans, particularly in the U.S. South, to create sites of counter-memory that recognize the often forgotten historical struggles and contributions of the enslaved. Commemoration of slavery is not only a contentious issue for whites but also African Americans, who differ with each other over how best (or even whether) to narrate these difficult memories. Few geographers have explored the politics of remembering slavery among African Americans and how these struggles shape the commemorative landscape. I explore the efforts of Abigail Jordan to establish a monument to the enslaved in Savannah, Georgia (USA) and the ensuing public debate that took place over the appropriateness of inscribing the monument with a description of the inhumanity found on slave ships during the Middle Passage. Led by two outspoken black officials, Savannah's city council refused to give final approval for the monument until the inscription was revised to end on a more optimistic note. An analysis of public comments made about the Savannah monument reveals that the inscription debate served as an arena for multiple ideas about how best to represent African Americans as victims of slavery, the legacy of racism and slavery in contemporary America, as well as conflicting personal and political visions within the black community. In interpreting the Savannah case, I suggest that the politics of remembering slavery be examined in terms of surrogation, the search for a suitable commemorative stand in for the enslaved, and textual politics, the recognition that the words used to represent slavery are at the heart of the struggle to remember (or forget) the trauma of enslavement.
|
[
"The Study of the Human Past",
"The Social World and Its Interactions",
"Human Mobility, Environment, and Space"
] |
US 2004/0004646 W
|
FERRIC ORGANIC COMPOUNDS, USES THEREOF AND METHODS OF MAKING SAME
|
The present invention is directed to forms of ferric organic compounds, uses thereof, and methods of making same. The present invention discloses a novel physical form of ferric citrate with dissolution properties desirable for use in medicine, including the treatment of hyperphosphatemia and metabolic acidosis.
|
[
"Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences",
"Synthetic Chemistry and Materials",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.2119/molmed.2016.00002
|
Clearance of cell remnants and regeneration of injured muscle depend on soluble pattern recognition receptor PTX3
|
The signals causing resolution of muscle inflammation are only partially characterized. The long pentraxin PTX3, which modulates leukocyte recruitment and activation, could contribute. We analyzed the expression of PTX3 after muscle injury and verified whether hematopoietic precursors are a source of the protein. The kinetics of regeneration and leukocyte infiltration and the accumulation of cell remnants and anti-histidyl-t-RNA synthetase autoantibodies were compared in wild-type and PTX3-deficient mice. PTX3 expression was upregulated 3 d to 5 d after injury and restricted to the extracellular matrix. Cellular debris and leukocytes persisted in the muscle of PTX3-deficient mice for a long time after wild-type animals had healed. PTX3-deficient macrophages expressed receptors involved in apoptotic cell clearance and engulfed dead cells in vitro. Accumulation of cell debris in a proinflammatory microenvironment was not sufficient to elicit autoantibodies. We concluded that PTX3 generated in response to muscle injury prompts clearance of debris and termination of the inflammatory response.
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy"
] |
224175
|
Competition for space in development and diseases
|
Developing tissues have a remarkable plasticity illustrated by their capacity to regenerate and form normal organs despite strong perturbations. This requires the adjustment of single cell behaviour to their neighbours and to tissue scale parameters. The modulation of cell growth and proliferation was suggested to be driven by mechanical inputs, however the mechanisms adjusting cell death are not well known. Recently it was shown that epithelial cells could be eliminated by spontaneous live-cell delamination following an increase of cell density. Studying cell delamination in the midline region of the Drosophila pupal notum, we confirmed that local tissue crowding is necessary and sufficient to drive cell elimination and found that Caspase 3 activation precedes and is required for cell delamination. This suggested that a yet unknown pathway is responsible for crowding sensing and activation of caspase, which does not involve already known mechanical sensing pathways. Moreover, we showed that fast growing clones in the notum could induce neighbouring cell elimination through crowding-induced death. This suggested that crowding-induced death could promote tissue invasion by pretumoural cells.
Here we will combine genetics, quantitative live imaging, statistics, laser perturbations and modelling to study crowding-induced death in Drosophila in order to: 1) find single cell deformations responsible for caspase activation; 2) find new pathways responsible for density sensing and apoptosis induction; 3) test their contribution to adult tissue homeostasis, morphogenesis and cell elimination coordination; 4) study the role of crowding induced death during competition between different cell types and tissue invasion 5) Explore theoretically the conditions required for efficient space competition between two cell populations.
This project will provide essential information for the understanding of epithelial homeostasis, mechanotransduction and tissue invasion by tumoural cells
|
[
"Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration",
"Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions",
"Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing"
] |
10.1371/journal.pone.0019869
|
Dynamical patterns of cattle trade movements
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Despite their importance for the spread of zoonotic diseases, our understanding of the dynamical aspects characterizing the movements of farmed animal populations remains limited as these systems are traditionally studied as static objects and through simplified approximations. By leveraging on the network science approach, here we are able for the first time to fully analyze the longitudinal dataset of Italian cattle movements that reports the mobility of individual animals among farms on a daily basis. The complexity and inter-relations between topology, function and dynamical nature of the system are characterized at different spatial and time resolutions, in order to uncover patterns and vulnerabilities fundamental for the definition of targeted prevention and control measures for zoonotic diseases. Results show how the stationarity of statistical distributions coexists with a strong and non-trivial evolutionary dynamics at the node and link levels, on all timescales. Traditional static views of the displacement network hide important patterns of structural changes affecting nodes' centrality and farms' spreading potential, thus limiting the efficiency of interventions based on partial longitudinal information. By fully taking into account the longitudinal dimension, we propose a novel definition of dynamical motifs that is able to uncover the presence of a temporal arrow describing the evolution of the system and the causality patterns of its displacements, shedding light on mechanisms that may play a crucial role in the definition of preventive actions.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Earth System Science",
"Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases"
] |
10.1038/s41598-020-62484-z
|
Multi-resolution convolutional neural networks for inverse problems
|
AbstractInverse problems in image processing, phase imaging, and computer vision often share the same structure of mapping input image(s) to output image(s) but are usually solved by different application-specific algorithms. Deep convolutional neural networks have shown great potential for highly variable tasks across many image-based domains, but sometimes can be challenging to train due to their internal non-linearity. We propose a novel, fast-converging neural network architecture capable of solving generic image(s)-to-image(s) inverse problems relevant to a diverse set of domains. We show this approach is useful in recovering wavefronts from direct intensity measurements, imaging objects from diffusely reflected images, and denoising scanning transmission electron microscopy images, just by using different training datasets. These successful applications demonstrate the proposed network to be an ideal candidate solving general inverse problems falling into the category of image(s)-to-image(s) translation.
|
[
"Computer Science and Informatics",
"Systems and Communication Engineering"
] |
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