Alleged failures to address key issues lead to growing tensions between high-profile industry leaders in tech world

Children's Geographies; 12/01/2023
(AN 174964049); ISSN: 14733285
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The validation of structural models obtained by macromolecular X-ray crystallography against experimental diffraction data, whether before deposition into the PDB or after, is typically carried out exclusively against the merged data that are eventually archived along with the atomic coordinates. It is shown here that the availability of unmerged reflection data enables valuable additional analyses to be performed that yield improvements in the final models, and tools are presented to implement them, together with examples of the results to which they give access. The first example is the automatic identification and removal of image ranges affected by loss of crystal centering or by excessive decay of the diffraction pattern as a result of radiation damage. The second example is the `reflection-auditing' process, whereby individual merged data items showing especially poor agreement with model predictions during refinement are investigated thanks to the specific metadata (such as image number and detector position) that are available for the corresponding unmerged data, potentially revealing previously undiagnosed instrumental, experimental or processing problems. The third example is the calculation of so-called F(early) − F(late) maps from carefully selected subsets of unmerged amplitude data, which can not only highlight the location and extent of radiation damage but can also provide guidance towards suitable fine-grained parametrizations to model the localized effects of such damage.

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The Berlin Conference is the first in a series of events planned as part of a two-year project by the Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings supported by the current German and incoming Austrian OSCE Chairmanships, and Switzerland.

This high-level event is part of the OSCE’s ongoing effort to raise awareness about the problem of labour exploitation in supply chains and to advocate for increased actions at the government level across the OSCE region with the aim of adopting measures to prevent and combat this form of modern day slavery.

Today’s globalized economy is characterized by complex supply chains of goods and services, with both materials and labour sourced from all around the world. It is difficult for buyers and consumers to be sure that the goods or services that they purchase or procure were not produced by trafficked labour. It is also difficult for large or multi-national companies to verify their own supply chains when there may be multiple tiers of subcontractors. Sometimes a parent company might not be aware of whether its sub-contractors down the supply chain unknowingly use or resort to the use of forced labour, including child exploitation and human trafficking. Inefficiently regulated recruitment and poorly inspected worksites, behaviour and practices conducive to corruption, lack of understanding of labour and human rights standards, as well as insufficient enforcement, constitute additional challenges in this field.

In order to address the problem of human trafficking in global supply chains, the Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OSR/CTHB) developed a project on Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings in Supply Chains through Government Practices and Measures. The project aims to provide OSCE participating States with practical tools to enact concrete measures to prevent human trafficking in supply chains, as well as build their capacity to implement these measures. Project activities include capacity-building workshops and conferences, the publishing of Model guidelines on preventing trafficking in supply chains and developing a plan encouraging the adoption of the Model guidelines.

Bulletin d'exploitation Nº 1271 (1.VII.2023)

Bulletin d'exploitation Nº 1278 (15.X.2023)

Childrens Society chief executive Mark Russell writes about their Look Closer campaign.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Thursday added a now-patched critical security flaw impacting Palo Alto Networks Expedition to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-5910 (CVSS score: 9.3), concerns a case of missing authentication in the Expedition migration tool that

The tenovins are a frequently studied class of compounds capable of inhibiting sirtuin activity, which is thought to result in increased acetylation and protection of the tumor suppressor p53 from degradation. However, as we and other laboratories have shown previously, certain tenovins are also capable of inhibiting autophagic flux, demonstrating the ability of these compounds to engage with more than one target. In this study, we present two additional mechanisms by which tenovins are able to activate p53 and kill tumor cells in culture. These mechanisms are the inhibition of a key enzyme of the de novo pyrimidine synthesis pathway, dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), and the blockage of uridine transport into cells. These findings hold a 3-fold significance: first, we demonstrate that tenovins, and perhaps other compounds that activate p53, may activate p53 by more than one mechanism; second, that work previously conducted with certain tenovins as SirT1 inhibitors should additionally be viewed through the lens of DHODH inhibition as this is a major contributor to the mechanism of action of the most widely used tenovins; and finally, that small changes in the structure of a small molecule can lead to a dramatic change in the target profile of the molecule even when the phenotypic readout remains static.

Dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) have been repeatedly implicated in neuropsychiatric vulnerability, in part via their roles in mediating the decision-making processes. Although two neuromodulators share a synthesis pathway and are coactivated under states of arousal, they engage in distinct circuits and modulatory roles. However, the specific role of each neuromodulator in decision-making, in particular the exploration–exploitation tradeoff, remains unclear. Revealing how each neuromodulator contributes to exploration–exploitation tradeoff is important in guiding mechanistic hypotheses emerging from computational psychiatric approaches. To understand the differences and overlaps of the roles of these two catecholamine systems in regulating exploration, a direct comparison using the same dynamic decision-making task is needed. Here, we ran male and female mice in a restless two-armed bandit task, which encourages both exploration and exploitation. We systemically administered a nonselective DA antagonist (flupenthixol), a nonselective DA agonist (apomorphine), a NE beta-receptor antagonist (propranolol), and a NE beta-receptor agonist (isoproterenol) and examined changes in exploration within subjects across sessions. We found a bidirectional modulatory effect of dopamine on exploration. Increasing dopamine activity decreased exploration and decreasing dopamine activity increased exploration. The modulatory effect of beta-noradrenergic receptor activity on exploration was mediated by sex. Reinforcement learning model parameters suggested that dopamine modulation affected exploration via decision noise and norepinephrine modulation affected exploration via sensitivity to outcome. Together, these findings suggested that the mechanisms that govern the exploration–exploitation transition are sensitive to changes in both catecholamine functions and revealed differential roles for NE and DA in mediating exploration.

On October 11, the United Nations (UN) and its affiliated organizations hosted a conference discussing the increasingly dangerous and exploitative environment that plagues the internet and what can be done to protect children from being exposed to it. Speakers at this conference detailed the developing technologies that threaten children, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), which […]

'Women, come out and speak.'

The findings in the K. Hema Committee report must pave the way for reforms in the film industry; the government needs to take an effective role in this

A new report on finds agribusiness corporations from India and abroad are reneging on their promises to stop employing children in Andhra Pradesh. Gomati Jagadeesan reports.

The number of overexploited or collapsed fish stocks in the Mediterranean Sea has been increasing at a rate of approximately 38 every 10 years between 1970 and 2010, a new study has shown. In the Black Sea, the equivalent figure is 13 stocks per decade, the researchers found. The study’s authors augmented traditional methods of stock assessments with a variety of other data sources on multiple fish species to give a more accurate overview of these marine ecosystems. These results should be used to improve conservation and management, they recommend.

Dr. K.P. Yohannan calls for people to 'pray, engage and act' to end the 'staggeringly evil' exploitation of millions of children around the world

Over the past few months, our lives have changed dramatically due to COVID-19. We have seen the best of America emerge – our nation’s medical professionals, first responders, and supply chain workers have acted heroically, along with so many others.

A machine for generating mechanical energy and functioning on the principle of exploitation of centrifugal forces of masses being displaced along a closed mechanical circuit over at least a curved section of the circuit. Optionally, the machines also functions on the principle of energy gain caused by masses falling under the influence of gravity in the closed circuit that is permanently maintained in a state of dynamic unbalance with an input, continuous or not, of external energy.

A Pilbara man is granted bail after allegedly being found with more than 40,000 child exploitation images following a sting by authorities in the United States.

A Canberra man appears before court facing child exploitation charges, after Tinder reported his alleged conversations searching for a young Thai girl to a United States cyber safety watchdog.

Lipid rafts, solid regions of the plasma membrane enriched in cholesterol and glycosphingolipids, are essential parts of a cell. Functionally, lipid rafts present a platform that facilitates interaction of cells with the outside world. However, the unique properties of lipid rafts required to fulfill this function at the same time make them susceptible to exploitation by pathogens. Many steps of pathogen interaction with host cells, and sometimes all steps within the entire lifecycle of various pathogens, rely on host lipid rafts. Such steps as binding of pathogens to the host cells, invasion of intracellular parasites into the cell, the intracellular dwelling of parasites, microbial assembly and exit from the host cell, and microbe transfer from one cell to another all involve lipid rafts. Interaction also includes modification of lipid rafts in host cells, inflicted by pathogens from both inside and outside the cell, through contact or remotely, to advance pathogen replication, to utilize cellular resources, and/or to mitigate immune response. Here, we provide a systematic overview of how and why pathogens interact with and exploit host lipid rafts, as well as the consequences of this interaction for the host, locally and systemically, and for the microbe. We also raise the possibility of modulation of lipid rafts as a therapeutic approach against a variety of infectious agents.

Lipid rafts, solid regions of the plasma membrane enriched in cholesterol and glycosphingolipids, are essential parts of a cell. Functionally, lipid rafts present a platform that facilitates interaction of cells with the outside world. However, the unique properties of lipid rafts required to fulfill this function at the same time make them susceptible to exploitation by pathogens. Many steps of pathogen interaction with host cells, and sometimes all steps within the entire lifecycle of various pathogens, rely on host lipid rafts. Such steps as binding of pathogens to the host cells, invasion of intracellular parasites into the cell, the intracellular dwelling of parasites, microbial assembly and exit from the host cell, and microbe transfer from one cell to another all involve lipid rafts. Interaction also includes modification of lipid rafts in host cells, inflicted by pathogens from both inside and outside the cell, through contact or remotely, to advance pathogen replication, to utilize cellular resources, and/or to mitigate immune response. Here, we provide a systematic overview of how and why pathogens interact with and exploit host lipid rafts, as well as the consequences of this interaction for the host, locally and systemically, and for the microbe. We also raise the possibility of modulation of lipid rafts as a therapeutic approach against a variety of infectious agents.

This report analyzes the exploitation of migrants in three spheres: the domestic care sector, the labor market, and the sex industry. It details several obstacles governments face in their efforts to weaken the "bad actors" that profit from exploitation, and shows how one of the biggest challenges facing law enforcement is that serious criminals and lawbreakers often operate on the edge of legality and exploit legal routes wherever possible.

One conversation could keep your kids safe

-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

This is a presentation called Router Exploitation. It was given at BlackHat 2009. It discusses various vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, Huawei, and more.

In this webinar for education institutions we will consider: - contract principles - early questions to consider: • what is the purpose of collaboration? • what IP may be generated? • who owns background IP? ...

Richard Cupitt is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention program at Stimson. His areas of expertise include WMD nonproliferation, export controls, and foreign policy.

The post COVID-19 Pandemic Vulnerable to Exploitation by Proliferators, Terrorists & Criminals appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Lipid rafts, solid regions of the plasma membrane enriched in cholesterol and glycosphingolipids, are essential parts of a cell. Functionally, lipid rafts present a platform that facilitates interaction of cells with the outside world. However, the unique properties of lipid rafts required to fulfill this function at the same time make them susceptible to exploitation by pathogens. Many steps of pathogen interaction with host cells, and sometimes all steps within the entire lifecycle of various pathogens, rely on host lipid rafts. Such steps as binding of pathogens to the host cells, invasion of intracellular parasites into the cell, the intracellular dwelling of parasites, microbial assembly and exit from the host cell, and microbe transfer from one cell to another all involve lipid rafts. Interaction also includes modification of lipid rafts in host cells, inflicted by pathogens from both inside and outside the cell, through contact or remotely, to advance pathogen replication, to utilize cellular resources, and/or to mitigate immune response. Here, we provide a systematic overview of how and why pathogens interact with and exploit host lipid rafts, as well as the consequences of this interaction for the host, locally and systemically, and for the microbe. We also raise the possibility of modulation of lipid rafts as a therapeutic approach against a variety of infectious agents.

Singer imprisoned for nine years for getting teenagers to send him explicit pictures

A former star of The X Factor has been jailed for nine years for sexually exploiting seven teenage boys.

Danny Tetley, from Bradford, was described as “a despicable creature with very few redeeming features” for encouraging the youngsters to send him explicit pictures in exchange for money.

Five U.S. defendants convicted for their activity in a global child pornography trafficking enterprise were sentenced today in the Northern District of Florida. The defendants had pled to multiple charges, including engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising child pornography; transporting child pornography; and receiving child pornography.

WASHINGTON and PENSACOLA, Fla. – Six U.S. defendants convicted for their activity in a global child pornography trafficking enterprise were sentenced today in the Northern District of Florida, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Rita M. Glavin, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Thomas F. Kirwin and FBI Executive Assistant Director J. Stephen Tidwell announced.

James Freeman of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., was sentenced to life in prison today for his activity in a global child pornography trafficking enterprise. Freeman, a registered sex offender, was found guilty following a six-day trial in January 2009 of six counts relating to his criminal activities as a member of the child exploitation enterprise.

Warren Mumpower of Spokane, Wash., was sentenced to life in prison today for his activity in a global child pornography trafficking enterprise.

The national coordinator is charged with formulating and implementing a national strategy to combat child exploitation, and with submitting the strategy and relevant reports to Congress.

Two individuals pleaded guilty for their participation in an international group of child pornography collectors who used a social networking site to share thousands of sexually explicit images.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that the Department of Justice released its first-ever National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.

"As the Justice Department brings its fight against child exploitation to a new level today, I am honored to stand with so many incredible colleagues and public servants who have made it their life’s work to protect exploited children and seek justice for the most vulnerable members of our society," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler.

"Today marks an important step forward in meeting these responsibilities and taking our fight against child exploitation and sexual abuse to the next level," said Attorney General Holder.

Paul Edward Pavulak, 66, of New Castle, Del., was convicted today by a federal jury in Wilmington of child exploitation offenses.

A Rochester, Ill., firefighter pleaded guilty today to one count of production of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of destruction of evidence.

Stephen Sims was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Gustave Diamond in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 17 years in prison for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.