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CBD News: Statement of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity on the occasion of the Sustainable Ocean Initiative / Pacific Ocean Alliance Regional Workshop for the Pacific Islands, 31 October to 4 November 2016, Apia, Samoa




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CBD News: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), today released a technical document that provides guidance




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CBD News: Statement by Mr. David Cooper, CBD Deputy Executive Secretary/Officer-in-Charge, at the Opening of the Sustainable Ocean Initiative Capacity-Building Workshop for the Wider Caribbean and Central America, San José, Costa Rica, 20-24 Februar




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CBD News: In today's global celebrations of the International Day for Biological Diversity, under the theme of 'Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism', people are examining the positive but also potentially negative impacts that tourism can ha




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CBD News: On behalf of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Cristiana Pa?ca Palmer, I would like to welcome you to the "Capacity building workshop for Caribbean Small Island Developing States towards achieving Aichi




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CBD News: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Development Law Organization renewed their collaboration for a joint capacity building program to support the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Gene




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CBD News: Today some four billion people live in urban areas. In these human-built spaces, people tend to think of streets and buildings.




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CBD News: New surveys of more than 5,000 consumers in five countries indicate that the majority (79 per cent) feel that "companies have a moral obligation" to have a positive impact on people and biodiversity in their sourcing of natural ingredi




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CBD News: Opening statement by Ms. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, at the Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation Workshop on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 2




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CBD Notification SCBD/IMS/JMF/NS/ET/CP/88538 (2019-109): Date extension: Thematic Consultation on Transparent Implementation, Monitoring, Reporting and Review Mechanism, 20-22 February 2020 - Kunming, China and Thematic Consultation on Capacity Building a




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CBD Notification SCBD/CPU/DC/KG/PD/PS/88522 (2019-110): Review of post-2020 Implementation Plan and Capacity-building Action Plan (Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety)




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CBD Notification SCBD/SSSF/AS/CR/TM/88642 (2020-013): Regional Capacity-Building Workshop on Biodiversity and Health for the SEARO region




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Stability of the Stokes projection on weighted spaces and applications

Ricardo G. Durán, Enrique Otárola and Abner J. Salgado
Math. Comp. 89 (2020), 1581-1603.
Abstract, references and article information




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Linear and Multilinear Algebra and Function Spaces

A. Bourhim, J. Mashreghi, L. Oubbi and Z. Abdelali, editors. American Mathematical Society | Centre de Recherches Mathematiques, 2020, CONM, volume 750, approx. 224 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4704-4693-2 (print), 978-1-4704-5607-8 (online).

This volume contains the proceedings of the International Conference on Algebra and Related Topics, held from July 2–5, 2018, at Mohammed V...




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TripActions moves into travel payments with Liquid launch

The fast-growing travel tech startup is moving into payments after securing $500 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank, Goldman Sachs and Comerica Bank




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Sharp Adams and Hardy-Adams inequalities of any fractional order on hyperbolic spaces of all dimensions

Jungang Li, Guozhen Lu and Qiaohua Yang
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3483-3513.
Abstract, references and article information




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Equidistribution on homogeneous spaces and the distribution of approximates in Diophantine approximation

Mahbub Alam and Anish Ghosh
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3357-3374.
Abstract, references and article information





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On the dimension of subspaces of continuous functions attaining their maximum finitely many times

L. Bernal-González, H. J. Cabana-Méndez, G. A. Muñoz-Fernández and J. B. Seoane-Sepúlveda
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3063-3083.
Abstract, references and article information





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Solutions in Lebesgue spaces to nonlinear elliptic equations with subnatural growth terms

A. Seesanea and I. E. Verbitsky
St. Petersburg Math. J. 31 (2020), 557-572.
Abstract, references and article information






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Survey on gradient estimates for nonlinear elliptic equations in various function spaces

S.-S. Byun, D. K. Palagachev and L. G. Softova
St. Petersburg Math. J. 31 (2020), 401-419.
Abstract, references and article information








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Three-dimensional noncompact ????-solutions that are Type I forward and backward

Xiaodong Cao, Bennett Chow and Yongjia Zhang
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 148 (2020), 2595-2600.
Abstract, references and article information





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Refined scales of decaying rates of operator semigroups on Hilbert spaces: Typical behavior

Moacir Aloisio, Silas L. Carvalho and César R. de Oliveira
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 148 (2020), 2509-2523.
Abstract, references and article information







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On Kalton’s theorem for regular compact operators and Grothendieck property for positive projective tensor products

Qingying Bu
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 148 (2020), 2459-2467.
Abstract, references and article information





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Government unveils COVID-19 support package for startups

The Treasury has announced a new set of financial measures aimed at helping startups during the coronavirus pandemic, including a £250 Future Fund for startups with at least £250,000 in funding




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Metric Spaces, Convexity and Nonpositive Curvature: Second Edition

Athanase Papadopoulos, Universite de Strasbourg - A publication of the European Mathematical Society, 2013, 320 pp., Softcover, ISBN-13: 978-3-03719-132-3, List: US$58, All AMS Members: US$46.40, EMSILMTP/6.R

This book is about metric spaces of nonpositive curvature in the sense of Busemann, that is, metric spaces whose distance function satisfies a...




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Capacity Theory with Local Rationality: The Strong Fekete-Szego Theorem on Curves

Robert Rumely, University of Georgia - AMS, 2013, 437 pp., Hardcover, ISBN-13: 978-1-4704-0980-7, List: US$119, All AMS Members: US$95.20, SURV/193

This book is devoted to the proof of a deep theorem in arithmetic geometry, the Fekete-Szegö theorem with local rationality conditions. The...




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Global and Local Regularity of Fourier Integral Operators on Weighted and Unweighted Spaces

David Dos Santos Ferreira, Universite Paris 13, and Wolfgang Staubach, Uppsala University - AMS, 2013, 65 pp., Softcover, ISBN-13: 978-0-8218-9119-3, List: US$63, All AMS Members: US$50.40, MEMO/229/1074

The authors investigate the global continuity on (L^p) spaces with (pin [1,infty]) of Fourier integral operators with smooth and rough amplitudes...




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Dopamine transporter trafficking and Rit2 GTPase: Mechanism of action and in vivo impact [Neurobiology]

Following its evoked release, dopamine (DA) signaling is rapidly terminated by presynaptic reuptake, mediated by the cocaine-sensitive DA transporter (DAT). DAT surface availability is dynamically regulated by endocytic trafficking, and direct protein kinase C (PKC) activation acutely diminishes DAT surface expression by accelerating DAT internalization. Previous cell line studies demonstrated that PKC-stimulated DAT endocytosis requires both Ack1 inactivation, which releases a DAT-specific endocytic brake, and the neuronal GTPase, Rit2, which binds DAT. However, it is unknown whether Rit2 is required for PKC-stimulated DAT endocytosis in DAergic terminals or whether there are region- and/or sex-dependent differences in PKC-stimulated DAT trafficking. Moreover, the mechanisms by which Rit2 controls PKC-stimulated DAT endocytosis are unknown. Here, we directly examined these important questions. Ex vivo studies revealed that PKC activation acutely decreased DAT surface expression selectively in ventral, but not dorsal, striatum. AAV-mediated, conditional Rit2 knockdown in DAergic neurons impacted baseline DAT surface:intracellular distribution in DAergic terminals from female ventral, but not dorsal, striatum. Further, Rit2 was required for PKC-stimulated DAT internalization in both male and female ventral striatum. FRET and surface pulldown studies in cell lines revealed that PKC activation drives DAT-Rit2 surface dissociation and that the DAT N terminus is required for both PKC-mediated DAT-Rit2 dissociation and DAT internalization. Finally, we found that Rit2 and Ack1 independently converge on DAT to facilitate PKC-stimulated DAT endocytosis. Together, our data provide greater insight into mechanisms that mediate PKC-regulated DAT internalization and reveal unexpected region-specific differences in PKC-stimulated DAT trafficking in bona fide DAergic terminals.




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Impact of 1,N6-ethenoadenosine, a damaged ribonucleotide in DNA, on translesion synthesis and repair [Enzymology]

Incorporation of ribonucleotides into DNA can severely diminish genome integrity. However, how ribonucleotides instigate DNA damage is poorly understood. In DNA, they can promote replication stress and genomic instability and have been implicated in several diseases. We report here the impact of the ribonucleotide rATP and of its naturally occurring damaged analog 1,N6-ethenoadenosine (1,N6-ϵrA) on translesion synthesis (TLS), mediated by human DNA polymerase η (hpol η), and on RNase H2–mediated incision. Mass spectral analysis revealed that 1,N6-ϵrA in DNA generates extensive frameshifts during TLS, which can lead to genomic instability. Moreover, steady-state kinetic analysis of the TLS process indicated that deoxypurines (i.e. dATP and dGTP) are inserted predominantly opposite 1,N6-ϵrA. We also show that hpol η acts as a reverse transcriptase in the presence of damaged ribonucleotide 1,N6-ϵrA but has poor RNA primer extension activities. Steady-state kinetic analysis of reverse transcription and RNA primer extension showed that hpol η favors the addition of dATP and dGTP opposite 1,N6-ϵrA. We also found that RNase H2 recognizes 1,N6-ϵrA but has limited incision activity across from this lesion, which can lead to the persistence of this detrimental DNA adduct. We conclude that the damaged and unrepaired ribonucleotide 1,N6-ϵrA in DNA exhibits mutagenic potential and can also alter the reading frame in an mRNA transcript because 1,N6-ϵrA is incompletely incised by RNase H2.




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A smart space for innovation

Entrepreneur Ricky Chan’s information technology company has been hard at work developing a virtual reality application that enables designers and their clients to walk through different versions of their home or office without having to physically move a single piece of furniture.

 

From the colour of the walls to the style of fixtures and fittings, Mr Chan’s app caters to all personal tastes and design ideas.

 

“We have customers who are interior designers or furniture retailers. Our virtual reality application brings their sketches to life. Designers in the past needed weeks to produce sketches. Now they can make designs instantly,” he explained.

 

Up to 40% of the application was developed at Smart-Space 8 in Tsuen Wan, Cyberport’s first co-working space outside its main Pok Fu Lam campus.

 

“Cyberport provides funding that helps to lower our expenses and we can hold seminars here with a rental fee that is much lower than the market price,” Mr Chan added.
 

The 20,000 sq ft space launched last year was specifically designed with young entrepreneurs in mind and provides workshops and seminars for startups. For companies that wish to join the Smart-Space 8 community, one of its founders must be aged between 18 and 35 and the company itself should not have been in operation for longer than seven years.

 

Smart-Space 8 users are entitled to comprehensive entrepreneurial support and value-added services to accelerate their businesses such as the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund and Cyberport Incubation Programme.

 

Mr Chan, who lives in the New Territories, said the added bonus of setting up shop in Smart-Space 8 is the commute, as Cyberport in Pok Fu Lam is farther away for him and his clients.

 

Cyberport may be expanding beyond Pok Fu Lam, but some entrepreneurs like agriculture technology company CEO and founder Gordon Tam have opted to stay at the home campus because of the incentives available.

 

“The business network here is unique. There are so many startups and we encourage and learn from each other.”

 

Mr Tam’s company sells vegetables from an indoor farm to local supermarkets and is now exploring the overseas market. He credits the vibrant community and ecosystem at Cyberport for building up his business.

 

“Traditional agriculture comes with a host of problems and the efficiency of Hong Kong’s agriculture industry is relatively low. This is why we are looking into indoor agriculture. We want to grow plants in industrial buildings.”

 

When Mr Tam joined the Cyberport Incubation Programme, his firm was offered two years of rent reduction. But more importantly, he said, the space is a one-of-a-kind ecosystem where his team can brainstorm ideas and continue to innovate.

 

Other startup owners share the same sentiment. Information technology company CEO and founder Stark Chan noted that with Cyberport as a public body, it offers a lot of support and rents are more stable.

 

“We have been here since we first started up. My colleagues are familiar with this environment and the atmosphere is good for innovation,” Mr Chan said.




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New Study Measures Impact of U.S. Treasury Supply Versus Fed’s Monetary Policy on Bank Deposit Funding

Tuesday, January 28, 2020 - 13:00

New Research from Columbia Business School Challenges Conventional Wisdom of Bank Funding




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Study reveals how spaceflight affects risk of blood clots in female astronauts

(King's College London) A study of female astronauts has assessed the risk of blood clots associated with spaceflight.The study, published in Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, in collaboration with King's College London, the Centre for Space Medicine Baylor College of Medicine, NASA Johnson Space Centre and the International Space University, examines the potential risk factors for developing a blood clot (venous thromboembolism) in space.




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NASA CubeSat mission to gather vital space weather data

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA has selected a new pathfinding CubeSat mission to gather data not collected since the agency flew the Dynamics Explorer in the early 1980s.




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Infectious disease modeling study casts doubt on impact of Justinianic plague

(University of Maryland) Many historians have claimed the Justinianic Plague (c. 541-750 CE) killed half of the population of Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. New historical research and mathematical modeling challenge the death rate and severity of this first plague pandemic, named for Emperor Justinian I.




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Data from 2 space lasers comprehensively estimate polar ice loss and sea level rise

(American Association for the Advancement of Science) Ice sheet losses from Greenland and Antarctica have outpaced snow accumulation and contributed approximately 14 millimeters to sea level rise over 16 years (2003 to 2019), a new analysis of data from NASA's laser-shooting satellites has revealed.




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A Wisconsin chief justice faced backlash for blaming a county's coronavirus outbreak on meatpacking employees, not 'regular folks'

Chief Justice Patience Roggensack faced backlash for her comment, with some people calling it "elitist" to separate meatpackers from "regular folks."





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Citizen-science project measures impact of coronavirus pandemic on mental health

What impact has the lockdown had on our mental health, and what determines how people cope with isolation?