Jason M. Ridlon
Feb 1, 2006; 47:241-259
Reviews

John A. Glomset
Mar 1, 1968; 9:155-167
Reviews

CARM1 is a protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) that acts as a coactivator in a number of transcriptional programs. CARM1 orchestrates this coactivator activity in part by depositing the H3R17me2a histone mark in the vicinity of gene promoters that it regulates. However, the gross levels of H3R17me2a in CARM1 KO mice did not significantly decrease, indicating that other PRMT(s) may compensate for this loss. We thus performed a screen of type I PRMTs, which revealed that PRMT6 can also deposit the H3R17me2a mark in vitro. CARM1 knockout mice are perinatally lethal and display a reduced fetal size, whereas PRMT6 null mice are viable, which permits the generation of double knockouts. Embryos that are null for both CARM1 and PRMT6 are noticeably smaller than CARM1 null embryos, providing in vivo evidence of redundancy. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from the double knockout embryos display an absence of the H3R17me2a mark during mitosis and increased signs of DNA damage. Moreover, using the combination of CARM1 and PRMT6 inhibitors suppresses the cell proliferation of WT MEFs, suggesting a synergistic effect between CARM1 and PRMT6 inhibitions. These studies provide direct evidence that PRMT6 also deposits the H3R17me2a mark and acts redundantly with CARM1.

The molecular mechanisms of reduced frataxin (FXN) expression in Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) are linked to epigenetic modification of the FXN locus caused by the disease-associated GAA expansion. Here, we identify that SUV4-20 histone methyltransferases, specifically SUV4-20 H1, play an important role in the regulation of FXN expression and represent a novel therapeutic target. Using a human FXN–GAA–Luciferase repeat expansion genomic DNA reporter model of FRDA, we screened the Structural Genomics Consortium epigenetic probe collection. We found that pharmacological inhibition of the SUV4-20 methyltransferases by the tool compound A-196 increased the expression of FXN by ∼1.5-fold in the reporter cell line. In several FRDA cell lines and patient-derived primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells, A-196 increased FXN expression by up to 2-fold, an effect not seen in WT cells. SUV4-20 inhibition was accompanied by a reduction in H4K20me2 and H4K20me3 and an increase in H4K20me1, but only modest (1.4–7.8%) perturbation in genome-wide expression was observed. Finally, based on the structural activity relationship and crystal structure of A-196, novel small molecule A-196 analogs were synthesized and shown to give a 20-fold increase in potency for increasing FXN expression. Overall, our results suggest that histone methylation is important in the regulation of FXN expression and highlight SUV4-20 H1 as a potential novel therapeutic target for FRDA.

The Impact of Brexit on Energy Transformation in the UK and EU 28 March 2019 — 8:15AM TO 9:45AM Anonymous (not verified) 3 December 2018 Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

The UK’s decision to leave the EU will fundamentally reshape many of the UK’s policies and its relations with countries around the world. For energy and climate, the changes could be significant and will need to be managed carefully to secure ongoing investment, stable energy prices and ambitious climate objectives. The UK’s departure will also affect the balance of political support for climate and energy policies with the EU institutions and potentially impact upon regional initiatives.

This roundtable will discuss:

• The impact on the energy sector of Brexit during the transition period through until December 2020 including the operation of interconnectors and access to the Internal energy market, ongoing engagement in European research collaboration and the replacement of European financial resources.
• The possible opportunities and risks for the UK’s energy sector in 2021 and beyond.
• The implications of Brexit on the EU’s energy and climate policy.

The roundtable will discuss the role of the public and business in shaping the future deal as it will need to be ratified by the parliaments of all member states.

Attendance at this event is by invitation only.

Power Sector Transformation, New Market Dynamics and Geopolitical Implications 7 November 2018 — 8:00AM TO 9:30AM Anonymous (not verified) 6 December 2018 Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

The global electricity sector is experiencing profound change due to a confluence of technological innovation, environmental policies and regulatory reform. The effect is most obvious in the EU28, Australia and parts of North America.

However, this is just the beginning and the success of the next phase of electricity sector transformations hinges on enhancing system flexibility to facilitate unhindered low-cost deployment of renewables. It remains to be seen how utilities will seek to navigate this second phase of electricity transformations.

This session starts with a presentation and discussion that focuses on:

• Public and private sector risks of the transformation of the power sector, changes in generation mix and their implications for supply chain, employments and investment patterns.
• The role of government and the regulatory framework in light of changing market structure, new entrants and big data.
• Wider geopolitical issues including the implication for fossil fuel producers and the rise in demand for new materials and changes in land use.
• The possible implications on the power sector on the electrification of heat and transport.

The discussion then moves to the speed of transformation and what this means for existing and new market actors.

Food system transformation: A blind spot for climate and biodiversity action? 20 October 2022 — 12:00PM TO 1:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 5 October 2022 Chatham House and Online

How can COP27 and COP15 accelerate the agenda for sustainable food systems and land use?

Tackling the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss requires extraordinary levels of action at an unprecedented speed. Agriculture is the biggest user of land, the biggest source of methane emissions, a major contributor to total greenhouse gas emissions and the leading driver of biodiversity loss.

Anything short of a food system transformation puts climate and biodiversity objectives in peril. However, governments have not yet produced credible pathways and strong policies for tackling our growing ‘foodprint’ – the negative impacts of what we grow and eat.

In advance of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh for climate and COP15 in Montreal for biodiversity, Chatham House has published a new briefing paper which examines aligning food systems with climate and biodiversity targets.

The paper reviews the climate and biodiversity policy landscape to 2030, with a focus on land-based aspects and the inclusion of food and agriculture. The paper highlights serious conflicts between the impacts of the food system and goals to protect and restore biodiversity and mitigate climate change.

In light of this, opportunities for joined-up action on food, climate and biodiversity are identified, including three key steps for countries to take this decade to produce suitably ambitious and effective policies across the climate–biodiversity–food nexus.

This event brings together leading voices from the international policy arenas for climate and biodiversity to react to the briefing paper and discuss how COP27 and COP15 can accelerate the agenda for sustainable food systems and land use.

Marko Voutilainen, Lauri Viitasaari and Pauliina Ilmonen
Theor. Probability and Math. Statist. 111 (), 181-197.
Abstract, references and article information

Yongqiang Liu, Laurentiu Maxim and Botong Wang
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 152 (), 5279-5288.
Abstract, references and article information

Animals can sense the presence of microbes in their tissues and mobilize their own defenses by recognizing and responding to conserved microbial structures (often called microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs)). Successful host defenses may kill the invaders, yet the host animal may fail to restore homeostasis if the stimulatory microbial structures are not silenced. Although mice have many mechanisms for limiting their responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major Gram-negative bacterial MAMP, a highly conserved host lipase is required to extinguish LPS sensing in tissues and restore homeostasis. We review recent progress in understanding how this enzyme, acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH), transforms LPS from stimulus to inhibitor, reduces tissue injury and death from infection, prevents prolonged post-infection immunosuppression, and keeps stimulatory LPS from entering the bloodstream. We also discuss how AOAH may increase sensitivity to pulmonary allergens. Better appreciation of how host enzymes modify LPS and other MAMPs may help prevent tissue injury and hasten recovery from infection.

Mammalian Asn-linked glycans are extensively processed as they transit the secretory pathway to generate diverse glycans on cell surface and secreted glycoproteins. Additional modification of the glycan core by α-1,6-fucose addition to the innermost GlcNAc residue (core fucosylation) is catalyzed by an α-1,6-fucosyltransferase (FUT8). The importance of core fucosylation can be seen in the complex pathological phenotypes of FUT8 null mice, which display defects in cellular signaling, development, and subsequent neonatal lethality. Elevated core fucosylation has also been identified in several human cancers. However, the structural basis for FUT8 substrate specificity remains unknown.Here, using various crystal structures of FUT8 in complex with a donor substrate analog, and with four distinct glycan acceptors, we identify the molecular basis for FUT8 specificity and activity. The ordering of three active site loops corresponds to an increased occupancy for bound GDP, suggesting an induced-fit folding of the donor-binding subsite. Structures of the various acceptor complexes were compared with kinetic data on FUT8 active site mutants and with specificity data from a library of glycan acceptors to reveal how binding site complementarity and steric hindrance can tune substrate affinity. The FUT8 structure was also compared with other known fucosyltransferases to identify conserved and divergent structural features for donor and acceptor recognition and catalysis. These data provide insights into the evolution of modular templates for donor and acceptor recognition among GT-B fold glycosyltransferases in the synthesis of diverse glycan structures in biological systems.

Identification of antibody-binding epitopes is crucial to understand immunological mechanisms. It is of particular interest for allergenic proteins with high cross-reactivity as observed in the lipid transfer protein (LTP) syndrome, which is characterized by severe allergic reactions. Art v 3, a pollen LTP from mugwort, is frequently involved in this cross-reactivity, but no antibody-binding epitopes have been determined so far. To reveal human IgE-binding regions of Art v 3, we produced three murine high-affinity mAbs, which showed 70–90% coverage of the allergenic epitopes from mugwort pollen–allergic patients. As reliable methods to determine structural epitopes with tightly interacting intact antibodies under native conditions are lacking, we developed a straightforward NMR approach termed hydrogen/deuterium exchange memory (HDXMEM). It relies on the slow exchange between the invisible antigen-mAb complex and the free 15N-labeled antigen whose 1H-15N correlations are detected. Due to a memory effect, changes of NH protection during antibody binding are measured. Differences in H/D exchange rates and analyses of mAb reactivity to homologous LTPs revealed three structural epitopes: two partially cross-reactive regions around α-helices 2 and 4 as well as a novel Art v 3–specific epitope at the C terminus. Protein variants with exchanged epitope residues confirmed the antibody-binding sites and revealed strongly reduced IgE reactivity. Using the novel HDXMEM for NMR epitope mapping allowed identification of the first structural epitopes of an allergenic pollen LTP. This knowledge enables improved cross-reactivity prediction for patients suffering from LTP allergy and facilitates design of therapeutics.

Thibaut Bourgeois
Dec 11, 2020; 0:jlr.RA120000737v1-jlr.RA120000737
Research Articles

Aloïs Dusuel
Dec 9, 2020; 0:jlr.RA120000704v1-jlr.RA120000704
Research Articles

Bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPSs or endotoxins) can bind most proteins of the lipid transfer/LPS-binding protein (LT/LBP) family in host organisms. The LPS-bound LT/LBP proteins then trigger either an LPS-induced proinflammatory cascade or LPS binding to lipoproteins that are involved in endotoxin inactivation and detoxification. Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is an LT/LBP member, but its impact on LPS metabolism and sepsis outcome is unclear. Here, we performed fluorescent LPS transfer assays to assess the ability of CETP to bind and transfer LPS. The effects of intravenous (iv) infusion of purified LPS or polymicrobial infection (cecal ligation and puncture [CLP]) were compared in transgenic mice expressing human CETP and wild-type mice naturally having no CETP activity. CETP displayed no LPS transfer activity in vitro, but it tended to reduce biliary excretion of LPS in vivo. The CETP expression in mice was associated with significantly lower basal plasma lipid levels and with higher mortality rates in both models of endotoxemia and sepsis. Furthermore, CETPTg plasma modified cytokine production of macrophages in vitro. In conclusion, despite having no direct LPS binding and transfer property, human CETP worsens sepsis outcomes in mice by altering the protective effects of plasma lipoproteins against endotoxemia, inflammation, and infection.

Recent studies have highlighted an important role for lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 3 (LPCAT3) in controlling the PUFA composition of cell membranes in the liver and intestine. In these organs, LPCAT3 critically supports cell membrane-associated processes such as lipid absorption or lipoprotein secretion. However, the role of LPCAT3 in macrophages remains controversial. Here, we investigated LPCAT3’s role in macrophages both in vitro and in vivo in mice with atherosclerosis and obesity. To accomplish this, we used the LysMCre strategy to develop a mouse model with conditional Lpcat3 deficiency in myeloid cells (Lpcat3KOMac). We observed that partial Lpcat3 deficiency (approx. 75% reduction) in macrophages alters the PUFA composition of all phospholipid (PL) subclasses, including phosphatidylinositols and phosphatidylserines. A reduced incorporation of C20 PUFAs (mainly arachidonic acid [AA]) into PLs was associated with a redistribution of these FAs toward other cellular lipids such as cholesteryl esters. Lpcat3 deficiency had no obvious impact on macrophage inflammatory response or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress; however, Lpcat3KOMac macrophages exhibited a reduction in cholesterol efflux in vitro. In vivo, myeloid Lpcat3 deficiency did not affect atherosclerosis development in LDL receptor deficient mouse (Ldlr-/-) mice. Lpcat3KOMac mice on a high-fat diet displayed a mild increase in hepatic steatosis associated with alterations in several liver metabolic pathways and in liver eicosanoid composition. We conclude that alterations in AA metabolism along with myeloid Lpcat3 deficiency may secondarily affect AA homeostasis in the whole liver, leading to metabolic disorders and triglyceride accumulation.

Bile acids, which are synthesized from cholesterol by the liver, are chemically transformed along the intestinal tract by the gut microbiota, and the products of these transformations signal through host receptors, affecting overall host health. These transformations include bile acid deconjugation, oxidation, and 7α-dehydroxylation. An understanding of the biogeography of bile acid transformations in the gut is critical because deconjugation is a prerequisite for 7α-dehydroxylation and because most gut microorganisms harbor bile acid transformation capacity. Here, we used a coupled metabolomic and metaproteomic approach to probe in vivo activity of the gut microbial community in a gnotobiotic mouse model. Results revealed the involvement of Clostridium scindens in 7α-dehydroxylation, of the genera Muribaculum and Bacteroides in deconjugation, and of six additional organisms in oxidation (the genera Clostridium, Muribaculum, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Acutalibacter, and Akkermansia). Furthermore, the bile acid profile in mice with a more complex microbiota, a dysbiosed microbiota, or no microbiota was considered. For instance, conventional mice harbor a large diversity of bile acids, but treatment with an antibiotic such as clindamycin results in the complete inhibition of 7α-dehydroxylation, underscoring the strong inhibition of organisms that are capable of carrying out this process by this compound. Finally, a comparison of the hepatic bile acid pool size as a function of microbiota revealed that a reduced microbiota affects host signaling but not necessarily bile acid synthesis. In this study, bile acid transformations were mapped to the associated active microorganisms, offering a systematic characterization of the relationship between microbiota and bile acid composition.

Glutathionylation is an important posttranslational modification that protects proteins from further oxidative damage as well as influencing protein structure and activity. In the present study, we demonstrate that the cysteine-42 residue in protein arginine N-methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is glutathionylated in aged mice or in cells that have been exposed to oxidative stress. Deglutathionylation of this protein is catalyzed by glutaredoxin-1 (Grx1). Using mutagenesis and subsequent biochemical analyses, we show that glutathionylation decreased the binding affinity of PRMT5 with methylosome protein-50 (MEP50) and reduced the methyltransferase activity of PRMT5. Furthermore, overexpression of PRMT5-C42A mutant caused a significant increase in histone methylation in HEK293T and A549 cells and promoted cell growth, whereas overexpression of the PRMT5-C42D mutant, a mimic of glutathionylated PRMT5, inhibited cell proliferation. Taken together, our results demonstrate a new mechanism of regulation of PRMT5 methyltransferases activity and suggest that PRMT5 glutathionylation is partly responsible for reactive oxygen species-mediated cell growth inhibition.

This article provides an introduction to Fourier transform-based mass spectrometry (FTMS). The key performance characteristics of FTMS, mass accuracy and resolution, are presented in the view of how they impact the interpretation of measurements in proteomic applications. The theory and principles of operation of two types of mass analyzer, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance and Orbitrap, are described. Major benefits as well as limitations of FTMS technology are discussed in the context of practical sample analysis, and illustrated with examples included as figures in this text and in the accompanying slide set. Comparisons highlighting the performance differences between the two mass analyzers are made where deemed useful in assisting the user with choosing the most appropriate technology for his/her application. Recent developments of these high-performing mass spectrometers are mentioned to provide a future outlook.

Tectonic Politics: Global Political Risk in an Age of Transformation Book sysadmin 7 May 2019

Political risk now affects more markets and countries than ever before and that risk will continue to rise. But traditional methods of managing political risk are no longer legitimate or effective.

In Tectonic Politics, Nigel Gould-Davies explores the complex, shifting landscape of political risk and how to navigate it. He analyses trends in each form of political risk: the power to destroy, seize, regulate, and tax.

He shows how each of these forms reflects a deeper transformation of the global political economy that is reordering the relationship between power, wealth, and values. In a world where everything is political, the craft of engagement is as important as the science of production and the art of the deal.

The successful company must integrate that craft—the engager’s way of seeing and doing—into strategy and culture.

Drawing on a career in academia, business, and diplomacy, Gould-Davies provides corporate leaders, scholars, and engaged citizens with a groundbreaking study of the fastest-rising political risk today. ‘As tectonic plates shape the earth,’ he writes, ‘so tectonic politics forges its governance.’

The book is published as part of the Insights series.

Praise for Tectonic Politics

About the author

Nigel Gould-Davies was an associate fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House.

Purchase

• UK (via Amazon)
• Rest of world (via Brookings Institution Press)
• Students (via Browns Books)

NATO must now transform old missions into new strategy Expert comment NCapeling 21 June 2022

As the war in Ukraine becomes prolonged and unpredictable, risks for the transatlantic alliance will increase, as will the global shockwaves of the conflict.

As a revitalized NATO alliance deals with a crisis that has major economic and humanitarian as well as military dimensions, the need for it to develop both a European and a global containment strategy grows ever more urgent.

Bolstering NATO’s defences so as to provide the capability to repel any form of Russian attack on land, at sea, in the air, or through space and cyberspace is a key aspect of this strategy as, in recent weeks, more combat forces able to defend territory have taken the form of additional troops, ships, and aircraft reinforcing the Baltic states and the Black Sea coastlines of Poland and Romania.

Ten allies have so far contributed to this effort, placing 40,000 troops under direct NATO command. Those sceptical about the future of the transatlantic security relationship have been confounded by the major role the US has played in this effort, sending parts of the 82nd Airborne Division and 3rd Armoured Division to Poland, and redeploying US Stryker brigades from Germany and Italy to the Baltic states and Romania.

Although many other allies have sent useful assets – such as French and UK aircraft to Romania or German and Netherlands Patriot batteries to Slovakia – the US contribution still surpasses all European efforts put together. The US now has 100,000 troops in Europe, the most it has deployed there since the mid-1990s.

Transitioning from temporary to permanent deployment

NATO has also mobilized its high-readiness Reaction Force for the first time and aims to establish four new multinational battalions in the Black Sea region – with France offering to lead the one in Romania, Italy in Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic in Slovakia. Most of these deployments are on a temporary basis, but the receiving allies would understandably like them to stay longer and for NATO to commit to permanent stationed forces.

Although this would oblige the alliance to break formally from the pledge it made to Moscow in 1997 not to station substantial combat forces or nuclear weapons or build military infrastructure on the territory of its new member states in eastern Europe, this was a political undertaking linked to circumstances prevailing at the time.

Given Russia’s behaviour, there is no reason why NATO should not now abandon it. There is also a question over whether NATO could also repeal the NATO-Russia Founding Act and the NATO-Russia Council, or simply leave them in suspension for a future, more cooperative, and less bellicose Russian regime.

Beyond showing the flag along its eastern flank, NATO does face longer-term issues which need to be clarified in its new Strategic Concept. First is whether to abandon its current strategy of reinforcement and military mobility across Europe – known as the Enhanced Forward Presence in the NATO jargon – in favour of the deployment of heavy armoured brigades or even divisions in fixed positions close to borders.

This will be expensive in the long-run and deprive allies of the flexibility they have enjoyed since the end of the Cold War to use their forces as and where they wish – from deployments in the Sahel or Afghanistan to fighting forest fires or building emergency hospitals for COVID-19 patients at home. The only exception is when they have put forces on rotation into the NATO high readiness forces or the European Union (EU) Battle Groups.

Germany’s commitment gives NATO more options

The decision of Germany to increase its defence spending to two per cent of GDP and to devote €100 billion to modernizing the Bundeswehr makes it technically possible for NATO to move to a Cold War-style forward, armoured defence. But it is unclear how quickly Berlin could raise its new divisions given its problems with procurement and government/industry relations in the defence sector.

It may make more sense for Germany not to launch new acquisition programmes but to buy existing off-the-shelf capabilities – as it has recently done with its decision to buy 35 US F35 aircraft – which other European countries are also acquiring, offering economies of scale and cheaper operating and maintenance costs.

But if Germany abandons ambitious defence projects with France – which prefers a ‘buy European’ approach – such as the Future European Air Combat System, the relationship with France will become strained and French plans for EU self-reliance in the military field put at risk.

As a country averse to war fighting and narrow military approaches to security, it is uncertain how much of the conventional defence burden in NATO Germany would be willing to take on, so this could be the opportunity to create more integrated European units with France, the Benelux, Poland, and Italy, even with the post-Brexit UK.

The UK has doubled the size of its forces in Estonia and sent 1,000 troops to Poland, as well as devoting a substantial portion of its army, navy, and airforce to regular NATO exercises in the Baltic region. London was also the first ally to grant Sweden and Finland a temporary security guarantee pending full integration into the alliance.

NATO will likely settle on a compromise, increasing the size of its battalions on its eastern flank – turning them into battle groups – but giving each one a larger reserve force which will remain in Germany or other European allied countries.

A NATO strategic plan is now needed

The other issue for NATO is to develop a single theatre-wide strategic plan managed by the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) and the NATO command structure. In reinforcing the alliance’s eastern flank, allies have sent forces to wherever they like and largely under national command, but this would not work in a real war.

NATO must revise its exercises to prepare and train for the new threat level, ensuring its forward deployed forces are fully integrated with local forces and the police and border guards to anticipate and respond to any Russian hybrid war tactics. It also needs to step up its joint planning and interoperability with Sweden and Finland and bring their territories into its standing defence plans.

One thing NATO has done well in this crisis is its political messaging. As Russia has become more threatening and reckless, it has been essential for NATO to be consistent and predictable. Re-affirming its core defensive purpose, calmly rejecting Putin’s nuclear posturing, and refusing to put NATO forces in Ukraine may be frustrating for some but it is vital not to play into Putin’s playbook regarding an ‘aggressive NATO’ or give him the sense he is being pushed into a corner. However, NATO strategic ambiguity can be useful when considering how to respond to a Russian escalation in Ukraine itself, such as using chemical weapons.

The key questions for NATO are:

• What should be the balance between permanently deployed and rotational forces in NATO’s new posture?
• What should be the balance of US/Canadian and European forces in this posture?
• How can the capability development programmes under EU Strategic Autonomy (such as PESCO and the European Defence Fund) be geared to support the European role and responsibility in the alliance? Air and missile defence would seem to be priorities given Russia’s reliance on long range strikes.
• How can the EU’s Strategic Compass, NATO’s next Strategic Concept and the third NATO-EU Joint Declaration be harmonized to bring the two institutions more closely together in responding to Russian hybrid operations and influence campaigns, and in assisting both Ukraine and others such as Georgia and Moldova?
• What should be the balance between forces for collective defence with heavy armour and directed artillery fire, and those for expeditionary missions beyond Europe such as counterterrorism, stabilization and peacekeeping?

NATO is revived and refocused

Although the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a catastrophe for Ukraine and Europe more generally, the multilateral system has discovered a new energy and sense of purpose as NATO has been revived and refocused on its core mission.

The EU and the US have pulled together with daily coordination of their policies and actions, and the EU is also facing up to its geo-political role, as recognizing the EU aspirations of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia as well as the countries of the western Balkans shows its responsibility for the security and economic integration of the whole of Europe.

Last week NSF issued a request for the next round of proposals for its Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes (QLCI). First established in 2020, the QLCI program, as directed by National […]

The post NSF Seeks Proposals for Next Round of Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes appeared first on HPCwire.

The National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, N.Y., announced this year's inductees: My Little Pony, Transformers and Phase 10.

After percolating for roughly a year, NSF has issued the next solicitation for the National Quantum Virtual Lab program — this one focused on design and implementation phases of the […]

The post NSF Issues Next Solicitation and More Detail on National Quantum Virtual Laboratory appeared first on HPCwire.

The data fabric has emerged as an enterprise data management pattern for companies that struggle to provide large teams of users with access to well-managed, integrated, and secured data. Now […]

The post NSF-Funded Data Fabric Takes Flight appeared first on HPCwire.

Divergent Technologies developed a digital production system that can revolutionize automotive and industrial scale manufacturing. Divergent uses new manufacturing solutions and their Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS™) software to make […]

The post Transforming Industrial and Automotive Manufacturing appeared first on HPCwire.

Health experts agree that there is a clear connection between an individual’s dental health and mental health. But although this fact is supported by a number of clinical studies, it is rarely explored or discussed among health professionals. A person with poor oral health may experience bad breath, tooth loss, compromised speech and other symptoms […]

The post How Innovations in Dental Services Transform Patient Care and Improve Mental Health first appeared on What is Psychology?.

The school board in Gwinnett County, Ga., will shift from a 4-1 white Republican majority to a 3-2 Black Democratic majority, mirroring demographic changes in the county.

Although public and educators' concerns are growing about testing, performance assessment done well can strengthen instruction and enhance learning, says Linda Darling-Hammond.

Odor information arrives first in the main olfactory bulb and is then broadcasted to the olfactory cortices and striatum. Downstream regions have unique cellular and connectivity architectures that may generate different coding patterns to the same odors. To reveal region-specific response features, tuning and decoding of single-unit populations, we recorded responses to the same odors under the same conditions across regions, namely, the main olfactory bulb (MOB), the anterior olfactory nucleus (AON), the anterior piriform cortex (aPC), and the olfactory tubercle of the ventral striatum (OT), of awake male mice. We focused on chemically closely related aldehydes that still create distinct percepts. The MOB had the highest decoding accuracy for aldehydes and was the only region encoding chemical similarity. The MOB had the highest fraction of inhibited responses and narrowly tuned odor-excited responses in terms of timing and odor selectivity. Downstream, the interconnected AON and aPC differed in their response patterns to the same stimuli. While odor-excited responses dominated the AON, the aPC had a comparably high fraction of odor-inhibited responses. Both cortices share a main output target that is the MOB. This prompted us to test if the two regions convey also different net outputs. Aldehydes activated AON terminals in the MOB as a bulk signal but inhibited those from the aPC. The differential cortical projection responses generalized to complex odors. In summary, olfactory regions reveal specialized features in their encoding with AON and aPC differing in their local computations, thereby generating inverse net centrifugal and intercortical outputs.

Rome, 2 December 2014 – The Ministers of Agriculture of the European Union and of other Mediterranean countries welcomed FAO’s transformational changes implemented in the last two years, and underlined [...]

Since the 1990s, rural transformations have helped millions of people exit poverty while remaining in rural areas. This underscores an important fact: revitalising rural economies helps create jobs for rural [...]

The Committee on Agriculture (COAG) is one of FAO’s Governing Bodies providing overall policy and regulatory guidance on issues relating to agriculture, livestock, food safety, nutrition, rural development and [...]

Read the series on how FAO increased efficiency, effectiveness and transparency to better support its Members in the transformation of agrifood systems.

Read the series on how FAO increased efficiency, effectiveness and transparency to better support its Members in the transformation of agrifood systems.

See how, together, the European Union and FAO are leveraging innovative approaches that benefit the global community

Art and music lovers who attended the museum's premier event were treated to Andy Warhol's "Shadows" and live music

A step-by-step tour of the renovation of the National Museum of American History (Narration by Beth Py-Lieberman / Edited by Ryan Reed and Brian Wolly)

With SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Software, DECOLAV Accelerates and Coordinates Global Design of Luxury Bathrooms

SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD software ensures 23-ton vehicle used to maintain troop and civilian safety around the world is 'more than meets the eye'

CAD And Simulation Help Company Reduce Design Cycle By 40 Percent And Cut Design Costs 60 Percent

Interactive 3D manuals increase customer appreciation and satisfaction

Surfing on the beach or providing a dance workshop were new ways to share the gospel in Portugal.

A woman and her husband accept the Lord after hearing the gospel from an OM team visiting the island of Sante Marie.

Despite knowing very little about the Androy region, OMers Fara and Herimanina went willingly and have seen God at work.

The impact of baseball as an outreach tool is growing far beyond the first teams that began nine years ago in Érd.

Read about how a short term missions trip to a Muslim country changed a US pastor's life! Click to read more!

Lighthouse Ministries builds a kitchen to transform a community in Panama.

A remarkable story which came to a climax on February 23 this year when OM Ireland took possession of the deeds to Lacken House as their new headquarters and ministry centre.

One Irish family experienced the transforming love of God...one woman at a time.