Meeting the challenge to gently place a home into a valley below the access road and adjacent to a scenic river, Weston Residence is both a primary residence and an award-winning example of minimal site impact architectural design. [...]

We know that you are still playing with Zapier integration but we have some more exciting news for you. RSS Ground app was just approved by the Pabbly team. Now RSS Ground is fully integrated with Pabbly Connect automation platform. Those of you who’s been waiting for this, can start creating your Pabbly Connect workflows […]

The post Pabbly Connect Integration With RSS Ground appeared first on RSSground.com.

We’ve recently tapped into the power of automation with our integrations with IFTTT, Zapier, and Pabbly Connect! Now, you can effortlessly manage your content across the web, extending your reach and impact through automated posting campaigns! Learn more about RSS Ground integration with major automation platforms But hold onto your hats, because we’re just getting […]

The post Personal feeds as new triggers in Zapier, IFTTT & Pabbly Connect appeared first on RSSground.com.

In Savings and Trust, historian Justene Hill Edwards tells the story of the Freedman's Bank. Created for formerly enslaved people following the Civil War, its collapse cost depositors millions.

The following article, GOP Rep. Luna Says ‘Criminal Prosecutions Necessary’ For Anti-Trump Lawfare Schemers In Government (Video), was first published on Conservative Firing Line.

As President Donald Trump prepares to re-enter the White House after his landslide victory in Tuesday’s election, a U.S. congresswoman says “criminal prosecutions” are “necessary” for the government officials who have been promoting the massive lawfare campaign against the president-elect. On “Sunday Morning Futures” on the Fox News Channel, host Maria Bartiromo asked U.S. Rep. …

Continue reading GOP Rep. Luna Says ‘Criminal Prosecutions Necessary’ For Anti-Trump Lawfare Schemers In Government (Video) ...

The interconnected impacts of the Iraq war Expert comment LJefferson 22 March 2023

Relying on weak intelligence for invading Iraq has had a negative impact on US and UK credibility with several consequences that persist to this day.

20 years on from the fateful decision to invade Iraq, it is generally accepted that the US and UK governments overstated the evidence available for them to justify military action. The central claim to defend invading Iraq was that the country had continued its illicit nuclear weapons programme and had retained illegal stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons. None of these claims supported an imminent threat justification nor could any hidden caches of WMD be found by the US Iraq Survey Group after the invasion.  

In the US, President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney hinted at additional evidence which could not be shared publicly to suggest that if only people knew what the government knew, they would agree that Iraq posed a significant threat to the West and needed to be disarmed.

In the UK, the Blair government acted similarly, focusing on a narrow interpretation of the evidence provided by the intelligence services and ignoring many of the dire warnings offered by academics and other experts. The Chilcot Inquiry found that the Blair government greatly exaggerated the threat Iraq posed to the UK, and that government arguments were based on the prime minister’s personal beliefs, as well as his promise to President Bush to support the US invasion. 

Relying on inadequate information and a biased analysis for invading Iraq has had a negative impact on US and UK credibility in the international security policy environment and domestically with ramifications that persist to this day.  

Impacts on soft power and trust

The invasion had an impact on US and UK soft power due to negative perceptions of the decision to go to war and the competence of the UK and US: public opinion polling by the Pew Center showed that perceptions of the US declined significantly as a result of the invasion of Iraq, especially in the Middle East and Central Asia.

This is undoubtedly a challenge for the US, but arguably an even bigger challenge for the UK, which due to its size and power relies much more on diplomacy and coalition-building in order to achieve its goals within various international treaty frameworks.   

Over nearly two decades, the US and the UK no longer seemed to enjoy the same foundation of trust, even with close allies, as they did previously. This changed in February 2022.

Towards the end of 2021, both the US and the UK were sounding the alarm about an impending Russian invasion of Ukraine based on information and analysis from their intelligence services. Despite the amassing of Russian troops, tanks and artillery on the border clearly visible from the air and by satellite imagery, several allies remained unconvinced until the invasion happened.  

This was in part due to their own assessments which indicated that Russia would stop short of an invasion, and in part because allies were unwilling to take US and UK statements on faith, without being able to assess the information themselves.

US officials found this frustrating as it meant that NATO and the EU were slower off the mark with support for Ukraine than they might otherwise have been. However, the accuracy of the US/UK intelligence on Russia’s invasion, coupled with their sharing it openly, may well have restored faith in their capabilities and analysis.  

A more open approach to intelligence  

Over the last few years, there seems to have been a change in accepted practice regarding sharing and using intelligence. The UK Ministry of Defence has taken a much more open approach to intelligence in the war in Ukraine, sharing the most recent defence information publicly in order to counter Russian disinformation.  

This is a positive step to ensure that intelligence can be discussed and assessed critically. Being more open about secret intelligence may also be linked to the increasing capabilities of open-source intelligence (OSINT). Non-governmental and international organizations and the media all now have access to data from, for example, imaging satellites and can independently verify information coming from governments. 

Perceived double standards 

A reduction of trust in US and UK intelligence was not the only impact of the invasion of Iraq. Russia and China have repeatedly called out the US and UK for acting without a second UN Security Council mandate. Putin uses the decision to invade Iraq, as well as the NATO humanitarian intervention in Kosovo, to justify Russia’s actions in Crimea. He invokes parallel language to spread disinformation about a ‘responsibility to protect life’ of the (‘ethnically Russian’) Crimean population. Russia has also repeatedly used the WMD trope to create false narratives around Ukrainian biosecurity laboratories to justify Russian military actions against Ukraine.  

Deciding to invade Iraq under what turned out to be a false pretext has weakened the application of the international rule of law and has led to a perceived double standard whereby powerful states can use UN processes in their favour, or completely disregard them if they do not deliver their goals.

As the Chilcot Inquiry found, there was very little preparation for the post-invasion period either in the US or the UK. Confirmation bias led not only to trusting shaky intelligence but also to believing in a best-case scenario and a ‘relatively benign security environment’ once the invasion had prevailed. Mismanaging the country’s occupation afterwards also led to the perception that the UK and US are less competent than projected. 

Problems for the international order  

The Iraq War has left many smaller and medium-sized states outside Europe and North America with the impression that powerful states are not committed to an equitable international system and instead will bend the rules to suit them while nonetheless holding other states to account. This dynamic poses a serious problem for the international system. 

It opens the door to ‘whataboutism’ in Russia’s false justifications for invading Ukraine and undermines faith in international law, destabilizing the international order in the longer term. Beyond the immediate challenges of dealing with the war in Ukraine, reforming and strengthening the international order to make it more equitable will be one of the most significant challenges the US and UK will face over the next decade. 

A trust deficit  

Domestically, for already disappointed citizens, the deceit over intelligence it is yet another piece of evidence which suggests that their government is not trustworthy and may not have their best interests at heart. This has profound implications for US and UK democracies, making it harder for governments to counter citizens’ susceptibilities to disinformation campaigns. 

Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus are dangerous fungal pathogens with high morbidity and mortality, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Innate immune-mediated programmed cell death (pyroptosis, apoptosis, necroptosis) is an integral part of host defense against pathogens. Inflammasomes, which are canonically formed upstream of pyroptosis, have been characterized as key mediators of fungal sensing and drivers of proinflammatory responses. However, the specific cell death pathways and key upstream sensors activated in the context of Candida and Aspergillus infections are unknown. Here, we report that C. albicans and A. fumigatus infection induced inflammatory programmed cell death in the form of pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis (PANoptosis). Further, we identified the innate immune sensor Z-DNA binding protein 1 (ZBP1) as the apical sensor of fungal infection responsible for activating the inflammasome/pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis. The Zα2 domain of ZBP1 was required to promote this inflammasome activation and PANoptosis. Overall, our results demonstrate that C. albicans and A. fumigatus induce PANoptosis and that ZBP1 plays a vital role in inflammasome activation and PANoptosis in response to fungal pathogens.

Sangsan Warakkagun
Conform. Geom. Dyn. 28 (), 115-130.
Abstract, references and article information

If you connect to a FTP/TLS server that is configured to use implicit FTP/TLS, FILENAME FTP/TLS might fail with the following error:

2 September 2020

Sudan’s gold boom: Connections to conflict and transnational impacts 7 December 2022 — 2:00PM TO 3:30PM Anonymous (not verified) 24 November 2022 Online

At this event, experts will discuss Sudan’s gold sector, its connections to conflict, and transnational impacts. 

At this webinar panellists will discuss Sudan’s gold sector, its connections to conflict, and transnational impacts.

Sudan is one of the largest gold producers on the continent, with the industry constituting Sudan’s foremost source of hard currency since the secession of South Sudan in 2011 and resulting loss of oilfields.

The gold rush that has ensued has had important implications for domestic and transnational conflict dynamics. Military actors and armed groups have sought control of gold-producing areas in the peripheries and to capitalize on the flow of labour migrants, against a wider backdrop of conflict partly stemming from contestation for control between central and local actors.

International interests are prominent, including increased Russian involvement in the sector, while gold smuggling has also interlaced with mercenary activity in neighbouring CAR, Chad and Libya.
 
At this event, panellists will discuss Sudan’s gold trade, its connections to conflict, and transnational impacts, including the international politics of Sudan’s gold extraction and role of armed groups. It will also explore the environmental and socio-economic dimensions of gold in Sudan’s border areas. 
 
This roundtable is an output of the Cross-Border Conflict: Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme, funded by UK Aid from the UK government.
 

Autophagy plays critical roles in the maintenance of endothelial cells in response to cellular stress caused by blood flow. There is growing evidence that both cell adhesion and cell detachment can modulate autophagy, but the mechanisms responsible for this regulation remain unclear. Immunoglobulin and proline-rich receptor-1 (IGPR-1) is a cell adhesion molecule that regulates angiogenesis and endothelial barrier function. In this study, using various biochemical and cellular assays, we demonstrate that IGPR-1 is activated by autophagy-inducing stimuli, such as amino acid starvation, nutrient deprivation, rapamycin, and lipopolysaccharide. Manipulating the IκB kinase β activity coupled with in vivo and in vitro kinase assays demonstrated that IκB kinase β is a key serine/threonine kinase activated by autophagy stimuli and that it catalyzes phosphorylation of IGPR-1 at Ser220. The subsequent activation of IGPR-1, in turn, stimulates phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase, which leads to phosphorylation of the major pro-autophagy proteins ULK1 and Beclin-1 (BECN1), increased LC3-II levels, and accumulation of LC3 punctum. Thus, our data demonstrate that IGPR-1 is activated by autophagy-inducing stimuli and in response regulates autophagy, connecting cell adhesion to autophagy. These findings may have important significance for autophagy-driven pathologies such cardiovascular diseases and cancer and suggest that IGPR-1 may serve as a promising therapeutic target.

Akemi Kakino
Nov 3, 2020; 0:jlr.RA120000767v1-jlr.RA120000767
Research Articles

You might see the following error messages: "ERROR: Connection failed. Server returned: SAS Logon Manager authentication failed: Access denied." and "ERROR: Unable to connect to Cloud Analytic Services host-name on port 5570. Veri

Adiponectin, an adipocyte-derived protein, has anti-atherogenic and anti-diabetic effects, but how it confers the anti-atherogenic effects is not well understood. To study the anti-atherogenic mechanisms of adiponectin, we examined whether it interacts with atherogenic low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to attenuate LDL’s atherogenicity. L5, the most electronegative subfraction of LDL, induces atherogenic responses similarly to copper-oxidized LDL (oxLDL). Unlike native LDL endocytosed via the LDL receptor, L5 and oxLDL are internalized by cells via the lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1). Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), we showed that adiponectin preferentially bound oxLDL but not native LDL. In Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transfected with LOX-1 or LDL receptor, adiponectin selectively inhibited the uptake of oxLDL but not of native LDL, respectively. Furthermore, adiponectin suppressed the internalization of oxLDL in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) and THP-1–derived macrophages. Western blot analysis of human plasma showed that adiponectin was abundant in L5 but not in L1, the least electronegative subfraction of LDL. Sandwich ELISAs with anti-adiponectin and anti–apolipoprotein B antibodies confirmed the binding of adiponectin to L5 and oxLDL. In LOX-1–expressing CHO cells, adiponectin inhibited cellular responses to oxLDL and L5, including nuclear factor-B activation and ERK phosphorylation. In HCAECs, adiponectin inhibited oxLDL-induced endothelin-1 secretion and ERK phosphorylation. Conversely, oxLDL suppressed the adiponectin-induced activation of adenosine monophosphate–activated protein kinase in COS-7 cells expressing adiponectin receptor AdipoR1. Our findings suggest that adiponectin binds and inactivates atherogenic LDL, providing novel insight into the anti-atherogenic mechanisms of adiponectin.

A key point in achieving accurate intact glycopeptide identification is the definition of the glycan composition file that is used to match experimental with theoretical masses by a glycoproteomics search engine. At present, these files are mainly built from searching the literature and/or querying data sources focused on posttranslational modifications. Most glycoproteomics search engines include a default composition file that is readily used when processing MS data. We introduce here a glycan composition visualizing and comparative tool associated with the GlyConnect database and called GlyConnect Compozitor. It offers a web interface through which the database can be queried to bring out contextual information relative to a set of glycan compositions. The tool takes advantage of compositions being related to one another through shared monosaccharide counts and outputs interactive graphs summarizing information searched in the database. These results provide a guide for selecting or deselecting compositions in a file in order to reflect the context of a study as closely as possible. They also confirm the consistency of a set of compositions based on the content of the GlyConnect database. As part of the tool collection of the Glycomics@ExPASy initiative, Compozitor is hosted at https://glyconnect.expasy.org/compozitor/ where it can be run as a web application. It is also directly accessible from the GlyConnect database.

The development of the HUPO-PSI's (Proteomics Standards Initiative) standard data formats and MIAPE (Minimum Information About a Proteomics Experiment) guidelines should improve proteomics data sharing within the scientific community. Proteomics journals have encouraged the use of these standards and guidelines to improve the quality of experimental reporting and ease the evaluation and publication of manuscripts. However, there is an evident lack of bioinformatics tools specifically designed to create and edit standard file formats and reports, or embed them within proteomics workflows. In this article, we describe a new web-based software suite (The ProteoRed MIAPE web toolkit) that performs several complementary roles related to proteomic data standards. Firstly, it can verify the reports fulfill the minimum information requirements of the corresponding MIAPE modules, highlighting inconsistencies or missing information. Secondly, the toolkit can convert several XML-based data standards directly into human readable MIAPE reports stored within the ProteoRed MIAPE repository. Finally, it can also perform the reverse operation, allowing users to export from MIAPE reports into XML files for computational processing, data sharing or public database submission. The toolkit is thus the first application capable of automatically linking the PSI's MIAPE modules with the corresponding XML data exchange standards, enabling bidirectional conversions. This toolkit is freely available at http://www.proteored.org/MIAPE/.

This study evaluates the diagnostic utility of PET/MRI for primary, locoregional, and nodal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) through systematic review and metaanalysis. Methods: A systematic search was conducted using PubMed and Scopus to identify studies on the diagnostic accuracy of PET/MRI for HNSCC. The search included specific terms and excluded nonhybrid PET/MRI studies, and those with a sample size of fewer than 10 patients were excluded. Results: In total, 15 studies encompassing 638 patients were found addressing the diagnostic test accuracy for PET/MRI within the chosen subject domain. Squamous cell carcinoma of the nasopharynx was the most observed HNSCC subtype (n = 198). The metaanalysis included 12 studies, with pooled sensitivity and specificity values of 93% and 95% per patient for primary disease evaluation, 93% and 96% for locoregional evaluation, and 89% and 98% per lesion for nodal disease detection, respectively. An examination of a subset of studies comparing PET/MRI against PET/CT or MRI alone for evaluating nodal and locoregional HNSCC found that PET/MRI may offer slightly higher accuracy than other modalities. However, this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: PET/MRI has excellent potential for identifying primary, locoregional, and nodal HNSCC.

HANOVER, Md., Nov. 5, 2024 — Ciena has announced that its optical and routing and switching innovations will once again support the SCinet network at SC24, taking place November 17–22 […]

The post Ciena Powers SC24’s SCinet with High-Speed Connectivity and Advanced Optical Solutions appeared first on HPCwire.

BEAVERTON, Ore., Oct. 29, 2024 — Ultra Accelerator Link (UALink) Consortium, led by Board Members from AMD, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Astera Labs, Cisco, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Intel, Meta […]

The post Ultra Accelerator Link Consortium Launches with Industry Leaders, Opens Membership to Drive AI Connectivity Standards appeared first on HPCwire.

Raghunandan Mathur, Senior Systems Engineer, NEC, discusses now with modern day programming frameworks designed around the paradigms of scalar architectures and vector-like extensions, many present-day programmers expect a major learning […]

The post Ease of programming on NEC’s Vector Engine or SX-Aurora TSUBASA appeared first on HPCwire.

A black bear with a sweet tooth visited the front porch of a Connecticut home to raid a bowl of Halloween candy and steal a pumpkin.

What if AI could bring the past to life? Cartoonist Amy Kurzweil shares how she helped train an AI chatbot on her late grandfather’s archives, allowing her to connect with a family member she never met — and discover family history she never knew. Backed by her own original drawings, she reveals the profound impact art and AI can have in keeping memories alive.

The rocky shift to remote learning has exacerbated inequities for the nation's 5 million English-learners. An army of multilingual liaisons work round the clock to plug widening gaps.

The switch to remote learning in rural New Mexico has left some students profoundly isolated—cut off from others and the grid by sheer distance.

A statewide survey of educators in Tennessee provides critical insights into connections that exist between standards, curriculum, professional development, and ultimately student success.

The U.S. Department of Education's office for civil rights says that Connecticut's interscholastic sports governing body violates Title IX with its transgender participation policy.

A federal judge dismissed most claims in a lawsuit challenging Connecticut's restrictions on magnet schools, charter schools, and school choice programs, saying there is no fundamental right to equal education opportunity under the U.S. Constitution.

Gov. Rell this month unveiled a revised budget that represents an increase of $114.4 million over last year’s K-12 allocation.

The state's highest court allowed some claims brought on behalf of relatives of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School to proceed against the firearms industry.

This Quality Counts 2019 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.

Gov. Dannel Malloy will seek to dramatically adjust the way Connecticut distributes more than $4 billion of state aid, he told legislators in his annual address, as the legislature gets back to business for the 2017 session.

These tools encourage school administrators to gather as much information as possible about the students who will be entering kindergarten and the early-learning offerings in their communities.

The state, which earned a B, is one of the nation’s wealthiest and turned in strong performances in the school finance arena and in areas such as preschool and kindergarten enrollment.

This Quality Counts 2019 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.

This Quality Counts 2020 Highlights Report captures all the data you need to assess your state's performance on key educational outcomes.

The rocky shift to remote learning has exacerbated inequities for the nation's 5 million English-learners. An army of multilingual liaisons work round the clock to plug widening gaps.

Academic and health offerings have increased in McDowell County, W.Va., due to a private-public partnership.

The switch to remote learning in rural New Mexico has left some students profoundly isolated—cut off from others and the grid by sheer distance.

Hannah Grotzinger
May 29, 2024; 44:e1856232024-e1856232024
BehavioralSystemsCognitive

Martijn P. van den Heuvel
Nov 2, 2011; 31:15775-15786
BehavioralSystemsCognitive

Estimating the direction of functional connectivity (FC) can help further elucidate complex brain function. However, the estimation of directed FC at the voxel level in fMRI data, and evaluating its performance, has yet to be done. We therefore developed a novel directed seed-based connectivity analysis (SCA) method based on normalized pairwise Granger causality that provides greater detail and accuracy over ROI-based methods. We evaluated its performance against 145 cortical retrograde tracer injections in male and female marmosets that were used as ground truth cellular connectivity on a voxel-by-voxel basis. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated for each injection, and we achieved area under the ROC curve of 0.95 for undirected and 0.942 for directed SCA in the case of high cell count threshold. This indicates that SCA can reliably estimate the strong cellular connections between voxels in fMRI data. We then used our directed SCA method to analyze the human default mode network (DMN) and found that dlPFC (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and temporal lobe were separated from other DMN regions, forming part of the language-network that works together with the core DMN regions. We also found that the cerebellum (Crus I-II) was strongly targeted by the posterior parietal cortices and dlPFC, but reciprocal connections were not observed. Thus, the cerebellum may not be a part of, but instead a target of, the DMN and language-network. Summarily, our novel directed SCA method, visualized with a new functional flat mapping technique, opens a new paradigm for whole-brain functional analysis.

Honeybees get a caffeine buzz and memory boost when they drink coffee nectar

The looming sculpture features a small camera above an eight-foot-tall screen, which displays live video from Lithuania, Poland and Ireland

Steve Lazarides' personal collection of prints, original works, handwritten press releases and burner phones sold at auction for around $1.4 million