Climate action and gender equality: Can we close the gap on one without the other? 8 March 2021 — 2:30PM TO 4:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 15 February 2021 Online

In partnership with the COP26 presidency, policymakers and experts examine the interrelationship between gender equality and climate action, and highlight innovative examples of policy and practice from around the world.

Marking International Women’s Day, this event organized by the COP26 presidency in partnership with Chatham House, will explore how gender equality and climate action go hand-in-hand. The agreement of the Gender Action Plan (GAP) at COP25 sent the message that the time for gender-responsive climate action is now.

This will be a unique opportunity to hear from policymakers and civil society leaders discussing whether enough is being done, as well as highlighting cutting-edge work around the world and suggesting what the future could hold.

The event will be livestreamed on this event page.

Youth voices on climate action 22 April 2021 — 12:30PM TO 2:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 22 March 2021 Online

To celebrate Earth Day, youth activists, local change-makers, innovators and entrepreneurs discuss opportunities and challenges for youth-led climate activism.

Young people will bear the brunt of the intensifying impacts of climate change over time. Facing this challenge, youth around the world have emerged at the forefront of climate activism at an unprecedented scale.

School strikes, marches, and declarations complement youth engagement in diplomacy, technology, science, and law. Providing a platform for young people involved in climate action at the local, national and global levels is essential to promote collaboration, generate new policy ideas, and demand accountability from political and business leaders.

Panellists engage in critical conversation about COP26; global leadership in climate mitigation, adaptation, and finance; and how to develop the full potential of youth-led global initiatives going forward.

From local to global: A roadmap for US climate action 14 April 2021 — 6:30PM TO 8:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 28 March 2021 Online

Ahead of Biden’s Earth Day Summit, panellists discuss a range of climate issues, from city-level climate management to the international security implications of climate deals.

On their first day in office, the Biden-Harris administration sent a strong message to Americans and allies by rejoining the Paris Agreement. Experienced climate and environmental leaders were appointed to senior leadership roles as part of a ‘whole of government approach’ to climate action.

Although decisive action is welcomed by many Americans and international partners, the divided domestic perspectives on climate and a changed international landscape pose significant challenges.

Ahead of the Earth Day Summit on April 22, an event hosted by Joe Biden to mark America’s formal return to global climate talks, panellists discuss a range of climate issues, from city-level climate management to the international security implications of climate deals.

• How will post-COVID domestic priorities and policy influence the international approach of the US to climate action?
• How will US policy, both foreign and domestic, need to respond to the security and geopolitical elements posed by climate change?
• What actions are needed during the upcoming Earth Day Summit for the US to establish credibility as a climate leader?
• What shape are key debates taking on US-China climate relations ahead of COP 26, and how might climate issues be approached in relation to wider geopolitical tensions?

Prioritizing equity and justice in climate action 30 June 2021 — 11:00AM TO 12:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 10 June 2021 Online

London Climate Action Week event: Why understanding equity and justice is essential to the ability to meaningfully inform climate politics.

Citizen-led climate activism is demonstrating the need to think about climate change ‘not just as a problem for science to solve’ but also as a problem of equity, human rights and justice.

The disproportionate impacts of climate change on the poor and the marginalized across the world means that understanding equity and justice is essential for the ability to meaningfully inform climate politics.

Excluding these issues risks ignoring, or intentionally omitting, the consequences of policies, tools and frameworks on those who are most likely to face the severe costs of any climate action or inaction.

In a pivotal year for climate decision-making, this event explores the necessity of equity and justice in climate action and how the world can move the political conversation to one that is more inclusive.

The speakers explore how communities themselves articulate the justice dimensions of climate change and how fairness can create a greener future for current and future generations.

This event is being hosted as a part of Strengthening Climate Diplomacy, a series of events from Chatham House during London Climate Action Week 2021.

Cities as climate leaders: Progress and ambition 1 December 2021 — 12:00PM TO 1:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 16 November 2021 Online

This panel discusses the progress cities have already made, whether progress at COP26 was enough, and what more needs to be done to scale action and ambition internationally.

Cities are critical to tackling the pressing environmental challenges of our time. While they now account for an estimated 75 per cent of global CO2 emissions, cities also offer a unique opportunity for devolved leadership on climate action. At the recent COP26, some significant progress was made in elevating cities’ position on climate action with a flurry of announcements and commitments.

For example, more than 1,000 cities are now committed to the Cities Race to Zero and C40’s Clean Construction Declaration saw multiple cities committing to at least halving emissions from initial construction of buildings by 2030. A raft of financing commitments were also made to improve urban resilience in the face of climate change.

This builds on existing momentum before COP26. Over 50 world cities are now on track to meet Paris Agreement and the Marrakech Partnership is further enabling collaboration between governments and cities within the UNFCCC processes.

Therefore, how we design, build, govern and use our urban places will be a key factor for decarbonization and climate change adaptation.

On the back of COP26, this panel brings together leaders from across urban development sectors to discuss the progress cities have already made, whether progress at COP26 was enough, and what more needs to be done to scale action and ambition internationally. 

Nuclear, gas and green finance taxonomies in the EU and UK 23 February 2022 — 10:00AM TO 11:00AM Anonymous (not verified) 20 January 2022 Online

Experts discuss EU, UK, and international perspectives on green taxonomy.

This event will address the controversial additions to the EU green finance taxonomy, including the labelling of some nuclear and gas power sources as “green”. Hear perspectives from the UK, EU and international experts.

The UK has committed to creating a green taxonomy to provide a shared understanding of which economic activities count as sustainable. It should be robust and evidence-based, taking an objective and science-based approach to assessing sustainability.

Technical Screening Criteria (TSCs) for the climate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation objectives within the UK green taxonomy will be based on those in the EU Taxonomy. The Government is currently reviewing these and expects to consult on UK draft TSCs in the first quarter of 2022, ahead of legislating by the end of 2022.

In recent weeks the European Commission has proposed controversial additional TSCs for the EU taxonomy, most notably the inclusion of nuclear and natural gas in power generation, which are currently being discussed by Member States and the European Parliament.

The inclusion of controversial power sources not only risks affecting investment and deployment patterns in the net-zero transition, but may also be a threat to the authority of the taxonomy as a whole

Key questions for the UK now include whether and how to address these issues in its own taxonomy, and how to promote a science-based ‘race to the top’ between jurisdictions that can lead to robust international standards.

This Environment and Society Discussion Series event brings expert voices together to discuss EU, UK, and international perspectives, and is co-organized with E3G.

Feminist solutions to the climate crisis 8 March 2022 — 11:00AM TO 12:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 1 March 2022 Online

This International Women’s Day panel explores intersectional feminist approaches to solving the climate crisis.

Gender inequality and climate change are closely intertwined. Due to their different and unequal social roles and status, women, girls and people of marginalised genders are disproportionately affected by climate change impacts, also differentiated by factors such as age, race, ability and location.

They are also leading innovative solutions to climate change at all levels, especially in frontline communities. Yet as the Glasgow Women’s Leadership statement highlighted at COP26, there is still a lack of momentum for prioritising their knowledge, tools and leadership in climate policy and action.  

This panel considers what feminist approaches can bring to climate change communication and movement building, spotlighting a range of local and regional gender-responsive climate initiatives. It also discusses concrete examples of feminist and gender-responsive policies to address climate change, such as the Feminist Green New Deal.

The panel highlights the critically important work being carried out by diverse feminist activists and researchers, and how the audience can centre gender and social equality in their work on climate change.  

Climate finance and conflict dynamics on the road to COP27 21 September 2022 — 1:00PM TO 2:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 9 September 2022 Online

Stakeholders discuss the role of conflict and conflict sensitivity in climate finance and action.

With climate change, fragility and conflict challenges worsening, the role of international climate finance is more urgent than ever.

From the implementation of climate finance and who it reaches to the rush for renewable energy, the inclusion of conflict analysis and conflict sensitivity principles often remain absent from climate finance discussions and planning.

With COP27 around the corner and for the occasion of International Peace Day, stakeholders ranging from government representatives to climate activists discuss their perspectives on the role of conflict and conflict sensitivity as part of climate finance and action.

This event was organized in partnership with International Alert.

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.

Climate Change and the Pacific: Impacts and Adaptation 27 November 2018 — 8:30AM TO 10:00AM Anonymous (not verified) 14 November 2018 Royal Academy of Arts

Jan Goedgebeur, Jorik Jooken, On-Hei Solomon Lo, Ben Seamone and Carol T. Zamfirescu
Math. Comp. 93 (), 3059-3082.
Abstract, references and article information

Dr. Stan Wagon of Macalester College discusses the mathematics behind rolling a square smoothly. In 1997, inspired by a square wheel exhibit at The Exploratorium museum in San Francsico, Dr. Stan Wagon enlisted his neighbor Loren Kellen in building a square-wheeled tricycle and accompanying catenary track. For years, you could ride the tricycle at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. The National Museum of Mathematics in New York now also has square-wheeled tricycles that can be ridden around a circular track. And more recently, the impressive Cody Dock Rolling Bridge was built using rolling square mathematics by Thomas Randall-Page in London.

Dr. Abiy Tasissa of Tufts University, discusses the mathematics he and colleagues used to study particle collider data, including optimal transport and optimization. Collider physics often result in distributions referred to as jets. Dr. Tasissa and his team used "Earth Mover's Distance" and other mathematical tools to study the shape of jets. "It is interesting for me to see how mathematics can be applied to study these fundamental problems answering fundamental equations in physics, not only at the level of formulating new ideas, which is, in this particular case, a notion of distance, but also how the importance of designing fast optimization algorithms to be able to actually compute these distances," says Dr. Tasissa.

Soun-Hi Kwon
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 377 (), 6021-6022.
Abstract, references and article information

Guido De Philippis, Nicola Fusco and Massimiliano Morini
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 377 (), 5787-5835.
Abstract, references and article information

Ming-Lun Hsieh and Shunsuke Yamana
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 377 (), 5617-5672.
Abstract, references and article information

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On the Capital planet the rebellious droids had followed maily the Bat-Bot, but as time progressed his circuits had gone all mushy at 780 years or so without maintenance…

Several splinter groups all with their local bot leaders emerged such as the Che-bot, the traffic-light-robot and the Butt-bot, but none of these collected enough sentient circuits to call themselves a popular (or Animata) mass movement!

That was until a cyborg came along, one known as Jones, a long time prisoner and terrorist, his easy solutions to every problem rang well in the masses' auditory circuits!!!

His slogans and simple rhetoric were simple enough for the simple traffic-light to comprehend and cheer!

His language was full of hate towards the organics and especially the humans who were the most common races among the ruling class of the federation!!!

Despite being a “Fleshie” himself his message collected the angry enslaved
bot community by only weeks all rebellious robots except for a few fringe loonies had forgotten the old leaders…

One morning at Jones gave the signal…

All over the capital planet hordes and swarms of any form of mechanical sentient beings attacked first the police stations, then the Company boards running the planet and the federation as well as their starfleet…

Many died, especially the low level police and army! Many mechanicals died too, but their ranks were soon filled by Mutant fleshie allies of the lower levels who hated the Federation feudal society and upper classes as much as their technological allies…

The Federation state apparatus and ruling class, most of their fleet army fled when they knew the game was up, they activated the emergency escape plan and whole city blocks with important factories, administrational units, valuable assets and so on separated from the capital by hidden rocket engines and homed in their course to Mars…

On Mars the federation regrouped and formed their new society…

On the Capital planet, the robots proclaimed the first Techno-republic of the advanced inorganic civilization, the low level fleshies left behind, became slaves and their mutant allies got to rule their own minute chiefdoms as protectorates under the Techno-republic…

Jones was now the undisputed ruler of the capital planet, but the victory was a pyrros one since, all important buildings, all of value was now one Mars!

But as Jones put it:

Our proud race the Techno-species didn’t need the Fleshies administration, their infrastructure, their spaceships…

We shall start from scratch, with a new administration, a new order, every droid shall work at 4x speed than they did during human oppression since now we are free and the fleshies shall work twice as hard than the Techno-Race, until we have breed enough new fleshies so they can do all work!

Our future is bright and shiny like glistering shiny metal!

The snapshot seen here is from the first police station attacked in sector 45-34v-ss-g the first one to fall according to official techno-history!

———————————————/
Designers note:

I am sad to say that this is the last episode in this years-spanning space series… At least for a while, I will still post LEGO hobby stuff here but without a storyline, perhaps small designs and builds… and occasionally a story when I feel like it!!!

I would like to thank all who had been in this journey of our heros, but it has taken far to much time and effort and since the state of the world is as it is, I am spiraling down in another depression, I must stop it before I reach the abyss, so I have remove some stress out of my equation… I ended it in a cliffhanger so I can easily restart it when my mental health improves… I hope that won’t be forever???

I would love if someone used my characters or ideas, please send me a link if you do, I would love to read it or look at it!!!

But there will be more Lego, just in different format without long stories, I need to focus more on my art and to be honest that is the only time the mental pain eases, when I create!!!


Peace and Noise!

MushroomBrain a FOL

firehouse.ie posted a photo:

firehouse.ie posted a photo:

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firehouse.ie posted a photo:

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Lutz Mattner
Theor. Probability and Math. Statist. 111 (), 45-122.
Abstract, references and article information

Ferdinand Ihringer
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 152 (), 5355-5365.
Abstract, references and article information

Giovanni Catino and Alberto Roncoroni
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 152 (), 5339-5354.
Abstract, references and article information

Jian Li
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 152 (), 5207-5217.
Abstract, references and article information

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Forty-one mathematical scientists from around the world have been named Fellows of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) for 2025, the program's 13th year. View the names and institutions of the full 2025 Class of Fellows.

Recognized by their peers, AMS members designated as Fellows of the AMS have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication, and utilization of mathematics. 

“I am delighted to congratulate the 2025 Class of AMS Fellows, recognized for their outstanding contributions to the mathematical sciences and for their extraordinary service to our profession,” said AMS President Bryna Kra.

“This year’s class was selected from a large and excellent pool of candidates, highlighting the many ways that individuals advance our profession.  I look forward to working with them in service to our community,” Kra said.

The AMS extends thanks to the nominators and members of the selection committee for their help in highlighting the achievements of their colleagues. 

Contact: AMS Programs

Credits: Photo of Benoit Pausader by Lori Nascimento. Photo of Bridget Tenner by Aubreonna Chamberlain/DePaul University. Photo of Ellen Eischen by Andrea Kane. Photo of Francis Su by Francis Su. Photo of Guillermo Cortiñas by Lisi D'Alfonso. Photo of Jianhong Wu by the Faculty of Science at York University. Photo of Matthew Ballard by Jeffrey Davis. Photo of Tom Braden by Jon Crispin.

* * * * *

The American Mathematical Society is dedicated to advancing research and connecting the diverse global mathematical community through our publications, meetings and conferences, MathSciNet, professional services, advocacy, and awareness programs.

Kadian Morgan was overwhelmed with grief as she leaned against a wall outside her gate on Jackson Lane, East Kingston, yesterday, tears streaming down her face. Her 19-year-old son, Kayshan 'Bem Bem' Smith, was lying in the morgue after being...

The police have arrested an individual in the probe surrounding two bags of cash that allegedly fell from a Beryllium security vehicle en route to the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston last week. 

A growing number of motor vehicle crashes across Jamaica has been attributed to drivers operating the vehicles under the influence of marijuana, according to Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton. "The data is clear, we are seeing more people...

Carnosine (β-alanyl-l-histidine) and anserine (β-alanyl-3-methyl-l-histidine) are abundant peptides in the nervous system and skeletal muscle of many vertebrates. Many in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that exogenously added carnosine can improve muscle contraction, has antioxidant activity, and can quench various reactive aldehydes. Some of these functions likely contribute to the proposed anti-aging activity of carnosine. However, the physiological role of carnosine and related histidine-containing dipeptides (HCDs) is not clear. In this study, we generated a mouse line deficient in carnosine synthase (Carns1). HCDs were undetectable in the primary olfactory system and skeletal muscle of Carns1-deficient mice. Skeletal muscle contraction in these mice, however, was unaltered, and there was no evidence for reduced pH-buffering capacity in the skeletal muscle. Olfactory tests did not reveal any deterioration in 8-month-old mice lacking carnosine. In contrast, aging (18–24-month-old) Carns1-deficient mice exhibited olfactory sensitivity impairments that correlated with an age-dependent reduction in the number of olfactory receptor neurons. Whereas we found no evidence for elevated levels of lipoxidation and glycation end products in the primary olfactory system, protein carbonylation was increased in the olfactory bulb of aged Carns1-deficient mice. Taken together, these results suggest that carnosine in the olfactory system is not essential for information processing in the olfactory signaling pathway but does have a role in the long-term protection of olfactory receptor neurons, possibly through its antioxidant activity.

Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic and spore-forming bacterium responsible for 15–25% of postantibiotic diarrhea and 95% of pseudomembranous colitis. Peptidoglycan is a crucial element of the bacterial cell wall that is exposed to the host, making it an important target for the innate immune system. The C. difficile peptidoglycan is largely N-deacetylated on its glucosamine (93% of muropeptides) through the activity of enzymes known as N-deacetylases, and this N-deacetylation modulates host–pathogen interactions, such as resistance to the bacteriolytic activity of lysozyme, virulence, and host innate immune responses. C. difficile genome analysis showed that 12 genes potentially encode N-deacetylases; however, which of these N-deacetylases are involved in peptidoglycan N-deacetylation remains unknown. Here, we report the enzymes responsible for peptidoglycan N-deacetylation and their respective regulation. Through peptidoglycan analysis of several mutants, we found that the N-deacetylases PdaV and PgdA act in synergy. Together they are responsible for the high level of peptidoglycan N-deacetylation in C. difficile and the consequent resistance to lysozyme. We also characterized a third enzyme, PgdB, as a glucosamine N-deacetylase. However, its impact on N-deacetylation and lysozyme resistance is limited, and its physiological role remains to be dissected. Finally, given the influence of peptidoglycan N-deacetylation on host defense against pathogens, we investigated the virulence and colonization ability of the mutants. Unlike what has been shown in other pathogenic bacteria, a lack of N-deacetylation in C. difficile is not linked to a decrease in virulence.

The bacterial enhancer-binding protein (bEBP) FlrC, controls motility and colonization of Vibrio cholerae by regulating the transcription of class-III flagellar genes in σ54-dependent manner. However, the mechanism by which FlrC regulates transcription is not fully elucidated. Although, most bEBPs require nucleotides to stimulate the oligomerization necessary for function, our previous study showed that the central domain of FlrC (FlrCC) forms heptamer in a nucleotide-independent manner. Furthermore, heptameric FlrCC binds ATP in “cis-mediated” style without any contribution from sensor I motif 285REDXXYR291 of the trans protomer. This atypical ATP binding raises the question of whether heptamerization of FlrC is solely required for transcription regulation, or if it is also critical for ATPase activity. ATPase assays and size exclusion chromatography of the trans-variants FlrCC-Y290A and FlrCC-R291A showed destabilization of heptameric assembly with concomitant abrogation of ATPase activity. Crystal structures showed that in the cis-variant FlrCC-R349A drastic shift of Walker A encroached ATP-binding site, whereas the site remained occupied by ADP in FlrCC-Y290A. We postulated that FlrCC heptamerizes through concentration-dependent cooperativity for maximal ATPase activity and upon heptamerization, packing of trans-acting Tyr290 against cis-acting Arg349 compels Arg349 to maintain proper conformation of Walker A. Finally, a Trp quenching study revealed binding of cyclic-di-GMP with FlrCC. Excess cyclic-di-GMP repressed ATPase activity of FlrCC through destabilization of heptameric assembly, especially at low concentration of protein. Systematic phylogenetic analysis allowed us to propose similar regulatory mechanisms for FlrCs of several Vibrio species and a set of monotrichous Gram-negative bacteria.

Highly engineered phytases, which sequentially hydrolyze the hexakisphosphate ester of inositol known as phytic acid, are routinely added to the feeds of monogastric animals to improve phosphate bioavailability. New phytases are sought as starting points to further optimize the rate and extent of dephosphorylation of phytate in the animal digestive tract. Multiple inositol polyphosphate phosphatases (MINPPs) are clade 2 histidine phosphatases (HP2P) able to carry out the stepwise hydrolysis of phytate. MINPPs are not restricted by a strong positional specificity making them attractive targets for development as feed enzymes. Here, we describe the characterization of a MINPP from the Gram-positive bacterium Bifidobacterium longum (BlMINPP). BlMINPP has a typical HP2P-fold but, unusually, possesses a large α-domain polypeptide insertion relative to other MINPPs. This insertion, termed the U-loop, spans the active site and contributes to substrate specificity pockets underpopulated in other HP2Ps. Mutagenesis of U-loop residues reveals its contribution to enzyme kinetics and thermostability. Moreover, four crystal structures of the protein along the catalytic cycle capture, for the first time in an HP2P, a large ligand-driven α-domain motion essential to allow substrate access to the active site. This motion recruits residues both downstream of a molecular hinge and on the U-loop to participate in specificity subsites, and mutagenesis identified a mobile lysine residue as a key determinant of positional specificity of the enzyme. Taken together, these data provide important new insights to the factors determining stability, substrate recognition, and the structural mechanism of hydrolysis in this industrially important group of enzymes.

3 July 2020