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Biphenyl benzyl ether marker compounds for liquid hydrocarbons and other fuels and oils

A compound having formula (I) wherein G represents at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of C1-C12 alkyl and C1-C12 alkoxy.




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Bisphenol A compounds as markers for liquid hydrocarbons and other fuels and oils

A method for marking a petroleum hydrocarbon or a liquid biologically derived fuel by adding at least one compound having formula (I), wherein R1 and R2 independently represent hydrogen or C1-C4 alkyl groups, and G represents hydrogen or at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of C1-C18 alkyl and C1-C18 alkoxy.




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Method of degrading perfluorinated compound

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of degradation of persistent pollutants and discloses a method for efficiently degrading a perfluorinated compound (PFC), through which the problems of harsh reaction conditions and less high defluorination rate existing in prior-art methods for degrading PFCs are solved. In the present disclosure, a 3-indoleacetic acid (IAA) solution is irradiated with 254 nm UV light to generate hydrated electrons, with which the PFC are degraded by reduction under an aerobic condition, where an organo-modified montmorillonite is added to provide a reaction microzone, so the degradation and defluorination effects of the hydrated electrons for the PFC are greatly improved. The method for degrading a PFC according to the present disclosure is not affected by the pH of and the dissolved oxygen in the solution and less affected by the humic substances in a water body, thereby overcoming the defects in existing methods for degrading PFCs with hydrated electrons while the degradation efficiency is ensured. Therefore, the present disclosure is of great application value.




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UNIVERSAL ANTIGEN RETRIEVAL COMPOUNDS AND METHODS OF USE

In some embodiments, the present disclosure pertains to a method for retrieving at least one molecular recognition element in a fixed tissue. In some embodiments the method comprises preparing a solution comprising at least one aldehyde-scavenging agent. In some embodiments, the method comprises contacting the fixed tissue with the solution. In some embodiments, the tissue is fixed with an aldehyde-based cross-linking agent. In some embodiments, a reaction of the aldehyde-scavenging agent with the aldehydes comprising the cross-linking agent retrieves the at least one molecular recognition t. In some embodiments, the at least one rolecular recognition element comprises of amino acids, peptides, proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the at least one aldehyde-scavenging agent comprises of beta-dicarbonyl compounds, mono or di-amide scavengers, ethyl alcohols, sulfur containing compounds, mercaptoethylamines, mercaptoethanols, hydrazines, ethanolamines, hydroxylamines, anilines, variation of amines, activated charcoal, phenols, or mixtures and combinations thereof.




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Mr. Espresso Donates Thousands of Pounds of Coffee During Covid-19 Crisis


This month alone, Oakland-based, family-owned Mr. Espresso has already donated over 2,500 pounds of coffee to COVID-19 relief efforts all over the Bay Area.

During the first two weeks of April, the 42-year-old company — founded in Alameda by enterprising Italian-born Carlo Di Ruocco and now renowned as the first and currently only outfit in the nation that uses oak wood to roast its beans — has given coffee to the Alameda County Community Food Bank and San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, Frontline Foods, East Bay FeedER, Clinica de La Raza, St. Anthony’s Dining Room, Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen, and other food-, health-, homeless-, youth-, and family-assistance programs.…




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COMPOUND AND ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME

A compound represented by Formula 1 and an organic light-emitting device including the same are provided:




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POLYMER COMPOUND AND ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE USING THE SAME

A polymer compound comprising a structural unit represented by the formula (1): wherein R1, R2, R3 and R4 each independently represent an alkyl group, an aryl group or a monovalent heterocyclic group, and these groups optionally have a substituent, two rings A may be the same or different, and represent a thiophene ring, a benzothiophene ring or a thienothiophene ring, n represents 1 or 2, and X represents a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, an alkylthio group, an amino group, an aryl group, a monovalent heterocyclic group, an alkenyl group or an alkynyl group, and these groups optionally have a substituent, and when n is 2, two groups X may be the same or different.




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ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT COMPOUND AND ORGANIC PHOTOELECTRIC APPARATUS

The present disclosure provides a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound having a general formula (I) and an organic photoelectric apparatus thereof. The general formula (I) is wherein A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, and A10 are independently selected from a hydrogen atom, at least one compound having the general formula (II) and at least one compound having a general formula (III), wherein Y1, Y2, and Y3 are independently selected from C and N; and R3 and R4 are independently selected from C6-30 aromatic group and C2-30 heterocyclic aromatic group, wherein X is selected from oxyl group, sulfenyl group, substituted or non-substituted imino group, substituted or non-substituted methylene group, and substituted or non-substituted silicylene group, and R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11, and R12 are independently selected from hydrogen, deuterium, C1-30 alkyl group, C6-30 aromatic group, and C2-30 heterocyclic aromatic group.




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ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT COMPOUND AND ORGANIC PHOTOELECTRIC APPARATUS THEREOF

The present disclosure provides a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound having general formula (I) and an organic photoelectric apparatus thereof. where A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, and A8 are independently selected from a hydrogen atom, at least one compound having the general formula (II) and at least one compound having the general formula (III), where Y1, Y2, and Y3 are independently selected from C and N; R3 and R4 are independently selected from C6-30 aromatic group and C2-30 heterocyclic aromatic group, wherein X is selected from any one of oxyl group (—O—), sulfhydryl group (—S—), substituted or non-substituted imino group, substituted or non-substituted methylene group, and substituted or non-substituted silicylene group; R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11, and R12 are independently selected from hydrogen, deuterium, C1-30 alkyl group, C6-30 aromatic group, or C2-30 heterocyclic aromatic group.




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HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUND AND ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DEVICE COMPRISING SAME

The present specification provides a hetero-cyclic compound and an organic light emitting device including the hetero-cyclic compound.




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NOVEL COMPOUND

A compound represented by the following formula (1):




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Compound, Light-Emitting Element, Display Device, Electronic Device, and Lighting Device

A compound includes a benzofuropyrimidine skeleton or a benzothienopyrimidine skeleton, a first substituent, and a second substituent. Each of the first substituent and the second substituent includes a furan skeleton, a thiophene skeleton, or a pyrrole skeleton. The first substituent is bonded to a pyrimidine ring included in the benzofuropyrimidine skeleton or a pyrimidine ring included in the benzothienopyrimidine skeleton. The second substituent is bonded to a benzene ring included in the benzofuropyrimidine skeleton or a benzene ring included in the benzothienopyrimidine skeleton. The light-emitting element includes the compound.




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ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT COMPOUND AND ORGANIC PHOTOELECTRIC APPARATUS THEREOF

The present disclosure provides a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound having a general formula (I) and an organic photoelectric apparatus thereof. The compound of general formula (I) is: wherein A1, A2, A3, and A4 are independently selected from a hydrogen atom, a function group having a general formula (II); A1, A2, A3, and A4 include at least one function group having the general formula (II); R1 and R2 are independently selected from one of hydrogen, deuterium, C1-30 alkyl group, C6-30 aromatic group and C2-30 heterocyclic aromatic group; Y1 and Y2 are independently selected from substituted or non-substituted C and N,the general formula (II) being: wherein X is selected from one of oxyl group (—O—), sulfhydryl group (—S—), substituted or non-substituted imino group, substituted or non-substituted methylene group, and substituted or non-substituted silicylene group; and R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, and R10 are independently selected from one of hydrogen, deuterium, C1-30 alkyl group, C6-30 aromatic group, and C2-30 heterocyclic aromatic group.




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ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT COMPOUND AND ORGANIC PHOTOELECTRIC APPARATUS THEREOF

The present disclosure provides a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound having a general formula (I) and an organic photoelectric apparatus thereof. The general formula (I) is: wherein A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, and A10 are independently selected from a hydrogen atom, a nitrile group and a function group having a general formula (II), and A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, and A10 include at least one nitrile group and at least one function group having the general formula (II),the general formula (II) being: wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, and R8 are independently selected from hydrogen atoms, deuterium atoms, C6-30 aromatic group and C2-30 heterocyclic aromatic group.




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CONDENSED CYCLIC COMPOUND AND ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME

A condensed cyclic compound represented by Formula 1: Ar1-L1-L2-Ar2 Formula 1 wherein in Formula 1, Ar1, Ar2, L1, and L2 are the same as described in the specification.




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COMPOUND AND ORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME

A compound is represented by Formula 1 and an organic light-emitting device including the same: wherein Formula 1 is the same as described above.




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GAS TURBINE ENGINE COMPONENT WITH COMPOUND CUSP COOLING CONFIGURATION

A component for a gas turbine engine including a gas path wall having a first surface and a second surface. A cooling hole extends through the gas path wall from an inlet in the first surface through a transition to an outlet in the second surface. Cusps are formed on the transition.




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Acrylate-Terminated Urethane Polybutadienes From Low-Monomer 1:1 Monoadducts From Reactive Olefinic Compounds and Diisocyanates and Hydroxy-Terminated Polybutadienes for Liquid Optically Clear Adhesives (LOCAs)

The present invention relates to an optical clear resin and a method for producing a liquid optical clear photo-curable adhesive.




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Flavored Juul E-Cigarettes Contain Unlisted, Toxic Compounds, Yale Study Shows

A new study from Yale University found some users of the popular e-cigarette brand Juul might be inhaling unexpected chemicals.




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PSW draws attention to 'burnt out' staff as COVID-19 compounds long-term care crisis

A personal support worker (PSW), who has worked for a decade in long-term care homes, told White Coat, Black Art the COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis on top of an already existing crisis for PSWs.




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AFL's dismantling of NT Thunder will compound structural disadvantages for Indigenous players

A prodigiously talented, goal-scoring genius of the Long-Rioli family is just one of the dozens of men and women left confused and shocked by the AFL's decision to close the Northern Territory's only top-level side.




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Canberra prisoners tried to have sex after male inmate jumped fence to women's compound, documents show

Canberra's jail still houses men and women together and newly released documents show corrections do not know whether prisoners have been meeting for clandestine affairs.




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What is compound interest?

Compound interest will be one of the most important things you ever learn. Don't believe it? Gen Fricker will explain why. Learn how compound interest works, and why saving now can help you later. Game changer! Then test yourself with ASIC Moneysmart's "Things to think about" classroom exercises.




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Augusta National donates 2,000 pounds of Masters food to charity




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471 Pound Bluefin Tuna Caught & Served

[Written by Don Burgess] On Friday, a fisherman who caught a huge bluefin tuna in the morning had it served to him at dinner later that night. David Soares says he was by himself in his boat the Kerry D around 10am off of Challenger Banks when he felt a tug on his line. Fish […]

(Click to read the full article)




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Photos: ‘Paradise One’ Hooks 770 Pound Tuna

Crowds gathered at Robinson’s Marina in Somerset this morning [Jan 12] to get a glimpse at the latest catch of a bluefin tuna. Captained by Allan Bean, the 770lb tuna was hooked this morning on the fishing boat ‘Paradise One’. Paradise One Fishing Charters is run by brothers, Allan and Delvin Bean with the Bean […]

(Click to read the full article)




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Pound that Pulpit




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30-Pound Lunar Meteorite




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Early humans may have shared ancient Europe with this 1,000-pound bird

A new study suggests a half-ton bird roamed Europe nearly 2 million years ago, around when our Homo predecessors were first entering the region.




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27,525 pounds of carrots a day: How L.A. schools are feeding the masses

Coronavirus: While food banks struggle, L.A.'s schools are feeding the hungry




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Classic Pound Cake

This classic pound cake recipe follows the one-to-one ratios of butter, sugar, flour and eggs and is flavored with vanilla.




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This perfect pound cake goes back to basics

This easy pound cake recipe relies on the classic formula of equal weight ratios of butter, sugar, eggs and flour for a fine-crumbed cake that keeps and packs well.




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Eli Broad's Malibu compound resurfaces at $75 million

The oceanfront home of billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad is for sale in Malibu at $75 million.




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Eva Longoria takes a loss on sale of Tom Cruise's former compound

Actress-producer Eva Longoria has sold her Hollywood Hills compound, which was previously owned by actor Tom Cruise, for $8.25 million.




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Mom of 1.4-pound baby, a micro-preemie, celebrates her 'little miracle' this Mother's Day

A Nashville mom who gave birth to an 'alarmingly small' child celebrates her first Mother's Day with a healthy daughter and waves of gratitude.

      




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Editorial: Wave of heroin abuse pounding Indiana; swift action needed

Gov. Mike Pence's Scott County order allowing a needle-exchange program is a welcome step. But it's just a start.

       




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Coronavirus: Pound plunges to its lowest level in over 30 years

The pound falls to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985, trading at $1.15.




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Reactive dicarbonyl compounds cause Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide release and synergize with inflammatory conditions in mouse skin and peritoneum [Molecular Bases of Disease]

The plasmas of diabetic or uremic patients and of those receiving peritoneal dialysis treatment have increased levels of the glucose-derived dicarbonyl metabolites like methylglyoxal (MGO), glyoxal (GO), and 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG). The elevated dicarbonyl levels can contribute to the development of painful neuropathies. Here, we used stimulated immunoreactive Calcitonin Gene–Related Peptide (iCGRP) release as a measure of nociceptor activation, and we found that each dicarbonyl metabolite induces a concentration-, TRPA1-, and Ca2+-dependent iCGRP release. MGO, GO, and 3-DG were about equally potent in the millimolar range. We hypothesized that another dicarbonyl, 3,4-dideoxyglucosone-3-ene (3,4-DGE), which is present in peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions after heat sterilization, activates nociceptors. We also showed that at body temperatures 3,4-DGE is formed from 3-DG and that concentrations of 3,4-DGE in the micromolar range effectively induced iCGRP release from isolated murine skin. In a novel preparation of the isolated parietal peritoneum PD fluid or 3,4-DGE alone, at concentrations found in PD solutions, stimulated iCGRP release. We also tested whether inflammatory tissue conditions synergize with dicarbonyls to induce iCGRP release from isolated skin. Application of MGO together with bradykinin or prostaglandin E2 resulted in an overadditive effect on iCGRP release, whereas MGO applied at a pH of 5.2 resulted in reduced release, probably due to an MGO-mediated inhibition of transient receptor potential (TRP) V1 receptors. These results indicate that several reactive dicarbonyls activate nociceptors and potentiate inflammatory mediators. Our findings underline the roles of dicarbonyls and TRPA1 receptors in causing pain during diabetes or renal disease.




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Reactive dicarbonyl compounds cause Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide release and synergize with inflammatory conditions in mouse skin and peritoneum [Molecular Bases of Disease]

The plasmas of diabetic or uremic patients and of those receiving peritoneal dialysis treatment have increased levels of the glucose-derived dicarbonyl metabolites like methylglyoxal (MGO), glyoxal (GO), and 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG). The elevated dicarbonyl levels can contribute to the development of painful neuropathies. Here, we used stimulated immunoreactive Calcitonin Gene–Related Peptide (iCGRP) release as a measure of nociceptor activation, and we found that each dicarbonyl metabolite induces a concentration-, TRPA1-, and Ca2+-dependent iCGRP release. MGO, GO, and 3-DG were about equally potent in the millimolar range. We hypothesized that another dicarbonyl, 3,4-dideoxyglucosone-3-ene (3,4-DGE), which is present in peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions after heat sterilization, activates nociceptors. We also showed that at body temperatures 3,4-DGE is formed from 3-DG and that concentrations of 3,4-DGE in the micromolar range effectively induced iCGRP release from isolated murine skin. In a novel preparation of the isolated parietal peritoneum PD fluid or 3,4-DGE alone, at concentrations found in PD solutions, stimulated iCGRP release. We also tested whether inflammatory tissue conditions synergize with dicarbonyls to induce iCGRP release from isolated skin. Application of MGO together with bradykinin or prostaglandin E2 resulted in an overadditive effect on iCGRP release, whereas MGO applied at a pH of 5.2 resulted in reduced release, probably due to an MGO-mediated inhibition of transient receptor potential (TRP) V1 receptors. These results indicate that several reactive dicarbonyls activate nociceptors and potentiate inflammatory mediators. Our findings underline the roles of dicarbonyls and TRPA1 receptors in causing pain during diabetes or renal disease.




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Correction: A dual druggable genome-wide siRNA and compound library screening approach identifies modulators of parkin recruitment to mitochondria. [Additions and Corrections]

VOLUME 295 (2020) PAGES 3285–3300An incorrect graph was used in Fig. 5C. This error has now been corrected. Additionally, some of the statistics reported in the legend and text referring to Fig. 5C were incorrect. The F statistics for Fig. 5C should state Fken(3,16) = 7.454, p < 0.01; FCCCP(1,16) = 102.9, p < 0.0001; Finteraction(3,16) = 7.480, p < 0.01. This correction does not affect the results or conclusions of this work.jbc;295/17/5835/F5F1F5Figure 5C.




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Multi-omic Characterization of the Mode of Action of a Potent New Antimalarial Compound, JPC-3210, Against Plasmodium falciparum [Research]

The increasing incidence of antimalarial drug resistance to the first-line artemisinin combination therapies underpins an urgent need for new antimalarial drugs, ideally with a novel mode of action. The recently developed 2-aminomethylphenol, JPC-3210, (MMV 892646) is an erythrocytic schizonticide with potent in vitro antimalarial activity against multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum lines, low cytotoxicity, potent in vivo efficacy against murine malaria, and favorable preclinical pharmacokinetics including a lengthy plasma elimination half-life. To investigate the impact of JPC-3210 on biochemical pathways within P. falciparum-infected red blood cells, we have applied a "multi-omics" workflow based on high resolution orbitrap mass spectrometry combined with biochemical approaches. Metabolomics, peptidomics and hemoglobin fractionation analyses revealed a perturbation in hemoglobin metabolism following JPC-3210 exposure. The metabolomics data demonstrated a specific depletion of short hemoglobin-derived peptides, peptidomics analysis revealed a depletion of longer hemoglobin-derived peptides, and the hemoglobin fractionation assay demonstrated decreases in hemoglobin, heme and hemozoin levels. To further elucidate the mechanism responsible for inhibition of hemoglobin metabolism, we used in vitro β-hematin polymerization assays and showed JPC-3210 to be an intermediate inhibitor of β-hematin polymerization, about 10-fold less potent then the quinoline antimalarials, such as chloroquine and mefloquine. Further, quantitative proteomics analysis showed that JPC-3210 treatment results in a distinct proteomic signature compared with other known antimalarials. While JPC-3210 clustered closely with mefloquine in the metabolomics and proteomics analyses, a key differentiating signature for JPC-3210 was the significant enrichment of parasite proteins involved in regulation of translation. These studies revealed that the mode of action for JPC-3210 involves inhibition of the hemoglobin digestion pathway and elevation of regulators of protein translation. Importantly, JPC-3210 demonstrated rapid parasite killing kinetics compared with other quinolones, suggesting that JPC-3210 warrants further investigation as a potentially long acting partner drug for malaria treatment.




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The Syrian Pound Signals Economic Deterioration

26 September 2019

Zaki Mehchy

Senior Consulting Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme
The Syrian pound’s volatile exchange rate over the past month is not a short-term monetary crisis. It reflects the destruction of the economic foundations in Syria.

2019-09-26-SyriaBank.jpg

The Syrian Central Bank building in 2008. Photo: Getty Images.

The Syrian currency depreciated by 11% between mid-August and the first week of September, to reach an unprecedented level of SYP692 to the US dollar. According to the government, the main reasons behind this collapse are the international sanctions imposed on Syria and currency speculation.

Accordingly, the government has forced speculators and local foreign exchange companies to sell the US dollar instead of holding it. Moreover, Syrian security agencies have pressured profiteers with close links to the regime to effectively participate in campaigns that support the local currency. Indeed, the Syrian pound appreciated in value in only a few days to reach an average of SYP615 for $1 in the second week of September.

This high volatility in currency prices results in monetary uncertainty among traders, and thus, increases the possibility of other depreciations in the near future.

Currency speculation could be the reason behind the high fluctuations. However, the fall in the exchange rate has been a continuous and steady trend ever since the beginning of the conflict. The Syrian currency is about 13 times less valuable than before conflict, and fell by 20% between January and September 2019. It is therefore more likely that the devaluation reflects a structural deterioration of the Syrian economy.

There are a number of interlinked reasons behind this trend:          

Economic collapse

The conflict in Syria has led to a drastic decline in economic activity. By 2018, the total accumulated economic loss was estimated at about $428 billion, which equaled 6 times Syria’s GDP in 2010. The country’s GDP lost about 65% of its value compared to its level before the war. The conflict has also caused a reallocation of resources to destructive and war-related activities. This drop in economic productivity weighs on the Syrian pound’s stability.       

Dramatic export decline

The total value of Syrian exports contracted from $12.2 billion in 2010 to less than $700 million in 2018, whereas imports declined from $19.7 billion to $4.4 billion during the same period. Thus, the coverage ratio of exports to imports dropped from 62% to 16% in this period, indicating that the government has become very dependent on external trade partners. Almost all import payments are made in foreign currencies, which increases the devaluation pressure on the Syrian pound.

Iran has provided the Syrian regime with credit lines estimated at about $6 billion to import oil and consumer goods from the Islamic Republic. These credit lines do not include all the Iranian financial support to the regime. Iranian oil exports to Syria are estimated at about 2 million barrels a month (a total of around $16 billion during the eight years of conflict). The increasing external debt to Iran, also due to military support, may contribute in stabilizing the Syrian pound for short period, yet it is bound to sustain the devaluation pressure in the long run.      

Damaging monetary policies

Since the beginning of the conflict, the Central Bank of Syria has issued a series of decisions that have contributed to the weakening of the Syrian pound. For instance, until 2015, the bank adopted a policy of selling hard currencies to local foreign exchange companies. This policy depleted their foreign currency reserves by about $1.2 billion, without halting the deterioration of the pound. The bank has also increased the money supply; there is three times the amount of currency in the local market as today compared to before the conflict, causing a surge in inflation and currency devaluation.

The absence of foreign direct investment

Between 2005 and 2010, Syria received an annual average of $1.5 billion as foreign direct investment (FDI); this amount has dropped almost to zero during the years of conflict. Russia and Iran have continued to invest in Syria, mainly in the mining sector, but the conditions of these investments have limited the inflows of foreign currency to Syria. FDI inflows were a major source of hard currency; their absence is an additional driver of currency depreciation.

International sanctions

Many countries have imposed sanctions on various sectors in Syria, including energy and financial transactions. During the last two years, the US has tightened its sanctions by introducing the Caesar law, which aims to isolate the Syrian regime. These sanctions have increased the cost of the Syrian imports and therefore raised demand for foreign currencies. Remittances, estimated at $4.5 million per day as well as foreign investments and exports were also negatively affected, and this has reduced the supply side of hard currencies inside Syria.

Currency speculation

The Syrian regime usually intervenes to manage currency speculation through government agencies and friendly business entities. But such speculations are very difficult to control in Syria given the poor economic conditions, the high level of business uncertainty and the lack of trust in institutions. This has driven the Syrian households, those who did not already lose their savings, to buy gold or hard currencies as safe investments.

The Syrian pound’s depreciation and its high fluctuations reflect the fragile political and economic situation in the country. The government’s improvised decisions have failed to stabilize it, causing a rise in the prices of basic goods. This has left more than 90% of Syria’s population under the poverty line. Long-term stability in exchange rates requires an inclusive and sustainable development strategy, one that would need to be based on an accountable and transparent political landscape. That seems a long way off.




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A simple method for sphingolipid analysis of tissues embedded in optimal cutting temperature compound

Timothy D Rohrbach
Apr 27, 2020; 0:jlr.D120000809v1-jlr.D120000809
Methods




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A simple method for sphingolipid analysis of tissues embedded in optimal cutting temperature compound [Methods]

Mass spectrometry (MS) assisted lipidomic tissue analysis is a valuable tool to assess sphingolipid metabolism dysfunction in disease. These analyses can reveal potential pharmacological targets or direct mechanistic studies to better understand the molecular underpinnings and influence of sphingolipid metabolism alterations on disease etiology. But procuring sufficient human tissues for adequately powered studies can be challenging. Therefore, biorepositories, which hold large collections of cryopreserved human tissues, are an ideal retrospective source of specimens. However, this resource has been vastly underutilized by lipid biologists, as the components of optimal cutting temperature compound (OCT) used in cryopreservation are incompatible with MS analyses. Here, we report results indicating that OCT also interferes with protein quantification assays, and that the presence of OCT impacts the quantification of extracted sphingolipids by LC–ESI–MS/MS. We developed and validated a simple and inexpensive method that removes OCT from OCT-embedded tissues. Our results indicate that removal of OCT from cryopreserved tissues does not significantly affect the accuracy of sphingolipid measurements with LC–ESI–MS/MS. We used the validated method to analyze sphingolipid alterations in tumors compared with normal adjacent uninvolved lung tissues from individuals with lung cancer, and to determine the long-term stability of sphingolipids in OCT-cryopreserved normal lung tissues. We show that lung cancer tumors have significantly altered sphingolipid profiles and that sphingolipids are stable for up to 16 years in OCT-cryopreserved normal lung tissues. This validated sphingolipidomic OCT-removal protocol should be a valuable addition to the lipid biologist’s toolbox.




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Correction: A dual druggable genome-wide siRNA and compound library screening approach identifies modulators of parkin recruitment to mitochondria. [Additions and Corrections]

VOLUME 295 (2020) PAGES 3285–3300An incorrect graph was used in Fig. 5C. This error has now been corrected. Additionally, some of the statistics reported in the legend and text referring to Fig. 5C were incorrect. The F statistics for Fig. 5C should state Fken(3,16) = 7.454, p < 0.01; FCCCP(1,16) = 102.9, p < 0.0001; Finteraction(3,16) = 7.480, p < 0.01. This correction does not affect the results or conclusions of this work.jbc;295/17/5835/F5F1F5Figure 5C.




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Wilson Disease With Novel Compound Heterozygote Mutations in the ATP7B Gene Presenting With Severe Diabetes

OBJECTIVE

To determine the relationship between ATP7B mutations and diabetes in Wilson disease (WD).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A total of 21 exons and exon-intron boundaries of ATP7B were identified by Sanger sequencing.

RESULTS

Two novel compound heterozygous mutations (c.525 dupA/ Val176Serfs*28 and c.2930 C>T/ p.Thr977Met) were detected in ATP7B. After d-penicillamine (D-PCA) therapy, serum aminotransferase and ceruloplasmin levels in this patient were normalized and levels of HbA1c decreased. However, when the patient ceased to use D-PCA due to an itchy skin, serum levels of fasting blood glucose increased. Dimercaptosuccinic acid capsules were prescribed and memory recovered to some extent, which was accompanied by decreased insulin dosage for glucose control by 5 units.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first report of diabetes caused by WD.




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Regression for copula-linked compound distributions with applications in modeling aggregate insurance claims

Peng Shi, Zifeng Zhao.

Source: The Annals of Applied Statistics, Volume 14, Number 1, 357--380.

Abstract:
In actuarial research a task of particular interest and importance is to predict the loss cost for individual risks so that informative decisions are made in various insurance operations such as underwriting, ratemaking and capital management. The loss cost is typically viewed to follow a compound distribution where the summation of the severity variables is stopped by the frequency variable. A challenging issue in modeling such outcomes is to accommodate the potential dependence between the number of claims and the size of each individual claim. In this article we introduce a novel regression framework for compound distributions that uses a copula to accommodate the association between the frequency and the severity variables and, thus, allows for arbitrary dependence between the two components. We further show that the new model is very flexible and is easily modified to account for incomplete data due to censoring or truncation. The flexibility of the proposed model is illustrated using both simulated and real data sets. In the analysis of granular claims data from property insurance, we find substantive negative relationship between the number and the size of insurance claims. In addition, we demonstrate that ignoring the frequency-severity association could lead to biased decision-making in insurance operations.




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A new method for obtaining sharp compound Poisson approximation error estimates for sums of locally dependent random variables

Michael V. Boutsikas, Eutichia Vaggelatou

Source: Bernoulli, Volume 16, Number 2, 301--330.

Abstract:
Let X 1 , X 2 , …, X n be a sequence of independent or locally dependent random variables taking values in ℤ + . In this paper, we derive sharp bounds, via a new probabilistic method, for the total variation distance between the distribution of the sum ∑ i =1 n X i and an appropriate Poisson or compound Poisson distribution. These bounds include a factor which depends on the smoothness of the approximating Poisson or compound Poisson distribution. This “smoothness factor” is of order O( σ −2 ), according to a heuristic argument, where σ 2 denotes the variance of the approximating distribution. In this way, we offer sharp error estimates for a large range of values of the parameters. Finally, specific examples concerning appearances of rare runs in sequences of Bernoulli trials are presented by way of illustration.




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Comment: Empirical Bayes, Compound Decisions and Exchangeability

Eitan Greenshtein, Ya’acov Ritov.

Source: Statistical Science, Volume 34, Number 2, 224--228.

Abstract:
We present some personal reflections on empirical Bayes/ compound decision (EB/CD) theory following Efron (2019). In particular, we consider the role of exchangeability in the EB/CD theory and how it can be achieved when there are covariates. We also discuss the interpretation of EB/CD confidence interval, the theoretical efficiency of the CD procedure, and the impact of sparsity assumptions.




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Christie's Auction House Offers 29-Pound Hunk of Moon for $2.5 Million

The rock crash-landed in the Sahara Desert after a presumed collision chipped it off the lunar surface