pot

Athlete spotlight: Catching up with Greenwood Christian senior Champ McCorkle

McCorkle leads the Class A second-ranked Cougars in scoring (13.7 ppg), rebounding (6.9) and assists (4.2) through 11 games this season.

      




pot

Greenwood Christian wins first Johnson County title, likely will get top spot in Class A

Champ McCorkle notched his 1,000th-career point as the Cougars beat Center Grove for the Johnson County tournament championship.

      




pot

Athlete spotlight: Catching up with Roncalli wrestler Brayden Lowery

Four-time regional champion Brayden Lowery on his love of wrestling, favorite memories, college plans and more

      




pot

You can now find Elvis Presley final-concert plaque amid shiny new spots on Market Street

Elvis Presley fans gather inside new luxury apartment tower 360 Market Square to rededicate 16-year-old plaque previously displaced by construction.

      




pot

Film: Harry Potter Premiere 电影:哈里•波特首映式

Stormy weather couldn't stop Harry Potter and friends from attending and enjoying the premiere of his latest film.




pot

How to get your dog to potty in the snow and cold weather

Oh the joys of dog ownership — like getting your best bud to go to the bathroom in the snow. Here are some ideas.

      




pot

Spot the ball: England win Women's World Cup final in 2017

How good is your eye? Can you pick out the correct ball in these photos of the epic 2017 final?




pot

Coronavirus: What county cricket has to do to potentially return this summer

Northamptonshire club doctor Professor Bill Ribbans tells BBC Look East what cricket must do in order to return this summer.




pot

Coronavirus: Bank holiday warning to avoid beauty spots

Emergency services and other authorities say travel to beaches and national parks will "cost lives".




pot

Project Restart: Your questions answered on sport's potential return

In a BBC Sport special, we answer your questions on the potential return of sport amid the coronavirus pandemic.




pot

Briggs: Don't hate Potbelly for getting coronavirus aid. Congress is the problem.

People are mad because some big companies got loans through a program meant to help mom-and-pop businesses.

       




pot

An unlikely coronavirus hotspot in forgotten US corner

How poverty and economic inequality are threatening an entire generation of African Americans.




pot

‘Bloodshot’ works, if only for the cinematic universe it has the potential to create

Vin Diesel stars as Bloodshot as Valiant Comics finally makes it to the big screen.




pot

Walmart has added virtual reality to its assessment of an employee’s potential

For the past few months, the nation’s largest employer has begun evaluating workers using an experimental tool: virtual reality.




pot

The AFC’s final playoff spot is between the Colts and Ravens and no one else

Even with the Dolphins, Broncos, Bengals and Titans within striking distance, if you are hoping for a dramatic playoff push in the AFC to end the season, bad news: there won’t be any.




pot

Week 14 NFL betting tips: The Cowboys' potential surges while the Packers’ fades

Meanwhile there's not much value left in division title futures, with the Los Angeles Rams (-15000), New Orleans Saints (-3300) and New England Patriots (-5000) are all huge favorites to win their respective divisions.




pot

Harold Baines does not deserve a spot in baseball’s Hall of Fame. Period.

Baines, a six-time all-star, led the league in a batting category just once over a 22-year career. If that' the new bar for the Hall, it's time to talk about Freddy Garcia and Placido Polanco, too. (Note: It should never be time to talk about Freddy Garcia and Placido Polanco.)




pot

‘Real Housewives of Potomac’ star Ashley Darby welcomes a son

The reality TV star wrote that she and her husband, real estate developer Michael Darby, are "savoring every moment."




pot

Kim Kardashian spotted filming at D.C. jail

The reality star and criminal justice reform advocate was in town Tuesday.




pot

4 High-Potential Sectors for AI and ML Startup Success

Today, the explosion of development in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology has created a market for which it appears there’s no limit. No matter the industry, if you name a reasonably-sized (or larger) company, there’s a good chance that they’re investing in AI and ML technology as a cornerstone of their strategic […]

The post 4 High-Potential Sectors for AI and ML Startup Success appeared first on ReadWrite.








pot

Giant Asian ‘Murder Hornets’ Spotted in US for First Time

What one expert called “something out a monster cartoon” has now arrived in the United States. The Asian giant hornet, which can decimate bee colonies and is responsible for 50 deaths a year in Japan, is now in Washington state, according to The New York Times. A new threat reaches the United States: A massive…

The post Giant Asian ‘Murder Hornets’ Spotted in US for First Time appeared first on The Western Journal.




pot

Spotify's new new 'Daily Wellness' playlist is worth a try but has a few flaws

With all the stress in the world — you know, a deadly, terrifying global pandemic — Spotify dropped a new service: a daily, personalized aimed at wellness. Fittingly, it's called Daily Wellness and I gave it a try. 

OK, first, let me drop my biases: I can be a cynical person and I'm pretty high energy — like hyper hyper — which has made meditation difficult for me. I can get both mentally and physically uncomfortable while trying anything resembling meditation or therapy or sincere reflection.

That being said, amid the pandemic — and battling some, let's say, serious anxiety — I've been taking active steps to try to improve my mental health. Therapy, meditation, exercise, whatever else, it all seemed like a good idea to help me get through the day. Read more...

More about Spotify, Meditation, Playlists, Self Care, and Coronavirus




pot

Newsroom: US Spotify Listeners Surpassed Pandora Listeners in 2019, Sooner than Expected

Spotify will gain more than 10 million US listeners in 2020   February 25, 2020 (New York, NY) – Pandora is no longer the most popular music streaming service in the […]




pot

Mechanistic insights explain the transforming potential of the T507K substitution in the protein-tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 [Signal Transduction]

The protein-tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 is an allosteric enzyme critical for cellular events downstream of growth factor receptors. Mutations in the SHP2 gene have been linked to many different types of human diseases, including developmental disorders, leukemia, and solid tumors. Unlike most SHP2-activating mutations, the T507K substitution in SHP2 is unique in that it exhibits oncogenic Ras-like transforming activity. However, the biochemical basis of how the SHP2/T507K variant elicits transformation remains unclear. By combining kinetic and biophysical methods, X-ray crystallography, and molecular modeling, as well as using cell biology approaches, here we uncovered that the T507K substitution alters both SHP2 substrate specificity and its allosteric regulatory mechanism. We found that although SHP2/T507K exists in the closed, autoinhibited conformation similar to the WT enzyme, the interactions between its N-SH2 and protein-tyrosine phosphatase domains are weakened such that SHP2/T507K possesses a higher affinity for the scaffolding protein Grb2-associated binding protein 1 (Gab1). We also discovered that the T507K substitution alters the structure of the SHP2 active site, resulting in a change in SHP2 substrate preference for Sprouty1, a known negative regulator of Ras signaling and a potential tumor suppressor. Our results suggest that SHP2/T507K's shift in substrate specificity coupled with its preferential association of SHP2/T507K with Gab1 enable the mutant SHP2 to more efficiently dephosphorylate Sprouty1 at pTyr-53. This dephosphorylation hyperactivates Ras signaling, which is likely responsible for SHP2/T507K's Ras-like transforming activity.




pot

By enabling formal trade, Nigeria can unleash its vast potential

3 December 2015

Nigeria’s booming informal trade is costly for society, business and government, yet a critical opportunity exists to formalize such trade and drive more sustainable and less volatile growth, argues a new report from Chatham House.

According to one estimate, informal activity accounts for up to 64 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP. Nigeria's Booming Borders: The Drivers and Consequences of Unrecorded Trade finds that this is a result of obstacles that impede trading through formal channels. These drivers include bureaucratic burdens and other factors, such as:

  • The need for Nigerian businesses to produce at least nine documents in order to send an export shipment and at least 13 in order to bring in an import consignment.
  • Rigid and dysfunctional foreign-exchange regulations that push most smaller traders into the incompletely regulated parallel exchange market.
  • Corruption and unofficial ‘taxation’, especially on major border highways, which delegitimize formal channels and encourage the use of smuggling routes.

As a result, the state loses direct tax revenues that would be generated by formal cross-border trade. This is not just siphoned into the informal economy; some is lost entirely. For example, many shippers opt to dock in neighbouring countries rather than deal with the expense and difficulty of using Nigeria’s ports.

Informal trade also undermines the social contract between the private sector and government. The state lacks tax revenues to pay its officials, improve infrastructure or implement reforms, while traders feel the government provides no services in return for any taxes they might pay.

‘Every day tens of thousands of unofficial payments are made, none destined for the government. Policy-makers need to create an environment that encourages trade to flow through formal channels and capture lost revenue’, says co-author Leena Koni Hoffmann.

‘Formalization would assist Nigeria to pursue more high-quality, high-tech economic activity at a time when rising labour costs in Asia are creating scope for Nigerian manufacturers to compete’, she adds.

The report makes a number of recommendations for how Nigeria could encourage more formal trade, including:

  • Strengthening the resources and capacity of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to coordinate action across key government ministries, departments and agencies, as well as public and private stakeholders.
  • Prioritizing engagement in the development of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trade policies and fully implementing the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons to reduce harassment at borders.
  • Allowing banks to operate simple services for small and medium-sized businesses to make trade payments directly from Nigerian naira to CFA francs and vice versa.
  • Improving basic facilities that support traders, including improving the efficiency of border posts, installing truck parks and all-weather surfacing on market access roads, and introducing online booking for trucks to enter ports.
  • Separating responsibilities for assessing duty and tariff liabilities from revenue collection in order to reduce opportunities for corruption, an approach already tested with success by the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service.
  • Increasing funding and technical support for the National Bureau of Statistics, which has a significant role to play in measuring and capturing more of Nigeria’s external trade.

Interviews conducted for the report reveal that business people would welcome the opportunity to pay taxes, but only if they received assurance that these payments would represent a contract with government guaranteeing that conditions for business would be improved.

‘As Africa’s largest economy, formalizing external trade would allow Nigeria to fulfil its potential as the trading engine of the West and Central African economy and shape the business landscape across the region,’ says co-author Paul Melly.

Editor's notes

  • Read Nigeria's Booming Borders: the Drivers and Consequences of Unrecorded Trade (embargoed until 17:00 GMT on Monday 7 December).
  • To request an interview with the authors, contact the press office.
  • Nigeria’s recorded external trade for 2014 was $135.8 billion.
  • Estimate of informal activity as a percentage of GDP from Jonathan Emenike Ogbuabor and Victor A. Malaolu, ‘Size and Causes of the Informal Sector of the Nigerian Economy: Evidence from Error Correction Mimic Model’, Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2013.

Contacts

Press Office

+44 (0)20 7957 5739




pot

Realizing TTIP’s Strategic Potential

14 July 2016

The strategic case for TTIP is greater – and the stakes higher – now that the UK has decided to leave the EU. But TTIP will create new risks for the West whether it succeeds or fails.

Gregor Irwin

Chief economist, Global Counsel

2016-07-14-ttip.jpg

The container ship Osaka Express, operated by Hapag-Lloyd AG, leaves the container terminal at the port in Southampton, UK, on 2 October 2015. Photo: Getty Images.

Summary

  • The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – currently being negotiated between the United States and the European Union – represents a bolder and riskier approach to liberalizing trade than traditional trade deals. It is bolder because it aims to cover a wide range of policy issues that are not typically included, and because it aims to be strategic and extraterritorial in its impact. It is riskier because of the difficulty in getting agreement on these issues between the parties concerned, and because the responses of other countries are uncertain.
  • EU and US negotiators have much work to do if a deal is to be reached that realizes TTIP’s full potential. While progress has been made on tariff reduction, considerable ground still needs to be covered on setting standards and regulations affecting trade, which is where TTIP has the most potential to make an impact at a strategic level. Meanwhile, trade scepticism is rising on both sides of the Atlantic, with concerns about the impact of deals like TTIP on jobs and regulatory standards. The negotiation process is also now complicated by the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU. Making a clear and credible strategic case for TTIP may be necessary if the negotiations are to continue and be successful.
  • If the United States and the EU are able to agree on the regulations and standards affecting international trade, they will have the scale to define these globally for years to come. International leadership in this area brings commercial advantages and benefits for consumers in the EU and the United States, and it also often is a global public good. However, it sometimes pits EU and US interests against those of other countries, creating scope for conflict over policies in areas such as the rules governing state-owned enterprises.
  • There would be benefits to the United Kingdom, the EU and the United States if the United Kingdom joins TTIP once it is agreed. In the intervening period, it makes sense for the United Kingdom to participate actively in EU decisions regarding TTIP while still a member of the EU, as this could help to smooth an eventual British accession to the partnership.
  • The soft-power benefits from TTIP are potentially substantial, but they would only be maximized if other strategically important countries, such as Turkey, are able to join. Perhaps the clearest sign of TTIP being likely to meet or exceed the highest ambitions for its strategic impact would be if it has an even broader geographical reach, drawing in countries in other regions.
  • The potential security benefits from TTIP are marginal and overhyped. The benefits that unity on trade would bring to transatlantic security are intangible and hard to substantiate. The energy security benefits are likely to be limited, as the volumes of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to the EU are likely to be small. If the EU and the United States are serious about using TTIP to improve security, they should include defence procurement, but this has never been on the agenda.
  • Not only do the differences between the EU and the United States mean that it will be difficult to get a deal, they also constrain how any deal would be implemented and exploited for strategic purposes. If TTIP is to succeed at a strategic level, both sides must be disciplined, consistent and coordinated in using it as the reference point in their negotiations with other countries. 
  • The United States is more capable of acting strategically than the EU, in part because of the difficulties for EU member states in coalescing around a shared set of strategic objectives. Until the EU is able to do this, the United States is likely to have much more influence over the strategic direction of TTIP. If the EU wants to bridge this gap, then the European Council should start by reaching a political agreement on its objectives and priorities for bringing other countries into TTIP.
  • There are also strategic risks from TTIP. One is that by emphasizing the values that are reflected in international rules, the EU and the United States could make it harder for other countries to accept these rules, or make TTIP seem like an attempt to reassert the old world order. Thus, instead of having a magnetic effect, TTIP could create a rift with emerging countries, with some choosing to maintain a distance for political reasons.
  • The bigger risk for TTIP, however, is failure. If negotiations break down or a deal is reached that falls short of the ambition set for it, this would send a damaging signal to the rest of the world about the inability of the EU and the United States to work together. The damage would be all the greater if the process was acrimonious, or if it exposed US indifference to Europe or latent anti-Americanism in the EU. The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU raises the stakes, particularly for the latter, as it is a blow to the international credibility of the EU. Agreeing TTIP would help to offset this blow, while failure would amplify it.




pot

For a US Trade Deal, UK Should Secure Its Spot in TTIP After Brexit

25 August 2016

Marianne Schneider-Petsinger

Senior Research Fellow, US and the Americas Programme
Having Britain as an additional party to a US−EU free-trade agreement would benefit all sides.

2016-08-25-UnionNY.jpg

A Union flag hangs in the window of a British grocery store in New York City. Photo by Getty Images.

Even though President Barack Obama cautioned that the UK would be at the ‘back of the queue’ for a trade agreement with the US if the country chose to leave the EU, in the post-Brexit world a deal might be struck more swiftly. Various ideas for bringing the UK and US into a formal trade arrangement have been floated – ranging from a bilateral UK-US trade deal, or the UK joining NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico), to the UK becoming a part of the TPP (the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the US is pursuing with 11 other countries along the Pacific Rim). However, one option stands out: opening the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which the US and EU are currently negotiating, to the UK after Brexit.

Good reasons for Britain in TTIP

First, from the perspective of the UK, signing up to TTIP would mean a more comprehensive deal with the US than a bilateral UK−US trade agreement. For instance, Britain is very keen to include financial services regulation in any trade agreement with America, but given Washington’s reluctance, this ambition might only be achievable if other countries like France and Germany throw their financial weight into the negotiations.

Second, continuing involvement in the TTIP negotiations allows London to begin securing its trade position with the US now. Though its influence in the EU may weaken as it heads for the exit, Britain could make the best use of influencing the EU position on TTIP while it is still a member. It could then accept the terms of TTIP and accede as a third party relatively quickly after exiting the EU. Official negotiations on a UK−US-only deal would have to wait until the UK has left the EU, as trade talks fall under the exclusive competence of the EU.

Third, for the US and EU, having the UK as a party to TTIP would ensure the scale of the deal is not reduced, and thereby maintain the strategic appeal and ability to set global standards. At the moment, the UK is the EU’s second-largest economy, accounting for approximately 18 per cent of GDP. With Britain in TTIP, the sheer size of the transatlantic market space will have more pull for other countries to adopt the common transatlantic rules in order to gain market access.

Fourth, the UK joining TTIP as a third party would establish the agreement as an ‘open platform’ that is available for other countries to join. Michael Froman, the United States trade representative, has characterized TTIP as being such an open agreement. EU representatives have been more ambivalent, though this is starting to change in the wake of Brexit. David O’Sullivan, the current EU ambassador to the US, recently said that as ‘we’ve always seen TTIP as a potential open platform, [the] UK could still benefit [from it] even not as a member of the European Union’. While now might not be the right time to expand the TTIP bloc beyond its original participants given that negotiations are already complex and drawn out, it would be beneficial for the negotiating partners to send a strong message that countries that are willing and able to commit to the high TTIP standards will be welcomed later on.

Obstacles to Britain in TTIP

But before the UK could be added to TTIP after Brexit, major hurdles will have to be jumped and crucial questions answered. The first obstacle is actually getting a TTIP deal, which will require significant efforts by political leaders and negotiators on both sides of the Atlantic.

Second, selling the ‘UK in TTIP option’ to Brexiteers will not be an easy task. After all, Leave campaigners argued that the US−EU deal might undermine the NHS and was thus presented as one of the reasons to cut loose from Brussels. As the major rationale behind TTIP is regulatory harmonization, if the UK were to sign up to TTIP it would still have to apply many EU rules. This, however, would go counter to the arguments for leaving the EU in the first place.

Third, it will be a challenging job for the UK to untangle its trade relationship with the EU while at the same time negotiating TTIP together with the EU. It would be easiest if the UK decided to remain a member of the EU customs union. Britain would then be required to impose the EU’s external tariffs on countries like the US. This would fit seamlessly with the ‘UK in TTIP’ option. But as the UK will most likely pull out of the customs union, it will be more complicated than that.

Finally, the timing of Brexit and the TTIP negotiations could cause complications. In the unlikely event that a US-EU free trade deal is concluded and ratified while the UK is still a member of the EU, the agreement (or the parts of it that fall under national competence) would most likely continue to apply to Britain after Brexit without the need for accession. If the TTIP negotiations continue beyond Brexit, then the UK would move from negotiating as part of the EU bloc to becoming a third party. This raises the issue of whether the UK and EU continue to negotiate as one bloc vis-à-vis the US.

Special economic relationship

Still, the depth of the economic ties between the US and UK means that the TTIP option is likely to be welcomed favourably by both countries. The US is the most important single export market for the UK, with goods and services worth £45 billion shipped in 2015. Last year, the US ranked third (after Germany and China) as a source for UK imports. With nearly $1 trillion invested in each other’s economies, the US and the UK are also each other’s largest investors. Given this special economic relationship, Britain is unlikely to be at the ‘back of the queue’ in any event. But the TTIP option is the best path to preserving and strengthening the relationship post-Brexit while also realizing the wider strategic benefits of a transatlantic trade agreement.

A version of this article appeared on Real Clear World.

To comment on this article, please contact Chatham House Feedback




pot

Mechanistic insights explain the transforming potential of the T507K substitution in the protein-tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 [Signal Transduction]

The protein-tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 is an allosteric enzyme critical for cellular events downstream of growth factor receptors. Mutations in the SHP2 gene have been linked to many different types of human diseases, including developmental disorders, leukemia, and solid tumors. Unlike most SHP2-activating mutations, the T507K substitution in SHP2 is unique in that it exhibits oncogenic Ras-like transforming activity. However, the biochemical basis of how the SHP2/T507K variant elicits transformation remains unclear. By combining kinetic and biophysical methods, X-ray crystallography, and molecular modeling, as well as using cell biology approaches, here we uncovered that the T507K substitution alters both SHP2 substrate specificity and its allosteric regulatory mechanism. We found that although SHP2/T507K exists in the closed, autoinhibited conformation similar to the WT enzyme, the interactions between its N-SH2 and protein-tyrosine phosphatase domains are weakened such that SHP2/T507K possesses a higher affinity for the scaffolding protein Grb2-associated binding protein 1 (Gab1). We also discovered that the T507K substitution alters the structure of the SHP2 active site, resulting in a change in SHP2 substrate preference for Sprouty1, a known negative regulator of Ras signaling and a potential tumor suppressor. Our results suggest that SHP2/T507K's shift in substrate specificity coupled with its preferential association of SHP2/T507K with Gab1 enable the mutant SHP2 to more efficiently dephosphorylate Sprouty1 at pTyr-53. This dephosphorylation hyperactivates Ras signaling, which is likely responsible for SHP2/T507K's Ras-like transforming activity.




pot

Disruption of endoplasmic reticulum structure and integrity in lipotoxic cell death

Nica M. Borradaile
Dec 1, 2006; 47:2726-2737
Research Articles




pot

Thematic review series: The Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis The oxidation hypothesis of atherogenesis: the role of oxidized phospholipids and HDL

Mohamad Navab
Jun 1, 2004; 45:993-1007
Thematic Reviews




pot

Harnessing the Potential of Cities

Corporate Members Event

13 December 2019 - 12:30pm to 2:00pm

Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

Event participants

Penny Abeywardena, Commissioner for International Affairs, New York City

Chair: Dr Beyza Unal, Senior Research Fellow, International Security Department, Chatham House

Cities are strong engines of growth and job creation accounting for some 85 per cent of global GDP. By 2030, more than 60 per cent of people worldwide will live in cities and they will be on the front lines of managing issues transcending borders such as climate, migration and sustainability. International organizations like the United Nations are striving to meet these challenges but relying on traditional multilateral agreements is growing ever more unpredictable. If cities and local governments are key to global prosperity, how can their power and influence be harnessed to accelerate impact for their citizens?

Drawing on the pioneering work of New York City in the area of foreign policy leadership at a municipal level, Penny Abeywardena will discuss how the influence of subnational leadership and diplomacy is more important than ever as national governments are abdicating their responsibility at the multilateral level. How can the Sustainable Development Goals be localized among cities on policy issues that impact communities? And what can large cities, beyond the capital, do to remain influential and harness job growth?

 This event will be preceded by an informal sandwich reception from 12.30pm-1pm. The roundtable discussion to follow will take place from 1pm-2pm.

This event is corporate members only.  If you'd like to attend, please RSVP to Linda Bedford.

To enable as open a debate as possible, this event will be held under the Chatham House Rule.

Members Events Team




pot

Britain’s Soft Power Potential: In Conversation with Penny Mordaunt




pot

COP26 Diplomatic Briefing: Climate Ambition in Europe and its Potential Global Impact

17 February 2020 - 8:30am to 10:00am

Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

Jacob Werksman, Principal Adviser to Directorate General for Climate Action, European Commission
Imke Lübbeke, Head of EU Climate and Energy Policy, WWF European Policy Office 
Simon Petrie, Head of International Climate Strategy - Europe, UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Jen Austin, Policy Director, We Mean Business Coalition
Chair: Jill Duggan, Associate Fellow, Chatham House

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has declared that she wants Europe to become ‘the first climate-neutral continent by 2050’, and in December 2019, the Commission presented the European Green Deal in order to achieve this objective. However, even though greenhouse gas emissions from the EU have fallen by more than 20 per cent since 1990, the Union remains the third largest emitter in the world, after the United States and China.

What are the opportunities and challenges for raising climate ambition in Europe?  Will the EU increase its Nationally Determined Contribution and what impact might this have globally? How might Brexit affect climate action in the EU and the UK?  The second event in the Chatham House COP26 Diplomatic Briefing Series will address these critical questions.

Anna Aberg

Research Analyst, Energy, Environment and Resources Programme
020 7314 3629




pot

Wildlife through the window: what readers have spotted during lockdown

We asked Guardian readers living in cities and towns across the world to share their images of the wildlife they can see from their homes. You answered in your droves, from Canada to Cardiff, and here are some of the best.




pot

CBD News: Statement by the Executive Secretary, Ahmed Djoghlaf, on "Climate Change, REDD and Biodiversity" on the occasion of the International Expert Meeting on Potential Impacts of "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degrada




pot

CBD Communiqué : CNN International Spotlights Biodiversity.




pot

CBD News: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has welcomed the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ for its potential to contribute both to climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation.




pot

CBD News: On the International Day for Biological Diversity, celebrated under the theme of Island Biodiversity, islands are taking action to effectively conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable livelihoods. These actions, or "Bright Spots,"




pot

CBD News: A new report from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity discusses the potential for synthetic biology to have both positive and negative impacts on biodiversity and looks at the role and adequacy of existing risk assessment a




pot

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




pot

Unlocking HK’s business potential

To counter our adverse economic conditions, I have unveiled four sets of relief measures since last August. Totalling some $25 billion, the funds are focused on supporting businesses and lightening the burden weighing on the people of Hong Kong.

 

Meanwhile, we will continue to reach out to the community. Through wide-ranging dialogue communication and the pursuit of policies that address the deep-seated issues at the heart of our divide, I am hopeful that together we will find a path to peace and prosperity.

 

From an economic perspective, there is reason for optimism. I am heartened by the confidence private equity investors have shown in us. In the third quarter of 2019, some 560 private equity companies here managed US$153 billion.

 

We have nearly 50 more private equity (PE) firms based here when compared with the previous quarter. Among the world's top 10 PE fund managers, nine have a presence here in Hong Kong. That, ladies and gentlemen, underlines Hong Kong's formidable strengths in the Asian PE market. In that we trail only Mainland.

 

By channelling capital into corporations and startups in the innovation and technology field, PE and VC (venture capital) funds may well become as important as banks and IPO markets one day.

 

This Government is determined to help unlock the vast potential of the asset and wealth management business, because we believe you are critical to ensuring Hong Kong's status as one of the world's leading financial centres.

 

Fund-service centre 

That is why we have been stepping up efforts to sharpen Hong Kong's competitive edge on asset and wealth management through a multi-pronged approach including: (a) diversifying our fund structures and streamlining the licensing process to encourage fund formation; (b) adopting a more user-friendly approach to attract family offices; (c) providing a more facilitative tax environment for funds; and (d) expanding our fund distribution network through deepening our mutual access arrangements with other major financial markets.

 

On fund structure, the long-awaited, limited-partnership fund regime is close to reality, thanks in part to your favourable feedback. Indeed, we are now developing the necessary legislation. Because of the current filibustering at the Legislative Council, the tabling of the legislation got a little delayed, but it remains our top policy priority for the rest of this year to put this forward.

 

We are confident that the new regime will attract PE and VC funds, and we count on your support for that. With the new regime in place, we aim to bring in as many offshore funds as possible onshore to Hong Kong. We are well positioned to capture the opportunity arising from what happened on the international front over tax base erosion. This is mutually beneficial to Hong Kong as a fund hub and also the PE industry at large as you search for a new home for the funds you manage.

 

PE and VC funds, whether onshore or offshore, have enjoyed a profits tax exemption since last April. A tax-exempt fund can invest in local and overseas private companies. Hong Kong, by now, has a tax regime at fund level that is competitive and caters to the needs of the PE industry. I fully understand that resolving the tax issues at fund level is not enough in itself. It is of even greater importance to tackle head-on the tax arrangement for investment managers. This is a hard nut to crack, but one that I am determined to look into and come up with solutions that will strengthen Hong Kong's position as a leading fund hub with one of the most competitive tax arrangements for investment managers in the PE industry.

 

The significance of the limited partnership fund regime in completing Hong Kong's fund manufacturing infrastructure is underpinned by its precursor - the open-ended fund company regime. Since its operation in July 2018, a number of open-ended fund companies have sprouted. The SFC (Securities & Futures Commission) is also looking into how to make the regime more business-friendly to facilitate the take-up.

 

In short, the Government and our regulators are committed to developing Hong Kong into a full-fledged fund-service centre.

 

We are equally intent on expanding our fund-distribution network. We continue to expand our Mutual Recognition of Funds arrangements. Last year, Luxembourg and the Netherlands joined existing partners, the Mainland, Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom. More international partnerships will follow.

 

Family offices
Hong Kong is also an ideal location for the establishment of family offices, and we are boosting our promotional efforts in this regard.

 

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and InvestHK will provide comprehensive services to attract family offices to Hong Kong. The SFC has also recently issued licensing guidance for PE firms and family offices. This will enhance clarity and would help address the industry's concerns.

 

Without a steady flow of talented professionals, of course, we will not be able to cash in on all the opportunities there for us. That is why the Government's Pilot Programme to Enhance Talent Training for the Asset & Wealth Management Sector has been supporting the industry since 2016.

 

I encourage you to offer exposure, opportunity and jobs for our youth. To give them a stake in the society through the programme.

 

Business bridge 

Zooming out a bit, the Government will continue to boost Hong Kong's singular advantage as the business and financial bridge between international markets and investors and their counterparts on the Mainland.

 

To that end, we continue to emphasise the established channels - our Stock Connects, Bond Connect and the Mutual Recognition of Funds arrangements. We will also strengthen our position as the global offshore Renminbi business hub.

 

Then there is the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development, and the extraordinary opportunity that it presents to Hong Kong.

 

With a GDP in excess of US$1.6 trillion and more than 70 million prosperous consumers, the Greater Bay Area presents vast potential for the asset and wealth management sector. For each and every one of you. The establishment of a Greater Bay Area wealth-management connect scheme, which was, as you know, recently announced, will go a long way towards realising that promise.

 

Our regulators are working out the details with their counterparts on the Mainland, and we will keep you posted and we are determined to push that forward as soon as possible. 

 

Financial Secretary Paul Chan gave these remarks at the Asia Private Equity Forum 2020 on January 15.





pot

From Newton to Boltzmann: Hard Spheres and Short-Range Potentials

Isabelle Gallagher, Universite Paris Diderot, Laure Saint-Raymond, Ecole Normale Superieure, and Benjamin Texier, Universite Paris Diderot - A publication of the European Mathematical Society, 2014, 150 pp., Softcover, ISBN-13: 978-3-03719-129-3, List: US$38, All AMS Members: US$30.40, EMSZLEC/18

The question addressed in this monograph is the relationship between the time-reversible Newton dynamics for a system of particles interacting via...




pot

Brazilian and Indian scientists produce crystal with many potential applications

(Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) Thanks to its magnetic properties, the material -- zinc-doped manganese chromite -- can be used in a range of products, from gas sensors to data storage devices.




pot

Extreme ultraviolet imaging displays potential to enhance study of Alzheimer's disease

(University of Southampton) Scientists have published highly detailed images of lab-grown neurons using Extreme Ultraviolet radiation that could aid the analysis of neurodegenerative diseases.




pot

Mechanistic insights explain the transforming potential of the T507K substitution in the protein-tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 [Signal Transduction]

The protein-tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 is an allosteric enzyme critical for cellular events downstream of growth factor receptors. Mutations in the SHP2 gene have been linked to many different types of human diseases, including developmental disorders, leukemia, and solid tumors. Unlike most SHP2-activating mutations, the T507K substitution in SHP2 is unique in that it exhibits oncogenic Ras-like transforming activity. However, the biochemical basis of how the SHP2/T507K variant elicits transformation remains unclear. By combining kinetic and biophysical methods, X-ray crystallography, and molecular modeling, as well as using cell biology approaches, here we uncovered that the T507K substitution alters both SHP2 substrate specificity and its allosteric regulatory mechanism. We found that although SHP2/T507K exists in the closed, autoinhibited conformation similar to the WT enzyme, the interactions between its N-SH2 and protein-tyrosine phosphatase domains are weakened such that SHP2/T507K possesses a higher affinity for the scaffolding protein Grb2-associated binding protein 1 (Gab1). We also discovered that the T507K substitution alters the structure of the SHP2 active site, resulting in a change in SHP2 substrate preference for Sprouty1, a known negative regulator of Ras signaling and a potential tumor suppressor. Our results suggest that SHP2/T507K's shift in substrate specificity coupled with its preferential association of SHP2/T507K with Gab1 enable the mutant SHP2 to more efficiently dephosphorylate Sprouty1 at pTyr-53. This dephosphorylation hyperactivates Ras signaling, which is likely responsible for SHP2/T507K's Ras-like transforming activity.




pot

Astronomers could spot life signs orbiting long-dead stars

(Cornell University) To help future scientists make sense of what their telescopes are showing them, Cornell University astronomers have developed a spectral field guide for rocky worlds orbiting white dwarf stars.