Zoetis marked the completion of a 19,000-square-foot, three-story expansion at its manufacturing site in Lincoln, Nebraska.

•Fifteen new disruptive projects and startups from Belgium, China, France, India, South Africa and the U.S. join the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab accelerator program •New incubator and fab lab partners including Centech in Canada and OuiCrea in China will empower early stage projects from the outset •Since 2015, the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab has evaluated nearly 500 projects and grown its network of mentors to 1,200

The EU is considering a broader mandate for the EBRD, and its president, Sir Suma Chakrabarti, believes its model would work in sub-Saharan Africa.

Uruguay-based Zonamerica has successfully expanded into Colombia and China, and is now looking to export its model to other parts of Asia and Africa.

Ireland is set to add 5.8 GW of non-hydro renewable power capacity over the next decade to reach a total 9.6 GW by 2030.

ComEd sees a significant role for energy storage on Illinois’ electric grid as the state works toward realizing its ambitious renewable goals.

Ireland is set to add 5.8 GW of non-hydro renewable power capacity over the next decade to reach a total 9.6 GW by 2030.

ComEd sees a significant role for energy storage on Illinois’ electric grid as the state works toward realizing its ambitious renewable goals.

As more intermittent renewable capacity is added to grid networks around the world, the need for greater system flexibility in order to cope with the variable supply is growing. In parts of the Europe, grid operators complain that balancing the system is becoming more and more difficult as new renewable sources are added, requiring ever more complex management techniques, as well as repeated use of polluting and inefficient standby capacity. Surges of solar and wind power are often not fully utilised, causing some to question the wisdom of adding further variable renewable capacity.

ComEd sees a significant role for energy storage on Illinois’ electric grid as the state works toward realizing its ambitious renewable goals.

Ireland is set to add 5.8 GW of non-hydro renewable power capacity over the next decade to reach a total 9.6 GW by 2030.

By James H. Spencer, Sumeet Saksena, and Jefferson Fox HONOLULU (1 April 2020)—The current COVID-19 pandemic, which started in Wuhan, China, underscores what the public health community has warned about for more than two decades—the risk of viral diseases capable of spreading from animal to human hosts. The first outbreaks of “bird flu” (highly pathogenic avian influenza―HPAI, subtype H5N1) raised similar concerns 20 years ago―concerns that have persisted with the outbreak of SARS in 2002–2004 and COVID-19 today. New outbreaks of avian influenza are also still occurring in poultry and humans, primarily in Asia but also in other parts of the world.

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

Approved project 50193-003 in India.

Last month marked the third anniversary of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) memorandum directing Federal agencies with more than $100 million in annual research and development (R&D) expenditures to develop plans for increasing public access to the results of the research they support, including scholarly publications. As a result of this directive, in 2015, PMC started providing support as a public access repository for funding agencies beyond the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

As of March 2015, the following additional agencies are using the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system to facilitate the deposit in PMC of peer-reviewed manuscripts that fall under their public access policies:

• Agency for Healthcare Research Quality (AHRQ/HHS)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC/HHS),
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA/HHS),
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Additionally, the following additional HHS and other federal agencies have announced public access plans and committed to using PMC as the repository for agency-funded publications:

• Administration for Community Living (ACL/HHS)
• Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR/HHS)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

PMC will continue to update the list of participating funding agencies at Public Access and PMC as these agencies begin implementation of their policies.

More information about the current status of public access expansion as a result of the OSTP memo can be found on the White House blog.

This first-in-human phase I study evaluated the pharmacokinetics, safety, and preliminary efficacy of telisotuzumab, formerly called ABT-700, an antagonistic antibody directed against c-Met. For dose escalation (3+3 design), 3 to 6 patients with advanced solid tumors were enrolled into four dose cohorts (5–25 mg/kg). In the dose-expansion phase, a subset of patients was prospectively selected for MET amplification (FISH screening). Patients received telisotuzumab intravenously on day 1 every 21 days. For dose expansion, 15 mg/kg was chosen as the dose on the basis of safety, pharmacokinetics, and other data from the escalation cohorts. Forty-five patients were enrolled and received at least one dose of telisotuzumab (dose escalation, n = 15; dose expansion, n = 30). Telisotuzumab showed a linear pharmacokinetics profile; peak plasma concentration was proportional to dose level. There were no acute infusion reactions and no dose-limiting toxicities were observed. The most common treatment-related adverse events included hypoalbuminemia (n = 9, 20.0%) and fatigue (n = 5, 11.1%). By Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST), 4 of 10 (40.0%) patients with MET-amplified tumors had confirmed partial response in target lesions (one ovarian, two gastric, and one esophageal), two (20.0%) had stable disease, three (30.0%) had progressive disease; one patient was unable to be evaluated. Among patients with nonamplified tumors (n = 35), no objective responses were observed; however, 11 patients had stable disease per RECIST criteria. In conclusion, telisotuzumab has an acceptable safety profile with clinical activity observed in patients with MET-amplified advanced solid tumors.

ABSTRACT

Candida auris has emerged globally as a multidrug-resistant yeast that can spread via nosocomial transmission. An initial phylogenetic study of isolates from Japan, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Venezuela revealed four populations (clades I, II, III, and IV) corresponding to these geographic regions. Since this description, C. auris has been reported in more than 30 additional countries. To trace this global emergence, we compared the genomes of 304 C. auris isolates from 19 countries on six continents. We found that four predominant clades persist across wide geographic locations. We observed phylogeographic mixing in most clades; clade IV, with isolates mainly from South America, demonstrated the strongest phylogeographic substructure. C. auris isolates from two clades with opposite mating types were detected contemporaneously in a single health care facility in Kenya. We estimated a Bayesian molecular clock phylogeny and dated the origin of each clade within the last 360 years; outbreak-causing clusters from clades I, III, and IV originated 36 to 38 years ago. We observed high rates of antifungal resistance in clade I, including four isolates resistant to all three major classes of antifungals. Mutations that contribute to resistance varied between the clades, with Y132F in ERG11 as the most widespread mutation associated with azole resistance and S639P in FKS1 for echinocandin resistance. Copy number variants in ERG11 predominantly appeared in clade III and were associated with fluconazole resistance. These results provide a global context for the phylogeography, population structure, and mechanisms associated with antifungal resistance in C. auris.

IMPORTANCE In less than a decade, C. auris has emerged in health care settings worldwide; this species is capable of colonizing skin and causing outbreaks of invasive candidiasis. In contrast to other Candida species, C. auris is unique in its ability to spread via nosocomial transmission and its high rates of drug resistance. As part of the public health response, whole-genome sequencing has played a major role in characterizing transmission dynamics and detecting new C. auris introductions. Through a global collaboration, we assessed genome evolution of isolates of C. auris from 19 countries. Here, we described estimated timing of the expansion of each C. auris clade and of fluconazole resistance, characterized discrete phylogeographic population structure of each clade, and compared genome data to sensitivity measurements to describe how antifungal resistance mechanisms vary across the population. These efforts are critical for a sustained, robust public health response that effectively utilizes molecular epidemiology.

BACKGROUND:

Medicaid plays a critical role during the perinatal period, but pregnancy-related Medicaid eligibility only extends for 60 days post partum. In 2014, the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) Medicaid expansions increased adult Medicaid eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level in participating states, allowing eligible new mothers to remain covered after pregnancy-related coverage expires. We investigate the impact of ACA Medicaid expansions on insurance coverage among new mothers living in poverty.

OBJECTIVE

Diabetes is a chronic health condition contributing to a substantial burden of disease. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 10.9 million people were newly insured by Medicaid between 2013 and 2016. Considering this coverage expansion, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could significantly affect people with diabetes in their management of the disease. This study evaluates the impact of the Medicaid expansion under the ACA on diabetes management.

As an alternative to lifelong insulin supplementation, potentiation of immune tolerance in patients with type 1 diabetes could prevent the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic islet β-cells. This study was aimed to assess whether the G3c monoclonal antibody (mAb), which triggers the glucocorticoid-induced TNFR-related (Gitr) costimulatory receptor, promotes the expansion of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in SV129 (wild-type) and diabetic-prone NOD mice. The delivery of the G3c mAb via G3C hybridoma cells enveloped in alginate-based microcapsules (G3C/cps) for 3 weeks induced Foxp3⁺ Treg-cell expansion in the spleen of wild-type mice but not in Gitr^–/– mice. G3C/cps also induced the expansion of nonconventional Cd4⁺Cd25^–/lowFoxp3^lowGitr^int/high (GITR single-positive [sp]) Tregs. Both Cd4⁺Cd25⁺Gitr^highFoxp3⁺ and GITRsp Tregs (including also antigen-specific cells) were expanded in the spleen and pancreas of G3C/cps-treated NOD mice, and the number of intact islets was higher in G3C/cps-treated than in empty cps-treated and untreated animals. Consequently, all but two G3C/cps-treated mice did not develop diabetes and all but one survived until the end of the 24-week study. In conclusion, long-term Gitr triggering induces Treg expansion, thereby delaying/preventing diabetes development in NOD mice. This therapeutic approach may have promising clinical potential for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

HER2-targeted therapies are approved only for HER2-positive breast and gastric cancers. We assessed the safety/tolerability and activity of the novel HER2-targeted antibody–drug conjugate trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) in 60 patients with pretreated, HER2-expressing (IHC ≥ 1+), non-breast/non-gastric or HER2-mutant solid tumors from a phase I trial (NCT02564900). Most common (>50%) treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAE) were nausea, decreased appetite, and vomiting. Two drug-related TEAEs were associated with fatal outcomes. The confirmed objective response rate (ORR) was 28.3% (17/60). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7.2 [95% confidence interval (CI), 4.8–11.1] months. In HER2-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ORR was 72.7% (8/11), and median PFS was 11.3 (95% CI, 8.1–14.3) months. Confirmed responses were observed in six tumor types, including HER2-expressing NSCLC, colorectal cancer, salivary gland cancer, biliary tract cancer, endometrial cancer, and HER2-mutant NSCLC and breast cancer. Results suggest T-DXd holds promise for HER2-expressing/mutant solid tumors.

The low supply of traditional office space expanding in central districts of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) has lead to the growth of coworking spaces, or flexible office spaces there.

Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer NetherRealms Studios have announced a new expansion for Mortal Kombat 11 called Aftermath. It will release on May 26.

The Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath expansion adds a new cinematic story, three characters and three new skins for $39.99. The three new characters are Fujin, Sheeva, and RoboCop).

A $59.99 Mortal Kombat: Aftermath Kollection has also been announced. It includes the base game, Kombat Pack DLC and the Aftermath expansion. 

View the announcement trailer for the expansion and RoboCop reveal trailer below:

Here is an overview of the expansion:

Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is a new expansion for the hit videogame, Mortal Kombat 11, the best-selling title in franchise history that was named Fighting Game of the Year at the 2019 D.I.C.E. Awards. Developed by award-winning NetherRealm Studios, Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath expands the critically acclaimed story campaign with an all-new, cinematic narrative centered around trust and deceit, while also adding new playable characters in returning Mortal Kombat fighters, Fujin and Sheeva, and guest character, RoboCop, who is making his series debut.

Key Features:

• Franchise-First Story Expansion – The critically acclaimed story campaign continues with an all-new cinematic narrative that picks up directly where Mortal Kombat 11 left off. Fire God Liu Kang, the new keeper of time and protector of Earthrealm, must now enlist the help of unlikely allies and familiar foes to forge a new history as the fate of two worlds hang in the balance.
• Exciting New Characters Join the Roster – New playable characters join the fight with the triumphant return of Fujin, the God of Wind who serves as Earthrealm’s protector alongside his brother Raiden, and Sheeva, the fourarmed, half-human and half-dragon queen of the ancient Shokan race. RoboCop, the iconic, highly advanced cybernetic police officer, makes his first appearance in the franchise, continuing the pedigree of popular Mortal Kombat guest fighters. RoboCop in Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath features the voice and likeness of actor Peter Weller, who portrayed the popular character in both the original RoboCop (1987) film and RoboCop 2 (1990) sequel. Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath will also include three new character skin packs to be released over time.
• Fan-Favorite Stages, Stage Fatalities & Friendships Return – In conjunction with the Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath release, all Mortal Kombat 11 owners will have access to a free content update featuring new Stages, including the return of the Klassic Dead Pool and Soul Chamber arenas; Stage Fatalities, the fan-favorite finishing moves that use the environment to destroy opponents; and the popular Friendships feature, allowing players to take down their adversaries with a hint of kindness.
• New Players Can Join the Fight with Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Kollection – Offers the perfect opportunity for new players to join the fight, featuring all characters, story content, game modes and pre-order bonuses in one ultimate package. This compilation includes Mortal Kombat 11 along with all content from Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath and the previously released Mortal Kombat 11 Kombat Pack, containing six playable characters—Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, Sindel, Terminator T-800, The Joker and Spawn – plus 25 additional character skins. The Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Kollection can be pre-ordered for $59.99 (SRP) with digital pre-orders offering immediate access to Mortal Kombat 11 and the Kombat Pack upon purchase. The physical version will be available this June in the Americas only.
• Upgrade Options for Current Mortal Kombat 11 Owners – Those who have already purchased Mortal Kombat 11 can pre-order the Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath expansion for $39.99 (SRP) or the Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath + Kombat Pack Bundle for $49.99 (SRP).
• Pre-order for Exclusive Content – All preorders* receive the Eternal Klash Skin Pack at launch, featuring three new character skin variants – “Unbound Rage” Scorpion inspired by Mortal Kombat (2011), “Son of Arctika” Sub-Zero inspired by Mortal Kombat: Deception and “Kori Power” Frost, a Klassic version of the Lin Kuie warrior.
• Best-In-Class, Brutal Kombat – Mortal Kombat 11 is the latest installment in the critically acclaimed franchise, providing a deeper and more personalized experience than ever before. The best-selling title is packed to the brim with multiple features and modes for all players, including the Story mode, Custom Character Variation System, Towers of Time, Kombat League, The Krypt and the signature roster returning and franchise-first fighters, all equipped with powerful Krushing Blows and unique Fatalities that display devastatingly brutal cinematic visuals.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/443404/mortal-kombat-11-aftermath-expansion-announced-adds-3-new-characters-and-new-story/

To campaigners’ dismay, the UK’s biggest hubs, Heathrow and Gatwick, are pushing on with plans to increase capacity

Christine Taylor has lived her entire life in the shadow of London’s Heathrow airport, her childhood bedroom affording a view of one of its two runways. She grew up in Sipson, a village that can trace its history back more than 1,000 years, but now sits immediately north of Britain’s busiest airline hub.

Now living a mile to the east in Harlington, Taylor, 62, is experiencing a rare moment of quiet, thanks to the dramatic reduction in air traffic caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Small ISPs want investigation as Frontier tries to block FCC funding for rivals.

Liverpool have confirmed that plans to expand the Anfield Road end of the club's home ground have been delayed by 'at least' 12 months due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Inland Empire residents have protested the airport expansion — rumored to be an Amazon project — for months. On Monday, airport officials approved the project.

Amgen is planning to file for FDA approval of Otezla in mild to moderate plaque psoriasis based on new data showing patients on the drug experienced significant improvements in their symptoms. The label expansion will be key to Amgen's ability to recoup the $13.4 billion it paid to acquire the drug from Celgene last year.

Rend Al-Mondhiry has joined the firm Amin Talati from the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) as Senior Counsel, resident in the Washington, D.C. Office.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6841) announces that it has acquired capital in APB Corporation (APB), a pioneer in the development of a next-generation lithium-ion battery called the “All Polymer Battery,” with the aim of growing Yokogawa’s energy management system (EMS) business. The two companies have agreed that Yokogawa will provide energy management technology needed for the efficient operation and optimization of large-scale storage batteries.

Summary Craig Garthwaite, John Graves, Tal Gross, Zeynal Karaca, Victoria Marone, and Matthew J. Notowidigdo study the effect of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion on hospital services, with a focus on the geographic variations of its impact, finding that it increased Medicaid visits, decreased uninsured visits, and lead the uninsured to consume more hospital…

One month after the election, a huge market rally shows stock-market investors like the changes Donald Trump will bring to the business world. At the same time, great uncertainty remains about the new Administration's policies toward the Middle East, Russia, trade relations, and other matters of state and defense. But on the core issues of…

The current wind power installation has replaced millions of liters of diesel fuel and helped protect the islands' endangered animals.

Just what we needed in what was a decarbonizing planet.

Two months after the Indian government stopped plans by UK-based Vedanta Resources to put a bauxite mine on a mountain held sacred by two indigenous tribal groups in Orissa, on the

Trudeau doesn't seem to understand what 'climate emergency' means.

The political football that is the third runway gets kicked down again.

The UK Government has announced that it will delay ramping up its Making Tax Digital project, in light of COVID-19.

IHG has signed a long-term agreement with Asia Pacific Hotels Inc to take on management of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan, in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, from May 20201.The impressive 416-room hotel will rebrand as Crowne Plaza® Resort Saipan in 2022 following a refurbishment, before adding a 116-room extension by 2025. Alongside IHG's October announcement that it has taken on management of the 318-room Fiesta Resort Guam, a hotel that will rebrand as a Crowne Plaza in 2021, the combined 850 room count makes the biggest ever conversion signing for IHG's Australasia, Japan and Pacific Islands region.Saipan is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands and is part of the Commonwealth of the United States. A 20-minute flight from Guam, Saipan is characterised by sandy shores and mountainous landscapes, and boasts several championship golf courses. It has a borderline tropical rainforest climate and, with an average year-round maximum temperature of 28.9°C, Saipan ha...

Japan is poised for an economic expansion, but long-term growth prospects remain contingent on additional efforts to revitalise the economy and reduce unsustainable levels of public debt, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Japan.

Japan is poised for an economic expansion, but long-term growth prospects remain contingent on additional efforts to revitalise the economy and reduce unsustainable levels of public debt, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Japan.

How far to go – and to remain – in the direction of highly expansionary monetary policy hinges on the balance of marginal benefits and costs of additional monetary easing and its expected evolution over time. This paper sketches a framework for assessing this balance and applies it to four OECD economic areas: the euro area, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The prospective normalisation of monetary policies in the main OECD areas will be challenging given that current policy rates are likely to be significantly below neutral levels and that central bank balance sheets will be above the pre-crisis levels by a wide margin.

Successful implementation of economic reforms has boosted the Latvian economy, leading to strong growth, rising wages and solid public finances. Further policy action is now needed to accelerate productivity growth, create jobs, drive down poverty, improve living standards and ensure that everyone benefits from more inclusive growth, according to a new report from the OECD.

The Israeli economy continues to register remarkable performance, with strong growth, low and falling unemployment and sound public finances leading to the 15th consecutive year of economic expansion. Further reforms will be needed to drive down inequality and raise living standards for all Israelis, according to a new report from the OECD.

Ensuring that permanent spending or tax cuts are implemented in a sustainable manner would encourage the strong fiscal position that New Zealand needs to meet potentially large macroeconomic shocks and long-run ageing-related costs.

Tesla appears to be ramping up installations of its solar tile roofs in the San Francisco Bay area and will eventually roll out to Europe and China, according to CEO Elon Musk, who, in a series of tweets, provided the first substantial update since the company launched the third iteration of its product in October. […]

DOMINIC SANDBROOK: Have you ever wondered what a perfect storm looks like? Just take a look at Britain's universities. Crippled by corruption and greed they stand on the brink of disaster.