The Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy: Border Making and its Consequences.

in European Review of History (2020), 26(6), 697-708

This special issue addresses practices of border-making and their consequences on the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. As the reality did not correspond to the peaceful Europe ... [more ▼]

This special issue addresses practices of border-making and their consequences on the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. As the reality did not correspond to the peaceful Europe articulated in the Paris Treaties, a multitude of (un)foreseen complications followed the drawing of borders and states. Articles include new case studies on the creation, centralization or peripheralization of border regions, such as Subcarpathian Rus, Vojvodina, Banat and the Carpathian Mountains, on border zones such as the Czechoslovakian harbour in Germany, and on cross-border activities. The special issue shows how disputes over national identities and ethnic minorities, as well as other factors such as the economic consequences of the new state borders, appeared on the interwar political agenda and coloured the lives of borderland inhabitants. Adopting a bottom-up approach, the contributions demonstrate the agency of borderlands and their people in the establishment, functioning, disorganization or ultimate breakdown of some of the newly created interwar nation-states. [less ▲]

A comparison of constitutive models for describing the flow of uncured styrene-butadiene rubber

in Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics (2020), 286

Uncured styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) can be modelled as a viscoelastic material with at least two different relaxation mechanisms. In this paper we compare multi-mode constitutive models combining two ... [more ▼]

Uncured styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) can be modelled as a viscoelastic material with at least two different relaxation mechanisms. In this paper we compare multi-mode constitutive models combining two viscoelastic modes (linear and/or nonlinear) in three possible ways. Our particular choice of the two modes was inspired by models originally developed to describe the response of asphalt binders. We select the model that best fits the experimental data obtained from a modified stress relaxation experiment in the torsional configuration of the plate-plate rheometer. The optimisation of the five model parameters for each model is achieved by minimising the weighted least-squares distance between experimental observations and the computer model output using a tree-structured Parzen estimator algorithm to find an initial guess, followed by further optimisation using the Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm. The results show that the model combining the linear mode and the nonlinear mode is the most suitable variant to describe the observed behavior of SBR in the given regime. The predictive capabilities of the three models are further examined in changed experimental and numerical configurations. Full data and code to produce the figures in this article are included as supplementary material. [less ▲]

An exploratory approach for an oriented development of an untargeted hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry platform for polar metabolites in biological matrices

in Journal of Chromatography. A (2020)

The analysis of polar metabolites based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods should take into consideration the complexity of interactions in LC columns to be able to cover a broad ... [more ▼]

The analysis of polar metabolites based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods should take into consideration the complexity of interactions in LC columns to be able to cover a broad range of metabolites of key biological pathways. Therefore, in this study, different chromatographic columns were tested for polar metabolites including reversed-phase and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) columns. Based on a column screening, two new generations of zwitterionic HILIC columns were selected for further evaluation. A tree-based method optimization was applied to investigate the chromatographic factors affecting the retention mechanisms of polar metabolites with zwitterionic stationary phases. The results were evaluated based on a scoring system which was applied for more than 80 polar metabolites with a high coverage of key human metabolic pathways. The final optimized methods showed high complementarity to analyze a wide range of metabolic classes including amino acids, small peptides, sugars, amino sugars, phosphorylated sugars, organic acids, nucleobases, nucleosides, nucleotides and acylcarnitines. Optimized methods were applied to analyze different biological matrices, including human urine, plasma and liver cell extracts using an untargeted approach. The number of high-quality features ( < 30% median relative standard deviation) ranged from 3,755 for urine to 5,402 for the intracellular metabolome of liver cells, showing the potential of the methods for untargeted purposes. [less ▲]

Double-Graded Quantum Superplane

in Reports on Mathematical Physics (2020), 86(3), 383-400

A ℤ2 × ℤ2-graded generalisation of the quantum superplane is proposed and studied. We construct a bicovariant calculus on what we shall refer to as the double-graded quantum superplane. The ommutation ... [more ▼]

A ℤ2 × ℤ2-graded generalisation of the quantum superplane is proposed and studied. We construct a bicovariant calculus on what we shall refer to as the double-graded quantum superplane. The ommutation rules between the coordinates, their differentials and partial derivatives are explicitly given. Furthermore, we show that an extended version of the double-graded quantum superplane admits a natural Hopf -algebra structure. [less ▲]

Breaking Up the Unity of the World: Peter Fitzpatrick’s Conception of Responsive Law

in Law, Culture and the Humanities (2020)

This short article on Peter Fitzpatrick’s conception of “responsive law” analyzes the ambiguous temporality that Fitzpatrick discerned in modern law. On the one hand, law makes the claim of being fully ... [more ▼]

This short article on Peter Fitzpatrick’s conception of “responsive law” analyzes the ambiguous temporality that Fitzpatrick discerned in modern law. On the one hand, law makes the claim of being fully present and therefore already and completely contained in itself. This aspect of law reflects the law’s claim to “immanence,” that is, its claim of always being able to rely strictly on its own operational terms without having to take recourse to any consideration not already contained within itself. It is this aspect of law that renders the ideal of the “rule of law” feasible. On the other hand, the law’s claim to doing justice to every unique and therefore every new case also demands that it takes leave of that which is already settled within it. This aspect of law can be called its “imminence.” The imminence of the law concerns the reality that law always finds itself on the threshold of that which has not yet been said and must still be said. The article shows how Fitzpatrick relied on Freud’s concept of the totem to explain the “wondrous” unity of its immanence and imminence. [less ▲]

A rule-based expert system for real-time feedback-control in deep brain stimulation

in Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering (2020), 6(3), 4

Conversion from video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) to thoracotomy during major lung resection: how does it affect perioperative outcomes?

in Interactive Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (2020)

Objectives: Since video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) was first performed in the early 1990s, there have been many developments, and the conversion rate has decreased over the years. This article ... [more ▼]

Objectives: Since video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) was first performed in the early 1990s, there have been many developments, and the conversion rate has decreased over the years. This article highlights the specific outcomes of patients undergoing conversion to thoracotomy despite initially scheduled VATS lung resection. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 501 patients who underwent thoracoscopic anatomic lung resection (i.e. lobectomy, segmentectomy or bilobectomy) between 1 January 2012 and 1 August 2017 at our institution. We explored the risk factors for surgical conversion and adverse events occurring in patients who underwent conversion to thoracotomy. Results: A total of 44/501 patients underwent conversion during the procedure (global rate: 8.8%). The main reasons for conversion were (i) anatomical variation, adhesions or unexpected tumour extension (37%), followed by (ii) vascular causes (30%) and (iii) unexpected lymph node invasion (20%). The least common reason for conversion was technical failure (13%). We could not identify any specific risk factors for conversion. The global complication rate was significantly higher in converted patients (40.9%) than in complete VATS patients (16.8%) (P = 0.001). Postoperative atrial fibrillation was a major complication in converted patients (18.2%) [odds ratio (OR) 5.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.80-13.27; P = 0.001]. Perioperative mortality was higher in the conversion group (6.8%) than in the VATS group (0.2%) (OR 33.3, 95% CI 3.4-328; P = 0.003). Conclusions: Through the years, the global conversion rate has dramatically decreased to <10%. Nevertheless, patients who undergo conversion represent a high-risk population in terms of complications (40.9% vs 16.8%) and perioperative mortality (6.8% vs 0.2%). [less ▲]

Perpetuating Crises at the Source?: (Inter)Regionalism and Normative Incoherence for Sustainable Migration in Africa

in Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies (2020), 47(4), 1-22

In response to the 2015–2016 migration crisis, the European Union established the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa that aimed ‘to address the root causes of instability, forced displacement and irregular ... [more ▼]

In response to the 2015–2016 migration crisis, the European Union established the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa that aimed ‘to address the root causes of instability, forced displacement and irregular migration and to contribute to better migration management.’ This article questions the logic of this approach to migration management by asking whether African regions can ‘better manage migration.’ The article examines the normative bases of migration policies amongst the African Union (AU) and six regional economic communities (RECs), as well as the normative bases of the development strategies pursued by the AU and these RECs. The article proposes normative policy coherence for development as an approach to better understand the relationships between regional integration, sustainable development and migration management in Africa. [less ▲]

Smoke but no fire, convicting the innocent of crimes that never happened. By Jessica S. Henry (University of California Press)

in Crime, Law and Social Change (2020), 75(4), 411-414

Effects of Emotional Music on Facial Emotion Recognition in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2020)

Impaired facial emotion recognition in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is in contrast to their intact emotional music recognition. This study tested whether emotion congruent music enhances ... [more ▼]

Impaired facial emotion recognition in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is in contrast to their intact emotional music recognition. This study tested whether emotion congruent music enhances facial emotion recognition. Accuracy and reaction times were assessed for 19 children with ASD and 31 controls in a recognition task with angry, happy, or sad faces. Stimuli were shown with either emotionally congruent or incongruent music or no music. Although children with ASD had higher reaction times than controls, accuracy only differed when incongruent or no music was played, indicating that congruent emotional music can boost facial emotion recognition in children with ASD. Emotion congruent music may support emotion recognition in children with ASD, and thus may improve their social skills. [less ▲]

MRV of Emissions and Mitigation Action: the Paris Agreement and Financial Support for Transparency- Related Capacity Building in Developing Countries

in Climate Law (2020), 10(3-4), 308-334

This article examines the role of the Paris Agreement in enabling developed-country financial contributions aimed at building transparency-related capacity in developing countries. It first analyses the ... [more ▼]

This article examines the role of the Paris Agreement in enabling developed-country financial contributions aimed at building transparency-related capacity in developing countries. It first analyses the legal means and institutional arrangements utilized by the Agreement to support developing countries in building transparency-related capacity. It then argues that even though the Agreement adopts certain legal and institutional means to foster transparency-related capacity building in developing countries through financial support, it does so in a way that risks undermining the meaningful and accountable use of climate finance, while softening the bindingness of the Agreement’s provisions. The lack of accountability obligations on climate finance for developing countries, the principle of flexibility, and the challenges intrinsic to climate finance, combine to weaken the climate-finance obligation, while calling into question the effectiveness of the Agreement. [less ▲]

Peers als Quelle aktueller Motivation? Wie Jugendliche mit heterogenen Verhaltensweisen Peerinteraktionen in Abhängigkeit des behavioralen Klassenumfeldes erleben

in Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie (2020)

The relevance of peers for adolescents' development has already been confirmed in various studies. Among other things, adolescents indicated higher situational motivation and joy as well as less feelings ... [more ▼]

The relevance of peers for adolescents' development has already been confirmed in various studies. Among other things, adolescents indicated higher situational motivation and joy as well as less feelings of stress during social interactions with classmates compared to indi- vidual work settings. However, it turned out that adolescents with behavioural problems have difficulties in making and maintaining social contacts and friendships. While in previous studies behaviour was investigated as dichotomous variable, this study chose a dimensional, person-centered approach to identify adolescents with heterogeneous behaviour. Therefore, this paper aims at analysing effects of social inter- actions at school on emotional experiences of adolescents with heterogeneous behavioural profiles. In addition, a potential moderating effect of the classroom environment regarding behaviour will be tested. The sample comprised N = 719 students of grade five and six. Data were collected using the experience sampling method. In detail, the students completed a short questionnaire concerning their momentary emo- tional experience and their social context two to three times a day on five consecutive days at school. Thus, 8870 snapshots of the adolescents' emotional experiences and situations in class were available. Using teacher ratings regarding the students' behaviour, latent profile analyses were calculated and three different profiles within the sample were identified: students with adaptive, with internalising and with externalising behaviour. Findings of multilevel structural equation models show, first, that students are more motivated and less stressed while interacting with others during lessons (e.g. in partner or group activities) compared to individual working situations. This effect is more pronounced for students with internalising and externalising behavioural profiles. Second, the small differential moderating, but not significant effects indi- cate that the relation between adolescents' emotional experiences and peer interactions is not moderated by the classroom environment regarding prosocial or problem behaviour. The results will be discussed from methodological and content-related perspectives. [less ▲]

Auction-based Multi-Channel Cooperative Spectrum Sharing in Hybrid Satellite-Terrestrial IoT Networks

in IEEE Internet of Things Journal (2020)

In this paper, we investigate the multi-channel cooperative spectrum sharing in hybrid satellite-terrestrial internet of things (IoT) networks with the auction mechanism, which is designed to reduce the ... [more ▼]

In this paper, we investigate the multi-channel cooperative spectrum sharing in hybrid satellite-terrestrial internet of things (IoT) networks with the auction mechanism, which is designed to reduce the operational expenditure of the satellitebased IoT (S-IoT) network while alleviating the spectrum scarcity issues of terrestrial-based IoT (T-IoT) network. The cluster heads of selected T-IoT networks assist the primary satellite users transmission through cooperative relaying techniques in exchange for spectrum access. We propose an auction-based optimization problem to maximize the sum transmission rate of all primary S-IoT receivers with the appropriate secondary network selection and corresponding radio resource allocation profile by the distributed implementation while meeting the minimum transmission rate of secondary receivers of each TIoT network. Specifically, the one-shot Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) auction is introduced to obtain the maximum social welfare, where the winner determination problem is transformed into an assignment problem and solved by the Hungarian algorithm. To further reduce the primary satellite network decision complexity, the sequential Vickrey auction is implemented by sequential fashion until all channels are auctioned. Due to incentive compatibility with those two auction mechanisms, the secondary T-IoT cluster yields the true bids of each channel, where both the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and time division multiple access (TDMA) schemes are implemented in cooperative communication. Finally, simulation results validate the effectiveness and fairness of the proposed auction-based approach as well as the superiority of the NOMA scheme in secondary relays selection. Moreover, the influence of key factors on the performance of the proposed scheme is analyzed in detail. [less ▲]

Talking War: Representation, Veterans and Ideology in Post-War Parliamentary Debates

in Government and Opposition (2020), Online

How do politicians in post-war societies talk about the past war? How do they discursively represent vulnerable social groups created by the conflict? Does the nature of this representation depend on the ... [more ▼]

How do politicians in post-war societies talk about the past war? How do they discursively represent vulnerable social groups created by the conflict? Does the nature of this representation depend on the politicians’ ideology or their record of combat service? We answer these questions by pairing natural language processing tools and a large corpus of parliamentary debates with an extensive data set of biographical information including detailed records of war service for all members of parliament during two recent terms in Croatia. We demonstrate not only that veteran politicians talk about war differently from their non-veteran counterparts, but also that the sentiment of war-related political discourse is highly dependent on the speaker’s exposure to combat and ideological orientation. These results improve our understanding of the representational role played by combat veterans, as well as of the link between descriptive and substantive representation of vulnerable groups in post-war societies. [less ▲]

A UNIFORM RESULT FOR THE DIMENSION OF FRACTIONAL BROWNIAN MOTION LEVEL SETS

in Statistics and Probability Letters (2020)

Let B={Bt:t≥0} be a real-valued fractional Brownian motion of index H∈(0,1). We prove that the macroscopic Hausdorff dimension of the level sets Lx={t∈R+:Bt=x} is, with probability one, equal to 1−H for ... [more ▼]

Let B={Bt:t≥0} be a real-valued fractional Brownian motion of index H∈(0,1). We prove that the macroscopic Hausdorff dimension of the level sets Lx={t∈R+:Bt=x} is, with probability one, equal to 1−H for all x∈R. [less ▲]

Assessing the robustness of decentralized gathering: a multi‐agent approach on micro‐biological systems

in Swarm Intelligence (2020), 14

Adopting a multi-agent systems paradigm, we developed, tested and exploited a computational testbed that simulates gathering features of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. It features a tailored ... [more ▼]

Adopting a multi-agent systems paradigm, we developed, tested and exploited a computational testbed that simulates gathering features of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. It features a tailored design and implementation to manage discrete simulations with autonomous agents on a microscopic scale, thus focusing on their social behavior and mutual interactions. Hence, we could assess the behavioral conditions under which decentralized gathering could occur. We investigated the dependence of the model dynamics on the main physical variables, namely density and number of amoebas, gaining indications that the process strongly depends on both. This result integrates previous researches, where density is identified as the sole relevant variable. We determined a high-density and high-numerosity region where assuming a scale-free behavior is safe. We also estimated the systematic uncertainties arising from a number of amoebas off the scale-free region, when coping with limited computational resources. Finally, we probed the robustness of the simulated gathering process against both extrinsic and intrinsic noise sources. [less ▲]

Les comptes de la baumaîtrie de la ville de Luxembourg (1388-1500). État des lieux et perspectives de recherches

in Comptabilité(S). Revue d'histoire des compatbilités (2020), 13

La contribution présente les comptes de la baumaîtrie de la ville de Luxembourg fort bien conservés pour la fin du 14e et le 15e siècle. Un inventaire des volumes conservés aux archives municipales est ... [more ▼]

La contribution présente les comptes de la baumaîtrie de la ville de Luxembourg fort bien conservés pour la fin du 14e et le 15e siècle. Un inventaire des volumes conservés aux archives municipales est suivi d’une description codicologique sommaire avant que ne soit esquissé le rôle du baumâitre, c.-à-d. du receveur central de la ville et celui du clerc-juré dans la confection des livres de compte ainsi que leur appartenance sociale et linguistique. L’article continue par un bilan de l’exploitation historiographique des livres de la baumaîtrie, y compris pour l’histoire de la langue, et par quelques questions de recherche qui mériteraient d’être approfondies. [less ▲]

Mitochondrial and Clearance Impairment in p.D620N VPS35 Patient-Derived Neurons

in Movement Disorders (2020)

Background: VPS35 is part of the retromer complex and is responsible for the trafficking and recycling of proteins implicated in autophagy and lysosomal degradation, but also takes part in the degradation ... [more ▼]

Background: VPS35 is part of the retromer complex and is responsible for the trafficking and recycling of proteins implicated in autophagy and lysosomal degradation, but also takes part in the degradation of mitochondrial proteins via mitochondria-derived vesicles. The p.D620N mutation of VPS35 causes an autosomal-dominant form of Parkinson’s disease (PD), clinically representing typical PD. Objective: Most of the studies on p.D620N VPS35 were performed on human tumor cell lines, rodent models overexpressing mutant VPS35, or in patient-derived fibroblasts. Here, based on identified target proteins, we investigated the implication of mutant VPS35 in autophagy, lysosomal degradation, and mitochondrial function in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons from a patient harboring the p.D620N mutation. Methods: We reprogrammed fibroblasts from a PD patient carrying the p.D620N mutation in the VPS35 gene and from two healthy donors in induced pluripotent stem cells. These were subsequently differentiated into neuronal precursor cells to finally generate midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Results: We observed a decreased autophagic flux and lysosomal mass associated with an accumulation of α-synuclein in patient-derived neurons compared to controls. Moreover, patient-derived neurons presented a mitochondrial dysfunction with decreased membrane potential, impaired mitochondrial respiration, and increased production of reactive oxygen species associated with a defect in mitochondrial quality control via mitophagy. Conclusion: We describe for the first time the impact of the p.D620N VPS35 mutation on autophago-lysosome pathway and mitochondrial function in stem cell-derived neurons from an affected p.D620N carrier and define neuronal phenotypes for future pharmacological interventions [less ▲]

Le Groupe de Coppet et l’écriture polémique. Introduction

in Cahiers staëliens (2020), 70

Introduction au dossier "Le Groupe de Coppet et l'écriture polémique" des Cahiers staëliens 70 (2020).

Alterations in Neural Responses and Pain Perception in Older Adults During Distraction

in Psychosomatic Medicine (2020), 82

Le droit à la sauce piquante N°21 – novembre 2020

in Le droit à la sauce piquante (2020), 21

Family violence and COVID19

in Self and Society in the Corona Crisis (2020)

According to WHO, violence against women tend to increase during any type of emergency, such as the COVID19 outbreak, impacting not just women but also children and their families health . Although data ... [more ▼]

According to WHO, violence against women tend to increase during any type of emergency, such as the COVID19 outbreak, impacting not just women but also children and their families health . Although data on family violence during crisis is scarce, existing reports from China, UK and USA already suggest an increase of intimate partner violence. As social distancing measures are taken and people forced or encourage to stay at home, we could expect that the increase of tension at many homes will unfortunately end up in new cases of family violence or exacerbations of existing ones. Such context of an overloaded health system facing the crisis may imply in extra challenges for victims to seek help. This article aims to summarize the existing evidence regarding family violence during crisis and the resources available that can help to mitigate the impact of violence. [less ▲]

A Big Data Demand Estimation Model for Urban Congested Networks

in Transport and Telecommunication (2020)

La formation dans la Grande Région : réalités et défis

in Les Cahiers de la Grande Région (2020), 3

Inscrit dans la continuité du Cahier n°2 interrogeant les équations du marché du travail, l’objet de ce Cahier n°3 de la Grande Région est la formation sous plusieurs de ses formes (formation continue ... [more ▼]

Inscrit dans la continuité du Cahier n°2 interrogeant les équations du marché du travail, l’objet de ce Cahier n°3 de la Grande Région est la formation sous plusieurs de ses formes (formation continue, apprentissage…), ses réalités et ses défis. A l’heure du déclin démographique et de la transition numérique, mais aussi de la crise sanitaire, cette question s’avère centrale. Difficile jeu d’équilibre entre les besoins des employeurs et les intérêts des individus, la formation dans la Grande Région est également confrontée à la particularité de la situation transfrontalière (questions linguistiques, reconnaissance des diplômes…). En s’appuyant sur les travaux de divers instituts de la Grande Région, ce Cahier de la Grande Région illustrera les problématiques de la formation à résoudre dans les années à venir. [less ▲]

Performance of lime-metakaolin pastes using gravel wash mud (GWM)

in Cement and Concrete Composites (2020), 114(103772),

The performance of ternary binders using lime, metakaolin (MK) and gravel wash mud (GWM) powders is studied for the development of novel lime-pozzolan pastes. This study examines the influence of varying ... [more ▼]

The performance of ternary binders using lime, metakaolin (MK) and gravel wash mud (GWM) powders is studied for the development of novel lime-pozzolan pastes. This study examines the influence of varying mixture proportions using different types and compositions of lime powders and GWM at different treatment levels on the mechanical properties of lime-MK-GWM pastes. Various characterisation techniques including particle size distribution (PSD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), compressive strength tests, simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were applied on the different raw materials, respectively, on the hardened pastes to determine the reaction kinetics, the resulting microstructure and the mechanical performances of the lime-MK-GWM binder systems. Higher strength-enhancing contributions of thermally treated GWM powders (calcined at 850°C) leading to compressive strengths up to 18 MPa were confirmed and the strength-based evaluations revealed that hydrated lime-based pastes achieved higher mechanical performances than hydraulic lime-based binder systems. [less ▲]

Can intermediaries assure contracts? Experimental evidence

in Games and Economic Behavior (2020), 124

Forfeiting legal protections to prevent crime? The case of artificial intelligence and predictive policing

in Católica Law Review (2020), 4(3), 51-82

Beam-inside-beam contact: Mechanical simulations of slender medical instruments inside the human body

in Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine (2020), 196

Background and Objective This contribution presents a rapid computational framework to mechanically simulate the insertion of a slender medical instrument in a tubular structure such as an artery, the ... [more ▼]

Background and Objective This contribution presents a rapid computational framework to mechanically simulate the insertion of a slender medical instrument in a tubular structure such as an artery, the cochlea or another slender instrument. Methods Beams are employed to rapidly simulate the mechanical behaviour of the medical instrument and the tubular structure. However, the framework’s novelty is its capability to handle the mechanical contact between an inner beam (representing the medical instrument) embedded in a hollow outer beam (representing the tubular structure). This “beam-inside-beam” contact framework, which forces two beams to remain embedded, is the first of its kind since existing contact frameworks for beams are “beam-to-beam” approaches, i.e. they repel beams from each other. Furthermore, we propose contact kinematics such that not only instruments and tubes with circular cross-sections can be considered, but also those with elliptical cross-sections. This provides flexibility for the optimization of patient-specific instruments. Results The results demonstrate that the framework’s robustness is substantial, because only a few increments per simulation and a few iterations per increment are required, even though large deformations, large rotations and large curvature changes of both the instrument and tubular structure occur. The stability of the framework remains high even if the modulus of the inner tube is thousand times larger than that of the outer tube. A mesh convergence study furthermore exposes that a relatively small number of elements is required to accurately approach the reference solution. Conclusions The framework’s high simulation speed originates from the exploitation of the rigidity of the beams’ cross-sections to quantify the exclusion between the inner and the hollow outer beam. This rigidity limits the accuracy of the framework at the same time, but this is unavoidable since simulation accuracy and simulation speed are two competing interests. Hence, the framework is particularly attractive if simulation speed is preferred over accuracy. [less ▲]

Review of Péter Berta, Materializing Difference, Consumer Culture, Politics and Ethnicity among Romanian Roma, University of Toronto Press, 2019

in Luxury: History, Culture, Consumption (2020), 7(1), 69-71

Home-based rehabilitation system for strokesurvivors: a clinical evaluation

in Journal of medical systems (2020)

Review of: Marco WEITEN and Tony VACCARO, Tony Vaccaro: Soldier with a Camera. Lions Club Luxembourg-Country 50e anniversaire: 1967–2017. Luxembourg: Lions Club Luxembourg-Country, 2017.

in Hemecht: Zeitschrift für Luxemburger Geschichte (2020), 72(3),

ROS networks: designs, aging, Parkinson's disease and precision therapies.

in NPJ Systems Biology and Applications (2020)

Discordant Monozygotic Parkinson Disease Twins: Role of Mitochondrial Integrity

in Annals of Neurology (2020)

Objective Even though genetic predisposition has proven to be an important element in Parkinson's disease (PD) etiology, monozygotic (MZ) twins with PD displayed a concordance rate of only about 20 ... [more ▼]

Objective Even though genetic predisposition has proven to be an important element in Parkinson's disease (PD) etiology, monozygotic (MZ) twins with PD displayed a concordance rate of only about 20% despite their shared identical genetic background. Methods We recruited 5 pairs of MZ twins discordant for idiopathic PD and established skin fibroblast cultures to investigate mitochondrial phenotypes in these cellular models against the background of a presumably identical genome. To test for genetic differences, we performed whole genome sequencing, deep mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing, and tested for mitochondrial deletions by multiplex real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the fibroblast cultures. Further, the fibroblast cultures were tested for mitochondrial integrity by immunocytochemistry, immunoblotting, flow cytometry, and real‐time PCR to quantify gene expression. Results Genome sequencing did not identify any genetic difference. We found decreased mitochondrial functionality with reduced cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels, altered mitochondrial morphology, elevated protein levels of superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), and increased levels of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐gamma coactivator‐α (PPARGC1A) messenger RNA (mRNA) in skin fibroblast cultures from the affected compared to the unaffected twins. Further, there was a tendency for a higher number of somatic mtDNA variants among the affected twins. Interpretation We demonstrate disease‐related differences in mitochondrial integrity in the genetically identical twins. Of note, the clinical expression matches functional alterations of the mitochondria [less ▲]

Gene expression profile of CD14+ blood monocytes following lifestyle-induced weight loss in individuals with metabolic syndrome.

in Scientific Reports (2020), 10(1), 17855

Lifestyle-induced weight loss is regarded as an efficient therapy to reverse metabolic syndrome (MetS) and to prevent disease progression. The objective of this study was to investigate whether lifestyle ... [more ▼]

Lifestyle-induced weight loss is regarded as an efficient therapy to reverse metabolic syndrome (MetS) and to prevent disease progression. The objective of this study was to investigate whether lifestyle-induced weight loss modulates gene expression in circulating monocytes. We analyzed and compared gene expression in monocytes (CD14+ cells) and subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies by unbiased mRNA profiling. Samples were obtained before and after diet-induced weight loss in well-defined male individuals in a prospective controlled clinical trial (ICTRP Trial Number: U1111-1158-3672). The BMI declined significantly (- 12.6%) in the treatment arm (N = 39) during the 6-month weight loss intervention. This was associated with a significant reduction in hsCRP (- 45.84%) and circulating CD14+ cells (- 21.0%). Four genes were differentially expressed (DEG's) in CD14+ cells following weight loss (ZRANB1, RNF25, RB1CC1 and KMT2C). Comparative analyses of paired CD14+ monocytes and subcutaneous adipose tissue samples before and after weight loss did not identify common genes differentially regulated in both sample types. Lifestyle-induced weight loss is associated with specific changes in gene expression in circulating CD14+ monocytes, which may affect ubiquitination, histone methylation and autophagy [less ▲]

Multi-level social-ecological networks in a payments for ecosystem services programme in central Veracruz, Mexico

in Environmental Conservation (2020)

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programmes have been considered an important conservation mechanism to avoid deforestation. These environmental policies act in social and ecological contexts at ... [more ▼]

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programmes have been considered an important conservation mechanism to avoid deforestation. These environmental policies act in social and ecological contexts at different spatial scales. We evaluated the social-ecological fit between stakeholders and ecosystem processes in a local PES programme across three levels: social, ecological and social-ecological. We explored collaboration among stakeholders, assessed connectivity between forest units and evaluated conservation activity links between stakeholders and forest units. In addition, to increase programme effectiveness, we classified forest units based on their social and ecological importance. Our main findings suggest that non-governmental organizations occupy brokerage positions between landowners and government in a dense collaboration network. We also found a partial spatial misfit between conservation activity links and the forest units that provide the most hydrological services to Xalapa. We conclude that conservation efforts should be directed towards the middle and high part of the Pixquiac sub-watershed and that the role of non-governmental organizations as mediators should be strengthened to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the local PES programme. [less ▲]

Summertime Overheating Risk Assessment of a Flexible Plug-in Modular Unit in Luxembourg

in Sustainability (2020)

Modular buildings offer faster construction process, provide better construction quality, allow reducing construction waste and are potentially flexible. Frames of modular units can be made of metal ... [more ▼]

Modular buildings offer faster construction process, provide better construction quality, allow reducing construction waste and are potentially flexible. Frames of modular units can be made of metal, timber, concrete or mixed materials but lightweight structures do not always allow erecting high-rise buildings and generally present a higher risk of overheating and/or overcooling. To reconcile these pros and cons, a typology of modular building called Slab was designed by a group of architects. The building is composed on the one hand of a permanent concrete structure named shelf-structure and on the other hand of several flexible removable timber modular units, also known as modules. The shelf-structure will host the common utility rooms and will serve as docking infrastructure for the housing modules. To provide high flexibility, the Slab building was designed to adapt to any orientation and location in Luxembourg. An energy concept and a HVAC systems design has been developed for the Slab building. Furthermore, a two-fold sustainability analysis was carried out. The first part of the analysis regards the determination of the minimum required wall thicknesses of the modules in accordance with Luxembourgish regulatory requirements, although the current regulation does not yet consider the Slab building typology. The second part, which is the subject of this paper, is thermal comfort assessment, more precisely, summertime overheating risk assessment of these modules, in compliance with Luxembourgish standard. In this regard, dynamic thermal simulations have been realized on two module variants; the first fulfills the passive house requirements, and the second—the current requirements for building permit application, which in principle corresponds to low energy house requirements. Simulations showed that with adequate solar shading and reinforced natural ventilation by window opening, overheating risk could be avoided for the normal residential use scenario for both module variants. [less ▲]

Evolutionary algorithms deceive humans and machines at image classification: An extended proof of concept on two scenarios

in Journal of Information and Telecommunication (2020)

The range of applications of Neural Networks encompasses image classification. However, Neural Networks are vulnerable to attacks, and may misclassify adversarial images, leading to potentially disastrous ... [more ▼]

The range of applications of Neural Networks encompasses image classification. However, Neural Networks are vulnerable to attacks, and may misclassify adversarial images, leading to potentially disastrous consequences. Pursuing some of our previous work, we provide an extended proof of concept of a black-box, targeted, non-parametric attack using evolutionary algorithms to fool both Neural Networks and humans at the task of image classification. Our feasibility study is performed on VGG-16 trained on CIFAR-10. For any category cA of CIFAR-10, one chooses an image A classified by VGG-16 as belonging to cA. From there, two scenarios are addressed. In the first scenario, a target category ct≠cA is fixed a priori. We construct an evolutionary algorithm that evolves A to a modified image that VGG-16 classifies as belonging to ct. In the second scenario, we construct another evolutionary algorithm that evolves A to a modified image that VGG-16 is unable to classify. In both scenarios, the obtained adversarial images remain so close to the original one that a human would likely classify them as still belonging to cA. [less ▲]

European Respiratory Society Statement on Thoracic Ultrasound

in European Respiratory Journal (2020)

Thoracic ultrasound is increasingly considered to be an essential tool for the pulmonologist. It is used in diverse clinical scenarios, including as an adjunct to clinical decision making for diagnosis, a ... [more ▼]

Thoracic ultrasound is increasingly considered to be an essential tool for the pulmonologist. It is used in diverse clinical scenarios, including as an adjunct to clinical decision making for diagnosis, a real-time guide to procedures, and a predictor or measurement of treatment response. The aim of this European Respiratory Society task force was to produce a statement on thoracic ultrasound for pulmonologists using thoracic ultrasound within the field of respiratory medicine. The multidisciplinary panel performed a review of the literature, addressing major areas of thoracic ultrasound practice and application. The selected major areas include equipment and technique, assessment of the chest wall, parietal pleura, pleural effusion, pneumothorax, interstitial syndrome, lung consolidation, diaphragm assessment, intervention guidance, training, and the patient perspective. Despite the growing evidence supporting the use of thoracic ultrasound, the published literature still contains a paucity of data in some important fields. Key research questions for each of the major areas were identified, which serve to facilitate future multi-centre collaborations and research to further consolidate an evidence-based use of thoracic ultrasound, for the benefit of the many patients being exposed to clinicians using thoracic ultrasound. [less ▲]

A pluralistic and integrated approach to action-oriented knowledge for sustainability

in Nature Sustainability (2020)

Sustainability science needs more systematic approaches for mobilizing knowledge in support of interventions that may bring about transformative change. In this Perspective, we contend that action ... [more ▼]

Sustainability science needs more systematic approaches for mobilizing knowledge in support of interventions that may bring about transformative change. In this Perspective, we contend that action-oriented knowledge for sustainability emerges when working in integrated ways with the many kinds of knowledge involved in the shared design, enactment and realization of change. The pluralistic and integrated approach we present rejects technocratic solutions to complex sustainability challenges and foregrounds individual and social learning. We argue that research institutions devoted to sustainability should focus more on creating the conditions for experimenting with multiple kinds of knowledge and ways of knowing to foster sustainability-oriented learning. [less ▲]

Patient-derived organoids and orthotopic xenografts of primary and recurrent gliomas represent relevant patient avatars for precision oncology.

in Acta Neuropathologica (2020)

Patient-based cancer models are essential tools for studying tumor biology and for the assessment of drug responses in a translational context. We report the establishment a large cohort of unique ... [more ▼]

Patient-based cancer models are essential tools for studying tumor biology and for the assessment of drug responses in a translational context. We report the establishment a large cohort of unique organoids and patient-derived orthotopic xenografts (PDOX) of various glioma subtypes, including gliomas with mutations in IDH1, and paired longitudinal PDOX from primary and recurrent tumors of the same patient. We show that glioma PDOXs enable long-term propagation of patient tumors and represent clinically relevant patient avatars that retain histopathological, genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptomic features of parental tumors. We find no evidence of mouse-specific clonal evolution in glioma PDOXs. Our cohort captures individual molecular genotypes for precision medicine including mutations in IDH1, ATRX, TP53, MDM2/4, amplification of EGFR, PDGFRA, MET, CDK4/6, MDM2/4, and deletion of CDKN2A/B, PTCH, and PTEN. Matched longitudinal PDOX recapitulate the limited genetic evolution of gliomas observed in patients following treatment. At the histological level, we observe increased vascularization in the rat host as compared to mice. PDOX-derived standardized glioma organoids are amenable to high-throughput drug screens that can be validated in mice. We show clinically relevant responses to temozolomide (TMZ) and to targeted treatments, such as EGFR and CDK4/6 inhibitors in (epi)genetically defined subgroups, according to MGMT promoter and EGFR/CDK status, respectively. Dianhydrogalactitol (VAL-083), a promising bifunctional alkylating agent in the current clinical trial, displayed high therapeutic efficacy, and was able to overcome TMZ resistance in glioblastoma. Our work underscores the clinical relevance of glioma organoids and PDOX models for translational research and personalized treatment studies and represents a unique publicly available resource for precision oncology. [less ▲]

Accelerating fatigue simulations of a phase-field damage model for rubber

in Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering (2020), 370(113247),

Phase-field damage models are able to describe crack nucleation as well as crack propagation and coalescence without additional technicalities, because cracks are treated in a continuous, spatially finite ... [more ▼]

Phase-field damage models are able to describe crack nucleation as well as crack propagation and coalescence without additional technicalities, because cracks are treated in a continuous, spatially finite manner. Previously, we have developed a phase-field model to capture the rate-dependent failure of rubber, and we have further enhanced it to describe failure due to cyclic loading. Although the model accurately describes fatigue failure, the associated cyclic simulations are slow. Therefore, this contribution presents an acceleration scheme for cyclic simulations of our previously introduced phase-field damage model so that the simulation speed is increased to facilitate large-scale simulations of industrially relevant problems. We formulate an explicit and an implicit cycle jump method, which, depending on the selected jump size, reduce the calculation time up to 99.5%. To circumvent the manual tuning of the jump size, we also present an adaptive jump size selection procedure. Thanks to the implicit adaptive scheme, all material parameters are identified from experiments, which include fatigue crack nucleation and crack growth. Finally, the model and its parameters are validated with additional measurements of the fatigue crack growth rate. [less ▲]

Flexibility in Problem Solving: Analogical Transfer of Tool Use in Toddlers Is Immune to Delay

in Frontiers in Psychology (2020)

Solving problems that are perceptually dissimilar but require similar solutions is a key skill in everyday life. In adults, this ability, termed analogical transfer, draws on memories of relevant past ... [more ▼]

Solving problems that are perceptually dissimilar but require similar solutions is a key skill in everyday life. In adults, this ability, termed analogical transfer, draws on memories of relevant past experiences that partially overlap with the present task at hand. Thanks to this support from long-term memory, analogical transfer allows remarkable behavioral flexibility beyond immediate situations. However, little is known about the interaction between long-term memory and analogical transfer in development as, to date, they have been studied separately. Here, for the first time, effects of age and memory on analogical transfer were investigated in 2-to-4.5-olds in a simple tool-use setup. Children attempted to solve a puzzle box after training the correct solution on a different looking box, either right before the test or 24 hours earlier. We found that children (N = 105) could transfer the solution regardless of the delay and a perceptual conflict introduced in the tool set. For children who failed to transfer (N = 54) and repeated the test without a perceptual conflict, the odds of success did not improve. Our findings suggest that training promoted the detection of functional similarities between boxes and, thereby, flexible transfer both in the short and the long term. [less ▲]

Odd connections on supermanifolds: existence and relation with affine connections

in Journal of Physics. A, Mathematical and Theoretical (2020), 53(45), 455203

The notion of an odd quasi-connection on a supermanifold, which is loosely an affine connection that carries non-zero Grassmann parity, is examined. Their torsion and curvature are defined, however, in ... [more ▼]

The notion of an odd quasi-connection on a supermanifold, which is loosely an affine connection that carries non-zero Grassmann parity, is examined. Their torsion and curvature are defined, however, in general, they are not tensors. A special class of such generalised connections, referred to as odd connections in this paper, have torsion and curvature tensors. Part of the structure is an odd involution of the tangent bundle of the supermanifold and this puts drastic restrictions on the supermanifolds that admit odd connections. In particular, they must have equal number of even and odd dimensions. Amongst other results, we show that an odd connection is defined, up to an odd tensor field of type (1, 2), by an affine connection and an odd endomorphism of the tangent bundle. Thus, the theory of odd connections and affine connections are not completely separate theories. As an example relevant to physics, it is shown that $\mathcal{N}=1$ super-Minkowski spacetime admits a natural odd connection. [less ▲]

Improved Highway Network Block for Training Very Deep Neural Networks

in IEEE Access (2020)

Laboratory Tests of ATSC M/H Commercial Receivers Performance on SFN Networks

in IEEE Latin America Transactions (2020), 18(10),

The Single Frequency Networks (SFN) are widely used in Digital Television transmission networks due to the high spectral efficiency achieved by them. Digital modulation techniques with a cyclic prefix ... [more ▼]

The Single Frequency Networks (SFN) are widely used in Digital Television transmission networks due to the high spectral efficiency achieved by them. Digital modulation techniques with a cyclic prefix, like OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex) are adequate to define and use SFN networks due to their ability to deal with the artificial multipath produced in a SFN network. Nevertheless, the ATSC 1.0 and ATSC M/H standards use the VSB-8 modulation technique, which has no cyclic prefix, so it is very sensitive to multipath. The ATSC 1.0 standard has been recently implemented in Mexico, so the ATSC M/H standard can be used in the next years because it is compatible with ATSC 1.0, meanwhile ATSC 3.0, the newest standard of ATSC, it is not compatible.The performance of the reception with VSB-8 modulation depends strongly on the receiver channel equalizer. For this reason, the objective of this study is to analyze the performance of ATSC M/H commercial receivers in SFN networks. The results of this study will help in the implementation of SFN networks in Mexico and other countries that use ATSC 1.0 and ATSC M/H. [less ▲]

Mixed-fleet single-terminal bus scheduling problem: Modelling, solution scheme and potential applications

in Omega: the International Journal of Management Science (2020), 96

Reducing pollutant emissions and promoting sustainable mobility solutions, including Public Transport (PT), are increasingly becoming key objectives for policymakers worldwide. In this work we develop an ... [more ▼]

Reducing pollutant emissions and promoting sustainable mobility solutions, including Public Transport (PT), are increasingly becoming key objectives for policymakers worldwide. In this work we develop an optimal vehicle scheduling approach for next generation PT systems, considering the instance of mixed electric / hybrid fleet. Our objective is that of investigating to what extent electrification, coupled with optimal fleet management, can yield operational cost savings for PT operators. We propose a Mixed In- teger Linear Program (MILP) to address the problem of optimal scheduling of a mixed fleet of electric and hybrid / non-electric buses, coupled with an ad-hoc decomposition scheme aimed at enhancing the scalability of the proposed MILP. Two case studies arising from the PT network of the city of Luxem- bourg are employed in order to validate the model; sensitivity analysis to fleet design parameters is performed, specifically in terms of fleet size and fleet composition. Conclusions point to the fact that careful modelling and handling of mixed-fleet conditions are necessary to achieve operational savings, and that marginal savings gradually reduce as more conventional buses are replaced by their electric counterparts. We believe the methodology proposed may be a key part of advanced decision support systems for policymakers and operators that are dealing with the on-going transition from conventional bus fleets towards greener transport solutions. [less ▲]

Classification of universal formality maps for quantizations of Lie bialgebras

in Compositio Mathematica (2020), 156(10), 2111-2148

We introduce an endofunctor D in the category of augmented props with the property that for any representation of a prop P in a vector space V the associated prop DP admits an induced representation on ... [more ▼]

We introduce an endofunctor D in the category of augmented props with the property that for any representation of a prop P in a vector space V the associated prop DP admits an induced representation on the graded commutative tensor algebra S(V) given in terms of polydifferential operators. Applying this functor to the prop LieB of Lie bialgebras we show that universal formality maps for quantizations of Lie bialgebras are in in 1-1 correspondence with prop morphisms from the minimal resolution AssB_infty of the prop of associative bialgebras to the polydifferential prop DLieB_infty satisfying certain boundary conditions. We prove that the set of such formality morphisms (having an extra property of being Lie connected) is non-empty. The latter result is used in turn to give a short proof of the formality theorem for universal quantizations of arbitrary Lie bialgebras which says that for any Drinfeld associator there is an associated Lie_infty quasi-isomorphism between the Lie_infty algebras controlling, respectively, deformations of the standard bialgebra structure in S(V) and deformations of any given Lie bialgebra structure in V. We study the deformation complex of an arbitrary universal formality morphism and show that it is quasi-isomorphic (up to one class corresponding to the standard rescaling automorphism of the properad LieB) to the oriented graph complex GC or 3 studied earlier in \cite{Wi2}. This result gives a complete classification of the set of gauge equivalence classes of universal Lie connected formality maps --- it is a torsor over the Grothendieck-Teichm\"uller group GRT and can hence can be identified with the set of Drinfeld associators. [less ▲]

Requiem for a dream: perceived economic conditions and subjective well-being in times of prosperity and economic crisis

in Social Indicators Research (2020), 151

Using the Panel of Social Inequalities in Catalonia, Spain (PaD 2001–2012), this article investigates the relationship between perceptions of economic conditions and subjective well-being in times of ... [more ▼]

Using the Panel of Social Inequalities in Catalonia, Spain (PaD 2001–2012), this article investigates the relationship between perceptions of economic conditions and subjective well-being in times of prosperity and economic crisis. It also analyses how this relation- ship plays out across different social backgrounds. Periods of economic crisis and prosper- ity serve as a proxy for objective macroeconomic conditions. The Spanish region of Cata- lonia is a relevant setting because it faced one of the highest increases in inequality and unemployment in Europe as a result of the 2008 Economic Crisis. Our results show that perceived economic conditions matter beyond objective micro and macroeconomic realm and become a strong determinant of subjective well-being during a crisis, particularly for the middle class. However, contrary to our initial expectations, our results also show the existence of a close correlation between perceptions of economic conditions and subjective well-being for low social background individuals in times of economic prosperity, and an even stronger relationship in times of economic crisis. The article stipulates several poten- tial explanations for these results. [less ▲]

Finite deformations govern the anisotropic shear-induced area reduction of soft elastic contacts

in Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids (2020), 143

Solid contacts involving soft materials are important in mechanical engineering or biomechanics. Experimentally, such contacts have been shown to shrink significantly under shear, an effect which is ... [more ▼]

Solid contacts involving soft materials are important in mechanical engineering or biomechanics. Experimentally, such contacts have been shown to shrink significantly under shear, an effect which is usually explained using adhesion models. Here we show that quantitative agreement with recent high-load experiments can be obtained, with no adjustable parameter, using a non-adhesive model, provided that finite deformations are taken into account. Analysis of the model uncovers the basic mechanisms underlying anisotropic shear-induced area reduction, local contact lifting being the dominant one. We confirm experimentally the relevance of all those mechanisms, by tracking the shear-induced evolution of tracers inserted close to the surface of a smooth elastomer sphere in contact with a smooth glass plate. Our results suggest that finite deformations are an alternative to adhesion, when interpreting a variety of sheared contact experiments involving soft materials. [less ▲]

Chronique de droit des marchés financiers

in Revue des Sociétés (2020)