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After 71 years of commitment to the principles of the Refugee Convention and an obligation to protection; the international system faces challenges as socio-political, economic and security concerns become alibis that betray fidelity to the treaty and are manifest in discrimination and expulsions of asylum-seekers, migrants and refugees. Our paper examines this collapse and highlights themes of covert colour politics and discrimination vis-a-vis the Russia-Ukrainian war. Our methodology combines interviews, narratives and critical analyses as we document the ugly experiences of Africans fleeing the war zone and the denials of protection they face based on their skin colour. Our discussion raises concerns that cannot be ignored as conflicts escalate globally. Rather than embracing the hardline hostility confronting migrants and refugees, we argue for a reappraisal of the movers and their status not as a migration problem to be solved but as victims of a faulty international system that deserve attention.

Streams and rivers, particularly smaller ones, often do not maintain steady flow rates for long enough to reach equilibrium conditions for sediment transport and bed topography. In particular, streams in small watersheds may be subject to rapidly changing hydrographs, and relict bedforms from previous high flows can cause further disequilibrium that complicates the prediction of sediment transport rates. In order to advance the understanding of how bedforms respond to rapid changes in flow rate, a series of flume experiments were performed where the flow was reduced rapidly from equilibrium conditions. Sediment transport rates and bed elevation data across the flume and over a 15-meter-long test section were collected during the experiments to allow detailed examination of evolving bedform dynamics. It was found that relict bedforms stopped moving completely after flow reductions, and the mode of sediment transport was shifted to small bedforms that arose rapidly over dune stoss sections throughout the test section. The changes in sediment transport with time as the sand bed adjusted to the new flow rate was found to agree with predictions based on the relations proposed in Wren et al. (2020). Wavelet analysis is used to visualize changes in length and amplitude scales during the bed transition process.

Background Morphoea can have a significant disease burden. Aetiopathogenesis remains poorly understood, with very limited existing genetic studies. Linear morphoea (LM) may follow Blascho’s lines of epidermal development, providing potential pathogenic clues. Objective The first objective of this study was to identify the presence of primary somatic epidermal mosaicism in LM. The second objective was tTo explore differential gene expression in morphoea epidermis and dermis to identify potential pathogenic molecular pathways and tissue layer cross-talk. Methodology Skin biopsies from paired affected and contralateral unaffected skin were taken from 16 patients with LM. Epidermis and dermis were isolated using a 2-step chemical-physical separation protocol. Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS; n = 4 epidermal) and RNA-seq (n = 5-epidermal, n = 5-dermal) with gene expression analysis via GSEA-MSigDBv6.3 and PANTHER-v14.1 pathway analyses, were performed. RTqPCR and immunohistochemistry were used to replicate key results. Results Sixteen participants (93.8% female, mean age 27.7 yrs disease-onset) were included. Epidermal WGS identified no single affected gene or SNV. However, many potential disease-relevant pathogenic variants were present, including ADAMTSL1 and ADAMTS16. A highly proliferative, inflammatory and profibrotic epidermis was seen, with significantly-overexpressed TNFα-via-NFkB, TGFβ, IL6/JAKSTAT and IFN-signaling, apoptosis, p53 and KRAS-responses. Upregulated IFI27 and downregulated LAMA4 potentially represent initiating epidermal ‘damage’ signals and enhanced epidermal-dermal communication. Morphoea dermis exhibited significant profibrotic, B-cell and IFN-signatures, and upregulated morphogenic patterning pathways such as Wnt. Conclusion This study supports the absence of somatic epidermal mosaicism in LM, and identifies potential disease-driving epidermal mechanisms, epidermal-dermal interactions and disease-specific dermal differential-gene-expression in morphoea. We propose a potential molecular narrative for morphoea aetiopathogenesis which could help guide future targeted studies and therapies.

Air pollution is a prominent problem recently faced in various parts of India due to the burning of stubbles (coconut husk, corn cob, paddy stubbles, sugarcane bagasse, etc.) which are rich in a lignocellulosic component that can be converted into a prebiotic known as Xylooliogsaccaride (XOS). They can be produced by autohydrolysis, acid hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis of xylan. In the present study, Xylan was extracted from sugarcane bagasse using two alkalis (NaOH and KOH) and the yield was compared. Xylooligosaccharide produced by enzymatic hydrolysis and their factors influencing the yield were optimized using Response Surface Methodology. Xylan and Xylooligosaccharide was characterized by FTIR, NMR, XRD, TGA and ESI-MS. Xylooligosaccharides was investigated for their prebiotic potential by in vitro study. The maximum (Relative yield of 86%) yield of xylan was observed in 20% of NaOH. Xylan peaks at 3762cm− 1, 3347 cm− 1, 2917cm− 1 represents the OH and CH stretching of xylan. The main signals at 4.26 (H-1), 3.19 (H-2), 3.59 (H-3), 3.63 (H-4) and 3.98 (H-5) ppm determines the existence of xylan. The higher amount of XOS is pH 4.75, temperature 45°C, enzyme 4U/ml and for time of 16h. The spectrum of 5.0-5.40ppm and 4.30-4.60ppm represents the α anomeric and β anomeric protons in XOS. They are resistant digested and the reaching percentage to the intestine is 95% unhydrolyzed. The maximum prebiotic index was noted in L.plantarum (1.92) and L.fermentum (1.61). The highest prebiotic index and score was observed in L.plantarum (1.9) and L.fermentum (17). The maximum bacteriocin production of Enterococcus faecium against E.fecalis (13mm) and Streptococcus pyogenes (11mm). Therefore, utilization of agricultural residues for a value-added product not only shows a great impact on environmental issues but also could double the farmer’s income

In this article, a novel use of graphics processing units (GPUs) is presented for the acceleration of finite-element time-domain (FETD) methods containing electrically complex media. By leveraging the massively parallel architecture of the GPU via NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) language, the immense computational burden imposed by these materials can be largely alleviated, facilitating their modeling and incorporation into electromagnetic devices and systems. To that end, an analysis of both mixed and vector wave equation-based nonlinear dispersive FETD algorithms is presented in order to both identify computational bottlenecks and determine their amenability to parallelization. Based on this analysis, a parallel elemental matrix-evaluation procedure is proposed, which when coupled to the recently derived Gaussian belief propagation method for matrix assembly and solution, demonstrates a performance increase of up to 200 times as compared with a traditionally serial implementation.

In this article, a finite-element time-domain method is presented for the solution of the second-order vector wave equation (VWE) subject to electrically complex materials, including general combinations of linear dispersion, instantaneous nonlinearity, and dispersive nonlinearity. The presented method is novel in that it offers greater geometric flexibility than existing finite-difference methods, incorporates both instantaneous and dispersive nonlinearity, scales to arbitrary dispersive and nonlinear orders, and is simpler, faster, and requires less computational complexity than existing mixed formulations due to the use of edge elements only.

A novel implementation of a perfectly matched layer (PML) is presented for the truncation of finite-element time-domain (FETD) meshes containing electrically complex materials, exhibiting any combination of linear dispersion, instantaneous nonlinearity, and dispersive nonlinearity. Based on the complex coordinate stretching formulation of the PML, the presented technique yields an artificial absorbing layer whose matching condition is independent of material parameters. Moreover, by virtue of only modifying spatial derivatives, the incorporation of the PML into existing solvers for complex media is simple and straightforward. The resulting material-independent PML is incorporated into a nonlinear dispersive method for the vector wave equation, which leverages the $z$ transform and Newton-Raphson techniques to yield an implementation free from recursive convolutions, auxiliary differential equations, and linearizations. This permits the unprecedented truncation and attenuation of nonlinear phenomena, such as spatial and temporal solitons, within the FETD method.

Optogenetics initially used plant photoreceptors to monitor neural circuits, later it has expanded to include engineered plant photoreceptors. Recently photoreceptors from bacteria, algae and cyanobacteria have been used as an optogenetic tool. Bilin-based photoreceptors are common light-sensitive photoswitches in plants, algae, bacteria and cyanobacteria. Here we discuss the photoreceptors from cyanobacteria. Several new photoreceptors have been explored in cyanobacteria which are now proposed as cyanobacteriochrome. The domains in the cyanobacteriochrome, light-induced signaling transduction, photoconversion, are the most attractive features for the optogenetic system. The wider spectral feature of cyanobacteriochrome from UV to visible radiation makes it a light potential sensitive optogenetic tool. Besides, cyanobacterial phytochrome responses to yellow, orange and blue light have more application in optogenetics. This chapter summarizes the photoconversion, phototaxis, cell aggregation, cell signaling mediated by cyanobacteriochrome and cyanophytochrome. As there is a wide range of cyanobacteriochrome and its combination delivers a varied light-sensitive response. Besides coordination among cyanobacteriochromes in cell signaling reduces the engineering of photoreceptors for the optogenetic system.

Background The bone marrow niche supports hematopoietic cell development through intimate contact with multipotent stromal mesenchymal stem cells; however, the intracellular signaling, function, and regulation of such supportive niche cells are still being defined. Our study was designed to understand how G protein receptor kinase 3 (GRK3) affects bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell function by examining primary cells from GRK3-deficient mice, which we have previously published to have a hypercellular bone marrow and leukocytosis through negative regulation of CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling. Methods Murine GRK3-deficient bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells were harvested and cultured to differentiate into three lineages (adipocyte, chondrocyte, and osteoblast) to confirm multi-potency and compared to wild type cells. Immunoblotting, modified-TANGO experiments, and flow cytometry were used to further examine the effects of GRK3 deficiency on bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cell receptor signaling. Microcomputed tomography was used to determine trabecular and cortical bone composition of GRK3-deficient mice and standard ELISA to quantitate CXCL12 production from cellular cultures.Results GRK3-deficient, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells exhibit enhanced and earlier osteogenic differentiation in vitro. The addition of a sphingosine kinase inhibitor abrogated the osteogenic proliferation and differentiation, suggesting sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor signaling was a putative G-protein coupled receptor regulated by GRK3. Immunoblotting showed prolonged ERK1/2 signaling after stimulation with sphingosine-1-phosphate in GRK3-deficient cells, and modified-TANGO assays suggested the involvement of β-arrestin-2 in sphingosine 1 phosphate receptor internalization. Conclusions Our work suggests that GRK3 regulates sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor signaling on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells by recruiting β-arrestin to the occupied GPCR to promote internalization, and lack of such regulation affects mesenchymal stem cell functionality.

The Global SDG Goals, targets and indicators have to be recommended to local policy, cultural and ecosystem contexts. We present this recommended list of locally recommended indicators for cities and communities in the USA; based on a review of the literature, our familiarity with small area US data sources; as well as our expertise in the field of sustainability planning. We also compared our recommended list with the indicators utilized in the Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s SDG Index for US metros (Espey et al., 2018; Schmidt-Traub et al., Nat Geosci 10: 547–556, 2017). The next iteration of this project will be a survey of a selected number of cities to seek consensus on a final list of local SDGs for US cities. We will develop this segment of the project in collaboration with the Brookings Institute, ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability and the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

From the 1970s to the present time, Houston has had prominent leaders and institutions engaged in research and sustainable development policy and reporting. In this chapter we show how the Houston region compares to other regions in the country. Notable thought leaders such as Gro Harlem Brundtland, Dennis and Donella Meadows, Lester Brown, Herman Kahn, Ian McHarg, and Herman Daly have come to Houston to engage in sustainability strategies. Despite this prominent engagement, the geographic size of the region and its fragmented governance has created major obstacles for sustainable development. In this article, we review major sustainability challenges, opportunities, and constraints for the Houston metropolitan region. We first cite past and present major efforts at developing sustainability programs in the region. Then we highlight unique challenges faced in the Houston region through a comparison to the top 100 most populous metros in the USA. This paper will set the stage for a major regional engagement to support the SDGs.

This edited volume presents North American best practices and perspectives on developing, managing, and monitoring indicators to track development progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in local communities and cities.

In this paper, a mixed finite-element time-domain (FETD) method is presented for the simulation of electrically complex materials, including general combinations of linear dispersion, instantaneous nonlinearity, and dispersive nonlinearity. Using both edge and face elements, the presented method offers greater geometric flexibility than existing finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) implementations, and in contrast to existing nonlinear FETD methods, also incorporates both linear and nonlinear material dispersions. Dielectric nonlinearity is incorporated into the Crank–Nicolson mixed FETD formulation via a straightforward Newton–Raphson approach, for which the associated Jacobian is derived. Moreover, the dispersion is modeled via the Mobius $z$ transform method, yielding a simpler more general algorithm. The method’s accuracy and convergence are verified, and its capability demonstrated via the simulation of several nonlinear phenomena, including temporal and spatial solitons in two spatial dimensions.

Analytical assays performed within clinical laboratories influence roughly 70% of all medical decisions by facilitating disease detection, diagnosis, and management. Both in clinical and academic research laboratories, single-cell assays permit measurement of cell diversity and identification of rare cells, both of which are important in the understanding of disease pathogenesis. For clinically utility, the single-cell assays must be compatible with the clinical workflow steps of sample collection, sample transportation, pre-analysis processing, and single-cell assay; therefore, it is paramount to preserve cells in a state that resembles that in vivo rather than measuring signaling behaviors initiated in response to stressors such as sample collection and processing. To address these challenges, novel cell fixation (and more broadly, cell preservation) techniques incorporate programmable fixation times, reversible bond formation and cleavage, chemoselective reactions, and improved analyte recovery. These technologies will further the development of individualized, precision therapies for patients to yield improved clinical outcomes.