An international court has ruled that Chile does not have to negotiate access to the Pacific Ocean with Bolivia, frustrating hopes of resolving a bitter 135-year dispute.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), based in The Hague, handed down the decision on Monday, with judges voting 12-3 that Chile cannot be forced into dialogue with its Andean neighbour.

“The court […] finds that the Republic of Chile did not undertake a legal obligation to negotiate a sovereign access to the Pacific ocean with the Plurinational State of Bolivia,” said ICJ President Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf.

Landlocked Bolivia lost access to the Pacific following a war with Chile in the late 1800s. Already one of the poorest countries in Latin America, Bolivia says the lack of sea access has hampered its economic growth.

Bolivia has long argued that Chile has been ducking legal obligations to enter negotiations that are outlined in resolutions from the Organization of American States (OAS).

{articleGUID}

Chile, however, says the issue was resolved by a 1904 peace treaty between the two countries and points out that Bolivia already has duty-free access to the Chilean port of Arica.

Monday’s judgement said that OAS resolutions are not legally binding under international law and that talks so far held between the two countries on creating a corridor to the ocean do not compel Chile to actually create such a corridor.

Celebration and sadness

Speaking at a press conference after the ruling, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera celebrated the “great triumph of the Chilean cause” in front of a crowd who chanted “Viva Chile”.

Pinera said his country has always had an “attitude of reconciliation” towards all others, particularly their neighbours, but that Chile would always defend its sovereignty.

{articleGUID}

He once again accused Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, who is seeking a controversial fourth term, of using the territorial dispute to drum up support at home.

Pinera said Chile “has never had any obligation” to negotiate sea access and that Morales had given Bolivians “false expectations”.

For his part, Morales said Bolivia would “never withdraw” its claim to the sea and that the two countries and the rest of the region have a responsibility to resolve the dispute, regardless of Monday’s ruling.

The issue is strongly felt on both sides of the border, with Chilean and Bolivian networks broadcasting the ICJ ruling live.

Bolivia acepta la sentencia de #LaHaya con calma y prudencia

La conclusión de 12 jueces no anula el sentimiento de 10 millones de bolivianos

Bolivia -ahora y siempre- no dejará de buscar un acuerdo político que le permite tener presencia en el mar pic.twitter.com/tk161qslyW — Paz Para Bolivia (@MarParaBolivia_) October 1, 2018

TRANSLATION: Bolivia accepts The Hague’s ruling with calm and prudence. The conclusion of 12 judges does not cancel out the feelings of 10 million Bolivians. Bolivia – now and forever – will not stop looking for a political agreement that allows it to have a presence in the sea.

In schools, Bolivian children sing songs about the country’s return to the sea, while Chile celebrates its victory in the war against Bolivia with a national holiday.

“The sea is a decisive factor for development and prosperity of people and nations,” said Claudio Gutierrez, a philosophy professor a member of Mar Para Bolivia, a group of Chileans who support Bolivia’s claim to the sea.

“Supporting Bolivia is necessary for the brotherhood of South Americans and to heal the damage and injustice that has been done to Bolivia by depriving it of an entryway and direct exit to the sea, which [would allow] it to communicate with the world,” he told Al Jazeera.

Bolivian President Evo Morales has been accused of using the territorial dispute as a campaign issue [Yves Herman/Reuters]

The long-simmering dispute boiled over in 2013 after Bolivia filed a lawsuit with the ICJ, which settles legal disputes between UN member states, in an attempt to force Chile to negotiate sea access.

Chile annexed Bolivia’s 380km coastline in 1884 after the War of the Pacific, leaving Bolivia landlocked.

The row has poisoned diplomatic relations between the two countries, which have not hosted each other’s ambassadors for decades.

{articleGUID}

Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo, reporting from Buenos Aires, Argentina, said while the judgement does leave a door open for future negotiations, it is a major blow to Bolivia.

“This ruling cannot be appealed, it’s definite and there’s obviously lots of disappointment in Bolivia who is traumatised over the loss of its coastline”.

“The ruling is saying that both countries should try to continue on good terms and try to negotiate an end to this ongoing conflict but what’s important also is that this is a big blow for President Evo Morales […] who in a way has been promising that this time the ruling was going to be in Bolivia’s favour,” she said.

“The political conflict hasn’t disappeared, it lies dormant and inhibits Chile and Bolivia from finding political solutions in the future for this problem,” said Gutierrez.

Additional reporting by Charlotte Mitchell: @charbrowmitch


Radial forearm free flap: A dynamic flap for single-staged multiple subunit reconstruction.
We report the case of a middle aged patient with biopsy proven squamous cell carcinoma of buccal mucosa who presented to us in Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi in April, 2017 and required reconstruction of buccal mucosa, upper lip and lower lip. As per protocol of our institute the lesion was excised by the head and neck surgeon and the defect was reconstructed by our team. The defect was large comprising of buccal mucosa including the left oral commissure, upper lip and the lower lip. It was reconstructed via a free flap and a radial forearm free flap. A specially designed radial forearm free flap was harvested and used for reconstruction which resulted in a good aesthetic and functional outcome.


Role of the extracellular domains of the cholecystokinin receptor in agonist binding.
The cholecystokinin (CCK) receptor types A and B (CCKAR and CCKBR) are G protein-coupled receptors with approximately 50% amino acid identity; both have high affinity for the sulfated CCK octapeptide (CCK-8), whereas only the CCKBR has high affinity for gastrin. Previously, we identified five amino acids in the second extracellular loop (ECL) of the CCKBR that were essential for gastrin selectivity. Subsequent mutagenesis of one of these five amino acids (H207F) resulted in the loss of radiolabeled CCK-8 binding. CCK-8 stimulated total inositol phosphate accumulation in COS-1 cells transiently expressing the CCKBR-H207F with full efficacy and a 3044-fold reduced potency, which suggests that the loss of radioligand binding was caused by a loss in affinity. Alanine scanning mutagenesis was performed on the amino terminus near the top of transmembrane domain I (TMI) and on ECL1, two extracellular domains implicated in ligand binding by previous mutagenesis studies. 125I-Bolton-Hunter-CCK-8 binding to mutant receptors transiently expressed in COS-1 identified one nonconserved amino acid, R57A, at the top of TMI that caused a 21-fold reduction in CCK-8 affinity and four conserved amino acids, N115A, L116A, F120A and F122A, in the ECL1 that caused a 15.6-, 6-, 440-, and 8-fold reduction in affinity or efficacy. Alanine substitution of the equivalent amino acids in the CCKAR corresponding to each of the five amino acids in ECL1 and ECL2 affecting CCK-8 affinity for the CCKBR revealed only two mutations, L103A and F107A, that decreased CCK-8 affinity (68- and 2885-fold, respectively). These data suggest that CCK-8 interacts at multiple contact points in the extracellular domains of CCK receptors and that the CCKAR and CCKBR have distinct binding sites despite their shared high affinity for CCK-8.


SYRIA: Coalition submits UPR report

SYRIA: Coalition submits UPR report and urges to address state of impunity and ensure protection of civilians

At the end of October 2016, the human rights record of the Syrian government for the period 2011-2015 will be examined in the context of the Universal Periodical Review, a State-driven process conducted under the auspices of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

EuroMed Rights and its Syrian partners worked together to produce a joint UPR contribution report (available in English and in Arabic) analyzing the Syrian situation in order to advocate jointly on the Syrian government’s blatant violations of its international commitments. The report was formally presented and discussed with a number of UN member States prior to the formal UPR examination of Syria.

The report describes the scope of the Syrian government’s international commitments, including recommendations accepted over the previous UPR review which were not implemented, as well as a critical review of institutional reforms undertaken since 2011. The report also documents a number of gross violations committed by the Syrian government, including the use of prohibited weapons and toxic gas against civilians, illegal sieges imposed on entire communities and the widespread use of lethal torture against persons in custody under governmental jurisdiction.

“The extent of gross violations committed over the last five years in Syria cannot possibly be covered in one contribution report to the Universal Periodic Review”, said Husam Al Katlaby, Executive Director of Violations Documentation Center in Syria and spokesperson of the coalition, in a statement presented in early October in Geneva during an informal consultation with UN member States. “The Syrian people is losing hope in international justice, which could pave the way for more violence. We demand that international mechanisms be set in place in order to compel the Syrian government to end these violations and with the view to prosecute perpetrators of international crimes”, Al Katlaby added.

Information included in the joint contribution report is entirely based on data gathered by Syrian organisations of the coalition. During the process, none of the organisations was able to conduct consultations with the Syrian government, which forbids any independent human rights organisations to operate in Syria and targets human rights defenders by all means, including arbitrary arrests, extra-judiciary killing and a wide range of persecutions.

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About Euromed Rights

A network of more than 80 human rights organisations, institutions and individuals based in 30 countries in the Euro-Mediterranean.
Created in 1997 in response to the Barcelona Declaration and the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, we stand by universal human rights principles and strongly believe in the value of cooperation and dialogue across and within borders.


With astrolabes in Harvard's Scientific Instrument Collection

In our newest series on the Women in Astronomy blog, we'd like to introduce our readers to the Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy.

Jessica Mink has been a positional astronomer and developer of astronomical tools, data pipelines, and archives at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for over 30 years, working with data from ground-based (and one space-based) telescopes. Between her MIT BS and MS degrees and this job, she was involved in solar system optical spectroscopy, high-speed occultation photometry, and the geometrical astronomy and catalog development needed to predict the occulations she observed with her colleagues. Her life story is complicated by the fact that she has undergone some major changes that headed her toward the AAS CSWA and CSGMA.

Describe the first time you made a personal connection with the planets and stars?

Reading from the letters of Sophia Ripley,

a cofounder of the Brook Farm Community

I started out interested in the Earth: a large bag of mineral crystals we bought when I was seven from a grizzled prospector in the Black Hills of South Dakota got me interested in the stuff from which it was made. The astronauts were selected at about the same time, and I became a space buff, too, asking for a telescope for my birthday and getting interested in the moon and planets. I grew up far enough into the country that the Milky Way was visible on any clear night from my yard, too.

How did you end up working in the field?

After high school, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to study particle physics, planetary geology, or architecture. I went to MIT because I could go in any of these directions, and it turned out to be a good place for changing majors when I found out that I wasn't very good at physics but could make a computer do anything I wanted it to. I wrote code to model gravitational fields on the moon, map planet surfaces and reduce digital spectra. I also took courses to learn all of the ways that one could study planets in the early 1970's, putting together my own major in what I now call Planetary Astronomy or Comparative Planetology, depending on how Earth-centered I'm feeling.

When I got married the day before I graduated, I became half of a two-body problem. After we spent a couple of years programming in areas unrelated to our scientific interests, during which time my spouse switched from artificial intelligence to wildlife ecology, we both applied to Cornell (attractions being Carl Sagan and a colony of skunks; it's complicated.). I didn't get in, but my spouse did, but in my rejection letter, Carl said there was a possibility of a job in his lab so I could prove my value and apply to the PhD program the following year.We moved, I got the job, which involved helping discover the Uranian rings (see below), and I started doing research and publishing papers. I didn't want to stop doing science to go back to school and get a PhD, so I just kept working. I have probably done a couple of theses worth of work over the years. And I know a lot about Eastern Striped Skunks, too, as my relationship with them turned out to last longer than the marriage.

Who inspired you?

My third grade teacher, Mrs. Higgins, got me interested in nature and everything around me. She was tough, and a lot of my classmates didn't like her, but I tried to meet her challenges, sometimes succeeding.

When I was in high school, Carl Sagan started to become well-known to the general public, and I went into the local big city, Chicago, to hear him give a series of lectures, which strengthened my interest in solar system astronomy. I treasure a signed first edition of “Cosmic Connections”, published while I was in grad school at MIT, and the two and a half years I worked down the hall from him and got to hear him ask pertinent questions at colloquia.

Jim Elliot was the most generous scientist I have ever known, making sure that everyone on our occultation team, including engineers and programmers, was involved in every aspect of the work and always got credit for their contributions. I was lucky to be able to work with him for 8 years.

What is an astronomical software developer?

I turn scientific knowledge into modeling and analysis software, performing many of the computations astrophysicists need to do their work but would rather have someone else do. The trick is to make that software accessible to everyone who can use it by turning it into a set of well-documented and testable tools, which I have done with RVSAO , an IRAF package for redshifts and radial velocities, which I wrote over 25 years ago and still maintain, and WCSTools , a standalone package of software tools for manipulating image files, catalogs, coordinates, and the world coordinate systems which tie them together. Along the way, I wrote data pipelines to make data usable, starting with one for one of the first digital spectrographs for my Masters thesis at MIT. This was followed by a suite of reduction and analysis software for high speed photometry (at Cornell and MIT), scan mapping of the infrared sky from the Spacelab 2 Infrared Telescope on the space shuttle (at SAO), and a series of one- and two-dimensional high and low resolution spectrographs (at SAO).

Why are community issues important to you?

Wearing the solar system

I like people and think that a diverse group of people is more creative than a bunch of people who are alike. When I joined the AAS almost 35 years ago, I was the only one in my research group to be a member of the Division for Planetary Science and the Division on Dynamical Astronomy because my work involved combining precise solar system motions and star positions to study both the nature of planets and their environment and the nature of the stars they occulted. I got involved in both communities, serving on local organizing committees for both and the DDA division committee, as well as running the DDA's web site for 15 years. I value the community of astronomers as friends and colleagues and want it to be as good as it can be. When I changed gender , I simultaneously joined two professional minorities ( women astronomers and the much smaller group of transgender astronomers ). I found myself in the middle of a new unified campaign for inclusion of people from diverse backgrounds and identities. In the past year, I have learned a lot about what is still to be done through involvement with the first Inclusive Astronomy conference and the AAS Diversity Summit.

Tell us about a favorite moment so far in your career.

My favorite moment occurred when I was 25, less than 6 months into that new job at Cornell almost 40 years ago, while flying in the Kuiper Airborne Observatory somewhere over the southern Indian Ocean, when Jim Elliott, Ted Dunham, and I saw a star's signal from out high-speed photometer drop well before and well after it was blocked by Uranus, the atmosphere of which we were planning to probe. My exclamation,“Uranus has its own asteroid belt, obviously”, recorded and published in Jim Elliot's and Dick Kerr's “Rings”, turned out not to quite be true, as we were discovering the second known set of planetary rings in the solar system.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to take the same career path as you?

Be patient, work hard, and think about how to plan your life so you can do things you like to do in addition to astronomy. Finding partners who support what you do helps a lot, too, though lives change, and relationships aren't permanent. Sometimes, this takes sacrifices.

What do you do for fun?

Leading women cyclists on the Neponset River Greenway

What are your goals as a part of the CSWA?

I want to make sure that men, women, and others, both young and old, know that there are lots of ways for a woman to be a scientist, and that diversity makes for better science.

What's next?

I turn 65 in 2016, and want to keep on doing all of things I'm currently doing for as long as I can and get more involved with exoplanet research and the history of astronomical data. I have several older role models around me that have shown how productive one can remain.


The Cost of Managing Occupational Injuries Among Frontline Construction Workers in Ghana.
The cost burden of occupational injuries has significant effects on the social well-being of workers. Although there seems to be growing evidence on the cost burden on other public health issues, little is known about occupational injuries, especially in low- to middle-income countries including Ghana. This study, therefore, sought to estimate the cost burden of managing occupational injuries among frontline construction workers. A prevalence-based cost of illness approach was used to estimate the cost burden of construction injuries. A structured questionnaire was used to collect cost-related data from 640 frontline construction workers. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate direct and indirect cost of injuries using Microsoft Excel and STATA version 14. Overall, a worker spends an average of GHC 104.84 ($24.52) and GHC 180.89 ($42.31) as direct and indirect costs, respectively. Compared with other injuries, fracture had the highest average cost, GHS 343.33 ($80.30), and concussion and internal injury recorded the lowest cost. Also, compared with other trade specialties, carpenters had the highest average cost burden and laborers had the lowest burden. There is high direct and indirect cost for managing occupational injury among construction workers. Advocacy and awareness about workplace insurance and regulatory policies should adequately be strengthened and prioritized through periodic monitoring and evaluations.


# Translation of Odoo Server.
# This file contains the translation of the following modules:
# * account_check_writing
#
# Translators:
msgid ""
msgstr ""
"Project-Id-Version: Odoo 8.0\n"
"Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: \n"
"POT-Creation-Date: 2015-01-21 14:07+0000\n"
"PO-Revision-Date: 2015-07-17 06:43+0000\n"
"Last-Translator: Martin Trigaux\n"
"Language-Team: Latvian (http://www.transifex.com/odoo/odoo-8/language/lv/)\n"
"MIME-Version: 1.0\n"
"Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n"
"Content-Transfer-Encoding: \n"
"Language: lv\n"
"Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; plural=(n%10==1 && n%100!=11 ? 0 : n != 0 ? 1 : 2);\n"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: model:ir.actions.act_window,help:account_check_writing.action_write_check
msgid ""
"<p class=\"oe_view_nocontent_create\">\n"
"                Click to create a new check. \n"
"              </p><p>\n"
"                The check payment form allows you to track the payment you do\n"
"                to your suppliers using checks. When you select a supplier, the\n"
"                payment method and an amount for the payment, Odoo will\n"
"                propose to reconcile your payment with the open supplier\n"
"                invoices or bills.\n"
"              </p>\n"
"            "
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: model:ir.model,name:account_check_writing.model_account_voucher
msgid "Accounting Voucher"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:account.voucher,allow_check:0
msgid "Allow Check Writing"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:account.journal,allow_check_writing:0
msgid "Allow Check writing"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:account.voucher,amount_in_word:0
msgid "Amount in Word"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: view:account.check.write:account_check_writing.view_account_check_write
msgid "Cancel"
msgstr "Atcelt"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: view:account.check.write:account_check_writing.view_account_check_write
#: model:ir.actions.report.xml,name:account_check_writing.action_report_check
msgid "Check"
msgstr "Pārbaudīt"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:res.company,check_layout:0
msgid "Check Layout"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: help:account.journal,use_preprint_check:0
msgid "Check if you use a preformated sheet for check"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: selection:res.company,check_layout:0
msgid "Check in middle"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: selection:res.company,check_layout:0
msgid "Check on Top"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: selection:res.company,check_layout:0
msgid "Check on bottom"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: help:res.company,check_layout:0
msgid ""
"Check on top is compatible with Quicken, QuickBooks and Microsoft Money. "
"Check in middle is compatible with Peachtree, ACCPAC and DacEasy. Check on "
"bottom is compatible with Peachtree, ACCPAC and DacEasy only"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: help:account.journal,allow_check_writing:0
msgid "Check this if the journal is to be used for writing checks."
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: model:ir.model,name:account_check_writing.model_res_company
msgid "Companies"
msgstr "Uzņēmumi"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:account.check.write,create_uid:0
msgid "Created by"
msgstr "Izveidoja"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:account.check.write,create_date:0
msgid "Created on"
msgstr "Izveidots"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: view:website:account_check_writing.report_check
msgid "Description"
msgstr "Apraksts"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: view:website:account_check_writing.report_check
msgid "Discount"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: view:website:account_check_writing.report_check
msgid "Due Date"
msgstr "Apmaksas termiņš"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: code:addons/account_check_writing/wizard/account_check_batch_printing.py:59
#, python-format
msgid "Error!"
msgstr "Kļūda!"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:account.check.write,id:0
#: field:report.account_check_writing.report_check,id:0
msgid "ID"
msgstr "ID"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: model:ir.model,name:account_check_writing.model_account_journal
msgid "Journal"
msgstr "Reģistrs"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:account.check.write,write_uid:0
msgid "Last Updated by"
msgstr "Pēdējo reizi atjaunoja"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:account.check.write,write_date:0
msgid "Last Updated on"
msgstr "Pēdējās izmaiņas"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:account.check.write,check_number:0
msgid "Next Check Number"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: code:addons/account_check_writing/account_voucher.py:77
#, python-format
msgid "No check selected "
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: code:addons/account_check_writing/wizard/account_check_batch_printing.py:59
#, python-format
msgid "One of the printed check already got a number."
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: view:website:account_check_writing.report_check
msgid "Open Balance"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: view:website:account_check_writing.report_check
msgid "Original Amount"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: view:website:account_check_writing.report_check
msgid "Payment"
msgstr "Maksājums"

#. module: account_check_writing
#: model:ir.model,name:account_check_writing.model_account_check_write
msgid "Prin Check in Batch"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: view:account.check.write:account_check_writing.view_account_check_write
#: view:account.voucher:account_check_writing.view_vendor_payment_check_form
msgid "Print Check"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: model:ir.actions.act_window,name:account_check_writing.action_account_check_write
msgid "Print Check in Batch"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: code:addons/account_check_writing/account_voucher.py:77
#, python-format
msgid "Printing error"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: help:account.check.write,check_number:0
msgid "The number of the next check number to be printed."
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: field:account.journal,use_preprint_check:0
msgid "Use Preprinted Check"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: model:ir.actions.act_window,name:account_check_writing.action_write_check
#: model:ir.ui.menu,name:account_check_writing.menu_action_write_check
msgid "Write Checks"
msgstr ""

#. module: account_check_writing
#: view:account.check.write:account_check_writing.view_account_check_write
msgid "or"
msgstr "vai"


Nucleotide excision repair of 5-formyluracil in vitro is enhanced by the presence of mismatched bases.
5-Formyluracil (fU) is a major thymine lesion produced by reactive oxygen radicals and photosensitized oxidation. Although this residue is a potentially mutagenic lesion and is removed by several base excision repair enzymes, it is unknown whether fU is the substrate of nucleotide excision repair (NER). Here, we analyzed the binding specificity of XPC-HR23B, which initiates NER, and cell-free NER activity on fU opposite four different bases. The result of the gel mobility shift assay showed that XPC-HR23B binds the fU-containing substrates in the following order: fU:C >> fU:T > fU:G > fU:A. Furthermore, in the presence of XPC-HR23B, the dual incision activity was the same as the order of the binding affinity of XPC-HR23B to fU. Therefore, it is concluded that even fU, regarded as a shape mimic of thymine, can be recognized as a substrate of NER incision, and the efficiency depends on instability of the base pair.


interpreter interface
isIdentityMap: shifts with: masks
	"Return true if shiftTable/maskTable define an identity mapping."
	<var: #shifts type:'int *'>
	<var: #masks type:'unsigned int *'>
	(shifts == nil or:[masks == nil]) ifTrue:[^true].
	((shifts at: RedIndex) = 0
		and:[(shifts at: GreenIndex) = 0
		and:[(shifts at: BlueIndex) = 0
		and:[(shifts at: AlphaIndex) = 0
			and:[((masks at: RedIndex) = 16rFF0000)
			and:[((masks at: GreenIndex) = 16r00FF00)
			and:[((masks at: BlueIndex) = 16r0000FF)
			and:[((masks at: AlphaIndex) = 16rFF000000)]]]]]]])
		ifTrue:[^true].
	^false


Extreme Adventure Biking

For these bikers, potential peril exists in every curve of the road.

A Matter of Fog and Faith

"The World's Most Dangerous Road" is little more than a narrow ledge carved into the mountainside: a two-way road often no wider than a single car, a rocky ribbon of blind corners and hairpin turns. It has been the only route from the farmlands of the Yungas Valley up to Bolivia's capital, La Paz.


Medical Adviser

Features

Self-monitoring Information

Summary

Assesses whether a user might be at risk of blackouts. Developed for people with epilepsy, psychological problems, or syncope (and also intended for use by their family members or carers, or by medical professionals). After the user has answered a checklist of questions related to blackout, the app awards a red or green ‘flag’, depending on whether the user seems at high risk of blackouts, or is more likely to experience blackouts only of a simple, harmless type.

Reviews

Reviewer: Syncope Trust And Reflex anoxic Seizures (STARS), UKReview: “We have developed a new app to identify blackouts which require medical attention. It is hoped that the app will go some way to prevent misdiagnosis, and help identify potentially fatal blackouts for medical attention. The app provides us with a new medium to reach patients and professionals, to ensure that anyone presenting with blackouts receives the correct diagnosis, the appropriate treatment, informed support, and signposting to the appropriate medical professional.”Source:http://bit.ly/RhipWfUsage: Not specifiedWeblink of reviewer:http://www.stars.org.ukReviewer: Atrial Fibrillation Association (AFA), UKReview: “Has been developed to enable patients, family members and doctors to go through questions relating to the high-risk causes of blackouts. Any high-risk characteristic of the patient gets a red ‘flag’, signifying that the patient should seek medical attention. If no red flags are found, the patient gets a green ‘flag’.”Source: PatientView survey, July-August 2012Usage: Not specifiedWeblink of reviewer:http://www.atrialfibrillation.org.uk

PatientView provides this website for use as information, or for educational purposes. We do not warrant that the information we provide on the website will meet your health or medical requirements. Contact a health professional if you are concerned about your health. Nor can we guarantee that the information we provide on the website will always be up to date or accurate. PatientView is providing details of apps recommended by patient groups, an act which does not imply PatientView’s endorsement of any app. PatientView is not responsible for third-party content. Read more for copyright considerations


Miss Bidmead said: “This is a significant moment and a major step forward for this academy.

“For a number of years, it has been placed in special measures.

“That tag is no longer around our neck and credit should be given to the students, staff, governors and sponsors for the hard work that has gone in to turning the academy around.

“Everybody knows there remains much to be done. Inspectors said the academy now requires improvement and we accept that.

“But being taking out of special measures has given everybody an enormous boost. It is further evidence that the changes we have made are working. We now need to keep pressing ahead.”

Mr Tarn congratulated Miss Bidmead, appointed just over two years ago, and her team for the turn around.

“This school has been in special measures for almost five years,” he said. “The Principal, Zoe Bidmead, has transformed Melior Community Academy in the short time she has been leading it.

“Zoe has created a highly effective senior team that is rightly now focussed on providing an outstanding education for students. I am confident that these improvements, recognised in the report, will ensure the school from moves from strength to strength.”

Inspectors, highlighting the academy’s strengths, praised the impact of Miss Bidmead and Delta.


glabel func_80A5E588
/* 03298 80A5E588 27BDFFE8 */  addiu   $sp, $sp, 0xFFE8           ## $sp = FFFFFFE8
/* 0329C 80A5E58C AFBF0014 */  sw      $ra, 0x0014($sp)
/* 032A0 80A5E590 AC800154 */  sw      $zero, 0x0154($a0)         ## 00000154
/* 032A4 80A5E594 0C29796B */  jal     func_80A5E5AC
/* 032A8 80A5E598 AC800150 */  sw      $zero, 0x0150($a0)         ## 00000150
/* 032AC 80A5E59C 8FBF0014 */  lw      $ra, 0x0014($sp)
/* 032B0 80A5E5A0 27BD0018 */  addiu   $sp, $sp, 0x0018           ## $sp = 00000000
/* 032B4 80A5E5A4 03E00008 */  jr      $ra
/* 032B8 80A5E5A8 00000000 */  nop


How To Make Cream-Filled Doughnuts

Freshly baked cream-filled doughnuts are a good way to start your morning. Most people buy doughnuts from the store. However, biting into a freshly made cream-filled doughnut made by you is more fulfilling. Making your own doughnuts at home can take some time but you can do it easily by following some step-by-step instructions. Learn how to make delicious cream-filled doughnuts below.

Ingredients. The ingredients that you need for the doughnuts are yeast, warm water, sugar, salt, egg, shortening, flour and milk. For the cream filling, you need shortening, butter, vanilla extract, confectioner’s sugar and milk.

Measure ingredients for the dough. Measure the ingredients that you need for the dough so that it will be easier for you to add later on. You need a pack of the yeast, an egg, 2 ½ cups of flour, 1/6 cup of shortening, half a teaspoon of salt, ¼ cup of sugar, ¾ cup of warm milk and 1/8 cup of warm water.

Combine the ingredients. Get a large mixing bowl and pour in the warm water. Add the pack of yeast until dissolved. Next, add a cup of flour, milk, sugar, egg, shortening and salt. Beat this mixture for 30 seconds using low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to get the ingredients at the center. Beat the mixture for another 2 minutes on medium speed until the ingredients are well blended. Afterward, add the remaining flour to the mixture and mix until it is blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place for an hour.

Roll the dough. Now you can roll the dough. Work on a flat surface and sprinkle some flour on your work area. Use a round cookie cutter to form the doughnuts. This recipe should make a dozen doughnuts. Sprinkle some flour on a cookie sheet and arrange the doughnuts. Cover the sheet with plastic wrap to allow the doughnuts to rise. This can take half an hour.

Fry the doughnuts. Prepare a deep fryer and add some oil. The heat of the oil should be 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a cooking thermometer. Fry the doughnuts when the oil is ready. Allow them to cook for a minute on each side or until they turn golden brown. Prepare a strainer and drain the excess oil from the doughnuts. While the doughnuts are draining, make the cream filling.

Mix the cream filling. Get a medium sized mixing bowl. Cream ¼ cup each of the butter and shortening. Gradually add half a cup of sugar at a time to the mixture until you have added 2 cups. Mix in a tablespoon of milk and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix until the ingredients are well blended.

Add the filling. When the doughnuts are cool, you can already add the filling. Make a hole on one side of the doughnut and use a piping bag to add the filling inside. Sprinkle some confectioner’s sugar on top of the doughnut.

Now you can make your very own cream-filled doughnuts. Eat the doughnuts
with a cup of coffee in the morning for a boost of energy.


IEP will conduct a press briefing Friday at 10am PDT.

Call in number: ?1-800-374-2393
Pass code: ?Independent Energy Producers

Thanks,
Jean

--
Jean Munoz
McNally Temple Associates, Inc.
916-447-8186
916-447-6326 (fx)


Increased mortality in the slim elderly: a 42 years follow-up study in a general population

Abstract

The Bergen Clinical Blood Pressure Study in Norway was used to examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI (kg/m2)) and total mortality in different age segments. Of 6,811 invited subjects, 5,653 (84%) participated in the study (1965–1971) and 4,520 (66%) died during 182,798 person-years of follow-up (1965–2007). Mean age at baseline was 47.5 years; range 22–75 years. BMI (kg/m2) was calculated from standardized measurements of body height and weight and divided into four groups (<22.0, 22.0–24.9, 25.0–27.9, ≥28.0). The 20 years cumulative risk of death related to baseline BMI was U-shaped in the elderly (aged 65–75 years), whereas the pattern was more linear in the youngest age group (20–44 years). In contrast to the younger age groups, the highest mortality in the elderly was in the lower BMI range (<22.0 kg/m2) (adjusted Cox proportional Hazard Ratio 1.39, 95% Confidence Interval 1.10, 1.75) compared to the BMI reference group (22.0–24.9 kg/m2). This pattern persisted after 72 months of early follow-up exclusion and it was robust to adjustments for a wide range of possible confounders including gender, history of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease or hypertension, smoking habits, physical activity, socioeconomic status, physical appearance and other anthropometric measures. The study shows that a low BMI is an appreciable independent risk factor of total mortality in the elderly, and not a result of subclinical disease or confounding factors such as current or previous smoking. Awareness of this issue ought to be emphasized in advice, care and treatment of elderly subjects.


Chemical investigation of Titan and Triton tholins.
We report chromatographic and spectroscopic analyses of both Titan and Triton tholins, organic solids made from the plasma irradiation of 0.9:0.1 and 0.999:0.001 N2/CH4 gas mixtures, respectively. The lower CH4 mixing ratio leads to a nitrogen-richer tholin (N/C > 1), probably including nitrogen heterocyclic compounds. Unlike Titan tholin, bulk Triton tholin is poor in nitriles. From high-pressure liquid chromatography, ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopy, and molecular weight estimation by gel filtration chromatography, we conclude that (1) several H2O-soluble fractions, each with distinct UV and IR spectral signatures, are present, (2) these fractions are not identical in the two tholins, (3) the H2O-soluble fractions of Titan tholins do not contain significant amounts of nitriles, despite the major role of nitriles in bulk Titan tholin, and (4) the H2O-soluble fractions of both tholins are mainly molecules containing about 10 to 50 (C + N) atoms. We report yields of amino acids upon hydrolysis of Titan and Triton tholins. Titan tholin is largely insoluble in the putative hydrocarbon lakes or oceans on Titan, but can yield the H2O-soluble species investigated here upon contact with transient (e.g., impact-generated) liquid water.


OTTAWA—The federal government is searching for temporary winter housing for thousands even as the military mobilizes to make room for the expected influx of 25,000 Syrian refugees by year’s end.

Public Works is establishing a list of facilities that can provide accommodations for large groups of Syrians fleeing their country’s civil war, according to a notice posted Thursday morning.

The sites will have to accommodate between 500 and 3,000 people each for as long as three months, beginning in early December, and be completely self-contained — including energy generation, waste management, and provide space for an information centre and offices for management personnel.

“The Government of Canada is taking the necessary steps to prepare for the arrival of Syrian refugees,” said Pierre-Alain Bujold, a spokesperson for Public Works, in a short statement to the Star Thursday evening.

At the same time, the Canadian military is dispatching troops, winterizing facilities and peering less than two weeks in the future when plane-loads of Syrians are expected to begin arriving in their new home.

The military has already deployed a dozen personnel to Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon — the sites of the United Nations’ camps Canada is looking to draw refugees from — to co-ordinate with other government personnel involved in the resettlement operation.

But the biggest flurry of activity is occurring on Canadian soil. A National Defence spokesperson confirmed Thursday that military bases in Ontario and Quebec have already been designated as “interim lodging” for new arrivals.

CFB Trenton, in eastern Ontario and the military’s main transportation hub, has pledged to take in 10,000 of the 25,000 refugees. CFB Petawawa, which is located halfway between Ottawa and North Bay, is the largest military base in the country.

There are reports and murmurings that other bases are preparing to be called into service as well, including CFB Gagetown, which housed hundreds of refugees from Kosovo upon their arrival in Canada in 1999, CFB Edmonton, and even CFB Cold Lake, the remote air force base located 300 km northeast of the Alberta capital.

A government source told the Star that a detailed briefing on the government’s plans is expected next week.

Janet Dench, the executive director of the Canadian Council of Refugees, is worried that military bases are not an ideal place to house refugees fleeing a warzone. But Dench said that wherever the refugees land, it will be an improvement on the precarious situation they currently find themselves in.

“We’ve heard . . . about Syrians who have already arrived, that they find there’s a fairly high level of need in terms of mental health concerns,” Dench said in an interview. “So that’s again just reinforcing why having a non-military reception would be ideal, if possible.”

The Liberals have kept details of their resettlement plan close to the chest, as Immigration and Refugee Minister John McCallum continues to talk with his provincial counterparts.

A government source told the Star that the plan is still being finalized, and remains fluid as they continue to review options to bring the refugees in both quickly and with due attention to public safety risks. Both RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson and CSIS Director Michel Coulombe told reporters Wednesday that they’re confident the security screening in place is adequate to the task.

Provincial ministers are also preparing for the task of assisting the refugees with both shelter and services when they arrive. At Queen’s Park, Health Minister Eric Hoskins, who co-chairs a new ad hoc cabinet committee on refugees, confirmed Ontario is gearing up to welcome the newcomers.

“It’s a significant number that we’re going to receive . . . and we will be prepared,” said Hoskins, who worked in refugee camps for a decade in the Middle East and North Africa.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“We’re well into our planning process. We have the capacity – we have tremendous expertise in receiving refugees in this province, including providing the necessary support for health care.”


First Methodist Episcopal Church of Delta

The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Delta, located at 199 E. Fifth St. in Delta, Colorado, was built in 1910 in the Tudor Revival style.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.  Its parsonage was included as a second contributing building in that listing, and reflects Bungalow/Craftsman architecture.  The church has also been known as First Methodist Church of Delta and as Delta United Methodist Church.

It was designed by Samuel A. Bullard of Springfield, Illinois architects Bullard & Bullard, or, rather, plans were bought from that company.

References

Category:Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado
Category:Tudor Revival architecture in Colorado
Category:Churches completed in 1910
Category:Buildings and structures in Delta County, Colorado
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Delta County, Colorado
Category:Methodist Episcopal churches in the United States


Assessment of regional myocardial uptake and metabolism of omega-(p-123I-phenyl) pentadecanoic acid with serial single-photon emission tomography.
The utility of myocardial imaging and assessment of regional myocardial metabolism of omega-(123I-paraphenyl-)pentadecanoic acid (I-PPA) by means of serial single-photon tomography is demonstrated in animal experiments. High quality cross sectional images of dog hearts with clear delineation of left ventricular walls are obtained. Myocardial infarcts are visualized as areas of deficient radioactivity uptake. I-PPA elimination from non-infarcted myocardial regions is significantly (p less than 0.001) prolonged when compared with unaffected controls. Hence, not only localized absence of uptake of free fatty acid by infarcted myocardium can be demonstrated with serial single-photon tomography but also general impairment of cardiac FFA-metabolism.


Q:

Java: Subarrays and Binary search algorithm

I must create a program that searches for an int in arr1 by a binary search algorithm and return -1 if the int isn't found. I'm having trouble with creating subarrays. It works at the moment without them but I've only a workaround for whenever the int is greater than start.
public class Question8p2 {
    public static void main(String[] args){
        int[] arr1 = {2,45,234,567,876,900,976,999};
        int start = arr1.length / 2;
        int searchNum = 900;
        arraySearch(start, searchNum, arr1);
        System.out.println(arraySearch(start, searchNum, arr1));
    }

    public static int arraySearch(int start, int searchNum, int [] arr1){
        if (arr1[start] == searchNum){
            return start;
        }

        if (arr1[start] < searchNum){
            start = start + 1;
        }

        if (arr1[start] > searchNum){
            start = start / 2;
        }

        if (start == arr1[0] || start == arr1.length){
            return -1;
        }

        return arraySearch(start, searchNum, arr1);
    }
}

A:

First to answer your question - you can create a sub-array by using Arrays.copyOfRange(array,from,to)..
However, this is NOT what you want to do. Creating a subarray this way is O(n) (recall that it is a copy..), and you don't want to do it.
Instead, use arguments in your method, start and end - that indicate the range your binary search is looking for now.
Also note that increasing by 1 when the element is not found is not binary search, instead you need to design your algorithm that it will always 'jump' by half of the remaining array - and not by a constant size.
According to this, your method signature will be something like:
public static int arraySearch( int [] arr1, int start, int end, int searchNumber){ ... }

You will then set a mid element: int mid = start + (end - start)/2;
And you will check if the required number is bigger than arr1[mid] or not.
If it is, you will recurse with arraySearch(arr1,mid+1,end,searchNumber), and if it is smaller you will recurse with arraySearch(arr1,start,mid,searchNumber)
Hope that clarifies how your binary search should be implemented.
Good Luck!

A:

The very best way to perform that search in Java is this:
Arrays.binarySearch(arr1, start, arr1.length, searchNum);

However, since a reinventing-the-wheel is required for the assignment, you can't just use that. But there are a number of hints you can take from Arrays.binarySearch to help design your program.
One of the main obstacles you are facing here is the method signature you are using:
public static int arraySearch(int start, int searchNum, int [] arr1)

If you were to pattern your method signature off that used by the Arrays.binarySearch method, the task becomes much easier. So you should be implementing something that also allows an end index to be specified. I would also change the argument order to match Arrays.binarySearch, and even call it binarySearch:
public static int binarySearch(int [] a, int fromIdx, int toIdx, int key)

So you should do something like this.
public static int binarySearch(int [] a, int fromIdx, int toIdx, int key){
    if(fromIdx == toIdx) return -1;

    int pivotIdx = (fromIdx + toIdx)/2;

    if(a[pivotIdx] < key) return binarySearch(a, fromIdx, pivotIdx, key);
    if(a[pivotIdx] == key) return pivotIdx;
    if(a[pivotIdx] > key) return binarySearch(a, pivotIdx, toIdx, key);
}


PARIS -- French President Emmanuel Macron's dog Nemo interrupted a meeting his master was having with members of his government when he urinated against a fireplace in the Elysee Palace.

French TV channel LCI on Sunday broadcast the incident, which was caught on video in a gilded and chandeliered room in the presidential palace.

When Macron realized his black Labrador-Griffon mix had just relieved himself nearby, he told the ministers that the dog "was doing something quite exceptional."

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Asked by one if it happened often, Macron laughed and told him: "You have triggered completely unusual behavior in my dog."

Nemo was adopted in August by Macron and his wife, Brigitte, and named after Captain Nemo, the fictional hero of Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea." Macron is a fan of the book.

Nemo was adopted from an animal shelter and is believed to be about 1 to 2 years old.


The relation between horizontality and rod-and-frame and vestibular navigational performance.
Sex differences on Piaget's water-level (horizontality) test are well established but poorly understood. In this article, correlates of female horizontality performance are systematically explored. Across the five experiments reported, it was found that female subjects who failed the water-level test (poor-horizontality female subjects) were selectively impaired on tasks that required processing information from the otolith organs. In Experiment 1, poor-horizontality female subjects were found to be impaired relative to good-horizontality subjects on the rod-and-frame test. In Experiment 2, a relation was found between female horizontality performance and the ability to process vestibular information in a passive transport task. Experiment 3 ruled out poor spatial updating as a mediating factor in this relation. The results of Experiments 4 and 5 indicated that poor-horizontality female subjects perform randomly on vestibular navigation because they cannot judge linear displacement under conditions of passive transport. The linear transport task is similar to the rod-and-frame task in that both require the central processing of otolith signals. It is proposed that one way to solve the water-level test is to imagine, on the basis of prior perceptual experiences, what the water level looks like inside tilted containers. Because of complex visual-otolith interactions, poor-horizontality female subjects may experience these events differently than good-horizontality subjects.


Rhodium-P,O-bidentate coordinated ureaphosphine ligands for asymmetric hydrogenation reactions.
We present new ureaphosphine ligands that coordinate in a P,O-bidentate fashion to rhodium(i). The ureaphosphine-Rh(i)-complexes were effectively used in the asymmetric hydrogenation of cyclic enamides giving high conversions and enantioselectivity.


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Introduction {#Sec1}
============

Topology refers to the conserved properties of spaces under continuous deformations. The bandstructures of crystals in energy-momentum space can also possess certain topological behaviours. One hallmark of topological phases is the existence of gapless boundary states at the interface between two topologically distinct materials, leading to robust wave transport in the presence of disorders, defects or bends, which is highly desired in many practical scenarios. In the past decades, various kinds of topological phases of matter have been discovered in condensed-matter physics^[@CR1],[@CR2]^ and soon thereafter were extended to photonic^[@CR3]--[@CR7]^ and phononic^[@CR8]--[@CR12]^ crystals due to the similar bandstructures of photons and phonons. In particular, photonic and phononic topological insulators (TIs) can support gapless boundary states in lower dimensions than the bulk, leading to robust wave transport in the presence of disorders, defects or bends, which is highly desirable in many practical scenarios^[@CR13]--[@CR20]^. In two-dimensional (2D) systems, photonic TIs have shown great application potential in the realization of robust optical delay lines^[@CR13]^, topologically protected waveguides^[@CR14],[@CR15]^, topological quantum emitters^[@CR16]^ and topological insulator lasers^[@CR17]^. Moreover, three dimensional (3D) and even higher dimensional photonic TIs can be realized, benefiting from the two intrinsic polarizations and controllable coupling between the electric and magnetic components of photons^[@CR21]--[@CR23]^ or synthetic dimensions^[@CR24]--[@CR26]^. For spinless airborne sound, however, the lack of a spin degree of freedom and a magnetic response make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to directly mimic the spin and spin-orbit coupling of solid-state TIs. Although some 2D acoustic TIs with one dimensional (1D) topologically protected edge channels have been considered to artificially construct acoustic pseudospins based on in-plane spatial symmetries^[@CR18],[@CR19]^, the topology of the extra out-of-plane direction is difficult to achieve the surface Dirac cone that is linear dispersion along an arbitrary direction^[@CR27],[@CR28]^. To our knowledge, it is still challenging to achieve an acoustic analogue of 3D TI exhibiting 2D massless Dirac quasiparticles near the surface Dirac cone for a spinless system.

Recently, topological Weyl systems have been implemented in 3D acoustic crystals showing unique helicoidal surface dispersion and one-way negative refraction for the lateral surfaces^[@CR29]--[@CR32]^. Compared to 3D TIs with gapless surface Dirac cones in full bulk bandgaps, the bulk bandstructures of these Weyl systems contain paired linearly touching points (Weyl points) with opposite Berry charges. Due to the lack of full bulk bandgaps, the sound could be scattered into crystals when meeting defects or bends, which inevitably jeopardize the efficiency of sound transport. Furthermore, in addition to the existence of the 2D (3--1 dimension) topological surface states in 3D acoustic TIs, 3D systems can also support 1D (3--2 dimension) hinge states and zero-dimensional (0D, 3--3 dimension) corner states---the so-called hierarchies of a higher-order TI, owing to the bulk-boundary correspondence^[@CR33]^. Although topologically gapped 0D corner states have been demonstrated in 2D^[@CR34]--[@CR36]^ and even in 3D^[@CR37],[@CR38]^ acoustic crystals, they reside inside the midgap (not gapless in energy-momentum space) that cannot be used to guide and route sound. To date, a 3D 2nd-order acoustic TI with gapless hinge states exhibiting topological 1D hinge sound transport in 3D geometries remains unexplored.

To realize an acoustic analogue of 3D TI, there are three crucial criteria that must be simultaneously satisfied: (i) a full 3D acoustic bulk bandgap (confining the sound in all three directions) should open by breaking the spatial symmetry; (ii) a pair of acoustic pseudospins (satisfying Kramers degeneracy) should be constructed by increasing the spatial symmetry; and (iii) a band inversion should occur (making it topological) by manipulating the interlayer and intralayer couplings. In this paper, we demonstrate the realization of a multi-order acoustic analogue of 3D TI with simultaneous fulfillment of all the above requirements by introducing a 3D acoustic crystal with bilayer chiral structure to precisely break the specific spatial symmetry in a step by step manner. The topological transition associated with both the acoustic analogues of 3D 1st- and 2nd-order TIs are clearly shown in this work.

Results {#Sec2}
=======

From Weyl points to 3D double Dirac cone {#Sec3}
----------------------------------------

A general approach to realize a 3D TI can begin with 3D Dirac cones that are linear dispersions of the bulk bandstructures along all three directions. As illustrated in Fig. [1a](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}, we can lift the 3D bulk Dirac cone by introducing interactions, such as spin-orbit coupling, to create a 1st-order topologically full bandgap wherein the 2D surface Dirac cone can be achieved with massless Dirac quasiparticles at the surfaces. We may further lift such a 2D surface Dirac cone by breaking either the spatial or time-reversal symmetry, to create a 1D topological edge of the 2D surface, which is a 3D 2nd-order TI with 1D gapless hinge states. However, for a spinless acoustic system, obtaining the 3D acoustic bulk Dirac cone (a 4-fold degeneracy is required when considering the spin degree of freedom) is not straightforward due to the lack of two intrinsic spins or polarizations^[@CR39]^. Inspired by recently the discovered Weyl acoustic systems with chiral structures^[@CR29],[@CR30],[@CR32],[@CR40],[@CR41]^, we elaborately control the parameters to construct iso-frequency Weyl points with opposite topological charges (Supplementary Fig. [1](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}). As shown in Fig. [1b](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}, the 3D acoustic crystal has a honeycomb lattice with six spiral air channels connecting the top and bottom planes in each unit cell. In contrast to the conventional approach from Dirac to Weyl systems by breaking symmetries, here we increase the spatial symmetry by doubling the lattice along the *z*-axis^[@CR42]^. The Weyl point at the H~1~ and H~1~′ points can be folded into K and K′ to form two 3D double Dirac cones, attributed to the Brillouin zone folding mechanism (Fig. [1c](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}). Then, we can break this half-lattice spatial translation symmetry by enlarging the lower spiral channels to create a topologically full bandgap (Fig. [1d](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}). The corresponding bulk bandstructures are shown in Fig. [1e--g](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}. Consequently, we obtain an acoustic analogue of 3D 1st-order TI, which can host 2D gapless surface Dirac cones.Fig. 1From Dirac cones to 3D 1st- and 2nd-order acoustic analogues of TIs.**a** Left side: visualization of a 3D Dirac cone for bulk bands, where the colour scale represents frequency. Middle: 1st-order TI case by splitting the bulk Dirac degeneracy, where the red planes show the 2D topological surface states. Right side: 2nd-order TI case after further splitting the surface degeneracy, where the green lines show the 1D gapless hinge states. **b** Single-layer unit cell and top-down view of the honeycomb lattice with the chiral structures wherein sound propagates. The structure parameters are *h* = 7/*a, s* = 2/*a*, and *r*~*0*~ = 1.3/*a*, where *a* = $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
                \usepackage{amsmath}
                \usepackage{wasysym}
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                \usepackage{amssymb}
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                \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}
                \begin{document}$$\sqrt 3$$\end{document}$ cm. The parameters of the spiral channels a*r*e *r*~*1*~ = $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
                \usepackage{amsmath}
                \usepackage{wasysym}
                \usepackage{amsfonts}
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                \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}
                \begin{document}$$\sqrt 3$$\end{document}$*a*/2 − 0.2 cm, *r*~*2*~ = *r*~*0*~ + 0.2 cm and *θ* = 15° with spiral angle *β* = 90°. The colours blue and red represent the bottom and top channels, respectively. **c** Bilayer unit cell case. **d** Breaking the *h/*2 spatial translation symmetry by enlarging the spiral channels of the lower layer to *r*~*1*~ = $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
                \usepackage{amsmath}
                \usepackage{wasysym}
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                \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}
                \begin{document}$$\sqrt 3$$\end{document}$*a*/2 − 0.05 cm, *r*~*2*~ = *r*~*0*~ + 0.05 cm and *θ* = 40°. **e**--**g** The bulk bandstructures corresponding to the unite cells in panels **b**--**d**, respectively. The insets show the Brillouin zones, where the red and purple dots denote the Weyl points with opposite charges and the green dots denote the 3D double degenerate Dirac points.

Acoustic analogue of 3D 1st-order TI {#Sec4}
------------------------------------

Our samples are fabricated by 3D printing with photopolymer materials, which are opposite structures of the air channels shown in Fig. [1d](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}. In the experiment, we use four uniform rhomb--prisms of 3D acoustic crystals as segments to create a 2D topological domain wall in the *yz* plane (reversed *z* direction with opposite sign of effective mass)^[@CR43]^, and to check the robustness of sound transport in the presence of bends or a splitter, as shown in Fig. [2a](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}. Each rhomb--prism has 7 × 7 × 7 unit cells with full dimensions of 21 × 21 × 28.3 cm (Supplementary Fig. [2](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}). The numerically computed projected bandstructures are shown in Fig. [2b](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"} and host gapless surface Dirac cones in a full bandgap. A magnified 3D view of the surface states near the degenerate point (Fig. [2c](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}) clearly shows conical-like dispersion. To verify such gapless surface states, we experimentally measure the transmission spectra along the domain wall and through the bulk, as shown in Fig. [2d](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}. We observe more than a 30-dB enhancement of the surface transmission from \~5.4--6.1 kHz, with a 10% relative topological bandgap width. To verify the robust sound transport and acoustic pseudospin-momentum locking, we assemble the above four segments to form a 60° bend, a 120° bend, and a splitter configuration. The experimental results in Fig. [2e](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"} show that sharp bends do not decrease the surface transmission, and a particular acoustic pseudospin is well locked to its momentum which cannot propagate through the cross port by a flipping pseudospin^[@CR18]^. In addition, 2D slices of simulated acoustic pressure distributions are given in Fig. [2f](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"} (Supplementary Figs. [3](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}--[4](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}). To further reveal the acoustic pseudospin-momentum locking, we numerically analyse the pseudospin textures (Supplementary Fig. [5](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}). The Acoustic pseudospins here are composed of in-phase and out-of-phase vibrations in two different layers^[@CR44]^.Fig. 2Topological surface on *yz*-domain wall.**a** Picture of the experimental sample constructed by four rhomb--prisms. Each segment has 7 × 7 × 7 unit cells (e.g. a yellow rhomb--prism). The inset shows a top-down view of the zigzag interface. **b** Projected bandstructures in the *k*~*yz*~ plane, where the red lines represent the gapless Dirac-like surface states. The inset shows the highly symmetric directions of the surface Brillouin zone. **c** 3D view of the simulated surface Dirac cone. **d** Measured transmission spectra for the domain wall (red) and the bulk (blue) along the $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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                \begin{document}$$\tilde \Gamma \tilde Y$$\end{document}$ direction. The dashed box indicates the frequency range of the bulk bandgap. **e** Measured transmission spectra for a 60° bend (cyan), a 120° bend (magenta), and a splitter configuration (grey). **f** Slices of the simulated acoustic pressure distribution at a frequency of 5.8 kHz, where the colour scale represents the absolute value of acoustic pressure (P).

Furthermore, our acoustic analogue of 3D TI can support 2D gapless surface Dirac cones in the *xy* plane with a hard or open boundary condition instead of a domain wall, which is highly desired in applications. We place a plastic board on both the top and bottom surfaces to act as hard boundaries. The 2D gapless surface Dirac cones still exist (the numerically calculated projected bandstructures in the *xy* plane shown in Fig. [3a](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}). The corresponding 3D view of the simulated surface Dirac cone is shown in Fig. [3b](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}. To experimentally map out the surface Dirac cones of the 3D acoustic model, we scan the acoustic pressure fields of the top surface at various frequencies. Thus, at each frequency, the Bloch momentum of the *k*~*xy*~ plane can be obtained by a Fourier transformation of the field distributions in real space. The measured surface Dirac cone at various frequency slices is plotted in Fig. [3c](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, which matches well with the numerical results in Fig. [3b](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}. The surface Dirac point appears at \~5.8 kHz. Interestingly, in this case, topological behaviours only occur at the top surface of the 3D acoustic crystals due to the chiral structures, which are also confirmed by our experiments shown in Fig. [3d](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"} and the simulated field distribution shown in Fig. [3e](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}. If we use an open or a soft boundary condition, the surface Dirac cones will appear at the bottom surface (Supplementary Figs. [6](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}--[9](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}).Fig. 3Topological surface in the *xy* plane.**a** Projected bandstructures in the *k*~*xy*~ plane with a hard boundary condition, where the red lines represent surface states. The inset shows the surface Brillouin zone. **b** 3D view of the simulated surface Dirac cone. Here, *k*~*x*~ and *k*~*y*~ have units of 4π/9 cm^−1^. **c** Experimentally measured iso-frequency slices with Bloch momenta for the surface states. The colour scale represents the acoustic energy density. The dashed lines are drawn to guide the eye. **d** Measured transmission spectra for the top (red) and bottom (blue) surfaces along the $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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                \begin{document}$$\tilde \Gamma \tilde K$$\end{document}$ direction, where the colour scale represents the energy density. **e** A slice of the simulated acoustic pressure distribution with acoustic source excited at both top and bottom surfaces at a frequency of 5.8 kHz, where the colour scale represents the acoustic pressure.

It should be noted that there are two gapless surface Dirac cones near the projection of K and K′ (K′ is not shown) in the whole surface Brillouin zone, which can be treated as an acoustic analogue of a 3D weak TI^[@CR45]^. In our model, the gapless surface Dirac cones can be found in both (100) surface (*yz*-domain wall) and (001) surface (*xy* plane), while the surface states are gapped in (010) surface (*xz* domain wall) since the K and K′ valleys are projected onto the same point (Supplementary Fig. [10](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}). The bulk topology of our model can be verified via the Wilson-loop approach^[@CR46],[@CR47]^. Although the weak TI is not as robust as strong TI (in terms of the odd number of surface Dirac cones), the topologically protected sound transport of our 3D acoustic crystal is largely maintained. We also numerically study the influence of surface condition on gapless topological states in various surface configurations. However, if we use alternate chiral channels to obtain full bulk gap, only trivial topological states can be found (Supplementary Figs. [11](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}--[19](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}).

Acoustic analogue of 3D 2nd-order TI {#Sec5}
------------------------------------

More importantly, we can further utilize such two 2D surface Dirac cones to construct an acoustic analogue of 3D 2nd-order acoustic analogue of TI with 1D gapless hinge states. As shown in Fig. [4a--c](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}, based on Brillouin zone folding in the *xy* plane, we fold these two cones to form a double-surface Dirac cone considering a larger unit cell, which is three times larger than the original one (Supplementary Fig. [20](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}). By selectively increasing the radii of either the center hole or the side holes (from 1.3/*a* to 1.6/*a*), we break the 2D gapless surface states to a full bandgap associated with a band inversion for the surface states^[@CR48]^. The odd nature of the lower two surface states and even nature of the upper two surface states for the trivial case (Fig. [4a](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}) are reversed to create a 2nd-order topological bandgap (Fig. [4c](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}). The numerical 1D *k*~*x*~-direction projected bandstructures of the 3D system (Fig. [4d](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}) reveal that the gapless 1D hinge Dirac dispersion can be achieved. Our experimental measurement matches well with the numerical result as shown in Fig. [4e](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}, where the hinge Dirac point appears near the frequency of 5.9 kHz (experimental sample is shown in Supplementary Fig. [21](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}). We also experimentally measured the transmission spectra of trivial and nontrivial 2D surface states with a surface bandgap from \~5.6--6 kHz, but the transmission for the 1D hinge states of the top surface maintains a high value, as shown in Fig. [4f](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}. Figure [4g](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"} is a simulated result that shows this unique propagation. To verify such hinge states that are confined along the 1D direction, we experimentally scan the acoustic pressure fields of the outgoing plane at various frequencies; the results clearly show that the sound is confined and guided along the 1D hinge (Fig. [4h](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}). The 1D hinge states can also be observed along the *y* direction or under soft boundary condition (Supplementary Figs. [22](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}--[23](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}). Moreover, such gapless hinge states can be further lifted to support higher-order topological states deemed as 3rd-order corner states in 3D topological acoustic crystals.Fig. 4Observation of the acoustic analogue of 3D 2nd-order TI.**a** Trivial surface bandgap when increasing the radii of the side holes. **b** Double-surface Dirac cone case. **c** Nontrivial surface bandgap when increasing the radius of the center hole. The insets show a top-down view of the acoustic fields of the surface states. **d** Numerically calculated projection of the 3D bandstructures onto the 1D *k*~*x*~ direction, where the colours blue, red and green represent the bulk, surface and hinge states, respectively. **e** Measured dispersion of hinge states, where the colour scale represents the acoustic energy density. The dashed lines are drawn to guide the eye. **f** Experimental transmission spectra of the trivial surface case (magenta), nontrivial surface case (red), bottom (blue) and top (green) hinges. The dashed box indicates the frequency range for the surface bandgap. **g** Simulated acoustic pressure distributions for the top and bottom hinges at a frequency of 5.81 kHz. **h** Measured acoustic pressure distributions in the outgoing plane at various frequencies. The colour scale represents the absolute value of acoustic pressure.

Discussion {#Sec6}
==========

It should be noticed that the pseudospins of our acoustic systems are based on spatial symmetries, which are unlike the electrons with two intrinsic spins naturally satisfying the Kramer degeneracy^[@CR44]^. Thus, besides bulk topology (Supplementary Figs. [24](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}--[28](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}), the boundary condition also plays a key role to realize the gapless surface or hinge states. In our case, the top surface (hinge) of the current model can support suitable acoustic pseudospin states while the bottom surface (hinge) does not support these states for hard boundary condition, and vice versa for soft boundary condition^[@CR49]^. This is the so-called boundary-obstructed topological phase^[@CR46]^ or fragile TI^[@CR50]--[@CR52]^. On the other hand, although such fragile topological phase suffers from some limitations, it provides us an opportunity to develop on-demand gapless acoustic surface Dirac cones by choosing a proper surface condition.

To conclude, we have experimentally realized acoustic analogues of 3D 1st- and 2nd-order TIs, where robust 2D surface transport and 1D hinge transport are observed in the bandgaps. Our work extends the scope of acoustic analogues of TIs from 2D to 3D, and opens up opportunities for further exploring acoustic topological phases based on 2D topological surfaces. The ability to design an analogue of 3D TI in a spinless system based solely on spatial symmetry deepens our understanding of the role of spins and the dimensional hierarchies in topological physics. Compared to a recently realized 3D photonic weak TI benefiting from electromagnetic coupling^[@CR23]^, such acoustic pseudospins and high-order acoustic topological states may provide a new possibility to create an artificially magnetic-like response for sound. Our systems can also serve as a table-top platform to explore unique acoustic devices, such as robust acoustic imaging based on 2D topological surfaces, and robust sensing based on 1D topological hinges in 3D geometries.

Methods {#Sec7}
=======

Experiments {#Sec8}
-----------

In experiments, the samples are fabricated by 3D printing with photopolymer materials. Due to the fabrication tolerance (\~±0.1 mm, relative tolerance less than 1%) of different samples, the frequency ranges show a slight red or blue shift relative to each other. In experiments, we use a commercial loudspeaker (AMT-47) to generate a white noise as acoustic sources. A detector (a small-size microphone) is inserted in the sample to detect the transmission spectra and scan the pressure fields. The data are analysed with NI cDAQ-9185 (NI 9250 & NI9260). The experimental transmission spectra in the main text (Figs. [2d](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}, [e](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}, [3d](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, and [4f](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}) are normalized by the acoustic wave transmission through the same distance in air.

Simulations {#Sec9}
-----------

Bandstructures and field distributions in the main text (Figs. [1e--g](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}, [2b](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}, c, f, [3a--b](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, [e](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, [4a--d, and g](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}) are numerically calculated by the commercial finite-element-method software (COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS). The numerical models are constructed using only acoustic cavities with connecting chiral air tubes due to the large acoustic impedance mismatch between air and the polymer materials, which can be treat as hard boundaries. The density and velocity of sound are chosen to be 1.25 kg m^−3^ and 343 m s^−1^, respectively. The numerical results match well with our experimental measurements.

Supplementary information
=========================

 {#Sec10}

Supplementary Information Peer Review File

**Peer review information** *Nature Communications* thanks the anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Peer reviewer reports are available.

**Publisher's note** Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

These authors contributed equally: Cheng He, Hua-Shan Lai, Bo He.

Supplementary information
=========================

**Supplementary information** is available for this paper at 10.1038/s41467-020-16131-w.

The work was jointly supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (grant Nos. 2017YFA0305100 and 2017YFA0303702) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant Nos. 11874196, 11890700, 11625418, 51732006, 51721001 and 51702152). We also acknowledge the support of the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant No. 021314380097).

C.H. conceived the idea. C.H. and H.S.L. contributed to the design of the structures and performed the theoretical modeling. C.H. and B.H. carried out the measurements with the help of S.Y.Y. and X.X. C.H., M.H.L. and Y.F.C. contributed to the discussion of the results. C.H. and Y.F.C. supervised all the aspects of the work and managed the project.

All the data supporting the findings in this study are available in the manuscript and in the [Supplementary Information](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. Further data and methods are available from the corresponding authors upon request.

The authors declare no competing interests.


Development of a high-efficiency high-resolution particle-induced x-ray emission system for chemical state analysis of environmental samples.
We have developed a high-efficiency high-resolution particle-induced x-ray emission (PIXE) system employing a von Hamos-type crystal spectrometer for a chemical state identification of trace elements in environmental samples. The energy resolution of the system was determined to be about 0.05% through the observation of Si Kalpha(1,2) x rays (1.74 keV) from elemental silicon. The throughput efficiency of the system was also evaluated quasitheoretically to be 1.6x10(-7) counts/incident proton for Si Kalpha(1,2) emission. To demonstrate a chemical state analysis using the high-resolution PIXE system, Si Kalpha(1,2) and Kbeta x-ray spectra for SiC, Si(3)N(4), and SiO(2) were measured and compared. The observed chemical shifts of the Si Kalpha(1,2) peaks for SiC, Si(3)N(4), and SiO(2) relative to elemental silicon were 0.20, 0.40, and 0.55 eV, respectively. The tendency of these shifts were well explained by the effective charges of the silicon atoms calculated by a molecular orbital method.


The Green Party will table a Dáil motion this week which it claims will prevent the Midlands becoming “Ireland’s Rust Belt”.

The party’s motion, which will be debated in the Dáíl over two days, centres on the closure of Bord na Móna operations in Offaly, Longford and Tipperary in the coming years, as peat-fired generators are decommissioned.

The motion has arisen from the recent announcement that workers at the Bord na Móna plan in Littleton, Co Tipperary will be made redundant. Many of them are third or fourth generation workers there.

While the Greens support the decommissioning of such fossil-fuel plants, it has argued there is an economic and moral imperative on the Government to seek alternative work and careers for the workers.

The party has said the announcement came as a complete surprise to workers and was a perfect example of how not to manage economic transition.

“The midlands has a proud history of powering our country from our own, nationalised peat resources. The end is coming for fossil fuel employment. However, communities who rely on that employment must not be left behind. Communities cannot be abandoned in the move to a low carbon economy – the transition must be fair and fast,” the party has said in a briefing paper for the motion.

It is proposing a “Just Transition” plan which is based on a similar piece of legislation introduced by Bernie Sanders in the US.

Pointing out that €125 million in subsidies has been paid to the plant, party leader Eamon Ryan and deputy leader Catherine Martin will argue its plan will use that funding to attract new industry in renewables, peatland restoration and retro-fitting.

“Our plan will focus on those most at risk of job losses first – the peat workers in the midlands, for example. By investing State funds cleverly, multiples of the employment that will be lost as peat-fired power plants are wound down could be created. Creating a ‘Just Transition’ process is pro-environment and pro-jobs, the paper, written by Sinéad Mercier, has argued.

“If the €120 million a year that is currently spent on fossil fuel subsidies was instead diverted into retro-fitting homes across the midlands, 5,000 jobs could be created in industry that benefits people, employment and the planet.

The motion will also argued that when the Bord na Móna plants (as well as the ESB coal-burning power plant at Moneypoint) close, a commission should be set up to retrain the former workers to switch to new careers in alternative energy and retro-fitting.

“Re-directing the PSO levy to galvanise long-term employment in the midlands should be seen as an opportunity, rather than a cost,” the briefing paper has stated.

“Ireland is not rich in the resources of the fossil fuel era, but it is rich in those of a 21st century economy. With proper planning and investment, we can ensure that the transition to a low carbon economy leaves no worker behind, and prevent communities that rely on fossil fuel employment from becoming Ireland’s rust belt.”


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Finland - new reform will change VET in every way

ReferNet Finland

Vocational and education training (VET) reform in Finland (foreseen to be implemented in 2018) meets the demands of future skills and unifies VET steering and financing systems. The reform aims to strengthen the role of VET in society and support students’ growth holistically into well-rounded and balanced individuals, providing them with the knowledge and skills needed for further studies.

The main goal of the reform is to improve the status of VET in Finnish society. The funding system and structure will be renewed while keeping the various existing educational pathways. Preserving eligibility for further studies and ensuring a regionally comprehensive education network is an important aspect of the reform. It aims to strengthen the interaction between education institutions and working life, to remove barriers between young and adult students, and eliminate unnecessary overlaps in education. The key aspect of the reform is its competence-based approach.

The reform focuses on the idea of customer-oriented training, meaning that VET is designed to meet the needs of students and the labour market. One goal is to increase learning in workplaces and enable students to apply for training throughout the year. Apprenticeship training will be reformed by easing the administrative and financial burden on employers.

VET financing and associated legislation will be streamlined. Financing systems of upper secondary VET, continuing (nationally called ‘further’) VET, apprenticeship training and labour market courses will be organised into a single entity. The current legislation, which addresses VET for adults and young learners in different documents, will also be unified in joint legislation. The reform is being prepared and will be implemented in cooperation with experts and stakeholders.


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Niki Lauda is to join Mercedes in a management role as part of a renewed push by the German car manufacturer to win the championship after the arrival of Lewis Hamilton.

With the Mercedes road car company having looked deeply at the structure and resources of its F1 team, and considered its commitment before signing a new Concorde Agreement, the outfit announced on Friday that Lauda is a play a role with the team - as was reported by AUTOSPORT earlier this week.

The three-time world champion recently acted as a go-between in the discussions between Mercedes and Bernie Ecclestone over the Concorde, and speculation about a formal role with the outfit emerged in Singapore last weekend.

A statement by Mercedes said that Lauda will "bring his extensive experience to the role of non-executive chairman of the team's board of directors, further reinforcing the strength in depth at Mercedes AMG Petronas."

Team principal Ross Brawn said that the arrival of Hamilton, allied to a staffing restructure and fresh commitment from the Mercedes board, was a promising sign for the future.

"Over the past three years, we have been putting in place the foundations and building blocks that are needed to compete regularly for the world championship," he said.

"Behind the scenes, we have assembled a team that is technically stronger, more experienced and better resourced, thanks to the support of Petronas and all of our loyal team partners.

"The potential is now there to match any other team on the grid, which is the minimum standard for a Mercedes-Benz works team. Our task is now to translate that potential into on-track performance for next season and beyond."


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Recent headlines tout that it may be possible for same-sex couples to have biological children thanks to stem cell technology. Using skin stem cells, scientists from the University of Cambridge and the Weismann Institute found that it is possible to make primordial germ cells, the cells that eventually form into egg and sperm (gametes), from induced pluripotent stem cells created from a donor’s skin.

The opportunity for same-sex couples to have biological children may take over the headlines, but it is not the only, or necessarily the primary reason, scientists are interested in this research. One thing scientists hope to do is to use this technique to study age-related diseases. As we go through our lives, we accumulate epigenetic messages that tell genes when to turn on or off, when to make more cells, or when to stop making cells. Recent research shows that certain cancers and age-related diseases are likely due to these epigenetic factors going awry. These epigenetic factors are “reset” in germ cells, meaning scientists can start over and see how these factors develop at the cellular level. There is still much research that needs to be done in this area, including questions as to which epigenetic factors are passed on and which ones are actually reset in germ cells (See Nature’s recent issue on the results of the NIH’s Roadmap Epigenetics Project here).

While the epigenetic research is interesting, the headlines emphasize the reproductive possibilities. This technique could be another option for infertile couples who want to have biological children, including same-sex couples who want children that are biologically related to both of them. However, what is not touted as loudly is that, for now, the technology only works for male same-sex couples.

The why this technique can be used for two men but not two women has to do with how the cells are made. Primordial germ cells are made from skin cells are taken from each person to be converted into induced pluripotent stem cells. Those stem cells are then converted into primordial germ cells by turning on or off certain genetic factors involved in converting pluripotent stem cells to particular cell types.

Female cells have XX chromosomes and male cells have XY chromosomes, but in order to make primordial germ cells that are precursors to sperm, researchers need a Y chromosome. Lead researcher, Dr. Hannah pointed out, that it is easier to take away a chromosome than to insert one. Women don’t have any Y chromosomes to contribute, meaning that making primordial germ cells from women “is a long way off.”

Finally, one of the more troubling factors in this research is that little has been said about the health and well-being of the children that would be produced from this technique. A key point in the original research article in Cell is that SOX17 is a key factor in the process of making primordial germ cells and likely plays an important role in gene regulation. This was surprising to scientists because SOX17 does not play a key role in mouse development. This means that even though mice have been used in prior studies on creating primordial germ cells, they may not be a good model system for creating the subsequent sperm and egg cells. Often before a procedure or a drug makes it to human trials, it is first tested in mice and then in primates. When it comes to human development, though, things do not translate from animal models to human models as easily.

Once scientists are able to take the primordial cells and advance them to egg and sperm cells, they will be able to create an embryo. However, because the mouse models are different, this is a case in which we have no way of knowing whether these embryos or the children will be healthy until the experiment is actually done.

It is unclear from the interviews or the article if the assumption is that “unhealthy” embryos will die off before they implant in the uterus or how exactly researchers are expecting to test whether this technique work as another reproductive technology. If unhealthy embryos die, this poses an ethical problem for those that assume embryos should be granted dignity in their own right. But even if one does not accept that embryos are accorded a certain level of dignity, what about babies and children? What do scientists plan to do if the children born from this procedure are unhealthy or deformed?

Finally, it is worth mentioning that this technique would provide a source of eggs, which are needed for various other reproductive techniques and research endeavors. For example, The UK just passed legislation permitting what has been dubbed “three-parent IVF” in which scientists transfer the nucleus from one woman’s egg to another woman’s enucleated egg that will then be used in IVF. The hope is to prevent mitochondrial disease which is genetically passed down to offspring from the mother. Obtaining skin cells from a donor is much less invasive and poses less of a risk to the donor than obtaining her eggs after inducing hyperovulation.

This research is rife with ethical concerns, most notably the fact that it amounts to human experimentation on people who did not have the opportunity to choose to be the product of experimentation, but must live with the consequences, if they live at all.

Why are jihadis so obsessed with porn?
Recently, London Mayor Boris Johnson described Jihadists as “porn driven losers” who have “low self-esteem and are unsuccessful with women.” He’s on to something important and profound.

Young, Attractive, and Totally Not Into Having Sex
It’s Friday afternoon during finals week, and two undergrads at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville are lounging together on a battered couch in the student center, watching cartoons. They’ve only met twice before, but they’re all over each other. Rae, a tiny pixie of a sophomore wearing a newsboy cap, nuzzles up against Sean, a handsome freshman. He’s got his arm draped across her. They giggle and tease each other, and she sprawls into his lap. Their friend Genevieve, perched on the arm of the couch, smiles and rolls her eyes.

It looks like a standard collegiate prelude to a one-night stand. But there will be no kissing, no fondling, and definitely no Saturday morning walk of shame. Sean and Rae do not have the hots for each other—or anyone else, for that matter. In fact, they’re here hanging out at the campus outreach center, a haven for all who question their sexuality and gender identity, because they’re exploring an unconventional idea: life without sex. Or mostly without sex. They’re pioneers of an emerging sexual identity, one with its own nomenclature and subcategories of romance and desire, all revolving around the novel concept that having little to no interest in sex is itself a valid sexual orientation. Rae tells me she’s an aromantic asexual, Sean identifies as a heteroromantic demisexual, and Genevieve sees herself as a panromantic gray-asexual.

Stopping Human Trafficking Before It Starts
Human trafficking is increasingly gaining public awareness. Law enforcement, social workers, first responders – all are beginning to receive training regarding human trafficking. And that’s all very good. But it’s hardly enough.

On the happily few occasions when callers to my radio show make a particularly foolish comment, I ask them what graduate school they attended.

When they ask why I assume they attended graduate school, I respond, “Only someone who went to graduate school would say something that foolish.”

Because it is never my intention to humiliate a caller, I always hasten to explain that my comment is not directed at the caller; it is directed at our universities. Moreover, I mean it literally. In order to say certain things that are so obviously foolish, one has to be taught them.

Kudos to Dennis Prager for writing this. In any age except our own this observation about the sexual instincts of men and women would be filed under “common sense.” You may have read this idea before in the pages of Salvo by Dr. Louis Markos. Personally, this is one of my favorite Salvo articles (and it’s a two parter).

In case you missed it, enjoy!

Just Brilliant!
Three Things Only a PhD Can Believe by Louis Markos
Absurdity #1: There Are No Universal Standards
Absurdity #2: There Are No Essential Differences Between Men & Women
Absurdity #3: There Is No Clear Dividing Line Between Humans & Animals

Highly Creative
Three More Things Only a PhD Can Believe
by Louis Markos
Absurdity #1: The Design We See Around Us Is Only Apparent
Absurdity #2: Man Is by Nature Good and Is Therefore Perfectible
Absurdity #3: Virgil, Dante, and Shakespeare Are Products of Their Socio-Economic Milieus

As Valentine’s Day approaches, many media outlets are focusing on the much-hyped release of the ’50 Shades of Grey’ movie release. The Morning Cruise shared their thoughts on the movie and Bill shared an article by Terrell Clemmons of Salvo Magazine. Be sure to check out the alternatives to both the book and the film.

Dr. Miriam Grossman is a psychiatrist and author of several books, including “Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student.” Dr. Grossman has been quoted often in the pages of Salvo, and continues to expose the dangers of our sexually permissive culture on her website www.miriamgrossmanmd.com .

Her latest blog post is about the dangerous ideas promoted in the movie “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

Here’s a brief portion of what she writes:

“The ideas of Fifty Shades of Grey are dangerous, and can lead to confusion and poor decisions about love. There are vast differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships, but the movie blurs those differences, so you begin to wonder: what’s healthy in a relationship? What’s sick? There are so many shades of grey…I’m not sure.
Listen, it’s your safety and future we’re talking about here. There’s no room for doubt: an intimate relationship that includes violence, consensual or not, is completely unacceptable.

This is black and white. There are no shades of grey here. Not even one.”

Sadly, but not surprisingly, there was little media attention paid again this year to the annual March for Life in Washington, DC. But the Media Research Center sent a reporter and videographer to interview some of the women marching, find out why they were there, and let them tell their stories. Some were conceived in rape, and some of those were pro-choice before they found out the truth. Some brought their babies who had been conceived in rape. And some were there because they regretted the abortions they’d had. “I bought into the radical feminist lies of the 1960′s and 70′s,” said one woman who had two abortions. “It’s only through the grace of God that I started being truthful — and then I had to be truthful about what I had done.”

Salvo covered the issue of post-abortion suffering in “A Buried Grief.” It includes links to ministries and organizations that offer healing for women who’ve had abortions.