Over a decade of achievements

This is a corporate publication describing key achievements of the East Midlands Development Agency 1999-2011

Quels citoyens pour quel monde ? Théories et pratiques du darwinisme social en Allemagne dans la première moitié du XXe siècle

National audiencePour tenter de préciser les théories et les pratiques du darwinisme social en Allemagne, j’analyserai, dans un premier temps, les idées de quelques-uns des principaux représentants de la postérité de Darwin et de Gobineau. J’aborderai ensuite l’application faite par le national-socialisme du principe de sélection des plus « performants » à travers les programmes eugénistes dits « positifs » – d’encouragement institutionnel à la procréation –, et négatifs – de stérilisation forcée et d’euthanasie. J’évoquerai, enfin, à partir de l’exemple de la Pologne démantelée, annexée et occupée, pourquoi et comment ont été mis en œuvre des plans de transferts et de restructuration (Umvolkung) des populations de l’Europe dans le cadre d’une stratégie dite de « grand espace »

CRISPR-delivery particles targeting nuclear receptor-interacting protein 1 (Nrip1) in adipose cells to enhance energy expenditure

RNA-guided, engineered nucleases derived from the prokaryotic adaptive immune system CRISPR-Cas represent a powerful platform for gene deletion and editing. When used as a therapeutic approach, direct delivery of Cas9 protein and single-guide RNA (sgRNA) could circumvent the safety issues associated with plasmid delivery and therefore represents an attractive tool for precision genome engineering. Gene deletion or editing in adipose tissue to enhance its energy expenditure, fatty acid oxidation, and secretion of bioactive factors through a browning process presents a potential therapeutic strategy to alleviate metabolic disease. Here, we developed CRISPR-delivery particles, denoted CriPs, composed of nano-size complexes of Cas9 protein and sgRNA that are coated with an amphipathic peptide called Endo-Porter that mediates entry into cells. Efficient CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene deletion of ectopically expressed GFP by CriPs was achieved in multiple cell types, including a macrophage cell line, primary macrophages, and primary pre-adipocytes. Significant GFP loss was also observed in peritoneal exudate cells with minimum systemic toxicity in GFP-expressing mice following intraperitoneal injection of CriPs containing Gfp-targeting sgRNA. Furthermore, disruption of a nuclear co-repressor of catabolism, the Nrip1 gene, in white adipocytes by CriPs enhanced adipocyte browning with a marked increase of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) expression. Of note, the CriP-mediated Nrip1 deletion did not produce detectable off-target effects. We conclude that CriPs offer an effective Cas9 and sgRNA delivery system for ablating targeted gene products in cultured cells and in vivo, providing a potential therapeutic strategy for metabolic disease

Behold, Steve Bannon’s Hip-Hop Shakespeare Rewrite: \u27Coriolanus\u27

In this opinion piece originally published in the New York Times, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner examines The Thing I Am (a contemporary rewrite of Coriolanus, as envisioned by Steve Bannon and Julia Jones) in the context of Shakespeare\u27s original play. Pollack-Pelzner argues that Bannon\u27s political playbook is evident in the script for The Thing I Am — namely, a violent macho conflict to purge corrupt leaders and pave the way for a new strongman to emerge

“‘Relentless Geography’: Los Angeles’ Imagined Cartographies in Karen Tei Yamashita’s Tropic of Orange,”

What would a map of Los Angeles drawn from the ground up look like? In his groundbreaking work The Production of Space (1974), Henri Lefebvre argues that the conceived space of urban planners is fundamentally distinct from lived space, which cannot be mapped out. In her impressive city-wide narrative, Karen Tei Yamashita’s Tropic of Orange (1997) demonstrates the effects of imposing conceived space upon the lived space of inner city Los Angeles residents, and what happens when the counter-model of space being lived by a city’s inhabitants rebels. Yamashita’s text mirrors this disjuncture between represented and lived space through the use of narrative surrealism. Space is magically reconfigured in the city, shrinking the uninhabited Downtown and expanding over-populated yet underrepresented neighborhoods, literally shifting geographically until its mapping matches the social space of those on the ground rather than those who map it from above. Literary criticism on the novel to date has largely interpreted Tropic of Orange as a commentary on the effects of globalization; not enough attention has been paid to the novel’s surreal expansion of Los Angeles’ inner city. Using Lefebvre’s “science of space,” anchored by Los Angeles’ city planning schemas, I argue that Yamashita offers a different map, one perceived by the subsets of LA’s population that fall through the cracks of the city’s grid. Tropic of Orange’s unorthodox formal structure, when combined with its narrative surrealism, creates a differential space in the text, transforming the novel into the Los Angeles imagined by its anonymous users

Fairbanks Gang Assessment

The Justice Center at University of Alaska Anchorage partnered with the Fairbanks Gang Reduction and Intervention Network (GRAIN) to perform a thorough assessment of the gang problem in Fairbanks following the protocol outlined by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)’s Comprehensive Gang Model. Law enforcement data show that there are at least 12 active gangs in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, with the percentage of crime reported to law enforcement attributable to gangs (2007-2009) varying from a low of 4.3% in 2007 to a high of 7.2% in 2008. The complete assessment, contained in this report, includes a review of community demographic data, law enforcement data, student and school data, and community perceptions data.Fairbanks Gang Reduction and Intervention Network Grant No. 2007-JV-FX-0331Index of Tables and Figures / Acknowledgements / Section I Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Executive Summary / Section II Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Community Demographic Data / Section III Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Law Enforcement Data / Section IV Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Student and School Data / Section V Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Community Perceptions Data / Section VI Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Community Resources Data / Section VII Fairbanks Gang Assessment Methods / References / Appendix A Community Resident Survey / Appendix B Student Survey / Appendix C Youth Serving and Law Enforcement Agency Survey / Appendix D Gang Member Interview For

“All would be royal”: The effacement of disunity in Shakespeare’s Henry V

This paper seizes on the unresolved moment of conflict between Henry and the common soldier Williams in Shakespeare's Henry V to demonstrate the ways in which traditional criticism has occluded dissent and co-opted the common soldier on behalf of a perceived empathy towards the king on the part of the author. A look at documented evidence shows that Shakespeare was articulating a common reality in this unresolved moment, one which dsiplays rather than effaces contemporary discontent with the lot of the ordinary soldier

Application of Fuzzy Logic to Control Room Illumination Based Microcontroller

ABSTRACT An illumination room is needed by humans to recognize objects visually. Lighting has an influence on the function of a room. Therefore we need the lights as the main lighting source that can support the function room. Generally used for indoor lighting arrangements on-off principle. Lighting settings with on-off principle is based only on the condition of the light dark room, regardless of the contribution from the outside as the sun. This often resulted in inconvenience and inefficiency use of electrical energy. Therefore, adjustment is necessary lighting (illumination) generated light. Control principle used is fuzzy. Fuzzy inference system used in this room is the lighting controllers Sugeno method. The composition rules using the AND operator, while for the COG method is used defuzzyfication (Center of Gravity). As a main controller in the system using a microcontroller with input from the light sensor (LDR). The output of the controller then displayed on the LCD as a viewer and as an input the voltage regulator circuit. This system works in the room (in door) using the model of a house with three rooms as a model. From the simulation results with fuzzy control, if the setpoint of rooms 200 lux and state rooms are light at 80 lux, the light will produce light at 125 lux, if the setpoint 300 lux and 50 lux room condition, then lighting the lamp is 250 lux, and if the setpoint 150 lux and 30 lux room condition, then lighting the lamp is 125 lux. Keyword: Fuzzy controller, Illumination, Microcontrolle