State-of-practice on as-is modelling of industrial facilities

90% of the time needed for the conversion from point clouds to 3D models of industrial facilities is spent on geometric modelling due to the sheer number of Industrial Objects (IOs) of each plant. Hence, cost reduction is only possible by automating modelling. Our previous work has successfully identified the most frequent industrial objects which are in descending order: electrical conduit, straight pipes, circular hollow sections, elbows, channels, solid bars, I-beams, angles, flanges and valves. We modelled those on a state-of-theart software, EdgeWise and then evaluated the performance of this software for pipeline and structural modelling. The modelling of pipelines is summarized in three basic steps: (a) automated extraction of cylinders, (b) their semantic classification and (c) manual extraction and editing of pipes. The results showed that cylinders are modelled with 75 % recall and 62 % precision on average. We discovered that pipes, electrical conduit and circular hollow sections require 80 % of the Total Modelling Hours (TMH) of the 10 most frequent IOs to build the plant model. TMH was then compared to modelling hours in Revit and showed that 67 % of pipe modelling time is saved by EdgeWise. This paper is the first to evaluate state-of-the-art industrial modelling software. These findings help in better understanding the problem and serve as the foundation for researchers who are interested in solving i

The LKB1-salt-inducible kinase pathway functions as a key gluconeogenic suppressor in the liver

LKB1 is a master kinase that regulates metabolism and growth through adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and 12 other closely related kinases. Liver-specific ablation of LKB1 causes increased glucose production in hepatocytes in vitro and hyperglycaemia in fasting mice in vivo. Here we report that the salt-inducible kinases (SIK1, 2 and 3), members of the AMPK-related kinase family, play a key role as gluconeogenic suppressors downstream of LKB1 in the liver. The selective SIK inhibitor HG-9-91-01 promotes dephosphorylation of transcriptional co-activators CRTC2/3 resulting in enhanced gluconeogenic gene expression and glucose production in hepatocytes, an effect that is abolished when an HG-9-91-01-insensitive mutant SIK is introduced or LKB1 is ablated. Although SIK2 was proposed as a key regulator of insulin-mediated suppression of gluconeogenesis, we provide genetic evidence that liver-specific ablation of SIK2 alone has no effect on gluconeogenesis and insulin does not modulate SIK2 phosphorylation or activity. Collectively, we demonstrate that the LKB1-SIK pathway functions as a key gluconeogenic gatekeeper in the liver

Laminar-turbulent transition in Raman fiber lasers:a first passage statistics based analysis

Loss of coherence with increasing excitation amplitudes and spatial size modulation is a fundamental problem in designing Raman fiber lasers. While it is known that ramping up laser pump power increases the amplitude of stochastic excitations, such higher energy inputs can also lead to a transition from a linearly stable coherent laminar regime to a non-desirable disordered turbulent state. This report presents a new statistical methodology, based on first passage statistics, that classifies lasing regimes in Raman fiber lasers, thereby leading to a fast and highly accurate identification of a strong instability leading to a laminar-turbulent phase transition through a self-consistently defined order parameter. The results have been consistent across a wide range of pump power values, heralding a breakthrough in the non-invasive analysis of fiber laser dynamics

From DNA sequence to application: possibilities and complications

The development of sophisticated genetic tools during the past 15 years have facilitated a tremendous increase of fundamental and application-oriented knowledge of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and their bacteriophages. This knowledge relates both to the assignments of open reading frames (ORF’s) and the function of non-coding DNA sequences. Comparison of the complete nucleotide sequences of several LAB bacteriophages has revealed that their chromosomes have a fixed, modular structure, each module having a set of genes involved in a specific phase of the bacteriophage life cycle. LAB bacteriophage genes and DNA sequences have been used for the construction of temperature-inducible gene expression systems, gene-integration systems, and bacteriophage defence systems. The function of several LAB open reading frames and transcriptional units have been identified and characterized in detail. Many of these could find practical applications, such as induced lysis of LAB to enhance cheese ripening and re-routing of carbon fluxes for the production of a specific amino acid enantiomer. More knowledge has also become available concerning the function and structure of non-coding DNA positioned at or in the vicinity of promoters. In several cases the mRNA produced from this DNA contains a transcriptional terminator-antiterminator pair, in which the antiterminator can be stabilized either by uncharged tRNA or by interaction with a regulatory protein, thus preventing formation of the terminator so that mRNA elongation can proceed. Evidence has accumulated showing that also in LAB carbon catabolite repression in LAB is mediated by specific DNA elements in the vicinity of promoters governing the transcription of catabolic operons. Although some biological barriers have yet to be solved, the vast body of scientific information presently available allows the construction of tailor-made genetically modified LAB. Today, it appears that societal constraints rather than biological hurdles impede the use of genetically modified LAB.

Can type of school be used as an alternative indicator of socioeconomic status in dental caries studies? A cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the importance of collecting individual data of socioeconomic status (SES) in epidemiological oral health surveys with children, this procedure relies on the parents as respondents. Therefore, type of school (public or private schools) could be used as an alternative indicator of SES, instead of collecting data individually. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the variable type of school as an indicator of socioeconomic status as a substitute of individual data in an epidemiological survey about dental caries in Brazilian preschool children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study followed a cross-sectional design, with a random sample of 411 preschool children aged 1 to 5 years, representative of Catalão, Brazil. A calibrated examiner evaluated the prevalence of dental caries and parents or guardians provided information about several individual socioeconomic indicators by means of a semi-structured questionnaire. A multilevel approach was used to investigate the association among individual socioeconomic variables, as well as the type of school, and the outcome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When all significant variables in the univariate analysis were used in the multiple model, only mother's schooling and household income (individual socioeconomic variables) presented significant associations with presence of dental caries, and the type of school was not significantly associated. However, when the type of school was used alone, children of public school presented significantly higher prevalence of dental caries than those enrolled in private schools.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The type of school used as an alternative indicator for socioeconomic status is a feasible predictor for caries experience in epidemiological dental caries studies involving preschool children in Brazilian context.</p

A population of luminous accreting black holes with hidden mergers

Major galaxy mergers are thought to play an important part in fuelling the growth of supermassive black holes. However, observational support for this hypothesis is mixed, with some studies showing a correlation between merging galaxies and luminous quasars and others showing no such association. Recent observations have shown that a black hole is likely to become heavily obscured behind merger-driven gas and dust, even in the early stages of the merger, when the galaxies are well separated (5 to 40 kiloparsecs). Merger simulations further suggest that such obscuration and black-hole accretion peaks in the final merger stage, when the two galactic nuclei are closely separated (less than 3 kiloparsecs). Resolving this final stage requires a combination of high-spatial-resolution infrared imaging and high-sensitivity hard-X-ray observations to detect highly obscured sources. However, large numbers of obscured luminous accreting supermassive black holes have been recently detected nearby (distances below 250 megaparsecs) in X-ray observations. Here we report high-resolution infrared observations of hard-X-ray-selected black holes and the discovery of obscured nuclear mergers, the parent populations of supermassive-black-hole mergers. We find that obscured luminous black holes (bolometric luminosity higher than 2x10^44 ergs per second) show a significant (P<0.001) excess of late-stage nuclear mergers (17.6 per cent) compared to a sample of inactive galaxies with matching stellar masses and star formation rates (1.1 per cent), in agreement with theoretical predictions. Using hydrodynamic simulations, we confirm that the excess of nuclear mergers is indeed strongest for gas-rich major-merger hosts of obscured luminous black holes in this final stage.Comment: To appear in the 8 November 2018 issue of Nature. This is the authors' version of the wor

Evidence of fatal skeletal injuries on Malapa Hominins 1 and 2

Malapa is one of the richest early hominin sites in Africa and the discovery site of the hominin species, Australopithecus sediba. The holotype and paratype (Malapa Hominin 1 and 2, or MH1 and MH2, respectively) skeletons are among the most complete in the early hominin record. Dating to approximately two million years BP, MH1 and MH2 are hypothesized to have fallen into a natural pit trap. All fractures evident on MH1 and MH2 skeletons were evaluated and separated based on wet and dry bone fracture morphology/characteristics. Most observed fractures are post-depositional, but those in the right upper limb of the adult hominin strongly indicate active resistance to an impact, while those in the juvenile hominin mandible are consistent with a blow to the face. The presence of skeletal trauma independently supports the falling hypothesis and supplies the first evidence for the manner of death of an australopith in the fossil record that is not attributed to predation or natural death

Fluorescent D-amino-acids reveal bi-cellular cell wall modifications important for Bdellovibrio bacteriovorous predation

Modification of essential bacterial peptidoglycan (PG) containing cell walls can lead to antibiotic resistance, for example β-lactam resistance by L,D-transpeptidase activities. Predatory Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus are naturally antibacterial and combat infections by traversing, modifying and finally destroying walls of Gram-negative prey bacteria, modifying their own PG as they grow inside prey. Historically, these multi-enzymatic processes on two similar PG walls have proved challenging to elucidate. Here, with a PG labelling approach utilizing timed pulses of multiple fluorescent D-amino acids (FDAAs), we illuminate dynamic changes that predator and prey walls go through during the different phases of bacteria:bacteria invasion. We show formation of a reinforced circular port-hole in the prey wall; L,D-transpeptidaseBd mediated D-amino acid modifications strengthening prey PG during Bdellovibrio invasion and a zonal mode of predator-elongation. This process is followed by unconventional, multi-point and synchronous septation of the intracellular Bdellovibrio, accommodating odd- and even-numbered progeny formation by non-binary division

Hydroxychloroquine in rheumatic autoimmune disorders and beyond

Initially used as antimalarial drugs, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and, to a lesser extent, chloroquine (CQ) are currently being used to treat several diseases. Due to its cost-effectiveness, safety and efficacy, HCQ is especially used in rheumatic autoimmune disorders (RADs), such as systemic lupus erythematosus, primary Sjögren's syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. Despite this widespread use in the clinic, HCQ molecular modes of action are still not completely understood. By influencing several cellular pathways through different mechanisms, CQ and HCQ inhibit multiple endolysosomal functions, including autophagy, as well as endosomal Toll-like receptor activation and calcium signalling. These effects alter several aspects of the immune system with the synergistic consequence of reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine production and release, one of the most marked symptoms of RADs. Here, we review the current knowledge on the molecular modes of action of these drugs and the circumstances under which they trigger side effects. This is of particular importance as the therapeutic use of HCQ is expanding beyond the treatment of malaria and RADs