Impossible protest: noborders in Calais

Since the closure of the Red Cross refugee reception centre in Sangatte, undocumented migrants in Calais hoping to cross the border to Britain have been forced to take refuge in a number of squatted migrant camps, locally known by all as ‘the jungles.’ Unauthorised shanty-like residences built by the migrants themselves, living conditions in the camps are very poor. In June 2009, European ‘noborder’ activists set up a week-long protest camp in the area with the intention of confronting the authorities over their treatment of undocumented migrants. In this article, we analyse the June 2009 noborder camp as an instance of ‘immigrant protest.’ Drawing on ethnographic materials and Jacques Rancière's work on politics and aesthetics, we construct a typology of forms of border control through which to analyse the different ways in which the politics of the noborder camp were staged, performed and policed. Developing a critique of policing practices which threatened to make immigrant protest ‘impossible’, we highlight moments of protest which, through the affirmation of an ‘axiomatic’ equality, disrupted and disarticulated the borders between citizens and non-citizens, the political and non-political

ASAM: Automatic Architecture Synthesis and Application Mapping

This paper focuses on mastering the automatic architecture synthesis and application mapping for heterogeneous massively-parallel MPSoCs based on customizable application-specific instruction-set processors (ASIPs). It presents an over-view of the research being currently performed in the scope of the European project ASAM of the ARTEMIS program. The paper briefly presents the results of our analysis of the main problems to be solved and challenges to be faced in the design of such heterogeneous MPSoCs. It explains which system, design, and electronic design automation (EDA) concepts seem to be adequate to resolve the problems and address the challenges. Finally, it introduces and briefly discusses the ASAM design-flow and its main stages

Density of conjugated antibody determines the extent of Fc receptor dependent capture of nanoparticles by liver sinusoidal endothelial cells

Despite considerable progress in the design of multifunctionalized nanoparticles (NPs) that selectively target specific cell types, their systemic application often results in unwanted liver accumulation. The exact mechanisms for this general observation are still unclear. Here we asked whether the number of cell-targeting antibodies per NP determines the extent of NP liver accumulation and also addressed the mechanisms by which antibody-coated NPs are retained in the liver. We used polysarcosine-based peptobrushes (PBs), which in an unmodified form remain in the circulation for >24 h due to the absence of a protein corona formation and low unspecific cell binding, and conjugated them with specific average numbers (2, 6, and 12) of antibodies specific for the dendritic cell (DC) surface receptor, DEC205. We assessed the time-dependent biodistribution of PB-antibody conjugates by in vivo imaging and flow cytometry. We observed that PB-antibody conjugates were trapped in the liver and that the extent of liver accumulation strongly increased with the number of attached antibodies. PB-antibody conjugates were selectively captured in the liver via Fc receptors (FcR) on liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, since systemic administration of FcR-blocking agents or the use of F(ab')2 fragments prevented liver accumulation. Cumulatively, our study demonstrates that liver endothelial cells play a yet scarcely acknowledged role in liver entrapment of antibody-coated NPs and that low antibody numbers on NPs and the use of F(ab')2 antibody fragments are both sufficient for cell type-specific targeting of secondary lymphoid organs and necessary to minimize unwanted liver accumulation.Drug Delivery Technolog

Carotid intima-media thickness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and survival: A multicenter prospective study

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a noninvasive method assessing atherosclerosis. Objective: It was aimed to determine relationship and survival between COPD and CIMT. Methods: CIMT was measured using Doppler ultrasound (USG) in 668 stable COPD patients at 24 centers. Patients were followed-up for 2 years. Results: There were 610 patients who completed the study. There were 200 patients CIMT with <0.78 mm (group 1), and 410 with CIMT ? 0.78 mm (group 2). There was a significant difference at the parameters of age, gender, smoking load, biomass exposure, GOLD groups and degree of airway obstruction (FEV1) between groups 1 and 2. Our results revealed positive correlations between mean CIMT and age, smoking load (pack-years), biomass exposure (years), exacerbation rate (last year), duration of hypertension (years) and cholesterol level; negative correlations between CIMT and FEV1 (P < 0.05). According to logistic regression model, compared with group A, risk of CIMT increase was 2.2-fold in group B, 9.7-fold in group C and 4.4-fold in group D (P < 0.05). Risk of CIMT increase was also related with cholesterol level (P < 0.05). Compared with infrequent exacerbation, it was 2.8-fold in the patients with frequent exacerbation (P < 0.05). The mean survival time was slightly higher in group 1, but not significant (23.9 vs 21.8 months) (P > 0.05). Conclusion: This study is the first regarding CIMT with combined GOLD assessment groups. It has revealed important findings supporting the increase in atherosclerosis risk in COPD patients. We recommend Doppler USG of the carotid artery in COPD patients at severe stages. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Lt

ARGON PRE-DISSOCIATION INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF TRAPPED INTERMEDIATES IN THE O−+CH4→OH−+CH3O- + CH4 \rightarrow OH- + CH3 REACTION

Author Institution: Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, Yale UniversityWe characterize trapped reaction intermediates in the $O- + CH4 \rightarrow OH- + CH3$ ion-molecule reaction using argon predissociation spectroscopy in the 2400 to 3800 wavenumber range. This reaction is calculated to display a classic double-minimum potential surface, and the trapped complex observed here is assigned to the exit channel, OH-CH3, ion- radical isomer. This assignment is based on the observation of a sharp, strong band at 3590 wavenumbers. This band displays a progression in the bare complex, which is interpreted with the aid of ab initio calculations. Vibrational motion on this surface is calculated to be quite floppy, and the progression is due to high amplitude motion arising from a barely frustrated rotation about the H- bond to the ion

A configurable SIMD architecture with explicit datapath for intelligent learning

The use of a wide Single-Instruction-Multiple-Data (SIMD) architecture is a promising approach to build energy-efficient high performance embedded processors. In this paper, based on our design framework for low-power SIMD processors, we propose a multiply-accumulate (MAC) unit with variable number of accumulator registers. The proposed MAC unit exploits both the merits of merged operation and register tiling. A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is a popular learning based algorithm due to its flexibility and high accuracy. However, a CNN-based application is often computationally intensive as it applies convolution operations extensively on a large data set. In this work, a CNN-based intelligent learning application is analyzed and mapped in the context of SIMD architectures. Experimental results show that the proposed architecture is efficient. In a 64-PE instance, the proposed SIMD processor with MAC4reg achieves an effective performance of 63.2 GOPS. Compared to the two baseline SIMD processors without MAC4reg, the proposed design brings 54.0% and 32.1% reduction in execution time, and 20.5% and 35.1% reduction in energy consumption respectively

Nanomedicine and macroscale materials in immuno-oncology

Immunotherapy is revolutionizing the treatment of cancer. It can achieve unprecedented responses in advanced-stage patients, including complete cures and long-term survival. However, immunotherapy also has limitations, such as its relatively low response rates and the development of severe side effects. These drawbacks are gradually being overcome by improving our understanding of the immune system, as well as by establishing combination regimens in which immunotherapy is combined with other treatment modalities. In addition to this, in recent years, progress made in chemistry, nanotechnology and materials science has started to impact immuno-oncology, resulting in more effective and less toxic immunotherapy interventions. In this context, multiple different nanomedicine formulations and macroscale materials have been shown to be able to boost anti-cancer immunity and the efficacy of immunomodulatory drugs. We here review nanotechnological and materials chemistry efforts related to endogenous and exogenous vaccination, to the engineering of antigen-presenting cells and T cells, and to the modulation of the tumor microenvironment. We also discuss limitations, current trends and future directions. Together, the insights provided and the evidence obtained indicate that there is a bright future ahead for engineering nanomedicines and macroscale materials for immuno-oncology applications