Editorial: Celebrating Microbial Diversity: The Many Cell Cycles of Eukaryotic Microbes.

Editorial on the Research Topic Celebrating Microbial Diversity: The Many Cell Cycles of Eukaryotic MicrobesCM: ERC research grant ‘Plasmocycle’. ZL: NIH R01 grant AI101437. MB: Swiss National Science Foundation 31003A_179321

Space-mapping techniques applied to the optimization of a safety isolating transformer

Space-mapping optimization techniques allow to allign low-fidelity and high-fidelity models in order to reduce the computational time and increase the accuracy of the solution. The main idea is to build an approximate model from the difference of response between both models. Therefore the optimization process is computed on the surrogate model. In this paper, some recent approaches of space-mapping techniques such as agressive-space-mapping, output-mapping and manifold-mapping algorithms are applied to optimize a safety insulating transformer. The electric, magnetic and thermal phenomena of the device are modeled by an analytical model and a 3D finite element model. It is considered as a benchmark for multi-level optimization to test different algorithms

Managers’ cultural background and disclosure attributes

We examine how a manager’s ethnic cultural background affects managers’ communication with investors. Using a sample of earnings conference calls transcripts with 26,430 executives from 42 countries, we find that managers from ethnic groups that have a more individualistic culture (i) use a more optimistic tone, (ii) exhibit greater self-reference, and (iii) make fewer apologies in their disclosure narratives. Managers’ ethnic culture has a lasting effect on their narratives—the effects persist even for executives who are later exposed to different ethnic cultures through work experience. The effect of ethnic heritage is observed in dialogues that reflect real time interactions (i.e., Q&As) and less pronounced in the scripted, less spontaneous portion of the calls (i.e., management discussion). The capital market responds positively to optimistic tone yet does not distinguish between the optimism in tone of managers from different ethnic backgrounds. The findings suggest that managers’ ethnic backgrounds have a significant effect on how they communicate with the capital markets and how the markets respond to the disclosure event

How to account for irrigation withdrawals in a watershed model

In agricultural areas, the downstream flow can be highly influenced by human activities during low-flow periods, especially during dam releases and irrigation withdrawals. Irrigation is indeed the major use of freshwater in the world. This study aims at precisely taking these factors into account in a watershed model. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+) agro-hydrological model was chosen for its capacity to model crop dynamics and management. Two different crop models were compared in terms of their ability to estimate water needs and actual irrigation. The first crop model is based on air temperature as the main determining factor for growth, whereas the second relies on high-resolution data from the Sentinel-2 satellite to monitor plant growth. Both are applied at the plot scale in a watershed of 800 km2 that is characterized by irrigation withdrawals. Results show that including remote sensing data leads to more realistic modeled emergence dates for summer crops. However, both approaches have proven to be able to reproduce the evolution of daily irrigation withdrawals throughout the year. As a result, both approaches allowed us to simulate the downstream flow with a good daily accuracy, especially during low-flow periods.</p

Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS): International Standards for Validation

An international expert consensus committee recently recommended a brief battery of tests for cognitive evaluation in multiple sclerosis. The Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS) battery includes tests of mental processing speed and memory. Recognizing that resources for validation will vary internationally, the committee identified validation priorities, to facilitate international acceptance of BICAMS. Practical matters pertaining to implementation across different languages and countries were discussed. Five steps to achieve optimal psychometric validation were proposed. In Step 1, test stimuli should be standardized for the target culture or language under consideration. In Step 2, examiner instructions must be standardized and translated, including all information from manuals necessary for administration and interpretation. In Step 3, samples of at least 65 healthy persons should be studied for normalization, matched to patients on demographics such as age, gender and education. The objective of Step 4 is test-retest reliability, which can be investigated in a small sample of MS and/or healthy volunteers over 1–3 weeks. Finally, in Step 5, criterion validity should be established by comparing MS and healthy controls. At this time, preliminary studies are underway in a number of countries as we move forward with this international assessment tool for cognition in MS

A Plasmodium membrane receptor platform integrates cues for egress and invasion in blood forms and activation of transmission stages

Critical events in the life cycle of malaria-causing parasites depend on cyclic guanosine monophosphate homeostasis by guanylyl cyclases (GCs) and phosphodiesterases, including merozoite egress or invasion of erythrocytes and gametocyte activation. These processes rely on a single GCalpha, but in the absence of known signaling receptors, how this pathway integrates distinct triggers is unknown. We show that temperature-dependent epistatic interactions between phosphodiesterases counterbalance GCalpha basal activity preventing gametocyte activation before mosquito blood feed. GCalpha interacts with two multipass membrane cofactors in schizonts and gametocytes: UGO (unique GC organizer) and SLF (signaling linking factor). While SLF regulates GCalpha basal activity, UGO is essential for GCalpha up-regulation in response to natural signals inducing merozoite egress and gametocyte activation. This work identifies a GC membrane receptor platform that senses signals triggering processes specific to an intracellular parasitic lifestyle, including host cell egress and invasion to ensure intraerythrocytic amplification and transmission to mosquitoes

Measurement of double-differential cross sections for top quark pair production in pp collisions at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text] and impact on parton distribution functions.

Normalized double-differential cross sections for top quark pair ([Formula: see text]) production are measured in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8[Formula: see text] with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The analyzed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7[Formula: see text]. The measurement is performed in the dilepton [Formula: see text] final state. The [Formula: see text] cross section is determined as a function of various pairs of observables characterizing the kinematics of the top quark and [Formula: see text] system. The data are compared to calculations using perturbative quantum chromodynamics at next-to-leading and approximate next-to-next-to-leading orders. They are also compared to predictions of Monte Carlo event generators that complement fixed-order computations with parton showers, hadronization, and multiple-parton interactions. Overall agreement is observed with the predictions, which is improved when the latest global sets of proton parton distribution functions are used. The inclusion of the measured [Formula: see text] cross sections in a fit of parametrized parton distribution functions is shown to have significant impact on the gluon distribution

Measurement of prompt and nonprompt [Formula: see text] production in [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text].

This paper reports the measurement of [Formula: see text] meson production in proton-proton ([Formula: see text]) and proton-lead ([Formula: see text]) collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of [Formula: see text] by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The data samples used in the analysis correspond to integrated luminosities of 28[Formula: see text] and 35[Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] collisions, respectively. Prompt and nonprompt [Formula: see text] mesons, the latter produced in the decay of [Formula: see text] hadrons, are measured in their dimuon decay channels. Differential cross sections are measured in the transverse momentum range of [Formula: see text], and center-of-mass rapidity ranges of [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) and [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]). The nuclear modification factor, [Formula: see text], is measured as a function of both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. Small modifications to the [Formula: see text] cross sections are observed in [Formula: see text] relative to [Formula: see text] collisions. The ratio of [Formula: see text] production cross sections in [Formula: see text]-going and Pb-going directions, [Formula: see text], studied as functions of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], shows a significant decrease for increasing transverse energy deposited at large pseudorapidities. These results, which cover a wide kinematic range, provide new insight on the role of cold nuclear matter effects on prompt and nonprompt [Formula: see text] production