Construction of spirocarbocycles via gold-catalyzed intramolecular dearomatization of naphthols.

A highly efficient, gold-catalyzed intramolecular dearomatization reaction of naphthols via 5-endo-dig cyclization is described. This facile and direct approach furnishes spirocarbocycles in excellent yields under mild conditions

Compensation and price delegation for heterogeneous sales force

A heterogeneous sales force may not be as desirable as a homogeneous sales force for two reasons: premiums are required for all except from one agent type, and only the highest type would work as hard as though they were from a homogeneous sales force. This study revisits the heterogeneous sales force compensation and price delegation problem with type-dependent reservation. We find that an equilibrium separating or pooling compensation contract always exists. Different types of agents may receive premiums, and there are scenarios when no premiums are paid. Retaining centralized pricing provides a tool for regulating agent behavior. More than one or even all agent types may work as hard as though they were members of a homogeneous sales force. These findings differ from existing results and their driving force is the dynamics between the differences in reservations and agents’ effort costs arising from concealing their true types

Reconstruction of cytosolic fumaric acid biosynthetic pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fumaric acid is a commercially important component of foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and industrial materials, yet the current methods of production are unsustainable and ecologically destructive.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, the fumarate biosynthetic pathway involving reductive reactions of the tricarboxylic acid cycle was exogenously introduced in <it>S. cerevisiae </it>by a series of simple genetic modifications. First, the <it>Rhizopus oryzae </it>genes for malate dehydrogenase (<it>RoMDH</it>) and fumarase (<it>RoFUM1</it>) were heterologously expressed. Then, expression of the endogenous pyruvate carboxylase (<it>PYC2</it>) was up-regulated. The resultant yeast strain, FMME-001 ↑<it>PYC2 </it>+ ↑<it>RoMDH</it>, was capable of producing significantly higher yields of fumarate in the glucose medium (3.18 ± 0.15 g liter^-1) than the control strain FMME-001 empty vector.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results presented here provide a novel strategy for fumarate biosynthesis, which represents an important advancement in producing high yields of fumarate in a sustainable and ecologically-friendly manner.</p

Augmenting a guitar with its digital footprint

We explore how to digitally augment musical instruments by connecting them to their social histories. We describe the use of Internet of Things technologies to connect an acoustic guitar to its digital footprint – a record of how it was designed, built and played. We introduce the approach of crafting interactive decorative inlay into the body of an instrument that can then be scanned using mobile devices to reveal its digital footprint. We describe the design and construction of an augmented acoustic guitar called Carolan alongside activities to build its digital footprint through documented encounters with twenty-seven players in a variety of settings. We reveal the design challenge of mapping the different surfaces of the instrument to various facets of its footprint so as to afford appropriate experiences to players, audiences and technicians. We articulate an agenda for further research on the topic of connecting instruments to their social histories, including capturing and performing digital footprints and creating personalized and legacy experiences

Augmenting a guitar with its digital footprint

We explore how to digitally augment musical instruments by connecting them to their social histories. We describe the use of Internet of Things technologies to connect an acoustic guitar to its digital footprint – a record of how it was designed, built and played. We introduce the approach of crafting interactive decorative inlay into the body of an instrument that can then be scanned using mobile devices to reveal its digital footprint. We describe the design and construction of an augmented acoustic guitar called Carolan alongside activities to build its digital footprint through documented encounters with twenty-seven players in a variety of settings. We reveal the design challenge of mapping the different surfaces of the instrument to various facets of its footprint so as to afford appropriate experiences to players, audiences and technicians. We articulate an agenda for further research on the topic of connecting instruments to their social histories, including capturing and performing digital footprints and creating personalized and legacy experiences

Responsible-AI-by-Design: a Pattern Collection for Designing Responsible AI Systems

Although AI has significant potential to transform society, there are serious concerns about its ability to behave and make decisions responsibly. Many ethical regulations, principles, and guidelines for responsible AI have been issued recently. However, these principles are high-level and difficult to put into practice. In the meantime much effort has been put into responsible AI from the algorithm perspective, but they are limited to a small subset of ethical principles amenable to mathematical analysis. Responsible AI issues go beyond data and algorithms and are often at the system-level crosscutting many system components and the entire software engineering lifecycle. Based on the result of a systematic literature review, this paper identifies one missing element as the system-level guidance - how to design the architecture of responsible AI systems. We present a summary of design patterns that can be embedded into the AI systems as product features to contribute to responsible-AI-by-design