Ašipâ Again: A Microhistory of an Assyrian provincial administrator

no abstrac

Computational redesign of transaminase active site

Aminotransferases are widely exploited in simple as well as more elaborate multi-enzymatic cascade reactions as an environmentally friendly alternative to transition metal catalysis. However, efficient selective conversion of numerous targets is a great limitation to date [1]. Attempts to improve substrate scope have been undertaken by generation and screening of large mutant libraries, which is very time-consuming and raises costs concerns [2]. Recent approaches explored the use of molecular docking of demanding substrates, followed by energy minimization and/or MD simulations [1;3]. Still, the best results have been obtained by extensive mutagenesis and screening. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Abortion and the Link to Breast Cancer

“It is only reasonable to conclude, from all extant evidence, that induced abortion is indeed a risk factor for breast cancer, despite the strong and pervasive bias in the recent literature in the direction of viewing abortion as safe for women.” So states Joel Brind, in a landmark review of the evidence for the abortion - breast cancer (ABC) link (2005, p. 110). Over the last forty years, this issue has been an intriguing topic of research, for both scientific and ideological reasons. But what can we conclude from the published studies currently available? According to a comprehensive meta-analysis by Beral and associates, there is no scientifically verifiable link between induced abortion and breast cancer (2004). However many researchers remain convinced that there is valid scientific evidence for this link. This paper will examine the evidence for the ABC link and show that it is verified by both the physiology of the breast as well as the published, scientifically valid data

Working out a common task: design and evaluation of user-intelligent system collaboration

This paper describes the design and user evaluation of an intelligent user interface intended to mediate between users and an Adaptive Information Extraction (AIE) system. The design goal was to support a synergistic and cooperative work. Laboratory tests showed the approach was efficient and effective; focus groups were run to assess its ease of use. Logs, user satisfaction questionnaires, and interviews were exploited to investigate the interaction experience. We found that user’ attitude is mainly hierarchical with the user wishing to control and check the system’s initiatives. However when confidence in the system capabilities rises, a more cooperative interaction is adopted

an Example of Third Space in Archaeology

In this paper, I briefly elaborate on the differences between two notions of third space, one rooted in postcolonial theory, the other in Marxist geography. Marxist geography is concerned with the production of antagonistic spatialities. I use this idea to analyze various notions of space of and in the Iranian Iron Age polity of the Medes. The main issue is the interpretation of “squatting” habitations at the two sites of Tepe Nush-i Jan and Godin Tepe. I argue that the flimsy walls set into the massive architecture of earlier levels are a sign of tensions over conflictual spatialities

Belle II status and prospects for studies of neutral currents

The Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB energy-asymmetric electron-positron collider is a substantial upgrade of the B factory facility at the Japanese KEK laboratory. Belle II collected a sample of $362~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance between 2019 and 2022, with a maximum peak luminosity of $4.7 \times 10^{34} \mathrm{cm}^{-2}s^{-1}$. Belle II is currently facing a long shutdown period, required for several upgrades of the detector and the collider. Data taking will resume at the end of 2023. We report the recent measurements which involve neutral current transitions in $B$ meson decays. In particular, we present the current status and future prospects for the branching fractions measurements of the radiative decays $B\to K^*\gamma$ and the fully inclusive $B\to X_s\gamma$, the search for $B^+\to K^+\nu\bar \nu$ decays, the measurement of the branching fractions of $B\to J/\psi(\to \ell\ell)K$ and $B\to K^*\ell\ell$. Finally, we show the perspectives of the search for $B\to K^{*}\tau\tau$ and the searches of lepton flavor violating channels $B\to K^{(*)}\ell\ell'$, with $\ell=e, \mu, \tau$.Comment: Contribution to the New Frontiers in Lepton Flavor 2023 conferenc

SURVEY ON THE CONSUMPTION OF WINE IN SICILY

The survey on consumption of wine has been conducted in the period between April 20th and July 10th of 2011 on a sample of 200 consumers of Sicily. The recognition by the administration of the product was mainly conducted at some outlets, supermarkets, wine shops and bars, interviewing a sample of consumers directly with the method "face to face." The survey purpose was conducted to understand the needs of wine consumers and the role played by the mark of quality in the choice of purchase, and finally the degree of appreciation and consumption of Sicilian wine

Bridging the gap: scenario-based design as a solution for delayed access to users

Scenario-based design (Carroll & Rosson, 2002) is a Human-Computer Interaction methodology for considering the needs of potential users, without their direct input. Scenario-based design gives the interface designer the ability to create scenarios of use, along with postulations on the various types of users, expressed in the form of personas (Grudin & Pruitt, 2002). These scenarios and personas can be useful in the context of a design project, where real world issues preclude the direct involvement of users at a critical stage. By ‘walking through’ informal narrative descriptions in the form of a story, scenario-based design focuses on human activity rather than technology. We propose that scenario-based design can be utilised to fill gaps in a collaborative project, where, due to circumstances beyond the control of the designer, other parties have not provided vital information before the prototyping stage. Scenario-based design can allow us, as designers, to consider the needs of our potential users when circumstances mean that we would not otherwise be able to. While different disciplines utilise proprietary project management methods, scenario-based design bridges gaps between practice-specific epistemologies, allowing contributions from different fields to feed the project at any stage of its progress. This paper details our early reflections as designers working on an ARC Linking Grant-funded, interdisciplinary project to redesign a bushfire warning website. We explain that scenario-based design can act as a catalyst, to ‘kick-start’ a project where, due to various factors, timing or resources means that direct contact with users is not always possible

“The pitch itself was no man’s land:” Siege, Željezničar Sarajevo Football Club and the Grbavica Stadium

Inspired by microhistory, this essay explores the wartime plight of a football stadium and the multi-ethnic club that called it home as a means of understanding Bosnia and Herzegovina’s descent into conflict, the siege of Sarajevo, and the impact upon civilians. Like the suburb of the same name, Grbavica became part of the frontline during the siege. Deprived of its home, FK Željezničar continued to function, while players, staff, and supporters longed for a return to the shattered ground. At a local level, the organization offers a means of visualizing the development of the Grbavica suburb, from its socialist foundations to its post-Dayton reintegration. In this way, the life of the stadium and those who frequent it map onto the history of Yugoslavia, its dissolution, and the independent republic that emerged in its wake. Moreover, the wartime partition of the stadium, the club, and its supporters’ group – all of which were claimed by actors on both sides of the frontline – were representative of political developments in a state where the ethnic balance was forcibly reengineered. This reconstruction of Grbavica’s war harnesses original photographic evidence, oral history, maps, contemporary journalism, and the transcripts of the Hague Tribunal