In this paper, we consider an information bottleneck (IB) framework for semi-supervised classification with several families of priors on latent space representation. We apply a variational decomposition of mutual information terms of IB. Using this decomposition we perform an analysis of several regularizers and practically demonstrate an impact of different components of variational model on the classification accuracy. We propose a new formulation of semi-supervised IB with hand crafted and learnable priors and link it to the previous methods such as semi-supervised versions of VAE (M1 + M2), AAE, CatGAN, etc. We show that the resulting model allows better understand the role of various previously proposed regularizers in semi-supervised classification task in the light of IB framework. The proposed IB semi-supervised model with hand-crafted and learnable priors is experimentally validated on MNIST under different amount of labeled data. We will denote a joint generative distribution as The deep supervised classifiers demonstrate an impressive performance when the amount of labeled data is large. However, their performance significantly deteriorates with the decrease of labeled samples. Recently, semi-supervised classifiers based on deep generative models such as VAE M1 + M2) [ + M2 [1]Hand-crafted latent space priors impose constraints on a distribution of latent space by fitting it to some targeted distribution according to the variational decomposition of the compression term of the IB. This type of latent space priors is well known as an information dropout  dropout . One can dropout . In contWe demonstrate that several state-of-the-art models such as AAE , CatGAN We evaluate our model using standard dataset MNIST on both hand-crafted and learnable features. Besides revealing the impact of different components of variational IB factorization, we demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms prior works on this dataset.Our main contribution is three-fold: (i) We propose a new formulation of IB for the semi-supervised classification and use a variational decomposition to convert it into a practically tractable setup with learnable parameters. (ii) We develop the variational IB for two classes of hand-crafted and learnable priors on the latent space of classifier and show its link to the state-of-the-art semi-supervised methods. (iii) We investigate the role of these priors and different regularizers in the classification, latent and reconstruction spaces for the same fixed architecture under the different amount of training data.Regularization techniques in semi-supervised learning: Semi-supervised learning tries to find a way to benefit from a large number of unlabeled samples available for training. The most common way to leverage unlabeled data is to add a special regularization term or some mechanism to better generalize to unseen data. The recent work M1 + M2)  is an exIn contrast to the above approaches and following the IB framework, we formulate the semi-supervised classification problem as a training of classifier that aims at compressing the input Summary: The considered methods of semi-supervised learning can be differentiated based on: (i) the targeted tasks ; (ii) the architecture in terms of the latent space representation (with a single representation vector or with multiple representation vectors); (iii) the usage of IB or other underlying frameworks (methods derived from the IB directly or using regularization techniques); (iv) the label space regularization ; (v) the latent space regularization (hand-crafted regularizers and priors or learnable priors under the reconstruction and constrastive setups) and (vi) the reconstruction space regularization in case of reconstruction setup .In this work, our main focus is the latent space regularization for the hand-crafted and learnable priors under the reconstruction setup within the IB framework. Our main task is the semi-supervised classification. We will not consider any augmentation and adversarial techniques besides a simple stochastic encoding based on the addition of data independent noise at the system input or even deterministic encoding without any form of augmentation. The regularization of the label space and reconstruction space is solely based on the terms derived from the IB framework and only includes available labeled and unlabeled data without any form of augmentation. In this way, we want to investigate the role and impact of the latent space regularization as such in the IB-based semi-supervised classification. The usage of the above mentioned techniques of augmentation should be further investigated and will likely provide an additional performance improvement.We assume that a semi-supervised classifier has an access to According to the above IB formulation the encoder However, since optimal Thus, the IB  can be rThe considered IB is schematically shown in The first mutual information term  in  can be dStochastic encodingmultiplicative encoding applied to the input additive encoding applied to the input concatenative/mixing encodingIt should be pointed out that the encoding  dropout ; (b) addPixelGAN , or in ts in VAE  or (c) cs of AAE .In this section, we factorize the second term in  to addreFinally, the conditional entropy is defined as Since er bound  as Iϕa,θSummarizing the above variational decomposition of  with theSupervised training without latent space regularization (baseline): is based on term Semi-supervised training without latent space regularization is based on terms Supervised training with latent space regularization is based on term Semi-supervised training with latent space regularization deploys all terms in ( Dcc^ in (7)LS−Nond Dc in :(8)LSS−N Dcc^ in  and eithnd Da in :(9)LS−Reterms in  and 6)::SupervisIn this section, we extend the results obtained for the hand-crafted priors to the learnable priors. Instead of applying the hand-crafted regularization of the latent representation y the IB  and showg from A , Data Pr from A The targeted tasks: auto-encoding, clustering,  generation and classification.The architecture in terms of the latent space representation: the stacked combination of models M1 and M2 is used as discussed above.The usage of IB or other underlying frameworks: VAE M1 + M2 is not derived from the IB framework but it is linked to the regularized ELBO with the cross-entropy for the labeled samples. The corresponding IB Lagrangian of semi-supervised VAE M1 + M2 under the assumption of end-to-end training can be defined as:The label space regularization: is based on the assumption of categorical distribution of labels.The reconstruction space regularization in case of reconstruction loss: is only based on the MSE.D indicates the deterministic setup (i) and symbol S corresponds to the stochastic one (ii). To choose the optimal parameters of systems, e.g., the Lagrangian multipliers in the considered models, we used 3-run cross-validation with the randomly chosen labeled examples as shown in The tested system is based on (i) the deterministic encoder and decoder, (ii) the stochastic encoder of type stimator  is used Additionally, we performed a 10-run cross-validation on the SVHN dataset . We usedhttps://github.com/taranO/IB-semi-supervised-classification. The analysis of the latent space of trained models for the MNIST dataset is given in We compare the considered architectures with several state-of-the-art semi-supervised methods such as AAE , CatGAN The deterministic and stochastic systems based on the learnable priors clearly demonstrate the state-of-the-art performance in comparison to the considered semi-supervised counterparts.Baseline Neural Network (NN): the obtained results allow concluding that, if the amount of labeled training data is large, as shown in “all” column (” column , the latNo priors on latent space: to investigate the impact of unlabeled data, we add the adversarial regularizer ” column , allows Hand crafted latent space priors: along this line we investigate the impact of hand-crafted regularization in the form of the added discriminator Learnable latent space priors: along this line we will investigate the impact of learnable priors by adding the corresponding regularizations of the latent space of auto-encoder and data reconstruction. We investigate the role of reconstruction space regularization based on the MSE expressed via In the SVHN test, we did not try to optimize the Lagrangian coefficients as it was done for MNIST. However, to compensate for a potential non-optimality, we perform the model training with the reduced learning rate as indicated in We have introduced a novel formulation of variational information bottleneck for semi-supervised classification. To overcome the problem of original bottleneck and to compensate the lack of labeled data in the semi-supervised setting, we considered two models of latent space regularization via hand-crafted and learnable priors. On a toy example of MNIST dataset we investigated how the parameters of proposed framework influence the performance of classifier. By end-to-end training, we demonstrate how the proposed framework compares to the state-of-the-art methods and approaches the performance of fully supervised classifier.The envisioned future work is along the lines of providing a stronger compression yet preserving only classification task relevant information since retaining more task irrelevant information does not provide distinguishable classification features, i.e., it only ensures reliable data reconstruction. In this work, we have considered IB for the predictive latent space model. We think that the contrastive multi-view IB formulation would be an interesting candidate for the regularization of latent space. Additionally, we did not use the adversarially generated examples to impose the constraint on the minimization of mutual information between them and class labels or equivalently to maximize the entropy of class label distribution for these adversarial examples according to the framework of entropy minimization. This line of “adversarial” regularization seems to be a very interesting complement to the considered variational bottleneck. In this work, we considered a particular form of stochastic encoding by the addition of data independent noise to the input with the preservation of the same class labels. This also corresponds to the consistency regularization when samples can be more generally permuted including the geometrical transformations. It is also interesting to point out that the same form of generic permutations is used in the unsupervised constrastive loss-based multi-view formulations for the continual latent space representation as opposed to the categorical one in the consistency regularization. Finally, the conditional generation can be an interesting line of research considering the generation from discrete labels and continuous latent space of the autoencoder.


Aromatic prenyltransferases (PTases), including ABBA-type and dimethylallyl tryptophan synthase (DMATS)-type enzymes from bacteria and fungi, play important role for diversification of the natural products and improvement of the biological activities. For a decade, the characterization of enzymes and enzymatic synthesis of prenylated compounds by using ABBA-type and DMATS-type PTases have been demonstrated. Here, I introduce several examples of the studies on chemoenzymatic synthesis of unnatural prenylated compounds and the enzyme engineering of ABBA-type and DMATS-type PTases. The prenylated indole alkaloids and prenylated aromatic compounds isolated from plants and microorganisms show broad structural diversity and various biological activities –6. The p2+ ion and diphosphate that is also conserved in the isoprenyl diphosphate synthases . . 107]. FThe development of the sequencing technology and the improvement of methodology to characterize the enzymes have accelerated the understanding of the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. By using these techniques, dozens of ABBA-type and DMATS-type aromatic PTases were functionally and structurally characterized. The accumulation of the knowledge in enzymes provided the chance for the application and engineering of these aromatic PTases. The results presented in this review would be the model cases toward utilization of the secondary metabolite enzymes to generate structurally diversified and biologically active unnatural novel molecular scaffolds for drug discovery.


Health and work are two key determinants of economic insecurity and wellbeing. Since economic insecurity may rise with age due to the deterioration of health and work ability, it is essential to study the causal relationship between health and labor market outcomes among older people. In Korea, the size of the older population has grown rapidly in recent decades but the pension system remains limited in terms of its reach and generosity, leaving a considerable number of older people suffering from economic insecurity. To investigate the two-way causal links between health and labor market outcomes, we use unique data on middle-aged and older Koreans from 12 waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Study (2006-2017) and two dynamic modeling approaches: the Arellano-Bond Generalized Method of Moment Model (AB-GMM) and the Maximum Likelihood Structural Equation Model (ML-SEM). Results point at gender differences regarding the direction of the causal link between health and labor market outcomes. Men are more likely to be in good health due to higher income or paid work. Women are more likely to earn a higher income and to work as paid employees because of good health. These effects particularly hold for Koreans aged 55-74 in urban areas.


Defining complexity in quantum field theory is a difficult task, and the main challenge concerns going beyond free models and associated Gaussian states and operations. One take on this issue is to consider conformal field theories in 1+1 dimensions and our work is a comprehensive study of state and operator complexity in the universal sector of their energy-momentum tensor. The unifying conceptual ideas are Euler-Arnold equations and their integro-differential generalization, which guarantee well-posedness of the optimization problem between two generic states or transformations of interest. The present work provides an in-depth discussion of the results reported in arXiv:2005.02415 and techniques used in their derivation. Among the most important topics we cover are usage of differential regularization, solution of the integro-differential equation describing Fubini-Study state complexity and probing the underlying geometry.


An increasing number of studies evinces the significant role of sleep in health outcomes including physical symptoms, cardiometabolic functioning, and chronic health conditions. To further advance the field’s knowledge on sleep and health in adulthood, it is necessary to have an integrative understanding of this topic that pulls together short-term determinants to long-term health consequences of sleep. As such, this symposium places diverse aspects of sleep across multiple contexts, ranging from predictors and consequences of sleep in daily life to the role of sleep in long-term changes in health across adulthood. The first paper by Lee and colleagues examines the role of daily positive and negative events as precursors of concurrent and next-day sleep duration. The second paper by Joo and colleagues addresses the moderating role of nightly sleep duration in the association between daily stressor severity and intensity of headaches. The third paper by Chai and colleagues explores how the association between daily emotional well-being and cardiometabolic syndrome differs by sleep deficiency and by age. The fourth paper by Sin and colleagues focuses on daily affective vulnerability to short sleep duration as a risk factor for developing chronic conditions 10 years later. The final paper by Reither and colleagues assesses within-person changes and between-person differences in restorative sleep and their associations with body mass trajectories across 15 years. The discussant, Dr. Soomi Lee, will integrate key points from the studies, discuss the utilization of diverse measurements of sleep, and address considerations for future research on sleep and health.


We develop a frailty index (FI) from continuous valued biomarker measurements that does not use thresholds to binarize deficits. In this work we construct a quantile frailty index (FI-Q) directly from risk quantiles, without binarizing the deficits. FI-Q is the average risk quantile for an individual in the population with respect to the set of measured biomarkers. We show that FI-Q predicts adverse health outcomes better than either a quantile-based cutpoint approach or an FI-Lab method used in previous studies. We also address practical questions such as how to use longitudinal data. We use data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) for longitudinal analysis and data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA) to compare predictive value of FI-QM with previous FI-Lab studies.


The CASPMI project includes whole-genome sequencing data  from ∼1000 healthy individuals of the CASPMI cohort. To facilitate the usage of such variations for pharmacogenomics studies, star-allele frequencies of the drug-related genes in the CASPMI and 1KGP populations are calculated and provided in CGVD. As one of the important database resources in BIG Data Center, CGVD will continue to collect more genomic variations and to curate structural and functional annotations to support population-based healthcare projects and studies in China and worldwide.Precision medicine calls upon deeper coverage of population-based sequencing and thorough gene-content and phenotype-based analysis, which lead to a population-associated genomic variation map or database. The Chinese Genomic Variation Database (CGVD;  The authors of the above-cited article request its retraction. The authors have not received approval from the relevant authorities to use Chinese genomic data and therefore have to suspend the CGVD database.


Age-Friendly Community Initiatives (AFCIs) are expanding throughout the United States to make social and built environments within local communities more responsive to population aging. With over 450 initiatives affiliated with the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, Cities, and States (125 of which began in 2019-early 2020), rapid growth on the ground necessitates that theory and research develop alongside practice innovations. This symposium showcases the intersection of cutting-edge scholarship with community-based efforts to generate knowledge of community change processes that is immediately actionable by community leaders. Collectively, these papers emphasize the benefits of action research and developmental evaluation in community gerontology towards building the theories of age-friendly change that will set the stage for outcomes research. The first paper will present on work with 83 AFCIs in rural Maine involving interviews with organizational leaders to inform which types of supports could stimulate age-friendly changes to communities’ built and social environments. The second paper will share a mixed-methods approach used to develop a global toolkit for dementia-friendly communities. The third presenter will describe the collaborative development and utilization of social network analysis to help age-friendly leaders plan their work, while simultaneously advancing research on variation in AFCI implementation. The final paper will present an evaluative framework that identifies roles and outcome measures for collective impact at the intersection of public health and age-friendly communities.


Marriage or other types of partnerships are consequential for health in later life, but its association to self-perceptions of aging remains a relatively unexplored area of research. This study used three waves of panel data from the Health and Retirement Study  to examine how changes in the health status and relationship quality over time contribute to self-perceptions of aging for married/partnered men and women. Multilevel models showed that women demonstrated more positive self-perceptions of aging than men, but there was no gender difference in how self-perceptions of aging became more negative over time. The findings on the main and moderating effects of health and relationship quality give evidence that changes across time, as well as average differences in individual characteristics, may affect self-perceptions of married/partnered men and women differently. The context in which gender shapes key aspects of life contributes to self-perceptions of aging in later life.


In the original article, there was a mistake in the legend for Figure 1 as published. The figure, which was previously published in the article cited below from the Japanese Journal of Radiology, was reused without appropriate acknowledgment in our article. The correct legend appears below.Figure 1 The concept of the diffusion tensor image analysis along with the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) method for perivascular diffusion. (A) The DTI superimposed color display shows the distribution of projection fibers (z-axis: blue), association fibers (y-axis: green), and subcortical fibers (x-axis: red). Three regions of interest (ROIs) were placed in the area with projection fibers (projection area), association fibers (association area), and subcortical fibers  to measure the diffusivities in three directions . (B) Schematic diagram showing the relationship between the direction of the perivascular space (gray cylinder) and the direction of the fibers. Note that the direction of the perivascular space is perpendicular to the projection and the association fibers. The figure has been reprinted with permission from Taoka et al. .The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.


The paper’s goal is to assess whether and, if so, the extent to which prevalence in disability of adults near retirement ages in the US increased over time compared to their peers in England and examine income group differences in the relative trends. This study uses 2002-2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) focusing on adults aged 55-64. Annual percent changes over the period of 2002-2016 for limitations in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and activities of daily living (ADL) are estimated for each survey (HRS and ELSA) using multivariable logistic regressions to adjust for individual-level characteristics While disability prevalence of adults ages 55-64 in England improved over the years of 2002-2016 , disability prevalence of US adults has not improved and in fact even worsened in terms of IADL . There are substantial variations in the IADL/ADL trends by income groups. In the US, the adverse trends in disability were more pronounced among the lowest income groups . In England, the disability status improved over time for all but the lowest income group. We will examine further to identify specific factors contributing to divergent/convergent trends in disability between the US and England.


Background and Purpose: Addressing issues of quality of life of nursing home residents based on the human rights-based approach has been a top priority in the long-term care system in Korea but no study has yet examined the relationship between self-determination of nursing home residents and their quality of life. This study aimed to examine whether greater levels of self-determination in the provision of daily care were associated with higher levels of quality of life of the residents. Methods: We collected data from 332 residents (+65) at 20 nursing homes in a metropolitan city. We measured residents’ right to self-determination using the autonomy scale of the Client-centered Care Questionnaire. We also included quality of life, socio-economic characteristics, ADLs, depressive symptoms, and social networks. We ran multiple regression analysis using SPSS 26.0. Results: The findings of this study revealed that greater levels of residents’ right to self-determination were associated with higher levels of quality of life . Older residents who were higher levels of depressive symptoms were likely to have lower levels of quality of life . Conclusions and Implications: This study adds to the growing literature on the ways nursing home residents’ self-determination contributes to their quality of life. More opportunities for self-determination in their treatment should be given to promote recovery and to encourage participation in the decision-making process. Nursing practitioners and policymakers in Korea should develop programs and/or services that enhance residents’ self-determination to improve their quality of life.


We derive the minimum divergence portfolio, which generalizes the Markowitz’s (mean-divergence) approach and relying on the information geometrical aspects of the distributions the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is then derived under the geometrical characterization of the distributions which model the data, all by the consideration of principal curves approach. We discuss the possibility of integration of our model into an adaptive procedure that can be used for the search of optimum points on finance applications.This paper proposes a method for the beta pricing model under the consideration of non-Gaussian returns by means of a generalization of the mean-variance model and the use of principal curves to define a divergence model for the optimization of the pricing model. We rely on the  We point out however that the criticality of a principal curve is usually defined in terms of the Euclidean distance. Hence, although Considering statistical divergences as Kullback–Leibler or Bregman divergence allows us to deal with random variables with probabilities given by exponential and deformed exponential distributions. In the context of exponential and q-exponential distributions that includes q-Gaussian distributions, defined in details by Plastino and Vignat −q-Gaussian distribution, it holds thatq-variance matrix The Fisher information metric The results we have quoted in N risky assets D is the vector of payoffs A portfolio composed by The matrixN distinct eigenvalues and iterating this same optimization procedure in subspaces orthogonal to the span of the already given eigenvectors, one obtains the principal directions Setting the LagrangianR byWe then define a matrix p diagonal elements in the generalized covariance matrix in diagonal form, that is,Next, we restrict ourselves to the projections of portfolios onto the  affine subspace spanned by the first Hence, we obtain a multi-factor linear model of the formp-principal portfolioThe expected return of the p-principal portfolio with expected return We claim that the To prove this claim, we denoteThe first order condition isWe conclude thatTheorem 4.The p-principal portfolio with minimum generalized variance is given bywhere


As these lines were written, the Covid-19 pandemic crisis was continuing to threaten countries around the globe. The worldwide consensus that physical distancing is an effective instrument for mitigating the spread of the virus has led policymakers to temporarily limit the freedom of movement of people between and within countries, cities, and even neighborhoods. These public health-related restrictions on human mobility yielded an unprecedented fragmentation of international and national food distribution systems. Focusing on food retailing - usually being modestly oligopolistic - we take a micro-economic perspective as we analyze the potential consequences this disruption has for the physical as well as for the economic access of households to food at the local level. As the mobility constraints implemented substantially reduced competition, we argue that food retailers might have been tempted to take advantage of the implied fragmentation of economic activity by exploiting their temporarily raised market power at the expense of consumers and farmers. We illustrate our point by providing empirical evidences of rising wholesale-retail as well as farm-retail price margins observed during the Covid-19 crisis. Subsequently, we review existing empirical approaches that can be used to quantify and decompose the micro-economic effects of crises on food demand and supply as well as the size and structure of the market, costs of trade, and economic welfare. The employment of such approaches facilitates policymakers’ understanding of micro-economic effects of public health-induced mobility restrictions on economic activity. The world is currently undergoing a global pandemic that threatens societies and economies at the global, national, regional, and local levels. Covid-19 appears to be a covariate shock simultaneously challenging many countries of unprecedented magnitude and geographical comprehensiveness unknown in modern history. The livelihoods of millions are challenged by tangible effects as exemplified by the occurrence of extensive hoarding and panic-buying in many Western countries during the first half of March 2020, when most people witnessed empty supermarket shelves for the first time in their lives  fragmented food retail markets. Oligopoly models can be adjusted to verify whether and in which ways the transiently improved bargaining positions of selected players in food markets enlarge crisis ramifications. Demand planning (Swierczek


The application of cryo-EM methods to study SARS-CoV-2 proteins provides a convincing demonstration of the power of cryo-EM in the arsenal of structural biology. With the advent of direct electron detectors, the number of depositions in the EM Data Bank ]. What is noteworthy about these advances is that protein complexes of this kind are often flexible and conformationally heterogeneous, making them challenging to study by X-ray crystallography. The advent of ‘single particle’ methods such as cryo-EM and XFELs offer the exciting prospect to transcend the description of proteins in terms of static structures, and instead derive conformational landscapes that may provide a much better way to understand their biological function . I enthusiastically endorse their appeal to the structural biology community to deposit COVID-19-related raw cryo-EM data in EMPIAR to enable more in-depth analysis following initial publication of the data given the rapid growth in our collective knowledge of this pandemic.The critical role played by the EMDB over the last two decades in the dissemination and impact of cryo-EM cannot be underestimated. Established at a time far before the wider recognition of the cryo-EM revolution, the access provided by the repository of structures to both specialists and non-specialists has catalyzed the growth of the field enormously. The recent launch of EMPIAR as an archive where authors are able to deposit raw cryo-EM data has enabled crowd-sourcing of data analysis ] of a sample referred to as B814 and the iconic recent image of the SARS-2 coronavirus [Fig. 1c)] produced by scientists at the NIAID laboratories in Montana is remarkable. Looking ahead, a major goal of structural virology will be to bridge the gap between the knowledge of atomic resolution structures of individual viral components and the critical macromolecular interactions that define their assembly along with RNA into an intact, infectious virus. These kinds of integrative structural studies, combined with biological analyses of the processes involved in viral replication will be essential to understand the molecular mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 enters cells to cause its devastating effects on human health.The resemblance of June Almeida’s image from 1966 [Fig. 1


The aim of this study was to estimate incidence of self-harm presentations to hospitals and their associated hospital costs across England.We used individual patient data from the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England of all self-harm presentations to the emergency departments of five general hospitals in Oxford, Manchester and Derby in 2013. We also obtained cost data for each self-harm presentation from the hospitals in Oxford and Derby, as well as population and geographical estimates from the Office for National Statistics. First, we estimated the rate of self-harm presentations by age and gender in the Multicentre Study and multiplied this with the respective populations to estimate the number of self-harm presentations by age and gender for each local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area in England. Second, we performed a regression analysis on the cost data from Oxford and Derby to predict the hospital costs of self-harm in Manchester by age, gender, receipt of psychosocial assessment, hospital admission and type of self-harm. Third, the mean hospital cost per age year and gender were combined with the respective number of self-harm presentations to estimate the total hospital costs for each CCG in England. Sensitivity analysis was performed to address uncertainty in the results due to the extrapolation of self-harm incidence and cost from the Multicentre Study to England.There were 228 075 estimated self-harm presentations  by 159 857 patients in 2013 in England. The largest proportions of self-harm presentations were in the age group 40–49 years (30%) for men and 19–29 years (28%) for women. Associated hospital costs were approximately £128.6 (95% CI 117.8−140.9) million in 2013. The estimated incidence of self-harm and associated hospital costs were lower in the majority of English coastal areas compared to inland regions but the highest costs were in Greater London. Costs were also higher in more socio-economically deprived areas of the country compared with areas that are more affluent. The sensitivity analyses provided similar results.The results of this study highlight the extent, hospital costs and distribution of self-harm presentations to hospitals in England and identify potential sub-populations that might benefit from targeted actions to help prevent self-harm and assist those who have self-harmed. They can support national as well as local health stakeholders in allocating funds and prioritising interventions in areas with the greatest need for preventing and managing self-harm. The overall provision of mental health-related care is funded through general government funds allocated to NHS England. With regards to self-harm, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends provision of a psycho-social assessment for all patients who present with self-harm to the emergency departments of general hospitals NICE, . This asAdopting the working definition of the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England, which is used nationally in England NICE, , self-haThe data included individual patient level data for all self-harm presentations to the emergency departments of five general hospitals  between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014. The information collected included: overall self-harm method , specific self-harm method , hospital admission and patient socio-demographic characteristics . It also included the provision of psychosocial assessment. We also obtained the actual hospital cost  of each self-harm presentation in our dataset  from the finance departments of the hospitals in Oxford and Derby. Mid-year 2013 population estimates for the study catchment areas by single year of age and gender, as well as suicide rates and proportion of the catchment area populations living in rural areas were retrieved at Clinical Commissioning Group level from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Data on the Market Forces Factor (an index that adjusts price differences across the country) in Oxford, Manchester and Derby were retrieved from NHS England.The number of self-harm presentations was divided by the total population in the catchment area of the three centres of the Multicentre Study for single age years and gender to estimate the rate of self-harm presentation to hospital by age and gender in 2013. This rate was multiplied by the population per age year and gender in each local health service commissioning area  in England to estimate the number of self-harm presentations in each CCG nationally by age and gender. The total number of self-harm presentations per CCG area in England was calculated by summing all self-harm presentations by age and gender.et al., Heterogeneity in costs among hospitals may be explained by patient case-mix , mix and quality of services provided  and production constraints    was calculated by dividing the age standardised suicide rate in each CCG area by the average age standardised suicide rate in the three centres of the Multicentre Study. The underlying assumption for performing this sensitivity analysis was that suicide  and self-harm have common risk factors  million. In absolute terms, the majority of costs were for episodes involving women and were greatest in the Midlands and East regions . The totThis study provides the first detailed estimates of self-harm presentations to hospitals and their associated hospital costs across England. The results of this study may assist national and local health decision makers in planning the distribution of funds for self-harm and prioritising interventions in areas with the highest need for tackling self-harm. Providing the incidence of self-harm presentations in each CCG by gender and age highlights sub-populations potentially where additional resources might be targeted to interventions that may prevent self-harm and assist those who have self-harmed, reducing therefore suicide deaths.et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., Using our incidence estimates and considering that there were 4727  deaths by suicide in England in 2013  is close to previously reported more crude estimates of 200 000 episodes per year   presenting to a general hospital in Nottingham were estimated using NHS reference costs to be £1.64 million or £1026 per poisoning; the authors noted that if repeated across England costs per annum would be much higher than our estimate for all self-harm costs at approximately £170 million (£192 million at 2013/14 prices)  the lack of hospital cost data in Manchester, (b) cost data being limited only to care received in general hospitals, which is only a part of the overall long-term costs of self-harm (Sinclair Our analysis can help to identify specific population groups to support within localities and also draw more attention directly to self-harm when developing local suicide and self-harm prevention and reduction strategies. A key element of our approach has been to measure resource use and costs rather than simply use published health system charges, which usually do not reflect actual costs. This will also help in more accurate evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of any interventions that may reduce self-harm events.et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., There is certainly a need to build on recent albeit relatively small-sized economic evaluations of actions to increase the use of psychosocial assessments (Opmeer Due to constraints on the data sharing permissions of the data in the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England, we are not allowed to share the data for public use.


This narrative review aims to critically analyze the effects of exercise on health in aging. Here we discuss the main clinical and biomolecular modifications induced by long-term recreational football training in older subjects. In particular, the effects induced by long-term recreational football training on cardiovascular, metabolic and musculo-skeletal fitness, together with the modifications in the muscle expression of hallmarks related to oxidative metabolism, DNA repair and senescence suppression pathways and protein quality control mechanisms will be provided. All these topics will be debated also in terms of preventing non-communicable metabolic diseases, in order to achieve successful aging over time. In partVery recently, Mancini et al. have investigated the effects of lifelong football training on the autophagic process in the skeletal muscle from VPG and CG subjects . The aut2max, lowest blood pressure at rest, healthier metabolic profile and musculo-skeletal fitness (lower-limb muscle strength and BMD) in trained compared to active untrained subjects. One of the limits of these studies is the low number of participants and the systemic transposition of the positive results obtained in skeletal muscle. It is possible that other factors in addition to training may influence these results. However, considering the background homogeneity of the examined subjects , we can assume that the positive effects observed in muscle and systemic level could be ascribed to the specific football training.Molecular studies on football training and health are rather few, to the best of our knowledge those reported in this manuscript - one conducted on adults and two on older subjects ,92,100 -Over the past decade, growing evidence has demonstrated the efficacy of recreational football training in the improvement of metabolic, CV and musculo-skeletal fitness, thus promoting football as a useful tool for health promotion at all ages, also in terms of CV and metabolic non-communicable disease prevention.Most recent studies have demonstrated that long-term football training counteracts the decline in oxidative capacity in muscle mitochondria and positively affects the expression of molecular biomarkers involved in DNA repair and senescence suppression pathways, promoting successful aging.The strength of this review is linked to a comprehensive analysis of the clinical-metabolic and molecular studies conducted on older players of long-term recreational football. Here we provide an holistic analysis of the effects mediated both at molecular (muscle) and systemic level associated with the improvement of health in long-term football older players. The molecular studies discussed in this review represent a novelty in that, even if they only refer to a limited number of subjects, no other data are present in the literature to the best of our knowledge.The interest in these topics lies in the promising findings deriving from reported studies that could in turn stimulate future scientific research devoted to broadening and deepening insight into the systemic improvements induced by ball-games training in older subjects mediated by muscle molecular modifications. Finally, we hope that this review will also focus research on the minimum volume of exercise that can induce improvement at local and systemic level for successful aging.


As the COVID-19 pandemic causes a record number of people to work from home, this disruptive event will likely have a long-lasting impact on work arrangements. Given existing research on the effects of working from home on hours worked and wages, an increased availability of working from home may provide a chance for women to catch up with their male counterparts. Yet, the need to simultaneously care for children during the COVID-19 lockdown may also revive traditional gender roles, potentially counteracting such gains. We discuss the likely effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender gaps in the labour market and at home in light of recent empirical findings and novel statistics on the heterogeneous structure of work arrangements among couples. We construct a novel teleworkability index that differentiates between fully teleworkable, partly teleworkable and on-site jobs and find that in about a third of households the COVID-19 shock is likely to induce shifts in the intra-household allocation of tasks from mothers to fathers.


Asians are the largest and the fastest growing segment of the world population, and the second largest immigrant population in the U.S. A high proportion of Asians live in developing countries or are immigrants to developed countries. Studies on age-related social and health issues of Asians have lagged. To advance research into aging among Asians living in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, sound methodologies can be adopted from those well-developed in other settings while novel methodologies are to be developed to meet the unique needs of Asian studies. This symposium brings together five abstracts that address a variety of innovative methodological issues in social and health studies among Asian older adults. The topics range from use of wearable devices to measure travel patterns, life space and physical activity in late-life Asian immigrants in the U.S.; use of Ecological Momentary Assessment method to examine influences of social contact satisfaction on neighborhood affect in Chinese in mainland China; use of multilingual age-friendly touch-screen device for cognitive intervention in Singapore; use of GIS to evaluate potential influences of accessibility to neighborhood living resources on attitudes towards aging among the oldest old in Shanghai; and use of a multi-phase complex mixed methods to evaluate a Chinese cancer screening program in Taiwan. Together, these studies showed that innovative methods can be adapted for context relevance and linguistic and cultural appropriateness, and successfully executed in studies on aging among Asians. This symposium is a collaborative effort of the Aging Among Asians Interest Group.


A colon is missing in the article title. The correct title is: Associations of end-of-life preferences and trust in institutions with public support for assisted suicide: Evidence from nationally representative survey data of older adults in Switzerland


Emerging evidence demonstrates that gut-derived signals contribute to whole body metabolic control. The interest in searching for the mechanisms underlying such contributions has been particularly fostered over the past 15 years by the remarkable efficacy exhibited by different modalities of bariatric surgery on improving glucose homeostasis and lowering body weight, since those improvements correlate with dramatic changes in circulating levels of myriad gut-derived signals.Among those signals there are peptides from the glucagon family, which includes glucagon itself, glucagon-like peptide 1 and 2 (GLP-1 and 2), and the related hormone gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP). In one way or another, these peptides play a key role in the control of glucose homeostasis and in the control of energy stores. As a matter of fact, mouse models with congenic global disruption of the receptors for those peptides (with the exception of GLP-2 receptor) exhibit a lean phenotype and resistance to diet-induced obesity. This has led to evaluation of the contribution these peptides make to the metabolic benefits of bariatric surgery. Furthermore, GLP-1 has become the foundation of a novel class of peptide-based therapeutics for the treatment of diabetes and obesity  and by observations on in vitro systems. These and other aspects suggesting a role for these peptides in regulating fat stores by directly acting on adipose tissue have been comprehensively examined in a recent review by Beaudry and Drucker . SupportThus, a general corollary extracted from the review by Beaudry and Drucker  is that In the interim, analysis of the role of the action of the glucagon peptide family on other cell types, such as the role of GIP receptor in immune cells, has recently revealed itself as an unexpected but critical site of action for the control fat stores . Hence,


Correction to: BMC Public Health 20, 1576 (2020)https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09649-7It was highlighted that in the original article  the AcknIncorrectStapenhill Dental Practice and the dental team who facilitated completion of the study – Burton on Trent.Knights Pharmacy and the pharmacy team who facilitated completion of the study - Bromsgrove.CorrectNova Biomedical - The team at Nova Biomedical generously provided testing equipment and consumables for completion of the project in addition to providing staff training in the appropriate use of all testing equipment.Siemens Healthineers – Mr. S Carey, Mr. A Sheppard and the team at Siemens Healthineers who generously provided testing equipment and consumables for completion of the project in addition to providing staff training for the appropriate use of all testing equipment.Stapenhill Dental Practice and the dental team who facilitated completion of the study – Burton on Trent.Knights Pharmacy and the pharmacy team who facilitated completion of the study - Bromsgrove.


Large-scale population-based data collecting repeated measures of biomarkers, follow-up data on events , and extensive genetic data provide excellent opportunities for applying statistical models for joint analyses of longitudinal dynamics of biomarkers and time-to-event outcomes that allow investigating dynamics of biomarkers and other relevant factors (including genetic) in relation to risks of diseases and death and how this may propagate to the future. Here we applied one such model, the stochastic process model (SPM), to data on longitudinal trajectories of different variables , other relevant covariates , and data on onset of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the Health and Retirement Study. We observed that different aging-related characteristics estimated from trajectories of respective variables in SPM are strongly associated with risks of onset of AD and found that these associations differ by sex, APOE status (carriers vs. non-carriers of APOE e4) and by PGS groups. The approach allows modeling and estimating time trends  in relevant dynamic characteristics in relation to the disease onset. These results provide building blocks for constructing the models for forecasting future trends and burden of AD that take into account dynamic relationships between individual trajectories of relevant repeatedly measured characteristics and the risk of the disease. Such models also provide the analytic framework for understanding AD in the context of aging and for finding genetic underpinnings of such links between AD and aging.


Gerontologists have the opportunity to step into an increasingly significant role as public educators who convene gatherings focused on expanding aging awareness and literacy, inter-generational inquiry and collaboration, and age inclusion, equity and justice. The purpose of this presentation is to share creative design principles and keen take-aways from several ongoing community-based educational interventions connected to these themes. As well, we will discuss the role such public-facing initiatives might play in making a compelling case for the importance of supporting and participating in various kinds of formal educational pathways in the field of aging. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Community College Interest Group.


The second stage of the CMS Region IV project involved a series of 20 half-day workshops and five follow-up webinars to introduce Go to the Hospital or Stay Here?, the training resources available , and strategies for implementation. Altogether 1124 representatives from long-term care facilities, state agencies, ombudsman groups and hospitals attended these interactive workshops. Polled participants reported that resident and family insistence on transfer to the hospital was a major barrier to successful reduction of acute care transfers for them. Those who implemented the Guide facility-wide reported an average 28% reduction in transfers. Primary barriers to facility-wide implementation were lack of leadership, making a choice to absorb the cost of financial penalties and failure to distinguish the goal of Guide use from those of existing transfer reduction programs. The facilities found the workshops helpful preparation for effective implementation of the Guide.


Cytidine triphosphate (CTP) is at the crossroad of the processes allowing SARS-CoV-2 to multiply, because CTP is in demand for four essential metabolic steps. It is a building block of the virus genome, it is required for synthesis of the cytosine-based liponucleotide precursors of the viral envelope, it is a critical building block of the host transfer RNAs synthesis and it is required for synthesis of dolichol-phosphate, a precursor of viral protein glycosylation. The CCA 3’-end of all the transfer RNAs required to translate the RNA genome and further transcripts into the proteins used to build active virus copies is not coded in the human genome. It must be synthesized de novo from CTP and ATP. Furthermore, intermediary metabolism is built on compulsory steps of synthesis and salvage of cytosine-based metabolites via uridine triphosphate (UTP) that keep limiting CTP availability. As a consequence, accidental replication errors tend to replace cytosine by uracil in the genome, unless recombination events allow the sequence to return to its ancestral sequences. We document some of the consequences of this situation in the function of viral proteins. This unique metabolic setup allowed us to highlight and provide a


Mobility limitations are the most prevalent late life disability and are strongly associated with negative health outcomes. Research suggests that 1 in 5 older adults with limitations in activities of daily living report needing more help than is received. The objective of this study is to address a gap in the literature by directly examining the relationship between adverse consequences  of unmet in-home mobility care needs and hospital stay for a national sample of community-dwelling older adults. Data was analyzed from round eight (2018) of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), an epidemiologic panel study of nationally representative Medicare beneficiaries ages 65 and older living in the communities . Community dwelling adults with one or more adverse consequence due to in-home mobility limitation had 1.931 times odds of hospital stay in the last 12 months, compared to the counterpart with no in-home mobility limitation , after adjusting for the covariates. Community-dwelling older adults who have adverse consequence due to unmet in-home mobility care needs are more likely to be immobile and are more likely to have hospital stays. By addressing the needs of this population, the rate of hospitalization can be decreased resulting in fewer stressful events and better quality of life. Policies to improve long-term services and supports and reduce unmet need could benefit both older adults and those who care for them.


Whenever one looks plant -made chemicals, everyone is fascinated with their huge chemodiversity, being estimated at over one million metabolites . The impacts of natural climate and geography on the metabolome of tobacco is reported by Ma et al.. The paper by Šamec et al. deals with the metabolome of the Psilotales, which exhibit unique anatomical character in the fern lineage.Metabolomics has now maturely held an indispensable position to decipher the chemodiversity of plants. However, peak annotation of acquired data by untargeted analysis is still challenging. Kusano et al. provides an evolutional perspective regarding two transferases often involved in plant secondary  metabolism; another perspective paper by Shirai and Hanada discusses the effects of copy number variations on functional divergence in the cross-species and inside-species diversity. Shoji proposes the evolutional model based on recruitment of genes by focusing on jasmonate-responsive transcription factors. The Mini-Review article by Maeda provides insight on the evolutional diversification of plant primary metabolism concerning the robustness of plant metabolism and further diversification in specialized metabolism.Several articles deal with an evolutionary consideration in the expansion of plant chemodiversity. Two Perspective articles discuss on evolution aspects: The report by Schwachtje et al. discusses the imprinting and priming plant metabolism against upcoming environmental challenges as a novel concept for adaptation and diversification of plant metabolism responding to stresses. To obtain further insights on mechanisms of plant natural products biosynthesis, computational chemistry may play a central role—Sato et al. present an overview of cutting-edge aspects of application of computational chemistry on the biosynthetic mechanisms of plant specialized metabolites.Two papers deal with the novel concept and approach to extend our understanding of plant metabolism. The Hypothesis and Theory article by Yonekura-Sakakibara et al. discuss the origin of flavonoid biosynthetic enzymes with functional genomics implication in their comprehensive Review Article. Another Review Article  provides the current information about the flavonoid pathway in the bryophytes . The role of the flavonoid metabolons formed by specific protein-protein interactions of the biosynthetic enzymes is discussed in the Review Article . The Original Research Article by Cheevarungnapakul et al. reports the genes for the biosynthesis of caffeoylquinic acids in sunflower.The rest of the 13 articles focuses on relatively the pathway-specific metabolism or metabolites with some generalization across the biosynthetic pathways. Four papers deal with flavonoids and phenylpropanoids. Karunanithi and Zerbe provides up-to-date knowledge on the functional diversity and molecular evolution of the plant terpene synthases widely across the plant kingdom. The Original Article contributed by Muchlinski et al. reports biosynthesis and emission of mixtures of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes triggered by the generalist herbivore in Switchgrass. Three papers focus on triterpenoid saponins. Lei et al. studied the large-scale profiling of saponins in 201 ecotypes of Medicago truncatula. The Original Article by Fanani et al. reports the detailed investigation on the molecular basis for C-30 oxidation of triterpenoids leading to the production of high-value saponins such as glycyrrhizin in Legume licorice. Cárdenas et al. in their Mini-Review Article discuss convergent and divergent evolution in triterpenoid biosynthesis, and the mechanisms increasing structural diversity within and across plant species.Terpenoids form the largest sub-family of specialized metabolites with their immense possibility in the expansion of structural diversity. The Review Article by Morris and Facchini(a); Morris and Facchini(b) provide an overview of the functional diversification of methyltransferases in the biosynthesis of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids. The Review by Chhajed et al. discusses the cellular and subcellular organization of the glucosinolates -myrosinase system, its chemodiversity and functions in different cell types, emphasizing single-cell-type studies. Sugiyama and Hirai provide an up-to-date information on the diversity and the role of atypical myrosinases beyond the classical model of glucosinolates -myrosinase system.Three contributions dealing with nitrogen- and sulfur-containing specialized metabolites are included. Overall, this Research Topic becomes an excellent anthology to exhibit state-of-the-art on the theme of Topic by contributions from world-experts of this field. The Research Topic can play a role as a sort of flagship topic of the Specialty Section of Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity. The curiosity-driven fundamental research on the origin and evolution of diversification of plant chemicals is primarily essential. Besides, the basic knowledge obtained could contribute to solving the current global problems such as climate crisis and pandemic diseases. I hope this Research Topic could be a landmark of future research in this field.KS contributes entirely to the paper.The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


Significance: Photothermal optical coherence tomography (PT-OCT) has the promise to offer structural images coregistered with chemical composition information, which can offer a significant impact in early detection of diseases such as atherosclerosis.Aim: We take the first step in understanding the relation between PT-OCT signals and the endogenous tissue composition by considering the interplay between the opto-thermo-physical properties of tissue as a function of its lipid composition and the ensuing effects on the PT-OCT signals.Approach: Multiparameter theoretical estimates for PT-OCT signal as a function of composition in a two-component lipid–water model are derived and discussed. Experimental data from various concentrations of lipid in the form of droplets and injections under bovine cardiac muscle align with theoretical predictions.Results: Theoretical and experimental results suggest that the variations of heat capacity and mass density with tissue composition significantly contribute to the amount of optical path length difference measured by OCT phase.Conclusion: PT-OCT has the potential to offer key insights into the chemical composition of the subsurface lipid pools in tissue; however, the interpretation of results needs to be carried out by keeping the nonlinear interplay between the tissue of opto-thermo-physical properties and PT-OCT signals in mind. Only when PT-OCT imaging is carried out on aqueous samples containing relatively low amounts of exogenous agents or dissolved moleculesOnce x change  and the Here, tems see , the qua,,To get a better understanding of the predictions of the developed model, we simulated the PT-OCT responses of various ratios of mayo–water mixtures. The opto-thermo-physical properties used for pure mayo and water , employing broadband light of a superluminescent diode centered at 1310 nm . The scattering of the 0% mayo sample was adjusted to those of other mayo concentrations using titanium dioxide powder. For the dilution experiments, the average of the pixels in the PT-OCT B-mode images were normalized to that of the 100% mayo sample, as seen in ,Imaging results of the artificial lipid-rich plaques are shown in In summary, this work provides a theoretical model and a preliminary experimental study demonstrating the feasibility of obtaining insights into the chemical composition of biological tissues using PT-OCT. The developed model and experimental results suggest that the relation between PT-OCT signals and the concentration of an absorbing component in the tissue is nonlinear, and that the degree of this nonlinearity is determined by the contrasts of a component’s opto-thermo-physical properties Click here for additional data file.


We thank Charre and colleagues for spotting the mis-annotation of sequences in our database, which was caused by human error. The problem has been corrected. In the future, we recommend submitting bug reports directly to one of the e-mail addresses indicated on the HDVdb Web page.


Myocardial infarction (MI) consists of a central fibrous scar surrounded by a heterogeneous region of viable and non-viable myocytes. The peri-infarct gray zone provides the potential substrate for lethal ventricular arrhythmias via the reentry phenomena. The extent of the gray zone, characterised by delayed-enhancement MRI (DE-MRI), has been shown to be a strong predictor of mortality  and to tIn this work, preliminary results are presented examining the relationship between the extent of gray zone and inducibility of VT as well as VT cycle length.Eight patients  with an ischemic cardiomyopathy referred for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation  and non-inducible in five patients. Imaging results within the two patient groups are shown in Table These results confirm that inducibility for VT is correlated to the size of the peri-infarct gray zone as assessed by MCDE. The higher variability in the IR-GRE analysis may contribute to the lack of a significant difference in the gray zone size between inducible and non-inducible patients in this small group of patients. We have also shown that the VT cycle length is correlated to the size of the MCDE-derived gray zone, consistent with previous results showing a positive correlation between VT cycle length and isthmus size measured during programmed electrical stimulation .


International comparisons of the aging experience offer a unique opportunity to understand how much the aging process varies according to differences in social environments. Despite the potential knowledge gained from global comparisons of health and aging, conducting cross-national comparisons can be challenging. The HRS-family of surveys, which have been harmonized within the Gateway to Global Aging, provides remarkable opportunities for cross-national comparative analysis. The papers in this session use harmonized data to compare the aging experience across different social dimensions in multiple countries from around the world, including examinations of: 1) the role of social engagement among married couples in cognitive function in Mexico and the United States; 2) the importance of work histories and macro-economic policies on later life health in England and Europe; 3) gender differences in the receipt of informal care in the U.S., Korea, and China; 4) the association between sensory impairment and disability-free life expectancy in England and the U.S.; and 5) end-of-life care arrangements and health care utilization in the context of different health systems across multiple countries.


We report on the source of  We computed the The high intensity of the event at STB is evident from the “snow storm” visible in Figures mentclasspt{minimaet al.  in radio and hard X-ray bursts, while protons produce the impulsive-phase The shock is another source of energetic particles that have access to the open field lines threading through the shock and hence travel both toward and away from the Sun. The shock-accelerated particles thus occupy a volume much larger than that of the PEA and flux rope and surround the flux rope. Electrons escaping the shock front produce type II radio bursts at the local plasma frequency and harmonics. The bursts can start typically at a frequency of Figure Recently Hudson  criticizet al.  and the average speed in the coronagraph FOV of et al. The SGRE and type II burst durations in the SOL2014-09-01 backside eruption are consistent with the linear relationship between the durations found in all (ii)The magnetic structures in the eruption  inferred from observations suggest a large east–west extent making it possible for the presence of the particle-precipitation region on the frontside solar disk in Earth view.(iii)The largest extent of the SGRE source is inferred as the separation between the shock sheaths at the flanks of the flux rope. This means if limb is within the face-on angular half width of a behind the limb flux rope, one can still see (iv)The large extent of the SGRE source implies that part of it is hidden in the case of limb events.(v)The CME/shock kinematics, the hard SEP spectrum, and the association with type II radio bursts over a wide range of wavelengths imply a very energetic CME with copious production of high-energy (up to GeV) particles needed for the production of SGRE via neutral pion decay. This is consistent with the fact that some (vi)The SGRE ended when the shock reached a heliocentric distance of (vii)The equivalent flux of We performed a detailed investigation of the SOL2014-09-01 behind-the-limb eruption that resulted in the fourth largest SGRE event (in


I present a review on the book “The Story of Catch” by Ruslan C. Pashayev a wrestling history enthusiast from Columbus, Ohio, United States who is also an expert-member of the Traditional Sports Team of the Instytut Rozwoju Sportu i Edukacji (the Institute of Sport Development and Education), Warsaw, Poland. Meticulous research and attention to detail have made Ruslan C. Pashayev one of the foremost authorities on the history of Western European Catch-Hold traditional styles of wrestling (folk wrestling styles), particularly the Lancashire Catch-as-Catch-Can style.“The Story of Catch” is the only major book ever to cover this subject or the time period that began a variation of professional wrestling which is known around the world as “Lancashire Catch Wrestling” or simply “Catch.” Besides that “The Story of Catch” covers the history of various Western European traditional catch-hold wrestling styles which predated and “fathered” Lancashire catch-as-catch-can as well as tracing the origin and explaining the evolution of modern International Olympic styles of wrestling such as Graeco-Roman and Freestyle. The purpose of his work was to establish the truth about the origin of Lancashire catch wrestling and explain the evolution of this cultural phenomenon.Seven years of research in various libraries, local studies, historical societies, archives, registration and record offices, and museums in Great Britain in particular those located in the towns of East Lancashire  and in West Yorkshire, as well as in the British Library, American Library of Congress, and many others. The memoirs of individuals, historical books, documents, newspapers, and magazines all have played a part in the overall success of the studies that led to this work.This book presents a pivotal study in restoring the history of Lancashire catch-as-catch-can wrestling. Ruslan C. Pashayev's research clearly is both revolutionary and eye-opening. The author has done an amazing work of research in tracking down and documenting the true origins of catch-as-catch-can wrestling. He cuts through the myths and legends that have evolved around this wrestling style over the decades and presents irrefutable evidence as to its introduction to the Lancashire County of England and its amazing growth in the mid and late nineteenth century. By analyzing thoroughly historical documents, including newspapers of the time, the author has successfully challenged much of the traditionally perceived history of the sport. His inquiries resulted in an absorbing revelation of the foundations and development of a sport that was destined to become a social phenomenon of the twenty-first century. His investigations have unveiled the ethnic and geographical origins of the Lancashire Catch-as-Catch-Can style, the wrestling styles that preceded Catch in the region of East Lancashire, and the emergence of a professional category in this sport. Like a modern day detective Ruslan C. Pashayev has pieced together the forensic evidence to weave an absorbing chronicle of Lancashire wrestling's fascinating history. Besides that it is written clearly, with attention to detail and humor that only one with a deep understanding of the wrestling sport could even appreciate.The book starts with the author giving very detailed information and analyses of the various traditional wrestling styles (both catch-hold and fixed-hold styles of wrestling) which were historically practiced in different parts of England in particular in the areas of East Lancashire and West Yorkshire. Then author explains the history of the term of Catch-as-catch-can (catch/take a hold of someone as one pleases) wrestling in England throughout the centuries and resumes by providing a great account of two kinds of catch wrestling styles which were around in the early 1800s, the London Catch-as-catch-can and Lancashire Catch-as-catch-can styles of wrestling.Among the revolutionary discoveries made by the author was the introduction of the up and down catch-as-catch-can wrestling by the immigrants (textile workers) from Continental Europe  in East Lancashire and West Yorkshire in the fourteen to seventeen centuries  and its transformation into a professional Lancashire up and down fighting and establishment its major centers in the towns of East Lancashire (Pre-1800s). Tracing the roots of Lancashire catch-as-catch-can wrestling to the “Flemish weavers” the immigrants from the Medieval County of Flanders who brought their free-for-all traditional style of wrestling called Stoeijen to East Lancashire was instrumental in explaining two major features of Lancashire catch wrestling (catch hold of any part of the body above and under the waist and ground wrestling) which significantly differed from those of the traditional English styles of wrestling and weren't found anywhere else in England outside the areas of East Lancashire and West Yorkshire. Those two features of Lancashire catch wrestling previously remained without any explanation for so long until the author of this book successfully resolved this major historical paradox.Further in the book the author talks about the abolition of illegal pro Lancashire up and down fighting and introduction of the modern pro catch wrestling in East Lancashire which happened in the 1820s. The information about the establishment of the Rules of the Game which occurred in the 1840s-50s (the time period which produced the first generation of Lancashire pro wrestling superstars) was uniquely interesting. Arguably the most important part of the book from the historical point of view is the one which talks about the Golden Era of Catch Wrestling, the 1860s. In this the section of the book the author provides previously unknown detailed information about the earliest pro wrestling promotions (championship titles), the great champions and championship lineages of the most glorious epoch of catch. The Author fully and completely explains the rules according to which the pro wrestling business was operated in East Lancashire and how it affected and shaped the modern day pro wrestling.In the second part of the book the author highlights pro wrestling during the so-called Era of Claimants, the epoch which followed the heyday of Lancashire wrestling and the immigration of Lancashire Superstars to America in the 1870s-1900s.In the very end of the book the author is giving a descriptive analyses of the early 1900s situation in pro catch wrestling in Britain during the era called the Wrestling Boom or the music halls era of catch (1899- Pre-WW1) as well as he speaks about the destiny of catch wrestling in twentieth century  and prophesizes about it's future.traditionalsports.org), Wrestling Heritage of UK (wrestlingheritage.co.uk), Pro Wrestling Historical Society , and Wrestling Titles History (wrestling-titles.com).The research presented in this book was rated as being of high historical value by the foremost American (such as Mark Hewitt and Steve Yohe) and British (such as Alan Bamber and Ron Harrison) wrestling historians. “The Story of Catch” was very well received all around the world and is now promoted on the various wrestling history studies websites such as Traditional Sports (“The Story of Catch” also presents numerous historical photos, captions, and illustrations, some of which have never been seen before. Whether one is a wrestling fan, wrestling history scholar, wrestling and MMA enthusiast, or practitioner the research of this indefatigable historian and his “The Story of Catch” are a must read.The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


Recent advances in noninvasive Brain-Machine Interfaces (BMIs) have demonstrated the potential impact of directly interfacing the brain with machines. The ultimate translational goal of BMI systems is to enable people suffering from severe motor disabilities to control a new generation of neuroprostheses and, thus, (re)gain their own independence.Many studies have already demonstrated the feasibility of the BMI technology with different kinds of assistive devices, designed to restore communication  or to enable the control of robotic applications . However, despite great progress, the integration of the BMI and robotics is still in its infancy and translational impact is low.The BMI community has predominantly focused on exploring novel algorithms to decode the user’s intentions from neural patterns with a focus on enhancing the robustness and the reliability of the BMI system. However, the process of how the estimated intentions of the user are translated by the intelligent robotic device into real and daily-based situations is often neglected. This largely affects the translational impact of the BMI technology. The latest advances in the field of robotics may help address this challenge by exploiting novel human–robot interaction theories and by providing insights and solutions from a new and different perspective.This special topic sought original contributions that explicitly take into account the cross-cutting aspects in BMI and robotics research including but not limited to BMI control of navigation robots, BMI control of robotic prosthetic limbs, BMI-driven assistive technology for end users, translational aspects in BMI-controlled devices, shared-control strategies for the BMI, contextualized robotic behaviors, long-term human–robot interaction (BMI–robot interaction), semi-autonomous robot behaviors, evaluation of BMI-driven robotics in real-world scenarios, and real-time detection of possible targets in real-world scenarios. All typologies of closed-loop BMI systems  were solicited if they focused on the integration of BMI and robotics devices. We are pleased with the interest in the topic and the collection of studies presented, which include two state-of-the-art reviews, one on neural driven rehabilitation robotics for lower limb gait rehabilitation and another human affective states when interfacing with robotic devices, as well as five novel studies investigating a range of BMI robotic learning scenarios and signal decoding in invasive and noninvasive BMIs, all of which highlight opportunities and challenges to advance the integration of Brain-Machine Interfaces and Robotic devices.Alirmardani and Hiraki focused on the current employment of BMIs in human–robot interaction applications. They illustrated the state of the art of passive BMIs and the current challenges to monitor and decode cognitive load, attention level, perceived errors, and emotional states in real time.In their review, Kim et al. investigated the influence and the effect of human supervision on robot learning during pick-and-place tasks. In the proposed experimental scenario, two human–robot interfaces were provided: the first one based on human gestures to decode the human’s intent and the second based on error-related potentials to provide the human’s intrinsic feedback of the performed robot action. They demonstrated that such a human–robot interaction promoted robotic learning and the concurrent online adaptation, especially when prior knowledge about the task was provided.Wirth et al. showed the possibility of exploiting a single-trial P300-based BMI to discriminate when a virtual robot has reached a predefined destination during navigation tasks. They proposed this approach as part of a learning-based system to enhance the efficacy and efficiency of BMI-driven applications for navigation.Monitoring robot behavior through the evaluation of possible mistakes may be not the only way to foster the learning process of intelligent devices. Kolkhorst et al. showed that a robotic agent could improve the usability of an event-related potential BMI by obviating the traditional need of an external screen for stimulus presentation. They exploited a robotic arm to present stimuli by highlighting objects in a realistic environment with a laser pointer. The proposed classification method, based on specialized classifiers in the Riemann tangent space, reported not only high accuracy but also robustness to both heterogeneous and homogeneous objects.Similarly, Huang et al. proposed a hybrid BMI system to control an integrated wheelchair-robotic arm system. A motor imagery BMI was used to deliver navigation commands to the wheelchair and an electrooculogram-based interface for the control of the robotic arm. Interestingly, the system allows the users to voluntarily renew the classification parameters during online operations by means of a specific sequence of commands.Beyond exploiting the “human-in-the-loop” approach to monitor robot behaviors, BMI systems can be also used to directly control the movement of robotic actuators. While most studies to date demonstrated the feasibility of mentally driving a single assistive device, Kim et al., authors proposed a new decoding algorithm based on deep canonical correlation analysis and neuronal firing rate activities that improves the kinematic reconstruction in a 2D arm reaching task performed by nonhuman primates. The algorithm was designed to identify the best kinematics-related canonical variables of neuronal activity via deep learning–based approaches. As highlighted in the study, the prediction of kinematic parameters of a prosthetic device from neural activities can have profound consequences in BMI clinical applications.In Lennon et al. conducted a systematic review of the current state of the art and limitations of neural driven robotic gait devices in stroke rehabilitation. Despite identifying a limited number of promising studies to date, the review highlighted wide heterogeneity in the reporting and the purpose of neurobiosignal utilization during robotic gait training after a stroke and the lack of standardized protocols. A quick reference guide (the DESIRED Checklist) is proposed to identify a minimum reporting data set as a standard for future studies in order to maximize the translational impact of the technology.Finally, In summary, in the BMI field, the role of the robotic intelligence is often underestimated by relegating the robotic device to a mere actuator of the user’s commands. This collection highlighted challenges to be addressed and potential solutions, standards to adhere to when undertaking studies, and the importance of further investigating the potential bidirectional human–robot interactions in BMI applications in order to improve the overall efficiency of these novel interfaces and to design a new generation of neuroprosthetic devices.


Compared with normal strength concrete (NSC), ultra-high-performance steel fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) shows superior performance. The concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model in ABAQUS can predict the mechanical properties of UHPFRC components well after calibration. However, the simulation of the whole structure is seriously restricted by the computational capability. In this study, a novel multi-scale modeling strategy for UHPFRC structure was proposed, which used a calibrated CDP model. A novel combined multi-point constraint (CMPC) was established by the simultaneous equations of displacement coordination and energy balance in different degrees of freedom of interface nodes. The advantage is to eliminate the problem of the tangential over-constraint of displacement coordination equation at the interface and to avoid stress iteration of the energy balance equation in the plastic stage. The expressions of CMPC equations of typical multi-scale interface connection were derived. The multi-scale models of UHPFRC components under several load cases were established. The results show that the proposed strategy can well predict the strain distribution and damage distribution of UHPFRC while significantly reducing the number of model elements and improving the computational efficiency. This study provides an accurate and efficient finite element modeling strategy for the design and analysis of UHPFRC structures. Concrete is currently the most widely used building material. Although many structures are built with concrete, the use of normal strength concrete (NSC) still has some limitations, such as low tensile strength and low ductility. Improving the mechanical properties of concrete to obtain higher strength and higher ductility has been widely of concern. Ultra-high-performance steel fiber concrete (UHPFRC) is a new type of fiber concrete, with high strength, fracture toughness, and ductility. Its compressive strength and tensile strength are generally over 150 MPa and 7 MPa, respectively ,3,4,5, aExtensive tests are required at the material and structural levels in order to develop standard analytical procedures and design specifications for UHPFRC, which will take a lot of time and cost. Therefore, verifying the concrete material models in the existing finite element software by conducting a limited number of well-formulated tests on the material and structure levels is a way to save time and cost. The verified concrete material model and finite element modeling method can be used to establish extended analysis of various design parameters. In addition, the influences of changes in geometry, load cases, and reinforcement on mechanical properties of UHPFRC can be investigated. The finite element software ABAQUS is equipped with the concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model developed for NSC, which is a mature and reliable tool for predicting the mechanical behavior of NSC ,30,31. CSimilar to the investigations of NSC, the investigations of UHPFRC need to be developed to the structural level as well as the material and component level. However, it is very expensive to establish a full-scale structural test, which is seriously restricted by the test conditions. When the calibrated CDP model is used to simulate a single UHPFRC component, the reduction of mesh size and the increase of number of elements will significantly increase the calculation time, while larger mesh size will lead to convergence problems . TherefoIn order to promote the development of finite element simulation of UHPFRC structure, a novel multi-scale finite element modeling strategy was proposed in this study. A novel combined multi-point constraint (CMPC) based on displacement coordination and energy balance was established, aiming at the problems of the tangential over-constraint and the requirements for nonlinear stress iteration existing in the single multi-point constraint method. The nonlinear constitutive relationship of UHPFRC is considered. The multi-scale models of UHPFRC components under various load cases were established in the finite element software ABAQUS. The comparative analysis results show that the proposed multi-scale modeling strategy can well predict the strain distribution and damage distribution of UHPFRC components while significantly reducing the number of model elements and improving the computational efficiency. This study provides an accurate and efficient finite element modeling strategy for the design and analysis of UHPFRC structure, which can promote the application and development of UHPFRC in the construction industry.The concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model is a concrete material model for NSC in the finite element software ABAQUS. It is a mature and reliable tool for predicting the mechanical behavior of NSC ,30,31. IIn this study, the UHPFRC beams named as B25-1 and B25-2  are chosAccording to the design diagram of UHPFRC beam specimen and the design of loading device, the corresponding finite element model of the test was established in ABAQUS with mesh size of 25 mm. The details of the reinforcement, mesh and load boundary condition of the finite element (FE) model are shown in The test results and simulation results of the four point bending test of the two UHPFRC specimens are shown in iS  signifies micro element nodes with 3 degrees of freedom and B signifies macro element node with 6 degrees of freedom.In the multi-scale model, the interface connection of different scale elements can be established by the constraint equations according to the degrees of freedom of interface nodes. The sketch of the interface connection of multi-scale model shown in C is the coefficient matrix of interface constraint equations.According to the coupling relation of degrees of freedom of nodes, the unified form of the constraint equations of the multi-scale interface connection is as follows:C. If the constraint equations can effectively simulate the actual deformation coordination, a better effect of the coupling can be obtained.The accuracy of multi-scale simulation depends on the rationality of coefficient matrix ib, ih are the distances from the node i of the micro element to the macro element node; The solution of multi-point constraint equations is usually based on the single constraint relation such as displacement coordination  or energIn the Equation set (2), the first equation is the axial and rotational constraint equation, which is established by displacement coordination. The last three equations are tangential constraint equations, which are established by energy balance. The aim is to eliminate the limitation of the single constraint relation in the plastic stage and improve the simulation accuracy of the multi-scale model.Based on the multi-point constraint relation of displacement coordination, the tangential deformations of all micro element node at the interface are assumed to be consistent, and the displacement constraint relation of each node is established one by one. The deformation diagrams of displacement coordination are shown in In the CMPC equation set, the displacement constraint equation in the tangential direction of the interface nodes can be obtained after the stress is eliminated by substituting the formula for the shear stress distribution:The interface deformation under axial compression at the plasticity stage of the multi-scale model is shown in The multi-point constraint relation based on energy balance is established by the virtual work principle. It is assumed that the nodal force of the macro element and the nodal forces of the micro elements do equal work at the interface in the rotational direction. The equation is as follows:The normal stress distribution of UHPFRC section under bending moment is shown in The CMPC method establishes the multi-point constraint equation of the interface in rotational direction based on the displacement coordination. The axial displacement of each node of the micro elements can be obtained through the s constraint equation (see the first equation in Equation set (2)). After entering the strain-hardening stage, this multi-point constraint equation avoids the problem that the formula for stress distribution needs to be updated iteratively. Therefore, the CMPC method proposed in this paper combines the advantages of displacement coordination method and energy balance method. The multi-point constraint equations conform to the transfer relations of displacement and stress between the interface nodes. It can achieve good constraint effect in axial, tangential, and rotational directions. It is applicable to the analysis of UHPFRC components under complex loads.According to Equation set (2), displacement vector b and h are the width and height of the rectangular section, respectively.In the Equation set (6), the first equation is the constraint equation of axial and rotational displacement, which can be solved according to the displacement coordination. The last three equations are the constraint equations of tangential displacements, which need to be solved by substituting the formula for stress distribution. For example, the formula for shear stress distribution of the rectangular section in the y direction is as follows:After solving the Equation set (6), the following can be obtained:The CMPC multi-scale modeling strategy with the same parameters selected above is adopted to establish the multi-scale models of reinforced UHPFRC components, as shown in In the micro element model, C3D8R elements are used to model UHPFRC with the calibrated CDP model which is the same as that in the second section. The reinforcement is simulated by T3D2 element. In the macro element model, B31 elements are used to simulate UHPFRC and the reinforcement net. The uniaxial stress-strain relationship of the material subroutine (UMAT) of UHPFRC is the same as that of the calibrated CDP model. The section size of the B31 element of the reinforcement net is calculated equivalent to total reinforcement area. The material model parameters of reinforcement are the same as those in Under the axial compression load, the stress distributions of UHPFRC of the multi-scale models and the connection interface are shown in Unidirectional concentrated moment loads is applied to the loading point at the top of the models under the bending load case. The stress distribution and tensile damage distribution of UHPFRC of the models are shown in In shear load case, a concentrated horizontal force is applied to the loading point at the top of the models. The stress distribution and tensile damage distribution of UHPFRC of the models are shown in Under unidirectional load cases, the multi-scale model of UHPFRC component established according to the proposed multi-scale modeling strategy achieved good accuracy. The performance of this multi-scale model under multidirectional composite load case will be studied below.In this load case, the axial compression force, the bidirectional moments and the bidirectional horizontal forces are applied composited at the loading point at the top of the models. The diagram of multidirectional composite load is shown in Under the multidirectional composite load case, the stress distributions of UHPFRC of the multi-scale models and the connection interface are shown in Through comparison, it can be seen that the CPMC equations established based on the proposed multi-scale modeling strategy achieve good connection effect under the multidirectional composite load case. The calculation accuracy of the CMPC model for UHPFRC is consistent with that of the solid element model, which is better than the displacement coordination model and the energy balance model. The multi-scale modeling strategy proposed in this study can be effectively applied to the multi-scale finite element analysis of UHPFRC structures with accuracy and efficiency.The applicability of concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model in finite element software ABAQUS to UHPFRC was verified according to the four-point bending test results of reinforced UHPFRC beams. The simulation results show that the calibrated CDP model used in the multi-scale modeling strategy in this study can accurately and effectively predict the load-displacement curve and plastic damage distribution of UHPFRC components.A novel combined multi-point constraint method was established by the simultaneous equations of the displacement coordination equation and energy balance equation in different directions of the interface. The CMPC method eliminates the problem of the tangential over-constraint of displacement coordination equation at the interface and avoids stress iteration of energy balance equation in the plastic stage. The multi-point constraint equations conform to the transfer relations of displacement and stress between the interface nodes.The expression of the constraint equations of the multi-scale connection of beam-solid element by CMPC method was derived. The multi-scale model of the reinforced UHPFRC component was established in ABAQUS with this expression and the calibrated CDP model. The axial compression load case, bending load case, shear load case, and multidirectional composite load case are analyzed.The simulation results of the multi-scale model under each load case show that the multi-scale model established by the CMPC method can significantly reduce the number of model elements and improve the calculation efficiency. The CMPC models have good simulation accuracy in the analysis of each load case compared with the displacement coordination model and the energy balance model. In the strain-hardening stage of UHPFRC, the CMPC method can still accurately simulate the stress distribution and damage distribution of the connection interface. It can be applied to multi-scale finite element analysis of UHPFRC structures with accuracy and efficiency.This study proposed a novel multi-scale modeling strategy for ultra-high-performance steel fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) structures. The main work and conclusions are summarized as follows:


The international literature presents growing evidence of the impact of life transitions in older age on experiences of social exclusion, and place in general and as well as housing in particular potentially play a mediating role in this interrelation. However, the specific mechanisms through which the older adult place relationship mediates exclusionary outcomes of life-course transitions remains poorly understood in the study of ageing. This contribution investigates how older adults’ relationship to their home is interlinked with life-course transitions and old-age social exclusion. To do so, we present case studies from three different countries , focusing on the individual experiences of retirement and bereavement, and analyze them by drawing on the concepts of the person-environment exchange processes of agency and belonging. Finally, we draw conclusions about how spatial agency and belonging can protect and empower older people at critical junctures in their lives.