CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
French Aerospace Company Fined $17 Million for China Bribery
French aerospace company Safran is facing over $17 million in fines over bribes allegedly paid in China, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department.
Friday, December 30, 2022
Jack the Ripper’s identity may have been revealed in mystery walking stick
Tom Sanders
METRO UK
Friday 30 Dec 2022
The suspected face of notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper has been revealed after police discovered a cane linked to one of history’s greatest unsolved mysteries (Picture: College of Policing)
The face of Jack the Ripper may have finally been revealed after a vital piece of evidence was discovered in a police archive.
The legendary serial killer terrorised the streets of London in 1888 and was famously never caught or identified.
He gained notoriety for slitting the throats of his victims and mutilating them in a way which made police believe the killer had knowledge of human anatomy.
Scotland Yard detective Frank Abberline was assigned to the case but ultimately failed to catch the killer.
Upon retiring, he was gifted a cane containing the only known facial composite of the Ripper carved into the head.
The cane features the face of a haggard-looking older man cloaked in a dark brown hood and wearing a menacing expression.
Police researchers believe the image supposedly resembles Dr Alexander Pedachenko, a Russian anarchist and ‘lunatic’ who had been living in London during the killing spree and thought to be Mr Abberline’s top suspect, the Telegraph reports.
Mr Pedachenko was named on a sign next to the cane when it was on display at Bramshill Police Staff College, but the artefact was believed to be lost when the institution shut down in 2015.
However, the cane recently resurfaced after staff at the College of Policing discovered it buried in its archives at Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire.
The face of Jack the Ripper may have finally been revealed after a vital piece of evidence was discovered in a police archive.
The legendary serial killer terrorised the streets of London in 1888 and was famously never caught or identified.
He gained notoriety for slitting the throats of his victims and mutilating them in a way which made police believe the killer had knowledge of human anatomy.
Scotland Yard detective Frank Abberline was assigned to the case but ultimately failed to catch the killer.
Upon retiring, he was gifted a cane containing the only known facial composite of the Ripper carved into the head.
The cane features the face of a haggard-looking older man cloaked in a dark brown hood and wearing a menacing expression.
Police researchers believe the image supposedly resembles Dr Alexander Pedachenko, a Russian anarchist and ‘lunatic’ who had been living in London during the killing spree and thought to be Mr Abberline’s top suspect, the Telegraph reports.
Mr Pedachenko was named on a sign next to the cane when it was on display at Bramshill Police Staff College, but the artefact was believed to be lost when the institution shut down in 2015.
However, the cane recently resurfaced after staff at the College of Policing discovered it buried in its archives at Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire.
Jack the Ripper murdered five sex workers around Whitechapel, east London, in a terrifying killing spree in 1888 (Picture: Bettmann Archive)
The college’s content creator Antony Cash said: ‘Finding this cane was an exciting moment for us.
‘Jack the Ripper is one of the biggest and most infamous murder cases in our history and his crimes were significant in paving the way for modern policing and forensics as it caused police to begin experimenting with and developing new techniques as they attempted to try and solve these murders, such as crime scene preservation, profiling and photography.
‘This walking cane is such a fascinating artefact which represents such a historically significant time in policing.
‘It’s amazing that we can put it out on display here in Ryton, alongside the original newspaper cuttings, so that our officers can see first-hand how far we’ve advanced in policing since then.’
However, despite its historical significance, there is some debate among Ripper historians as to whether the cane truly bears the face of the killer.
Some claim the stick was nothing but a cheap souvenir peddled by salesmen to crowds who came to observe the scene of the crimes.
The college’s content creator Antony Cash said: ‘Finding this cane was an exciting moment for us.
‘Jack the Ripper is one of the biggest and most infamous murder cases in our history and his crimes were significant in paving the way for modern policing and forensics as it caused police to begin experimenting with and developing new techniques as they attempted to try and solve these murders, such as crime scene preservation, profiling and photography.
‘This walking cane is such a fascinating artefact which represents such a historically significant time in policing.
‘It’s amazing that we can put it out on display here in Ryton, alongside the original newspaper cuttings, so that our officers can see first-hand how far we’ve advanced in policing since then.’
However, despite its historical significance, there is some debate among Ripper historians as to whether the cane truly bears the face of the killer.
Some claim the stick was nothing but a cheap souvenir peddled by salesmen to crowds who came to observe the scene of the crimes.
Over 200 suspects have been accused of being the Ripper over the years but his true identity remains a secret to this day (Picture: Shutterstock)
Others say that each of the seven officers assigned to the case were presented with an identical stick, meaning the cane is not a bespoke item which was unique to Mr Abberline.
There is also speculation that the face was based on a ‘mad monk’ character in The Curse Upon Mitre Square; the first literary adaptation of the murders which was published while the Ripper was still at large.
But regardless of the sculpture’s true identity, the story of Jack the Ripper has endured as one of history’s most famous unsolved mysteries.
More than 200 people have been accused of being the Ripper over the years, including author Lewis Carroll, Prince Albert Victor and Sir John Williams, Queen Victoria’s personal physician.
In 2014, author Dr Jari Louhelainen claimed that forensic evidence taken from a shawl found next to the body of victim Catherine Eddowes proved Polish-born barber Aaron Kosminski was the real killer, although this has never been definitively proven.
Others say that each of the seven officers assigned to the case were presented with an identical stick, meaning the cane is not a bespoke item which was unique to Mr Abberline.
There is also speculation that the face was based on a ‘mad monk’ character in The Curse Upon Mitre Square; the first literary adaptation of the murders which was published while the Ripper was still at large.
But regardless of the sculpture’s true identity, the story of Jack the Ripper has endured as one of history’s most famous unsolved mysteries.
More than 200 people have been accused of being the Ripper over the years, including author Lewis Carroll, Prince Albert Victor and Sir John Williams, Queen Victoria’s personal physician.
In 2014, author Dr Jari Louhelainen claimed that forensic evidence taken from a shawl found next to the body of victim Catherine Eddowes proved Polish-born barber Aaron Kosminski was the real killer, although this has never been definitively proven.
CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Owner of Ukrainian iron ore miner Ferrexpo arrested in France for money laundering and embezzlementBy CALUM MUIRHEAD FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 29 December 2022
The owner of Ukrainian iron ore miner Ferrexpo has been arrested in France and faces allegations of money laundering and embezzlement.
Billionaire Kostyantyn Zhevago, 48, who controls 50.3 per cent of the FTSE 250 firm, was detained on Tuesday in the ski resort of Courchevel at the request of Ukraine.
Previously a member of the Ukrainian parliament, he was one of the first businessmen from the country to list a company in London, and is wanted in connection to the disappearance of around £94million from his lender Finance & Credit Bank, which failed in 2015.
Arrest: Billionaire Kostyantyn Zhevago, 48, who owns Ukrainian iron ore miner Ferrexpo, was detained on Tuesday in the ski resort of Courchevel at the request of Ukraine
Zhevago is due to appear before a court next Thursday, where a magistrate will rule on an extradition request made by the Ukrainian authorities.
The country’s State Bureau of Investigation said officials had seized dozens of properties connected to Zhevago, including 10 apartments and 14 complexes.
Ferrexpo said that Zhevago would leave the board immediately following his arrest, although it stressed the tycoon’s troubles were connected to matters unrelated to the company.
Despite this, its shares dropped 3 per cent, or 5p, to 159.5p.
Once dubbed Europe’s ‘youngest self-made billionaire’, Zhevago was previously chief executive of Ferrexpo but stepped aside in 2019 after Ukraine launched an investigation into Finance & Credit Bank and called him in as a suspect.
A court in Ukraine issued an arrest warrant for him that year after investigators claimed he violated ‘the interests of the state and the bank’s depositors’. Interpol put out an international warrant on him two years later.
A probe discovered millions of dollars had been siphoned out of the bank and transferred to foreign companies controlled by Zhevago. He denies wrongdoing.
The arrest is another headache for Ferrexpo, which has seen its iron ore production severely disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as railways, ports and power supplies have been interrupted by missile strikes.
It is expecting to produce around 6m tons of iron ore pellets this year, down from 11.2m in 2021.
The conflict has also weighed heavily on the share price, which has dropped 45 per cent this year amid growing concerns that its operations could be knocked out by military action.
UK
Cost-of-living crisis set to get even worse in 2023, think tank warns
Next year looks set to be just as "horrendous" for many families' living standards as this year, as they are hit with falling pay and soaring energy, tax and mortgage bills, a think tank has warned.
Next year looks set to be just as "horrendous" for many families' living standards as this year, as they are hit with falling pay and soaring energy, tax and mortgage bills, a think tank has warned.
Households face a cost-of-living "groundhog year" with disposable incomes plummeting even further than in 2022, which saw the biggest annual fall in a century, according to the Resolution Foundation.
The new year should bring some positive developments, including the end of double-digit inflation, fewer vacancies and recruitment challenges for companies, as well as a rise in benefits and the National Living Wage by around 10% in April.
However, families' living standards will get "far worse" in 2023 before they start improving, the think tank predicts.
This is due to the continued shrinking of pay packets in real terms, with wages remaining well below current levels well into 2024.
Although inflation looks set to have peaked, this does not equal lower prices, just smaller price rises, meaning families still face sky-high costs.
At the same time, household energy spending is set to rise by a record £900 to £2,450 in 2023, up from £1,550 this year.
This is despite wholesale energy prices having dropped, as retail prices continue to climb and Government support will be scaled back.
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Hide AdTax hikes will see a typical middle-income household's personal tax bills jump by around £1,000 from April, according to the think tank, which focuses on living standards.
Finally, rising interest rates will translate into some 2 million households moving onto more expensive fixed-rate mortgages, costing the average mortgage-holder £3,000 more a year.
Torsten Bell, Resolution Foundation chief executive, said: "From a cost-of-living perspective, 2022 was a truly horrendous year - far worse than any year in the pandemic or financial crisis.
"2023 should see the back of double-digit inflation, but it looks set to be a groundhog year for many families whose incomes look set to fall by just as much as they did in 2022.
"Many families will be helped by benefits and the National Living Wage rising, both by around 10 per cent next April. But this will be swamped by shrinking pay packets, a record £900 rise in energy bills, tax bills for the typical household rising by £1,000, and millions seeing four digit increases in their mortgage bills.
"For families' living standards, things will get far worse in 2023 before they start to get better."
People are four times as likely to think that their financial situation has worsened than improved over the past year, according to a Resolution Foundation-commissioned YouGov survey of 10,470 adults.
The poll also found that low-income families are three times as likely as high-income families to not feel confident about their financial situation over the next three months.
A Treasury spokesperson said: "We are committed to supporting families with children, which is why we increased both child benefit and child tax credits in line with inflation this year and made changes to Universal Credit so that working families can keep more of what they earn.
"We also have a plan that will help to more than halve inflation next year, bearing down on the financial pressures that households face, and have already lifted millions of people out of paying tax altogether by raising the tax-free allowances for both income tax and National insurance by more than inflation since 2010.
"This is on top of substantial support with the cost of living, with everyone benefiting from energy bills being held down this winter and more than eight million vulnerable households having already received £1,200 in cash payments straight to their bank accounts - with a further £900 for those on means-tested benefits next year."
Old trees could become renewable fuels this Christmas
by University of Sheffield
by University of Sheffield
Credit: ACS
Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c06218
A new paper, published in the ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering journal, found that pine needles could be used to produce renewable fuels and value-added chemicals, such as preservatives used in agriculture, using only water as a solvent.
Between 6 and 8 million real Christmas trees are sold every year in the UK, with an estimated seven million making their way to landfill at the end of the festive period.
Not only is this costly, but once in landfill, each tree will release 16 kg of greenhouse gases as they decompose, producing methane gas, which is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2).
Earlier University research from 2018 found that useful products could be made from the chemicals extracted from pine needles when processed. With the aid of heat and solvents, the 2018 study established that the chemical structure of pine needles could be broken down into a liquid product (bio-oil), which could be used in the production of sweeteners, paint, adhesives and vinegar and a solid by-product (bio-char), which could be used in other industrial chemical processes.
The research in this new paper built on this previous University research project. It was carried out by María Andérez-Fernández, a University of Valladolid Ph.D. student, who was visiting the University of Sheffield's Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the time much of the research was conducted, under the supervision of Dr. James McGregor.
Dr. McGregor, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, said, "One of the things that we do when reacting carbon dioxide to capture CO2 is to use a metal to promote the reaction. This can be inefficient and expensive, so we went back to some of the work we've done previously with pine needles, because we realized that we could potentially use these to promote turning the carbon dioxide into formic acid."
This published work demonstrates how reacting carbon dioxide and water together at high temperatures can make useful products.
Maria Andérez-Fernández said, "We found that instead of the metal and the carbon dioxide reacting, we could react carbon dioxide with pine needles and water at high temperatures and a fraction of the pine needles would turn into the same product as the CO2.
"Carbon dioxide is introduced as sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda. This co-conversion with captured carbon dioxide, that we didn't have before in the previous pine needles research, has found that the two things enhance the conversion of each other, making it more efficient and in this case, making more of the end product—formic acid."
Formic acid has many applications, it can be used in fuel cells to store and transport hydrogen, which can then be used as a power source, offering a clean alternative to fossil fuels, as it doesn't have any harmful emissions.
It is also widely used as a preservative for foods and an antibacterial agent in livestock feed, as well as in the manufacture of leather and rubber.
Maria added, "With these results, this study sets a new strategy for CO2 and residual biomass valorization (the process of reusing waste materials and converting them into more useful products) to produce renewable fuels and value-added chemicals, using only water as a solvent and producing a simultaneous reaction that simplifies the process and makes it more efficient."
The study looked at using different waste materials—sugar cane as well as pine needles— and concluded although sugar cane worked more effectively, refineries could use mixed biomass feedstock at different times of the year when different waste products are more abundant, for example, using pine needles in January.
Dr. McGregor added, "This could create a challenge in the process design, as currently refineries use feedstock that is constant throughout the year. So, if what you are feeding in as your reactants change throughout the year, this would have to be built in. But it's a place we would like to get to so that in January, we are using the millions of pine needles readily available rather than them going to landfill."
If pine needles were collected after Christmas and processed in this way, the chemicals could be used to replace less sustainable chemicals currently used in industry.
This could lead to a decrease in the UK's carbon footprint by reducing the use of artificial plastic-based Christmas trees, reducing the amount of biomass waste going to landfill and potentially saving an estimated 100,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, currently released every year by landfilled Christmas trees.
More information: María Andérez-Fernández et al, Synergistic Hydrothermal Conversion of Aqueous Solutions of CO2 and Biomass Waste Liquefaction into Formate, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c06218
Provided by University of Sheffield
Explore further
A new paper, published in the ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering journal, found that pine needles could be used to produce renewable fuels and value-added chemicals, such as preservatives used in agriculture, using only water as a solvent.
Between 6 and 8 million real Christmas trees are sold every year in the UK, with an estimated seven million making their way to landfill at the end of the festive period.
Not only is this costly, but once in landfill, each tree will release 16 kg of greenhouse gases as they decompose, producing methane gas, which is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2).
Earlier University research from 2018 found that useful products could be made from the chemicals extracted from pine needles when processed. With the aid of heat and solvents, the 2018 study established that the chemical structure of pine needles could be broken down into a liquid product (bio-oil), which could be used in the production of sweeteners, paint, adhesives and vinegar and a solid by-product (bio-char), which could be used in other industrial chemical processes.
The research in this new paper built on this previous University research project. It was carried out by María Andérez-Fernández, a University of Valladolid Ph.D. student, who was visiting the University of Sheffield's Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the time much of the research was conducted, under the supervision of Dr. James McGregor.
Dr. McGregor, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, said, "One of the things that we do when reacting carbon dioxide to capture CO2 is to use a metal to promote the reaction. This can be inefficient and expensive, so we went back to some of the work we've done previously with pine needles, because we realized that we could potentially use these to promote turning the carbon dioxide into formic acid."
This published work demonstrates how reacting carbon dioxide and water together at high temperatures can make useful products.
Maria Andérez-Fernández said, "We found that instead of the metal and the carbon dioxide reacting, we could react carbon dioxide with pine needles and water at high temperatures and a fraction of the pine needles would turn into the same product as the CO2.
"Carbon dioxide is introduced as sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda. This co-conversion with captured carbon dioxide, that we didn't have before in the previous pine needles research, has found that the two things enhance the conversion of each other, making it more efficient and in this case, making more of the end product—formic acid."
Formic acid has many applications, it can be used in fuel cells to store and transport hydrogen, which can then be used as a power source, offering a clean alternative to fossil fuels, as it doesn't have any harmful emissions.
It is also widely used as a preservative for foods and an antibacterial agent in livestock feed, as well as in the manufacture of leather and rubber.
Maria added, "With these results, this study sets a new strategy for CO2 and residual biomass valorization (the process of reusing waste materials and converting them into more useful products) to produce renewable fuels and value-added chemicals, using only water as a solvent and producing a simultaneous reaction that simplifies the process and makes it more efficient."
The study looked at using different waste materials—sugar cane as well as pine needles— and concluded although sugar cane worked more effectively, refineries could use mixed biomass feedstock at different times of the year when different waste products are more abundant, for example, using pine needles in January.
Dr. McGregor added, "This could create a challenge in the process design, as currently refineries use feedstock that is constant throughout the year. So, if what you are feeding in as your reactants change throughout the year, this would have to be built in. But it's a place we would like to get to so that in January, we are using the millions of pine needles readily available rather than them going to landfill."
If pine needles were collected after Christmas and processed in this way, the chemicals could be used to replace less sustainable chemicals currently used in industry.
This could lead to a decrease in the UK's carbon footprint by reducing the use of artificial plastic-based Christmas trees, reducing the amount of biomass waste going to landfill and potentially saving an estimated 100,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, currently released every year by landfilled Christmas trees.
More information: María Andérez-Fernández et al, Synergistic Hydrothermal Conversion of Aqueous Solutions of CO2 and Biomass Waste Liquefaction into Formate, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c06218
Provided by University of Sheffield
Explore further
Slime for the climate, delivered by brown algae
In form of fucoidan, brown algae could remove up to 0.55 gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year
Peer-Reviewed PublicationIMAGE: BROWN ALGAE ARE PARTICULARLY WIDESPREAD ON ROCKY SHORES IN TEMPERATE AND COLD LATITUDES AND THERE ABSORB LARGE AMOUNTS OF CARBON DIOXIDE FROM THE AIR WORLDWIDE. view more
CREDIT: HAGEN BUCK-WIESE/MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR MARINE MICROBIOLOGY
Brown algae are true wonder plants when it comes to absorbing carbon dioxide from the air. They even outcompete forests on land in this, and thus play a decisive role for the atmosphere and our climate. But what happens to the carbon dioxide after the algae have absorbed it? Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology now report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that the brown algae can remove large amounts of carbon dioxide from the global cycle in the long term and thus can counteract global warming.
Fucoidan: Brown algae slime is not a favourite dish
Algae take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use the carbon to grow. They release up to a third of the carbon they absorb back into the seawater, for example in the form of sugary excretions. Depending on the structure of these excretions, they are either quickly used by other organisms or sink towards the seafloor.
“The excretions of brown algae are very complex and therefore incredibly complicated to measure,” says first author Hagen Buck-Wiese from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen. “However, we have managed to develop a method to analyse them in detail.” With this method, the researchers scrutinised a large number of different substances. The so-called fucoidan turned out to be particularly exciting. “Fucoidan made up about half of the excretions of the brown algae species we studied, the so-called bladderwrack,” says Buck-Wiese. Fucoidan is a recalcitrant molecule. “The fucoidan is so complex that it is very hard for other organisms to use it. No one seems to like it.” As a result, the carbon from the fucoidan does not return to the atmosphere quickly. “This makes the brown algae particularly good helpers in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the long term – for hundreds to thousands of years.”
Bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus) is also encountered on Germany's coasts, for example on Helgoland. The researchers from Bremen conducted their investigations in Finland.
CREDIT
Camilla Gustafsson, Tvärminne Zoological Station, Finland
Fucus vesiculosus, the bladderwrack, is a perennial plant and grows up to 30 centimetres long. It clings to rocks and other substrates with an adhesive plate. The bladderwrack gets its name from the distinctive spherical gas bubbles that provide buoyancy and are clearly visible in this picture.
CREDIT
Hagen Buck-Wiese/Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiolog
Brown algae could bind almost all of Germany's carbon dioxide emissions
Brown algae are remarkably productive. It is estimated that they absorb about 1 gigaton (one billion tons) of carbon per year from the air. Using the results of the present study, this would mean that up to 0.15 gigatons of carbon, equivalent to 0.55 gigatons of carbon dioxide, are sequestered by brown algae each year in the long term. For comparison: Germany's annual greenhouse gas emissions currently amount to about 0.74 gigatons of carbon dioxide, according to the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt, estimation for 2020).
“And even better: The fucoidan does not contain any nutrients such as nitrogen,” Buck-Wiese explains further. Thus, the growth of the brown algae is not affected by the carbon losses.
More species and sites
For the current study, Buck-Wiese and his colleagues from the MARUM MPG Bridge Group Marine Glycobiology, which is based at both the Bremen Max Planck Institute and MARUM - Centre for Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen, conducted their experiments at the Tvärminne Zoological Station in southern Finland. “Next we want to look into other brown algae species and other locations,” says Buck-Wiese. “The great potential of brown algae for climate protection definitely needs to be further researched and utilised.”
JOURNAL
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Experimental study
ARTICLE TITLE
Fucoid brown algae inject fucoidan carbon into the ocean
Spontaneous baby movements have purpose
Seemingly random movements in newborns are important for development of coordinated sensorimotor system
Peer-Reviewed PublicationIMAGE: THE MARKERS FOR THE MOTION CAPTURE CAMERA WERE GENTLY APPLIED TO THE BABY’S LIMBS AND HEAD AND BELLY, ENABLING THE TEAM TO CAPTURE THE FULL RANGE OF MOVEMENT. view more
CREDIT: 2022 KANAZAWA ET AL.
Spontaneous, random baby movements aid development of their sensorimotor system, according to new research led by the University of Tokyo. Detailed motion capture of newborns and infants was combined with a musculoskeletal computer model, to enable researchers to analyze communication among muscles and sensation across the whole body. Researchers found patterns of muscle interaction developing based on the babies’ random exploratory behavior, that would later enable them to perform sequential movements as infants. Better understanding how our sensorimotor system develops could help us gain insight into the origin of human movement as well as earlier diagnosis of developmental disorders.
If you’ve spent time with a baby, you’ll probably have noticed that they hardly keep still. Right from birth — and even in the womb — babies start to kick, wiggle and move seemingly without aim or external stimulation. These are called “spontaneous movements” and researchers believe that they have an important role to play in the development of the sensorimotor system, i.e., our ability to control our muscles, movement and coordination. If we can better understand these seemingly random movements and how they are involved in early human development, we might also be able to identify early indicators for certain developmental disorders, such as cerebral palsy.
Currently, there is limited knowledge about how newborns and infants learn to move their body. “Previous research into sensorimotor development has focused on kinematic properties, muscle activities which cause movement in a joint or a part of the body,” said Project Assistant Professor Hoshinori Kanazawa from the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology. “However, our study focused on muscle activity and sensory input signals for the whole body. By combining a musculoskeletal model and neuroscientific method, we found that spontaneous movements, which seem to have no explicit task or purpose, contribute to coordinated sensorimotor development.”
First, the team recorded the joint movements of 12 healthy newborns (less than 10 days old) and 10 young infants (about 3 months old) using motion capture technology. Next, they estimated the babies’ muscle activity and sensory input signals with the aid of a whole-body, infant-scale musculoskeletal computer model which they had created. Finally, they used computer algorithms to analyze the spatiotemporal (both space and time) features of the interaction between the input signals and muscle activity.
“We were surprised that during spontaneous movement, infants’ movements “wandered” and they pursued various sensorimotor interactions. We named this phenomenon ‘sensorimotor wandering,’” said Kanazawa. “It has been commonly assumed that sensorimotor system development generally depends on the occurrence of repeated sensorimotor interactions, meaning the more you do the same action the more likely you are to learn and remember it. However, our results implied that infants develop their own sensorimotor system based on explorational behavior or curiosity, so they are not just repeating the same action but a variety of actions. In addition to this, our findings provide a conceptual linkage between early spontaneous movements and spontaneous neuronal activity.”
This simulation was based on an adult model and infant skeleton.
CREDIT
2022 Kanazawa et al.
Previous studies on humans and animals have shown that motor behavior (movement) involves a small set of primitive muscular control patterns. These are patterns that can typically be seen in task-specific or cyclic movements, like walking or reaching. The results of this latest study supports the theory that newborns and infants can acquire sensorimotor modules, i.e., synchronized muscle activities and sensory inputs, through spontaneous whole-body movements without an explicit purpose or task. Even through sensorimotor wandering, the babies showed an increase in coordinated whole-body movements and in anticipatory movements. The movements performed by the infant group showed more common patterns and sequential movements, compared to the random movements of the newborn group.
Next, Kanazawa wants to look at how sensorimotor wandering affects later development, such as walking and reaching, along with more complex behaviors and higher cognitive functions. “My original background is in infant rehabilitation. My big goal through my research is to understand the underlying mechanisms of early motor development and to find knowledge that will help to promote baby development.”
Combining data. (VIDEO)
Paper Title:
Hoshinori Kanazawa, Yasunori Yamada, Kazutoshi Tanaka, Masahiko Kawai, Fusako Niwa, Kougoro Iwanaga, Yasuo Kuniyoshi “Open-ended movements structure sensorimotor information in early human development”. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209953120
Funding:
This work was supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers 22H04770, 21K11495, and 21H00937).
Useful Links:
Graduate School of Information Science and Technology: https://www.i.u-tokyo.ac.jp/index_e.shtml
Hoshinori Kanazawa’s webpage: http:// www.isi.imi.i.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~kanazawa/
The University of Tokyo is Japan's leading university and one of the world's top research universities. The vast research output of some 6,000 researchers is published in the world's top journals across the arts and sciences. Our vibrant student body of around 15,000 undergraduate and 15,000 graduate students includes over 4,000 international students. Find out more at www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/ or follow us on Twitter at @UTokyo_News_en.
JOURNAL
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Observational study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Open-ended movements structure sensorimotor information in early human development
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
26-Dec-2022
Oregon State University receives $4.8M to address national cybersecurity workforce shortage
IMAGE: YEONGJIN JANG IS A CO-PI ON A $4.8 MILLION GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION TO HELP THE UNITED STATES CLOSE A BIG GAP BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF CYBERSECURITY JOB OPENINGS AND THE NUMBER OF QUALIFIED APPLICANTS FOR THOSE POSITIONS. (PHOTO PROVIDED BY OSU COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING). view more
CREDIT: OSU COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University has received $4.8 million from the National Science Foundation to help the United States close a big gap between the number of cybersecurity job openings and the number of qualified applicants for those positions.
The mission is important because without a strong workforce and a healthy pool of job candidates, government agencies, including tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations, are at increased risk of cyberattacks that threaten the safety of everything from the power grid to defense systems to individuals’ personal information, said the project’s leader Rakesh Bobba.
“We’re facing a massive shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals across the nation,” said Bobba, associate professor of computer science in the OSU College of Engineering. “With over 750,000 cybersecurity job openings in the U.S., including 7,500 in Oregon, this program is great for organizations who struggle to fill their positions and is a tremendous way to attract students into a highly desirable field that provides well-paying and satisfying careers.”
The grant, part of the NSF’s CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service program, will fund scholarships to cybersecurity students and also support CyberClinic, a new College of Engineering program that involves students providing cybersecurity services to organizations across the Pacific Northwest.
Students accepted for the Scholarship for Service program agree to work for the U.S. government for the number of years they receive the scholarship – i.e., a student on scholarship for two years would then spend two years following graduation working in a cybersecurity role for a federal agency.
The scholarship includes a stipend for living expenses and is good for up to three academic years.
The grant will cover scholarships for up to 29 total students, both graduate and undergraduate. The program emphasizes the recruitment, retention and placement of underrepresented and underserved groups in cybersecurity including women, first-generation college students and low-income students.
Through CyberClinic, directed by assistant professor of practice Dave Nevin, students will assist underserved agencies throughout the Pacific Northwest through professionally guided clinical rotations.
The rotations, which are modeled after the clinical rotations used in OSU’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine, provide students the opportunity to apply knowledge gained in the classroom in real-world environments.
Scott Ashford, OSU’s Kearney Dean of Engineering, says CyberClinic is a “great example of the hands-on learning Oregon State is known for.”
“It’s been a wonderful experience so far,” Nevin said. “The clinical rotations model used in veterinary education adapts well to cybersecurity education.
“Our students are incredible and very knowledgeable in the field, but most cybersecurity job openings require experience and this is a way for them to get that experience in a structured environment,” he added. “And it feels good to help organizations that would otherwise not be able to have their own cybersecurity program.”
Exotic clasts in Chang'e-5 samples indicate unexplored terrane on moon
IMAGE: GRAPHICAL DEPICTION OF EXOTIC IGNEOUS CLASTS IN CHANG’E-5 LUNAR REGOLITH view more
CREDIT: IGCAS
The Chang'e-5 mission touched down in the Mons Rümker region of the northern Oceanus Procellarum of the Moon and returned 1.731 kg of lunar regolith.
Recognizing exotic clasts (i.e., non-Chang'e-5 locally derived materials) in the Chang'e-5 regolith could provide critical information about the lithological diversity and regolith gardening process in the young mare region of the Moon.
Recently, Dr. ZENG Xiaojia, Prof. LI Xiongyao and Prof. LIU Jianzhong from the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGCAS) have identified seven exotic igneous clasts in Chang'e-5 samples from more than 3,000 Chang'e-5 regolith particles.
This work was published in Nature Astronomy on Dec. 22.
Specifically, the seven exotic clasts identified are: a high-Ti vitrophyric fragment, a low-Ti basalt, an olivine-pyroxenite, a magnesian anorthosite, an evolved lithology, a Mg-rich olivine fragment, and a pyroclastic glass bead. The researchers associated these exotic igneous clasts with impact-ejected materials from other regions of the Moon, over 50–400 km away from the Chang'e-5 mare unit.
By comparison with lunar rocks from the U.S. Apollo mission, the researchers found that three exotic igneous clasts in the Chang'e-5 regolith exhibited unusual petrological and compositional features.
The high-Ti vitrophyric fragment showed unique mineralogy among lunar basalts, probably representing a new type of lunar basalt.
The magnesian anorthosite clast, which was not observed in Apollo samples, provides evidence that magnesian anorthosite is also an important component of the near-side lunar crust.
The pyroclastic glass records a compositionally unique volcanic eruption on the Moon.
This study was the first to obtain exotic igneous lithologies from the 2 Gyr-aged basalt unit of the Moon. This information will provide ground truth for modeling the provenance of regolith at the young mare unit of the Moon. Moreover, the identification of unusual lunar rocks in the Chang'e-5 sample provides evidence that the lithological components and magmatic activities of the lunar crust are more diverse than previously thought.
This research suggests there are still unknown geological units on the moon, which may help in planning future lunar exploration missions.
JOURNAL
Nature Astronomy
ARTICLE TITLE
Exotic clasts in Chang'e-5 regolith indicative of unexplored terrane on the Moon
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
22-Dec-2022
Model explains how autism arises
IMAGE: THE THREE FACTORS HAVE DIFFERENT WEIGHTS, AND JOINTLY BUILD UP TO THE DIAGNOSIS OF AUTISM. view more
CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG
The development of autism may now become easier to understand, thanks to an explanatory model presented in a thesis from University of Gothenburg, Sweden. This model provides new insights into how various risk factors give rise to autism and why there is such great variability between individuals.
Autism, a neurodevelopmental condition, affects how people perceive the world around them and how they interact and communicate with others. Among individuals with autism, there are major differences in terms of personal traits and manifestations alike. The disorder is therefore usually described as a spectrum, with numerous subtle variations.
The new explanatory model is theoretical but simultaneously practical in application, since its various components are measurable through, for example, questionnaires, genetic mapping, and psychological tests. The model describes various contributing factors and how they combine to prompt an autism diagnosis and cause other neurodevelopmental conditions.
Three contributing factors
The model links three contributing factors. Together, these result in a pattern of behavior that meets the criteria for an autism diagnosis:
1. Autistic personality — hereditary common genetic variants that give rise to an autistic personality.
2. Cognitive compensation — intelligence and executive functions, such as the capacity to learn, understand others, and adapt to social interactions.
1. Exposure to risk factors — for example, harmful genetic variants, infections, and other random events during gestation and early childhood that adversely affect cognitive ability.
“The autistic personality is associated with both strengths and difficulties in cognition but does not, as such, mean that diagnostic criteria are fulfilled. Still, exposure to risk factors that inhibit people’s cognitive ability may affect their capacity to tackle difficulties, which contributes to individuals being diagnosed with autism,” says Darko Sarovic, physician and postdoctoral researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, who wrote the thesis.
The model makes it clear that it is the many different risk factors combined that bring about the major differences among individuals on the spectrum. The various components of the model are supported by results from previous research.
Adaptive ability
High executive functioning skills may enable people to compensate for their impairment in such a way as to mitigate the symptoms, which reduces their risk of meeting the diagnostic criteria for autism. This may explain why, at group level, researchers observe a lower degree of intelligence among people diagnosed with autism, as well as other neurodevelopmental conditions. It also affords an understanding of why intellectual disability is more common among these groups. Thus, the model indicates that low cognitive ability is not part of the autistic personality but, rather, a risk factor that leads to diagnostic criteria being met.
“The autistic personality is associated with various strengths. For example, parents of children with autism are overrepresented among engineers and mathematicians. The parents themselves have probably been able to compensate for their own autistic personality traits and thus not met the criteria for an autism diagnosis. The impact of the disorder has then become more noticeable in their children owing, for instance, to an exposure to risk factors and relatively low cognitive ability,” Sarovic says.
Difference between girls and boys
The diagnosis of autism is more common among boys than girls, and girls often get their diagnosis later in life. Some girls reach adulthood before being diagnosed, after many years of diffuse personal difficulties.
“Girls’ symptoms are often less evident to other people. It’s well known that girls generally have more advanced social skills, which probably means that they’re better at compensating for their own difficulties. Girls also tend to have fewer autistic traits and be less susceptible to the effects of risk factors. Accordingly, the model can help to answer questions about the gender gap,” Sarovic says.
Research and diagnostics
The model also proposes ways of estimating and measuring the three factors (autistic personality, cognitive compensation and exposure to risk factors). This makes it possible to use the model in the planning of research studies and interpretation of their results.
Diagnostics is another conceivable area of use. In a pilot study in which 24 participants had been diagnosed with autism and 22 controls had not, measuring the three factors of the model enabled more than 93 percent to be correctly assigned to the right category. The model can also be used to explain the inception of other neurodevelopmental disorders, such as schizophrenia.
Darko Sarovic is now a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, while remaining affiliated to the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Title: A Multimodal Approach toward the Biological Categorization of Autism — Development of Theoretical Models, Classification Methods, and Biomarkers, https://hdl.handle.net/2077/73553
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