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In 2017 the Science Museum in London opened a temporary exhibition on robotics that featured a unique collection of more than a hundred objects focusing on humanoid robots from the sixteenth century to the present day. This exhibition, developed by the Science Museum’s curator of mechanical engineering, Ben Russell, and his team, ran from 8 February to 3 September 2017 and will be traveling internationally after its closure in London. It is divided into five sections (“Marvel,” “Obey,” “Dream,” “Build,” and “Imagine”), which are presented in a chronological sequence in five separate rooms. The exhibition team unfolds the narrative of the five sections using five different historical periods and locations. The designer’s concept corresponds to this order of topics by implementing a consecutive itinerary. In accord with the exhibition’s title, it constructs a narrative about mankind’s quest for humanlike machines. The curators start in the sixteenth century, when European thinkers increasingly thought of humans and indeed the universe itself as machinelike. They follow it with an exploration of the Industrial Revolution and the complex systems of machinery within which humans became embedded. They explore the continuing fascination with the creation of humanlike machines in the present day and finish the narrative with questions about how people can live together with this kind of robot.

The authors present the case of a 58-year-old man found hanging from a radiator by his shoelaces. The time of death was approximately 6 h before the body was discovered. An autopsy was performed approximately 24 h after the body was found, which revealed hemorrhages in the thoracic aorta at the junctions of the posterior intercostal arteries. Before autopsy, a routine whole-body CT scan was performed. Histologic examination of the aorta and the posterior intercostal arteries revealed a fresh hemorrhage into the tunica adventitia of the aorta. To our knowledge, there is no case description of such findings in hanged persons in the literature. Conclusion: Hemorrhages into the tunica adventitia of the junction of the posterior costal arteries may occur in association with suicidal hanging. The significance of these hemorrhages as a sign of vitality may be debated.

A 3D sequence was introduced to unenhanced post-mortem cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (PMCMR) to enable multiplanar coronary artery image analysis and to investigate its diagnostic accuracy for the diagnosis of coronary artery stenosis and thrombosis. N = 200 forensic cases with suspected coronary artery pathology underwent 3 Tesla PMCMR (sequence used: T2 weighted transversal 3D turbo spin echo) before autopsy. Main coronary artery stenosis and thrombosis were assessed in PMCMR by multiplanar image analysis by two observers. Coronary artery histology was determined as the gold standard and compared to PMCMR. Sensitivity, specificity, negative (NPV) and positive predictive values (PPV) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. For all coronary arteries combined, sensitivity was 75% (PPV 73%) for the diagnosis of stenosis and 72% (PPV 71%) for the diagnosis of thrombosis. Specificity was 92% (NPV 90%) for correct diagnosis of non-existing stenosis and 97% (NPV 97%) for non-existing thrombosis. Sensitivity for correct diagnosis of different degrees of stenosis ranged between 67% and 80% (PPVs 67–82%); specificity ranged between 96% and 99% (NPVs 96–99%). Multiplanar PMCMR coronary artery stenosis and thrombosis assessment based on an unenhanced T2 weighted 3D sequence provide moderate sensitivity and high specificity for the diagnosis of coronary artery stenosis and/or thrombosis. Hence, 3D T2w PMCMR cannot reliably detect existing coronary artery stenosis and thrombosis but may be particularly useful for the exclusion of stenosis or thrombosis of the main coronary arteries.

The WFDE5 dataset has been generated using the WATCH Forcing Data (WFD) methodology applied to surface meteorological variables from the ERA5 reanalysis. The WFDEI dataset had previously been generated by applying the WFD methodology to ERA-Interim. The WFDE5 is provided at 0.5∘ spatial resolution but has higher temporal resolution (hourly) compared to WFDEI (3-hourly). It also has higher spatial variability since it was generated by aggregation of the higher-resolution ERA5 rather than by interpolation of the lower-resolution ERA-Interim data. Evaluation against meteorological observations at 13 globally distributed FLUXNET2015 sites shows that, on average, WFDE5 has lower mean absolute error and higher correlation than WFDEI for all variables. Bias-adjusted monthly precipitation totals of WFDE5 result in more plausible global hydrological water balance components when analysed in an uncalibrated hydrological model (WaterGAP) than with the use of raw ERA5 data for model forcing. The dataset, which can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.20d54e34 (C3S, 2020b), is distributed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) through its Climate Data Store (CDS, C3S, 2020a) and currently spans from the start of January 1979 to the end of 2018. The dataset has been produced using a number of CDS Toolbox applications, whose source code is available with the data – allowing users to regenerate part of the dataset or apply the same approach to other data. Future updates are expected spanning from 1950 to the most recent year. A sample of the complete dataset, which covers the whole of the year 2016, is accessible without registration to the CDS at https://doi.org/10.21957/935p-cj60 (Cucchi et al., 2020).

The Go programming language offers a wide range of primitives to coordinate lightweight threads, e.g., channels, waitgroups, and mutexes—all of which may cause concurrency bugs. Static checkers that guarantee the absence of bugs are essential to help programmers avoid these costly errors before their code is executed. However existing tools either miss too many bugs or cannot handle large programs, and do not support programs that rely on statically unknown parameters that affect their concurrent structure (e.g., number of threads). To address these limitations, we propose a static checker for Go programs which relies on performing bounded model checking of their concurrent behaviours. In contrast to previous works, our approach deals with large codebases, supports programs that have statically unknown parameters, and is extensible to additional concurrency primitives. Our work includes a detailed presentation of the extraction algorithm from Go programs to models, an algorithm to automatically check programs with statically unknown parameters, and a large scale evaluation of our approach. The latter shows that our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art on 220 synthetic programs and 78 buggy programs adapted from existing codebases.

Chromatin changes are examined in developing primordial germ cells during the time when the cells undergo a reprogramming step involving loss of DNA methylation and parental imprinting. Reprogramming is found to be linked to changes in histone modifications and to histone replacement through the action of histone chaperones. Histone replacement seems to occur subsequent to DNA demethylation. A unique feature of the germ cell lineage is the generation of totipotency. A critical event in this context is DNA demethylation and the erasure of parental imprints in mouse primordial germ cells (PGCs) on embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5) after they enter into the developing gonads 1 , 2 . Little is yet known about the mechanism involved, except that it is apparently an active process. We have examined the associated changes in the chromatin to gain further insights into this reprogramming event. Here we show that the chromatin changes occur in two steps. The first changes in nascent PGCs at E8.5 establish a distinctive chromatin signature that is reminiscent of pluripotency. Next, when PGCs are residing in the gonads, major changes occur in nuclear architecture accompanied by an extensive erasure of several histone modifications and exchange of histone variants. Furthermore, the histone chaperones HIRA and NAP-1 (NAP111), which are implicated in histone exchange, accumulate in PGC nuclei undergoing reprogramming. We therefore suggest that the mechanism of histone replacement is critical for these chromatin rearrangements to occur. The marked chromatin changes are intimately linked with genome-wide DNA demethylation. On the basis of the timing of the observed events, we propose that if DNA demethylation entails a DNA repair-based mechanism, the evident histone replacement would represent a repair-induced response event rather than being a prerequisite.

PurposeTo determine associations between thermal responses, medical events, performance, heat acclimation and health status during a World Athletics Championships in hot-humid conditions.MethodsFrom 305 marathon and race-walk starters, 83 completed a preparticipation questionnaire on health and acclimation. Core (Tcore; ingestible pill) and skin (Tskin; thermal camera) temperatures were measured in-competition in 56 and 107 athletes, respectively. 70 in-race medical events were analysed retrospectively. Performance (% personal best) and did not finish (DNF) were extracted from official results.ResultsPeak Tcore during competition reached 39.6°C±0.6°C (maximum 41.1°C). Tskin decreased from 32.2°C±1.3°C to 31.0°C±1.4°C during the races (p<0.001). Tcore was not related to DNF (25% of starters) or medical events (p≥0.150), whereas Tskin, Tskin rate of decrease and Tcore-to-Tskin gradient were (p≤0.029). A third of the athletes reported symptoms in the 10 days preceding the event, mainly insomnia, diarrhoea and stomach pain, with diarrhoea (9% of athletes) increasing the risk of in-race medical events (71% vs 17%, p<0.001). Athletes (63%) who performed 5–30 days heat acclimation before the competition: ranked better (18±13 vs 28±13, p=0.009), displayed a lower peak Tcore (39.4°C±0.4°C vs 39.8°C±0.7°C, p=0.044) and larger in-race decrease in Tskin (−1.4°C±1.0°C vs −0.9°C±1.2°C, p=0.060), than non-acclimated athletes. Although not significant, they also showed lower DNF (19% vs 30%, p=0.273) and medical events (19% vs 32%, p=0.179).ConclusionTskin, Tskin rate of decrease and Tcore-to-Tskin gradient were important indicators of heat tolerance. While heat-acclimated athletes ranked better, recent diarrhoea represented a significant risk factor for DNF and in-race medical events.

Among patients at intermediate risk for aortic-valve surgery, transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) was noninferior to standard surgery, although each procedure had a different pattern of adverse events. Transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) with the use of a self-expanding prosthesis is superior to medical therapy in patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis in whom surgical aortic-valve replacement has been associated with prohibitive risk. 1 Among patients who are at high risk for standard surgery, TAVR may be the preferred option. 2 – 4 The adoption of TAVR in patients with aortic stenosis at high risk for surgery has been rapid, as shown by enrollment in the ongoing Society of Thoracic Surgeons–American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry. 5 The comparative efficacy of TAVR and surgery has been less well studied among patients . . .

The shaping of human embryos begins with compaction, during which cells come into close contact 1 , 2 . Assisted reproductive technology studies indicate that human embryos fail compaction primarily because of defective adhesion 3 , 4 . On the basis of our current understanding of animal morphogenesis 5 , 6 , other morphogenetic engines, such as cell contractility, could be involved in shaping human embryos. However, the molecular, cellular and physical mechanisms driving human embryo morphogenesis remain uncharacterized. Using micropipette aspiration on human embryos donated to research, we have mapped cell surface tensions during compaction. This shows a fourfold increase of tension at the cell–medium interface whereas cell–cell contacts keep a steady tension. Therefore, increased tension at the cell–medium interface drives human embryo compaction, which is qualitatively similar to compaction in mouse embryos 7 . Further comparison between human and mouse shows qualitatively similar but quantitively different mechanical strategies, with human embryos being mechanically least efficient. Inhibition of cell contractility and cell–cell adhesion in human embryos shows that, whereas both cellular processes are required for compaction, only contractility controls the surface tensions responsible for compaction. Cell contractility and cell–cell adhesion exhibit distinct mechanical signatures when faulty. Analysing the mechanical signature of naturally failing embryos, we find evidence that non-compacting or partially compacting embryos containing excluded cells have defective contractility. Together, our study shows that an evolutionarily conserved increase in cell contractility is required to generate the forces driving the first morphogenetic movement shaping the human body. Using micropipette aspiration on donated human embryos, cell surface tensions during compaction were mapped, indicating a role for defective cell contractility in poor quality embryos.