This intervention briefly goes through two schemes that allocate asylum-related responsibilities between states: the Dublin mechanism within the EU and the EU-Turkey statement. By identifying their flaws, the paper suggests that although solidarity has been invoked as a response to the so-called “refugee crisis”, the way it has been conceptualised makes it part of the problem.

This paper is about line search for the generalized alternating projections (GAP) method. This method is a generalization of the von Neumann alternating projections method, where instead of performing alternating projections, relaxed projections are alternated. The method can be interpreted as an averaged iteration of a nonexpansive mapping. Therefore, a recently proposed line search method for su

Synthesis of doubly 3-O-coumarylmethyl-substituted thiodigalactosides from bis-3-O-propargyl-thiodigalactoside resulted in highly selective and high affinity galectin-3 inhibitors. Mutant studies, structural analysis, and molecular modeling revealed that the coumaryl substituents stack onto arginine side chains. One inhibitor displayed efficacy in a murine model of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis

Synaptic dysfunction may represent an early and crucial pathophysiology in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent studies implicate a connection between synaptic plasticity deficits and compromised capacity of de novo protein synthesis in AD. The mRNA translational factor eukaryotic elongation factor 1A (eEF1A) is critically involved in several forms of long-lasting synaptic plasticity. By examining pos

A mean field feedback artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm is developed and explored for the set covering problem. A convenient encoding of the inequality constraints is achieved by means of a multilinear penalty function. An approximate energy minimum is obtained by iterating a set of mean field equations, in combination with annealing. The approach is numerically tested against a set of pub

A novel artificial neural network approach to constraint satisfaction problems is presented. Based on information-theoretical considerations, it differs from a conventional mean-field approach in the form of the resulting free energy. The method, implemented as an annealing algorithm, is numerically explored on a testbed of K-SAT problems. The performance shows a dramatic improvement over that of

The fusion of secretory vesicles and granules with the cell membrane prior to the release of their content into the extracellular space requires a transient increase of free Ca2+ concentration in the vicinity of the fusion site. Usually there is a short temporal delay in the onset of the actual fusion of membranes with reference to the rising free Ca2+ levels. This delay is described as a latency

A novel method is presented and explored within the framework of Potts neural networks for solving optimization problems with a non-trivial topology, with the airline crew scheduling problem as a target application. The key ingredient to handle the topological complications is a propagator defined in terms of Potts neurons. The approach is tested on artificial problems generated with two real-worl

Monte Carlo simulations and variational calculations using a Gaussian ansatz are applied to a model consisting of a flexible linear polyelectrolyte chain as well as to an intrinsically stiff chain with up to 1000 charged monomers. Addition of salt is treated implicitly through a screened Coulomb potential for the electrostatic interactions. For the flexible model the electrostatic persistence leng

A Potts feedback neural network approach for finding good solutions to resource allocation problems with a nonfixed topology is presented. As a target application, the airline crew scheduling problem is chosen. The topological complication is handled by means of a propagator defined in terms of Potts neurons. The approach is tested on artificial random problems tuned to resemble real-world conditi

Variational methods are used to calculate structural and thermodynamical properties of a titrating polyelectrolyte in a discrete representation. In the variational treatment, the Coulomb potentials are emulated by harmonic repulsive forces between all monomers; the force constants are used as variational parameters. The accuracy of the variational approach is tested against Monte Carlo data. Excel

A variational method for computing conformational properties of molecules with Lennard-Jones potentials for the monomer-monomer interactions is presented. The approach is tailored to deal with angular degrees of freedom, rotors, and consists of the iterative solution of a set of deterministic equations with an annealing in temperature. The singular short-distance behavior of the Lennard-Jones pote

We consider the thermodynamics of a uniformly charged polyelectrolyte with harmonic bonds. For such a system there is at high temperatures an approximate scaling of global properties like the end-to-end distance and the interaction energy with the chain length divided by the temperature. This scaling is broken at low temperatures by the ultraviolet divergence of the Coulomb potential. By introduci

A new Monte Carlo method for computing thermodynamical properties of very large polyelectrolytes is presented. It is based on a renormalization group relating the original polymer to a smaller system, where, in addition to the naively rescaled forces, a corrective nearest-neighbor interaction originating from the short distance Coulomb cutoff is introduced. The method is derived for low T but is i

Monte Carlo simulations have been used to study three different models for linear, titrating polyelectrolytes in a salt-free environment: (i) a rigid polymer with rigid bonds (rigid rod); (ii) a flexible polymer with rigid bonds; and (iii) a flexible polymer with flexible bonds. The use of a very efficient pivot algorithm has made it possible to simulate very long chains, with up to several thousa

A variational approach, based on a discrete representation of the chain, is used to calculate free energy and conformational properties in polyelectrolytes. The true bond and Coulomb potentials are approximated by a trial isotropic harmonic energy containing force constants between all monomer-pairs as variational parameters. By a judicious choice of representation and the use of incremental matri

A deterministic algorithm for calculating polymer properties is presented. It is based on a variational approach where the bond and Coulomb potentials are approximated by a quadratic trial energy. The parameters which describe average atom positions and Gaussian fluctuations, are the solutions of matrix equations. By a judicious choice of parameter representations and the use of incremental matrix

A recently suggested geometrical embedding of Bethe-type lattices (branched polymers) in the hyperbolic plane [R. Mosseri and J. F. Sadoc, J. Phys. Lett. 43, L249 (1982); J. A. de Miranda-Neto and F. Moraes, J. Phys. I. France 2, 1657 (1992)] is shown to be only a special case of a whole continuum of possible realizations that preserve some of the symmetries of the Bethe lattice. The properties of