pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Particulate matter produced during commercial sugarcane harvesting and processing: A respiratory health hazard?

AbstractEmissions from sugarcane burning are known to impact on the respiratory health of sugar estate workers and local populations. Despite this, there have been few studies on occupational and ambient exposures and risks from airborne particulate matter (PM) associated with field burning and ash re-suspension. From workplace monitoring on sugarcane estates in two different South American countries in 2010 and 2011, median concentrations of airborne PM10 (particulate matter nominally <10 μm in diameter) were found to be statistically much higher during pre-harvest sugarcane burning (1807 μg m−3) than during either sugarcane cutting after burning (∼123 μg m−3) or in the sugarcane processing factory (∼175 μg m−3). Median PM10 measurements in ambient scenarios, for example in the sugarcane fields before the burning or during 24 h measurements in neighboring villages (bordering the sugarcane plantation), were much lower, between 18 and 37 μg m−3. From the analysis of size-selective samples of airborne PM10, collected during sugarcane field burning, cutting and ambient periods, almost all (∼96 wt %) fell within the ‘respirable’ fraction (<4 μm aerodynamic diameter), with a mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of 1.1 μm. Residual ash from field and bagasse burning, characterised using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with X-ray elemental analysis, was found to contain carbonaceous and silicate-dominated particles in the PM0.5 and PM0.5-2.5 size ranges and fibres from <10 to over 50 μm in length. Only a small proportion of the field burning ash (average 0.6 vol %) and bagasse ash (average 1.3 vol %) was in the respirable fraction. However, from grinding experiments, which simulate disaggregation as a result of disturbance during harvest or bagasse ash removal, the ash was fragile and easily broken down into thoracic particulate (<10 μm aerodynamic diameter) and, in some instances, created respirable-sized PM. From exposure calculations, the 8 h time weighted average (TWA) concentrations of PM10, during the different measurement scenarios, were found to be below occupational exposure limits (OELs; 5000 μg m−3 for respirable PM). Ambient PM10 exposure of residents surrounding the sugarcane plantations was found to be below the WHO air quality guideline (50 μg m−3 as a 24 h mean). The relative risk calculated for ‘all cause’ mortality from exposure of nearby residents to PM10 generated by sugarcane burning was found to be 3%. The concentrations of PM10 produced during the processing of sugarcane were high (up to 21.5 mg m−3), which is concerning given that re-suspended particles of ash in the fields and processing plant have been previously shown to contain potentially toxic cristobalite. PM produced during sugarcane burning, and during extended periods of local exposure to the smoke and re-suspended ash, therefore, should be considered as both a potential acute and chronic respiratory health hazard. This issue will become increasingly important with the forecasted rise in sugarcane production for biofuels
Supergenes and Complex Phenotypes

Understanding the molecular underpinnings of evolutionary adaptations is a central focus of modern evolutionary biology. Recent studies have uncovered a panoply of complex phenotypes, including locally adapted ecotypes and cryptic morphs, divergent social behaviours in birds and insects, as well as alternative metabolic pathways in plants and fungi, that are regulated by clusters of tightly linked loci. These ‘supergenes’ segregate as stable polymorphisms within or between natural populations and influence ecologically relevant traits. Some supergenes may span entire chromosomes, because selection for reduced recombination between a supergene and a nearby locus providing additional benefits can lead to locus expansions with dynamics similar to those known for sex chromosomes. In addition to allowing for the co-segregation of adaptive variation within species, supergenes may facilitate the spread of complex phenotypes across species boundaries. Application of new genomic methods is likely to lead to the discovery of many additional supergenes in a broad range of organisms and reveal similar genetic architectures for convergently evolved phenotypes
Extracting the CP-violating phases of trilinear R-parity violating couplings from μ→eee

AbstractIt has recently been shown that by measuring the transverse polarizations of the final particles in μ+→e+e−e+, it is possible to extract information on the phases of the effective couplings leading to this decay. We examine this possibility within the context of R-parity violating Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) in which the μ+→e+e−e+ process can take place at a tree level. We demonstrate how a combined analysis of the angular distribution of the emitted electrons and their transverse polarization can determine the CP-violating phases of the trilinear R-parity violating Yukawa couplings
An In Vitro Comparison of Embolus Differentiation Techniques for Clinically Significant Macroemboli: Dual-Frequency Technique versus Frequency Modulation Method

AbstractThe ability to distinguish harmful solid cerebral emboli from gas bubbles intra-operatively has potential to direct interventions to reduce the risk of brain injury. In this in vitro study, two embolus discrimination techniques, dual-frequency (DF) and frequency modulation (FM) methods, are simultaneously compared to assess discrimination of potentially harmful large pieces of carotid plaque debris (0.5–1.55 mm) and thrombus-mimicking material (0.5–2 mm) from gas bubbles (0.01–2.5 mm). Detection of plaque and thrombus-mimic using the DF technique yielded disappointing results, with four out of five particles being misclassified (sensitivity: 18%; specificity: 89%). Although the FM method offered improved sensitivity, a higher number of false positives were observed (sensitivity: 72%; specificity: 50%). Optimum differentiation was achieved using the difference between peak embolus/blood ratio and mean embolus/blood ratio (sensitivity: 77%; specificity: 81%). We conclude that existing DF and FM techniques are unable to confidently distinguish large solid emboli from small gas bubbles (<50 μm)
Fine- and hyperfine-structure effects in molecular photoionization. II. Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization and hyperfine-selective generation of molecular cations

Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) is a widely used technique for studying molecular photoionization and producing molecular cations for spectroscopy and dynamics studies. Here, we present a model for describing hyperfine-structure effects in the REMPI process and for predicting hyperfine populations in molecular ions produced by this method. This model is a generalization of our model for fine- and hyperfine-structure effects in one-photon ionization of molecules presented in Paper I [M. Germann and S. Willitsch, J. Chem. Phys. 145, 044314 (2016)]. This generalization is achieved by covering two main aspects: (1) treatment of the neutral bound-bound transition including the hyperfine structure that makes up the first step of the REMPI process and (2) modification of our ionization model to account for anisotropic populations resulting from this first excitation step. Our findings may be used for analyzing results from experiments with molecular ions produced by REMPI and may serve as a theoretical background for hyperfine-selective ionization experiments
Criticality on the international scene: Quo vadis?

This paper brings a discussion on the current state-of-the-art in criticality assessment in an international context. It analyzes the status of resource criticality concepts and their calculation methods. The current practice often exhibits a common two-axis assessment framework but the way the two axes are further operationalized shows heterogeneous approaches. Apart from the two-axis as key element of criticality assessment, the scope of the materials, the role of substitution, the delineation of the supply chain and data, and indicator selection are addressed as key elements. The abovementioned criticality assessment practice is approached in function of the upcoming international debate on criticality. The paper tackles the role of criticality assessment in the context of the sustainability assessment toolbox and it proposes a clear distinction between criticality assessment and resilience to criticality. The insights offered in the paper may feed the international discussion in the identification of elements that may be harmonized and elements that may be better left open in function of the particular application
Small stakes risk aversion in the laboratory : a reconsideration.

Evidence of risk aversion in laboratory settings over small stakes leads to a priori implausible levels of risk aversion over large stakes under certain assumptions. One core assumption in statements of this calibration puzzle is that small-stakes risk aversion is observed over all levels of wealth, or over a “sufficiently large” range of wealth. Although this assumption is viewed as self-evident from the vast experimental literature showing risk aversion over laboratory stakes, it actually requires that lab wealth be varied for a given subject as one evaluates the risk attitudes of the subject. We consider evidence from a simple design that tests this assumption, and find that the assumption is strikingly rejected for a large sample of subjects from a population of college students. We conclude that the implausible predictions that flow from these assumptions do not apply to one specialized population widely used to study economic behavior in laboratory experiments
A randomized controlled trial reporting functional outcomes of cognitive-behavioural therapy in medication-treated adults with ADHD and comorbid psychopathology.

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinnStudies assessing psychological treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults are increasingly reported. However, functional outcomes are often neglected in favour of symptom outcomes. We investigated functional outcomes in 95 adults with ADHD who were already treated with medication and randomized to receive treatment as usual (TAU/MED) or psychological treatment (CBT/MED) using a cognitive-behavioural programme, R&R2ADHD, which employs both group and individual modalities. RATE-S functional outcomes associated with ADHD symptoms, social functioning, emotional control and antisocial behaviour were given at baseline, end of treatment and three-month follow-up. The Total composite score of these scales is associated with life satisfaction. In addition, independent evaluator ratings of clinicians who were blind to treatment arm were obtained on the Clinical Global Impression scale at each time point. CBT/MED showed overall (combined outcome at end of treatment and 3-month follow-up) significantly greater functional improvement on all scales. Post-group treatment effects were maintained at follow-up with the exception of emotional control and the Total composite scales, which continued to improve. The largest treatment effect was for the RATE-S Total composite scale, associated with life satisfaction. CGI significantly correlated with all outcomes except for social functioning scale at follow-up. The study provides further evidence for the effectiveness of R&R2ADHD and demonstrates the importance of measuring functional outcomes. The key mechanism associated with improved functional outcomes is likely to be behavioural control
Activation of invariant natural killer T cells stimulated with microbial α-mannosyl glycolipids

Some synthetic and bacterial glycolipids presented by CD1d specifically activate invariant NKT (iNKT) cells bearing an invariant Vα14-Jα18 (mouse) or Vα24-Jα18 (human) TCR. The antigenic glycolipids identified to date consist of two hydrophobic chains and an α-glycoside in which the 2′-OH group is in the cis orientation toward the anomeric group, namely, either an α-galactoside or an α-glucoside. Several microbial α-mannosyl glycolipids, in which the 2′-OH group is in the trans orientation, were herein examined to establish whether they have potential to activate iNKT cells. We found that α-mannnosyl1-3 (6′-O-acyl α-mannosyl)-1-1 monoacylglycerol and cholesteryl 6′-O-acyl α-mannoside, found in Saccharopolyspora and Candida albicans, respectively, induced the activation of iNKT cells, dependent on CD1d. In contrast, α-mannosyldiacylglycerol found in Streptococcus suis or α-mannosylceramide demonstrated markedly less antigenicity for iNKT cells. The potentially antigenic α-mannosyl glycolipids contributed to the protection of mice against infection with S. pneumoniae in which iNKT cells have previously been found to participate. Furthermore, these glycolipids induced the production of proinflammatory cytokines by macrophages, thereby suggesting their recognition by specific pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Collectively, these results suggest that these microbial α-mannosyl glycolipids are capable of being recognized by both the invariant TCR and PRRs and inducing immune responses
Measurement of the ratio B(Bs 0 → J/ψf0(980))/B(Bs 0 → J/ψφ(1020)) in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

A measurement of the ratio of the branching fractions of the Bs0 meson to J/ψf0(980) and to J/ψφ(1020) is presented. The J/ψ, f0(980), and φ(1020) are observed through their decays to μ+μ-, π+π-, and K+K-, respectively. The f0 and the φ are identified by requiring |Mπ+π--974 MeV|<50 MeV and |MK+K--1020 MeV|<10 MeV. The analysis is based on a data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.3 fb-1. The measured ratio is B(Bs 0→J/ψf0)B(f0→π+π-)/B(Bs 0→J/ψφ)B(φ→K+K-) = 0.140±0.008(stat) ± 0.023(syst), where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, and Turkish Atomic Energy Authorit
The Role of Religion on Suicidal Behavior, Attitudes and Psychological Distress in University Students: A Multinational Study

The purpose of this study was to determine the association of religion to suicidal behavior, attitudes and psychological distress in 5572 students from 12 countries by means of a self-report questionnaire. Our results showed that an affiliation with Islam was associated with reduced risk for suicide ideation, however affiliating with Orthodox Christianity and no religion was related to increased risk for suicide ideation. While affiliating with Buddhism, Catholic religion and no religion associated with lowered risk for attempting suicide, affiliation with Islam was related to heightened risk for attempting suicide. Affiliation with Hinduism, Orthodox Christianity, Protestantism, Catholicism, other religions and with no religion was associated with decreased risk for psychological distress but those reported affiliating with Islam evinced greater risk for psychological distress. The associations of the strength of religious belief to suicidal ideation and attempts were in the expected direction for most but it had a positive relation in respondents affiliating with Catholicism and other religions. Students reporting affiliation with Islam, Orthodox religion and Buddhism were the least accepting of suicide but they displayed a more confronting interpersonal style to an imagined peer with a suicidal decision. It was concluded that the protective function of religion in educated segments of populations (university students) and in university students residing in Muslim countries where freedom from religion is restricted or religion is normative and/or compulsory is likely to be limited. Our findings suggest that public policies supporting religious freedom may augment the protective function of religion against suicide and psychological distress
C. elegans RAD-5/CLK-2 defines a new DNA damage checkpoint protein.

BACKGROUND: In response to genotoxic stress, cells activate checkpoint pathways that lead to a transient cell cycle arrest that allows for DNA repair or to apoptosis, which triggers the demise of genetically damaged cells. RESULTS: During positional cloning of the C. elegans rad-5 DNA damage checkpoint gene, we found, surprisingly, that rad-5(mn159) is allelic with clk-2(qm37), a mutant previously implicated in regulation of biological rhythms and life span. However, clk-2(qm37) is the only C. elegans clock mutant that is defective for the DNA damage checkpoint. We show that rad-5/clk-2 acts in a pathway that partially overlaps with the conserved C. elegans mrt-2/S. cerevisiae RAD17/S. pombe rad1(+) checkpoint pathway. In addition, rad-5/clk-2 also regulates the S phase replication checkpoint in C. elegans. Positional cloning reveals that the RAD-5/CLK-2 DNA damage checkpoint protein is homologous to S. cerevisiae Tel2p, an essential DNA binding protein that regulates telomere length in yeast. However, the partial loss-of-function C. elegans rad-5(mn159) and clk-2(qm37) checkpoint mutations have little effect on telomere length, and analysis of the partial loss-of-function of S. cerevisiae tel2-1 mutant failed to reveal typical DNA damage checkpoint defects. CONCLUSIONS: Using C. elegans genetics we define the novel DNA damage checkpoint protein RAD-5/CLK-2, which may play a role in oncogenesis. Given that Tel2p has been shown to bind to a variety of nucleic acid structures in vitro, we speculate that the RAD-5/CLK-2 checkpoint protein may act at sites of DNA damage, either as a sensor of DNA damage or to aid in the repair of damaged DNA
Banking Efficiency and the Economic Transition Process

This paper investigates the role of the banking system in the economic transition process. This is considered in the context of an overlapping generation model with endogenous growth. There are two production technologies, one for the production of a final good and the other for the production of an investment good. The return of caital invested in the investment good technology is stochastic. Banks collect the saving of households and finance the production of the investment good while respecting some prudential rules.
We show that the capital accumulation is constituted of several phases and that the economic transition process depends on the fragility of the financial system defined as the degree of the credit market perfection and the bank’s inefficiency. Hence, efficient banks enables the economy to resist to bad performances of the investment good sector. However, in case of inefficient banks, the situation can degenerate in a confidence crisis in the banking system delaying the economic transition process by several years. We show that this negative impact is more severe when the economy is less developed.
Instantons on Calabi-Yau and hyper-Kähler cones

The instanton equations on vector bundles over Calabi-Yau and hyper-Kähler cones can be reduced to matrix equations resembling Nahm’s equations. We complement the discussion of Hermitian Yang-Mills (HYM) equations on Calabi-Yau cones, based on regular semi-simple elements, by a new set of (singular) boundary conditions which have a known instanton solution in one direction. This approach extends the classic results of Kronheimer by probing a relation between generalised Nahm’s equations and nilpotent pairs/tuples. Moreover, we consider quaternionic instantons on hyper-Kähler cones over generic 3-Sasakian manifolds and study the HYM moduli spaces arising in this set-up, using the fact that their analysis can be traced back to the intersection of three Hermitian Yang-Mills conditions. © 2017, The Author(s)
A study of boundedness in probabilistic normed spaces

It was shown in Lafuerza-Guillén, Rodríguez- Lallena and Sempi (1999) that uniform boundedness in a Serstnev PN space (V,\un, \tau,\tau^*), (named boundeness in the present setting) of a subset A in V with respect to the strong topology is equivalent to the fact that the probabilistic radius R_A of A is an element of D^+. Here we extend the equivalence just mentioned to a larger class of PN spaces, namely those PN spaces that are topological vector spaces(briefly TV spaces), but are not Serstnev PN spaces. We present a characterization of those PN spaces, whether they are TV spaces or not, in which the equivalence holds. Then a charaterization of the Archimedeanity of triangle functions \tau^* of type \tau_{T,L} is given.This work is a partial solution to a problema of comparing the concepts of distributional boundedness (D-bounded in short) and that of boundedness in the sense of associated strong topology
Interplay between bonding and magnetism in the binding of NO to Rh clusters

We have studied the binding of NO to small Rh clusters, containing one to five atoms, using density functional theory in both spin-polarized and non-spin-polarized forms. We find that NO bonds more strongly to Rh clusters than it does to Rh(100) or Rh(111), suggesting that Rh clusters may be good catalysts for NO reduction. However, binding to NO also quenches the magnetism of the clusters. This (local) effect results in reducing the magnitude of the NO binding energy, and also washes out the clear size-dependent trend observed in the nonmagnetic case. Our results illustrate the competition present between the tendencies to bond and to magnetize, in small cluster
Letter to the Editor: First direct observations of the reduced striations at pump frequencies close to the electron gyroharmonics

It is well known that the ionospheric plasma
response to high-power HF radio waves changes drastically as the heater
frequency approaches harmonics of the electron gyrofrequency. These include
changes in the spectrum of the stimulated electromagnetic emission, reduction in
the anomalous absorption of low-power diagnostic waves propagating through the
heated volume, and reduction in the large scale F-region heating. Theoretical
models as well as previous experimental evidence point towards the absence of
small-scale field-aligned plasma density irregularities at pump frequencies
close to electron gyroharmonics as the main cause of these changes. Results
presented in this paper are the first direct observations of the reduced
striations at the 3rd gyroharmonic made by the CUTLASS radar. In addition,
simultaneous EISCAT observations have revealed that the &quot;enhanced
ion-line&quot; usually present in the EISCAT ion-line spectrum during the first
few seconds after heater switch on, persisted at varying strengths while the
heater was transmitting at frequencies close to the 3rd electron gyroharmonics.<br><br><b>Key words. </b>Ionosphere (active experiments; ionospheric
irregularities) · Radio science (ionospheric physics
Isovector effective NN interaction in 28Si(p,n)28P(6-) at 198 MeV

We report measurements of the cross section and a complete set of polarization observables for the View the MathML source reaction at a bombarding energy of 198 MeV. The data are compared with distorted wave impulse approximation calculations employing response functions normalized to inelastic electron scattering. The spin-longitudinal polarized cross section IDq is slightly over-predicted by the calculations, while the normal spin-transverse polarized cross section IDn is significantly under-predicted. The calculated in-plane spin-transverse IDp and spin-scalar ID0 polarized cross sections agree well with the experimental data. These results are consistent with those for View the MathML source scattering at the same energy, and thus it is concluded that isospin-mixing effects are not responsible for the discrepancy between theory and experiment in the View the MathML source case. Energy half-off-shell effects as medium effects on the effective nucleon?nucleon interaction are also investigated and found to be too small to be responsible for the discrepancy