pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Molecular cloning and characterization of an α-amylase cDNA highly expressed in major feeding stages of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei

Abstractα-Amylases are common enzymes responsible for hydrolyzing starch. Insect-pests, whose larvae develop in seeds, rely obligatorily on α-amylase activity to digest starch, as their major food source. Considering the relevance of insect α-amylases and the natural α-amylase inhibitors present in seeds to protect from insect damage, we report here the molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of the full-length AmyHha cDNA of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, a major insect-pest of coffee crops. The AmyHha sequence has 1879bp, containing a 1458bp open reading frame, which encodes a predicted protein with 485 amino acid residues, with a predicted molecular mass of 51.2kDa. The deduced protein showed 55–79% identity to other insect α-amylases, including Anthonomus grandis, Ips typographus and Sitophilus oryzae α-amylases. In depth analysis revealed that the highly conserved three amino acid residues (Asp184, Glu220, and Asp285), which compose the catalytic site are also presented in AmyHha amylase. The AmyHha gene seems to be a single copy in the haploid genome and AmyHha transcription levels were found higher in L2 larvae and adult insects, both corresponding to major feeding phases. Modeling of the AmyHha predicted protein uncovered striking structural similarities to the Tenebrio molitor α-amylase also displaying the same amino acid residues involved in enzyme catalysis (Asp184, Glu220 and Asp285). Since AmyHha gene was mostly transcribed in the intestinal tract of H. hampei larvae, the cognate α-amylase could be considered a high valuable target to coffee bean insect control by biotechnological strategies
The QCD critical end point in the SU(3) Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model

AbstractWe study the chiral phase transition at finite temperature T and baryonic chemical potential μB within the framework of the SU(3) Nambu–Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model. The QCD critical end point (CEP) and the critical line at finite T and μB are investigated: the study of physical quantities, such as the baryon number susceptibility and the specific heat in the vicinity the CEP, will provide relevant information concerning the order of the phase transition. The class of the CEP is determined by calculating the critical exponents of those quantities
First measurement of the double-inclusive B/B hadron energy distribution in e+e− annihilations, and of angle-dependent moments of the B and B energies

AbstractWe have made the first measurement of the double-inclusive B/B energy distribution in e+e− annihilations, using a sample of 400000 hadronic Z0-decay events recorded in the SLD experiment at SLAC between 1996 and 1998. The small and stable SLC beam spot and the CCD-based vertex detector were used to reconstruct B/B-decay vertices with high efficiency and purity, and to provide precise measurements of the kinematic quantities used to calculate the B energies in this novel technique. We measured the B/B energies with good efficiency and resolution over the full kinematic range. We measured moments of the scaled energies of the B and B hadrons vs. the opening angle between them. By comparing these results with perturbative QCD predictions we tested the ansatz of factorisation in heavy-quark production. A recent next-to-leading order calculation reproduces the data
Enhanced quantification for 3D SEM–EDS: Using the full set of available X-ray lines

AbstractAn enhanced method to quantify energy dispersive spectra recorded in 3D with a scanning electron microscope (3D SEM–EDS) has been previously demonstrated. This paper presents an extension of this method using all the available X-ray lines generated by the beam. The extended method benefits from using high energy lines, that are more accurately quantified, and from using soft X-rays that are highly absorbed and thus more surface sensitive. The data used to assess the method are acquired with a dual beam FIB/SEM investigating a multi-element Ni-based superalloy. A high accelerating voltage, needed to excite the highest energy X-ray line, results in two available X-ray lines for several elements. The method shows an improved compositional quantification as well as an improved spatial resolution
Greedy algorithms, H-colourings and a complexity-theoretic dichotomy

AbstractLet H be a fixed undirected graph. An H-colouring of an undirected graph G is a homomorphism from G to H. If the vertices of G are partially ordered then there is a generic non-deterministic greedy algorithm which computes all lexicographically first maximal H-colourable subgraphs of G. We show that the complexity of deciding whether a given vertex of G is in a lexicographically first maximal H-colourable subgraph of G is NP-complete, if H is bipartite, and Σ2p-complete, if H is non-bipartite. This result complements Hell and Nešetřil's seminal dichotomy result that the standard H-colouring problem is in P, if H is bipartite, and NP-complete, if H is non-bipartite. Our proofs use the basic techniques established by Hell and Nešetřil, combinatorially adapted to our scenario
Risk management for drinking water safety in low and middle income countries - cultural influences on water safety plan (WSP) implementation in urban water utilities

AbstractWe investigated cultural influences on the implementation of water safety plans (WSPs) using case studies from WSP pilots in India, Uganda and Jamaica. A comprehensive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews (n=150 utility customers, n=32 WSP ‘implementers’ and n=9 WSP ‘promoters’), field observations and related documents revealed 12 cultural themes, offered as ‘enabling’, ‘limiting’, or ‘neutral’, that influence WSP implementation in urban water utilities to varying extents. Aspects such as a ‘deliver first, safety later’ mind set; supply system knowledge management and storage practices; and non-compliance are deemed influential. Emergent themes of cultural influence (ET1 to ET12) are discussed by reference to the risk management, development studies and institutional culture literatures; by reference to their positive, negative or neutral influence on WSP implementation. The results have implications for the utility endorsement of WSPs, for the impact of organisational cultures on WSP implementation; for the scale-up of pilot studies; and they support repeated calls from practitioner communities for cultural attentiveness during WSP design. Findings on organisational cultures mirror those from utilities in higher income nations implementing WSPs – leadership, advocacy among promoters and customers (not just implementers) and purposeful knowledge management are critical to WSP success
N=2⋆ from topological amplitudes in string theory

AbstractIn this paper, we explicitly construct string theory backgrounds that realise the so-called N=2⋆ gauge theory. We prove the consistency of our models by calculating their partition function and obtaining the correct gauge theory spectrum. We further provide arguments in favour of the universality of our construction which covers a wide class of models all of which engineer the same gauge theory. We reproduce the corresponding Nekrasov partition function once the Ω-deformation is included and the appropriate field theory limit taken. This is achieved by calculating the topological amplitudes Fg in the string models. In addition to heterotic and type II constructions, we also realise the mass deformation in type I theory, thus leading to a natural way of uplifting the result to the instanton sector
Extinction of cue-evoked drug-seeking relies on degrading hierarchical instrumental expectancies

AbstractThere has long been need for a behavioural intervention that attenuates cue-evoked drug-seeking, but the optimal method remains obscure. To address this, we report three approaches to extinguish cue-evoked drug-seeking measured in a Pavlovian to instrumental transfer design, in non-treatment seeking adult smokers and alcohol drinkers. The results showed that the ability of a drug stimulus to transfer control over a separately trained drug-seeking response was not affected by the stimulus undergoing Pavlovian extinction training in experiment 1, but was abolished by the stimulus undergoing discriminative extinction training in experiment 2, and was abolished by explicit verbal instructions stating that the stimulus did not signal a more effective response-drug contingency in experiment 3. These data suggest that cue-evoked drug-seeking is mediated by a propositional hierarchical instrumental expectancy that the drug-seeking response is more likely to be rewarded in that stimulus. Methods which degraded this hierarchical expectancy were effective in the laboratory, and so may have therapeutic potential
Walking blindfolded unveils unique contributions of behavioural approach and inhibition to lateral spatial bias

AbstractHealthy individuals display a tendency to allocate attention unequally across space, and this bias has implications for how individuals interact with their environments. However, the origins of this phenomenon remain relatively poorly understood. The present research examined the joint and independent contributions of two fundamental motivational systems – behavioural approach and inhibition systems (BAS and BIS) – to lateral spatial bias in a locomotion task. Participants completed self-report measures of trait BAS and BIS, then repeatedly traversed a room, blindfolded, aiming for a straight line. We obtained locomotion data from motion tracking to capture variations in the walking trajectories. Overall, walking trajectories deviated to the left, and this tendency was more pronounced with increasing BIS scores. Meanwhile, BAS was associated with relative rightward tendencies when BIS was low, but not when BIS was high. These results demonstrate for the first time an association between BIS and lateral spatial bias independently of variations in BAS. The findings also contribute to clarify the circumstances in which BAS is associated with a rightward bias. We discuss the implications of these findings for the neurobiological underpinnings of BIS and for the literature on spatial bias
Impact of Processing Conditions on Inter-tablet Coating Thickness Variations Measured by Terahertz In-Line Sensing

ABSTRACT:A novel in-line technique utilising pulsed terahertz radiation for direct measurement of the film coating thickness of individual tablets during the coating process was previously developed and demonstrated on a production-scale coater. Here, we use this technique to monitor the evolution of tablet film coating thickness and its inter-tablet variability during the coating process under a number of different process conditions that have been purposefully induced in the production-scale coating process. The changes that were introduced to the coating process include removing the baffles from the coater, adding uncoated tablets to the running process, halting the drum, blockage of spray guns and changes to the spray rate. The terahertz sensor was able to pick up the resulting changes in average coating thickness in the coating drum and we report the impact of these process changes on the resulting coating quality
TLEM 2.0 – A comprehensive musculoskeletal geometry dataset for subject-specific modeling of lower extremity

AbstractWhen analyzing complex biomechanical problems such as predicting the effects of orthopedic surgery, subject-specific musculoskeletal models are essential to achieve reliable predictions. The aim of this paper is to present the Twente Lower Extremity Model 2.0, a new comprehensive dataset of the musculoskeletal geometry of the lower extremity, which is based on medical imaging data and dissection performed on the right lower extremity of a fresh male cadaver. Bone, muscle and subcutaneous fat (including skin) volumes were segmented from computed tomography and magnetic resonance images scans. Inertial parameters were estimated from the image-based segmented volumes. A complete cadaver dissection was performed, in which bony landmarks, attachments sites and lines-of-action of 55 muscle actuators and 12 ligaments, bony wrapping surfaces, and joint geometry were measured. The obtained musculoskeletal geometry dataset was finally implemented in the AnyBody Modeling System™ (AnyBody Technology A/S, Aalborg, Denmark), resulting in a model consisting of 12 segments, 11 joints and 21 degrees of freedom, and including 166 muscle–tendon elements for each leg. The new TLEM 2.0 dataset was purposely built to be easily combined with novel image-based scaling techniques, such as bone surface morphing, muscle volume registration and muscle–tendon path identification, in order to obtain subject-specific musculoskeletal models in a quick and accurate way. The complete dataset, including CT and MRI scans and segmented volume and surfaces, is made available at http://www.utwente.nl/ctw/bw/research/projects/TLEMsafe for the biomechanical community, in order to accelerate the development and adoption of subject-specific models on large scale. TLEM 2.0 is freely shared for non-commercial use only, under acceptance of the TLEMsafe Research License Agreement
Paradigm Shifts in Shipping Registry Policy Led to Revitalization — Hong Kong Case

AbstractThere are needs for ship registers to become business oriented but maintain the quality of fleet. To meet these two objectives, Hong Kong Shipping Register (HKSR) was re-engineered in 1999. An autonomous HKSR was established before the handover of the sovereignty of Hong Kong to China in 1997. When the newly established HKSR began operation, it fell to merely 5.5 million tons in late 1997. In May 2009, the registered tonnage was 41 million tons and the HKSR achieved significant growth of 7.5 times of that in 1997. The study through interviews analyses the paradigm shifts in the shipping registry policy in Hong Kong which led to a successful revitalization of the registered tonnage. External factors of the shipping community and internal factors of the administration in Hong Kong became major drives of the revitalization of the HKSR. The paradigm shifts include a new page of dialogue in formulation of policy of shipping registry with the stakeholders, structural change of quality and survey mechanism in HKSR, restructure of the consultative platforms in connection to enhancement of customer satisfaction, involvement of diplomatic assistance from Beijing and indepth re-engineering of the bureaucratic system in the shipping registry in Hong Kong
Quantitative Risk Assessment for Formalin Treatment in Fish Preservation: Food Safety Concern in Local Market of Bangladesh

AbstractIn Bangladesh, fishes are adulterated by hazardous chemicals at different steps from farm to consumers. Formalin (FA) is reported to be frequently added as preservative either by dipping or spraying to the fresh fishes by the fish traders while transporting to domestic marketing chain to prevent spoilage and extend shelf life. Thus, the objective of the present study was toconduct quantitative risk assessment (QRA) for formalin treated fish in Bangladesh. The probabilistic QRA of formalin treated fish was performed based on available secondary data. Available data on concentration of formalin in fish, daily fish consumption by the consumer and their body weight were used to estimate the risk of residual formalin to the consumers. Based on the data, three different scenarios (average consumption, two and four times of average consumption considered as scenarios 1, 2 and 3, respectively) were used for exposure analysis using @Risk program version 6.0.FA concentration in consumedfresh and cooked (boiling) fish was 5.34x10-02 and 2.340x10-02 (mg/kg bw/day), respectively and national average fish consumption was 200g/day. QRA reveals that FA intake under scenario1 and 2 was lower than acceptable daily intake (ADI 0.2mg/kg bw/day set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency) thus lower risk observed for both fresh and cooked fish. However, scenario 3 revealed that 0.01% population was at risk (FA intake 0.21mg/kg bw/day higher than ADI) upon the fresh fish consumption, where cooked fish (FA 9.38x10-02 mg/kg bw/day) consumer remains safe at the same scenario. The result confirmed that cooking has significant effect to reduction of formalin. Therefore, probabilistic quantitative risk assessment of formalin treated fish could provide important risk information to the risk manager (government), whether the population is at risk or not? The result could be applied to establish effective risk management strategy in Bangladesh
Remarks on higher-order hadronic corrections to the muon g−2

AbstractRecently, it was shown that insertions of hadronic vacuum polarization at O(α4) generate non-negligible effects in the calculation of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. This result raises the question if other hadronic diagrams at this order might become relevant for the next round of g−2 measurements as well. In this note we show that a potentially enhanced such contribution, hadronic light-by-light scattering in combination with electron vacuum polarization, is already sufficiently suppressed
Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Complex 2 Controls CD8 T Cell Memory Differentiation in a Foxo1-Dependent Manner

SummaryUpon infection, antigen-specific naive CD8 T cells are activated and differentiate into short-lived effector cells (SLECs) and memory precursor cells (MPECs). The underlying signaling pathways remain largely unresolved. We show that Rictor, the core component of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2 (mTORC2), regulates SLEC and MPEC commitment. Rictor deficiency favors memory formation and increases IL-2 secretion capacity without dampening effector functions. Moreover, mTORC2-deficient memory T cells mount more potent recall responses. Enhanced memory formation in the absence of mTORC2 was associated with Eomes and Tcf-1 upregulation, repression of T-bet, enhanced mitochondrial spare respiratory capacity, and fatty acid oxidation. This transcriptional and metabolic reprogramming is mainly driven by nuclear stabilization of Foxo1. Silencing of Foxo1 reversed the increased MPEC differentiation and IL-2 production and led to an impaired recall response of Rictor KO memory T cells. Therefore, mTORC2 is a critical regulator of CD8 T cell differentiation and may be an important target for immunotherapy interventions
Scattering theory for the Schrödinger equation with repulsive potential

AbstractWe consider the scattering theory for the Schrödinger equation with −Δ−|x|α as a reference Hamiltonian, for 0<α⩽2, in any space dimension. We prove that, when this Hamiltonian is perturbed by a potential, the usual short range/long range condition is weakened: the limiting decay for the potential depends on the value of α, and is related to the growth of classical trajectories in the unperturbed case. The existence of wave operators and their asymptotic completeness are established thanks to Mourre estimates relying on new conjugate operators. We construct the asymptotic velocity and describe its spectrum. Some results are generalized to the case where −|x|α is replaced by a general second order polynomial
Single-spin azimuthal asymmetry in exclusive electroproduction of π+ mesons on transversely polarized protons

AbstractExclusive electroproduction of π+ mesons was studied by scattering 27.6 GeV positrons or electrons off a transversely polarized hydrogen target. The single-spin azimuthal asymmetry with respect to target polarization was measured as a function of the Mandelstam variable t, the Bjorken scaling variable xB, and the virtuality Q2 of the exchanged photon. The extracted Fourier components of the asymmetry were found to be consistent with zero, except one that was found to be large and that involves interference of contributions from longitudinal and transverse virtual photons
Genetic Risk Can Be Decreased: Quitting Smoking Decreases and Delays Lung Cancer for Smokers With High and Low CHRNA5 Risk Genotypes — A Meta-Analysis

AbstractBackgroundRecent meta-analyses show that individuals with high risk variants in CHRNA5 on chromosome 15q25 are likely to develop lung cancer earlier than those with low-risk genotypes. The same high-risk genetic variants also predict nicotine dependence and delayed smoking cessation. It is unclear whether smoking cessation confers the same benefits in terms of lung cancer risk reduction for those who possess CHRNA5 risk variants versus those who do not.MethodsMeta-analyses examined the association between smoking cessation and lung cancer risk in 15 studies of individuals with European ancestry who possessed varying rs16969968 genotypes (N=12,690 ever smokers, including 6988 cases of lung cancer and 5702 controls) in the International Lung Cancer Consortium.ResultsSmoking cessation (former vs. current smokers) was associated with a lower likelihood of lung cancer (OR=0.48, 95%CI=0.30–0.75, p=0.0015). Among lung cancer patients, smoking cessation was associated with a 7-year delay in median age of lung cancer diagnosis (HR=0.68, 95%CI=0.61–0.77, p=4.9∗10–10). The CHRNA5 rs16969968 risk genotype (AA) was associated with increased risk and earlier diagnosis for lung cancer, but the beneficial effects of smoking cessation were very similar in those with and without the risk genotype.ConclusionWe demonstrate that quitting smoking is highly beneficial in reducing lung cancer risks for smokers regardless of their CHRNA5 rs16969968 genetic risk status. Smokers with high-risk CHRNA5 genotypes, on average, can largely eliminate their elevated genetic risk for lung cancer by quitting smoking- cutting their risk of lung cancer in half and delaying its onset by 7years for those who develop it. These results: 1) underscore the potential value of smoking cessation for all smokers, 2) suggest that CHRNA5 rs16969968 genotype affects lung cancer diagnosis through its effects on smoking, and 3) have potential value for framing preventive interventions for those who smoke
Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model as Liouville quantum mechanics

AbstractWe show that the proper inclusion of soft reparameterization modes in the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model of N randomly interacting Majorana fermions reduces its long-time behavior to that of Liouville quantum mechanics. As a result, all zero temperature correlation functions decay with the universal exponent ∝τ−3/2 for times larger than the inverse single particle level spacing τ≫Nln⁡N. In the particular case of the single particle Green function this behavior is manifestation of the zero-bias anomaly, or scaling in energy as ϵ1/2. We also present exact diagonalization study supporting our conclusions