pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Using the latent class approach to cluster firms in benchmarking : an application to the US electricity transmission industry.

In this paper we advocate using the latent class model (LCM) approach to control for technological differences in traditional efficiency analysis of regulated electricity networks. Our proposal relies on the fact that latent class models are designed to cluster firms by uncovering differences in technology parameters. Moreover, it can be viewed as a supervised method for clustering data that takes into account the same (production or cost) relationship that is analysed later, often using nonparametric frontier techniques. The simulation exercises show that the proposed approach outperforms other sample selection procedures. The proposed methodology is illustrated with an application to a sample of US electricity transmission firms for the period 2001–2009
Derivation of instanton rate theory from first principles.

Instanton rate theory is used to study tunneling events in a wide range of systems including low-temperature chemical reactions. Despite many successful applications, the method has never been obtained from first principles, relying instead on the “Im F” premise. In this paper, the same expression for the rate of barrier penetration at finite temperature is rederived from quantum scattering theory [W. H. Miller, S. D. Schwartz, and J. W. Tromp, J. Chem. Phys. 79, 4889 (1983)] using a semiclassical Green’s function formalism. This justifies the instanton approach and provides a route to deriving the rate of other processes
Solar WIMPs Unraveled: Experiments, astrophysical uncertainties, and
  interactive Tools

The absence of a neutrino flux from self-annihilating dark matter captured in
the Sun has tightly constrained some leading particle dark matter scenarios.
The impact of astrophysical uncertainties on the capture process of dark matter
in the Sun and hence also the derived constraints by neutrino telescopes need
to be taken into account. In this review we have explored relevant
uncertainties in solar WIMP searches, summarized results from leading
experiments, and provided an outlook into upcoming searches and future
experiments. We have created an interactive plotting tool that allows the user
to view current limits and projected sensitivities of major experiments under
changing astrophysical conditions.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
The EAGLE simulations of galaxy formation: public release of halo and
  galaxy catalogues

We present the public data release of halo and galaxy catalogues extracted
from the EAGLE suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy
formation. These simulations were performed with an enhanced version of the
GADGET code that includes a modified hydrodynamics solver, time-step limiter
and subgrid treatments of baryonic physics, such as stellar mass loss,
element-by-element radiative cooling, star formation and feedback from star
formation and black hole accretion. The simulation suite includes runs
performed in volumes ranging from 25 to 100 comoving megaparsecs per side, with
numerical resolution chosen to marginally resolve the Jeans mass of the gas at
the star formation threshold. The free parameters of the subgrid models for
feedback are calibrated to the redshift z=0 galaxy stellar mass function,
galaxy sizes and black hole mass - stellar mass relation. The simulations have
been shown to match a wide range of observations for present-day and
higher-redshift galaxies. The raw particle data have been used to link galaxies
across redshifts by creating merger trees. The indexing of the tree produces a
simple way to connect a galaxy at one redshift to its progenitors at higher
redshift and to identify its descendants at lower redshift. In this paper we
present a relational database which we are making available for general use. A
large number of properties of haloes and galaxies and their merger trees are
stored in the database, including stellar masses, star formation rates,
metallicities, photometric measurements and mock gri images. Complex queries
can be created to explore the evolution of more than 10^5 galaxies, examples of
which are provided in appendix. (abridged)Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures + appendices. The simulation data is available at
  http://www.eaglesim.org/database.php (comments welcome). Paper accepted to
  AstronomyComputing. Note there is a typo in the published version, Section
  4.1, replace 3/2 with 2/3 for velocity dispersio
Sequential electron transport and vibrational excitations in an organic
  molecule coupled to few-kayer graphene electrodes

Graphene electrodes are promising candidates to improve reproducibility and
stability in molecular electronics through new electrode-molecule anchoring
strategies. Here we report sequential electron transport in few-layer graphene
transistors containing individual curcuminoid-based molecules anchored to the
electrodes via pi-pi orbital bonding. We show the coexistence of inelastic
co-tunneling excitations with single-electron transport physics owing to an
intermediate molecule-electrode coupling; we argue that an intermediate
electron-phonon coupling is the origin of these vibrational-assisted
excitations. These experimental observations are complemented with density
functional theory calculations to model electron transport and the interaction
between electrons and vibrational modes of the curcuminoid molecule. We find
that the calculated vibrational modes of the molecule are in agreement with the
experimentally observed excitations
Resurgence in $\eta$-deformed Principal Chiral Models

We study the $SU(2)$ Principal Chiral Model (PCM) in the presence of an
integrable $\eta$-deformation. We put the theory on $\mathbb{R}\times S^1$ with
twisted boundary conditions and then reduce the circle to obtain an effective
quantum mechanics associated with the Whittaker-Hill equation. Using resurgent
analysis we study the large order behaviour of perturbation theory and recover
the fracton events responsible for IR renormalons. The fractons are modified
from the standard PCM due to the presence of this $\eta$-deformation but they
are still the constituents of uniton-like solutions in the deformed quantum
field theory. We also find novel $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$ saddles, thus strengthening
the conjecture that the semi-classical expansion of the path integral gives
rise to a resurgent transseries once written as a sum over Lefschetz thimbles
living in a complexification of the field space. We conclude by connecting our
quantum mechanics to a massive deformation of the $\mathcal{N}=2~$ $4$-d gauge
theory with gauge group $SU(2)$ and $N_f=2$.Comment: 56 pages, 19 figures; v2: references amended and small clarifications
  made in the tex
J-factors of short DNA molecules

The propensity of short DNA sequences to convert to the circular form is
studied by a mesoscopic Hamiltonian method which incorporates both the bending
of the molecule axis and the intrinsic twist of the DNA strands. The base pair
fluctuations with respect to the helix diameter are treated as path
trajectories in the imaginary time path integral formalism. The partition
function for the sub-ensemble of closed molecules is computed by imposing chain
ends boundary conditions both on the radial fluctuations and on the angular
degrees of freedom. The cyclization probability, the J-factor, proves to be
highly sensitive to the stacking potential, mostly to its nonlinear parameters.
We find that the J-factor generally decreases by reducing the sequence length (
N ) and, more significantly, below N = 100 base pairs. However, even for very
small molecules, the J-factors remain sizeable in line with recent experimental
indications. Large bending angles between adjacent base pairs and anharmonic
stacking appear as the causes of the helix flexibility at short length scales.Comment: The Journal of Chemical Physics - May 2016 ; 9 page
B-cell reconstitution after lentiviral vector-mediated gene therapy in patients with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

Background Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a severe X-linked immunodeficiency characterized by microthrombocytopenia, eczema, recurrent infections, and susceptibility to autoimmunity and lymphomas. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the treatment of choice; however, administration of WAS gene-corrected autologous hematopoietic stem cells has been demonstrated as a feasible alternative therapeutic approach. Objective Because B-cell homeostasis is perturbed in patients with WAS and restoration of immune competence is one of the main therapeutic goals, we have evaluated reconstitution of the B-cell compartment in 4 patients who received autologous hematopoietic stem cells transduced with lentiviral vector after a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen combined with anti-CD20 administration. Methods We evaluated B-cell counts, B-cell subset distribution, B cell-activating factor and immunoglobulin levels, and autoantibody production before and after gene therapy (GT). WAS gene transfer in B cells was assessed by measuring vector copy numbers and expression of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein. Results After lentiviral vector-mediated GT, the number of transduced B cells progressively increased in the peripheral blood of all patients. Lentiviral vector-transduced progenitor cells were able to repopulate the B-cell compartment with a normal distribution of B-cell subsets both in bone marrow and the periphery, showing a WAS protein expression profile similar to that of healthy donors. In addition, after GT, we observed a normalized frequency of autoimmune-associated CD19<sup>+</sup>CD21<sup>-</sup>CD35<sup>-</sup> and CD21<sup>low</sup> B cells and a reduction in B cell-activating factor levels. Immunoglobulin serum levels and autoantibody production improved in all treated patients. Conclusions We provide evidence that lentiviral vector-mediated GT induces transgene expression in the B-cell compartment, resulting in ameliorated B-cell development and functionality and contributing to immunologic improvement in patients with WAS
The impact of corporate social responsibility, service quality and customer- company identification on customers

Conference: 9th International Strategic Management Conference -- Location: Riga, LATVIA -- Date: JUN 27-29, 2013Despite the importance of corporate social responsibility (hereafter CSR) as an important construct in academia and a pressing item on corporate agenda, some contradictory results suggesting that CSR is far away from being the most dominant criteria in purchase behavior call for further research on the topic. Research supporting this view suggests that traditional criteria such as price, quality and brand familiarity are still the most important choice criteria. Acknowledging the significant role that quality can play in the context of services, this study incorporates these two separate views and considers the effect that both CSR and service quality have on customer-related outcomes such as customer- company identification, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The study also investigates the mediating role of customer- company identification, pointing to the fact that improving customers' psychological attachment to a company can serve as a strategic tool for enhancing the effect that CSR and service quality have on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. To test the hypothesized relationships, an online questionnaire is conducted to a sample of 242 bank customers.Int Strateg Management & Managers Assoc
The globular cluster system of NGC1316. I. Wide-field photometry in the
  Washington system

NGC 1316 (Fornax A) is a prominent merger remnant in the outskirts of the
Fornax cluster. The cluster system has not yet been studied in its entirety. We
therefore present a wide-field study of the globular cluster system of NGC
1316, investigating its properties in relation to the global morphology of NGC
1316. We used the MOSAIC II camera at the 4-m Blanco telescope at CTIO in the
filters Washington C and Harris R. We identify globular cluster candidates and
study their color distribution and the structural properties of the system. In
an appendix, we also make morphological remarks, present color maps, and
present new models for the brightness and color profiles of the galaxy. The
cluster system is well confined to the optically visible outer contours of NGC
1316. The color distribution of the entire sample is unimodal, but the color
distribution of bright subsamples in the bulge shows two peaks that, by
comparison with theoretical Washington colors with solar metallicity,
correspond to ages of about 2 Gyr and 0.8 Gyr, respectively. We also find a
significant population of clusters in the color range 0.8 < C-R < 1.1 which
must be populated by clusters younger than 0.8 Gyr, unless they are very
metal-poor. The color interval 1.3 < C-R < 1.6 hosts the bulk of
intermediate-age clusters which show a surface density profile with a sharp
decline at about 4 arcmin. The outer cluster population shows an unimodal color
distribution with a peak at C-R=1.1, indicating a larger contribution of old,
metal-poor clusters. Their luminosity function does not show the expected
turn-over, so the fraction of younger clusters is still significant. Cluster
formation in NGC 1316 has continued after an initial burst, presumably related
to the main merger. A toy model with two bursts of ages 2 Gyr and 0.8 Gyr is
consistent with photometric properties and dynamical M/L-values.Comment: 19 pages, to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics, abstract abridged,
  format slightly different from the printed versio
Auxiliary tensor fields for Sp(2, R) self-duality

The coset Sp(2, R)/U(1) is parametrized by two real scalar fields. We generalize the formalism of auxiliary tensor (bispinor) fields in U(1) self-dual nonlinear models of abelian gauge fields to the case of Sp(2, R) self-duality. In this new formulation, Sp(2, R) duality of the nonlinear scalar-gauge equations of motion is equivalent to an Sp(2, R) invariance of the auxiliary interaction. We derive this result in two different ways, aiming at its further application to supersymmetric theories. We also consider an extension to interactions with higher derivatives.RFBR/12-02-00517RFBR/13-02-90430RFBR/13-02-91330DFG/LE 838/12-1Heisenberg-Landau progra
Observing heme doming in myoglobin with femtosecond X-ray absorption spectroscopy

We report time-resolved X-ray absorption measurements after photolysis of carbonmonoxy myoglobin performed at the LCLS X-ray free electron laser with nearly 100 fs (FWHM) time resolution. Data at the Fe K-edge reveal that the photoinduced structural changes at the heme occur in two steps, with a faster (∼70 fs) relaxation preceding a slower (∼400 fs) one. We tentatively attribute the first relaxation to a structural rearrangement induced by photolysis involving essentially only the heme chromophore and the second relaxation to a residual Fe motion out of the heme plane that is coupled to the displacement of myoglobin F-helix
Risk assessment of mycotoxins and predictive mycology in Sri Lankan spices : chilli and pepper

This research contributes to a better understanding of the mycotoxin problem associated with two important spices in world trade;, chilli and pepper by a multidisciplinary approach including analytical chemistry, risk assessment, food chemistry and predictive mycology. More specifically, this work provides important insights in mycotoxin contamination of these spices and associated risks in Sri Lanka. Firstly, a simple extraction method based on the QuEChERS approach was developed and successfully validated for the simultaneous determination of multiple mycotoxins using an advanced chromatographic technique, LC-MS/MS. The method was applied on complex spices for quantitative screening of seventeen mycotoxins. In addition to the classical aflatoxins and ochratoxin A, the spices were also found to be contaminated with several other toxicologically significant mycotoxins. Chilli samples (87%) were more frequently contaminated with mycotoxins than peppers (65%). Subsequently, the mycotoxins screening results and the collected consumption data were integrated in a quantitative risk assessment study. The results showed that AFB1 exposure via chilli consumption is of a public health concern in Sri Lanka, pepper is of lesser extent a risk due to the lower consumption. The toxigenic mould characterization in black peppers showed that Aspergillus flavus and/or Aspergillus parasiticus were the predominant moulds (73%) found, with considerable contamination (60%) of Penicillium spp. and A. niger. Furthermore, predictive mould growth models on peppercorns were developed at three temperatures and seven water activity levels for both A. flavus and A. parasiticus isolates. Based on the research, suitable storage conditions for black peppercorns were suggested and the way forward in managing the risk towards mycotoxins posed by the consumption of these two spices in Sri Lanka
Physics of a partially ionized gas relevant to galaxy formation simulations : the ionization potential energy reservoir

Simulation codes for galaxy formation and evolution take on board as many physical processes as possible beyond the standard gravitational and hydrodynamical physics. Most of this extra physics takes place below the resolution level of the simulations and is added in a "sub-grid" fashion. However, these sub-grid processes affect the macroscopic hydrodynamical properties of the gas and thus couple to the "on-grid" physics that is explicitly integrated during the simulation.
In this paper, we focus on the link between partial ionization and the hydrodynamical equations. We show that the energy stored in ions and free electrons constitutes a potential energy term which breaks the linear dependence of the internal energy on temperature. Correctly taking into account ionization hence requires modifying both the equation of state and the energy-temperature relation. We implemented these changes in the cosmological simulation code Gadget2.
As an example of the effects of these changes, we study the propagation of Sedov-Taylor shock waves through an ionizing medium. This serves as a proxy for the absorption of supernova feedback energy by the interstellar medium. Depending on the density and temperature of the surrounding gas, we find that up to 50% of the feedback energy is spent ionizing the gas rather than heating it. Thus, it can be expected that properly taking into account ionization effects in galaxy evolution simulations will drastically reduce the effects of thermal feedback. To the best of our knowledge, this potential energy term is not used in current simulations of galaxy formation and evolution
OmegaWINGS : OmegaCAM-VST observations of WINGS galaxy clusters

Context. Wide-field observations targeting galaxy clusters at low redshift are complementary to field surveys and provide the local benchmark for detailed studies of the most massive haloes in the local Universe. The Wide-field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey (WINGS) is a wide-field multi-wavelength survey of X-ray selected clusters at z = 0.04-0.07. The original 34' x 34' WINGS field of view has now been extended to cover a 1 deg(2) field with both photometry and spectroscopy. 
Aims. We present the Johnson B- and V-band OmegaCAM at the VST observations of 46 WINGS clusters together with the data reduction, data quality, and Sextractor photometric catalogues. 
Methods. The data reduction was carried out with a modified version of the ESO-MVM (also known as ALAMBIC) reduction package, adding a cross-talk correction, the gain harmonisation, and a control procedure for problematic CCDs. The stray-light component was corrected for by employing our own observations of populated stellar fields. 
Results. With a median seeing of 1 '' in both bands, our 25-min exposures in each band typically reach the 50% completeness level at V = 23.1 mag. The quality of the astrometric and photometric accuracy has been verified by comparison with the 2MASS and SDSS astrometry, and SDSS and previous WINGS imaging. Star-to-galaxy separation and sky-subtraction procedure were tested comparing them with previous WINGS data. 
Conclusions. The Sextractor photometric catalogues are publicly available at the CDS and will be included in the next release of the WINGS database on the Virtual Observatory together with the OmegaCAM reduced images. These data form the basis for a large ongoing spectroscopic campaign with AAOmega at the AAT and are being employed for a variety of studies
Non-conservative evolution in Algols : where is the matter?

Context. There is indirect evidence of non-conservative evolutions in Algols. However, the systemic mass-loss rate is poorly constrained by observations and generally set as a free parameter in binary-star evolution simulations. Moreover, systemic mass loss may lead to observational signatures that still need to be found. 
Aims. Within the "hotspot" ejection mechanism, some of the material that is initially transferred from the companion star via an accretion stream is expelled from the system due to the radiative energy released on the gainer's surface by the impacting material. The objective of this paper is to retrieve observable quantities from this process and to compare them with observations. 
Methods. We investigate the impact of the outflowing gas and the possible presence of dust grains on the spectral energy distribution (SED). We used the 1D plasma code Cloudy and compared the results with the 3D Monte-Carlo radiative transfer code Skirt for dusty simulations. The circumbinary mass-distribution and binary parameters were computed with state-of-the-art binary calculations done with the Binstar evolution code. 
Results. The outflowing material reduces the continuum flux level of the stellar SED in the optical and UV. Because of the time-dependence of this effect, it may help to distinguish between different ejection mechanisms. If present, dust leads to observable infrared excesses, even with low dust-to-gas ratios, and traces the cold material at large distances from the star. By searching for this dust emission in the WISE catalogue, we found a small number of Algols showing infrared excesses, among which the two rather surprising objects SX Aur and CZ Vel. We find that some binary B[e] stars show the same strong Balmer continuum as we predict with our models. However, direct evidence of systemic mass loss is probably not observable in genuine Algols, since these systems no longer eject mass through the hotspot mechanism. Furthermore, owing to its high velocity, the outflowing material dissipates in a few hundred years. If hot enough, the hotspot may produce highly ionised species, such as Si IV, and observable characteristics that are typical of W Ser systems. 
Conclusions. If present, systemic mass loss leads to clear observational imprints. These signatures are not to be found in genuine Algols but in the closely related beta Lyraes, W Serpentis stars, double periodic variables, symbiotic Algols, and binary B[e] stars. We emphasise the need for further observations of such objects where systemic mass loss is most likely to occur
First principles study of the adsorption of C60 on Si(1 1 1)

The adsorption of C60 on Si(111) has been studied by means of first-principles density functional calculations. A 2×2 adatom surface reconstruction was used to simulate the terraces of the 7×7 reconstruction. The structure of several possible adsorption configurations was optimized using the ab initio atomic forces, finding good candidates for two different adsorption states observed experimentally. While the C60 molecule remains closely spherical, the silicon substrate appears quite soft, especially the adatoms, which move substantially to form extra C–Si bonds, at the expense of breaking Si–Si bonds. The structural relaxation has a much larger effect on the adsorption energies, which strongly depend on the adsorption configuration, than on the charge transferThis work was supported by Grants No. DOE 8371494, and No. DEFG 02/96/ER 4543