pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Is observed direct CP violation in Bd→K+π− due to new physics? Check standard model prediction of equal violation in Bs→K−π+

AbstractThe recently observed direct CP violation in Bd→K+π− has raised suggestions of possible new physics. A robust test of the standard model vs. new physics is its prediction of equal direct CP violation in Bs→K−π+ decay. CPT invariance requires the observed CP violation to arise from the interference between the dominant penguin amplitude and another amplitude with a different weak phase and a different strong phase. The penguin contribution to Bd→K+π− is known to be reduced by a CKM factor in Bs→K−π+. Thus the two branching ratios are very different and a different CP violation is expected. But in the standard model a miracle occurs and the interfering tree diagram is enhanced by the same CKM factor that reduces the penguin to give the predicted equality. This miracle is not expected in new physics; thus a search for and measurement of the predicted CP violation in Bs→K−π+ decay is a sensitive test for a new physics contribution. A detailed analysis shows this prediction to be robust and insensitive to symmetry breaking effects and possible additional contributions
Contesting climate justice in the city: Examining politics and practice in urban climate change experiments

AbstractDebates about climate justice have mainly occurred at the international scale, and have focussed on the rights and responsibilities of nation-states to either be protected from the effects of climate change, or to take action to reduce emissions or support adaptation. In this paper, we argue that it is both productive and necessary to examine how climate justice is being pursued at the urban scale, which brings into focus the need for attention to issues of recognition as well as rights and responsibilities. Building on work from environmental justice, which has conceptualized justice as trivalent, we propose that climate justice can be understood as a pyramid, the faces of which are distributions, procedures, rights, responsibilities and recognition. We then apply this conceptual framework to examine climate change interventions in five cities; Bangalore, Monterrey, Hong Kong, Philadelphia and Berlin. Arguing that the politics and practices of urban climate change interventions are constantly engaging with and refracting the idea of justice, we examine how justice was articulated, practiced and contested across our cases. The perspective of recognition emerges as a particularly useful entry point through which to explore the types of rights, responsibilities, distributions and procedures required to respond justly to climate change. We conclude by reflecting on our framework, arguing that it is useful both as an analytical device to interrogate climate justice and to shape the design of climate change interventions which seek to ensure climate justice
Mitochondrial transfer: Implications for assisted reproductive technologies

AbstractThe use of mitochondrial transfer as a clinic procedure is drawing closer to reality. Here we provide a detailed overview of mitochondrial transfer techniques – both established and recent – including pronuclear, spindle, ooplasmic and blastomere transfer. Reasons as to why some techniques are more suitable for the prevention of mitochondrial DNA disease than others, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each methodology, are discussed. The possible clinical introduction of these techniques has raised concerns about the adverse effects they may have on resultant embryos and offspring. Success rates of each technique, embryo viability and developmental consequences post mitochondrial transfer are addressed through analysis of evidence obtained from both animal and human studies. Counterarguments against potential mitochondrial-nuclear genome incompatibility are also provided. Additional clinical applications of mitochondrial transfer techniques are discussed. These include the rescue or enhancement of fertility in women of advanced maternal age or those suffering from diabetes. An alternative to using mitochondrial DNA transfer for germ line therapies is the therapeutic use of somatic cell nuclear transfer for the generation of personalised stem cells. Although ethically challenging, this method could offer patients already suffering from mitochondrial DNA diseases a novel treatment option
Anomaly-free flavor models for Nambu–Goldstone bosons and the 3.5keV X-ray line signal

AbstractWe pursue a possibility that a pseudo-Nambu–Goldstone boson is lurking around or below the intermediate scale. To this end we consider an anomaly-free global flavor symmetry, and construct models where the pseudo-Nambu–Goldstone boson is coupled preferentially to leptons. The experimental and astrophysical bounds derived from couplings to photons and nucleons are significantly relaxed. If sufficiently light, the pseudo-Nambu–Goldstone boson contributes to dark matter, and interestingly, it generally decays into photons through couplings arising from threshold corrections. We show that the recent hint for the X-ray line at about 3.5keV can be explained by the decay of such pseudo-Nambu–Goldstone boson of mass about 7 keV with the decay constant of order 1010GeV, if the electron is charged under the flavor symmetry
Charge symmetry breaking in spin-dependent parton distributions and the Bjorken sum rule

AbstractWe present the first determination of charge symmetry violation (CSV) in the spin-dependent parton distribution functions of the nucleon. This is done by determining the first two Mellin moments of the spin-dependent parton distribution functions of the octet baryons from Nf=2+1 lattice simulations. This exploratory work is performed using a single value of the lattice spacing and volume. The results are compared with predictions from quark models of nucleon structure. We discuss the contribution of partonic spin CSV to the Bjorken sum rule, which is important because the CSV contributions represent the only partonic corrections to the Bjorken sum rule
Homotopy perturbation method for a conservative x1/3 force nonlinear oscillator

AbstractThe homotopy perturbation method is used to obtain the periodic solutions of a conservative nonlinear oscillator for which the elastic force term is proportional to x1/3. We find this method works very well for the whole range of initial amplitudes. Excellent agreement of the approximate frequencies with the exact ones has been demonstrated and discussed. Only one iteration leads to high accuracy of the solutions with a maximal relative error for the approximate frequency of less than 0.60% for small and large values of oscillation amplitude, while this relative error is as low as 0.050% for the second iteration. Comparison of the results obtained using this method with those obtained by different harmonic balance methods reveals that the former is more effective and convenient for these types of nonlinear oscillators
Early East Antarctic Ice Sheet growth recorded in the landscape of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains

AbstractThe Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains are regarded as a key nucleation site for the Antarctic Ice Sheet and they retain a unique long-term record of pre-glacial and early glacial landscape evolution. Here, we use a range of morphometric analyses to constrain the nature of early glaciation and subsequent ice sheet evolution in the interior of East Antarctica, using a new digital elevation model of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, derived from an extensive airborne radar survey. We find that an inherited fluvial landscape confirms the existence of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains prior to the onset of glaciation at the Eocene–Oligocene climate boundary (ca. 34Ma). Features characteristic of glaciation, at a range of scales, are evident across the mountains. High elevation alpine valley heads, akin to cirques, identified throughout the mountains, are interpreted as evidence for early phases of glaciation in East Antarctica. The equilibrium line altitudes associated with these features, combined with information from fossil plant assemblages, suggest that they formed at, or prior to, 34Ma. It cannot be ruled out that they may have been eroded by ephemeral ice between the Late Cretaceous and the Eocene (100–34Ma). Hanging valleys, overdeepenings, truncated spurs and steep-sided, linear valley networks are indicative of a more widespread alpine glaciation in this region. These features represent ice growth at, or before, 33.7Ma and provide a minimum estimate for the scale of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet between ca. 34 and 14Ma, when dynamic fluctuations in ice extent are recorded at the coast of Antarctica. The implications are that the early East Antarctic Ice Sheet grew rapidly and developed a cold-based core that preserved the alpine landscape. The patterns of landscape evolution identified provide the earliest evidence for the development of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and can be used to test coupled ice–climate evolution models
Search for a heavy bottom-like quark in pp collisions at s=7 TeV

AbstractA search for pair-produced bottom-like quarks in pp collisions at s=7 TeV is conducted with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The decay b′→tW is considered in this search. The b′b¯′→tW−t¯W+ process can be identified by the distinctive signature of trileptons and same-sign dileptons. With a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb−1, no excess above the standard model background predictions is observed and a b′ quark with a mass between 255 and 361 GeV/c2 is excluded at the 95% confidence level
Plasma ceramide, a real-time predictive marker of pulmonary and hepatic metastases response to stereotactic body radiation therapy combined with irinotecan

AbstractBackground and purposesEarly biomarkers of tumour response are needed to discriminate between responders and non-responders to radiotherapy. We evaluated the ability of ceramide, a bioactive sphingolipid, to predict tumour sensitivity in patients treated by hypofractionated stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) combined with irinotecan chemotherapy.Materials and methodsPlasma levels of total ceramide and of its subspecies were measured before and during treatment in 35 patients with liver and lung oligometastases of colorectal cancer included in a phase II trial. Cer levels were quantified by LC–ESI-MS/MS and compared to tumour volume response evaluated one year later by CT-scan.ResultsPretreatment plasma ceramide levels were not indicative of tumour response. Nevertheless, the levels of total ceramide and of its 4 main subspecies were significantly higher at days 3 and 10 of treatment in objective responders than in non-responders. According to Kaplan–Meier curves, almost complete tumour control was achieved at 1year in patients with increased total ceramide levels whereas 50% of patients with decreased levels experienced an increase in tumour volume.ConclusionsTotal plasma ceramide is a promising biomarker of tumour response to SBRT combined with irinotecan that should enable to segregate patients with high risk of tumour escape
The Elliptic Gamma Function and SL(3, Z)⋉Z3

AbstractThe elliptic gamma function is a generalization of the Euler gamma function and is associated to an elliptic curve. Its trigonometric and rational degenerations are the Jackson q-gamma function and the Euler gamma function, respectively. The elliptic gamma function appears in Baxter's formula for the free energy of the eight-vertex model and in the hypergeometric solutions of the elliptic qKZB equations. In this paper, the properties of this function are studied. In particular we show that elliptic gamma functions are generalizations of automorphic forms of G=SL(3, Z)⋉Z3 associated to a non-trivial class in H3(G, Z)
Development of a high throughput PCR to detect Coxiella burnetii and its application in a diagnostic laboratory over a 7-year period

AbstractQ fever is a worldwide zoonotic infectious disease due to Coxiella burnetii. The clinical presentation may be acute (pneumonia and/or hepatitis) or chronic (most commonly endocarditis). Diagnosis mainly relies on serology and PCR. We therefore developed a quantitative real-time PCR. We first tested blindly its performance on various clinical samples and then, when thoroughly validated, we applied it during a 7-year period for the diagnosis of both acute and persistent C. burnetii infection. Analytical sensitivity (< 10 copies/PCR) was excellent. When tested blindly on 183 samples, the specificity of the PCR was 100% (142/142) and the sensitivity was 71% (29/41). The sensitivity was 88% (7/8) on valvular samples, 69% (20/29) on blood samples and 50% (2/4) on urine samples. This new quantitative PCR was then successfully applied for the diagnosis of acute Q fever and endovascular infection due to C. burnetii, allowing the diagnosis of Q fever in six patients over a 7-year period. During a local small cluster of cases, the PCR was also applied to blood from 1355 blood donors; all were negative confirming the high specificity of this test. In conclusion, we developed a highly specific method with excellent sensitivity, which may be used on sera for the diagnosis of acute Q fever and on various samples such as sera, valvular samples, aortic specimens, bone and liver, for the diagnosis of persistent C. burnetii infection
Resolving the polyphyletic nature of Pyricularia (Pyriculariaceae)

AbstractSpecies of Pyricularia (magnaporthe-like sexual morphs) are responsible for major diseases on grasses. Pyricularia oryzae (sexual morph Magnaporthe oryzae) is responsible for the major disease of rice called rice blast disease, and foliar diseases of wheat and millet, while Pyricularia grisea (sexual morph Magnaporthe grisea) is responsible for foliar diseases of Digitaria. Magnaporthe salvinii, M. poae and M. rhizophila produce asexual spores that differ from those of Pyricularia sensu stricto that has pyriform, 2-septate conidia produced on conidiophores with sympodial proliferation. Magnaporthe salvinii was recently allocated to Nakataea, while M. poae and M. rhizophila were placed in Magnaporthiopsis. To clarify the taxonomic relationships among species that are magnaporthe- or pyricularia-like in morphology, we analysed phylogenetic relationships among isolates representing a wide range of host plants by using partial DNA sequences of multiple genes such as LSU, ITS, RPB1, actin and calmodulin. Species of Pyricularia s. str. belong to a monophyletic clade that includes all P. oryzae/P. grisea isolates tested, defining the Pyriculariaceae, which is sister to the Ophioceraceae, representing two novel families. These clades are clearly distinct from species belonging to the Gaeumannomyces pro parte/Magnaporthiopsis/Nakataea generic complex that are monophyletic and define the Magnaporthaceae. A few magnaporthe- and pyricularia-like species are unrelated to Magnaporthaceae and Pyriculariaceae. Pyricularia oryzae/P. grisea isolates cluster into two related clades. Host plants such as Eleusine, Oryza, Setaria or Triticum were exclusively infected by isolates from P. oryzae, while some host plant such as Cenchrus, Echinochloa, Lolium, Pennisetum or Zingiber were infected by different Pyricularia species. This demonstrates that host range cannot be used as taxonomic criterion without extensive pathotyping. Our results also show that the typical pyriform, 2-septate conidium morphology of P. grisea/P. oryzae is restricted to Pyricularia and Neopyricularia, while most other genera have obclavate to more ellipsoid 2-septate conidia. Some related genera (Deightoniella, Macgarvieomyces) have evolved 1-septate conidia. Therefore, conidium morphology cannot be used as taxonomic criterion at generic level without phylogenetic data. We also identified 10 novel genera, and seven novel species. A re-evaluation of generic and species concepts within Pyriculariaceae is presented, and novelties are proposed based on morphological and phylogenetic data
The 3-loop non-singlet heavy flavor contributions to the structure function g1(x,Q2) at large momentum transfer

AbstractWe calculate the massive flavor non-singlet Wilson coefficient for the heavy flavor contributions to the polarized structure function g1(x,Q2) in the asymptotic region Q2≫m2 to 3-loop order in Quantum Chromodynamics at general values of the Mellin variable N and the momentum fraction x, and derive heavy flavor corrections to the Bjorken sum-rule. Numerical results are presented for the charm quark contribution. Results on the structure function g2(x,Q2) in the twist-2 approximation are also given
Do Characteristics of CEO and Chairman Influence Government- Linked Companies performance?

AbstractChairman is the leader of the board, responsibile to ensure that board is effective, communicate with the shareholders and a good relationship between board. While the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) plays a major role in managing and ensuring the business operations. This study examines the characteristics of CEO and Chairman of Government Linked Companies (GLCs) in Malaysia with firm performance using a sample of 80 companies for the period 2005-2009. This study finds that there are positive relationship among chairman's age, ethnicity, firm size and firm age, when regressed on Return on Assets (ROA). In terms of CEO characteristics, there are negative relationship for professional qualification, CEO age, firm age with ROA. In sum, it can be concluded that factors such as age, ethnicity, professional qualification, firm size and firm age do influence firm performance
Force-Clamp Analysis Techniques Give Highest Rank to Stretched Exponential Unfolding Kinetics in Ubiquitin

AbstractForce-clamp spectroscopy reveals the unfolding and disulfide bond rupture times of single protein molecules as a function of the stretching force, point mutations, and solvent conditions. The statistics of these times reveal whether the protein domains are independent of one another, the mechanical hierarchy in the polyprotein chain, and the functional form of the probability distribution from which they originate. It is therefore important to use robust statistical tests to decipher the correct theoretical model underlying the process. Here, we develop multiple techniques to compare the well-established experimental data set on ubiquitin with existing theoretical models as a case study. We show that robustness against filtering, agreement with a maximum likelihood function that takes into account experimental artifacts, the Kuiper statistic test, and alignment with synthetic data all identify the Weibull or stretched exponential distribution as the best fitting model. Our results are inconsistent with recently proposed models of Gaussian disorder in the energy landscape or noise in the applied force as explanations for the observed nonexponential kinetics. Because the physical model in the fit affects the characteristic unfolding time, these results have important implications on our understanding of the biological function of proteins
Search for colour reconnection effects in e+e−→W+W−→hadrons through particle-flow studies at LEP

AbstractA search for colour reconnection effects in hadronic decays of W pairs is performed with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 209 GeV. The analysis is based on the study of the particle flow between jets associated to the same W boson and between two different W bosons in qq̄qq̄ events. The ratio of particle yields in the different interjet regions is found to be sensitive to colour reconnection effects implemented in some hadronization models. The data are compared to different models with and without such effects. An extreme scenario of colour reconnection is ruled out
True-concurrency probabilistic models: Markov nets and a law of large numbers

AbstractWe introduce the model of Markov nets, a probabilistic extension of safe Petri nets under the true-concurrency semantics—this means that traces, not firing sequences, are given a probability. This model builds upon our previous work on probabilistic event structures. We use the notion of a branching cell for event structures, and show that the latter provides an adequate conception of local state for nets. We prove a Law of Large Numbers (LLN) for Markov nets, which constitutes the main contribution of the paper. This LLN allows for the characterization, in a quantitative way, of the asymptotic behavior of Markov nets
Teaching Design Thinking: Expanding Horizons in Design Education

AbstractThe term design thinking is increasingly used to mean the human-centred ‘open’ problem solving process decision makers use to solve real world ‘wicked’ problems. Claims have been made that design thinking in this sense can radically improve not only product innovation but also decision making in other fields, such as management, public health, and organizations in general. Many design and management schools in North America and elsewhere now include course offerings in design thinking though little is known about how successful these are with students. The lack of such courses in Australia presents an opportunity to design a curriculum for design thinking, employing design thinking's own practices. This paper describes the development of a design thinking course at Swinburne University taught simultaneously in Melbourne and Hong Kong. Following a pilot of the course in Semester 1, 2011 with 90 enrolled students across the two countries, we describe lessons learned to date and future course considerations as it is being taught in its second iteration.
Vacuum expectation value of a Wegner–Wilson loop near the light-cone

AbstractVacuum expectation values for one Wegner–Wilson loop representing a moving quark–antiquark pair are calculated in four-dimensional Euclidean and Minkowski space–time. The calculation uses gluon field strength correlators with perturbative gluon exchange and non-perturbative correlations from the stochastic vacuum model. The expectation value of a Wegner–Wilson loop forming a hyperbolic angle in Minkowski space–time is connected by an analytical continuation to the expectation value of the Wegner–Wilson loop in Euclidean four-space. The obtained result shows how confinement enters into the light-cone Hamiltonian for valence quarks independently of the chosen model
Role of PGE-type receptor 4 in auditory function and noise-induced hearing loss in mice

AbstractThis study explored the physiological roles of PGE-type receptor 4 (EP4) in auditory function. EP4-deficient mice exhibited slight hearing loss and a reduction of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) with loss of outer hair cells (OHCs) in cochleae. After exposure to intense noise, these mice showed significantly larger threshold shifts of auditory brain–stem responses (ABRs) and greater reductions of DPOAEs than wild-type mice. A significant increase of OHC loss was confirmed morphologically in the cochleae of EP4-deficient mice. Pharmacological inhibition of EP4 had a similar effect to genetic deletion, causing loss of both hearing and OHCs in C57BL/6 mice, indicating a critical role for EP4 signaling in the maintenance of auditory function. Pharmacological activation of EP4 significantly protected OHCs against noise trauma, and attenuated noise-induced hearing loss in C57BL/6 mice. These findings suggest that EP4 signaling is necessary for the maintenance of cochlear physiological function and for cochlear protection against noise-induced damage, in particular OHCs. EP4 might therefore be an effective target for cochlear disease therapeutics