pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Stakeholder attitudes on carbon capture and storage — An international comparison

AbstractThis paper presents results from a survey on stakeholder attitudes towards Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The survey is the first to make a global comparison across three major regions; USA, Japan, and Europe. The 30-question survey targeted individuals working at stakeholder organizations that seek to shape, and will need to respond to, policy on CCS, including electric utilities, oil & gas companies, CO2-intensive industries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).The results show generally small differences across the regions and between the different groups of stakeholders. All believed that the challenge of significant reductions in emissions using only current technologies was severe. There is a widespread belief both that renewable technologies such as solar power and CCS will achieve major market entry into the electricity sector within the next 10 to 20 years, whereas there is more skepticism about the role of hydrogen and especially nuclear fusion in the next 50 years. All groups were generally positive towards renewable energy. Yet, there were some notable areas of disagreement in the responses, for example, as expected, NGOs considered the threat of climate change to be more serious than the other groups. North Americans respondents were more likely to downplay the threat compared to those of the other regions. The Japanese were more concerned about the burden that would be placed on industry in the coming decade as a result of emissions constraints and NGOs were more likely to believe that the burden would be light or very light. NGOs believed CCS to be far more attractive than nuclear fusion power but much less than renewables. As expected, the risk for leakage from reservoirs was ranked number one of the risk options given
Loss of MAFB Function in Humans and Mice Causes Duane Syndrome, Aberrant Extraocular Muscle Innervation, and Inner-Ear Defects

Duane retraction syndrome (DRS) is a congenital eye-movement disorder defined by limited outward gaze and retraction of the eye on attempted inward gaze. Here, we report on three heterozygous loss-of-function MAFB mutations causing DRS and a dominant-negative MAFB mutation causing DRS and deafness. Using genotype-phenotype correlations in humans and Mafb-knockout mice, we propose a threshold model for variable loss of MAFB function. Postmortem studies of DRS have reported abducens nerve hypoplasia and aberrant innervation of the lateral rectus muscle by the oculomotor nerve. Our studies in mice now confirm this human DRS pathology. Moreover, we demonstrate that selectively disrupting abducens nerve development is sufficient to cause secondary innervation of the lateral rectus muscle by aberrant oculomotor nerve branches, which form at developmental decision regions close to target extraocular muscles. Thus, we present evidence that the primary cause of DRS is failure of the abducens nerve to fully innervate the lateral rectus muscle in early development
Spin-dependent part of pp¯ interaction cross section and Nijmegen potential

AbstractLow energy pp¯ interaction is considered taking into account the polarization of both particles. The corresponding cross sections are calculated using the Nijmegen nucleon–antinucleon optical potential. Then they are applied to the analysis of the polarization buildup which is due to the interaction of stored antiprotons with polarized protons of a hydrogen target. It is shown that, at realistic parameters of a storage ring and a target, the filtering mechanism may provide a noticeable polarization in a time comparable with the beam lifetime
Population-based resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates to pyrazinamide and fluoroquinolones: results from a multicountry surveillance project

SummaryBackgroundPyrazinamide and fluoroquinolones are essential antituberculosis drugs in new rifampicin-sparing regimens. However, little information about the extent of resistance to these drugs at the population level is available.MethodsIn a molecular epidemiology analysis, we used population-based surveys from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Pakistan, and South Africa to investigate resistance to pyrazinamide and fluoroquinolones among patients with tuberculosis. Resistance to pyrazinamide was assessed by gene sequencing with the detection of resistance-conferring mutations in the pncA gene, and susceptibility testing to fluoroquinolones was conducted using the MGIT system.FindingsPyrazinamide resistance was assessed in 4972 patients. Levels of resistance varied substantially in the surveyed settings (3·0–42·1%). In all settings, pyrazinamide resistance was significantly associated with rifampicin resistance. Among 5015 patients who underwent susceptibility testing to fluoroquinolones, proportions of resistance ranged from 1·0–16·6% for ofloxacin, to 0·5–12·4% for levofloxacin, and 0·9–14·6% for moxifloxacin when tested at 0·5 μg/mL. High levels of ofloxacin resistance were detected in Pakistan. Resistance to moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin when tested at 2 μg/mL was low in all countries.InterpretationAlthough pyrazinamide resistance was significantly associated with rifampicin resistance, this drug may still be effective in 19–63% of patients with rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis. Even though the high level of resistance to ofloxacin found in Pakistan is worrisome because it might be the expression of extensive and unregulated use of fluoroquinolones in some parts of Asia, the negligible levels of resistance to fourth-generation fluoroquinolones documented in all survey sites is an encouraging finding. Rational use of this class of antibiotics should therefore be ensured to preserve its effectiveness.FundingBill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United States Agency for International Development, Global Alliance for Tuberculosis Drug Development
Tutor-mediated Support in Blended Learning

AbstractHigher education in Russia is actively encouraged to use blended learning as a response to main trends of modern education oriented to a competency-based approach, paradigm shift to students’ self-study training, transfer from the principle of “one education for a lifetime” to “lifelong learning throughout a lifetime”, freedom of university choice, academic mobility, education computerization and usage of new information. The efficacy of blended learning however doesn’t consist in simple integration of online component with traditional face-to-face classes. Tutor-mediated support is a key element of any blended course and it is able to provide the more effective use of technology. The article presents the idea of online tutoring that supports and enhances blended learning. We focus mainly on stresses and special duties placed on the tutor to cater effectively for all the needs of course participants
Exact solution of a Stefan problem in a nonhomogeneous cylinder

AbstractThe exact solution is found for the Stefan problem of inwards freezing of a nonhomogeneous cylinder whose specific heat and latent heat depend upon the inverse square of the radial distance. The freezing time for the corresponding annular cylinder is found exactly. The validity of the pseudo-steady-state approximation for the solvable cylinder problem is verified explicitly. It is argued that the exact solution for the solvable cylinder problem may be used as a small-time start-up solution for numerical procedures for general axi-symmetric cylinder problems and for general Stefan numbers
Molecular mechanisms of action of different concentrations of ethanol in water on ordered structures of intercellular lipids and soft keratin in the stratum corneum

AbstractEthanol (EtOH) is one of the bases in topically applied medicines that promote the skin permeation of drugs. Although the effects of EtOH have been attributed to structural modifications in the stratum corneum, the underlying mechanisms, especially the influence of different concentrations of EtOH, have not been examined extensively. Structural modifications in the stratum corneum of hairless mouse due to the application of EtOH/water mixture were herein investigated at the molecular level using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The results revealed that all EtOH concentrations examined greatly modified the short lamellar structures containing the aqueous layer in intercellular lipids and the structure of keratin fibrils in corneocytes, which can take up hydrophilic compounds. However, the long lamellar and the hydrocarbon-chain packing structures were unaffected by EtOH. Changes to the short lamellar structures were not proportional to the concentration of EtOH. However, the keratin fibril structures changed gradually with increasing EtOH concentration. The X-ray diffraction experiments enabled the effects of different EtOH concentrations on the morphology of the stratum corneum to be assessed by using a number of experimental samples to avoid variations due to individual differences. The results indicated that alterations to the short lamellar structures appeared to be related to the skin permeability of drugs with the application of EtOH/water mixture, and monotonous structural changes in the keratin fibrils with an increase in EtOH concentration may contribute to this permeation as supplement. These results will be useful for the development of new drug formulations containing EtOH
Search for new particles decaying to ZZ using final states with leptons and jets with the ATLAS detector in s=7 TeV proton–proton collisions

AbstractA search is presented for a narrow resonance decaying to a pair of Z bosons using data corresponding to 1.02 fb−1 of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS experiment from pp collisions at s=7 TeV. Events containing either four charged leptons (ℓℓℓℓ) or two charged leptons and two jets (ℓℓjj) are analyzed and found to be consistent with the Standard Model background expectation. Lower limits on a resonance mass are set using the Randall–Sundrum (RS1) graviton model as a benchmark. Using both ℓℓℓℓ and ℓℓjj events, an RS1 graviton with k/m¯pl=0.1 and mass between 325 and 845 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level. In addition, the ℓℓℓℓ events are used to set a model-independent fiducial cross section limit of σfid(pp→X→ZZ)<0.92pb at 95% confidence level for any new sources of ZZ production with mZZ greater than 300 GeV
General f(R) and conformal inflation from minimal supergravity plus matter

AbstractWe embed general f(R) inflationary models in minimal supergravity plus matter, a single chiral superfield Φ, with or without another superfield S, via a Jordan frame Einstein+scalar description. In particular, inflationary models like a generalized Starobinsky one are analyzed and constraints on them are found. We also embed the related models of conformal inflation, also described as Jordan frame Einstein+scalar models, in particular the conformal inflation from the Higgs model, and analyze the inflationary constraints on them
Pullback attractors in V for non-autonomous 2D-Navier–Stokes equations and their tempered behaviour

AbstractIn this paper the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions to a non-autonomous 2D-Navier–Stokes model is analyzed when the initial datum belongs to V, for two frameworks: the universe of fixed bounded sets, and also for another universe given by a tempered condition. The existence of pullback attractors in these different universes is established, and thanks to regularity properties, the relation between these several families of attractors and the corresponding in H is successfully studied. Finally, two results about the tempered behaviour in V and (H2(Ω))2 of the pullback attractors, when time goes to −∞, are obtained
Lagrangian and Hamiltonian structures in an integrable hierarchy and space–time duality

AbstractWe define and illustrate the novel notion of dual integrable hierarchies, on the example of the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) hierarchy. For each integrable nonlinear evolution equation (NLEE) in the hierarchy, dual integrable structures are characterized by the fact that the zero-curvature representation of the NLEE can be realized by two Hamiltonian formulations stemming from two distinct choices of the configuration space, yielding two inequivalent Poisson structures on the corresponding phase space and two distinct Hamiltonians. This is fundamentally different from the standard bi-Hamiltonian or generally multitime structure. The first formulation chooses purely space-dependent fields as configuration space; it yields the standard Poisson structure for NLS. The other one is new: it chooses purely time-dependent fields as configuration space and yields a different Poisson structure at each level of the hierarchy. The corresponding NLEE becomes a space evolution equation. We emphasize the role of the Lagrangian formulation as a unifying framework for deriving both Poisson structures, using ideas from covariant field theory. One of our main results is to show that the two matrices of the Lax pair satisfy the same form of ultralocal Poisson algebra (up to a sign) characterized by an r-matrix structure, whereas traditionally only one of them is involved in the classical r-matrix method. We construct explicit dual hierarchies of Hamiltonians, and Lax representations of the triggered dynamics, from the monodromy matrices of either Lax matrix. An appealing procedure to build a multi-dimensional lattice of Lax pair, through successive uses of the dual Poisson structures, is briefly introduced
Effective Prüfer angles and relative oscillation criteria

AbstractWe present a streamlined approach to relative oscillation criteria based on effective Prüfer angles adapted to the use at the edges of the essential spectrum.Based on this we provided a new scale of oscillation criteria for general Sturm–Liouville operators which answer the question whether a perturbation inserts a finite or an infinite number of eigenvalues into an essential spectral gap. As a special case we recover and generalize the Gesztesy–Ünal criterion (which works below the spectrum and contains classical criteria by Kneser, Hartman, Hille, and Weber) and the well-known results by Rofe-Beketov including the extensions by Schmidt
The promise of enhancer-associated long noncoding RNAs in cardiac regeneration

AbstractHeart failure is a worldwide epidemic and represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Current clinical therapies for heart disease prolong survival by protecting the viable muscle, but they are unable to replenish lost cardiomyocytes to restore function. Over the last decade, the notion of promoting cardiac regeneration has engendered considerable research interest. New strategies envisage the transfer of stem cells into the damaged myocardium, the mobilization of cardiac precursor cells, the promotion of cardiomyocyte proliferation in situ and direct reprogramming of non-cardiac cells into electromechanically coupled cardiomyocytes. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underpinning these different regenerative avenues are under the control of integrated transcriptional programs, which are ultimately dependent on epigenomic reprogramming and reorganization of the genome nuclear architecture. Today, it is becoming evident that regulatory noncoding RNAs play fundamental roles in all these aspects of gene regulatory network activity. In particular, thousands of long noncoding RNAs are dynamically expressed across the entire genome during lineage-specific commitment, specialization, and differentiation, as well as during the response to environmental cues. Here, we review this emerging landscape, focusing particularly on a unique class of lncRNA emerging from enhancer sequences, the enhancer-associated lncRNAs, in the context of cardiac regeneration. We propose that characterizing and manipulating these enhancer-associated transcripts could provide a novel approach to awaken the dormant regenerative potential of the adult mammalian heart. Ultimately, this could lead to targeted noncoding RNA-based enhancer therapies to improve effectiveness of current regenerative strategies and provide new avenues for repair
Creating value in retail buyer–vendor relationships: A service-centered model

AbstractWe present a “service-centered” model of retail buyer–vendor relationships, in which retail buyers' perceptions of a vendor's economic and social resources affect their assessments of relationship value and relationship outcomes. Economic resources offered at the organizational level of the vendor include brand equity and customer support activities (e.g., merchandising support and margin maintenance). Social resources offered at the individual level of the salesperson include special treatment and customer advocacy. Relationship outcomes include the buyer's intention to grow the business, and in the event of business termination, maintain the interpersonal relationship with the sales representative. Survey data from 532 retail buyers were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results show that relationship value mediates the effects of economic and social resources on relationship outcomes. However, the process by which this occurs varies
Quantifying and minimising systematic and random errors in X-ray micro-tomography based volume measurements

AbstractX-ray micro-tomography (XMT) is increasingly used for the quantitative analysis of the volumes of features within the 3D images. As with any measurement, there will be error and uncertainty associated with these measurements. In this paper a method for quantifying both the systematic and random components of this error in the measured volume is presented. The systematic error is the offset between the actual and measured volume which is consistent between different measurements and can therefore be eliminated by appropriate calibration. In XMT measurements this is often caused by an inappropriate threshold value. The random error is not associated with any systematic offset in the measured volume and could be caused, for instance, by variations in the location of the specific object relative to the voxel grid. It can be eliminated by repeated measurements. It was found that both the systematic and random components of the error are a strong function of the size of the object measured relative to the voxel size. The relative error in the volume was found to follow approximately a power law relationship with the volume of the object, but with an exponent that implied, unexpectedly, that the relative error was proportional to the radius of the object for small objects, though the exponent did imply that the relative error was approximately proportional to the surface area of the object for larger objects. In an example application involving the size of mineral grains in an ore sample, the uncertainty associated with the random error in the volume is larger than the object itself for objects smaller than about 8 voxels and is greater than 10% for any object smaller than about 260 voxels. A methodology is presented for reducing the random error by combining the results from either multiple scans of the same object or scans of multiple similar objects, with an uncertainty of less than 5% requiring 12 objects of 100 voxels or 600 objects of 4 voxels. As the systematic error in a measurement cannot be eliminated by combining the results from multiple measurements, this paper introduces a procedure for using volume standards to reduce the systematic error, especially for smaller objects where the relative error is larger
Decay constants of the charmed vector mesons D⁎ and Ds⁎ from QCD sum rules

AbstractWe present a sum-rule calculation of the decay constants of the charmed vector mesons D⁎ and Ds⁎ from the two-point correlator of vector currents. First, we show that the perturbative expansion in terms of the pole mass exhibits no sign of convergence whereas the reorganization of this expansion in terms of the MS¯ mass leads to a distinct hierarchy. Second, making use of the operator product expansion in terms of the MS¯ mass, we determine the decay constants of the D⁎ and Ds⁎ mesons with an emphasis on the uncertainties in these theoretically predicted quantities related both to the input QCD parameters and to the limited accuracy of the method of sum rules. Our results are fD⁎=(252.2±22.3OPE±4syst) MeV and fDs⁎=(305.5±26.8OPE±5syst) MeV. For the ratios of the vector-to-pseudoscalar decay constants we report fD⁎/fD=1.221±0.080OPE±0.008syst and fDs⁎/fDs=1.241±0.057OPE±0.007syst
Dirichlet–Neumann inverse spectral problem for a star graph of Stieltjes strings

AbstractWe solve two inverse spectral problems for star graphs of Stieltjes strings with Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions, respectively, at a selected vertex called root. The root is either the central vertex or, in the more challenging problem, a pendant vertex of the star graph. At all other pendant vertices Dirichlet conditions are imposed; at the central vertex, at which a mass may be placed, continuity and Kirchhoff conditions are assumed. We derive conditions on two sets of real numbers to be the spectra of the above Dirichlet and Neumann problems. Our solution for the inverse problems is constructive: we establish algorithms to recover the mass distribution on the star graph (i.e. the point masses and lengths of subintervals between them) from these two spectra and from the lengths of the separate strings. If the root is a pendant vertex, the two spectra uniquely determine the parameters on the main string (i.e. the string incident to the root) if the length of the main string is known. The mass distribution on the other edges need not be unique; the reason for this is the non-uniqueness caused by the non-strict interlacing of the given data in the case when the root is the central vertex. Finally, we relate of our results to tree-patterned matrix inverse problems
Nonmonotone travelling waves in a single species reaction–diffusion equation with delay

AbstractWe prove the existence of a continuous family of positive and generally nonmonotone travelling fronts for delayed reaction–diffusion equations ut(t,x)=Δu(t,x)−u(t,x)+g(u(t−h,x))(∗), when g∈C2(R+,R+) has exactly two fixed points: x1=0 and x2=K>0. Recently, nonmonotonic waves were observed in numerical simulations by various authors. Here, for a wide range of parameters, we explain why such waves appear naturally as the delay h increases. For the case of g with negative Schwarzian, our conditions are rather optimal; we observe that the well known Mackey–Glass-type equations with diffusion fall within this subclass of (∗). As an example, we consider the diffusive Nicholson's blowflies equation
Galactic production of 138La: Impact of 138,139La statistical properties

AbstractThe γ-ray strength functions and nuclear level densities of 138La and 139La have been measured below the neutron separation energies. These new data were used to calculate astrophysical Maxwellian-averaged (n,γ) cross-sections to investigate the production and destruction of the p-nucleus 138La in the photodisintegration process. The results confirm the underproduction of 138La in the p-process with respect to the observed abundances and strongly support the ν-process through νe capture on 138Ba as the main contributor to the synthesis of 138La in Type II supernovae
BC∞ Calogero–Moser operator and super Jacobi polynomials

AbstractAn infinite-dimensional version of Calogero–Moser operator of BC-type and the corresponding Jacobi symmetric functions are introduced and studied, including the analogues of Pieri formula and Okounkov's binomial formula. We use this to describe all the ideals linearly generated by the Jacobi symmetric functions and show that the deformed BC(m,n) Calogero–Moser operators, introduced in our earlier work, appear here in a natural way as the restrictions of the BC∞ operator to the corresponding finite-dimensional subvarieties. As a corollary we have the integrability of these quantum systems and all the main formulas for the related super Jacobi polynomials