pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Monitoring of coastal and transitional waters under the E.U. Water Framework Directive

Abstract  A set of guidelines are presented for the definition of monitoring plans in coastal and transitional (estuarine and lagoonal) systems subject to the European Union Water Framework Directive – WFD (2000/60/EC). General principles of best practice in monitoring are outlined, including (a) the definition of three types of broad management objectives: water quality, conservation, and human use, to which the general public may easily relate. These will define the core and research indicators (WFD quality elements) to be used for monitoring; (b) priorities and optimisation in a (financially and logistically) resource-constrained environment; (c) quality assurance; and (d) assessment of monitoring success: this should focus on the outputs, i.e. the internal audit of the monitoring activity, and on the outcomes. The latter component assesses programme effectiveness, i.e. environmental success based on a set of clearly-defined targets, and informs management action. The second part of this work discusses the approach and actions to be carried out for implementing WFD surveillance, operational and investigative monitoring. Appropriate spatial and temporal scales for surveillance monitoring of different indicators are suggested, and operational monitoring is classified into either screening or verification procedures, with an emphasis on the relationship between drivers, pressure, state and response. WFD investigative monitoring is interpreted as applied research, and thus guidelines cannot be prescriptive, except insofar as to provide examples of currently acceptable approaches. Specific case studies are presented for both operational (coastal eutrophication control) and investigative monitoring (harmful algal blooms), in order to illustrate the practical application of these monitoring guidelines. Further information is available at http://www.monae.org/.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9643-
Evaluation of host-guest complex formation between a benzimidazolic derivative and cyclodextrins by UV-VIS spectrophotometry and differential scanning calorimetry

Abstract  Interactions between a benzimidazolic derivative, omeprazole (OME), beta-cyclodextrin (ßCD) and a chemically modified ßCD, methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MßCD) were investigated in aqueous solution by UV-VIS spectroscopy and in solid state by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Phase solubility studies were used to evaluate the complexation in aqueous solution. The two solubility diagrams obtained were AL type, indicating the formation of a drug-cyclodextrin complex with 1:1 stoichiometry. The complex of OME with MßCD showed a higher stability constant (K S) than those with ßCD. Some evidences of inclusion complexation in solid state were obtained from DSC. Only in thermal curves of OME-ßCD lyophilized product and in OME-MßCD spray-dried and lyophilized systems the melting point of the drug disappeared completely suggesting the possible formation of an inclusion complex.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10847-006-9245-
An electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer in the Fractional Quantum Hall
  effect

We compute the interference pattern of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer
operating in the fractional quantum Hall effect. Our theoretical proposal is
inspired by a remarkable experiment on edge states in the Integer Quantum Hall
effect (IQHE). The Luttinger liquid model is solved via two independent
methods: refermionization at nu=1/2 and the Bethe Ansatz solution available for
Laughlin fractions. The current differs strongly from that of single electrons
in the strong backscattering regime. The Fano factor is periodic in the flux,
and it exhibits a sharp transition from sub-Poissonian (charge e/2) to
Poissonian (charge e) in the neighborhood of destructive interferences
Strings in gravity with torsion

A theory of gravitation in 4D is presented with strings used in the material action in $U_4$ spacetime. It is shown that the string naturally gives rise to torsion. It is also shown that the equation of motion a string follows from the Bianchi identity, gives the identical result as the Noether conservation laws, and follows a geodesic only in the lowest order approximation. In addition, the conservation laws show that strings naturally have spin, which arises not from their motion but from their one dimensional structure
Strategic modulation of the photonic properties of conjugated organometallic Pt–Ir polymers exhibiting hybrid CT-excited states

This research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Date of Acceptance: 22/10/2014Polymer 6, ([trans-Pt(PBu3)2(C≡C)2]-[Ir(dFMeppy)2(N^N)](PF6))n, (([Pt]-[Ir](PF6))n; N^N = 5,5′-disubstituted-2,2′-bipyridyl; dFMeppy = 2-(2,4-difluoro-phenyl)-5-methylpyridine) is prepared along with model compounds. These complexes are investigated by absorption and emission spectroscopy and their photophysical and electrochemical properties are measured and compared with their corresponding non fluorinated complexes. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT computations corroborate the nature of the excited state as being a hybrid between the metal-to-ligand charge transfer (1,3MLCT) for the trans-Pt(PBu3)2(C≡CAr)2 unit, [Pt] and the metal-to-ligand/ligand-to-ligand′ charge transfer (1,3ML′CT/LL′CT) for [Ir] with L = dFMeppy. Overall, the fluorination of the phenylpyridine group expectedly does not change the nature of the excited state but desirably induces a small blue shift of the absorption and emission bands along a slight decrease in emission quantum yields and lifetimes.PostprintPeer reviewe
Comparative metal distribution in scalp hair of Pakistani and Irish referents and hypertensive patients

The abnormal metabolism of metal ions plays an important role in health and disease conditions, and studies about them have been attracting significant interest. The aim of our study was to assess the heavy metals (cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn)) in scalp hair samples of 50 Irish and 78 Pakistani hypertensive patients of an urban population together with 50 Irish and 96 Pakistani non-hypertensive male subjects in the age group of 30–50 years. The concentrations of trace and toxic elements were measured by inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrophotometer and atomic absorption spectrophotometer before microwave-assisted acid digestion. The validity and accuracy of the methodology were checked using certified reference materials, and by the conventional wet acid digestion method on the same certified reference materials and on real samples. The recovery of all the studied elements was found to be in the range of 97.5–99.7% in certified reference material. The results of this study showed that the mean values of cadmium, nickel, and lead were significantly higher in scalp hair samples of both Pakistani and Irish hypertensive patients than in referents (p < 0.001); whereas, the concentration of zinc was lower in the scalp hair samples of hypertensive patients of both genders. The deficiency of zinc and the high exposure of trace and toxic metals may be the risk factors associated with hypertension
Integrated low-carbon location-routing method for the demand side of a product distribution supply chain: a DoE-guided MOPSO optimiser-based solution approach

This article contributes to location-routing literature on three inter-linked aspects viz., formulation of a novel integrated low-carbon/green location-routing model for the demand side of a Supply Chain (SC) with a single product and multiple consumers, i.e., Drop-off Points (DoPs), a novel and robust solution approach through a Design of Experiment (DoE)-guided Multiple-Objective Particle Swarm Optimisation (MOPSO) optimiser and exhaustive analysis of the location-routing solutions (i.e., prioritisation, ranking and scenario analysis). The total costs, CO2 emission and the traversed distances of the vehicles during transportation are optimised. The optimisation model for the strategic decision-making is formulated by effectively integrating the 0-1 mixed-integer programming with a green constraint based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Due to the computationally NP-hard characteristic of the model a systematic and technically robust DoE-guided solution approach is designed using a commercial solver – modeFRONTIER® . DoE guides the solution through the MOPSO optimiser in order to eliminate the un-realistic set of feasible and optimal solution sets. A popular multi-attribute decision-making approach, TOPSIS, evaluates the solutions found from the Pareto optimal solution space of the solver. Finally decision-makers’ preferences are analysed for monitoring the changes in the controlling parameters with respect to the changes in the decisions. A scenario analysis of the location-routing events by considering alternative possible outcomes is also conducted. It is found that the implemented methodology successfully routes the vehicles with optimal costs and low-carbon emission thus contributing to greening the environment on the demand side of a SC network
Application of Independent Components Analysis with the JADE algorithm and NIR hyperspectral imaging for revealing food adulteration

In recent years, Independent Components Analysis (ICA) has proven itself to be a powerful signal-processing technique for solving the Blind-Source Separation (BSS) problems in different scientific domains. In the present work, an application of ICA for processing NIR hyperspectral images to detect traces of peanut in wheat flour is presented. Processing was performed without a priori knowledge of\ud
the chemical composition of the two food materials. The aim was to extract the source signals of the different\ud
chemical components from the initial data set and to use them in order to determine the distribution of peanut traces in the hyperspectral images. To determine the optimal number of independent component to be extracted, the Random ICA by blocks method was used. This method is based on the repeated calculation of several models using an increasing number of independent components after randomly segmenting the matrix data into two blocks and then calculating the correlations between the signals\ud
extracted from the two blocks. The extracted ICA signals were interpreted and their ability to classify\ud
peanut and wheat flour was studied. Finally, all the extracted ICs were used to construct a single synthetic\ud
signal that could be used directly with the hyperspectral images to enhance the contrast between the peanut and the wheat flours in a real multi-use industrial environment. Furthermore, feature extraction methods (connected components labelling algorithm followed by flood fill method to extract object contours) were applied in order to target the spatial location of the presence of peanut traces. A good visualization of the distributions of peanut traces was thus obtaine
Inter-organizational information systems adoption for service innovation in building sector

The building sector has experienced a significant decline in recent years in Spain and Europe as a result of the financial crisis that began in 2007. This drop accompanies a low penetration of information and communication technologies in inter-organizational oriented business processes. The market decrease is causing a slowdown in the building sector, where only flexible small and medium enterprises (SMEs) survive thanks to specialization and innovation in services, which allow them to face new market demands. Inter-organizational information systems (IOISs) support innovation in services, and are thus a strategic tool for SMEs to obtain competitive advantage. Because of the inherent complexity of IOIS adoption, this research extends Kurnia and Johnston's (2000) theoretical model of IOIS adoption with an empirical model of IOIS characterization. The resultant model identifies the factors influencing IOIS adoption in SMEs in the building sector, to promote further service innovation for competitive and collaborative advantages. An empirical longitudinal study over six consecutive years using data from Spanish SMEs in the building sector validates the model, using the partial least squares technique and analyzing temporal stability. The main findings of this research are the four ways an IOIS might contribute to service innovation in the building sector. Namely: a) improving client interfaces and the link between service providers and end users; b) defining a specific market where SMEs can develop new service concepts; c) enhancing the service delivery system in traditional customer?supplier relationships; and d) introducing information and communication technologies and tools to improve information management
Governing enclosure for coastal communities: Social embeddedness in a Canadian shrimp fishery

Critical analyses of neoliberalism׳s influence on fisheries governance have documented how enclosure, quota leasing and renting, and commodification can precipitate negative social consequences for fishing communities. By contrast, this paper draws on the concept of embeddedness to argue that certain policies and social relations can regulate enclosure, quota renting, and commodification in ways that empower community-based groups to facilitate the anchoring of fishery resources and wealth in coastal communities. It does so through an analysis of northern shrimp fisheries in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, between the 1970s and the early 2000s. This case study illustrates how fisheries enclosure policies informed by geographically and morally defined principles of access and equity and limits on commodification can meaningfully embed fishery resources and benefits in rural and remote coastal regions that depend on small-scale fishing. Although the application of social principles continues to be marginalized in the context of neoliberal policy regimes that privilege individual economic efficiency over distributive concerns, this paper provides new insight into the conditions under which principles of ethical allocation and distribution of resources are able to persist through an era of neoliberalism
Recursion relation for boundary contribution

It is well known that under a BCFW-deformation, there is a boundary contribution when the amplitude scales as O z 0 $$ \mathcal{O}\left({z}^0\right) $$ or worse. We show that boundary contributions have a similar recursion relation as scattering amplitude. Just like the BCFW recursion relation, where scattering amplitudes are expressed as the products of two on-shell subamplitudes (plus possible boundary contributions), our new recursion relation expresses boundary contributions as products of sub-amplitudes and boundary contributions with less legs, plus yet another possible boundary contribution. In other words, the complete scattering amplitude, including boundary contributions, can be obtained by multiple steps of recursions, unless the boundary contributions are still non-zero when all possible deformations are exploited. We demonstrate this algorithm by several examples. Especially, we show that for standard model like renormalizable theory in 4D, i.e., the theory including only gauge boson, fermions and scalars, the complete amplitude can always be computed by at most four recursive steps using our algorithm
A closer look at a hint of SUSY at the 8 TeV LHC

A recent CMS analysis has reported the observation of an excess in the invariant mass distribution of the opposite-sign same-flavour lepton pair, which can be interpreted as a kinematic edge due to new physics. Using collider simulation tools, we recast relevant LHC search results reported by ATLAS and CMS collaborations in order to determine constraints on supersymmetric models that could produce the observed features. In particular, we focus on models involving cascade decays of light-flavour squarks and sbottoms. We find no favourable supersymmetry scenario within our exploration that could explain the origin of the excess when other LHC constraints are taken into account
Large- N limit of the gradient flow in the 2D O(N) nonlinear sigma model

The gradient flow equation in the 2D nonlinear sigma model with lattice regularization is solved in the leading order of the expansion. By using this solution, we analytically compute the thermal expectation value of a lattice energy–momentum tensor defined through the gradient flow. The expectation value reproduces thermodynamic quantities obtained by the standard large- method. This analysis confirms that the above lattice energy–momentum tensor restores the correct normalization automatically in the continuum limit, in a system with a non-perturbative mass gap
Worldline approach to semi-classical conformal blocks

We extend recent results on semi-classical conformal blocks in 2d CFT and their relation to 3D gravity via the AdS/CFT correspondence. We consider four-point functions with two heavy and two light external operators, along with the exchange of a light operator. By explicit computation, we establish precise agreement between these CFT objects and a simple picture of particle worldlines joined by cubic vertices propagating in asymptotically AdS 3 geometries (conical defects or BTZ black holes). We provide a simple argument that explains this agreement
A technical note on the bias in the estimation of the b-value and its uncertainty through the Least Squares technique

We investigate conceptually, analytically, and numerically the biases in the estimation of the b-value of the
Gutenberg-Richter Law and of its uncertainty made through the least squares technique. The biases are introduced
by the cumulation operation for the cumulative form of the Gutenberg-Richter Law, by the logarithmic
transformation, and by the measurement errors on the magnitude. We find that the least squares technique, applied
to the cumulative and binned form of the Gutenberg-Richter Law, produces strong bias in the b-value and
its uncertainty, whose amplitudes depend on the size of the sample. Furthermore, the logarithmic transformation
produces two different endemic bends in the Log(N) versus M curve. This means that this plot might produce
fake significant departures from the Gutenberg-Richter Law. The effect of the measurement errors is negligible
compared to those of cumulation operation and logarithmic transformation. The results obtained show that the
least squares technique should never be used to determine the slope of the Gutenberg-Richter Law and its uncertainty
Comparative Endoscopic Anatomic Description of the Mitral Valvular Complex: a Cadaveric Study

Background We compared the aortic, left atrial, and apical approaches to visualize the mitral valve with the goal to investigate the endoscopic anatomy and give exact step-by-step descriptions of these views. Materials and Methods The mitral valvular complex of human cadaveric fresh hearts was investigated from three approaches using 0, 30, and 70 degrees rigid endoscopic optics. In 30 cases after the removal of the hearts, the endoscopes were introduced directly into the aortic root through an aortotomy, left atrium through a standard atriotomy, and apex of the heart through a transmural incision. In 10 cases, the in situ visualization was performed using standard surgical approaches, such as partial upper ministernotomy, right and left minithoracotomy. The investigation was performed first with the mitral valve open, then the left ventricle was filled with saline, and the valve was closed by clamping the aorta. Results For the visualization of ventricular surfaces of the mitral leaflets and the subvalvular  apparatus, the apical approach was most optimal. The aortic approach had limitations at the posterior leaflet. Using the atrial approach, we did not obtain any direct visual information about the subvalvular apparatus with the valve closed. The atrial surfaces of the leaflets were best visible using both the atrial and apical approaches with the mitral valve open. In the case of a closed valve, the apical approach did not allow for an investigation of the atrial surfaces. The aortic approach was useful to visualize the atrial surface of the posterior leaflet with an opened valve. Conclusion In mitral valve repairs through the left atrium, an additional aortic or apical view could be useful to obtain functional information about the subvalvular apparatus by the sealing probe
The canonical equation of adaptive dynamics for life histories: from fitness-returns to selection gradients and Pontryagin's maximum principle

This paper should be read as addendum to Dieckmann et al. (J Theor Biol 241:370.389, 2006) and Parvinen et al. (J Math Biol 67:509-533, 2013) Our goal is, using little more than high-school calculus, to (1) exhibit the form of the canonical equation of adaptive  dynamics for classical life history problems, where the examples in Dieckmann et al. (J Theor Biol 24:370.389, 2006) and Parvinen et  al. (J Math Biol 67: 509.533, 2013) are chosen such that they avoid a number of the problems that one gets in this most relevant of  applications, (2) derive the fitness gradient occurring in the CE from simple fitness return argument, (3) show explicitly that setting said  fitness gradient equal to zero results in the classical marginal value principle from evolutionary ecology, (4) show that the latter in turn is  equivalent to Pontryagin's maximum principle, a well known equivalence that however in the literature is given either ex cathedra or is  proven with more advanced tools, (5) connect the classical optimisation arguments of life history theory a little better to real biology  (Mendelian populations with separate sexes subject to an environmental feedback loop), (6) make a minor improvement to the form of the  CE for the examples in Dieckmann et al. and Parvinen et al
Soil contribution to carbon budget of Russian forests

The flux of CO2 from the soil to the atmosphere-soil respiration (RS), is one of the least known components of the terrestrial carbon cycle. RS depends on many factors and varies substantially in time and space. High uncertainty of RS flux valuation leads to a wide range of reported carbon budget estimates for Russian forests. We developed a modeling system for assessing soil carbon stock and heterotrophic soil respiration based on a possible maximum of relevant input indicators. The most comprehensive databases of RS in situ measurements focused on Northern Eurasia (780 records for the region) has been used. A statistical model for assessing RS of Russian forests and its separation in autotrophic and heterotrophic parts were elaborated based on in situ measurements, climate parameters, soil and land cover datasets. The spatial resolution of the model is 1 km2. Russian forest soil accumulated 144.5 Pg C (or 17.6 kg C/m2) in 1 m depth, including 8.3 Pg C (or 1.0 kg C/m2) in the labile topsoil organic layer. The total heterotrophic soil respiration (RH) flux for the Russian forest is estimated at 1.7 Pg C/yr (206 g C/m2/yr) that comprises 65% of Net Primary Production (NPP) and together with NPP is one of two major components of the net ecosystem carbon balance comprising on average 546 Tg C/yr (66 g C/m2/yr) for 2007-2009. Interannual variability or RH in 1996-2005 was estimated at 4.1% for forests of the whole country and typically from 5 to 11% for large individual regions with an average linear trend +0.2% per year. The uncertainty of annual average of RH was estimated at 8% (confidential interval 0.9)
Automated Code Generation for Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics and beyond

LPT-Orsay-14-142International audienceWe present here our ongoing work on a Domain Specific Language which aims to simplify Monte-Carlo simulations and measurements in the domain of Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics. The tool-chain, called Qiral, is used to produce high-performance OpenMP C code from LaTeX sources. We discuss conceptual issues and details of implementation and optimization. The comparison of the performance of the generated code to the well-established simulation software is also made