pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Tuberculosis and mass gatherings—opportunities for defining burden, transmission risk, and the optimal surveillance, prevention, and control measures at the annual Hajj pilgrimage

SummaryTuberculosis (TB) is now the most common infectious cause of death worldwide. In 2014, an estimated 9.6 million people developed active TB. There were an estimated three million people with active TB including 360000 with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) who were not diagnosed, and such people continue to fuel TB transmission in the community. Accurate data on the actual burden of TB and the transmission risk associated with mass gatherings are scarce and unreliable due to the small numbers studied and methodological issues. Every year, an estimated 10 million pilgrims from 184 countries travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to perform the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages. A large majority of pilgrims come from high TB burden and MDR-TB endemic areas and thus many may have undiagnosed active TB, sub-clinical TB, and latent TB infection. The Hajj pilgrimage provides unique opportunities for the KSA and the 184 countries from which pilgrims originate, to conduct high quality priority research studies on TB under the remit of the Global Centre for Mass Gatherings Medicine. Research opportunities are discussed, including those related to the definition of the TB burden, transmission risk, and the optimal surveillance, prevention, and control measures at the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The associated data are required to develop international recommendations and guidelines for TB management and control at mass gathering events
Search for pair produced fourth-generation up-type quarks in pp collisions at s=7 TeV with a lepton in the final state

AbstractThe results of a search for the pair production of a fourth-generation up-type quark (t′) in proton–proton collisions at s=7 TeV are presented, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 5.0 fb−1 collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the LHC. The t′ quark is assumed to decay exclusively to a W boson and a b quark. Events with a single isolated electron or muon, missing transverse momentum, and at least four hadronic jets, of which at least one must be identified as a b jet, are selected. No significant excess of events over standard model expectations is observed. Upper limits for the t′t¯′ production cross section at 95% confidence level are set as a function of t′ mass, and t′-quark production for masses below 570 GeV is excluded. The search is equally sensitive to nonchiral heavy quarks decaying to Wb. In this case, the results can be interpreted as upper limits on the production cross section times the branching fraction to Wb
Tract shape modeling detects changes associated with preterm birth and neuroprotective treatment effects

AbstractPreterm birth is associated with altered connectivity of neural circuits. We developed a tract segmentation method that provides measures of tract shape and integrity (probabilistic neighborhood tractography, PNT) from diffusion MRI (dMRI) data to test the hypotheses: 1) preterm birth is associated with alterations in tract topology (R), and tract-averaged mean diffusivity (〈D〉) and fractional anisotropy (FA); 2) neural systems are separable based on tract-averaged dMRI parameters; and 3) PNT can detect neuroprotective treatment effects.dMRI data were collected from 87 preterm infants (mean gestational age 29+1 weeks, range 23+2 –34+6) at term equivalent age and 24 controls (mean gestational age 39+6 weeks). PNT was used to segment eight major fasciculi, characterize topology, and extract tract-averaged 〈D〉 and FA.Tract topology was altered by preterm birth in all tracts except the splenium (p < 0.05, false discovery rate [FDR] corrected). After adjustment for age at scan, tract-averaged 〈D〉 was increased in the genu and splenium, right corticospinal tract (CST) and the left and right inferior longitudinal fasciculi (ILF) in preterm infants compared with controls (p < 0.05, FDR), while tract-averaged FA was decreased in the splenium and left ILF (p < 0.05, FDR). Specific fasciculi were separable based on tract-averaged 〈D〉 and FA values. There was a modest decrease in tract-averaged 〈D〉 in the splenium of preterm infants who had been exposed to antenatal MgSO4 for neuroprotection (p = 0.002).Tract topology is a biomarker of preterm brain injury. The data provide proof of concept that tract-averaged dMRI parameters have utility for evaluating tissue effects of perinatal neuroprotective strategies
Global well-posedness for Schrödinger equation with derivative in H12(R)

AbstractIn this paper, we consider the Cauchy problem of the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation with derivative in Hs(R). This equation was known to be the local well-posedness for s⩾12 (Takaoka, 1999 [27]), ill-posedness for s<12 (Biagioni and Linares, 2001 [1], etc.) and global well-posedness for s>12 (I-team, 2002 [10]). In this paper, we show that it is global well-posedness in the endpoint space H12(R), which remained open previously. The main approach is the third generation I-method combined with a new resonant decomposition technique. The resonant decomposition is applied to control the singularity coming from the resonant interaction
Ozone oxidation methods for aluminum oxide formation: Application to low-voltage organic transistors

AbstractFour atmospheric pressure ozone oxidation methods were used to produce ultra-thin layers of aluminum oxide for organic thin-film transistors. They are UV/ozone oxidation in ambient (UV-AA) and dry (UV-DA) air, UV/ozone oxidation combined with high-voltage discharge-generated ozone in dry air (UV+O3-DA), and discharge-generated ozone in dry air (O3-DA). The lack of the high-energy UV photons during the O3-DA oxidation led to low relative permittivity and high leakage current density of the AlOx layer that rendered this method unsuitable for transistor dielectrics. Although this oxidation method led to the incorporation of oxygen into the film, the FTIR confirmed an increased concentration of the subsurface oxygen while the XPS showed the highest portion of the unoxidized Al among all four methods. The remaining three oxidation methods produced AlOx films with thicknesses in excess of 7nm (2-h oxidation time), relative permittivity between 6.61 and 7.25, and leakage current density of (1–7)×10−7A/cm2 at 2MV/cm, and were successfully implemented into organic thin-film transistors based on pentacene and DNTT. The presence of –OH groups in all oxides is below the detection limit, while some carbon impurities appear to be incorporated
Study of resonant modes in a 700nm pitch macroporous silicon photonic crystal

AbstractIn this study the modes produced by a defect inserted in a macroporous silicon (MP) photonic crystal (PC) have been studied theoretical and experimentally. In particular, the transmitted and reflected spectra have been analyzed for variations in the defect’s length and width. The performed simulations show that the resonant frequency is more easily adjusted for the fabricated samples by length tuning rather than width. The optimum resonance peak results when centered in the PC bandgap. The changes in the defect geometry result in small variations of the optical response of the PC. The resonance frequency is most sensitive to length variations, while the mode linewidth shows greater change with the defect width variation. Several MPS photonic crystals were fabricated by the electrochemical etching (EE) process with optical response in the range of 5.8μm to 6.5μm. Results of the characterization are in good agreement with simulations. Further samples were fabricated consisting of ordered modulated pores with a pitch of 700nm. This allowed to reduce the vertical periodicity and therefore to have the optical response in the range of 4.4μm to 4.8μm. To our knowledge, modes working in this range of wavelengths have not been previously reported in 3-d MPS structures. Experimental results match with simulations, showing a linear relationship between the defect’s length and working frequency inside the bandgap. We demonstrate the possibility of tailoring the resonance peak in both ranges of wavelengths, where the principal absorption lines of different gases in the mid infrared are placed. This makes these structures very promising for their application to compact gas sensors
Glycosaminoglycans mimetics potentiate the clonogenicity, proliferation, migration and differentiation properties of rat mesenchymal stem cells

AbstractSuccessful use of stem cell-based therapeutic products is conditioned by transplantation of optimized cells in permissive microenvironment. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) fates are tightly regulated by humoral factors, cellular interactions and extracellular matrix (ECM) components, such as glycosaminoglycans (GAG), which are complex polysaccharides with structural heterogeneity. During osteogenesis, a temporally controlled expression of particular GAG species is required to interact with specific growth promoting and differentiating factors to regulate their biological activities. As a comparative tool to study natural GAG, we used structurally and functionally related synthetic GAG mimetics. One of these compounds [OTR4120] was previously shown to stimulate bone repair in rat models. Here, we demonstrate that structurally distinct GAG mimetics stimulate differentially clonogenicity, proliferation, migration and osteogenic phenotype of MSC in vitro, according to their specific chemical signature, underlying the role of sulfate and acetyl groups in specific interactions with heparin binding factors (HBF). These effects are dependent on FGF-2 interactions since they are inhibited by a FGF receptor 1 signaling pathway blocker. These data suggest that the in vivo [OTR4120] bone regenerative effect could be due to its ability to induce MSC migration and osteogenic differentiation. To conclude, we provide evidences showing that GAG mimetics may have great interest for bone regeneration therapy and represent an alternative to exogenous growth factor treatments to optimize potential therapeutic properties of MSC
Analysis of factors contributing to variation in the C57BL/6J fecal microbiota across German animal facilities

AbstractThe intestinal microbiota is involved in many physiological processes and it is increasingly recognized that differences in community composition can influence the outcome of a variety of murine models used in biomedical research. In an effort to describe and account for the variation in intestinal microbiota composition across the animal facilities of participating members of the DFG Priority Program 1656 “Intestinal Microbiota”, we performed a survey of C57BL/6J mice from 21 different mouse rooms/facilities located at 13 different institutions across Germany. Fresh feces was sampled from five mice per room/facility using standardized procedures, followed by extraction and 16S rRNA gene profiling (V1–V2 region, Illumina MiSeq) at both the DNA and RNA (reverse transcribed to cDNA) level. In order to determine the variables contributing to bacterial community differences, we collected detailed questionnaires of animal husbandry practices and incorporated this information into our analyses. We identified considerable variation in a number of descriptive aspects including the proportions of major phyla, alpha- and beta diversity, all of which displayed significant associations to specific aspects of husbandry. Salient findings include a reduction in alpha diversity with the use of irradiated chow, an increase in inter-individual variability (beta diversity) with respect to barrier access and open cages and an increase in bacterial community divergence with time since importing from a vendor. We further observe a high degree of facility-level individuality, which is likely due to each facility harboring its own unique combination of multiple varying attributes of animal husbandry. While it is important to account and control for such differences between facilities, the documentation of such diversity may also serve as a valuable future resource for investigating the origins of microbial-driven host phenotypes
Governing sustainability transitions through business model innovation: Towards a systems understanding

AbstractThis paper examines the role of innovative business models in the transformation of socio-technical systems. Focusing on decentralised energy technologies, we explore business model innovation in the context of a transition towards a more sustainable energy system. We conduct an empirical study of two Energy Services Company (ESCo) models for the deployment of combined heat and power with district heating (CHP/DH) infrastructure in the UK. Based on these case studies we illustrate the different ways in which Local Authorities develop business models to create and capture value from more efficient resource use and to deploy sustainable technologies. Drawing from systems theories in the business model and socio-technical literatures, we analyse the interfaces between business models, energy infrastructure and institutions. We propose that a systems based approach to the analysis of business models as embedded in their socio-technical contexts can offer new insights into the dynamics and governance of sustainability transitions
Managing change in the delivery of complex projects: Configuration management, asset information and ‘big data’

AbstractAs we enter an era of ‘big data’, asset information is becoming a deliverable of complex projects. Prior research suggests digital technologies enable rapid, flexible forms of project organizing. This research analyses practices of managing change in Airbus, CERN and Crossrail, through desk-based review, interviews, visits and a cross-case workshop. These organizations deliver complex projects, rely on digital technologies to manage large data-sets; and use configuration management, a systems engineering approach with mid-20th century origins, to establish and maintain integrity. In them, configuration management has become more, rather than less, important. Asset information is structured, with change managed through digital systems, using relatively hierarchical, asynchronous and sequential processes. The paper contributes by uncovering limits to flexibility in complex projects where integrity is important. Challenges of managing change are discussed, considering the evolving nature of configuration management; potential use of analytics on complex projects; and implications for research and practice
The challenges of amblyopia treatment

AbstractThe treatment of amblyopia, particularly anisometropic (difference in refractive correction) and/or strabismic (turn of one eye) amblyopia has long been a challenge for many clinicians. Achieving optimum outcomes, where the amblyopic eye reaches a visual acuity similar to the fellow eye, is often impossible in many patients. Part of this challenge has resulted from a previous lack of scientific evidence for amblyopia treatment that was highlight by a systematic review by Snowdon et al. in 1998. Since this review, a number of publications have revealed new findings in the treatment of amblyopia. This includes the finding that less intensive occlusion treatments can be successful in treating amblyopia. A relationship between adherence to treatment and visual acuity has also been established and has been shown to be influenced by the use of intervention material. In addition, there is growing evidence of that a period of glasses wearing only can significantly improve visual acuity alone without any other modes of treatment. This review article reports findings since the Snowdon's report
Resource savings by urban mining: The case of desktop and laptop computers in Belgium

AbstractWaste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has become increasingly important over the last years. Additionally, the European Union recognizes the growing importance of raw materials, and the crucial role of recycling. In this study the performance of WEEE recycling was assessed for the case of desktop and laptop computers in Belgium in 2013. The analysis was performed in four steps. First, the recycling chain is analyzed through material flow analysis (MFA) at the level of specific materials. Second, an indicator is calculated, which quantifies the effectively recycled weight ratios of the specific materials. Third, a second indicator expresses the recycling efficiency of so-called critical raw materials. Finally, the natural resource consumption of the recycling scheme in a life cycle perspective is calculated using the Cumulative Exergy Extraction from the Natural Environment (CEENE) method, and is benchmarked with a landfill scenario. Overall, the results show that base metals such as ferrous metals, aluminium and copper are recycled to a large extent, but that for precious metals improvements still can be made. The input of criticality (arising from the incoming mass, as well as the individual criticality value of the assessed material) mainly comes from base metals, resulting in a high recovery performance of raw materials criticality. Finally, the natural resource consumption of the recycling scenario is much smaller than in case of landfilling the WEEE: 80 and 87% less resource consumption is achieved for desktops and laptops respectively, hence saving significant primary raw materials
IceCube events from heavy DM decays through the right-handed neutrino portal

AbstractThe recently observed IceCube PeV events could be due to heavy dark matter (DM) decay. In this paper, we propose a simple DM model with extra U(1)X gauge symmetry and bridge it with standard model particles through heavy right-handed neutrino. The Dirac fermion DM χ with mass ∼5 PeV can dominantly decay into a dark Higgs (ϕ), the SM Higgs (h) and a neutrino (ν). If the lifetime of χ is ∼O(1028) s, the resulting neutrino flux can fit data consistently. The neutrino flux from χ→ϕhν in our model is softer than the one predicted from χ→νh, for example. We also discuss a possible mechanism to produce DM with the right relic abundance
Recurrence and ergodicity in unital ∗-algebras

AbstractResults concerning recurrence and ergodicity are proved in an abstract Hilbert space setting based on the proof of Khintchine's recurrence theorem for sets, and on the Hilbert space characterization of ergodicity. These results are carried over to a non-commutative ∗-algebraic setting using the GNS-construction. This generalizes the corresponding measure theoretic results, in particular a variation of Khintchine's theorem for ergodic systems, where the image of one set overlaps with another set, instead of with itself
Assessing the perceived quality of brachial artery Flow Mediated Dilation studies for inclusion in meta-analyses and systematic reviews: Description of data employed in the development of a scoring ;tool based on currently accepted guidelines.

Contains fulltext :
                  171793.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Brachial artery Flow Mediated Dilation (FMD) is widely used as a non-invasive measure of endothelial function. Adherence to expert consensus guidelines on FMD measurement has been found to be of vital importance to obtain reproducible data. This article lists the literature data which was considered in the development of a tool to aid in the objective judgement of the extent to which published studies adhered to expert guidelines for FMD measurement. Application of this tool in a systematic review of FMD studies (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2016.03.011) (Greyling et al., 2016 [1]) indicated that adherence to expert consensus guidelines is strongly correlated to the reproducibility of FMD data.1 september 201
Production activities and economic dependency by age and gender in Europe: A cross-country comparison

We compare selected European countries using an economic dependency ratio which emphasizes the\ud
role of age-specific levels of production and consumption. Our analysis reveals large differences in the\ud
age- and gender-specific level and type of production activities across selected European countries and\ud
identifies possible strategies to adjust age-specific economic behaviour to an ageing population. The\ud
cross-country differences in economic dependency of children and elderly persons are largely determined\ud
by the age at which people enter, respectively exit, the labour market. The ability of the working age population\ud
to support children and elderly persons in turn is strongly influenced by the participation of\ud
women in paid work. We also provide a measure for the age-specific production and consumption in\ud
form of unpaid household work. The inclusion of unpaid household work leads to a decrease of the gender\ud
differences in production activities and indicates that the working age population supports children\ud
and elderly persons not only through monetary transfers but also through services produced by unpaid\ud
work (e.g. childcare, cooking, cleaning. . .). Given the available data, we cannot distinguish the age profile\ud
of consumption by gender and have to assume - in case of unpaid work - that each member of the household\ud
consumes the same. Hence, our results have to be regarded as a first approximation only. Our paper\ud
aims to argue that a reform of the welfare system needs to take into account not only public transfers but\ud
also private transfers, in particular the transfers in form of goods and services produced through unpaid\ud
household work
Random walk with barycentric self-interaction

We study the asymptotic behaviour of a $d$-dimensional self-interacting random walk $X_n$ ($n = 1,2,...$) which is repelled or attracted by the centre of mass $G_n = n^{-1} \sum_{i=1}^n X_i$ of its previous trajectory. The walk's trajectory $(X_1,...,X_n)$ models a random polymer chain in either poor or good solvent. In addition to some natural regularity conditions, we assume that the walk has one-step mean drift directed either towards or away from its current centre of mass $G_n$ and of magnitude $\| X_n - G_n \|^{-\beta}$ for $\beta \geq 0$. When $\beta <1$ and the radial drift is outwards, we show that $X_n$ is transient with a limiting (random) direction and satisfies a super-diffusive law of large numbers: $n^{-1/(1+\beta)} X_n$ converges almost surely to some random vector. When $\beta \in (0,1)$ there is sub-ballistic rate of escape. For $\beta \geq 0$ we give almost-sure bounds on the norms $\|X_n\|$, which in the context of the polymer model reveal extended and collapsed phases. Analysis of the random walk, and in particular of $X_n - G_n$, leads to the study of real-valued time-inhomogeneous non-Markov processes $Z_n$ on $[0,\infty)$ with mean drifts at $x$ given approximately by $\rho x^{-\beta} - (x/n)$, where $\beta \geq 0$ and $\rho \in \R$. The study of such processes is a time-dependent variation on a classical problem of Lamperti; moreover, they arise naturally in the context of the distance of simple random walk on $\Z^d$ from its centre of mass, for which we also give an apparently new result. We give a recurrence classification and asymptotic theory for processes $Z_n$ just described, which enables us to deduce the complete recurrence classification (for any $\beta \geq 0$) of $X_n - G_n$ for our self-interacting walk