pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Highlighting clinical needs in Clostridium difficile infection: the views of European healthcare professionals at the front line

SummaryBackgroundClostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of infectious nosocomial diarrhoea in Europe. Despite increased focus, its incidence and severity are increasing in many European countries.AimWe developed a series of consensus statements to identify unmet clinical needs in the recognition and management of CDI.MethodsA consortium of European experts prepared a series of 29 statements representing their collective views on the diagnosis and management of CDI in Europe. The statements were grouped into the following six broad themes: diagnosis; definitions of severity; treatment failure, recurrence and its consequences; infection prevention and control interventions; education and antimicrobial stewardship; and National CDI clinical guidance and policy. These statements were reviewed using questionnaires by 1047 clinicians involved in managing CDI, who indicated their level of agreement with each statement.FindingsLevels of agreement exceeded the 66% threshold for consensus for 27 out of 29 statements (93.1%), indicating strong support. Variance between countries and specialties was analysed and showed strong alignment with the overall consensus scores.ConclusionBased on the consensus scores of the respondent group, recommendations are suggested for the further development of CDI services in order to reduce transmission and recurrence and to ensure that appropriate diagnosis and treatment strategies are applied across all healthcare settings
The NLO contributions to the scalar pion form factors and the O(αs2) annihilation corrections to the B→ππ decays

AbstractIn this paper, by employing the kT factorization theorem, we made the first calculation for the space-like scalar pion form factor Q2F(Q2) at the leading order (LO) and the next-to-leading order (NLO) level, and then found the time-like scalar pion form factor Fa,I′(1) by analytic continuation from the space-like one. From the analytical evaluations and the numerical results, we found the following points: (a) the NLO correction to the space-like scalar pion form factor has an opposite sign with the LO one but is very small in magnitude, can produce at most 10% decrease to the LO result in the considered Q2 region; (b) the NLO time-like scalar pion form factor Fa,I′(1) describes the O(αs2) contribution to the factorizable annihilation diagrams of the considered B→ππ decays, i.e. the NLO annihilation correction; (c) the NLO part of the form factor Fa,I′(1) is very small in size, and is almost independent of the variation of cutoff scale μ0, but this form factor has a large strong phase around −55° and may play an important role in producing large CP violation for B→ππ decays; and (d) for B0→π+π− and π0π0 decays, the newly known NLO annihilation correction can produce only a very small enhancement to their branching ratios, less than 3% in magnitude, and therefore we could not interpret the well-known ππ-puzzle by the inclusion of this NLO correction to the factorizable annihilation diagrams
Multisensory Integration: Flexible Use of General Operations

Research into the anatomical substrates and “principles” for integrating inputs from separate sensory surfaces has yielded divergent findings. This suggests that multisensory integration is flexible and context dependent and underlines the need for dynamically adaptive neuronal integration mechanisms. We propose that flexible multisensory integration can be explained by a combination of canonical, population-level integrative operations, such as oscillatory phase resetting and divisive normalization. These canonical operations subsume multisensory integration into a fundamental set of principles as to how the brain integrates all sorts of information, and they are being used proactively and adaptively. We illustrate this proposition by unifying recent findings from different research themes such as timing, behavioral goal, and experience-related differences in integration
The Sylvester–Gallai theorem, colourings and algebra

AbstractOur point of departure is the following simple common generalisation of the Sylvester–Gallai theorem and the Motzkin–Rabin theorem: Let S be a finite set of points in the plane, with each point coloured red or blue or with both colours. Suppose that for any two distinct points A,B∈S sharing a colour there is a third point C∈S, of the other colour, collinear with A and B. Then all the points in S are collinear. We define a chromatic geometry to be a simple matroid for which each point is coloured red or blue or with both colours, such that for any two distinct points A,B∈S sharing a colour there is a third point C∈S, of the other colour, collinear with A and B. This is a common generalisation of proper finite linear spaces and properly two-coloured finite linear spaces, with many known properties of both generalising as well. One such property is Kelly’s complex Sylvester–Gallai theorem. We also consider embeddings of chromatic geometries in Desarguesian projective spaces. We prove a lower bound of 51 for the number of points in a three-dimensional chromatic geometry in projective space over the quaternions. Finally, we suggest an elementary approach to the corollary of an inequality of Hirzebruch used by Kelly in his proof of the complex Sylvester–Gallai theorem
Thermographic Imaging: Assessment of Drought and Heat Tolerance in Spanish Germplasm of Brachypodium Distachyon

AbstractThe annual grass Brachypodium distachyon has been recently recognized as the model plant for functional genomics of temperate grasses, including cereals of economic relevance like wheat and barley. Sixty-two lines of B. distachyon were assessed for response to drought stress and heat tolerance. All these lines, except the reference genotype BD21, derive from specimens collected in 32 distinct locations of the Iberian Peninsula, covering a wide range of geo- climatic conditions. Sixteen lines of Brachypodium hybridum, an allotetraploid closely related to B. distachyon were used as reference of abiotic-stress well-adapted genotypes. Drought tolerance was assessed in a green-house trial. At the rosette-stage, no irrigation was applied to treated plants whereas their replicates at the control were maintained well watered during all the experiment. Thermographic images of treated and control plants were taken after 2 and 3 weeks of drought treatment, when stressed plants showed medium and extreme wilting symptoms. The mean leaf temperature of stressed (LTs) and control (LTc) plants was estimated based upon thermographic records from selected pixels (183 per image) that strictly correspond to leaf tissue. The response to drought was based on the analysis of two parameters: LTs and the thermal difference (TD) between stressed and control plants (LTs – LTc). The response to heat stress was based on LTc. Comparison of the mean values of these parameters showed that: 1) Genotypes better adapted to drought (B. hybridum lines) presented a higher LTs and TD than B. distachyon lines. 2) Under high temperature conditions, watered plants of B. hybridum lines maintained lower LTc than those of B. distachyon. Those results suggest that in these species adaptation to drought is linked to a more efficient stomata regulation: under water stress stomata are closed, increasing foliar temperature but also water use efficiency by reducing transpiration. With high temperature and water availability the results are less definite, but still seems that opening stomata allow plants to increase transpiration and therefore to diminish foliar temperature
Induction of Pluripotent Stem Cells from Mouse Embryonic and Adult Fibroblast Cultures by Defined Factors

SummaryDifferentiated cells can be reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state by transfer of nuclear contents into oocytes or by fusion with embryonic stem (ES) cells. Little is known about factors that induce this reprogramming. Here, we demonstrate induction of pluripotent stem cells from mouse embryonic or adult fibroblasts by introducing four factors, Oct3/4, Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4, under ES cell culture conditions. Unexpectedly, Nanog was dispensable. These cells, which we designated iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells, exhibit the morphology and growth properties of ES cells and express ES cell marker genes. Subcutaneous transplantation of iPS cells into nude mice resulted in tumors containing a variety of tissues from all three germ layers. Following injection into blastocysts, iPS cells contributed to mouse embryonic development. These data demonstrate that pluripotent stem cells can be directly generated from fibroblast cultures by the addition of only a few defined factors
Design and characterisation of advanced pseudo-ductile unidirectional thin-ply carbon/epoxy–glass/epoxy hybrid composites

AbstractA comprehensive set of thin-ply pseudo-ductile unidirectional interlayer hybrid composite materials comprising S-glass and a variety of thin carbon prepregs was designed and characterised. Unique elastic–yielding–hardening type stress–strain responses similar to those of ductile metals were achieved through fragmentation and stable pull-out of the carbon layers, generating a range of initial moduli, pseudo-yield strains, plateau stresses and pseudo ductile strains for the various configurations. The typical failure modes of thin-ply hybrid composites were highlighted in four series of stress–strain graphs obtained for the same materials with different carbon layer thicknesses. The predicted failure modes agreed well with the experimental results and demonstrated the merit of our two step design framework based on (i) simple analytical criteria and (ii) novel damage mode maps
Demonstration of a Self-recovering ALU Using a Convergent Cellular Automata

AbstractThis paper presents work in progress towards the demonstration of a self-restoring arithmetic logic unit (ALU) based on convergent cellular automata (CCA). The need for fault tolerance and self-recovery strategies for electronic circuits is discussed, with particular focus on well-known redundancy and reconfiguration approaches. Our CCA fault tolerant strategy is demonstrated via MATLAB simulation using fault injection. The combined roles of the CCA as coordination layer and restoration agent are discussed. Work in progress towards a hardware demonstration using VHDL description and FPGA hardware is also described
The lipid-lowering effects of lomitapide are unaffected by adjunctive apheresis in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia – A post-hoc analysis of a Phase 3, single-arm, open-label trial

AbstractObjectiveLomitapide (a microsomal triglyceride transfer protein inhibitor) is an adjunctive treatment for homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH), a rare genetic condition characterised by elevated low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and premature, severe, accelerated atherosclerosis. Standard of care for HoFH includes lipid-lowering drugs and lipoprotein apheresis. We conducted a post-hoc analysis using data from a Phase 3 study to assess whether concomitant apheresis affected the lipid-lowering efficacy of lomitapide.MethodsExisting lipid-lowering therapy, including apheresis, was to remain stable from Week −6 to Week 26. Lomitapide dose was escalated on the basis of individual safety/tolerability from 5 mg to 60 mg a day (maximum). The primary endpoint was mean percent change in LDL-C from baseline to Week 26 (efficacy phase), after which patients remained on lomitapide through Week 78 for safety assessment and further evaluation of efficacy. During this latter period, apheresis could be adjusted. We analysed the impact of apheresis on LDL-C reductions in patients receiving lomitapide.ResultsOf the 29 patients that entered the efficacy phase, 18 (62%) were receiving apheresis at baseline. Twenty-three patients (13 receiving apheresis) completed the Week 26 evaluation. Of the six patients who discontinued in the first 26 weeks, five were receiving apheresis. There were no significant differences in percent change from baseline of LDL-C at Week 26 in patients treated (−48%) and not treated (−55%) with apheresis (p = 0.545). Changes in Lp(a) levels were modest and not different between groups (p = 0.436).ConclusionThe LDL-C lowering efficacy of lomitapide is unaffected by lipoprotein apheresis
A new functional calculus for noncommuting operators

AbstractIn this paper we use the notion of slice monogenic functions [F. Colombo, I. Sabadini, D.C. Struppa, Slice monogenic functions, Israel J. Math., in press] to define a new functional calculus for an n-tuple T of not necessarily commuting operators. This calculus is different from the one discussed in [B. Jefferies, Spectral Properties of Noncommuting Operators, Lecture Notes in Math., vol. 1843, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2004] and it allows the explicit construction of the eigenvalue equation for the n-tuple T based on a new notion of spectrum for T. Our functional calculus is consistent with the Riesz–Dunford calculus in the case of a single operator
Singlet-to-triplet ratio in the deuteron breakup reaction pd→pnp at 585 MeV

AbstractAvailable experimental data on the exclusive pd→pnp reaction at 585 MeV show a narrow peak in the proton–neutron final-state interaction region. It was supposed previously, on the basis of a phenomenological analysis of the shape of this peak, that the final spin-singlet pn state provided about one third of the observed cross section. By comparing the absolute value of the measured cross section with that of pd elastic scattering using the Fäldt–Wilkin extrapolation theorem, it is shown here that the pd→pnp data can be explained mainly by the spin-triplet final state with a singlet admixture of a few percent. The smallness of the singlet contribution is compatible with existing pN→pNπ data and the one-pion exchange mechanism of the pd→pnp reaction
The Internationalisation of Higher Education in Brazil: Analysis of a Spanish-Brazilian Scientific Cooperation Project in CAL

AbstractOver the past few years, the internationalisation of Higher Education has become a priority in Brazilian educational policies. The importance of internationalisation has become apparent thanks to numerous initiatives, ranging from the increase in funding for graduate and postgraduate research stays abroad to projects of scientific cooperation between universities in different countries. In this context, this paper explores a scientific cooperation project developed by two universities in Brazil and Spain: the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), relating to the field of Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL). First of all, the internationalisation of the Brazilian Higher Education will be discussed, and the different initiatives - such as the Ciência sem Fronteiras (Science without Borders) Programme launched by the Brazilian Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) - will be presented. Following that, the paper will focus on the original proposal for the ongoing cooperation project between the UNICAMP and the UPV and on the results obtained until now. Next, the initiative will be analysed with special attention to the importance and the impact that internationalisation has made on Brazilian higher education. Finally, the authors will further explore the ways in which cooperation projects such as the one dealt with in this paper contribute towards the improvement of education. This improvement is mainly due to factors such as: fostering the integration of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) into teaching-learning practices; investing in teacher training in their home countries and abroad; and encouraging the development of high-quality multimedia materials and authoring tool
The Genetic Legacy of Religious Diversity and Intolerance: Paternal Lineages of Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula

Most studies of European genetic diversity have focused on large-scale variation and interpretations based on events in prehistory, but migrations and invasions in historical times could also have had profound effects on the genetic landscape. The Iberian Peninsula provides a suitable region for examination of the demographic impact of such recent events, because its complex recent history has involved the long-term residence of two very different populations with distinct geographical origins and their own particular cultural and religious characteristics—North African Muslims and Sephardic Jews. To address this issue, we analyzed Y chromosome haplotypes, which provide the necessary phylogeographic resolution, in 1140 males from the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Admixture analysis based on binary and Y-STR haplotypes indicates a high mean proportion of ancestry from North African (10.6%) and Sephardic Jewish (19.8%) sources. Despite alternative possible sources for lineages ascribed a Sephardic Jewish origin, these proportions attest to a high level of religious conversion (whether voluntary or enforced), driven by historical episodes of social and religious intolerance, that ultimately led to the integration of descendants. In agreement with the historical record, analysis of haplotype sharing and diversity within specific haplogroups suggests that the Sephardic Jewish component is the more ancient. The geographical distribution of North African ancestry in the peninsula does not reflect the initial colonization and subsequent withdrawal and is likely to result from later enforced population movement—more marked in some regions than in others—plus the effects of genetic drift
Long-lived K isomer and enhanced γ vibration in the neutron-rich nucleus 172Dy: Collectivity beyond double midshell

AbstractThe level structure of 172Dy has been investigated for the first time by means of decay spectroscopy following in-flight fission of a 238U beam. A long-lived isomeric state with T1/2=0.71(5) s and Kπ=8− has been identified at 1278 keV, which decays to the ground-state and γ-vibrational bands through hindered electromagnetic transitions, as well as to the daughter nucleus 172Ho via allowed β decays. The robust nature of the Kπ=8− isomer and the ground-state rotational band reveals an axially-symmetric structure for this nucleus. Meanwhile, the γ-vibrational levels have been identified at unusually low excitation energy compared to the neighboring well-deformed nuclei, indicating the significance of the microscopic effect on the non-axial collectivity in this doubly mid-shell region. The underlying mechanism of enhanced γ vibration is discussed in comparison with the deformed Quasiparticle Random-Phase Approximation based on a Skyrme energy-density functional
Antisymmetric tensor fields in Randall–Sundrum thick branes

AbstractIn this Letter we study the issue of localization of the three-form field in a Randall–Sundrum-like scenario. We simulate our membrane by kinks embedded in D=5, describing the usual case (not deformed) and new models coming from a specific deformation procedure. The gravitational background regarded includes the dilaton contribution. We show that we can only localize the zero-mode of this field for a specific range of the dilaton coupling, even in the deformed case. A study about resonances is presented. We use a numerical approach for calculations of the transmission coefficients associated to the quantum mechanical problem. This gives a clear description of the physics involved in the model. We find in this way that the appearance of resonances is strongly dependent on the coupling constant. We study the cases p=1,3 and 5 for α=−1.75 and α=−20. The first value of α give us one resonance peak for p=1 and no resonances for p=3,5. The second value of α give us a very rich structure of resonances, with number depending on the value of p
Search for excited leptons in pp collisions at s=7 TeV

AbstractResults are presented of a search for compositeness in electrons and muons using a data sample of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy s=7 TeV collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb−1. Excited leptons (ℓ⁎) are assumed to be produced via contact interactions in conjunction with a standard model lepton and to decay via ℓ⁎→ℓγ, yielding a final state with two energetic leptons and a photon. The number of events observed in data is consistent with that expected from the standard model. The 95% confidence upper limits for the cross section for the production and decay of excited electrons (muons), with masses ranging from 0.6 to 2 TeV, are 1.48 to 1.24 fb (1.31 to 1.11 fb). Excited leptons with masses below 1.9 TeV are excluded for the case where the contact interaction scale equals the excited lepton mass. The limits on the cross sections are the most stringent ones published to date
In Vitro Reconstitution of a CaMKII Memory Switch by an NMDA Receptor-Derived Peptide

AbstractCa2+/Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) has been shown to play a major role in establishing memories through complex molecular interactions including phosphorylation of multiple synaptic targets. However, it is still controversial whether CaMKII itself serves as a molecular memory because of a lack of direct evidence. Here, we show that a single holoenzyme of CaMKII per se serves as an erasable molecular memory switch. We reconstituted Ca2+/Calmodulin-dependent CaMKII autophosphorylation in the presence of protein phosphatase 1 in vitro, and found that CaMKII phosphorylation shows a switch-like response with history dependence (hysteresis) only in the presence of an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-derived peptide. This hysteresis is Ca2+ and protein phosphatase 1 concentration-dependent, indicating that the CaMKII memory switch is not simply caused by an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-derived peptide lock of CaMKII in an active conformation. Mutation of a phosphorylation site of the peptide shifted the Ca2+ range of hysteresis. These functions may be crucial for induction and maintenance of long-term synaptic plasticity at hippocampal synapses
Characterization of reciprocity gaps from interference tests in fractured media through a dual porosity model

We analyze drawdown reciprocity gaps emerging in interference tests performed in a confined fissured karstic formation. Modeling the system as a dual porosity continuum allows characterizing the dynamics of the relative contribution of the connected fractures and the rock matrix to the total flow rate extracted at the pumping wells. Observed lack of reciprocity of drawdowns can then be linked to the occurrence of processes that are not accounted for in the classical flow models based on a single-continuum representation of the system through flow equations grounded on Darcy's law only. We show that interpreting the system as a dual porosity continuum can cause drawdown reciprocity gaps to emerge as a consequence of local effects associated with an identifiable contribution of the matrix to the total fluid extracted at the well location during pumping. These theoretical results are then employed to identify the contribution to the flow being supplied to the pumping well by the low conductivity matrix constituting the host rock formation, in contrast to that provided by the fractures. An application to data from two interference tests performed at the Hydrogeological Experimental Site (HES) in Poitiers, France, illustrates the approach. We show that, whenever the matrix is assumed to provide a contribution to the total flow rate extracted, nonreciprocity is expected, the latter being linked to the occurrence of a differential drawdown between fracture and matrix at the pumping well. This difference decreases with time in the example presented, displaying a power law late time behavior, with nonreciprocity effects persisting up to remarkably long times