Experimental study on grooved Si and Ge crystals for Laue lens application

An experimental study on the method of indentations for bent crystals to realize a hard X-ray Laue lens has been done. We tested the diffraction properties of indented Si and Ge crystalline plates at European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (Grenoble, France). The samples were analyzed by diffraction of their (111) planes with hard X-rays from 150 to 600 keV. Crystals have shown significantly high diffraction efficiency, i.e. a Si crystal has exhibited up to 80% at 300 keV. A Ge crystal has confirmed the observation for a Si one, though the diffraction efficiency was about 60%. In both cases rocking curves showed flat-toped rectangular shapes, which demonstrates that the method of indentations evenly bends the crystals. Moreover, measured angular spread was always very close to the morphological curvature of the sample under investigation, showing that this method offers high reproducibility and, thus, easy control of diffraction properties of the crystals

Electromagnetic dipole moments of charged baryons with bent crystals at the LHC

We propose a unique program of measurements of electric and magnetic dipole moments of charm, beauty and strange charged baryons at the LHC, based on the phenomenon of spin precession of channeled particles in bent crystals. Studies of crystal channeling and spin precession of positively- and negatively-charged particles are presented, along with feasibility studies and expected sensitivities for the proposed experiment using a layout based on the LHCb detector.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figure

Bot and gender detection of twitter accounts using distortion and LSA notebook for PAN at CLEF 2019

In this work, we present our approach for the Author Profiling task of PAN 2019. The task is divided into two sub-problems, bot, and gender detection, for two different languages: English and Spanish. For each instance of the problem and each language, we address the problem differently. We use an ensemble architecture to solve the Bot Detection for accounts that write in English and a single SVM for those who write in Spanish. For the Gender detection we use a single SVM architecture for both the languages, but we pre-process the tweets in a different way. Our final models achieve accuracy over the 90% in the bot detection task, while for the gender detection, of 84.17% and 77.61% respectively for the English and Spanish languages

Cross-domain authorship attribution combining instance-based and profile-based features notebook for PAN at CLEF 2019

Being able to identify the author of an unknown text is crucial. Although it is a well-studied field, it is still an open problem, since a standard approach has yet to be found. In this notebook, we propose our model for the Authorship Attribution task of PAN 2019, that focuses on cross-domain setting covering 4 different languages: French, Italian, English, and Spanish. We use n-grams of characters, words, stemmed words, and distorted text. Our model has an SVM for each feature and an ensemble architecture. Our final results outperform the baseline given by PAN in almost every problem. With this model, we reach the second place in the task with an F1-score of 68%

Gestational weight gain in overweight and obese women enrolled in a healthy lifestyle and eating habits program

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether changes in lifestyle in women with BMI > 25 could decrease gestational weight gain and unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: Women with BMI > 25 were randomized at 1st trimester to no intervention or a Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) Program including diet (overweight: 1700 kcal/day, obese: 1800 kcal/day) and mild physical activity (30 min/day, 3 times/week). At baseline and at the 36th week women filled-in a Food Frequency Questionnaire. OUTCOMES: gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational hypertension, preterm delivery. Data stratified by BMI categories. RESULTS: Socio-demographic features were similar between groups (TLC: 33 cases, CONTROLS: 28 cases). At term, gestational weight gain in obese women randomized to TLC group was lower (6.7 ± 4.3 kg) versus controls (10.1 ± 5.6 kg, p = 0.047). Gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational hypertension and preterm delivery were also significantly lower. TLC was an independent factor in preventing gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational hypertension. Significant changes in eating habits occurred in the TLC group, which increased the number of snacks, the intake of fruits-vegetables and decreased the consumption of sugar. CONCLUSIONS: A caloric restriction associated to changes in eating behavior and constant physical activity, is able to reduce gestational weight gain and related pregnancy complications in obese women.Objectives: To determine whether changes in lifestyle in women with BMI > 25 could decrease gestational weight gain and unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. Methods: Women with BMI > 25 were randomized at 1st trimester to no intervention or a Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) Program including diet (overweight: 1700 kcal/day, obese: 1800 kcal/day) and mild physical activity (30 min/day, 3 times/week). At baseline and at the 36th week women filled-in a Food Frequency Questionnaire. Outcomes: gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational hypertension, preterm delivery. Data stratified by BMI categories. Results: Socio-demographic features were similar between groups (TLC: 33 cases, Controls: 28 cases). At term, gestational weight gain in obese women randomized to TLC group was lower (6.7 ± 4.3 kg) versus controls (10.1 ± 5.6 kg, p = 0.047). Gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational hypertension and preterm delivery were also significantly lower. TLC was an independent factor in preventing gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational hypertension. Significant changes in eating habits occurred in the TLC group, which increased the number of snacks, the intake of fruits-vegetables and decreased the consumption of sugar. Conclusions: A caloric restriction associated to changes in eating behavior and constant physical activity, is able to reduce gestational weight gain and related pregnancy complications in obese women. © 2014 Informa UK Ltd

Lifecycle environmental impact assessment of an overtopping wave energy converter embedded in breakwater systems

Overtopping breakwater systems are among the most promising technologies for exploiting wave energy to generate electricity. They consist in water reservoirs, embedded in piers, placed on top of ramps, higher than sea-level. Pushed by wave energy, seawater fills up the reservoirs and produces electricity by flowing back down through low headhydro turbines. Different overtopping breakwater systems have been tested worldwide in recent years. This study focuses on the Overtopping BReakwater for Energy Conversion (OBREC) system that has been implemented and tested in the harbor of Naples (Italy). The Life Cycle Assessment of a single replicable module of OBREC has been performed for analyzing potential environmental impacts, in terms of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, considering construction, installation, maintenance, and the operational phases. The Carbon Footprint (i.e., mass of CO2eq) to build wave energy converters integrated in breakwater systems has been estimated, more specifically the "environmental investment" (i.e., the share of Carbon Footprint due to the integration of wave energy converter) needed to generate renewable electricity has been assessed. The Carbon Intensity of Electricity (i.e., the ratio between the CO2eq emitted and the electricity produced) has been then assessed in order to demonstrate the profitability and the opportunity to foster innovation in the field of blue energy. Considering the impact for implementing an operational OBREC module (Carbon Footprint = 1.08 t CO2eq; Environmental Investment = 0.48 t CO2eq) and the electricity production (12.6 MWh/year per module), environmental benefits (avoided emissions) would compensate environmental costs (i.e., Carbon Footprint; Environmental Investment) those provided within a range of 25 and 13 months respectively

Submillimeter Array Observation of the Proto-Planetary Nebula CRL 618 in the CO J=6-5 Line

We report on the results of a Submillimeter Array interferometric observation of the proto-planetary nebula CRL 618 in the 12CO J=6-5 line. With the new capability of SMA enabling us to use two receivers at a time, we also observed simultaneously in the 12CO J=2-1 and 13CO J=2-1 lines. The 12CO J=6-5 and 13CO J=2-1 lines were first interferometrically observed toward CRL 618. The flux of the high velocity component of the 12CO J=6-5 line is almost fully recovered, while roughly 80% of the flux of the low velocity component is resolved out. The low recovery rate suggests that the emission region of the low velocity component of the 12CO J=6-5 line is largely extended. Continuum emission is detected both at 230 and 690 GHz. The flux of the 690 GHz continuum emission seems to be partially resolved out, suggesting dust emission partly contaminates the 690 GHz continuum flux. The cavity structure, which has been confirmed in a previous observation in the 12CO J=2-1 line, is not clearly detected in the 12CO J=6-5 line, and only the south wall of the cavity is detected. This result suggests that the physical condition of the molecular envelope of CRL 618 is not exactly axial symmetric.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in AJ. Full resolution version available at http://www.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw/~junichi/paper

Expression Pattern and Biological Significance of the lncRNA ST3GAL6-AS1 in Multiple Myeloma

The biological impact of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in multiple myeloma (MM) is becoming an important aspect of investigation, which may contribute to the understanding of the complex pathobiology of the disease whilst also providing novel potential therapeutic targets. Herein, we investigated the expression pattern and the biological significance of the lncRNA ST3 beta-galactoside alpha-2,3 sialyltransferase 6 antisense RNA 1 (ST3GAL6-AS1) in MM. We documented a high ST3GAL6-AS1 expression level in MM compared to normal plasma cells (PCs) or other hematological malignancies. Transcriptome analyses of MM PCs from patients included in the CoMMpass database indicated a potential involvement of ST3GAL6-AS1 in MAPK signaling and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathways. ST3GAL6-AS1 silencing by LNA-gapmeR antisense oligonucleotides inhibits cell proliferation and triggers apoptosis in MM cell line. Notably, ST3GAL6-AS1 silencing in vitro displayed the down-regulation of the MAPK pathway and protein ubiquitination. These data suggest that ST3GAL6-AS1 deregulation may play a pathogenetic role in MM by affecting both proliferation pathways and circuits fundamental for PC survival. However, ST3GAL6-AS1 expression levels seem not to be significantly associated with clinical outcome and its targeting appears to exert antagonistic effects with proteasome inhibitors used in MM. These findings strongly urge the need for further studies investigating the relevance of ST3GAL6-AS1 in MM

Spectral Theory of Sparse Non-Hermitian Random Matrices

Sparse non-Hermitian random matrices arise in the study of disordered physical systems with asymmetric local interactions, and have applications ranging from neural networks to ecosystem dynamics. The spectral characteristics of these matrices provide crucial information on system stability and susceptibility, however, their study is greatly complicated by the twin challenges of a lack of symmetry and a sparse interaction structure. In this review we provide a concise and systematic introduction to the main tools and results in this field. We show how the spectra of sparse non-Hermitian matrices can be computed via an analogy with infinite dimensional operators obeying certain recursion relations. With reference to three illustrative examples --- adjacency matrices of regular oriented graphs, adjacency matrices of oriented Erd\H{o}s-R\'{e}nyi graphs, and adjacency matrices of weighted oriented Erd\H{o}s-R\'{e}nyi graphs --- we demonstrate the use of these methods to obtain both analytic and numerical results for the spectrum, the spectral distribution, the location of outlier eigenvalues, and the statistical properties of eigenvectors.Comment: 60 pages, 10 figure