11,135 research outputs found
Convergence of the Lasserre Hierarchy of SDP Relaxations for Convex Polynomial Programs without Compactness
The Lasserre hierarchy of semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxations is an
effective scheme for finding computationally feasible SDP approximations of
polynomial optimization over compact semi-algebraic sets. In this paper, we
show that, for convex polynomial optimization, the Lasserre hierarchy with a
slightly extended quadratic module always converges asymptotically even in the
face of non-compact semi-algebraic feasible sets. We do this by exploiting a
coercivity property of convex polynomials that are bounded below. We further
establish that the positive definiteness of the Hessian of the associated
Lagrangian at a saddle-point (rather than the objective function at each
minimizer) guarantees finite convergence of the hierarchy. We obtain finite
convergence by first establishing a new sum-of-squares polynomial
representation of convex polynomials over convex semi-algebraic sets under a
saddle-point condition. We finally prove that the existence of a saddle-point
of the Lagrangian for a convex polynomial program is also necessary for the
hierarchy to have finite convergence.Comment: 17 page
Chiral Anomaly Effects and the BaBar Measurements of the Transition Form Factor
The recent BaBar measurements of the transition
form factor show spectacular deviation from perturbative QCD prediction for
large space-like up to . When plotted against ,
shows steady increase with in contrast with the flat
behavior predicted by perturbative QCD, and at is
more than 50% larger than the QCD prediction. Stimulated by the BaBar
measurements, we revisit our previous paper on the cancellation of anomaly
effects in high energy processes , and apply our results to the
transition form factor measured in the
process with one highly virtual photon. We find that, the transition form
factor behaves as and produces a striking agreement with the BaBar data
for with which also reproduces very well the
CLEO data at lower .Comment: v4, LaTeX, 8 pages, one figure, minor changes(references), to appear
in Int. J. Mod. Phys.
Charmless Final State Interaction in B-> pi pi decays
We estimate effects of the final state interactions in B -> pi pi decays
coming from rescattering of pi pi via exchange of rho, sigma, f_0 mesons. Then
we include the rho rho rescattering via exchange of pi, omega, a_1 mesons and
finally we consider contributions of the a_1 pi rescattering via exchange of
rho. The absorptive parts of amplitudes for these processes are determined. In
the case of pi^+ pi^- decay mode, due to model uncertainties, the calculated
contribution is |M_A| =< 1.7 x 10^-8 GeV. This produces a small relative strong
phase for the tree and color-suppressed B -> pi pi amplitudes consistent with
the result of a recent phenomenological analysis based on the BaBar and Belle
results for the B -> pi pi branching ratios and CP asymmetries.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Urine adulteration: Can bleach be used to mask MDMA use?
Concerns regarding specimen integrity have long been a major issue of urine drug testing due to acts of urine adulteration. At a high concentration, in vitro urine adulteration using sodium hypochlorite (bleach) produced false-negative results for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in CEDIA® immunoassay screening with strong negative readings. However, these strong negative readings may act as a warning sign for further investigation of the sample where the detection of a unique marker in the form of N-chloroMDMA will suggest urine adulteration via bleach. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) identified N-chloroMDMA is a major product formed between hypochlorite and MDMA in urine. N-ChloroMDMA was found stable at 4°C for at least 10 h, but decomposed over time at room temperature (20°C) with MDMA being identified as one of its main decomposition products. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry
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Long-term stability studies of a semiconductor photoelectrode in three-electrode configuration
Improving the stability of semiconductor materials is one of the major challenges for sustainable and economic photoelectrochemical water splitting. N-terminated GaN nanostructures have emerged as a practical protective layer for conventional high efficiency but unstable Si and III-V photoelectrodes due to their near-perfect conduction band-alignment, which enables efficient extraction of photo-generated electrons, and N-terminated surfaces, which protects against chemical and photo-corrosion. Here, we demonstrate that Pt-decorated GaN nanostructures on an n+-p Si photocathode can exhibit an ultrahigh stability of 3000 h (i.e., over 500 days for usable sunlight ∼5.5 h per day) at a large photocurrent density (>35 mA cm-2) in three-electrode configuration under AM 1.5G one-sun illumination. The measured applied bias photon-to-current efficiency of 11.9%, with an excellent onset potential of ∼0.56 V vs. RHE, is one of the highest values reported for a Si photocathode under AM 1.5G one-sun illumination. This study provides a paradigm shift for the design and development of semiconductor photoelectrodes for PEC water splitting: stability is no longer limited by the light absorber, but rather by co-catalyst particles
The Distribution of Dengue Virus Serotype in Quang Nam Province (Vietnam) during the Outbreak in 2018
Objectives: Quang Nam province in the Centre of Vietnam has faced an outbreak of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) in 2018. Although DHF is a recurrent disease in this area, no epidemiological and microbiological reports on dengue virus serotypes have been conducted mainly due to lack of facilities for such a kind of advanced surveillance. The aim of this study was to detect different dengue virus serotypes in patients’ blood samples. Design and Methods: Suspected cases living in Quang Nam province (Vietnam) and presenting clinical and hematological signs of dengue hemorrhagic fever were included in the study. The screening was performed, and the results were compared by using two methodologies: RT real-time PCR (RT-rPCR) and the Dengue NS1 rapid test. Results: From December 2018 to February 2019, looking both at RT-rPCR [+] and NS1 [+] methodologies, a total of 488 patients were screened and 336 were positive for dengue virus detection (74 children and 262 adults); 273 of these patients (81.3%) underwent viral serotype identification as follows: 12.82% (35/273) D1 serotype, 17.95% (49/273) D2, 0.37% (1/273) D3, 68.50 (187/283) D4, and 0.37% (1/273) D2+D4 serotypes. The RT-rPCR outcomes showed higher sensitivity during the first three days of infection compared to NS1 (92.3% vs. 89.7%). The NS1 increased sensitivity after the first 3 days whilst the RT-rPCR decreased. Conclusions: Advanced surveillance with dengue virus serotypes identification, if performed routinely, may help to predict and prevent further DHF epidemics based on the exposure of the different serotypes during different periods that lead to the intensification of disease severity as a consequence of antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE)
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