pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Experimental investigation into radar-based central blood pressure estimation

To assess whether radar technology can be used for monitoring blood pressure via information from the aorta, two
experiments were performed: (i) measurements on a phantom model and (ii) acquisitions on a human subject for in vivo
experiments. A linear dependency of phase on radius in the radar echoes in the phantom model showed that the information
regarding the radius of a circular, cylindrical object depended on the clutter environment: in a low-clutter case two distinct reflections
were identified, whereas in the high-clutter case it was possible to extract a proxy. Radar echoes from antennas strapped to the back
of a human subject showed a clear signature from a discernible, distinct reflector believed to be the aorta. However, as for the highclutter
case, only a proxy for aortic radius is available as basis for estimation, which is most likely coupled with aortic displacements.© Institution of Engineering and Technology. This is the authors’ accepted and refereed manuscript to the article
Remittances and expenditure patterns of the left behinds in rural China

This paper investigates how private transfers from internal migration in China affect the expenditure behaviour of families left behind in rural areas. Using data from the Rural-Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) survey, we assess the impact of remittances sent to rural households on consumption-type and investment-type expenditures. We apply propensity score matching to account for the selection of households into receiving remittances, and estimate average treatment effects on the treated. We find that remittances supplement income in rural China and lead to increased consumption rather than increased investment. Moreover, we find evidence of a strong negative impact on education expenditures, which could be detrimental to sustaining investment in human capital in poor rural areas in China
Studying Students' Learning Processes Used During Physics Teaching Sequence About Gas With Networks of Ideas and Their Domain of Applicability

International audienceIn literature, several processes have been suggested to describe conceptual changes being undertaken. However, a few parts of studies analyse in great detail which students' learning processes are involved in physics classes during teaching, and how they are used. Following a socio-constructivist approach using tools coming from discourse analysis, we suggest studying three processes of students' learning: (1)establishing links between ideas, (2)increasing or (3)decreasing the domain of applicability of ideas. Our database consists of video data and written worksheets of 2 students at the upper secondary school level (grade 10 [15-year-old students]) during a one-month teaching sequence about gas. Based on semiotic resources contained in oral and written language, we reconstruct in great detail all the ideas about gas expressed by both students during the entire teaching sequence. Our analysis deals with (a) how learning processes are identified based on the ideas expressed by students and (b) how the three learning processes are used by the two students during teaching. Our results show that during the teaching sequence: (1) the emergence of the networks of three ideas is supported by networks of two ideas expressed previously by students, (2) both students express more networks of two ideas than networks of three ideas, (3) The process 'increasing the domain of applicability' of an idea or a network of ideas is very often involved and (4) the process 'decreasing the domain of applicability' of an idea or network of ideas is rarely used by them
Nitrated and oxygenated derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the ambient air of two French alpine valleys Part 2: Particle size distribution

International audienceThe size distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and PAH derivatives was determined during the intensive sampling campaigns of the POVA (Pollution des Vallées Alpines) research programme, in two French alpine valleys, in winter and summer. The size distributions of PAHs, oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs) and nitrated PAHs (NPAHs) present large variations with year time and site type (traffic; suburban and rural). In general, these compounds were mainly associated (60-90%) with fine particles (Dp<1.3 μm) in agreement with their release from sources (primary and/or secondary). The pollutant distributions with particle size were unimodal and centred at 0.85 μm both in the Chamonix and Maurienne valleys. The summer size distribution of NPAHs was centred at Dp=2.75 μm. PAH, OPAH and NPAH super micrometre fractions were significantly larger in summer for most sites suggesting the existence of a second mode in that particle size range. A possible reason to explain this phenomenon is that aerosol was locally polluted and characterised by fine particles in winter whereas in summer, aerosol was more mixed and older with possibilities of adsorption of gaseous organic compounds at the surface of the pre-exiting particles. In summer, NPAHs were associated to a greater degree with the super micrometre fraction of the aerosol than the other categories of compounds
Exciton-phonon coupling efficiency in CdSe quantum dots embedded in ZnSe nanowires

International audienceExciton luminescence of a CdSe quantum dot (QD) inserted in a ZnSe nanowire is strongly influenced by the dark exciton states. Because of the small size of these QDs (2-5 nm), exchange interaction between hole and electron is highly enhanced and we measured large energy splitting between bright and dark exciton states (ΔE∈[4,9.2] meV) and large spin-flip rates between these states. Statistics on many QDs showed that this splitting depends on the QD size. Moreover, we measured an increase of the spin-flip rate to the dark states with increasing energy splitting. We explain this observation with a model, taking into account the fact that the exciton-phonon interaction depends on the bright to dark exciton energy splitting, as well as on the size and shape of the exciton wave function. It also has consequences on the exciton line intensity at high temperature
Coupling between molecular rotations and OH***O motions in liquid water: Theory and experiment

International audienceA new theory is proposed to describe spectral effects of the coupling between molecular rotations and OH⋯O motions in liquid water. The correlation function approach is employed together with a special type of development in which the coupling energy of these two motions is the expansion parameter. The isotropy of the liquid medium plays an essential role in this study. Based on this theory, a new infrared pump-probe experiment is described permitting a visualization of molecular rotations at subpicosecond time scales. Full curves relating the mean squared rotational angle and time, and not only the rotational relaxation time, are measured by this experiment. However, very short times where the incident pulses overlap must be avoided in this analysis. The lifetime of OH⋯O bonds in water is rotation-limited. © 2002 American Institute of Physics
Damages induced by heavy ions in titanium silicon carbide: effects of nuclear and electronic interactions at room temperature

International audienceThanks to their refractoriness, carbides are sensed as fuel coating for the IVth generation of reactors. Among those studied, the Ti3SiC2 ternary compound can be distinguished for its noteworthy mechanical properties: the nanolamellar structure imparts to this material some softness as well as better toughness than other classical carbides such as SiC or TiC. However, under irradiation, its behaviour is still unknown. In order to understand this behaviour, specimens were irradiated with heavy ions of different energies, then characterised. The choice of energies used allowed separation of the effects of nuclear interactions from those of electronic ones
Structure of low-lying states of $^{10,11}$C from proton elastic and inelastic scattering

NESTER PTH, expérience GANIL, équipement SISSITo probe the ground state and transition densities, elastic and inelastic scattering on a proton target were measured in inverse kinematics for the unstable $^{10}$C and $^{11}$C nuclei at 45.3 and 40.6 MeV/nucleon, respectively. The detection of the recoil proton was performed by the MUST telescope array, in coincidence with a wall of scintillators for the quasiprojectile. The differential cross sections for elastic and inelastic scattering to the first excited states are compared to the optical model calculations performed within the framework of the microscopic nucleon-nucleus Jeukenne-Lejeune-Mahaux potential. Elastic scattering is sensitive to the matter-root-mean square radius found to be 2.42$\pm$0.1 and 2.33$\pm$0.1 fm, for $^{10,11}$C, respectively. The transition densities from cluster and mean-field models are tested, and the cluster model predicts the correct order of magnitude of cross sections for the transitions of both isotopes. Using the Bohr-Mottelson prescription, a profile for the $^{10}$C transition density from the $0^+$ ground to the $2_1^+$ state is deduced from the data. The corresponding neutron transition matrix element is extracted: Mn=5.51$\pm$1.09 fm$^2$
Sources of dissolved organic carbon in small volcanic mountainous tropical rivers, examples from Guadeloupe (French West Indies)

International audienceIn the tropical zone, small watersheds are affected by intense meteorological events. These events play an important role in the erosion of soils and therefore on the sources of organic carbon in small tropical rivers. We studied the geochemistry of two soils on Basse-Terre Island (French West Indies, FWI): ferralitic soil and Andosol. The two studied soils are very similar in terms of soil organic matter (SOM) and soil solution parameters. The total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents vary between 1.7 and 92 g kg‐1 and between 0.1 and 5.5 g kg‐1, respectively, with the highest concentrations observed in the topsoil. The C/N ratios are relatively constant throughout the soil profiles (ca. 12). The carbon isotopic composition of SOM varies between ‐27.3‰ and ‐22.7‰ and presents an enrichment with increasing depth of soil profiles. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in soil solutions, varying from 3.2 to 91.3 mg L‐1, are similar for the both extraction used in lab (with milliQ water and Ca(NO3)2) but are higher than those measured in soil solutions sampled from lysimeters (0.65–1.46 mg L‐1). The isotopic compositions of DOC obtained by extractions and SOM are comparable, with δ13C values ranging from ‐28.6‰ to ‐25.8‰. The DOC sampled from lysimeters is systematically depleted in 13C compared to DOC obtained by extractions, with δ13C values of ‐33.8‰ to ‐30.6‰. The enrichment of δ13C of SOM through the soil profiles is either consistent with the carbon isotopic fractionation of SOM by decomposing organisms, or the differential mineralization of both labile and stable carbon stocks in soils. DOC concentrations in stream waters vary between 0.46 and 5.75 mg L‐1, and are generally lower during low water level than floods. The isotopic compositions of DOC in the rivers range from ‐38.9‰ to ‐27.2‰, with δ13C values, which are more depleted in 13C during low water level than flood events. The δ13CDOC of water river samples and soil solutions obtained by extraction and collected with lysimeters demonstrates that the DOC in rivers derives essentially from both the lixiviation of the soil surface layers during floods and groundwater flow during low water levels. Lixiviation of soil surface layers can be boosted by significant increases of intensity and duration of meteorological events and can strongly favor the release of surface soil organic matter in rivers and the impoverishment in nutrients of soil surface layers
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Study of a Photosynthetic Microbial Mat and Comparison with Archean Cherts

International audienceOrganic radicals in artificially carbonized biomass dominated by oxygenic and non-oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria, Microcoleus chthonoplastes-like and Chloroflexus-like bacteria respectively, were studied by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The two bacteria species were sampled in mats from a hypersaline lake. They underwent accelerated ageing by cumulative thermal treatments to induce progressive carbonization of the biological material, mimicking the natural maturation of carbonaceous material of Archean age. For thermal treatments at temperatures higher than 620 °C, a drastic increase in the EPR linewidth is observed in the carbonaceous matter from oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria and not anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria. This selective EPR linewidth broadening reflects the presence of a catalytic element inducing formation of radical aggregates, without affecting the molecular structure or the microstructure of the organic matter, as shown by Raman spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. For comparison, we carried out an EPR study of organic radicals in silicified carbonaceous rocks (cherts) from various localities, of different ages (0.42 to 3.5 Gyr) and having undergone various degrees of metamorphism, i.e. various degrees of natural carbonization. EPR linewidth dispersion for the most primitive samples was quite significant, pointing to a selective dipolar broadening similar to that observed for carbonized bacteria. This surprising result merits further evaluation in the light of its potential use as a marker of past bacterial metabolisms, in particular oxygenic photosynthesis, in Archean cherts
Daily variability of river concentrations and fluxes: indicators based on the segmentation of the rating curve

International audienceThe variability of water chemistry on a daily scale is rarely addressed due to the lack of records. Appropriate tools, such as typologies and dimensionless indicators, which permit comparisons between stations and between river materials, are missing. Such tools are developed here for daily concentrations (C), specific fluxes or yields (Y) and specific river flow (q). The data set includes 128 long-term daily records, for suspended particulate matter (SPM), total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved and total nutrients, totalling 1236 years of records. These 86 river basins (103-106 km2) cover a wide range of environmental conditions in semi-arid and temperate regions. The segmentation--truncation of C-q rating curves into two parts at median flows (q50) generates two exponents (b50inf and b50sup) that are different for 66% of the analysed rating curves. After segmentation, the analysis of records results in the definition of nine major C-q types combining concentrating, diluting or stable patterns, showing inflexions, chevron and U shapes. SPM and TDS are preferentially distributed among a few types, while dissolved and total nutrients are more widely distributed. Four dimensionless indicators of daily variability combine median (C50, Y50), extreme (C99, Y99) and flow-weighted (C*, Y*) concentrations and yields (e.g. C99/C50, Y*/Y50). They vary over two to four orders of magnitude in the analysed records, discriminating stations and river material. A second set of four indicators of relative variability [e.g. (Y*/Y50)/(q*/q50)], takes into account the daily flow variability, as expressed by q*/q50 and q99/q50, which also vary over multiple orders of magnitude. The truncated exponent b50sup is used to describe fluxes at higher flows accounting for 75% (TDS) to 97% (SPM) of interannual fluxes. It ranges from − 0*61 to + 1*86 in the database. It can be regarded as the key amplificator (positive b50sup) or reductor (negative b50sup) of concentrations or yields variability. C50, Y50, b50sup can also be estimated in discrete surveys, which provides a new perspective for quantifying and mapping water quality variability at daily scal
Pluto's lower atmosphere structure and methane abundance from high-resolution spectroscopy and stellar occultations

International audienceContext. Pluto possesses a thin atmosphere, primarily composed of nitrogen, in which the detection of methane has been reported. Aims. The goal is to constrain essential but so far unknown parameters of Pluto's atmosphere such as the surface pressure, lower atmosphere thermal stucture, and methane mixing ratio. Methods. We use high-resolution spectroscopic observations of gaseous methane, and a novel analysis of occultation light-curves. Results. We show that (i) Pluto's surface pressure is currently in the 6.5-24 μbar range (ii) the methane mixing ratio is 0.5±0.1 %, adequate to explain Pluto's inverted thermal structure and ∼100 K upper atmosphere temperature (iii) a troposphere is not required by our data, but if present, it has a depth of at most 17 km, i.e. less than one pressure scale height; in this case methane is supersaturated in most of it. The atmospheric and bulk surface abundance of methane are strikingly similar, a possible consequence of the presence of a CH4-rich top surface layer
Titan's diverse landscapes as evidenced by Cassini RADAR's third and fourth looks at Titan

International audienceCassini's third and fourth radar flybys, T7 and T8, covered diverse terrains in the high southern and equatorial latitudes, respectively. The T7 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) swath is somewhat more straightforward to understand in terms of a progressive poleward descent from a high, dissected, and partly hilly terrain down to a low flat plain with embayments and deposits suggestive of the past or even current presence of hydrocarbon liquids. The T8 swath is dominated by dunes likely made of organic solids, but also contain somewhat enigmatic, probably tectonic, features that may be partly buried or degraded by erosion or relaxation in a thin crust. The dark areas in T7 show no dune morphology, unlike the dark areas in T8, but are radiometrically warm like the dunes. The Huygens landing site lies on the edge of the T8 swath; correlation of the radar and Huygens DISR images allows accurate determination of its coordinates, and indicates that to the north of the landing site sit two large longitudinal dunes. Indeed, had the Huygens probe trajectory been just 10 km north of where it actually was, images of large sand dunes would have been returned in place of the fluvially dissected terrain actually seen?illustrating the strong diversity of Titan's landscapes even at local scales
Messinian event in the black sea: Evidence of a Messinian erosional surface

In 1975, sediment cores from leg DSDP 42b (sites 380A and 381) revealed a thin sediment layer in the Black Sea basin which points to a shallow water environment at the Miocene-Pliocene boundary. With these facts and in the wake of hypothesis of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC), it was proposed that the Black Sea, like the Mediterranean Sea, suffered a desiccation period at the end of the Messinian (Hsü, K.J. and Giovanoli, F., 1979. Messinian event in the Black Sea. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 29: 75–93). Whereas the main topics of the MSC in the Mediterranean Sea is now widely accepted, the lack of evidence for a Messinian erosional surface in the Black Sea left the debate about the Messinian desiccation of this basin open until today. The analysis of high resolution multi-channel seismic data acquired during the BlaSON surveys brings important new elements for this scientific debate: (1) Down the slope offshore the Bosporus, we show a clear erosional surface correlated to the top of the Upper Miocene shallow water environment unit of site DSDP 381. The overlying Lower Zanclean unit inevitably dates this erosional surface of the Messinian event. (2) A wide intra-Pontian erosional surface (IPU) is evidenced on the Romanian shelf. The IPU is characterized by a sharp decrease in the incision rate from outer (deep canyons) to inner shelf (superficial incisions network). According to the most recent Paratethyan and Mediterranean stratigraphic scale correlations, the IPU erosional surface is considered as the analogue to the Messinian erosional surface described down the slope offshore the Bosporus. In addition to recently discovered inland erosional signature, the wide regional erosional surface we underline on the Western Black Sea margins validates the Black Sea Messinian desiccation hypothesis. We also demonstrate that evaporative draw-down of the Black Sea implied the installation in the basin of a negative hydrologic budget during the Messinian. The lack of a major Messinian Danube canyon on the Romanian shelf supports the hypothesis of a Messinian Danube trapped in the Dacic basin. However, the presence of a Messinian superficial incision network connecting the location of the modern Danube delta to deeply incised Messinian canyons on the outer shelf (IPU) makes the hypothesis of a Danube reaching the partially desiccated Black Sea still possible
Estimation of quantitative descriptors of northeastern Mediterranean karst behavior: multiparametric study and local validation of the Siou-Blanc massif (Toulon, France)

International audienceKey parameters controlling the recharge and behavior of Mediterranean karsts were selected in order to make a quantitative description of northeastern Mediterranean karsts on a regional scale. The methodology was applied to an actual karstic aquifer on the Siou-Blanc Plateau (France). For the recharge study, it was observed that the average yearly rainfall value and δ18O measurements in springs can be considered as good descriptors of climatic variations observed in the Mediterranean area. They can be used to estimate the intake area and the infiltration coefficient. A comparison with a numerical (double permeability) flow model (MODFLOW) on the Siou-Blanc karst improves these exponential relations between effective rainfall and δ18O measurements. Infiltrated water, which flows though different rock types, induces contrasts in the water chemistry. An instantaneous physical and chemical analysis of all the springs of the Siou-Blanc aquifer displays the same expected functioning and variations as had been forecast using the conceptual scheme. Thus, it can be applied to wide areas associated with a northeastern Mediterranean climate for a first approach of a karst study; such a model enables a useful estimation of recharge and behavior with few simple data
Effect of swift heavy ion irradiations in polycrystalline aluminum nitride

International audienceThanks to its high thermal conductivity, aluminum nitride may be a serious candidate as fuel coating for the Gas Fast Reactor. However, its behavior under irradiation is not entirely well understood. In order to catch a glimpse of this behavior, specimens were irradiated with swift heavy ions of different energies then characterised by both thermally stimulated luminescence and optical absorption spectrophotometry. With these techniques, the native defects, as well as those affected by irradiation, were identified: thus, by comparison to the virgin sample, no new defect detectable by these techniques is created by irradiations. Eventually, the fact that these techniques complement each other allowed to understand the effect of irradiation parameters on the defect concentration. Keywords: AlN, irradiation, swift heavy ions, electronic interactions, thermoluminescence, optical absorption spectrophotometr
Mapping wildland-urban interfaces at large scales integrating housing density and vegetation aggregation for fire prevention in the South of France

Every year, more than 50,000 wildland fires affect about 500,000 ha of vegetation in southern European countries, particularly in wildland-urban interfaces (WUI). This paper presents a method to characterize and map WUIs at large scales and over large areas for wildland fire prevention in the South of France. Based on the combination of four types of building configuration and three classes of vegetation structure, 12 interface types were classified. Through spatial analysis, fire ignition density and burned area ratio were linked with the different types of WUI. Among WUI types, isolated WUIs with the lowest housing density represent the highest level of fire risk