pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Predicting adsorption of water/organic mixtures using molecular simulation

The use of Monte Carlo simulation to predict the adsorption of mixtures of polar and nonpolar species on activated carbon was investigated using water and ethane on BPL carbon as a prototype system. The structure of the adsorbent was modeled by an array of slit-shaped pores, characterized by a pore-size distribution. The chemical heterogeneity of the carbon was taken into account by including oxygen-containing sites on the surface of the pores. The pore-size distribution was obtained from pure-ethane adsorption on the same carbon sample, while the concentration and distribution of surface sites were determined by analyzing pure-water adsorption. Model predictions agree well with experimental multicomponent data
Microstructure investigation and flow behavior during thixoextrusion of M2 steel grade

The microstructure investigation and flow behavior during thixoforging of M2 steel parts were investigated. Partial remelting was performed at processing temperatures ranging from 1290 ◦C to 1340 ◦C corresponding to a liquid fraction range between 10% and 30% (according to differential scanning calorimetry measurements and quantitative image analyses). A conventional microstructure for thixoforming process was obtained: spherical solid grains surrounded by liquid phase. The microstructure across the heated billets was relatively homogeneous with bigger grain size near the surface. Successful thixoextrusion for producing parts was finally achieved at processing temperatures. By investigating the microstructure and load-displacement curves, different mechanisms in various forming stages were proposed
Numerical optimization of trawl energy efficiency taking into account fish distribution

This study reports on energy efficiency optimization regarding bottom trawls. Efficient fishing gear uses up only a small amount of energy per fish caught. Drag and mouth area during trawling operations affect energy efficiency. Drag causes the energy consumption and the trawl mouth area impacts the quantity of fish caught, hence an energy efficient gear has a low ratio drag on the mouth area. A novel numerical optimization technique using spatial fish distribution is presented in this work. The tool is based on a FEM mechanical model for trawls which consist mostly of netting panels sewn together. This tool is adapted to minimize an objective function namely the drag-to-mouth area ratio. This technique consists in modifying the design of all the panels of the trawl. In this paper the modifications are constant and quantified in terms of mesh number. Moreover the trawl mouth area takes into account the presence of fish within a given depth with respect to sea bottom and the value of the depth is adapted to the fish species of interest. Trawl design optimization with two uniform fish distributions at a given depth (6 m and 3 m above the sea bed) and one linear distribution at 6 m above the sea bed are compared. The application of this tool when designing a bottom trawl for research vessels leads to an energy economy ranging from 16% to 52% under certain assumptions.Plan Barnier d'aide à la pêch
Formic and acetic acids in a nitrogen matrix: Enhanced stability

Formic acid  HCOOH, FA  and acetic acid  CH3COOH, AA  are studied in a nitrogen matrix. The
infrared  IR  spectra of cis and trans conformers of these carboxylic acids  and also of the HCOOD
isotopologue of FA  are reported and analyzed. The higher-energy cis conformer of these molecules
is produced by narrowband near-IR excitation of the more stable trans conformer, and the
cis-to-trans tunneling decay is evaluated spectroscopically. The tunneling process in both molecules
is found to be substantially slower in a nitrogen matrix than in rare-gas matrices, the cis-form decay
constants being approximately 55 and 600 times smaller in a nitrogen matrix than in an argon
matrix, for FA and AA respectively. The stabilization of the higher-energy cis conformer is discussed
in terms of specific interactions with nitrogen molecule binding with the OH group of the carboxylic
acid. This model is in agreement with the observed differences in the IR spectra in nitrogen and
argon matrices, in particular, the relative frequencies of the  OH and  COH modes and the relative
intensities of the  OH and  CvO band
Pressure effects on an S=1 / 2 Heisenberg two-leg ladder antiferromagnet Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4

The pressure effects on an S=1/2 Heisenberg two-leg ladder antiferromagnet (H2LLAF) Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4 have been investigated through magnetic and thermal measurements under pressures up to 10 kbar. The exchange interactions along the rung and leg hardly change under pressures, but the pressurization induces paramagnetic spins and magnetic order. This magnetic order is a pressure-induced one observed in a quantum spin system with an energy gap. The amount of induced paramagnetic spins increases almost in accordance with the square of pressure. The magnetic field dependence of the pressure-induced Schottky-type heat capacity suggests that the induced paramagnetic spins are not completely free, but weakly correlate with the H2LLAF system. A magnetic anomaly of the heat capacity has been observed around 2.6 K for P>~8.5 kbar, where more than 20% of the paramagnetic spins are induced. This anomaly is considered to be intrinsic to the magnetic order of the H2LLAF system, which seems to be triggered by the modulation of the staggered moment due to local defects. Even below the magnetic ordering temperature, the paramagnetic spins coexit with the magnetic order of the H2LLAF system. These pressure effects are similar to the impurity effects in another typical S=1/2 H2LLAF SrCu2O3 doped with nonmagnetic Zn2+ ions
An empirical investigation into social productivity of a software process: An approach by using the structural equation modeling

The actual and expected benefits of fostering the alignment of people factors and cooperation among software development teams enables software development organization to improve software development productivity. Furthermore, software development productivity presents a significant challenge for both understanding and quantifying the performance characteristics of software development organizations. This paper introduces an approach to model software development productivity by using structural equation modeling (SEM), a technique that can be used for testing and estimating relationships using empirical data. We also present preliminary results from an exploratory study about the enabling social factors that affect software development productivity. Our quantitative analysis involves grouping productivity and social productivity factors for studying and identifying their implicit relationship. To this end, we issue questionnaires to test our hypothesis and to gather sample data. The paper concludes by showing initial results, limitations, and directions for future research
Laser assisted synthesis of carbon nanoparticles with\ud
controlled viscosities for printing applications

High-quality carbon nanoparticles with controlled viscosity and high aqueous stability were prepared by liquid-phase laser ablation of a graphite target in deionized water. The size distribution was found to vary from 5 nm to 50 nm with mean size of 18 nm, in the absence of any reducing chemical reagents. Efficient generation of short chain polyynes was recorded for high laser repetition rates. Homogeneous and stable nanoparticle suspensions with viscosities ranging from 0.89 to 12 mPa.s were obtained by suspending the nanoparticles in different solvent mixtures such as glycerol–water and isopropanol–water. Optical properties were investigated by absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy confirmed graphitic-like structure of nanoparticles and the surface chemistry was revealed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy demonstrating sufficient electrostatic stabilization to avoid particle coagulation or flocculation. This paper present an exciting alternative method to engineer carbon nanoparticles and their potential use as a ligand-free nano-ink for ink jet printing (jetting) applications
Compression of aerodynamic databases using high-order singular value decomposition

A methodology based on high-order singular value decomposition is presented to compress multidimensional (with the various dimensions associated with both the spatial coordinates and parameter values) aerodynamic databases. The method is illustrated with a database containing computational fluid dynamics calculations of the outer flow around a wing, with two free parameters, the Mach number and the angle of attack. Comparison is made between the results of compressing just one flow snapshot (for fixed values of the parameters), compressing a one-parameter family of snapshots, and compressing the whole database. Several compressing strategies are also discussed that deal with (a) treating the flow variables separately or considering all flow variables at a time, (b) considering the whole flow domain simultaneously or dividing it into blocks, and (c) using various measures of errors. The main conclusion is that a large compression factor is generally obtained. Furthermore, the compression factor increases exponentially as the dimension of the database increases for any fixed error, namely the compression factor increases by an order of magnitude with each new database dimension for an error level of 1%
Genomic and biological characterization of chiltepin yellow mosaic virus, a new tymovirus infecting Capsicum annuum var. aviculare in Mexico.

The characterization of viruses infecting wild plants is a key step towards understanding the ecology of plant viruses. In this work, the complete genomic nucleotide sequence of a new tymovirus species infecting chiltepin, the wild ancestor of Capsicum annuum pepper crops, in Mexico was determined, and its host range has been explored. The genome of 6,517 nucleotides has the three open reading frames described for tymoviruses, putatively encoding an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, a movement protein and a coat protein. The 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions have structures with typical signatures of the tymoviruses. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that this new virus is closely related to the other tymoviruses isolated from solanaceous plants. Its host range is mainly limited to solanaceous species, which notably include cultivated Capsicum species. In the latter, infection resulted in a severe reduction of growth, indicating the potential of this virus to be a significant crop pathogen. The name of chiltepin yellow mosaic virus (ChiYMV) is proposed for this new tymovirus
Formation of a reliable intermediate band in Si heavily coimplanted with chalcogens (S, Se, Te) and group III elements (B, Al)

This first-principles study describes the properties of Si implanted with several chalcogen species (S, Se, Te) at doses considerably above the equilibrium solubility limit, especially when coimplanted with the group III atoms B and Al. The measurements of chalcogen-implanted Si show strong optical absorption in the infrared range. The calculations carried out show that substitution of Si by chalcogen atoms requires lower formation energy than the interstitial implantation. In the resulting electronic structure, at concentrations close to 0.5%, an impurity band determined by the properties of the chalcogens introduced is observed in the forbidden energy gap of Si. Although this band is a few tenths of an electron volt wide, it remains energetically isolated from both the valence and the conduction bands. Appropriate coimplantation with group III elements allows control over the occupation of the intermediate band while modifying its energies only slightly. A moderate energy gain (especially small for B) seems to be obtained when p-doping atoms occupy the sites next to those of the chalcogens. Therefore, the apparent electrostatic attraction between species that in isolation would act as acceptors and double donors is smaller than expected. The intermediate-band properties have been preserved for all of the coimplanted compounds analyzed here, regardless of the species involved or the distance between them, which constitutes an appreciable advantage for the design of new experimental materials
Methods and Tools for Objective Assessment of Psychomotor Skills in Laparoscopic Surgery

Training and assessment paradigms for laparoscopic surgical skills are evolving from traditional mentor–trainee tutorship towards structured, more objective and safer programs. Accreditation of surgeons requires reaching a consensus on metrics and tasks used to assess surgeons’ psychomotor skills. Ongoing development of tracking systems and software solutions has allowed for the expansion of novel training and assessment means in laparoscopy. The current challenge is to adapt and include these systems within training programs, and to exploit their possibilities for evaluation purposes. This paper describes the state of the art in research on measuring and assessing psychomotor laparoscopic skills. It gives an overview on tracking systems as well as on metrics and advanced statistical and machine learning techniques employed for evaluation purposes. The later ones have a potential to be used as an aid in deciding on the surgical competence level, which is an important aspect when accreditation of the surgeons in particular, and patient safety in general, are considered. The prospective of these methods and tools make them complementary means for surgical assessment of motor skills, especially in the early stages of training. Successful examples such as the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery should help drive a paradigm change to structured curricula based on objective parameters. These may improve the accreditation of new surgeons, as well as optimize their already overloaded training schedules
Refractive index changes in amorphous SiO2 (silica) by swift ion irradiation

The refractive index changes induced by swift ion-beam irradiation in silica have been measured either by spectroscopic ellipsometry or through the effective indices of the optical modes propagating through the irradiated structure. The optical response has been analyzed by considering an effective homogeneous medium to simulate the nanostructured irradiated system consisting of cylindrical tracks, associated to the ion impacts, embedded into a virgin material. The role of both, irradiation fluence and stopping power, has been investigated. Above a certain electronic stopping power threshold (∼2.5 keV/nm), every ion impact creates an axial region around the trajectory with a fixed refractive index (around n = 1.475) corresponding to a certain structural phase that is independent of stopping power. The results have been compared with previous data measured by means of infrared spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering; possible mechanisms and theoretical models are discussed
Wavelet-based image fusion in multi-view three-dimensional microscopy

Multi-view microscopy techniques such as Light-Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy (LSFM) are powerful tools for 3D + time studies of live embryos in developmental biology. The sample is imaged from several points of view, acquiring a set of 3D views that are then combined or fused in order to overcome their individual limitations. Views fusion is still an open problem despite recent contributions in the field. \ud
We developed a wavelet-based multi-view fusion method that, due to wavelet decomposition properties, is able to combine the complementary directional information from all available views into a single volume. Our method is demonstrated on LSFM acquisitions from live sea urchin and zebrafish embryos. The fusion results show improved overall contrast and details when compared with any of the acquired volumes. The proposed method does not need knowledge of the system's point spread function (PSF) and performs better than other existing PSF independent fusion methods
Low-density InAs QDs with subcritical coverage obtained by conversion of In nanocrystals

We report growth of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) by molecular beam epitaxy with low density of 2 μm−2 by conversion of In nanocrystals deposited at low temperatures. The total amount of InAs used is about one monolayer, which is less than the critical thickness for conventional Stranski–Krastanov QDs. We also demonstrate the importance of the starting surface reconstruction for obtaining uniform QDs. The QD emission wavelength is easily tunable upon post-growth annealing with no wetting layer signal visible for short anneals. Microphotoluminescence measurements reveal well separated and sharp emission lines of individual QDs
The use of vegetation series to assess á and â vegetation diversity and their relationships with geodiversity in the province of Almeria (Spain) with watersheds as operational geographic units

Abstract With this paper we suggest that vegetation series is a useful conceptual tool to identify a clear level of biodiversity of land systems among the many possible logical levels. The suggestion is supported by the results of a case study carried out for the province of Almeria (Spain) using the watersheds as operational geographic units. The application of standard correlation analysis, simple and partial, the Mantel?s test, and the cluster analysis has shown that ? and ? vegetation diversities, based on vegetation series, are significantly predictive with respect to environmental heterogeneity expressed by pedodiversity, lithodiversity, and some parameters of digital elevation model. Being a product of the Braun Blanquet?s floristic approach, vegetation series could be the key to enter into vegetation databases for biodiversity analysis of land systems at many other levels of knowledge.  Keywords: data mining, Mantel, nestedness, partial correlation, pedodiversity, Simpson, knowledge generatio
Non-cooperative identification of civil aircraft using a generalised mutual subspace method

The subspace-based methods are effectively applied to classify sets of feature vectors by modelling them as\ud
subspaces. However, their application to the field of non-cooperative target identification of flying aircraft is barely seen in the literature. In these methods, setting the subspace dimensionality is always an issue. Here, it is demonstrated that a modified mutual subspace method, which uses softweights to set the importance of each subspace basis, is a promising classifier for identifying sets of range profiles coming from real in-flight targets with no need to set the subspace dimensionality in advance. The assembly of a recognition database is also a challenging task.\ud
In this study, this database comprises predicted range profiles coming from electromagnetic simulations. Even though the predicted and actual profiles differ, the high recognition rates achieved reveal that the algorithm might be a good candidate for its application in an operational target recognition system
Tailoring pore structure of ultralight electrospun sponges by solid templating

Freeze-casted nanofiber based sponges or aerogels exhibit a hierarchical porous structure. Pore formation is only partially understood. Therefore, we studied the underlying solid templating mechanism. We were able to tailor the secondary pore size between 9.5 and 123 µm while retaining the smaller primary pores known from electrospun nanofiber membranes. To understand the effect of microstructure on the sponges’ bulk properties, mass flow through the pores and interaction with the sponges’ internal surface were investigated. By solely altering the sponges’ microstructure we indeed found tunability in permeability by a factor 7 and in filtration efficiency by a factor of 220. Hence, pore architecture of nanofiber based sponges is a key element for their performance. The selected pullulan/PVA polymer blends and aqueous electrospinning conditions are benign and allow the facile adaptation of these ultralight highly porous sponges for a large number of applications
“Shadowing” of the electromagnetic field of relativistic charged particles

VIII International Symposium Radiation from Relativistic Electrons in Periodic Structures (RREPS-09), Zvenigorod, Russia, Sept. 7-11, 2009International audienceIn radiation processes such as a transition radiation, diffraction radiation, etc. based on relativistic electrons passing through or near an opaque screen, the electron self-field is partly shadowed after the screen over a distance of the order of the formation length γ2λ. This effect has been investigated on coherent diffraction radiation (DR) by electron bunches. Absorbing and conductive half-plane screens were placed at various distances L before a standard DR source (inclined half-plane mirror). The radiation intensity was reduced when the screen was at small L and on the same side as the mirror. No reduction was observed when the screen was on the opposite side. It is worth noting that absorbing and conductive half-plane screens produce the same shadowing effect. The shadowing effect is responsible for a bound on the intensity of Smith-Purcell radiation
Cascading lake drainage on the Greenland Ice Sheet triggered by tensile shock and fracture

Supraglacial lakes on the Greenland Ice Sheet are expanding inland, but the impact on ice flow is equivocal because interior surface conditions may preclude the transfer of surface water to the bed. Here we use a well-constrained 3D model to demonstrate that supraglacial lakes in Greenland drain when tensile-stress perturbations propagate fractures in areas where fractures are normally absent or closed. These melt-induced perturbations escalate when lakes as far as 80?km apart form expansive networks and drain in rapid succession. The result is a tensile shock that establishes new surface-to-bed hydraulic pathways in areas where crevasses transiently open. We show evidence for open crevasses 135?km inland from the ice margin, which is much farther inland than previously considered possible. We hypothesise that inland expansion of lakes will deliver water and heat to isolated regions of the ice sheet?s interior where the impact on ice flow is potentially largepublishersversionPeer reviewe
Educated mothers, healthy infants: the impact of a school reform on the birth weight of Norwegian infants 1967-2005

This is the accepted and refereed manuscript to the articleBirth weight is an important predictor of health and success in later life. Little is known about the effect of mothers’ education on birth weight. A few causal analyses have been done, but they show conflicting results. We estimated the effect of mothers’ education on birth weight by using data on a school reform in Norway. During the period 1960-1972, all municipalities in Norway were required to increase the number of compulsory years of schooling from seven to nine years. We used this education reform to create exogenous variation in the education variable. The education data were combined with large sets of data from the Medical Birth Registry and Statistics Norway. Since municipalities implemented the reform at different times, we have cross-sectional as well as time-series variation in the reform instrument. In the analyses, we controlled for municipality fixed effects, municipality-specific time-trends and mothers’ and infants’ year of birth. Using this procedure we found a fairly large effect of mothers’ education on birth weight. Increasing mothers’ education reduces the likelihood of low birth weight, even in a publically financed health care system. In interpreting these results it is important to keep in mind that we have examined only one channel, which is through birth weight, through which education may explain differences in health. There are other potential channels that should be explored by future research. In particular, it would be of interest to examine whether education has causal effects on the broader determinants of health, such as psychopathology, social capital and networks, and family stress and dysfunction.2, Forfatterversjo