pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Identification of pore spaces in 3D CT soil images using a PFCM partitional clustering

Recent advances in non-destructive imaging techniques, such as X-ray computed tomography (CT), make it possible to analyse pore space features from the direct visualisation from soil structures. A quantitative characterisation of the three-dimensional solid-pore architecture is important to understand soil mechanics, as they relate to the control of biological, chemical, and physical processes across scales. This analysis technique therefore offers an opportunity to better interpret soil strata, as new and relevant information can be obtained. In this work, we propose an approach to automatically identify the pore structure of a set of 200-2D images that represent slices of an original 3D CT image of a soil sample, which can be accomplished through non-linear enhancement of the pixel grey levels and an image segmentation based on a PFCM (Possibilistic Fuzzy C-Means) algorithm. Once the solids and pore spaces have been identified, the set of 200-2D images is then used to reconstruct an approximation of the soil sample by projecting only the pore spaces. This reconstruction shows the structure of the soil and its pores, which become more bounded, less bounded, or unbounded with changes in depth. If the soil sample image quality is sufficiently favourable in terms of contrast, noise and sharpness, the pore identification is less complicated, and the PFCM clustering algorithm can be used without additional processing; otherwise, images require pre-processing before using this algorithm. Promising results were obtained with four soil samples, the first of which was used to show the algorithm validity and the additional three were used to demonstrate the robustness of our proposal. The methodology we present here can better detect the solid soil and pore spaces on CT images, enabling the generation of better 2D?3D representations of pore structures from segmented 2D images
Tinkertoys for the E 6 theory

Compactifying the 6-dimensional (2,0) superconformal field theory, of type ADE, on a Riemann surface, C , with codimension-2 defect operators at points on C , yields a 4-dimensional N = 2 $$ \mathcal{N}=2 $$ superconformal field theory. An outstanding problem is to classify the 4D theories one obtains, in this way, and to understand their properties. In this paper, we turn our attention to the E 6 (2,0) theory, which (unlike the A- and D-series) has no realization in terms of M5-branes. Classifying the 4D theories amounts to classifying all of the 3-punctured spheres (“fixtures”), and the cylinders that connect them, that can occur in a pants-decomposition of C . We find 904 fixtures: 19 corresponding to free hypermultiplets, 825 corresponding to isolated interacting SCFTs (with no known Lagrangian description) and 60 “mixed fixtures”, corresponding to a combination of free hypermultiplets and an interacting SCFT. Of the 825 interacting fixtures, we list only the 139 “interesting” ones. As an application, we study the strong coupling limits of the Lagrangian field theories: E 6 with 4 hypermultiplets in the 27 and F 4 with 3 hypermultiplets in the 26
An adaptive methodology for risk classification of small homogeneous earthfill embankment dams integrating climate change projections

This paper presents the application of the advanced probabilistic slope stability model with precipitation effects developed to assess the performance of small homogeneous earthfill embankment dam slopes, when exposed to future seasonal precipitation scenarios. Here, the UK's latest probabilistic climate model known as UKCP09 is applied. To reflect the critical conditions conducive to slope failure, a benchmark has been developed to identify the change, if any, in the risk classification of the slope's performance level due to precipitation. Thus, enabling the reassessment of the dam's risk classification, as categorised by the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. Such an approach could therefore be well placed to support and enhance the decision-making process, its impact on the public, especially in relation to future climate effects
Sum-of-Squares approach to feedback control of laminar wake flows

A novel nonlinear feedback control design methodology for incompressible
fluid flows aiming at the optimisation of long-time averages of flow quantities
is presented. It applies to reduced-order finite-dimensional models of fluid
flows, expressed as a set of first-order nonlinear ordinary differential
equations with the right-hand side being a polynomial function in the state
variables and in the controls. The key idea, first discussed in Chernyshenko et
al. 2014, Philos. T. Roy. Soc. 372(2020), is that the difficulties of treating
and optimising long-time averages of a cost are relaxed by using the
upper/lower bounds of such averages as the objective function. In this setting,
control design reduces to finding a feedback controller that optimises the
bound, subject to a polynomial inequality constraint involving the cost
function, the nonlinear system, the controller itself and a tunable polynomial
function. A numerically tractable approach to the solution of such optimisation
problems, based on Sum-of-Squares techniques and semidefinite programming, is
proposed.
  To showcase the methodology, the mitigation of the fluctuation kinetic energy
in the unsteady wake behind a circular cylinder in the laminar regime at
Re=100, via controlled angular motions of the surface, is numerically
investigated. A compact reduced-order model that resolves the long-term
behaviour of the fluid flow and the effects of actuation, is derived using
Proper Orthogonal Decomposition and Galerkin projection. In a full-information
setting, feedback controllers are then designed to reduce the long-time average
of the kinetic energy associated with the limit cycle. These controllers are
then implemented in direct numerical simulations of the actuated flow. Control
performance, energy efficiency, and physical control mechanisms identified are
analysed. Key elements, implications and future work are discussed
The impact of participation within formal standardization on firm performance

Several studies highlight the economic benefits of standards, while the benefit of taking part in standardization remains a rather unexplored mystery to date. In theory, standard setters not only benefit from the possibility to monitor and shape the development of standards but also access a wide range of knowledge sources in the standards committee. Therefore, we investigate how the participation within formal standardization is related to the performance of 1561 German companies. A Cobb-Douglas production function is estimated in order to use the Solow-residuals as indicator for the firm performance. Participation within formal standardization is measured by the number of committee seats at the German Institute for Standardization (DIN). Our results suggest that participation within formal standardization is positively related to firm performance in the manufacturing sector. In the service sector, no clear evidence for such a relationship is found. This finding also holds true when we test if a service providers’ intellectual property is well protected through patents
Control of lasing in fully chaotic open microcavities by tailoring the shape factor

We demonstrate experimentally that lasing in a semiconductor microstadium can be optimized by controlling its shape. Under spatially uniform optical pumping, the first lasing mode in a GaAs microstadium with large major-to-minor-axis ratio usually corresponds to a high-quality scar mode consisting of several unstable periodic orbits. Interference of waves propagating along the constituent orbits may minimize light leakage at particular major-to-minor-axis ratio. By making stadium of the optimum shape, we are able to maximize the mode quality factor and align the mode frequency to the peak of the gain spectrum, thus minimizing the lasing threshold. This work opens the door to control chaotic microcavity lasers by tailoring the shape factor
Tests of Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors for Active Target Time Projection Chambers in nuclear physics

Active target detection systems, where the gas used as the detection medium is also a target for nuclear reactions, have been used for a wide variety of nuclear physics applications since the eighties. Improvements in Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs) and in micro-electronics achieved in the last decade permit the development of a new generation of active targets with higher granularity pad planes that allow spatial and time information to be determined with unprecedented accuracy. A novel active target and time projection chamber (ACTAR TPC), that will be used to study reactions and decays of exotic nuclei at facilities such as SPIRAL2, is presently under development and will be based on MPGD technology. Several MPGDs (Micromegas and Thick GEM) coupled to a 2×2 mm2 pixelated pad plane have been tested and their performances have been determined with different gases over a wide range of pressures. Of particular interest for nuclear physics experiments are the angular and energy resolutions. The angular resolution has been determined to be better than 1° FWHM for short traces of about 4 cm in length and the energy resolution deduced from the particle range was found to be better than 5% for 5.5 MeV α particles. These performances have been compared to Geant4 simulations. These experimental results validate the use of these detectors for several applications in nuclear physics
Dynamical DNA accessibility induced by chromatin remodeling and protein binding

International audienceChromatin remodeling factors are enzymes being able to alter locally chromatin structure at the nucleosomal level and they actively participate in the regulation of gene expression. Using simple rules for individual nucleosome motion induced by a remodeling factor, we designed simulations of the remodeling of oligomeric chromatin, in order to address quantitatively collective effects in DNA accessibility upon nucleosome mobilization. Our results suggest that accessibility profiles are inhomogeneous thanks to borders effects like protein binding. Remarkably, we show that the accessibility lifetime of DNA sequence is roughly doubled in the vicinity of borders as compared to its value in bulk regions far from the borders. These results are quantitatively interpreted as resulting from the confined diffusion of a large nucleosome depleted region
Generation of two-color polarization-entangled optical beams with a self-phase-locked two-crystal Optical Parametric Oscillator

A new device to generate polarization-entangled light in the continuous variable regime is introduced. It consists of an Optical Parametric Oscillator with two type-II phase-matched non-linear crystals orthogonally oriented, associated with birefringent elements for adjustable linear coupling. We give in this paper a theoretical study of its classical and quantum properties. It is shown that two optical beams with adjustable frequencies and well-defined polarization can be emitted. The Stokes parameters of the two beams are entangled. The principal advantage of this setup is the possibility to directly generate polarization entangled light without the need of mixing four modes on beam splitters as required in current experimental setups. This device opens new directions for the study of light-matter interfaces and generation of multimode non-classical light and higher dimensional phase space
Multivariate SPC for Total Inertial Tolerancing

International audienceThis paper presents a joint use of the T² chart and Total Inertial Tolerancing for process control. Here, we will show an application of these approaches in the case of the machining of mechanical workpieces using a cutting tool. When a cutting tool in machining impacts different manufactured dimensions of the workpiece, there is a correlation between these parameters when the cutting tool has maladjustment due to bad settings. Thanks to Total Inertial Steering, the correlation structure is known. This paper shows how T² charts allow one to take this correlation into account when detecting the maladjustment of the cutting tool. Then the Total Inertial Steering approach allows one to calculate the value of tool offsets in order to correct this maladjustment. We will present this approach using a simple theoretical example for ease of explanation
A Multi-attribute Collaborative Filtering Recommendation Algorithm Based on Improved Group Decision-Making

Part 6: Decision Making and Knowledge ManagementInternational audienceThe paper builds an evaluation model of user interest based on resource multi-attributes, proposes a modified Pearson-Compatibility multi-attribute group decision-making algorithm, and introduces the algorithm to solve the recommendation problem of k-neighbor similar users. Considering the characteristics of collaborative filtering recommendation, the paper addresses the issues on the preference differences of similar users, incomplete values, and advanced converge of the algorithm. Thus the paper realizes multi-attribute collaborative filtering. Finally, the effectiveness of the algorithm is proved by an experiment of collaborative recommendation among multi-users based on virtual environment
Controlled extrinsic magnetoelectric coupling in BaTiO3/Ni nanocomposites: Effect of compaction pressure on interfacial anisotropy

International audienceThe dynamical control of the dielectric response in magnetoelectric (ME) nanocomposites (NCs) renders an entire additional degree of freedom to the functionality of miniaturized magnetoelectronics and spintronics devices. In composite materials, the ME effect is realized by using the concept of product properties. Through the investigation of the microwave properties of a series of BaTiO3/Ni NCs fabricated by compaction of nanopowders, we present experimental evidence that the compaction (uniaxial) pressure in the range 33-230 MPa affects significantly the ME features. The Ni loading was varied from zero (BaTiO3 only) to 63 vol %. Our findings revealed that the ME coupling coefficient exhibits a large enhancement for specific values of the Ni volume fraction and compaction pressure. The coupling effects in the NCs were studied by looking at the relationships among the crystallite orientation and the magnetic properties. The magnetization curves for different directions of the applied magnetic field cannot be superimposed. We suggest that the average magnetization measurements on these NCs under compressive stress are dominated by strain anisotropy rather than magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Overall, these observations are considered to be evidence of stress-induced microstructural changes under pressure which strongly affect the elastic interaction between the magnetostrictive and piezoelectric phases in these NCs. These results have a potential technological impact for designing precise tunable ME NCs for microwave devices such as tunable phase shifters, resonators, and delay lines
Percolation parameter and percolation-threshold estimates for 3D random ellipses with widely-scattered distributions of eccentricity and size

In fractured materials of very low matrix permeability, fracture connectivity is the first-order determinant of the occurrence of flow. For systems having a narrow distribution of object sizes (short-range percolation), a first-order percolation criterion is given by the total excluded volume that is almost constant at threshold. In the case of fractured media, recent observations have demonstrated that the fracture-length distribution is extremely large. Because of this widely-scattered fracture-length distribution, the classical expression of the total excluded volume is no longer scale invariant at the percolation threshold and has no finite limit for infinitely large systems. Thus, the classical estimation method of the percolation threshold established in short-range percolation becomes useless for the connectivity determination of fractured media. In this study, we derive a new expression of the total excluded volume that remains scale invariant at the percolation threshold and that can thus be used as the proper control parameter, called parameter of percolation in percolation theory. We show that the scale-invariant expression of the total excluded volume is the geometrical union normalized by the system volume rather than the summation of the mutual excluded volumes normalized by the system volume
Monitoring seasonal snow dynamics using ground based high resolution photography (Austre Lovenbreen, Svalbard, 79°N)

International audienceArctic glaciers are reliable indicators of global climate changes. However, monitoring snow and ice dynamics in Arctic regions is challenging: some fast but key events can be missed since they are short in time but significant in the hydrological budget. In the context of long term monitoring with high temporal and spatial resolutions of the snow cover dynamics, automated digital cameras were installed around the Austre Lovénbreen glacier basin (Spitsbergen, Norway, 79 N). Despite data losses due to rough weather conditions and control electronics failure, a dataset of 2411 pictures (out of an expected 3294) was gathered over a 1 year hydrological period to assess the snow coverage of the glacier as a function of time with daily resolution. 73% of the total number of expected images was thus recorded, with gaps associated with temporary electronics or data storage failure. The six camera stations oriented so as to observe the glacier itself provide a surface coverage of 96%. Furthermore, geometric corrections of the pictures, using reference ground control points located on the glacier through GPS receivers, yield a quantitative information from initially qualitative images. Projecting the resulting mosaic of the images gathered from six cameras on a GIS allows for the precise monitoring of ice-related processes, and especially the snow coverage evolution over time. This paper summarizes our current understanding of such dynamics, based on the analysis of daily mosaics of images allowing for the observation of both long term evolution on the seasonal scale and the short term events on a weekly scale. Such results demonstrated over one typical full hydrological season (April-October 2009) that snow coverage evolves following discrete steps, either due to water precipitation or warm events, with a snow coverage ranging from 100% (april) to 37% (September
The 2014 Magnetism Roadmap

37 pagesInternational audienceMagnetism is a very fascinating and dynamic field. Especially in the last 30 years it has experienced many major advances in the full range from novel fundamental phenomena to new products. Applications such as hard disk drives and magnetic sensors are part of our daily life, and new applications, such as in non-volatile computer random access memory, are expected to surface shortly. Thus it is timely for describing the current status, and current and future challenges in the form of a Roadmap article. This 2014 Magnetism Roadmap provides a view on several selected, currently very active innovative developments. It consists of 12 sections, each written by an expert in the field and addressing a specific subject, with strong emphasize on future potential. This Roadmap cannot cover the entire field. We have selected several highly relevant areas without attempting to provide a full review - a future update will have room for more topics. The scope covers mostly nano-magnetic phenomena and applications, where surfaces and interfaces provide additional functionality. New developments in fundamental topics such as interacting nano-elements, novel magnon-based spintronics concepts, spin-orbit torques and spin-caloric phenomena are addressed. New materials, such as organic magnetic materials and permanent magnets are covered. New applications are presented such as nano-magnetic logic, non-local and domain-wall based devices, heat-assisted magnetic recording, magnetic random access memory, and applications in biotechnology. May the Roadmap serve as a guideline for future emerging research directions in modern magnetism
Computational results of a semidefinite branch-and-bound algorithm for k-cluster

International audienceThis computational paper presents a method to solve k-cluster problems exactly by intersecting semidefinite and polyhedral relaxations. Our algorithm uses a generic branch-and-bound method featuring an improved semidefinite bounding procedure. Extensive numerical experiments show that this algorithm outperforms the best known methods both in time and ability to solve large instances. For the first time, numerical results are reported for k-cluster problems on unstructured graphs with 160 vertices
Identification of a novel BET bromodomain inhibitor-sensitive, gene regulatory circuit that controls Rituximab response and tumour growth in aggressive lymphoid cancers.
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CYCLON-induced Rituximab resistance

International audienceImmuno-chemotherapy elicit high response rates in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma but heterogeneity in response duration is observed, with some patients achieving cure and others showing refractory disease or relapse. Using a transcriptome-powered targeted proteomics screen, we discovered a gene regulatory circuit involving the nuclear factor CYCLON which characterizes aggressive disease and resistance to the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, Rituximab, in high-risk B-cell lymphoma. CYCLON knockdown was found to inhibit the aggressivity of MYC-overexpressing tumours in mice and to modulate gene expression programs of biological relevance to lymphoma. Furthermore, CYCLON knockdown increased the sensitivity of human lymphoma B cells to Rituximab in vitro and in vivo. Strikingly, this effect could be mimicked by in vitro treatment of lymphoma B cells with a small molecule inhibitor for BET bromodomain proteins (JQ1). In summary, this work has identified CYCLON as a new MYC cooperating factor that autonomously drives aggressive tumour growth and Rituximab resistance in lymphoma. This resistance mechanism is amenable to next-generation epigenetic therapy by BET bromodomain inhibition, thereby providing a new combination therapy rationale for high-risk lymphoma