pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
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
Nonlinear structural damage detection based on cascade of Hammerstein models

Structural damages can result in nonlinear dynamical signatures that can significantly enhance their detection. An original nonlinear damage detection approach is proposed that is based on a cascade of Hammerstein models representation of the structure. This model is estimated by means of the Exponential Sine Sweep Method from only one measurement. On the basis of this estimated model, the linear and nonlinear parts of the output are estimated, and two damage indexes (DIs) are proposed. The first DI is built as the ratio of the energy contained in the nonlinear part of an output versus the energy contained in its linear part. The second DI is the angle between the subspaces obtained from the nonlinear parts of two set of outputs after a principal component analysis. The sensitivity of the proposed DIs to the presence of damages as well as their robustness to noise are assessed numerically on spring-mass-damper structures and experimentally on actual composite plates with surface-mounted PZT-elements. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method to detect a damage in nonlinear structures and in the presence of noise
Current singularities at finitely compressible three-dimensional magnetic null points

The formation of current singularities at line-tied two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D, respectively) magnetic null points in a nonresistive magnetohydrodynamic environment is explored. It is shown that, despite the different separatrix structures of 2D and 3D null points, current singularities may be initiated in a formally equivalent manner. This is true no matter whether the collapse is triggered by flux imbalance within closed, line-tied null points or driven by externally imposed velocity fields in open, incompressible geometries. A Lagrangian numerical code is used to investigate the finite amplitude perturbations that lead to singular current sheets in collapsing 2D and 3D null points. The form of the singular current distribution is analyzed as a function of the spatial anisotropy of the null point, and the effects of finite gas pressure are quantified. It is pointed out that the pressure force, while never stopping the formation of the singularity, significantly alters the morphology of the current distribution as well as dramatically weakening its strength. The impact of these findings on 2D and 3D magnetic reconnection models is discussed
Strengthening the reporting of genetic association studies (STREGA): an extension of the STROBE statement

Making sense of rapidly evolving evidence on genetic associations is crucial to making genuine advances in human genomics and the eventual integration of this information in the practice of medicine and public health. Assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of this evidence, and hence the ability to synthesize it, has been limited by inadequate reporting of results. The STrengthening the REporting of Genetic Association studies (STREGA) initiative builds on the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement and provides additions to 12 of the 22 items on the STROBE checklist. The additions concern population stratification, genotyping errors, modeling haplotype variation, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, replication, selection of participants, rationale for choice of genes and variants, treatment effects in studying quantitative traits, statistical methods, relatedness, reporting of descriptive and outcome data, and the volume of data issues that are important to consider in genetic association studies. The STREGA recommendations do not prescribe or dictate how a genetic association study should be designed but seek to enhance the transparency of its reporting, regardless of choices made during design, conduct, or analysis
Experiments with liquid bridges in simulated microgravity

A feature of stability diagrams of liquid bridges between unequal disks subjected to small axial gravity forces is that, for each separation of disks, there is a value of microgravity for which an absolute minimum volume limit is reached. The dependence of such microgravity values on the liquid bridge geometry has been experimentally checked by using the neutral buoyancy technique, experimental results being in complete agreement with theoretical ones. Analytical background assuring the experimental procedure used is presented, and a second order analytical expression for the equilirium interface is also calculated
Study of pure and semileptonic decays of Ds meson within R-parity violating supersymmetric model

We present the comaprative study of semileptonic and leptonic decays of Ds, D± and D0 meson (D → Ml+αl−β, D → l+αl−β, D → l+αvα; α,β = e,μ) within the framework of R-parity violating the  Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The comparison shows that combination and product couplings,  contribution to the branching fractions of the said processes (under consideration) is consistent with or comparable to the experimental measurements in most of the cases. However, some cases exist where these contributions are highly suppressed. We identify such cases in our analysis and single out the important ones suitable for exploring in the future and current experiments
Exclusive photoproduction of charmonia in γ p → V p and pp → pV p reactions within k t -factorization approach

The amplitude for γ p → J/ψp (γ p → ψ ′ p ) is calculated in a pQCD k T -factorization approach. The total cross section for this process is calculated for different unintegrated gluon distributions and compared with the HERA data and the data extracted recently by the LHCb collaboration. The amplitude for γ p → J/ψp (γ p → ψ ′ p ) is used to predict the cross section for exclusive photoproduction of J/ψ ( ψ ′ ) mesons in proton-proton collisions. Compared to earlier calculations we include both Dirac and Pauli electromagnetic form factors. The effect of the Pauli form factor is quantified. We discuss the role of the J/ψ and ψ ′ c c ¯ $$ c\overline{c} $$ wave functions for differential distributions and corresponding ratios for ψ ′ and J/ψ . Absorption effects are taken into account and their role is discussed in detail. Different differential distributions e.g. in J/ψ ( ψ ′ ) rapidity and transverse momentum are presented and compared with existing experimental data. The unintegrated gluon distribution with nonlinear effects built in and Gaussian wave functions better describe recent experimental data of the LHCb collaboration but no definite conclusion on onset of saturation can be drawn. We present our results also for the Tevatron. A good agreement with the CDF experimental data points at the midrapidity for both J/ψ and ψ ′ is achieved
The individual level cost of pregnancy termination in Zambia: a comparison of safe and unsafe abortion

Zambia has one of the most liberal abortion laws in sub-Saharan Africa. However, rates of unsafe abortion remain high with negative health and economic consequences. Little is known about the economic burden on women of abortion care-seeking in low income countries. The majority of studies focus on direct costs (e.g.: hospital fees). This paper estimates the individual-level economic burden of safe and unsafe abortion care-seeking in Zambia, incorporating all indirect and direct costs. It uses data collected in 2013 from a tertiary hospital in Lusaka, (n=112) with women who had an abortion. Three treatment routes are identified: i) safe abortion at the hospital ii) unsafe clandestine medical abortion initiated elsewhere with post-abortion care at the hospital and iii) unsafe abortion initiated elsewhere with post-abortion care at the hospital. Based on these three typologies, we use descriptive analysis and linear regression to estimate the costs for women of seeking safe and unsafe abortion and to establish whether the burden of abortion care-seeking costs is equally distributed across the sample. Around 39% of women had an unsafe abortion, incurring substantial economic costs before seeking post-abortion care. Adolescents and poorer women are more likely to use unsafe abortion. Unsafe abortion requiring post-abortion care costs women 27% more than a safe abortion. When accounting for uncertainty this figure increases dramatically. For safe and unsafe abortions, unofficial provider payments represent a major cost to women. This study demonstrates that despite a liberal legislation, Zambia still needs better dissemination of the law to women and providers and resources to ensure abortion service access. The policy implications of this study include: the role of pharmacists and mid-level providers in the provision of medical abortion services; increased access to contraception, especially for adolescents; and, elimination of demands for unofficial provider payments
On the definition of entanglement entropy in lattice gauge theories

We focus on the issue of proper definition of entanglement entropy in lattice gauge theories, and examine a naive definition where gauge invariant states are viewed as elements of an extended Hilbert space which contains gauge non-invariant states as well. Working in the extended Hilbert space, we can define entanglement entropy associated with an arbitrary subset of links, not only for abelian but also for non-abelian theories. We then derive the associated replica formula. We also discuss the issue of gauge invariance of the entanglement entropy. In the Z(N) gauge theories in arbitrary space dimensions, we show that all the standard properties of the entanglement entropy, e.g. the strong subadditivity, hold in our definition. We study the entanglement entropy for special states, including the topological states for the Z(N) gauge theories in arbitrary dimensions. We discuss relations of our definition to other proposals
NIR-to-visible and NIR-to-NIR upconversion in lanthanide doped nanocrystalline GdOF with trigonal structure

Codoped Er3+/Yb3+, Tm3+/Yb3+, Ho3+/Yb3+ and triply doped Er3+/Tm3+/Yb3+ gadolinium oxyfluoride nano- particles were prepared in aqueous solution by a simple coprecipitation method and a suitable heat treat- ment at 500 °C. From the experimental X-Ray powder diffraction patterns, a Rietveld analysis was carried out and it was determined that the nanoparticles are single phase trigonal GdOF. Electron microscopy images show that the average particle size is approximately 25 nm, even though a certain degree of agglomeration is evidenced. The spectroscopic properties of the lanthanide doped nanoparticles are investigated in terms of emission spectra. For proper lanthanide concentrations, the nanoparticles show visible upconversion upon excitation at 980 nm, making them useful as luminescent nanomaterials for photonic applications
Applying subclustering and Lp distance in Weighted K-Means with distributed centroids

We consider the Weighted K-Means algorithm with distributed centroids aimed at clustering data sets with numerical, categorical and mixed types of data. Our approach allows given features (i.e., variables) to have different weights at different clusters. Thus, it supports the intuitive idea that features may have different degrees of relevance at different clusters. We use the Minkowski metric in a way that feature weights become feature re-scaling factors for any considered exponent. Moreover, the traditional Silhouette clustering validity index was adapted to deal with both numerical and categorical types of features. Finally, we show that our new method usually outperforms traditional K-Means as well as the recently proposed WK-DC clustering algorithm
Breakdown in hydrogen and deuterium gases in static and radio-frequency
  fields

We report the results of a combined experimental and modeling study of the
electrical breakdown of hydrogen and deuterium in static (DC) and
radio-frequency (RF, 13.56 MHz) electric fields. For the simulations of the
breakdown events, simplified models are used and only electrons are traced by
Monte Carlo simulation. The experimental DC Paschen curve of hydrogen is used
for the determination of the effective secondary electron emission coefficient.
A very good agreement between the experimental and the calculated RF breakdown
characteristics for hydrogen is found. For deuterium, on the other hand,
presently available cross section sets do not allow a reproduction of RF
breakdown characteristics
Investigation of the Possible Functions of PACAP in Human Trophoblast Cells

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is an endogenous neuropeptide having a widespread distribution both in the nervous system and peripheral organs including the female reproductive system. Both the peptide and its receptors have been shown in the placenta but its role in placental growth, especially its human aspects, remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of PACAP on invasion, proliferation, cell survival, and angiogenesis of trophoblast cells. Furthermore, cytokine production was investigated in human decidual and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. For in vitro studies, human invasive proliferative extravillous cytotrophoblast (HIPEC) cells and HTR-8/SVneo human trophoblast cells were used. Both cell types were used for testing the effects of PACAP on invasion and cell survival in order to investigate whether the effects of PACAP in trophoblasts depend on the examined cell type. Invasion was studied by standardized invasion assay. PACAP increased proliferation in HIPEC cells, but not in HTR-8 cells. Cell viability was examined using MTT test, WST-1 assay, and annexin V/propidium iodide flow cytometry assay. Survival of HTR-8/SVneo cells was studied under oxidative stress conditions induced by hydrogen peroxide. PACAP as pretreatment, but not as co-treatment, significantly increased the number of surviving HTR-8 cells. Viability of HIPEC cells was investigated using methotrexate (MTX) toxicity, but PACAP1-38 could not counteract its toxic effect. Angiogenic molecules were determined both in the supernatant and the cell lysate by angiogenesis array. In the supernatant, we found that PACAP decreased the secretion of various angiogenic markers, such as angiopoietin, angiogenin, activin, endoglin, ADAMTS-1, and VEGF. For the cytokine assay, human decidual and peripheral blood lymphocytes were separated and treated with PACAP1-38. Th1 and Th2 cytokines were analyzed with CBA assay and the results showed that there were no significant differences in control and PACAP-treated cells. In summary, PACAP seems to play various roles in human trophoblast cells, depending on the cell type and microenvironmental influences
Influence analysis of robust Wald-type tests

We consider a robust version of the classical Wald test statistics for testing simple and composite null hypotheses for general parametric models. These test statistics are based on the minimum density power divergence estimators instead of the maximum likelihood estimators. An extensive study of their robustness properties is given though the influence functions as well as the chi-square inflation factors. It is theoretically established that the level and power of these robust tests are stable against outliers, whereas the classical Wald test breaks down. Some numerical examples confirm the validity of the theoretical results
An improved nuclear mass formula with a unified prescription for the shell and pairing corrections

An improvedmacroscopic-microscopic nuclear mass formula is presented in which shell and pairing effects are simultaneously evaluated by a procedure similar to Strutinsky method. The coefficients of the macroscopic-microscopic mass formula have been adjusted on 2267 experimental atomic masses extracted from the atomic mass evaluation of 2012 (AME2012). Same as inthe Weizsäcker-Skyrme (WS) model, the influence of the nuclear deformation on the macroscopic energy as well as the mirror nuclei constraint istaken into account, and for the sake of the consistency of the model parameters between the macroscopic and the microscopic parts we approximate the isospin-dependent component of the macroscopic energy to the depth of the Woods-Saxon potential. As a result, the root-mean square (rms) deviation with respect to 2267 measured nuclear masses is 0.493MeV. Then,based on the fitted formula we predict the remaining 988 nuclei from the AME2012 for which the masses are still unknown or not well-known, and calculate the α-decay energies of seven chains in the superheavy nuclei region with Z=117 and 118
New mass measurements of neutron-rich nuclei near N = 20

International audienceThe masses of 39 neutron-rich nuclei in the mass range 17–37 have been measured using a direct time-of-flight technique following the fragmentation of a 48Ca beam at 55 MeV/nucleon. The masses of 29,30Ne, 34,35Mg and 36,37Al are reported for the first time. The very neutron-rich nuclei, 31–33Na, are found to be 2–4 MeV less bound than previously believed. A comparison is made with recently available large scale shell model calculations encompassing the deformed A∼32 nuclei. Conclusions are drawn regarding the extent of the region of deformation, which is found to include 30Ne
The influence of rock heterogeneity on the scaling properties of simulated and natural stylolites

International audienceStylolites are among the most prominent deformation patterns in sedimentary rocks that document localized pressure solution. Recent studies revealed that stylolite roughness is characterized by two distinct scaling regimes. The main goal of the present study is to decipher whether this complex scaling behavior of stylolites is caused by the composition of the host-rock, i.e. heterogeneities in the material, or is governed by inherent processes on respective scales, namely the transition from a surface energy to an elastic energy dominated regime, as theoretically predicted. For this purpose we have developed a discrete numerical technique, based on a lattice spring model, to simulate the competition between stress, strain, and dissolution during stylolite roughening. We varied systematically the quenched noise, initially present in the material, which controls the roughening. We also changed the size, amount, and dissolution rate of the heterogeneities introduced in our model and evaluated the influence on the scaling exponents. Our findings demonstrate that the roughness and growth exponents are independent of the exact nature of the heterogeneities. We discovered two coinciding crossover phenomena in space and time that separate length and time scales for which the roughening process is either balanced by surface or elastic energies. Our observations are consistent with analytical predictions and with investigations quantifying the scaling laws in the morphology of natural stylolites. The findings presented here can further be used to refine volume loss (compaction) estimates from the finite strain pattern of stylolites
A Theoretical Framework for Examining IT Governance in Living Laboratory Ecosystems

Part 5: Research in ProgressInternational audienceIn recent years Living Labs, which embody an open innovation milieu, have gained currency as representing a salient catalyst for Smart City research and development. However, the current body of Living Lab research, in conjunction with the fragmented isolated nature of existing Living Labs dispersed across the European Union (EU), indicate that a lack of common standardised IT governance procedures are currently being operationalised. While cross border pan European Living Lab initiatives are emerging to rectify this issue, further research is warranted to better understand the role of IT governance in Living Labs and identify how varying IT governance mechanisms impact the effectiveness of open innovation processes. Thus, this paper begins a theory building process for examining IT governance in living labs. The paper concludes by presenting a conceptual framework for future testing
Reconfiguring Early Childhood Education and Care

Part 1: IS/IT Implementation and AppropriationInternational audienceExisting studies of IT within early childhood education and care settings are scant, and those that do exist traditionally utilise a Cartesian worldview where humans and IT are separate self-sufficient entities with properties. In this worldview, change is attributed to either the technological or the human entity, leading to limited, either techno-centric or human-centred accounts of IT implementation and use. We reframe the activities in an early childhood organisation as a process of appropriation, and utilise a sociomaterial theory of technology appropriation alternative to the Cartesian worldview. We contribute a rich account of the changes that occur to the practices, the educators, and the technology itself during the appropriation process and demonstrate the theory’s usefulness as an analytical tool for providing a deeper understanding of how early childhood educators appropriate a new technology into their practices in a sociomaterial, non-dualistic way
Validity and sensitivity of the Longitudinal Asymmetry Index to detect gait asymmetry using Microsoft Kinect data

International audienceGait asymmetry information is a key point in disease screening and follow-up. Constant Relative Phase (CRP) has been used to quantify within-stride asymmetry index, which requires noise-free and accurate motion capture, which is difficult to obtain in clinical settings. This study explores a new index, the Longitudinal Asymmetry Index (ILong) which is derived using data from a low-cost depth camera (Kinect). ILong is based on depth images averaged over several gait cycles, rather than derived joint positions or angles. This study aims to evaluate 1) the validity of CRP computed with Kinect, 2) the validity and sensitivity of ILong for measuring gait asymmetry based solely on data provided by a depth camera, 3) the clinical applicability of a posteriorly mounted camera system to avoid occlusion caused by the standard front-fitted treadmill consoles and 4) the number of strides needed to reliably calculate ILong. The gait of 15 subjects was recorded concurrently with a marker-based system (MBS) and Kinect, and asymmetry was artificially reproduced by introducing a 5cm sole attached to one foot. CRP computed with Kinect was not reliable. ILong detected this disturbed gait reliably and could be computed from a posteriorly placed Kinect without loss of validity. A minimum of five strides was needed to achieve a correlation coefficient of 0.9 between standard MBS and low-cost depth camera based ILong. ILong provides a clinically pragmatic method for measuring gait asymmetry, with application for improved patient care through enhanced disease, screening, diagnosis and monitoring