pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Efficient Set Sharing Using ZBDDs

Set sharing is an abstract domain in which each concrete object is represented by the set of local variables from which it might be reachable. It is a useful abstraction to detect parallelism opportunities, since it contains definite information about which variables do not share in memory, i.e., about when the memory regions reachable from those variables are disjoint. Set sharing is a more precise alternative to pair sharing, in which each domain element is a set of all pairs of local variables from which a common object may be reachable. However, the exponential complexity of some set sharing operations has limited its wider application. This work introduces an efficient implementation of the set sharing domain using Zero-suppressed Binary Decision Diagrams (ZBDDs). Because ZBDDs were designed to represent sets of combinations (i.e., sets of sets), they naturally represent elements of the set sharing domain. We show how to synthesize the operations needed in the set sharing transfer functions from basic ZBDD operations. For some of the operations, we devise custom ZBDD algorithms that perform better in practice. We also compare our implementation of the abstract domain with an efficient, compact, bit set-based alternative, and show that the ZBDD version scales better in terms of both memory usage and running time
An autonomic framework for enhancing the quality of data grid services

Data grid services have been used to deal with the increasing needs of applications in terms of data volume and throughput. The large scale, heterogeneity and dynamism of grid environments often make management and tuning of these data services very complex. Furthermore, current high-performance I/O approaches are characterized by their high complexity and specific features that usually require specialized administrator skills. Autonomic computing can help manage this complexity. The present paper describes an autonomic subsystem intended to provide self-management features aimed at efficiently reducing the I/O problem in a grid environment, thereby enhancing the quality of service (QoS) of data access and storage services in the grid.  Our proposal takes into account that data produced in an I/O system is not usually immediately required. Therefore, performance improvements are related not only to current but also to any future I/O access, as the actual data access usually occurs later on. Nevertheless, the exact time of the next I/O operations is unknown. Thus, our approach proposes a long-term prediction designed to forecast the future workload of grid components. This enables the autonomic subsystem to determine the optimal data placement to improve both current and future I/O operations
Fleets of robots for environmentally-safe pest control in agriculture

Feeding the growing global population requires an annual increase in food production. This requirement suggests an increase in the use of pesticides, which represents an unsustainable chemical load for the environment. To reduce pesticide input and preserve the environment while maintaining the necessary level of food production, the efficiency of relevant processes must be drastically improved. Within this context, this research strived to design, develop, test and assess a new generation of automatic and robotic systems for effective weed and pest control aimed at diminishing the use of agricultural chemical inputs, increasing crop quality and improving the health and safety of production operators. To achieve this overall objective, a fleet of heterogeneous ground and aerial robots was developed and equipped with innovative sensors, enhanced end-effectors and improved decision control algorithms to cover a large variety of agricultural situations. This article describes the scientific and technical objectives, challenges and outcomes achieved in three common crops
Experimental study of positron production from a 2.55-mm-thick silicon crystal target using 8-GeV channeling electron beams with high-bunch charges

We have investigated quenching phenomena of channeling radiation through positron production from a silicon crystal hit by a single-bunch electron beam with high-bunch charge at the 8-GeV electron/positron injector linac. The crystal axis, left angle bracket1 1 0right-pointing angle bracket, was aligned to the electron beam with a precise goniometer, and positrons produced in the forward direction with a momentum of 20 MeV/c were detected with a magnetic spectrometer. Positron yields were measured by varying the charge in a bunch with a typical bunch length of not, vert, similar10 ps from 0.1 nC to 2 nC. The corresponding instantaneous current density ranged from 0.15 × 104 to 1.2 × 104 A/cm2. The results show that, at these current densities, the positron yield is proportional to the bunch charge within the experimental accuracy, which implies that no non-linear phenomena are observed in channeling radiation
Fission Enhanced diffusion of uranium in zirconia

ACEThis paper deals with the comparison between thermal and Fission Enhanced Diffusion (FED) of uranium into zirconia, representative of the inner face of cladding tubes. The experiments under irradiation are performed at the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble using the Lohengrin spectrometer. A thin $^{235}UO_2$ layer in direct contact with an oxidized zirconium foil is irradiated in the ILL high flux reactor. The fission product flux is about 10$^{11}$ ions cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ and the target temperature is measured by an IR pyrometer. A model is proposed to deduce an apparent uranium diffusion coefficient in zirconia from the energy distribution broadening of two selected fission products. It is found to be equal to 10$^{-15}$ cm$^2$ s$^{-1}$ at 480$\circ$C and compared to uranium thermal diffusion data in ZrO$_2$ in the same pressure and temperature conditions. The FED results are analysed in comparison with literature data
Breeding persistence of Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus) at long-term monitoring sites: predictors of a steep decline at the northern European range limit

The Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus) has its
European northern range limit in northern Norway, and is a
species of national conservation concern due to its small
population size and unknown population trend. Long-term
monitoring at the range limit suggests breeding site use is
in decline. We used annual occupancy data from 104
breeding lakes monitored since 1991 in northern Norway to
investigate correlates of change in occupancy. Persistence
was 100 % until 1999, but thereafter decreased to 25 % (26
lakes with breeding pairs). A particularly steep decrease
occurred between 2010 and 2012. Persistence increased
with the number of pairs present in each lake in the initial
monitoring year of 1991. The number of grebe pairs also
decreased in the lakes that had continuous breeding persistence
over the entire 22-year monitoring period, suggesting
that a large-scale factor caused the population
decline. Over the last year of the monitoring series, lake
altitude was negatively related to the probability of persistence,
indicative that locally harsh climate played some
role in breeding distribution. The temporal pattern of persistence
was not related to mean winter temperature at the
breeding sites; however, the decrease between 2010 and
2011 coincided with a late ice melt in 2010. Monitoring
that includes a larger area of the species’ range is required
to conclude whether the observed decline can indicate an
overall decline in population size, or range fluctuations at
the edge of the species’ range. However, investigating the
processes that determine population range borders can give
insights into important limiting factors pertinent to the
conservation of species in the long term
Why only tetraploid Solidago gigantea (Asteraceae) became invasive : a common garden comparison of ploidy levels

Many studies have compared the growth of plants from native and invasive populations, but few have considered the role of ploidy. In its native range in North America, Solidago gigantea Aiton (Asteraceae) occurs as a diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid, with considerable habitat differentiation and geographic separation amongst these ploidy levels. In the introduced range in Europe, however, only tetraploid populations are known. We investigated the growth performance and life history characteristics of plants from 12 European and 24 North American (12 diploid, 12 tetraploid) populations in a common garden experiment involving two nutrient and two calcium treatments. Twelve plants per population were grown in pots for two seasons. We measured 24 traits related to leaf nutrients, plant size, biomass production and phenology as well as sexual and vegetative reproduction. Native diploid plants had a higher specific leaf area and higher leaf nutrient concentrations than native tetraploids, but tetraploids produced many more shoots and rhizomes. Diploids grown with additional calcium produced less biomass, whereas tetraploids were not affected. European plants were less likely to flower and produced smaller capitulescences than North American tetraploids, but biomass production and shoot and rhizome number did not differ. We conclude that a knowledge of ploidy level is essential in comparative studies of invasive and native populations. While clonal growth is important for the invasion success of tetraploid S. gigantea, its potential was not acquired by adaptation after introduction but by evolutionary processes in the native range
Non-unitary evolution of quantum logics

In this work we present a dynamical approach to quantum logics. By changing the standard formalism of quantum mechanics to allow non-Hermitian operators as generators of time evolution, we address the question of how can logics evolve in time. In this way, we describe formally how a non-Boolean algebra may become a Boolean one under certain conditions. We present some simple models which illustrate this transition and develop a new quantum logical formalism based in complex spectral resolutions, a notion that we introduce in order to cope with the temporal aspect of the logical structure of quantum theory
Ad Hoc Hypotheses and the Monsters within

Science is increasingly becoming automated. Tasks yet to be fully\ud
automated include the conjecturing, modifying, extending and testing of hypotheses. At present scientists have an array of methods to help them carry out those tasks. These range from the well-articulated, formal and unexceptional rules to the semi-articulated and variously understood rules-of-thumb and intuitive hunches. If we are to hand over at least some of the aforementioned tasks to machines, we need to\ud
clarify, refine and make formal, not to mention computable, even the more obscure of the methods scientists successfully employ in their inquiries. The focus of this essay is one such less-than-transparent methodological rule. I am here referring to the rule that ad hoc hypotheses ought to be spurned. This essay begins with a brief examination of some notable conceptions of ad hoc-ness in the philosophical literature. It is pointed out that there is a general problem afflicting most such conceptions, namely the intuitive judgments that are supposed to motivate them are not universally shared. Instead of getting bogged down in what ad hoc-ness exactly means, I shift the focus of the analysis to one undesirable feature often present in alleged cases of ad hoc-ness. I call this feature the ‘monstrousness’ of a hypothesis. A fully articulated formal account of this feature is presented by specifying what it is about the internal constitution of a hypothesis that makes it monstrous. Using this account, a monstrousness measure is then proposed and somewhat sketchily\ud
compared with the minimum description length approach
Development of low thermal conductivity brick using rice husk, corn cob and waste tea
in clay brick manufacturing

The consumption of energy for cooling the indoor environment of buildings in Malaysia is high and mostly
related to poor thermal performance of the building envelope. It is evident that reducing energy consumption of buildings
has become vital, taking into considerations the limitation of conventional energy resources and the adverse effects
associated with the use of such type of energy on the environment. Therefore, selecting the proper thermal properties of a
building envelope play a major role in determining the energy consumption patterns and comfort conditions in enclosed
spaces. The objective of this study is to investigate the potential application of rice husk (RH), corn cob (CC) and waste
tea (WT) as an additive agent in a fired clay brick manufacturing to produce an improved thermal conductivity of final
brick product. In the execution of this study, these agricultural wastes were mixed together with clay soil in different
percentages, ranging from 0 %, 2.5 %, 5 %, 7.5 % and 10 % by weight. Physical and mechanical properties including soil
physical properties, density, shrinkage, water absorption, compressive strength as well as thermal conductivity were
measured, reported and discussed in accordance with BS 1377: Part 2: 1990, BS 3921: 1985, MS 76: 1972: Part 2 and
ASTM C 518. The results show that RH at 7.5 % is the most effective combination to achieve low thermal conductivity
of fired clay brick. This finding suggests that RH waste is a potentially good additive material to be used for thermal
properties enhancement of the building envelope
A Stereovision Method for Obstacle Detection and Tracking in Non-Flat Urban Environments

Obstacle detection is an essential capability for the safe guidance of autonomous vehicles, especially in urban environments. This paper presents an efficient method to integrate spatial and temporal constraints for detecting and tracking obstacles in urban environments. In order to enhance the reliability of the obstacle detection task, we do not consider the urban roads as rigid planes, but as quasi-planes, whose normal vectors have orientation constraints. Under this flexible road model, we propose a fast, robust stereovision based obstacle detection method. A watershed transformation is employed for obstacle segmentation in dense traffic conditions, even with partial occlusions, in urban environments. Finally a UKF (Unscented Kalman filter) is applied to estimate the obstacles parameters under a nonlinear observation model. To avoid the difficulty of the computation in metric space, the whole detection process is performed in the disparity image. Various experimental results are presented, showing the advantages of this method.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10514-005-0612-
The effect of environmental parameters and cyanobacterial blooms on phytoplankton dynamics of a Portuguese temperate Lake

Abstract  The increasing occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms in freshwaters is of great concern due to the ability of many cyanobacteria to produce cyanotoxins. In the present work, the eutrophied Vela Lake (Central Portugal), used for recreational purposes and as a water source for agriculture, was monitored every fortnight between 2000 and 2001. Phytoplankton diversity and densities were measured and correlated to environmental parameters. A seasonal phytoplanktonic succession was observed and it was mainly correlated with conductivity, temperature, total suspended solids and nutrients availability (particularly phosphorus). Diatoms were dominant during winter months (inferior temperatures and higher nutrients availability) followed by green algae in early spring and then cyanobacteria from late spring until early autumn (less nutrient availability and higher temperatures). A massive cyanobacterial bloom of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae occurred early in May 2001 and was preceded by the lowest nitrogen levels measured in the water during all the study period. At the time of this bloom senescence, dissolved oxygen was severely depleted and a massive death of ichthyofauna was recorded. A Microcystis aeruginosa bloom was also detected in July 2001 and it occurred following a rapid decrease in abundance of green algae and diatoms. By considering not only the environmental parameters but also the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms as explanatory variables in a canonical correspondence analysis, the variance explained for the phytoplanktonic assemblage during the study period was increased in about 7% achieving a total of 61.0%, indicating a correlation that may be due to the known competitive advantage and/or allelopathy of the bloom-forming cyanobacteria towards microalgae.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0196-
Analysis of the airflow at the centre of the upper plateau on the Iberian Peninsula and its link to CO2 and CH4 concentrations

Air trajectories are useful tools to investigate the airflow and transport of substances released into the atmosphere. Web-based models are widely used to calculate trajectories reaching places that are being studied. This articleconsiders 6 years of air trajectories as of October 2010 together with CO2 and CH4 concentrations. A bivariate smoothing function that employs the radial distance and direction of the trajectory to the measuring site was used to form trajectory groups from the minima of this function. Varied radial and angular windows were assayed to investigate the behaviour of the smoothing function. Curves associated with the number of minima were L-shaped and the windows selected corresponded to the ‘knee’ of the curves. Seven trajectory groups were considered to observe the response of the procedure against the radial distance and the direction. Seasonal evolution revealed the greatest radial extent for winter and the lowest for summer. Moreover, trajectories from the Atlantic Ocean were the most frequent. CO2 and CH4 concentrations were detrended using a linear function, and average trends were 2.34 and 0.0085 ppm year−1, respectively. Annual cycles of detrended concentrations were very soft and were linked to the site’s ecosystem. CO2 presented one maximum in spring linked to substantial vegetation growth, and one minimum in summer, when vegetation dies and dispersion is maximum. CH4 maximum was observed in winter although the minimum was found in summer and attributed to oxidation with the hydroxyl radical in the troposphere and to dispersion in this season. Analysis of concentration trends for the groups proposed revealed the opposite behaviour of both gases in summer. Finally, maximum CO2 concentrations were marked by trajectories from North Africa affected by nearby cities, whereas minimum concentrations for both gases were noticeable for trajectories from the ocean in summer
Systematic Identification of MCU Modulators by Orthogonal Interspecies Chemical Screening

Producción CientíficaThe mitochondrial calcium uniporter complex is essential for calcium (Ca2+) uptake into mitochondria of all mammalian tissues, where it regulates bioenergetics, cell death, and Ca2+ signal transduction. Despite its involvement in several human diseases, we currently lack pharmacological agents for targeting uniporter activity. Here we introduce a high-throughput assay that selects for human MCU-specific small-molecule modulators in primary drug screens. Using isolated yeast mitochondria, reconstituted with human MCU, its essential regulator EMRE, and aequorin, and exploiting a D-lactate- and mannitol/sucrose-based bioenergetic shunt that greatly minimizes false-positive hits, we identify mitoxantrone out of more than 600 clinically approved drugs as a direct selective inhibitor of human MCU. We validate mitoxantrone in orthogonal mammalian cell-based assays, demonstrating that our screening approach is an effective and robust tool for MCU-specific drug discovery and, more generally, for the identification of compounds that target mitochondrial functions.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project BFU2014-53469P)Instituto de Saludo Carlos III (grant RD16/0011/0003
Time-controlled charge injection in a quantum Hall fluid

We consider the injection of a controlled charge from a normal metal into an
edge state of the fractional quantum Hall effect, with a time-dependent voltage
$V(t)$. Using perturbative calculations in the tunneling limit, and a chiral
Luttinger liquid model for the edge state, we show that the electronic
correlations prevent the charge fluctuations to be divergent for a generic
voltage pulse $V(t)$. This is in strong contrast with the case of charge
injection in a normal metal, where this divergence is present. We show that
explicit formul{ae} for the mean injected charge and its fluctuations can be
obtained using an adiabatic approximation, and that non perturbative results
can be obtained for injection in an edge state of the FQHE with filling factor
$ nu=1/3$. Generalization to other correlated systems which can be described
with the Luttinger liquid model, like metallic Carbon nanotube, is given
Initial data sets for the Schwarzschild spacetime

A characterisation of initial data sets for the Schwarzschild spacetime is
provided. This characterisation is obtained by performing a 3+1 decomposition
of a certain invariant characterisation of the Schwarzschild spacetime given in
terms of concomitants of the Weyl tensor. This procedure renders a set of
necessary conditions --which can be written in terms of the electric and
magnetic parts of the Weyl tensor and their concomitants-- for an initial data
set to be a Schwarzschild initial data set. Our approach also provides a
formula for a static Killing initial data set candidate --a KID candidate.
Sufficient conditions for an initial data set to be a Schwarzschild initial
data set are obtained by supplementing the necessary conditions with the
requirement that the initial data set possesses a stationary Killing initial
data set of the form given by our KID candidate. Thus, we obtain an algorithmic
procedure of checking whether a given initial data set is Schwarzschildean or
not.Comment: 16 page
Influence of stress on optical transitions in GaN nanorods containing a single InGaN/GaN quantum disk

Cathodoluminescence (CL) hyperspectral imaging has been performed on GaN nanorods containing a single InGaN quantum disk (SQD) with controlled variations in excitation conditions. Two different nanorod diameters (200 and 280 nm) have been considered. Systematic changes in the CL spectra from the SQD were observed as the accelerating voltage of the electron beam and its position of incidence are varied. It is shown that the dominant optical transition in the SQD varies across the nanorod as a result of interplay between the contributions of the deformation potential and the quantum-confined Stark effect to the transition energy as consequence of radial variation in the pseudomorphic strain
Induced thermo-mechanical stress in CPV receivers with cycled high intensity light

CPV receivers are made of materials with very different lineal expansion coefficients. Strong variations in DNI due to the passage of clouds can cause sudden temperature changes that creates mechanical stress. For common solder and metal filled polymers the plastic limit could be reached causing substantial fatigue. The best forecast of receiver reliability is therefore achieved by applying an intermittent light source with nominal irradiance level and a number of cycles equal to the expected cloud passages for a given site. The UPM has developed specialized equipment, dubbed the LYSS (Light cYcling Stressing Source), for carrying out such experiments. The small thermal capacity of receivers allows simulating more than 25000 cycles per week. The number of deep transients expected for Madrid in 30 years operation, based on available data, is about 45000. We are currently using the system to cycle a ?Ge/Ag Epoxy/aluminum? receiver, which shows no degradation after 20000 cycles. The equipment can cast up to 200 and 70 W/cm2 on 0.1 and 1 cm2 cells, respectively