pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Depth-resolved phase imaging

This is an article from a special issue of the serial, Procedia IUTAM with papers from the IUTAM Symposium on Full-field Measurements and Identification in Solid Mechanics. The issue is published by Elsevier as open access under a CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence.Traditional full-field interferometric techniques (speckle, moiré, holography etc) encode the surface deformation state of the object under test in the form of 2-D phase images. Over the past 10 years, a family of related techniques (Wavelength Scanning Interferometry, Phase Contrast Spectral Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Tilt Scanning Interferometry and Hyperspectral Interferometry) has emerged that allows one to measure the volume deformation state within weakly-scattering objects. The techniques can be thought of as combining the phase-sensing capabilities of Phase Shifting Interferometry and the depth-sensing capabilities of OCT. This paper provides an overview of the techniques, and describes a theoretical framework based on the Ewald sphere construction that allows key parameters such as depth resolution and displacement sensitivity to be calculated straightforwardly for any given optical geometry and wavelength scan range. Finally, the related issue of robust phase unwrapping of noisy 3-D wrapped phase volumes is also described
IEA annex 58 : full-scale empirical validation of detailed thermal simulation programs

As simulation programs become more widely used for building performance assessment and building regulations compliance, there is a need to ensure that there are good quality empirical datasets which can be used to assess the predictive accuracy of these programs. This paper summarises a detailed experiment carried out on two identical full-scale buildings located at the Fraunhofer IBP test site at Holzkirchen in Germany and the associated modelling of the buildings. The work was undertaken as part of IEA ECB Annex 58 "Reliable building energy performance characterization based on full scale dynamic measurements". The test sequence, applied to the side-by-side validation experiment conducted on the multi-roomed Twin Houses, consisted of periods of constant internal temperatures, a period of pseudo-random heat injections and a free-float period. All boundary and internal conditions were comprehensively monitored. Modelling teams were given details of the buildings and the boundary conditions, and over 20 teams submitted their predictions of the internal conditions which were subsequently compared with measurements. The paper focuses on a sensitivity study carried out to assess the overall prediction uncertainty resulting from the uncertainties in the input parameters, as well as identifying those inputs which had the most influence on predictions. An assessment of the measurement uncertainty is also included
Recursively Adaptive Quantum State Tomography: Theory and Two-qubit
  Experiment

Adaptive techniques have important potential for wide applications in
enhancing precision of quantum parameter estimation. We present a recursively
adaptive quantum state tomography (RAQST) protocol for finite dimensional
quantum systems and experimentally implement the adaptive tomography protocol
on two-qubit systems. In this RAQST protocol, an adaptive measurement strategy
and a recursive linear regression estimation algorithm are performed. Numerical
results show that our RAQST protocol can outperform the tomography protocols
using mutually unbiased bases (MUB) and the two-stage MUB adaptive strategy
even with the simplest product measurements. When nonlocal measurements are
available, our RAQST can beat the Gill-Massar bound for a wide range of quantum
states with a modest number of copies. We use only the simplest product
measurements to implement two-qubit tomography experiments. In the experiments,
we use error-compensation techniques to tackle systematic error due to
misalignments and imperfection of wave plates, and achieve about 100-fold
reduction of the systematic error. The experimental results demonstrate that
the improvement of RAQST over nonadaptive tomography is significant for states
with a high level of purity. Our results also show that this recursively
adaptive tomography method is particularly effective for the reconstruction of
maximally entangled states, which are important resources in quantum
information.Comment: 12 pages,4 figure
Splitting Mass Spectra and Muon g-2 in Higgs-Anomaly Mediation

We propose a scenario where only the Higgs multiplets have direct couplings
to a supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking sector. The standard model matter multiplets
as well as the gauge multiples are sequestered from the SUSY breaking sector;
therefore, their masses arise via anomaly mediation at the high energy scale
with a gravitino mass of $\sim$100 TeV. Due to renormalization group running
effects from the Higgs soft masses, the masses of the third generation
sfermions become O(10) TeV at the low energy scale, while the first and second
generation sfermion masses are O(0.1-1) TeV, avoiding the tachyonic slepton
problem and flavor changing neutral current problem. With the splitting mass
spectrum, the muon g-2 anomaly is explained consistently with the observed
Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV. Moreover, the third generation Yukawa couplings
are expected to be unified in some regions.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures; discussion added; Table 1 extende
First international new intravascular rigid-flex endovascular stent study (FINESS): Clinical and angiographic results after elective and urgent stent implantation

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility, safety and efficacy of elective and urgent deployment of the new intravascular rigid-flex (NIR) stent in patients with coronary artery disease. Background. Stent implantation has been shown to be effective in the treatment of focal, new coronary stenoses and in restoring coronary flow after coronary dissection and abrupt vessel closure. However, currently available stents either lack flexibility, hindering navigation through tortuous arteries, or lack axial strength, resulting in suboptimal scaffolding of the vessel. The unique transforming multicellular design of the NIR stent appears to provide both longitudinal flexibility and radial strength. Methods. NIR stent implantation was attempted in 255 patients (341 lesions) enrolled prospectively in a multicenter international registry from December 1995 through March 1996. Nine-, 16- and 32-mm long NIR stents were manually crimped onto coronary balloons and deployed in native coronary (94%) and saphenous vein graft (6%) lesions. Seventy-four percent of patients underwent elective stenting for primary or restenotic lesions, 21% for a suboptimal angioplasty result and 5% for threatened or abrupt vessel closure. Fifty-two percent of patients presented with unstable angina, 48% had a previous myocardial infarction, and 45% had multivessel disease. Coronary lesions were frequently complex, occurring in relatively small arteries (mean [±SD] reference diameter 2.8 ± 0.6 mm). Patients were followed up for 6 months for the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events. Results. Stent deployment was accomplished in 98% of lesions. Mean minimal lumen diameter increased by 1.51 ± 0.51 mm (from 1.09 ± 0.43 mm before to 2.60 ± 0.50 mm after the procedure). Mean percent diameter stenosis decreased from 61 ± 13% before to 17 ± 7% after intervention. A successful interventional procedure with <50% diameter stenosis of all treatment site lesions and no major adverse cardiac events within 30 days occurred in 95% of patients. Event-free survival at 6 months was 82%. Ninety-four percent of surviving patients were either asymptomatic or had mild stable angina at 6 month follow-up. Conclusions. Despite unfavorable clinical and angiographic characteristics of the majority of patients enrolled, the acute angiographic results and early clinical outcome after NIR stent deployment were very promising. A prospective, randomized trial comparing the NIR stent with other currently available stents appears warranted
MAGIC search for VHE γ-ray emission from AE Aquarii in a multiwavelength context

It has been claimed that the nova-like cataclysmic variable AE Aquarii (AE Aqr) is a very-high-energy (VHE, E> 100 GeV) source both on observational and theoretical grounds. Aims: We search for VHE γ-ray emission from AE Aqr during different states of the source at several wavelengths to confirm or rule out previous claims of detection of γ-ray emission from this object. Methods: We report on observations of AE Aqr performed by MAGIC. The source was observed during 12 h as part of a multiwavelength campaign carried out between May and June 2012 covering the optical, X-ray, and γ-ray ranges. Besides MAGIC, the other facilities involved were the KVA, Skinakas, and Vidojevica telescopes in the optical and Swift in X-rays. We calculated integral upper limits coincident with different states of the source in the optical. We computed upper limits to the pulsed emission limiting the signal region to 30% of the phaseogram and we also searched for pulsed emission at different frequencies applying the Rayleigh test. Results: AE Aqr was not detected at VHEs during the multiwavelength campaign. We establish integral upper limits at the 95% confidence level for the steady emission assuming the differential flux proportional to a power-law function dφ/ dE ∝ E- Γ, with a Crab-like photon spectral index of Γ = 2.6. The upper limit above 200 GeV is 6.4 × 10-12 cm-2 s-1 and above 1 TeV is 7.4 × 10-13 cm-2 s-1. We obtained an upper limit for the pulsed emission of 2.6 × 10-12 cm-2 s-1 for energies above 200 GeV. Applying the Rayleigh test for pulsed emission at different frequencies we did not find any significant signal. Conclusions: Our results indicate that AE Aqr is not a VHE γ-ray emitter at the level of emission previously claimed. We have established the most constraining upper limits for the VHE γ-ray emission of AE Aqr
Empirical parameterization of the $K^{\pm} \to \pi^{\pm}\pi^{0}\pi^{0}$ decay Dalitz plot

As first observed by the NA48/2 experiment at the CERN SPS, the $\pi^{0}\pi^{0}$ invariant mass ($M_{00}$) distribution from $K^{\pm} \rightarrow \pi^{\pm}\pi^{0}\pi^{0}$ decay shows a cusp-like anomaly at $M_{00}=2m_{+}$, where $m_{+}$ is the charged pion mass. An analysis to extract the $\pi\pi$ scattering lengths in the isospin $I=0$ and $I=2$ states, $a_{0}$ and $a_{2}$, respectively, has been recently reported. In the present work the Dalitz plot of this decay is fitted to a new empirical parameterization suitable for practical purposes, such as Monte Carlo simulations of $K^{\pm} \rightarrow \pi^{\pm}\pi^{0}\pi^{0}$ decays
Search for natural enemies of Raoiella indica hirst in Réunion island (Indian ocean)

Since it first appeared in the New World in 2004, the palm red mite, Raoiella indica Hirst, has spread to many countries, from Florida (USA) to the northern part of Brazil. In this region, this mite has been recorded on several different hosts, but it has been most harmful to coconut. For different reasons, the chemical control of this pest is not feasible, and biological control has been considered an important measure to be pursued. The objective of this paper is to provide details about an effort to determine potential natural enemies of R. indica from La Réunion, for their possible introduction in northern Brazil. The only natural enemy consistently found in association with R. indica was identified as the phytoseiid Amblyseius largoensis Muma. A colony of this species was established with specimens collected from different parts of the island. This colony was introduced to Brazil, where subsequent assessments should indicate whether or not it should be released in the field. (Résumé d'auteur
Automatic evaluation of information provider reliability and expertise

Published version of an article in the journal: World Wide Web. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11280-013-0249-xQ&A social media have gained a lot of attention during the recent years. People rely on these sites to obtain information due to a number of advantages they offer as compared to conventional sources of knowledge (e.g., asynchronous and convenient access). However, for the same question one may find highly contradicting answers, causing an ambiguity with respect to the correct information. This can be attributed to the presence of unreliable and/or non-expert users. These two attributes (reliability and expertise) significantly affect the quality of the answer/information provided. We present a novel approach for estimating these user’s characteristics relying on human cognitive traits. In brief, we propose each user to monitor the activity of his peers (on the basis of responses to questions asked by him) and observe their compliance with predefined cognitive models. These observations lead to local assessments that can be further fused to obtain a reliability and expertise consensus for every other user in the social network (SN). For the aggregation part we use subjective logic. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study of this kind in the context of Q&A SNs. Our proposed approach is highly distributed; each user can individually estimate the expertise and the reliability of his peers using his direct interactions with them and our framework. The online SN (OSN), which can be considered as a distributed database, performs continuous data aggregation for users expertise and reliability assesment in order to reach a consensus. In our evaluations, we first emulate a Q&ASN to examine various performance aspects of our algorithm (e.g., convergence time, responsiveness etc.). Our evaluations indicate that it can accurately assess the reliability and the expertise of a user with a small number of samples and can successfully react to the latter’s behavior change, provided that the cognitive traits hold in practice. Furthermore, the use of the consensus operator for the aggregation of multiple opinions on a specific user, reduces the uncertainty with regards to the final assessment. However, as real data obtained from Yahoo! Answers imply, the pairwise interactions between specific users are limited. Hence, we consider the aggregate set of questions as posted from the system itself and we assess the expertise and realibility of users based on their response behavior. We observe, that users have different behaviors depending on the level at which we are observing them. In particular, while their activity is focused on a few general categories, yielding them reliable, theirmicroscopic (within general category) activity is highly scattered
The quarkynic phase and the Z_{Nc} symmetry

We investigate the interplay between the Z_{Nc} symmetry and the emergence of
the quarkyonic phase, adding the flavor-dependent complex chemical potentials
\mu_f=\mu+iT\theta_f with (\theta_f)=(0, \theta, -\theta) to the Polyakov-loop
extended Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (PNJL) model. When \theta=0, the PNJL model with
the \mu_f agrees with the standard PNJL model with the real chemical potential
\mu. When \theta=2\pi/3, meanwhile, the PNJL model with the \mu_f has the
Z_{Nc} symmetry exactly for any real \mu, so that the quarkyonic phase exists
at small T and large \mu. Once \theta varies from 2\pi/3, the quarkyonic phase
exists only on a line of T=0 and \mu larger than the dynamical quark mass, and
the region at small T and large \mu is dominated by the quarkyonic-like phase
in which the Polyakov loop is small but finite.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure
Improving design for recycling-Application to composites

International audienceThe use of composite material increases. End of life regulations, material consumption reductions or restrictions, ask engineers about their potential use. Innovative recycling solutions arise that recover efficiently carbon fibres. This paper explores the design for composites recycling issue. Recycler becomes a new knowledge expert for the designer. It is necessary to analyze their information shares and exchanges. The recycler is an end of life facilitator. He is also the second life material user and can ask for material evolutions. The collaboration must be improved using knowledge performance indicators. These discussions will be enlightened by examples from carbon recycling experiments. Keywords: Design method, Recycling, Composit
A quantum duality principle for coisotropic subgroups and Poisson quotients

We develop a quantum duality principle for coisotropic subgroups of a (formal) Poisson group and its dual: namely, starting from a quantum coisotropic subgroup (for a quantization of a given Poisson group) we provide functorial recipes to produce quantizations of the dual coisotropic subgroup (in the dual formal Poisson group). By the natural link between subgroups and homogeneous spaces, we argue a quantum duality principle for Poisson homogeneous spaces which are Poisson quotients, i.e. have at least one zero-dimensional symplectic leaf. As an application, we provide an explicit quantization of the homogeneous SL_n^*-space of Stokes matrices, with the Poisson structure given by Dubrovin and Ugaglia
Semiconductor gellan gum based composite hydrogels for tissue engineering applications

Publicado em "Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine", vol. 7, supp. 1 (2013)Semiconductor hydrogels can be developed by combining the intrinsic
electrical properties of semiconductors with the specific characteristics
of hydrogels. These hydrogels have recently attracted much attention
for applications in tissue engineering, especially formulations incorporating
pyrrole and excellent biocompatibility. Several studies have
reported that electrical stimulation influences the migration, proliferation
and differentiation of stem cells and other cell lines [1]. The goal
of this work is to use in situ chemical polymerization of polypyrrole
(PPy) with gellan gum (GG) in order to obtain a new generation of
semiconductor composite hydrogels. For the synthesis of GG/PPy composites,
GG at 1.25% (w/v) final concentration was prepared in distilled
water at room temperature. The solution was then heated under
stirring at 90°C for 20 min. Temperature was decreased to 65°C and Py
was added under vigorous agitation. The crosslinker solution (CaCl2,
0.18%) was added at 50°C. After 2 h, GG/Py composite hydrogels
were obtained. In a further step, GG/Py samples were immersed in a
solution of oxidizing agent in PBS and the reaction was carried out for
18 h under agitation at room temperature. Finally, the samples were
frozen at -80°C for 48 h and lyophilized. The characterization of GG,
GG/PPy and PPy samples was performed by scanning electron microscopy
(SEM). The incorporation of PPy in the gellan gum was confirmed
by SEM analysis. The coating with PPy increases the thickness of each
sheet in 3 fold when compared with GG samples. Conductivity tests
were also performed. For cytotoxicity assay, the samples were rehydrated
with complete culture medium. MTS and DNA quantification assays
were performed to evaluate the metabolic activity and proliferation of
L929 fibroblast cells after 1, 3 and 7 days in culture with GG, GG/PPy
and PPy samples. MTS assays clearly indicate a proportional relation
between the cell viability and the PPy concentration: higher concentrations
of PPy resulted in lower cell viability. These results show that
lower concentration of PPy incorporated in the GG hydrogels can provide
an adequate electrical stimulus to improve cell behavior. In conclusion,
semiconductor hydrogels can be an excellent platform for tissue
engineering and electrochemical therapy application
Searches for time-dependent neutrino sources with IceCube data from 2008 to 2012

In this paper searches for flaring astrophysical neutrino sources and sources with periodic emission with the IceCube neutrino telescope are presented. In contrast to time-integrated searches, where steady emission is assumed, the analyses presented here look for a time-dependent signal of neutrinos using the information from the neutrino arrival times to enhance the discovery potential. A search was performed for correlations between neutrino arrival times and directions, as well as neutrino emission following time-dependent light curves, sporadic emission, or periodicities of candidate sources. These include active galactic nuclei, soft gamma-ray repeaters, supernova remnants hosting pulsars, microquasars, and X-ray binaries. The work presented here updates and extends previously published results to a longer period that covers 4 years. of data from 2008 April 5 to 2012 May 16, including the first year of operation of the completed 86 string detector. The analyses did not find any significant time-dependent point sources of neutrinos, and the results were used to set upper limits on the neutrino flux from source candidates
Influence of organic matter transformations on the biovailability of heavy metals in a sludge based compost

The agricultural use of anaerobically digested sewage sludge (ADSS) as stable, mature compost implies knowing its total content in heavy metals and their bioavailability. This depends not only on the initial characteristics of the composted substrates but also on the organic matter transformations during composting which may influence the chemical form of the metals and their bioavailability.

The objective of this work was to examine the relationships between the changes in the organic matter content and humus fractions, and the bioavailability of heavy metals.

A detailed sampling at 0, 14, 84, and 140 days of the composting process was performed to measure C contents in humic acids (HAs), fulvic acids, (FAs) and humin, the total content of Zn, Pb, Cu, Ni, and Cd, and also their distribution into mobile and mobilisable (MB), and low bioavailability (LB) forms.

Significant changes of C contents in HA, FA, and Humin, and in the FA/HA, HA/Humin and Chumus/TOC ratios were observed during composting. The MB and LB fractions of each metal also varied significantly during composting. The MB fraction increased for Zn, Cu, Ni, and Cd, and the LB fraction increased for Pb. Stepwise linear regressions and quadratic curve estimation conducted on the MB and LB fractions of each metal as dependent on the measured organic variables suggested that Zn bioavailability was mainly associated to percentage of C in FAs. Bioavailability of Cu, Ni and Cd during composting was associated to humin and HAs. Pb concentration increased in the LB form, and its variations followed a quadratic function with the Chumus/TOC ratio. Our results suggest that the composting process renders the metals in more available forms. The main forms of metal binding in the sludge and their availability in the final compost may be better described when metal fractionation obtained in sequential extraction and humus fractionation during composting are considered together
NNLO global parton analysis.

We perform a NNLO (and a LO) global parton analysis in which we include the new precise data for deep inelastic scattering from HERA and for inclusive jet production at the Tevatron, together with the improved knowledge of the three-loop splitting functions. The results are compared with our recent NLO analyses. The LO fit produces significantly worse results in general, but gives a surprisingly good fit to the Tevatron high-ET jet data. For the approximate NNLO analysis we notice a slight improvement in the quality of the global fit, and find that the partons are changed by up to 10% at Q2=10 GeV2, in particular in the x<0.01 regime