pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Entrance channels and alpha decay half-lives of the heaviest elements

The barriers standing against the formation of superheavy elements and their consecutive $\alpha$ decay have been determined in the quasimolecular shape path within a Generalized Liquid Drop Model including the proximity effects between nucleons in a neck, the mass and charge asymmetry, a precise nuclear radius and the shell effects given by the Droplet Model. For moderately asymmetric reactions double-hump potential barriers stand and fast fission of compact shapes in the outer well is possible. Very asymmetric reactions lead to one hump barriers which can be passed only with a high energy relatively to the superheavy element energy. Then, only the emission of several neutrons or an $\alpha$ particle can allow to reach an eventual ground state. For almost symmetric heavy-ion reactions, there is no more external well and the inner barrier is higher than the outer one
“Facets” and “Prisms” as a Means to Achieve Pedagogical Indexation of Texts for Language Learning: Consequences of the Notion of Pedagogical Context

International audienceDefining pedagogical indexation of texts for language learning as an indexation allowing users to query for texts in order to use them in language teaching requires to take into account the influence of the properties of the teaching situation we define as " pedagogical context ". We propose to justify the notions of prisms and facets on which our model rely through the description of material selection in the task of planing a language class as an adaptation of Yinger's model of planing. This interpretation of Yinger's model is closely intertwined with the elaboration of the notion of pedagogical context. The latter provides sounder bases on which to build our model on. This resulted in improvements in the potentialities of the model compared to its first published version. The MIRTO project, started in 2001, stemmed from the observation of various recurrent issues in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) systems: rigidity, inability to adapt the learning sequences to learners and unavailability of means to manipulate concepts pertaining to the teachers' field of expertise (language didactics) [1]. The aim of MIRTO was to promote the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) to address those problems by adding an abstraction layer between the user and the material. Antoniadis et al. consider that the formulation of problems in didactics relevant terms depends on handling language not as character sequences but as a system of forms and concepts [1]. MIRTO thus proposes to separate treatments (e.g. gap-filling exercise generation script) and the data on which they are to be applied (a text in this case)
Mindfulness May Moderate the Relationship Between Intrinsic Motivation and Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Study

International audienceThis study aims to characterize the relationships between intrinsic motivation towards physical activity, mindfulness, and physical activity level. We measured self-reported mindfulness, motivational regulation towards exercise, and physical activity level in 280 French students. Analyses conducted on 244 participants revealed that self-reported mindfulness moderates the relationship between intrinsic motivation towards exercise and physical activity levels. These findings may have implications for interventionists seeking to promote increased physical activity with mindfulness-based techniques. In fact, it seems that increasing mindfulness skills of individuals could improve their intrinsic motivation to exercise and thus, physical activity
Local Export spillovers in France

International audienceThis paper investigates the presence of local export spillovers on both the extensive (the decision to start exporting) and the intensive (the export volume) margins of trade, using data on French individual export flows, at the product-level and by destination country, between 1998 and 2003. We investigate whether the individual decision to start exporting and exported volume are influenced by the presence of nearby product and/or destination specific exporters, using a gravity-type equation estimated at the firm-level. Spillovers are considered at a fine geographical level corresponding to employment areas (348 in France). We control for the new economic geography-type selection of firms into agglomerated areas, and for the local price effects of firms agglomeration
An experimental investigation of imprecision attitude and its relation with risk attitude and impatience

International audienceWe report in this paper the result of three experiments on risk, ambiguity and time attitude. The first two differed by the population considered (students vs. general population) while the third one used a different protocol and concerned students and portfolio managers. We find quite a lot of heterogeneity at the individual level. Of principal interest was the elicitation of risk, time and ambiguity attitudes and the relationship among these (model free) measures. We find that on the student population, there is essentially no correlation. A non negligible fraction of the population behaves in an extremely cautious manner in the risk and ambiguity domain. When we drop this population from the sample, the correlation between our measures is also non significant. We also raise three questions linked to measurement of ambiguity attitudes that come out from our data sets
Runtime Enforcement of Regular Timed Properties by Suppressing and Delaying Events

International audienceRuntime enforcement is a verification/validation technique aiming at correcting possibly incorrect executions of a system of interest. In this paper, we consider enforcement monitoring for systems where the physical time elapsing between actions matters. Executions are thus modelled as timed words (i.e., sequences of actions with dates). We consider runtime enforcement for timed specifications modelled as timed automata. Our enforcement mechanisms have the power of both delaying events to match timing constraints, and suppressing events when no delaying is appropriate, thus possibly allowing for longer executions. To ease their design and their correctness-proof, enforcement mechanisms are described at several levels: enforcement functions that specify the input-output behaviour in terms of transformations of timed words, constraints that should be satisfied by such functions, enforcement monitors that describe the operational behaviour of enforcement functions, and enforcement algorithms that describe the implementation of enforcement monitors. The feasibility of enforcement monitoring for timed properties is validated by prototyping the synthesis of enforcement monitors from timed automata
Measuring Superdirective Electrically Small Antenna Arrays Mounted on PCBs

International audienceThis paper addresses the problem of measuring superdirective Electrically Small Antennas (ESAs) mounted on Printed Circuit Broads (PCBs). Different configurations for connecting the excitation system (SMA connector and coaxial cable) to an array of 31x25mm2 integrated in a PCB of 110x70mm2 are studied. This configurations are evaluated based on the cable effect on the array’s input reflection coefficient and radiation pattern. Obtained results show that properly connecting the cable with the array mitigates its effect, and hence, it can be measured
Markov-switching autoregressive models for wind time series

International audienceIn this paper, non-homogeneous Markov-Switching Autoregressive (MS-AR) models are proposed to describe wind time series. In these models, several au-toregressive models are used to describe the time evolution of the wind speed and the switching between these different models is controlled by a hidden Markov chain which represents the weather types. We first block the data by month in order to remove seasonal components and propose a MS-AR model with non-homogeneous autoregressive models to describe daily components. Then we discuss extensions where the hidden Markov chain is also non-stationary to handle seasonal and inter-annual fluctuations. The different models are fitted using the EM algorithm to a long time series of wind speed measurement on the Island of Ouessant (France). It is shown that the fitted models are interpretable and provide a good description of im-portant properties of the data such as the marginal distributions, the second-order structure or the length of the stormy and calm periods
Temporal envelope processing in the human auditory cortex: Response and interconnections of auditory cortical areas.

International audienceTemporal envelope processing in the human auditory cortex has an important role in language analysis. In this paper, depth recordings of local field potentials in response to amplitude modulated white noises were used to design maps of activation in primary, secondary and associative auditory areas and to study the propagation of the cortical activity between them. The comparison of activations between auditory areas was based on a signal-to-noise ratio associated with the response to amplitude modulation (AM). The functional connectivity between cortical areas was quantified by the directed coherence (DCOH) applied to auditory evoked potentials. This study shows the following reproducible results on twenty subjects: (1) the primary auditory cortex (PAC), the secondary cortices (secondary auditory cortex (SAC) and planum temporale (PT)), the insular gyrus, the Brodmann area (BA) 22 and the posterior part of T1 gyrus (T1Post) respond to AM in both hemispheres. (2) A stronger response to AM was observed in SAC and T1Post of the left hemisphere independent of the modulation frequency (MF), and in the left BA22 for MFs 8 and 16Hz, compared to those in the right. (3) The activation and propagation features emphasized at least four different types of temporal processing. (4) A sequential activation of PAC, SAC and BA22 areas was clearly visible at all MFs, while other auditory areas may be more involved in parallel processing upon a stream originating from primary auditory area, which thus acts as a distribution hub. These results suggest that different psychological information is carried by the temporal envelope of sounds relative to the rate of amplitude modulation
The Improved Models of Internet Pricing Scheme of \ud
Multi Service Multi Link Networks with Various \ud
Capacity Links

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) nowadays deal with high demand to promote good quality information. However, the knowledge to develop new pricing scheme that serve both customers and supplier is known, but only a few pricing plans involve QoS networks. This study will seek new proposed pricing plans are offered with multi service multi link networks involved. The multi service multi link Networks scheme is solved as an optimization model by \ud
comparing two models in multi QoS networks. The results showed that by fixing the base price and varying the quality premium or varying the base price and quality and setting up the equal capacity link values, ISP achieved the goal to maximize the profit
Coupled reliability model of biodeterioration, chloride ingress and cracking for reinforced concrete structures

International audienceMaintaining and operating civil infrastructure systems has been recognized as a critical issue worldwide. Among all possible causes of safety reduction during the structural lifetime, deteriora- tion is particularly important. Structural deterioration is usually a slow time-dependent process controlled by safety and operation threshold specifications. This paper presents a model of RC deterioration by coupling biodeterioration (i.e., chemical, physical and mechanical action of live organisms), steel corrosion, and concrete cracking. The final purpose of the model is to compute the reduction of the concrete section and the area of steel reinforcement in order to assess the change of structural capacity with time. Given the uncertainties in both the parameters and the model, the probabilistic nature of loads, the material properties and the difussion process are taken into account to evaluate structural reliability. The model is illustrated with an example where the inelastic behavior of a pile subject to random loading is considered. The results of the analysis have shown that the effect of biodeterioration on the structural performance is significant and can cause an important reduction of its lifetime. On the whole, the paper states that modeling the effects of biodeterioration in RC structures should be included as part of infrastructure planning and design, especially, when they are located in aggressive environments
alpha decay half-lives of new superheavy nuclei within a generalized liquid drop model

The alpha decay half-lives of the recently produced isotopes of the 112, 114, 116 and 118 nuclei and decay products have been calculated in the quasi-molecular shape path using the experimental Qalpha value and a Generalized Liquid Drop Model including the proximity effects between nucleons in the neck or the gap between the nascent fragments. Reasonable estimates are obtained for the observed alpha decay half-lives. The results are compared with calculations using the Density-Dependent M3Y effective interaction and the Viola-Seaborg-Sobiczewski formulae. Generalized Liquid Drop Model predictions are provided for the alpha decay half-lives of other superheavy nuclei using the Finite Range Droplet Model Qalpha and compared with the values derived from the VSS formulae
Flex-eWare: a Flexible MDE-based Solution for Designing and Implementing Embedded Distributed Systems

International audienceThe complexity of modern embedded systems increases as they incorporate new concerns such as distribution and mobility. These new features need to be considered as early as possible in the software development lifecycle. Model Driven Engineering (MDE), that promotes an intensive use of models and is now widely seen as a solution to master the development of complex systems such as embedded ones. Component-Based Software Engineering (CBSE) is another major trend that gains acceptance in the embedded world due to its properties such as reuse, modularity and flexibility. This article proposes the Flex-eWare Component Model FCM for designing and implementing modern embedded systems. The FCM unifies MDE and CBSE and has been evaluated in several application domains with different requirements: wireless sensor networks, distributed client/server applications, and control systems for electrical devices. This approach highlights a new concept: flexibility points, that arise at several stages of the development process: in the model (design phase), in the execution platform and during the execution itself. This flexibility points are captured with model libraries that can extend the Flex-eWare Component Model
All that glitters is not gold: the case of calibrating hydrological models

All that glitters is not gold is one of those universal truths that also applies to hydrology, and particularly to the issue of model calibration, where a glittering mathematical optimum is too often mistaken for a hydrological optimum. This commentary aims at underlining the fact that calibration difficulties have not disappeared with the advent of the latest search algorithms. While it is true that progress on the numerical front has allowed us to quasi-eradicate miscalibration issues, we still too often underestimate the remaining hydrological task: screening mathematical optima in order to identify those parameter sets which will also work sufficiently outside the calibration period
Inflammatory response of endothelial cells to a human endogenous retrovirus associated with multiple sclerosis is mediated by TLR4

International audienceThe MSRV (multiple sclerosis-associated retrovirus) belongs to the human endogenous retrovirus HERV-W family. The envelope protein originating from the MSRV has been found in most patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This protein (Env-ms) has pro-inflammatory properties for several types of immune cells and could therefore play a role in MS pathogenesis by promoting the leukocyte diapedesis observed in the central nervous system of patients. Our study aims to analyze the effects of Env-ms on the blood–brain barrier (BBB) at a molecular and functional level. We demonstrate that the recombinant MSRV envelope is able to stimulate several inflammatory parameters in a human BBB in vitro model, the HCMEC/D3 brain endothelial cell line. Indeed, Env-ms induces over-expression of ICAM-1, a major mediator of leukocyte adhesion to endothelial cells, in a dose-dependent manner as well as a strong dose-dependent production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8. Furthermore, using a silencing approach with siRNAs, we show that Env-ms is recognized via the Toll-like receptor 4 receptor, a pattern recognition receptor of innate immunity present on endothelial cells. We also show, using functional assays, that treatment of brain endothelial cells with Env-ms significantly stimulated the adhesion and the transmigration of activated immune cells through a monolayer of endothelial cells. These findings support the hypothesis that MSRV could be involved in the pathogenesis of MS disease or at least in maintenance of inflammatory conditions, thus fueling the auto-immune disorder. MSRV could also play a role in other chronic inflammatory diseases
Stress clamp experiments on multicellular tumor spheroids

International audienceThe precise role of the microenvironment on tumor growth is poorly understood. Whereas the tumor is in constant competition with the surrounding tissue, little is known about the mechanics of this interaction. Using a novel experimental procedure, we study quantitatively the effect of an applied mechanical stress on the long-term growth of a spheroid cell aggregate. We observe that a stress of 10 kPa is sufficient to drastically reduce growth by inhibition of cell proliferation mainly in the core of the spheroid. We compare the results to a simple numerical model developed to describe the role of mechanics in cancer progression
A dynamic regularized gradient model of the subgrid-scale scalar flux for large eddy simulations

International audienceAccurate predictions of scalar fields advected by a turbulent flow is needed for various industrial and geophysical applications. In the framework of large-eddy simulation (LES), a subgrid-scale (SGS) model for the subgrid-scale scalar flux has to be used. The gradient model, which is derived from a Taylor series expansions of the filtering operation is a well-known approach to model SGS scalar fluxes. This model is known to lead to high correlation level with the SGS scalar flux. However, this type of model can not be used in practical LES because it does not lead to enough global scalar variance transfer from the large to the small scales. In this work, a regularization of the gradient model is proposed based on a physical interpretation of this model. The impact of the resolved velocity field on the resolved scalar gradient is decomposed into compressional, stretching and rotational effects. It is shown that rotational effect is not associated with transfers of variance across scales. Conversely, the compressional effect is shown to lead to forward transfer, whereas the stretching effect leads to back-scatter of scalar variance. The proposed regularization is to neglect the stretching effect in the model formulation. The accuracy of this regularized gradient model is tested in comparison with direct numerical simulations (DNS) and compared with other classic SGS models. The accuracy of the regularized gradient model is evaluated in term of structural and functional performances, i.e. the model ability to locally approximate the SGS unknown term and to reproduce its global effect on tracer variance, respectively. It is found that the regularized gradient model associated with a dynamic procedure exhibits good performances in comparison with the standard dynamic eddy diffusivity model and the standard gradient model. In particular, the dynamic regularized gradient model provides a better prediction of scalar variance transfers than the standard gradient model. The dynamic regularized gradient model is then evaluated in a series of large-eddy simulations. This shows a substantial improvement for various scalar statistics predictions
Distributive sharing among HIV-HCV co-infected injecting drug users: the preventive role of trust in one's physician

International audienceThis study, based on data from the MANIF 2000 cohort study, investigates the relationship between the lending of injecting equipment, drug use and experience with HIV care. The sample comprised 224 HIV-HCV-coinfected patients who reported having injected drugs in the previous 6 months and their 538 visits to clinical services. Longitudinal data were collected for medical status, and self-reported risk behaviors. A logistic regression GEE model was used to identify correlates of distributive sharing. After multiple adjustment, patients who reported trust in physicians were significantly less likely to report lending injection equipment while cocaine users were at increased risk. Promoting dialogue between physicians and IDUs may play an important role in HIV-HCV positive prevention
'Time is costly': modelling the macroeconomic impact of scaling-up antiretroviral treatment in sub-Saharan Africa.

International audienceBACKGROUND: Macroeconomic policy requirements may limit the capacity of national and international policy-makers to allocate sufficient resources for scaling-up access to HIV care and treatment in developing countries. METHOD: An endogenous growth model, which takes into account the evolution of society's human capital, was used to assess the macroeconomic impact of policies aimed at scaling-up access to HIV/AIDS treatment in six African countries (Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe). RESULTS: The model results showed that scaling-up access to treatment in the affected population would limit gross domestic product losses due to AIDS although differently from country to country. In our simulated scenarios of access to antiretroviral therapy, only 10.3% of the AIDS shock is counterbalanced in Zimbabwe, against 85.2% in Angola and even 100.0% in Benin (a total recovery). For four out of the six countries (Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast), the macro-economic gains of scaling-up would become potentially superior to its associated costs in 2010. CONCLUSION: Despite the variability of HIV prevalence rates between countries, macro-economic estimates strongly suggest that a massive investment in scaling-up access to HIV treatment may efficiently counteract the detrimental long-term impact of the HIV pandemic on economic growth, to the extent that the AIDS shock has not already driven the economy beyond an irreversible 'no-development epidemiological trap'