Embedded Software of the KM3NeT Central Logic Board

International audienceThe KM3NeT Collaboration is building and operating two deep sea neutrino telescopes at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. The telescopes consist of latices of photomultiplier tubes housed in pressure-resistant glass spheres, called digital optical modules and arranged in vertical detection units. The two main scientific goals are the determination of the neutrino mass ordering and the discovery and observation of high-energy neutrino sources in the Universe. Neutrinos are detected via the Cherenkov light, which is induced by charged particles originated in neutrino interactions. The photomultiplier tubes convert the Cherenkov light into electrical signals that are acquired and timestamped by the acquisition electronics. Each optical module houses the acquisition electronics for collecting and timestamping the photomultiplier signals with one nanosecond accuracy. Once finished, the two telescopes will have installed more than six thousand optical acquisition nodes, completing one of the more complex networks in the world in terms of operation and synchronization. The embedded software running in the acquisition nodes has been designed to provide a framework that will operate with different hardware versions and functionalities. The hardware will not be accessible once in operation, which complicates the embedded software architecture. The embedded software provides a set of tools to facilitate remote manageability of the deployed hardware, including safe reconfiguration of the firmware. This paper presents the architecture and the techniques, methods and implementation of the embedded software running in the acquisition nodes of the KM3NeT neutrino telescopes

CEPC Technical Design Report -- Accelerator

International audienceThe Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC) is a large scientific project initiated and hosted by China, fostered through extensive collaboration with international partners. The complex comprises four accelerators: a 30 GeV Linac, a 1.1 GeV Damping Ring, a Booster capable of achieving energies up to 180 GeV, and a Collider operating at varying energy modes (Z, W, H, and ttbar). The Linac and Damping Ring are situated on the surface, while the Booster and Collider are housed in a 100 km circumference underground tunnel, strategically accommodating future expansion with provisions for a Super Proton Proton Collider (SPPC). The CEPC primarily serves as a Higgs factory. In its baseline design with synchrotron radiation (SR) power of 30 MW per beam, it can achieve a luminosity of 5e34 /cm^2/s^1, resulting in an integrated luminosity of 13 /ab for two interaction points over a decade, producing 2.6 million Higgs bosons. Increasing the SR power to 50 MW per beam expands the CEPC's capability to generate 4.3 million Higgs bosons, facilitating precise measurements of Higgs coupling at sub-percent levels, exceeding the precision expected from the HL-LHC by an order of magnitude. This Technical Design Report (TDR) follows the Preliminary Conceptual Design Report (Pre-CDR, 2015) and the Conceptual Design Report (CDR, 2018), comprehensively detailing the machine's layout and performance, physical design and analysis, technical systems design, R&D and prototyping efforts, and associated civil engineering aspects. Additionally, it includes a cost estimate and a preliminary construction timeline, establishing a framework for forthcoming engineering design phase and site selection procedures. Construction is anticipated to begin around 2027-2028, pending government approval, with an estimated duration of 8 years. The commencement of experiments could potentially initiate in the mid-2030s

From dome to duplex: Convergent gravitational collapse explains coeval intracratonic doming and nappe tectonics, central Australia

International audienceIn central Australia, an apparently coeval gneiss dome (Entia Dome) developed adjacent to a thrust belt (Arltunga Nappe Complex) within an intracratonic setting. Here we employ a combination of fieldwork, geochronology, and numerical modeling to investigate the structure and tectonic evolution of these features. We present a structural model linking an extensional domain comprising the Entia Dome, across a transitional zone containing the Bruna décollement zone and the Illogwa shear zone, into a contractional zone comprising thrusts and duplexes of the Arltunga Nappe Complex. Supported by numerical modeling, we propose a tectonic model in which the dome and nappe complex formed synchronously because of the convergent gravitational collapse of the 30−40-km-deep Paleozoic Harts Range rift

Identifying generic proxies for assessing ecosystem properties and conservation status of semi-natural grasslands

International audienceDespite the recommendations of the 1992 European Habitat Directive regarding the evaluation of the conser-vation status of ecosystems, information on ecosystem functioning is still poorly integrated in long-term moni-toring of European semi-natural grasslands. We investigated how to evaluate several ecosystem properties inrelation to services provided by grasslands - plant and litter biomass and chemical composition, soil C and Ncontent – by identifying non-destructive proxies involving little or no additional field sampling effort, orcalculated from vegetation species composition. These proxies need to be i) informative, i.e. that can be used toapproach one or more ecosystem properties based on linear or non-linear relationship models, and ii) generic, i.e.applicable across a wide range of semi-natural grassland habitats and environmental conditions. Based on a largeset of field data collected in a variety of semi-natural grasslands in France, we showed that good proxies forecosystem properties can be identified when the range of climate or soil moisture conditions was reduced. Thissuggests that these environmental factors influenced the functional pattern of semi-natural grassland ecosystems.The majority of proxies identified so far, including the community weighted mean of leaf dry matter content(LDMCCWM), the height of the herb layer, and litter thickness, are linked to ecosystem properties through non-linear relationships. They are generic in that they are applicable to several grassland habitat types. The heightof the herb layer reflects standing plant biomass relatively well, but different non-linear models have to be useddepending on climate and soil moisture conditions. Calculating LDMCCWM from species composition data pro-vides a good approximation of the digestibility and P content of plant biomass. Similarly, litter thickness can beused to approach the digestibility and K content of plant biomass in wet grasslands. No generic proxy was foundto approximate litter and soil characteristics across the wide range of grasslands habitats under study. Byidentifying generic and low-constraint proxies for several ecosystem properties, this work provides guidelines forassessing the functioning of semi-natural grasslands - a key criterion of their conservation status - with limitedadditional field effort and cost compared to plant community monitoring programs

Set estimation under dependence

In this paper, we survey and generalize results on the R-convex hull of the points of a random sample. We provide explicit convergence rates for the R-convex hull and its natural plug-ins, as estimators of the support S , its volume, perimeter, and level-sets of a multidimensional density , when the underlying sequence is strictly stationary and admits some kind of weak dependence condition. We obtain convergence rates that exceed those obtained in the i.i.d. case, depending on the dependence condition

Effect of salivary fluid characteristics on the physical features of in vitro bread bolus: from the absence of saliva to artificially simulated hypersalivation

International audienceSaliva facilitates food oral processing, bolus formation, swallowing, and sensory perception, in addition to contributing to oral health and phonation. Ageing, health affections, and polymedication are among many causes altering salivary production, modifying the mastication process, the food impregnation ratio, and in turn altering the characteristics of the bolus, swallowing, and digestion. In this in vitro work, using the AM2 masticator apparatus, which replicates the mechanical actions taking place while chewing solid foods and produces realistic food bolus in various oral conditions, we investigated the effect of salivary fluid characteristics, i.e., composition, quantity (from absence to hypersalivation), temperature, and enzymatic action, on the physical characteristics (i.e., particle size distribution (PSD), bolus mass, salivary fluid content) of in vitro boluses of Traditional French baguette.A ready-to-swallow bolus of baguette displayed on average a d50 value (median particle size by mass) of 4.1 ± 0.4 mm, with saliva fluid constituting ~35% of the final bolus mass. The absence of saliva in mouth led to a deficient oral processing, forming bread boluses constituted by extremely big particles (ca. 80% of particles had a size >7.1 mm) that likely cannot be swallowed safely. On the contrary, an excess of saliva favoured an excessive breaking down of bread, leading to bread boluses constituted by smaller particles than those formed under healthy salivary conditions (d50 decreased from 4.1 mm to 3.1 mm), having a higher salivary fluid content (+10%). On the other hand, the salivary fluid temperature did not affect PSD, d50, bolus mass, or salivary fluid content of in vitro bread boluses, however, the addition of human salivary α-amylase did, favouring particle size reduction (d50 decreased to 2.6 mm). Therefore, beyond the correlation between bolus hydration by saliva and food properties such as hardness and moisture content, our findings indicate that the quantity of salivary fluid present in the oral cavity and the enzymatic activity of salivary α-amylase during bread mastication significantly influence both the particle size distribution and the fluid content of bread boluses, ultimately determining the physical properties of the bolus and, therefore, potentially impacting the subsequent swallowing process

Renoncer le poème. Trois mots sur "Phrase" de Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe

International audiencePhrase n'en finit pas de renoncer. C'est, en effet, que non seulement les premières "Phrase" du livre de Lacoue-Labarthe ont paru d'abord dans un volume collectif au titre significatif : "Haine de la poésie" ; mais aussi que le livre - le livre et non pas le recueil, le livre et non pas l'oeuvre, et non pas même le livre - pose explicitement, du début à la fin, la question du renoncement

Le rendez-vous manqué de Bouvard et Pécuchet avec la peinture

International audienceDid Flaubert plan to include a chapter on the fine arts, or even on painting alone, in his last novel? Some elements in the genetic file of Bouvard et Pécuchet suggest that he did, but closer examination confines this intention to the earliest stage of the novel's scriptural conception. The writer then suppressed both the practical application and the critical examination of painting by his two characters, leaving literature in first place, even when it came to thinking about the two aesthetic domains in interaction, as shown by his use of the notes taken from the reading of Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture by the Abbé Dubos (1733).Flaubert avait-il prévu d’inclure un chapitre sur les beaux-arts, voire sur la seule peinture, dans son dernier roman ? Certains éléments du dossier génétique de Bouvard et Pécuchet permettent de le penser mais leur examen approfondi cantonne ce dessein au stade le plus ancien de la conception scénarique du roman. L’écrivain a ensuite supprimé aussi bien la mise en pratique que l’examen critique de la peinture par ses deux personnages, laissant à la littérature la première place, y compris lorsqu’il s’agissait de penser les deux domaines esthétiques en interaction comme le montre l’utilisation que Flaubert fait des notes qu’il a relevées à la lecture des Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture par l’abbé Dubos (1733)

Post-exercise energy replacement might lead to reduced subsequent energy intake in women with constitutional thinness: Exploratory results from the NUTRILEAN project

International audienceWhile people with Constitutional Thinness (CT) declare a deep willingness to gain weight, there appetitive responses to energy balance manipulations remain unclear. The present work compares the effect of an acute exercise combined or not with an energy replacement load, on subsequent energy intake, appetite and food reward, between normal weight and women with CT. Anthropometric measurements, body composition (Dual X-ray absorptiometry-DXA) and aerobic capacity (VO2max) were assessed in 10 normal-weight (Body Mass Index-BMI): 20-25 kg/m2) and 10 C T (BMI<17.5 kg/m2) women (18-30 years). They randomly performed i) a resting session (CON); ii) an exercise session (EX); iii) an exercise session with energy replacement (EX + R). Their subsequent ad libitum intake, appetite feelings and food reward were evaluated (Leeds-Food-Preference-Questionnaire). CT showed a lower weight (p < 0,001), BMI(p < 0,001), Fat-Mass (%) (p = 0,003) and Fat-Free Mass (kg) (p < 0,001). CT showed a lower ad libitum energy intake on EX + R compared with CON (p = 0,008) and a higher Relative Energy Intake (REI) on CON compared with EX (p = 0,007) and EX + R (p < 0,001). A lower was observed during EX and EX + R compared with CON (p = 0,006,p = 0,009 respectively) in CT. No condition nor group effect was found for hunger. NW only showed a higher pre-meal fullness on EX + R compared to CON and EX (p < 0,001). Choice (p = 0,030), Explicit Liking (p = 0,016), Explicit Wanting (p = 0,004) and Implicit Wanting (p = 0,035) for taste were higher on EX + R than CON and EX. The decreased EI observed in CT when the exercise-induced energy expenditure is compensated by the ingestion of an equivalent energy load, might contribute to explain the difficulty to increase their energy balance and then induce weight gain. Further studies are needed to better understand their energy balance regulation to propose adapted weight gain strategies