Landsliding and its multiscale influence on mountainscapes

Landsliding is a complex process that modifies mountainscapes worldwide. Its severe and sometimes long-lasting negative effects contrast with the less-documented positive effects on ecosystems, raising numerous questions about the dual role of landsliding, the feedbacks between biotic and geomorphic processes, and, ultimately, the ecological and evolutionary responses of organisms. We present a conceptual model in which feedbacks between biotic and geomorphic processes, landslides, and ecosystem attributes are hypothesized to drive the dynamics of mountain ecosystems at multiple scales. This model is used to integrate and synthesize a rich, but fragmented, body of literature generated in different disciplines, and to highlight the need for profitable collaborations between biologists and geoscientists. Such efforts should help identify attributes that contribute to the resilience of mountain ecosystems, and also should help in conservation, restoration, and hazard assessment. Given the sensitivity of mountains to land-use and global climate change, these endeavors are both relevant and timel

Sub-10 nm lateral spatial resolution in scanning capacitance microscopy achieved with solid platinum probes

Journal ArticleSub-10 nm resolution can be obtained in scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM) if the probe tip is approximately of the same size. Such resolution is observed, although infrequently, with present commercially available probes. To acquire routine sub-10 nm resolution, a solid Pt metal probe has been developed with a sub-10 nm tip radius. The probe is demonstrated by SCM imaging on a cross-sectioned 70 nm gatelength field-effect transistor (FET), a shallow implant (n+/p, 24 nm junction depth), and an epitaxial staircase (p, ;75 nm steps)

Single electron tunneling force spectroscopy of an individual electronic state in a non-conducting surface

Journal ArticleA tunneling spectroscopy technique to measure the energy level of an electronic state in a completely nonconducting surface is demonstrated. Spectroscopy is performed by electrostatic force detection of single-electron tunneling between a scanning probe and the state as a function of an applied voltage. An electronic state near the surface of a SiO2 film is found 5.5±0.2 eV below the conduction band edge. A random telegraph signal, caused by sporadic back-and-forth single-electron tunneling, is observed as the probe Fermi level passes through the state energy

Single-electron manipulation to and from a SiO2 surface by electrostatic force microscopy

Journal ArticleOccupation of individual electron states near the surface of a SiO2 film is controlled by reversible single-electron tunneling to or from a metallic electrostatic force microscope probe. By switching the polarity of an applied dc bias between the probe and the sample to adjust the Fermi energy of the probe with respect to states near the dielectric surface, individual electrons are repeatably manipulated in and out of the sample. The single-electron charging and discharging is detected by frequency detection electrostatic force microscopy

Single electron tunneling to insulator surfaces measured by frequency detection electrostatic force microscopy

Journal ArticleSingle-electron tunneling events between a metal probe and an insulator surface are measured by frequency detection electrostatic force microscopy. Single-electron tunneling events typically cause 1-10 Hz shifts in the 300 kHz resonance frequency of the oscillating force probe. The frequency shifts appear only within a sub-2 nm tip-sample gap and their magnitude is roughly uniform under fixed experimental conditions. An electrostatic model of the probe-sample system yields results consistent with the measurements

Intrinsic and structural isotope effects in Fe-based superconductors

The currently available results of the isotope effect on the superconducting transition temperature T_c in Fe-based high-temperature superconductors (HTS) are highly controversial. The values of the Fe isotope effect (Fe-IE) exponent \alpha_Fe for various families of Fe-based HTS were found to be as well positive, as negative, or even be exceedingly larger than the BCS value \alpha_BCS=0.5. Here we demonstrate that the Fe isotope substitution causes small structural modifications which, in turn, affect T_c. Upon correcting the isotope effect exponent for these structural effects, an almost unique value of \alpha~0.35-0.4 is observed for at least three different families of Fe-based HTS.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Detection of static and dynamic activities using uniaxial accelerometers

Rehabilitation treatment may be improved by objective analysis of activities of daily living. For this reason, the feasibility of distinguishing several static and dynamic activities (standing, sitting, lying, walking, ascending stairs, descending stairs, cycling) using a small set of two or three uniaxial accelerometers mounted on the body was investigated. The accelerometer signals can be measured with a portable data acquisition system, which potentially makes it possible to perform online detection of static and dynamic activities in the home environment. However, the procedures described in this paper have yet to be evaluated in the home environment. Experiments were conducted on ten healthy subjects, with accelerometers mounted on several positions and orientations on the body, performing static and dynamic activities according to a fixed protocol. Specifically, accelerometers on the sternum and thigh were evaluated. These accelerometers were oriented in the sagittal plane, perpendicular to the long axis of the segment (tangential), or along this axis (radial). First, discrimination between the static or dynamic character of activities was investigated. This appeared to be feasible using an rms-detector applied on the signal of one sensor tangentially mounted on the thigh. Second, the distinction between static activities was investigated. Standing, sitting, lying supine, on a side and prone could be distinguished by observing the static signals of two accelerometers, one mounted tangentially on the thigh, and the second mounted radially on the sternum. Third, the distinction between the cyclical dynamic activities walking, stair ascent, stair descent and cycling was investigated. The discriminating potentials of several features of the accelerometer signals were assessed: the mean value, the standard deviation, the cycle time and the morphology. Signal morphology was expressed by the maximal cross-correlation coefficients with template signals for the different dynamic activities. The mean signal values and signal morphology of accelerometers mounted tangentially on the thigh and the sternum appeared to contribute to the discrimination of dynamic activities with varying detection performances. The standard deviation of the signal and the cycle time were primarily related to the speed of the dynamic activities, and did not contribute to the discrimination of the activities. Therefore, discrimination of dynamic activities on the basis of the combined evaluation of the mean signal value and signal morphology is propose

Flying Adversarial Patches: Manipulating the Behavior of Deep Learning-based Autonomous Multirotors

Autonomous flying robots, e.g. multirotors, often rely on a neural network that makes predictions based on a camera image. These deep learning (DL) models can compute surprising results if applied to input images outside the training domain. Adversarial attacks exploit this fault, for example, by computing small images, so-called adversarial patches, that can be placed in the environment to manipulate the neural network's prediction. We introduce flying adversarial patches, where an image is mounted on another flying robot and therefore can be placed anywhere in the field of view of a victim multirotor. For an effective attack, we compare three methods that simultaneously optimize the adversarial patch and its position in the input image. We perform an empirical validation on a publicly available DL model and dataset for autonomous multirotors. Ultimately, our attacking multirotor would be able to gain full control over the motions of the victim multirotor.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Workshop on Multi-Robot Learning, International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA