7,452 research outputs found
A New Multi-Resource cumulatives Constraint with Negative Heights
This paper presents a new cumulatives constraint which generalizes the original cumulative constraint in different ways. The two most important aspects consist in permitting multiple cumulative resources as well as negative heights for the resource consumption of the tasks. This allows modeling in an easy way new scheduling and planning problems. The introduction of negative heights has forced us to come up with new propagation algorithms and to revisit existing ones. The first propagation algorithm is derived from an idea called sweep which is extensively used in computational geometry; the second algorithm is based on a combination of sweep and constructive disjunction, while the last is a generalization of task intervals to this new context. A real-life timetabling problem originally motivated this constraint which was implemented within the SICStus finite domain solver and evaluated against different problem patterns
Modeling of Covalent Bonding in Solids by Inversion of Cohesive Energy Curves
We provide a systematic test of empirical theories of covalent bonding in
solids using an exact procedure to invert ab initio cohesive energy curves. By
considering multiple structures of the same material, it is possible for the
first time to test competing angular functions, expose inconsistencies in the
basic assumption of a cluster expansion, and extract general features of
covalent bonding. We test our methods on silicon, and provide the direct
evidence that the Tersoff-type bond order formalism correctly describes
coordination dependence. For bond-bending forces, we obtain skewed angular
functions that favor small angles, unlike existing models. As a
proof-of-principle demonstration, we derive a Si interatomic potential which
exhibits comparable accuracy to existing models.Comment: 4 pages revtex (twocolumn, psfig), 3 figures. Title and some wording
(but no content) changed since original submission on 24 April 199
Large-scale exact diagonalizations reveal low-momentum scales of nuclei
Ab initio methods aim to solve the nuclear many-body problem with controlled
approximations. Virtually exact numerical solutions for realistic interactions
can only be obtained for certain special cases such as few-nucleon systems.
Here we extend the reach of exact diagonalization methods to handle model
spaces with dimension exceeding on a single compute node. This allows
us to perform no-core shell model (NCSM) calculations for 6Li in model spaces
up to and to reveal the 4He+d halo structure of this
nucleus. Still, the use of a finite harmonic-oscillator basis implies
truncations in both infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) length scales. These
truncations impose finite-size corrections on observables computed in this
basis. We perform IR extrapolations of energies and radii computed in the NCSM
and with the coupled-cluster method at several fixed UV cutoffs. It is shown
that this strategy enables information gain also from data that is not fully UV
converged. IR extrapolations improve the accuracy of relevant bound-state
observables for a range of UV cutoffs, thus making them profitable tools. We
relate the momentum scale that governs the exponential IR convergence to the
threshold energy for the first open decay channel. Using large-scale NCSM
calculations we numerically verify this small-momentum scale of finite nuclei.Comment: Minor revisions.Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Symmetry-Breaking Motility
Locomotion of bacteria by actin polymerization, and in vitro motion of
spherical beads coated with a protein catalyzing polymerization, are examples
of active motility. Starting from a simple model of forces locally normal to
the surface of a bead, we construct a phenomenological equation for its motion.
The singularities at a continuous transition between moving and stationary
beads are shown to be related to the symmetries of its shape. Universal
features of the phase behavior are calculated analytically and confirmed by
simulations. Fluctuations in velocity are shown to be generically
non-Maxwellian and correlated to the shape of the bead.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, REVTeX; formatting of references correcte
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Review: Consumption-stage food waste reduction interventions - What works and how to design better interventions
Food waste prevention has become an issue of international concern, with Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 aiming to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 2030. However there is no review that has considered the effectiveness of interventions aimed at preventing food waste in the consumption stages of the food system. This significant gap, if filled, could help support those working to reduce food waste in the developed world, providing knowledge of what interventions are specifically effective at preventing food waste.
This paper fills this gap, identifying and summarizing food-waste prevention interventions at the consumption/consumer stage of the supply chain via a rapid review of global academic literature from 2006 to 2017.
We identify 17 applied interventions that claim to have achieved food waste reductions. Of these, 13 quantified food waste reductions. Interventions that changed the size or type of plates were shown to be effective (up to 57% food waste reduction) in hospitality environments. Changing nutritional guidelines in schools were reported to reduce vegetable waste by up to 28%, indicating that healthy diets can be part of food waste reduction strategies. Information campaigns were also shown to be effective with up to 28% food waste reduction in a small sample size intervention.
Cooking classes, fridge cameras, food sharing apps, advertising and information sharing were all reported as being effective but with little or no robust evidence provided. This is worrying as all these methods are now being proposed as approaches to reduce food waste and, except for a few studies, there is no reproducible quantified evidence to assure credibility or success. To strengthen current results, a greater number of longitudinal and larger sample size intervention studies are required. To inform future intervention studies, this paper proposes a standardised guideline, which consists of: (1) intervention design; (2) monitoring and measurement; (3) moderation and mediation; (4) reporting; (5) systemic effects.
Given the importance of food-waste reduction, the findings of this review highlight a significant evidence gap, meaning that it is difficult to make evidence-based decisions to prevent or reduce consumption-stage food waste in a cost-effective manner
Solid-Liquid Phase Diagrams for Binary Metallic Alloys: Adjustable Interatomic Potentials
We develop a new approach to determining LJ-EAM potentials for alloys and use
these to determine the solid-liquid phase diagrams for binary metallic alloys
using Kofke's Gibbs-Duhem integration technique combined with semigrand
canonical Monte Carlo simulations. We demonstrate that it is possible to
produce a wide-range of experimentally observed binary phase diagrams (with no
intermetallic phases) by reference to the atomic sizes and cohesive energies of
the two elemental materials. In some cases, it is useful to employ a single
adjustable parameter to adjust the phase diagram (we provided a good choice for
this free parameter). Next, we perform a systematic investigation of the effect
of relative atomic sizes and cohesive energies of the elements on the binary
phase diagrams. We then show that this approach leads to good agreement with
several experimental binary phase diagrams. The main benefit of this approach
is not the accurately reproduction of experimental phase diagrams, but rather
to provide a method by which material properties can be continuously changed in
simulations studies. This is one of the keys to the use of atomistic
simulations to understand mechanisms and properties in a manner not available
to experiment
On the analysis of a mixed mode bending sandwich specimen for debond fracture characterization
Model nuclear energy density functionals derived from ab initio calculations
We present the first application of a new approach, proposed in (2016J.Phys.G:Nucl.Part.Phys.4304LT01) to derive coupling constants of the Skyrme energy density functional (EDF) fromab initioHamiltonian. By perturbing theab initioHamiltonian with several functional generators defining the Skyrme EDF, we create a set of metadata that is then used to constrain the coupling constants of the functional. We use statistical analysis to obtain such anab initio-equivalent Skyrme EDF. We find that the resulting functional describes properties of atomic nuclei and infinite nuclear matter quite poorly. This may point to the necessity of building up theab initio-equivalent functionals from more sophisticated generators. However, we also indicate that the current precision of theab initiocalculations may be insufficient for deriving meaningful nuclear EDFs.Peer reviewe
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