Supporting Explicit Disambiguation of Multi-Methods

Projet RODINMultiple inheritance and multiple dispatching are two sources of ambiguities in object-oriented languages. Solving ambiguities can be performed automatical- ly, using techniques such as totally ordering the supertypes of each type or taking the order of the methods' arguments into account. Such implicit disambiguation has the drawback of being difficult to understand by the programmer and hiding programming errors. Conversely, solving ambiguiti- es can be left up to the explicit intervention of the programmer. The most common explicit disambiguation technique consists in defining new methods for ambiguous invocations. However, finding ambiguities and adding as few methods as possible is a difficult task, especially in multi-method systems. In this paper, we show that there always exists a unique minimal set of method redefinitions to explicitly disambiguate a set of multi-methods. We propose an algorithm to compute the minimal disambiguation set, together with {\em ! explanations}: for each method that is to be added, the programmer is given the set of methods that caused the ambiguity

Plasmon scattering from holes: from single hole scattering to Young's experiment

In this article, the scattering of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) into photons at holes is investigated. A local, electrically excited source of SPPs using a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) produces an outgoing circular plasmon wave on a thick (200 nm) gold film on glass containing holes of 250, 500 and 1000 nm diameter. Fourier plane images of the photons from hole-scattered plasmons show that the larger the hole diameter, the more directional the scattered radiation. These results are confirmed by a model where the hole is considered as a distribution of horizontal dipoles whose relative amplitudes, directions, and phases depend linearly on the local SPP electric field. An SPP-Young's experiment is also performed, where the STM-excited SPP-wave is incident on a pair of 1 $\mu$m diameter holes in the thick gold film. The visibility of the resulting fringes in the Fourier plane is analyzed to show that the polarization of the electric field is maintained when SPPs scatter into photons. From this SPP-Young's experiment, an upper bound of $\approx$ 200 nm for the radius of this STM-excited source of surface plasmon polaritons is determined

Cylindrical vector beams of light from an electrically excited plasmonic lens

International audienceThe production of cylindrical vector beams from a low-energy, electric, microscale light source is demonstrated both experimentally and theoretically. This is achieved by combining a “plasmonic lens” with the ability to locally and electrically excite propagating surface plasmons on gold films. The plasmonic lens consists of concentric circular subwavelength slits that are etched in a thick gold film. The local excitation arises from the inelastic tunneling of electrons from the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. We report on the emission of radially polarized beams with an angular divergence of less than ±4°

A Symbiotic Approach to Designing Cross-Layer QoS in Embedded Real-Time Systems

International audienceNowadays there is an increasing need for embedded systems to support intensive computing while maintaining traditional hard real-time and fault-tolerant properties. Extending the principle of multi-core systems, we are exploring the use of distributed processing units interconnected via a high performance mesh network as a way of supporting distributed real-time applications. Fault-tolerance can then be ensured through dynamic allocation of both computing and communication resources. We postulate that enhancing QoS (Quality of Service) for real-time applications entails the development of a cross-layer support of high-level requirements, thus requiring a deep knowledge of the underlying networks. In this paper, we propose a new simulation/emulation/experimentation framework, ERICA, for designing such a feature. ERICA integrates both a network simulator and an actual hardware network to allow implementation and evaluation of different QoS-guaranteeing mechanisms. It also supports real-software-in-the-loop, i.e. running of real applications and middleware over these networks. Each component can evolve separately or together in a symbiotic manner, also making teamwork more flexible. We present in more detail our discrete-event simulation approach and the in-silicon implementation with which we cross-check our solutions in order to bring real performance aspects to our work. We also discuss the challenges of running real-software-in-the-loop in a real-time context, i.e. how to bridge it with a network simulator, and how to deal with time consistency

QR-CODE PROJECT : Towards better traceability of field sampling data

Ensuring traceability of field experimental data or laboratory sampling data to conduct reproducible research is a challenge at the present time. Between the time when geolocalized specimens (biotic or abiotic) are taken, and the time the resulting data ends up in analysis published with a study, many manual operations take place and may generate errors. The French LTSER have joined forces at the national level to propose a solution as generic as possible to this problem of monitoring of the samples and the data associated with them. Compared to existing solutions (such as Laboratory Information Management Systems), we target a robust labeling solution adapted to outdoor working conditions, with the management of stocks and movements of samples. We designed and realized a prototype tested from end to end, using an open source software, cheap Zebra printers (mobile or not) and raspberries as devices. This solution provides sufficient flexibility for the wide variety of existing protocols. In strength is the record of all contextual data associated with the samples, which constitute important parameters of the subsequent analyses. At last, not only traceability is guaranteed, but also a gain of time and a rationalization of the storage of samples that will induce a return on investment

Brief Communication External globus pallidus stimulation modulates brain connectivity in Huntington's disease

Positron emission tomography with O-15-labeled water was used to study at rest the neurophysiological effects of bilateral external globus pallidus (GPe) deep brain stimulation in patients with Huntington's disease (HD). Five patients were compared with a control group in the on and off states of the stimulator. External globus pallidus stimulation decreased neuronal activity and modulated cerebral connectivity within the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuitry, the sensorimotor, and the default-mode networks. These data indicate that GPe stimulation modulates functional integration in HD patients in accordance with the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuit model

Two Distinct Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille, 1811) Taxa Are Found in Sympatry in Guatemala and Mexico

Approximately 10 million people are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, which remains the most serious parasitic disease in the Americas. Most people are infected via triatomine vectors. Transmission has been largely halted in South America in areas with predominantly domestic vectors. However, one of the main Chagas vectors in Mesoamerica, Triatoma dimidiata, poses special challenges to control due to its diversity across its large geographic range (from Mexico into northern South America), and peridomestic and sylvatic populations that repopulate houses following pesticide treatment. Recent evidence suggests T. dimidiata may be a complex of species, perhaps including cryptic species; taxonomic ambiguity which confounds control. The nuclear sequence of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of the ribosomal DNA and the mitochondrial cytochrome b (mt cyt b) gene were used to analyze the taxonomy of T. dimidiata from southern Mexico throughout Central America. ITS2 sequence divides T. dimidiata into four taxa. The first three are found mostly localized to specific geographic regions with some overlap: (1) southern Mexico and Guatemala (Group 2); (2) Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica (Group 1A); (3) and Panama (Group 1B). We extend ITS2 Group 1A south into Costa Rica, Group 2 into southern Guatemala and show the first information on isolates in Belize, identifying Groups 2 and 3 in that country. The fourth group (Group 3), a potential cryptic species, is dispersed across parts of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. We show it exists in sympatry with other groups in Peten, Guatemala, and Yucatan, Mexico. Mitochondrial cyt b data supports this putative cryptic species in sympatry with others. However, unlike the clear distinction of the remaining groups by ITS2, the remaining groups are not separated by mt cyt b. This work contributes to an understanding of the taxonomy and population subdivision of T. dimidiata, essential for designing effective control strategies

Low loss coatings for the VIRGO large mirrors

présentée par L. PinardThe goal of the VIRGO program is to build a giant Michelson type interferometer (3 kilometer long arms) to detect gravitational waves. Large optical components (350 mm in diameter), having extremely low loss at 1064 nm, are needed. Today, the Ion beam Sputtering is the only deposition technique able to produce optical components with such performances. Consequently, a large ion beam sputtering deposition system was built to coat large optics up to 700 mm in diameter. The performances of this coater are described in term of layer uniformity on large scale and optical losses (absorption and scattering characterization). The VIRGO interferometer needs six main mirrors. The first set was ready in June 2002 and its installation is in progress on the VIRGO site (Italy). The optical performances of this first set are discussed. The requirements at 1064 nm are all satisfied. Indeed, the absorption level is close to 1 ppm (part per million), the scattering is lower than 5 ppm and the R.M.S. wavefront of these optics is lower than 8 nm on 150 mm in diameter. Finally, some solutions are proposed to further improve these performances, especially the absorption level (lower than 0.1 ppm) and the mechanical quality factor Q of the mirrors (thermal noise reduction)

A community resource for paired genomic and metabolomic data mining

Genomics and metabolomics are widely used to explore specialized metabolite diversity. The Paired Omics Data Platform is a community initiative to systematically document links between metabolome and (meta)genome data, aiding identification of natural product biosynthetic origins and metabolite structures.Peer reviewe