225 research outputs found
Symmetric scalars
We provide a complete classification of Poincar\'e-invariant scalar field
theories with an enlarged set of classical symmetries to leading order in
derivatives, namely for the so-called theories, in two or more
spacetime dimensions. We find only three possibilities: Dirac-Born-Infeld,
Cuscuton and Scaling theories. The latter two classes of actions involve an
arbitrary function of the scalar field. As an application, we use the scaling
symmetry to derive an infinite set of constraints on the Wilsonian coefficients
of the low-energy Effective Field Theory. Furthermore, we study the extension
of these results to cosmological (FLRW) and (Anti-)de Sitter spacetimes. We
find in particular that the Cuscuton action has a generic set of symmetries
around any background spacetime that possesses Killing vector fields, while the
DBI actions have well-known analogues that we summarize explicitly
A dynamic auto-adaptive predictive maintenance policy for degradation with unknown parameters
International audienceWith the development of monitoring equipment, research on condition-based maintenance (CBM) is rapidly growing. CBM optimization aims to find an optimal CBM policy which minimizes the average cost of the system over a specified duration of time. This paper proposes a dynamic auto-adaptive predictive maintenance policy for single-unit systems whose gradual deterioration is governed by an increasing stochastic process. The parameters of the degradation process are assumed to be unknown and Bayes' theorem is used to update the prior information. The time interval between two successive inspections is scheduled based on the remaining useful life (RUL) of the system and is updated along with the degradation parameters. A procedure is proposed to dynamically adapt the maintenance decision variables accordingly. Finally, different possible maintenance policies are considered and compared to illustrate their performance
Severe head dysgenesis resulting from imbalance between anterior and posterior ontogenetic programs
Head dysgenesis is a major cause of fetal demise and craniofacial malformation. Although mutations in genes of the
head ontogenetic program have been reported, many cases remain unexplained. Head dysgenesis has also been
related to trisomy or amplification of the chromosomal region overlapping the CDX2 homeobox gene, a master
element of the trunk ontogenetic program. Hence, we investigated the repercussion on head morphogenesis of the
imbalance between the head and trunk ontogenetic programs, by means of ectopic rostral expression of CDX2 at
gastrulation. This caused severe malformations affecting the forebrain and optic structures, and also the frontonasal
process associated with defects in neural crest cells colonization. These malformations are the result of the
downregulation of genes of the head program together with the abnormal induction of trunk program genes.
Together, these data indicate that the imbalance between the anterior and posterior ontogenetic programs in
embryos is a new possible cause of head dysgenesis during human development, linked to defects in setting up
anterior neuroectodermal structures
Gas and seismicity within the Istanbul seismic gap
Understanding micro-seismicity is a critical question for earthquake hazard
assessment. Since the devastating earthquakes of Izmit and Duzce in 1999, the
seismicity along the submerged section of North Anatolian Fault within the Sea
of Marmara (comprising the “Istanbul seismic gap”) has been extensively
studied in order to infer its mechanical behaviour (creeping vs locked). So
far, the seismicity has been interpreted only in terms of being tectonic-
driven, although the Main Marmara Fault (MMF) is known to strike across
multiple hydrocarbon gas sources. Here, we show that a large number of the
aftershocks that followed the M 5.1 earthquake of July, 25th 2011 in the
western Sea of Marmara, occurred within a zone of gas overpressuring in the
1.5–5 km depth range, from where pressurized gas is expected to migrate along
the MMF, up to the surface sediment layers. Hence, gas-related processes
should also be considered for a complete interpretation of the micro-
seismicity (~M < 3) within the Istanbul offshore domain
Time-Frequency based Feature Selection for Discrimination of non stationary Biosignals.
This research proposes a generic methodology for dimensionality reduction upon time-frequency representations applied to the classification of different types of biosignals. The methodology directly deals with the highly redundant and irrelevant data contained in these representations, combining a first stage of irrelevant data removal by variable selection, with a second stage of redundancy reduction using methods based on linear transformations. The study addresses two techniques that provided a similar performance: the first one is based on the selection of a set of the most relevant time?frequency points, whereas the second one selects the most relevant frequency bands. The first methodology needs a lower quantity of components, leading to a lower feature space; but the second improves the capture of the time-varying dynamics of the signal, and therefore provides a more stable performance. In order to evaluate the generalization capabilities of the methodology proposed it has been applied to two types of biosignals with different kinds of non-stationary behaviors: electroencephalographic and phonocardiographic biosignals. Even when these two databases contain samples with different degrees of complexity and a wide variety of characterizing patterns, the results demonstrate a good accuracy for the detection of pathologies, over 98%.The results open the possibility to extrapolate the methodology to the study of other biosignals
Coronal Diagnostics from Narrowband Images around 30.4 nm
Images taken in the band centered at 30.4 nm are routinely used to map the
radiance of the He II Ly alpha line on the solar disk. That line is one of the
strongest, if not the strongest, line in the EUV observed in the solar
spectrum, and one of the few lines in that wavelength range providing
information on the upper chromosphere or lower transition region. However, when
observing the off-limb corona the contribution from the nearby Si XI 30.3 nm
line can become significant. In this work we aim at estimating the relative
contribution of those two lines in the solar corona around the minimum of solar
activity. We combine measurements from CDS taken in August 2008 with
temperature and density profiles from semiempirical models of the corona to
compute the radiances of the two lines, and of other representative coronal
lines (e.g., Mg X 62.5 nm, Si XII 52.1 nm). Considering both diagnosed
quantities from line ratios (temperatures and densities) and line radiances in
absolute units, we obtain a good overall match between observations and models.
We find that the Si XI line dominates the He II line from just above the limb
up to ~2 R_Sun in streamers, while its contribution to narrowband imaging in
the 30.4 nm band is expected to become smaller, even negligible in the corona
beyond ~2 - 3 R_Sun, the precise value being strongly dependent on the coronal
temperature profile.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures; to be published in: Solar Physic
Selective culture enrichment and sequencing of feces to enhance detection of antimicrobial resistance genes in third-generation cephalosporin resistant Enterobacteriaceae
Metagenomic sequencing of fecal DNA can usefully characterise an individual’s intestinal resistome but is limited by its inability to detect important pathogens that may be present at low abundance, such as carbapenemase or extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae. Here we aimed to develop a hybrid protocol to improve detection of resistance genes in Enterobacteriaceae by using a short period of culture enrichment prior to sequencing of DNA extracted directly from the enriched sample. Volunteer feces were spiked with carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae and incubated in selective broth culture for 6 hours before sequencing. Different DNA extraction methods were compared, including a plasmid extraction protocol to increase the detection of plasmid-associated resistance genes. Although enrichment prior to sequencing increased the detection of carbapenemase genes, the differing growth characteristics of the spike organisms precluded accurate quantification of their concentration prior to culture. Plasmid extraction increased detection of resistance genes present on plasmids, but the effects were heterogeneous and dependent on plasmid size. Our results demonstrate methods of improving the limit of detection of selected resistance mechanisms in a fecal resistome assay, but they also highlight the difficulties in using these techniques for accurate quantification and should inform future efforts to achieve this goa
Origins of the Ambient Solar Wind: Implications for Space Weather
The Sun's outer atmosphere is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees,
and solar plasma flows out into interplanetary space at supersonic speeds. This
paper reviews our current understanding of these interrelated problems: coronal
heating and the acceleration of the ambient solar wind. We also discuss where
the community stands in its ability to forecast how variations in the solar
wind (i.e., fast and slow wind streams) impact the Earth. Although the last few
decades have seen significant progress in observations and modeling, we still
do not have a complete understanding of the relevant physical processes, nor do
we have a quantitatively precise census of which coronal structures contribute
to specific types of solar wind. Fast streams are known to be connected to the
central regions of large coronal holes. Slow streams, however, appear to come
from a wide range of sources, including streamers, pseudostreamers, coronal
loops, active regions, and coronal hole boundaries. Complicating our
understanding even more is the fact that processes such as turbulence,
stream-stream interactions, and Coulomb collisions can make it difficult to
unambiguously map a parcel measured at 1 AU back down to its coronal source. We
also review recent progress -- in theoretical modeling, observational data
analysis, and forecasting techniques that sit at the interface between data and
theory -- that gives us hope that the above problems are indeed solvable.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Special issue
connected with a 2016 ISSI workshop on "The Scientific Foundations of Space
Weather." 44 pages, 9 figure
Gas and seismicity within the Istanbul seismic gap
Understanding micro-seismicity is a critical question for earthquake hazard assessment. Since the devastating earthquakes of Izmit and Duzce in 1999, the seismicity along the submerged section of North Anatolian Fault within the Sea of Marmara (comprising the “Istanbul seismic gap”) has been extensively studied in order to infer its mechanical behaviour (creeping vs locked). So far, the seismicity has been interpreted only in terms of being tectonic-driven, although the Main Marmara Fault (MMF) is known to strike across multiple hydrocarbon gas sources. Here, we show that a large number of the aftershocks that followed the M 5.1 earthquake of July, 25th 2011 in the western Sea of Marmara, occurred within a zone of gas overpressuring in the 1.5–5 km depth range, from where pressurized gas is expected to migrate along the MMF, up to the surface sediment layers. Hence, gas-related processes should also be considered for a complete interpretation of the micro-seismicity (~M < 3) within the Istanbul offshore domain
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