117 research outputs found
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Microbes central to human reproduction
As studies uncover the breadth of microbes associated with human life, opportunities will emerge to manipulate and augment their functions in ways that improve health and longevity. From involvement in the complexities of reproduction and fetal/infant development, to delaying the onset of disease, and indeed countering many maladies, microbes offer hope for human well-being. Evidence is emerging to suggest that microbes may play a beneficial role in body sites traditionally viewed as being sterile. Although further evidence is required, we propose that much of medical dogma is about to change significantly through recognition and understanding of these hitherto unrecognized microbe–host interactions. A meeting of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics held in Aberdeen, Scotland (June 2014), presented new views and challenged established concepts on the role of microbes in reproduction and health of the mother and infant. This article summarizes some of the main aspects of these discussions
Criticality Analysis of Activity Networks under Interval Uncertainty
Dedicated to the memory of Professor Stefan Chanas - The extended abstract version of this paper has appeared in Proceedings of 11th International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP2005) ("Interval Analysis in Scheduling", Fortin et al. 2005)International audienceThis paper reconsiders the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) scheduling problem when information about task duration is incomplete. We model uncertainty on task durations by intervals. With this problem formulation, our goal is to assert possible and necessary criticality of the different tasks and to compute their possible earliest starting dates, latest starting dates, and floats. This paper combines various results and provides a complete solution to the problem. We present the complexity results of all considered subproblems and efficient algorithms to solve them
Automated Analysis in Feature Modelling and Product Configuration
The automated analysis of feature models is one of the thriving
topics of research in the software product line and variability management
communities that has attracted more attention in the last years.
A recent literature review reported that more than 30 analysis operations
have been identi ed and di erent analysis mechanisms have been
proposed. Product con guration is a well established research eld with
more than 30 years of successful applications in di erent industrial domains.
Our hypothesis, that is not really new, is that these two independent
areas of research have interesting synergies that have not been
fully explored. To try to explore the potential synergies systematically, in
this paper we provide a rapid review to bring together these previously
disparate streams of work. We de ne a set of research questions and give
a preliminary answer to some of them. We conclude that there are many
research opportunities in the synergy of these independent areas.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2009- 07366Junta de Andalucía TIC-590
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The value and limitations of local ecological knowledge: longitudinal and retrospective assessment of flagship species in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica
1. Anthropogenic activities and climate change are affecting marine ecosystems worldwide, but systematic biodiversity assessments through periodic biomonitoring can be challenging and costly. Local ecological knowledge (LEK), obtained from experienced residents, can complement other approaches and provide improved understanding of the conservation status of marine areas. Here we explore the value and limitations of LEK to assess the status of several flagship species of tourism interest: cetaceans, sea turtles, whale sharks, and sea snakes in a unique tropical fiord and biodiversity hotspot, Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica.
2. We analysed interviews conducted with fishermen and tour-boat guides in 2010 and 2020 and compared their responses to biomonitoring data obtained through boat-based sighting surveys during in the same two time periods. Our questionnaire asked for estimates of sighting frequencies in both years, and in 2020 it also inquired about perceived changes over the time gap.
3. A key limitation was that many interviewees from 2010 could not be relocated in 2020, though 13 repeat participants served as a panel. Their responses suggest shifts in abundance that vary across taxa. For example, changes in reported sighting frequencies from 2010 to 2020 indicate a possible decline in whales but an increase in sea snakes. Those changes were also reflected in our biomonitoring data, suggesting respondents were fairly accurate in their reports of current abundance. However, when asked about perceived changes over the decade we found their answers were not consistent with changes detected through their reported frequencies nor though biomonitoring.
4. Our results suggest LEK can be a good source of information for current assessment but highlight the potential biases of perceptions of change. Evaluating changes through LEK may best be done by obtaining interview data at multiple points in time and systematically assessing trends, though, notably, there can be challenges with acquiring consistent sample sizes. Interviews should not replace but can complement biomonitoring while also providing further value via community engagement and as an avenue to gain insights into local opinions regarding conservation measures
Advances and new ideas for neutron-capture astrophysics experiments at CERN n_TOF
This article presents a few selected developments and future ideas related to the measurement of (n,γ) data of astrophysical interest at CERN n_TOF. The MC-aided analysis methodology for the use of low-efficiency radiation detectors in time-of-flight neutron-capture measurements is discussed, with particular emphasis on the systematic accuracy. Several recent instrumental advances are also presented, such as the development of total-energy detectors with γ-ray imaging capability for background suppression, and the development of an array of small-volume organic scintillators aimed at exploiting the high instantaneous neutron-flux of EAR2. Finally, astrophysics prospects related to the intermediate i neutron-capture process of nucleosynthesis are discussed in the context of the new NEAR activation area
Pushing the high count rate limits of scintillation detectors for challenging neutron-capture experiments
One of the critical aspects for the accurate determination of neutron capture
cross sections when combining time-of-flight and total energy detector
techniques is the characterization and control of systematic uncertainties
associated to the measuring devices. In this work we explore the most
conspicuous effects associated to harsh count rate conditions: dead-time and
pile-up effects. Both effects, when not properly treated, can lead to large
systematic uncertainties and bias in the determination of neutron cross
sections. In the majority of neutron capture measurements carried out at the
CERN n\_TOF facility, the detectors of choice are the CD
liquid-based either in form of large-volume cells or recently commissioned sTED
detector array, consisting of much smaller-volume modules. To account for the
aforementioned effects, we introduce a Monte Carlo model for these detectors
mimicking harsh count rate conditions similar to those happening at the CERN
n\_TOF 20~m fligth path vertical measuring station. The model parameters are
extracted by comparison with the experimental data taken at the same facility
during 2022 experimental campaign. We propose a novel methodology to consider
both, dead-time and pile-up effects simultaneously for these fast detectors and
check the applicability to experimental data from Au(,),
including the saturated 4.9~eV resonance which is an important component of
normalization for neutron cross section measurements
Advances and new ideas for neutron-capture astrophysics experiments at CERN n_TOF
This article presents a few selected developments and future ideas related to the measurement of (n,γ) data of astrophysical interest at CERN n_TOF. The MC-aided analysis methodology for the use of low-efficiency radiation detectors in time-of-flight neutron-capture measurements is discussed, with particular emphasis on the systematic accuracy. Several recent instrumental advances are also presented, such as the development of total-energy detectors with γ-ray imaging capability for background suppression, and the development of an array of small-volume organic scintillators aimed at exploiting the high instantaneous neutron-flux of EAR2. Finally, astrophysics prospects related to the intermediate i neutron-capture process of nucleosynthesis are discussed in the context of the new NEAR activation area
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