Comment on “The diatomic dication CuZn2+ in the gas phase” [J. Chem. Phys. 135, 034306 (2011)]

In this Comment, the density functional theory (DFT) calculations carried out by Diez et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 135, 034306 (2011)10.1063/1.3613624] are revised within the framework of the coupled-cluster single double triple method. These more sophisticated calculations allow us to show that the 2Σ+ electronic ground state of CuZn2+, characterized as the metastable ground state by DFT calculations, is a repulsive state instead. The 2Δ and 2Π metastable states of CuZn2+, on the other hand, should be responsible for the formation mechanism of the dication through the near-resonant electron transfer CuZn+ + Ar+ → CuZn2+ + Ar reaction.Fil: Pis Diez, Reinaldo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica "Dr. Pedro J. Aymonino". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Química Inorgánica "Dr. Pedro J. Aymonino"; ArgentinaFil: Franzreb, Klaus. Arizona State University; Estados UnidosFil: Alonso, Julio A.. Universidad de Valladolid; Españ

Diseño de un protocolo de entrenamiento para el perfeccionamiento de la técnica del viraje de estilo libre = Training protocol design for the improvement of freestyle flip turn technique

El presente trabajo trata de poner en práctica un protocolo que permita el perfeccionamiento de la técnica de los virajes de estilo libre de natación a través de un programa de entrenamiento específico. En el estudio participaron un total de 14 nadadores (8 hombres y 6 mujeres), todos pertenecientes al Club de Natación León (CNL). Se realizó una primera grabación, para a continuación analizar los tiempos y velocidades de aproximación y separación, así como el lugar de contacto con la pared y la posición adoptada por los pies en el momento del impulso. Tras esto, los nadadores fueron divididos en 3 grupos: control, experimental 1 y experimental 2. Ambos grupos experimentales realizaron un entrenamiento específico de virajes de 8 semanas de duración, mientras que el grupo control no. Además, el grupo experimental 2 recibió un feedback extrínseco a través de “sensores de viraje”. Tras dos meses de entrenamiento se confeccionó una segunda grabación a fin de comprobar la existencia de mejoras y diferencias entre los tres grupos. Finalmente se aportó un informe individual a cada nadador con sus tiempos, fortalezas y debilidades. Los resultados obtenidos permiten concluir que el entrenamiento de virajes tuvo un efecto positivo en los tiempos, velocidades y aspectos cualitativos analizados (a excepción de la posición de los pies en el momento del impulso) de los grupos experimentales respecto al grupo control y pensamos que tras la familiarización del grupo experimental 2 con los “sensores de viraje” estos resultados podrían verse incrementado

Face verification algorithms for UAV applications:an empirical comparative analysis

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are revolutionising diverse computer vision use case domains, from public safety surveillance to Search and Rescue (SAR), and other emergency management and disaster relief operations. The growing need for accurate face verification algorithms has prompted an exploration of synergies between UAVs and face verification. This promises cost-effective, wide-area, non-intrusive person verification. Real-world human-centric use cases such as a ”Drone Guard Angel” for vulnerable people can contribute to public safety management and offload significant police resources. These scenarios demand efficient face verification to distinguish correctly the end users for authentication, authorisation and customised services. This paper investigates the suitability of existing solutions, and analyses five state-of-the-art candidate face verification algorithms. Informed by the advantages and disadvantages of existing solutions, the paper proposes an extended dataset and a refined face verification pipeline. Subsequently, it conducts empirical evaluation of these algorithms using the proposed pipeline and dataset in terms of inference times and the distribution of the similarity indexes. Furthermore, this paper provides essential guidance for algorithm selection and deployment in UAV-based applications. Two candidate algorithms, ArcFace and FaceNet512, have emerged as the top performers. The choice between them will depend on the specific use case requirements

Edge-accelerated UAV operations:a case study of open source solutions

This study explores the execution of AI algorithms on open Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with Beagle-Bone AI-64 (BBAI-64) boards, comparing their performance to high-performance computers equipped with GPUs. Key factors are evaluated, such as inference time, end-to-end processing time, CPU usage, or temperature on the board. Furthermore, this study presents the development of an open UAV platform based on an open-source flight controller (Durandal) executing an open-source autopilot (ArduPilot). This platform facilitates the integration of various sensors or cameras, regardless of brand or communication protocol. The study’s key findings show that the BBAI-64 offers advantages for smaller Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, and achieving comparable performance for larger models with high-performance computers. This work contributes to optimising AI execution on UAVs and supporting the development of versatile, sensor-agnostic open-source UAVs

High-performance implantable sensors based on anisotropic magnetoresistive La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 for biomedical applications

Artículo escrito por un elevado número de autores, solo se referencian el que aparece en primer lugar, los autores pertenecientes a la UAM y el nombre del grupo de colaboración, si lo hubiereWe present the design, fabrication, and characterization of an implantable neural interface based on anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) magnetic-field sensors that combine reduced size and high performance at body temperature. The sensors are based on La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) as a ferromagnetic material, whose epitaxial growth has been suitably engineered to get uniaxial anisotropy and large AMR output together with low noise even at low frequencies. The performance of LSMO sensors of different film thickness and at different temperatures close to 37 °C has to be explored to find an optimum sensitivity of ∼400%/T (with typical detectivity values of 2 nT·Hz-1/2 at a frequency of 1 Hz and 0.3 nT·Hz-1/2 at 1 kHz), fitted for the detection of low magnetic signals coming from neural activity. Biocompatibility tests of devices consisting of submillimeter-size LSMO sensors coated by a thin poly(dimethyl siloxane) polymeric layer, both in vitro and in vivo, support their high suitability as implantable detectors of low-frequency biological magnetic signals emerging from heterogeneous electrically active tissue

Rethinking aesthetics in the politics of theatre : a road to Edward Bond : the ethical

Jacques Derrida contended that Marxism is dead, along with its hopes, and its discourses (1994: 52). This thesis arose from an assertion that the socialist utopia as a paradigm of perfect justice, equality and freedom, has been progressively effaced from most cultural and artistic enterprises, supplanted by economic need, political consensus, and social compromise. Class differences remain acute, yet the notion of class struggle is effectively absent across the Humanities. I propose Edward Bond's philosophical model as a unique route to reclaiming this neglected utopian function of culture. Bond's plays and theoretical writings have been marginalized by the British theatrical mainstream. This study demonstrates that Bond's creative and ideological position is incompatible with any reactionary notion of 'mainstream'. Bond's radical materialism demonstrates an inherent and inevitable critique of most genres of theatre and performance. Through an exploration of key philosophical theories that underpin the work of the dramatist, I reach a re-evaluation of aesthetics as an ambiguous medium of the dominant bourgeois ideology. Art is a repository of cognitive truths, but not of universal cognitive truths. In terms of class culture, it really forms part of a tradition "of the oppressed" (Benjamin, 1999: 248). Habermas proposes a unity of experience in the arts by bridging "the gap between cognitive, ethical, and political discourses". I contend that these discourses are undermined by bourgeois aestheticization, which distorts values and understanding, manifested in the daily delivery of most culture as an industrial enterprise. Bond contends that, "[his] philosophy ... makes ethics an ultimate reality" (Stuart, 2000: 56). Identifying an interaction between Marx's theory of reification and Nietzsche's evaluation on men of ressentiment, I construct a platform for approaching this complicated ethical question. I evaluate the dialectical validity of what Bond calls "the problem"; the "extreme" lives we lead in our liberal democracies, establishing his philosophical position not as provocatively controversial but as logical, realistic, and materialistic. Capitalist reification progressively conceals human meanmg under "the essence of commodity-structure [ ... ] in all its aspects" (Lukacs, 1990: 83). With its emphasis on the meaning of the human self, Bond's dramatic strategy is in a sense the application of Lukacs's prescription against the reified mind. For Bond, drama is crucial because it allows reified individuals to enact human choices that are impossible in their daily lives. I conclude by addressing issues that arise from Bond's involvement in Drama in Education (DIE). Bond's theoretical output is evolving into a discrete, autonomous field and needs to be approached as such. Volume II, a transcribed interview with the dramatist himself, contributes further to the issues arising from this thesis

The pine shoot beetle Tomicus piniperda as a plausible vector of Fusarium circinatum in northern Spain

International audienceAbstractKey messageThe pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda, is a potential vector of the pitch canker disease pathogen. The insect could transmit the pathogenic fungus during its maturation or regeneration feeding on the shoots of healthy pine crowns.ContextFusarium circinatum, the causal agent of pitch canker disease, currently affects Pinus radiata in northern Spain, causing pitch-soaked cankers and tree death. Although several species of the family Scolytinae have been reported as vectors of this pathogen, the role of the pine shoot beetle T. piniperda remains unclear.AimsThe general objective of this study was to determine whether T. piniperda is a vector for the pitch canker pathogen F. circinatum. For this purpose, Leach’s postulates (1) an association between T. piniperda and trees affected by pitch canker disease; (2) regular visits by T. piniperda to healthy P. radiata trees; (3) presence of the pathogen on the insect in nature; and (4) transmission of the pathogen to disease-free host material under controlled conditions.MethodsFresh green shoots with feeding galleries were collected from the ground, breeding galleries were collected from diseased trunks and insects were collected during their dispersion flights. A laboratory experiment was conducted in which specimens of T. piniperda were inoculated with the pathogen prior to feeding on shoots.ResultsIn the field, T. piniperda was found to be associated with both diseased and healthy P. radiata trees, and F. circinatum was found to be present, at low rates, on the exoskeleton of T. piniperda. In the laboratory experiment, evidence of the ability of T. piniperda to transfer the pathogen to healthy shoots was found.ConclusionsThe study findings indicate T. piniperda as a plausible vector of this pathogen. We postulate for the first time a potential relationship between the life cycles of T. piniperda and F. circinatum

AIM Triad: A Prioritization Strategy for Public Institutions to Improve Information Security Maturity

In today’s world, private and government organizations are legally obligated to prioritize their information security. They need to provide proof that they are continually improving their cybersecurity compliance. One approach that can help organizations achieve this goal is implementing information security maturity models. These models provide a structured framework for measuring performance and implementing best practices. However, choosing a suitable model can be challenging, requiring cultural, process, and work practice changes. Implementing multiple models can be overwhelming, if possible. This article proposes a prioritization strategy for public institutions that want to improve their information security maturity. We thoroughly analyzed various sources through systematic mapping to identify critical similarities in information security maturity models. Our research led us to create the AIM (Awareness, Infrastructure, and Management) Triad. This triad is a practical guide for organizations to achieve maturity in information security practices.This work received partial support from Proyecto DIUFRO DI21-0079 and Proyecto DIUFRO DI22-0043, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco. Chile