Sawja: Static Analysis Workshop for Java

Static analysis is a powerful technique for automatic verification of programs but raises major engineering challenges when developing a full-fledged analyzer for a realistic language such as Java. This paper describes the Sawja library: a static analysis framework fully compliant with Java 6 which provides OCaml modules for efficiently manipulating Java bytecode programs. We present the main features of the library, including (i) efficient functional data-structures for representing program with implicit sharing and lazy parsing, (ii) an intermediate stack-less representation, and (iii) fast computation and manipulation of complete programs

Combining Sentinel-1 and Landsat 8 does not improve classification accuracy of tropical selective logging

Tropical forests play a key role in the global carbon and hydrological cycles, maintaining biological diversity, slowing climate change, and supporting the global economy and local livelihoods. Yet, rapidly growing populations are driving continued degradation of tropical forests to supply wood products. The United Nations (UN) has developed the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programme to mitigate climate impacts and biodiversity losses through improved forest management. Consistent and reliable systems are still needed to monitor tropical forests at large scales, however, degradation has largely been left out of most REDD+ reporting given the lack of effective monitoring and countries mainly focus on deforestation. Recent advances in combining optical data and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data have shown promise for improved ability to monitor forest losses, but it remains unclear if similar improvements could be made in detecting and mapping forest degradation. We used detailed selective logging records from three lowland tropical forest regions in the Brazilian Amazon to test the effectiveness of combining Landsat 8 and Sentinel-1 for selective logging detection. We built Random Forest models to classify pixel-based differences in logged and unlogged regions to understand if combining optical and SAR improved the detection capabilities over optical data alone. We found that the classification accuracy of models utilizing optical data from Landsat 8 alone were slightly higher than models that combined Sentinel-1 and Landsat 8. In general, detection of selective logging was high with both optical only and optical-SAR combined models, but our results show that the optical data was dominating the predictive performance and adding SAR data introduced noise, lowering the detection of selective logging. While we have shown limited capabilities with C-band SAR, the anticipated opening of the ALOS-PALSAR archives and the anticipated launch of NISAR and BIOMASS in 2023 should stimulate research investigating similar methods to understand if longer wavelength SAR might improve classification of areas affected by selective logging when combined with optical data

Monitoring lianas from space: using Sentinel-2 imagery to observe liana removal in logged tropical forests

Liana removal – the cutting of over-abundant woody climbing plants (lianas) – has the potential to substantially increase tree growth and biomass accumulation across millions of hectares of degraded tropical forest. Satellite imagery could provide data capable of observing the effect of liana removal on the forest canopy, enabling the large-scale monitoring and validation of liana removal, which remains a key hurdle to its widespread implementation. Using a 320-ha liana removal experiment in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, we tested whether a time series of Sentinel-2 images could observe the canopy signature of liana removal. Calculating a range of metrics derived from the Normalized Burn Ratio – a vegetation index based on spectral reflectance that differentiates leaf from non-leaf – we quantified satellite-derived canopy disturbance and fragmentation across a range of liana removal intensities and examined how canopy disturbance changed in the 12-months following removal treatments. We find that liana removal significantly increases canopy disturbance and fragmentation metrics one month after removal, with partial removal having a smaller effect than complete removal. The impact of liana removal on the canopy metrics declined over time, with measures of canopy disturbance and fragmentation largely indistinguishable from control forest within 12-months of treatment. Our findings evidence that freely available satellite imagery can be used to efficiently monitor large-scale liana removal applied at a range of intensities and suggest that partial liana removal could significantly reduce canopy disturbance of this restoration method

The UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey

'The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com .' Copyright Blackwell Publishing DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13924.xThe UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey (GPS) is one of the five near-infrared Public Legacy Surveys that are being undertaken by the UKIDSS consortium, using the Wide Field Camera on the United Kingdom Infrared TelescopePeer reviewe

The TESS-Keck Survey. II. An Ultra-Short-Period Rocky Planet And Its Siblings Transiting The Galactic Thick-Disk Star TOI-561

We report the discovery of TOI-561, a multiplanet system in the galactic thick disk that contains a rocky, ultra-short-period planet. This bright (V = 10.2) star hosts three small transiting planets identified in photometry from the NASA TESS mission: TOI-561 b (TOI-561.02, P = 0.44 days, Rp = 1.45 ± 0.11 R⊕), c (TOI-561.01, P = 10.8 days, Rp = 2.90 ± 0.13 R⊕), and d (TOI-561.03, P = 16.3 days, Rp = 2.32 ± 0.16 R⊕). The star is chemically ([Fe/H] = −0.41 ± 0.05, [α/Fe] = +0.23 ± 0.05) and kinematically consistent with the galactic thick-disk population, making TOI-561 one of the oldest (10 ± 3 Gyr) and most metal-poor planetary systems discovered yet. We dynamically confirm planets b and c with radial velocities from the W. M. Keck Observatory High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer. Planet b has a mass and density of 3.2 ± 0.8 M⊕ and ${5.5}_{-1.6}^{+2.0}$g cm−3, consistent with a rocky composition. Its lower-than-average density is consistent with an iron-poor composition, although an Earth-like iron-to-silicates ratio is not ruled out. Planet c is 7.0 ± 2.3 M⊕ and 1.6 ± 0.6 g cm−3, consistent with an interior rocky core overlaid with a low-mass volatile envelope. Several attributes of the photometry for planet d (which we did not detect dynamically) complicate the analysis, but we vet the planet with high-contrast imaging, ground-based photometric follow-up, and radial velocities. TOI-561 b is the first rocky world around a galactic thick-disk star confirmed with radial velocities and one of the best rocky planets for thermal emission studies

Dbl3 drives Cdc42 signaling at the apical margin to regulate junction position and apical differentiation

Epithelial cells develop morphologically characteristic apical domains that are bordered by tight junctions, the apical-lateral border. Cdc42 and its effector complex Par6-atypical protein kinase c (aPKC) regulate multiple steps during epithelial differentiation, but the mechanisms that mediate process-specific activation of Cdc42 to drive apical morphogenesis and activate the transition from junction formation to apical differentiation are poorly understood. Using a small interfering RNA screen, we identify Dbl3 as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor that is recruited by ezrin to the apical membrane, that is enriched at a marginal zone apical to tight junctions, and that drives spatially restricted Cdc42 activation, promoting apical differentiation. Dbl3 depletion did not affect junction formation but did affect epithelial morphogenesis and brush border formation. Conversely, expression of active Dbl3 drove process-specific activation of the Par6-aPKC pathway, stimulating the transition from junction formation to apical differentiation and domain expansion, as well as the positioning of tight junctions. Thus, Dbl3 drives Cdc42 signaling at the apical margin to regulate morphogenesis, apical-lateral border positioning, and apical differentiation

Geometric Variations of Modular Head-Stem Taper Junctions of Total Hip Replacements

Taper degradation in Total Hip Replacements (THR) has been identified as a clinical concern, and the degradation occurring at these interfaces has received increased interest in recent years. Wear and corrosion products produced at the taper junction are associated with adverse local tissue responses, leading to early failure and revision surgery. Retrieval and in-vitro studies have found that variations in taper design affect degradation. However, there is a lack of consistent understanding within the literature of what makes a good taper interface. Previous studies assessed different design variations using their global parameters assuming a perfect cone such as: taper length, cone angle and diameters. This study assessed geometrical variations of as-manufactured head and stem tapers and any local deviations from their geometry. The purpose of this study was to provide a greater insight into possible engagement, a key performance influencing parameter predicted by Morse taper connection theory. This was achieved by taking measurements of twelve different commercially available male tapers and six female tapers using a coordinate measurement machine (CMM). The results suggested that engagement is specific to a particular head-stem couple. This is subject to both their micro-scale deviations, superimposed on their macro-scale differences. Differences in cone angles between female and male tapers from the same manufacturer was found to create a predominately proximal contact. However, distally mismatched couples are present in some metal-on-metal head-stem couples. On a local scale, different deviation patterns were observed from the geometry which appeared to be linked to the manufacturing process. Future work will look at using this measurement methodology to fully characterise an optimal modular taper junction for a THR prosthesis