1,092 research outputs found
Enhancing Branch-and-Bound for Multi-Objective 0-1 Programming
In the bi-objective branch-and-bound literature, a key ingredient is
objective branching, i.e. to create smaller and disjoint sub-problems in the
objective space, obtained from the partial dominance of the lower bound set by
the upper bound set. When considering three or more objective functions,
however, applying objective branching becomes more complex, and its benefit has
so far been unclear. In this paper, we investigate several ingredients which
allow to better exploit objective branching in a multi-objective setting. We
extend the idea of probing to multiple objectives, enhance it in several ways,
and show that when coupled with objective branching, it results in significant
speed-ups in terms of CPU times. We also investigate cut generation based on
the objective branching constraints. Besides, we generalize the best-bound idea
for node selection to multiple objectives and we show that the proposed rules
outperform the, in the multi-objective literature, commonly employed
depth-first and breadth-first strategies. We also analyze problem specific
branching rules. We test the proposed ideas on available benchmark instances
for three problem classes with three and four objectives, namely the
capacitated facility location problem, the uncapacitated facility location
problem, and the knapsack problem. Our enhanced multi-objective
branch-and-bound algorithm outperforms the best existing branch-and-bound based
approach and is the first to obtain competitive and even slightly better
results than a state-of-the-art objective space search method on a subset of
the problem classes
Cloud-based solutions for distributed climate modeling
ECCO in the cloud - overviewA new, cloud-based framework for climate modeling is introduced allowing to run climate models at the “click of a button”. The framework aims to simplify dissemination of climate models, increase transparency of modeling activities, expand their user base, and facilitate broader research collaboration.NASA Physical Oceanograph
Above-ground biomass and productivity in a rain forest of eastern South America
Abstract: The dynamics of tropical forest woody plants was studied at the Nouragues Field Station, central French Guiana. Stem density, basal area, above-ground biomass and above-ground net primary productivity, including the contribution of litterfall, were estimated from two large permanent census plots of 12 and 10 ha, established on contrasting soil types, and censused twice, first in 1992¿1994, then again in 2000¿2002. Mean stem density was 512 stems ha¿1 and basal area, 30m2 ha¿1. Stem mortality rate ranged between 1.51% and 2.06% y¿1. In both plots, stem density decreased over the study period. Using a correlation between wood density and wood hardness directly measured by a Pilodyn wood tester,we found that the mean wood densitywas 0.63 g cm¿3, 12% smaller than the mean of wood density estimated from the literature values for the species occurring in our plot. Above-ground biomass ranged from 356 to 398Mgha¿1 (oven-dry mass), and it increased over the census period. Leaf biomass was 6.47Mg ha¿1. Our total estimate of aboveground net primary productivity was 8.81 MgC ha¿1 y¿1 (in carbon units), not accounting for loss to herbivory, branchfalls, or biogenic volatile organic compounds, whichmay altogether account for an additional 1MgC ha¿1 y¿1. Coarse wood productivity (stem growth plus recruitment) contributed to 4.16 MgC ha¿1 y¿1. Litterfall contributed to 4.65MgC ha¿1 y¿1 with 3.16 MgC ha¿1 y¿1 due to leaves, 1.10 MgC ha¿1 y¿1 to twigs, and 0.39MgC ha¿1 y¿1 to fruits and flowers. The increase in above-ground biomass for both trees and lianas is consistentwith the hypothesis of a shift in the functioning of Amazonian rain forests driven by environmental changes, although alternative hypotheses such as a recovery from past disturbances cannot be ruled out at our site, as suggested by the observed decrease in stem density. Key Words: above-ground biomass, carbon, French Guiana, net primary productivity, tropical fores
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Atmospheric Mars Entry and Landing Investigations & Analysis (AMELIA) by ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli Entry Descent Module
Involvement of a single periplasmic hydrogenase for both hydrogen uptake and production in some Desulfovibrio species
Au cours de cette étude, nous avons montré que plusieurs bactéries sulfato-réductrices possédant un nombre différent de gènes codant pour des hydrogénases, oxydent le lactate en absence de sulfate lorsqu'elles sont en coculture avec #Methanospirillum hungatei. L'efficacité du transfert d'hydrogène avec la bactérie méthanogène n'est pas corrélée avec le nombre de gènes codant pour l'hydrogénase chez ces bactéries sulfato-réductrices. #Desulfovibrio vulgaris Groningen, qui possède uniquement le gène de l'hydrogénase à nickel-fer (hydrogénase [NiFe]), oxyde l'hydrogène en présence de sulfate et produit de l'hydrogène au cours de la fermentation du pyruvate. L'hydrogénase de #D. vulgaris Groningen a été purifiée et caractérisée. Son poids moléculaire est de 87 kDA et elle est constituée de deux sous-unités différentes (60 et 28 kDa). L'hydrogénase de cette bactérie contient 10,6 atomes de fer, 0,9 atome de nickel et 12 atomes de soufre par molécule et son spectre d'absorption est caractéristique d'une protéine à centre fer-soufre. Les activités catalytiques de consommation et production d'hydrogène sont de 332 et 230 unités/mg de protéine, respectivement. Les cellules de #D. vulgarie Groningen contiennent exclusivement l'hydrogénase [NiFe] quelles que soient les conditions de croissance, ainsi que l'ont montré des études biochimiques et immunologiques. L'immunocytolocalisation de cryosections ultrafines de cellules ayant poussé sur différents milieux indique que l'hydrogénase [NiFe] est localisée dans l'espace périplasmique, le marquage étant plus important sur les cellules cultivées sur H2 et sulfate ou pyruvate seul que sur celles cultivées sur lactate et sulfate. Les résultats nous permettent de conclure que #D. vulgaris Groningen contient une seule hydrogénase de type [NiFe] située dans l'espace périplasmique tel que cela a été décrit chez #D. gigas. (Résumé d'auteur
Passively mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 oscillator operating at ultra-low repetition rate
We demonstrate the operation of an ultra low repetition rate, high peak
power, picosecond diode pumped Nd:YVO4 passively mode locked laser oscillator.
Repetition rates even below 1 MHz were achieved with the use of a new design
multiple-pass cavity and a semiconductor saturable absorber. Long term stable
operation at 1.2 MHz, pulse duration of 16.3 ps and average output power of 470
mW corresponding to 24 KW peak power pulses is reported. This is, to our
knowledge, the lowest repetition rate high peak power pulses ever generated
directly from a picosecond laser resonator without cavity dumping
Gain properties of dye-doped polymer thin films
Hybrid pumping appears as a promising compromise in order to reach the much
coveted goal of an electrically pumped organic laser. In such configuration the
organic material is optically pumped by an electrically pumped inorganic device
on chip. This engineering solution requires therefore an optimization of the
organic gain medium under optical pumping. Here, we report a detailed study of
the gain features of dye-doped polymer thin films. In particular we introduce
the gain efficiency , in order to facilitate comparison between different
materials and experimental conditions. The gain efficiency was measured with
various setups (pump-probe amplification, variable stripe length method, laser
thresholds) in order to study several factors which modify the actual gain of a
layer, namely the confinement factor, the pump polarization, the molecular
anisotropy, and the re-absorption. For instance, for a 600 nm thick 5 wt\% DCM
doped PMMA layer, the different experimental approaches give a consistent value
80 cm.MW. On the contrary, the usual model predicting the gain
from the characteristics of the material leads to an overestimation by two
orders of magnitude, which raises a serious problem in the design of actual
devices. In this context, we demonstrate the feasibility to infer the gain
efficiency from the laser threshold of well-calibrated devices. Besides,
temporal measurements at the picosecond scale were carried out to support the
analysis.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figure
ESR study of the single-ion anisotropy in the pyrochlore antiferromagnet Gd2Sn2O7
Single-ion anisotropy is of importance for the magnetic ordering of the
frustrated pyrochlore antiferromagnets Gd2Ti2O7 and Gd2Sn2O7. The anisotropy
parameters for the Gd2Sn2O7 were measured using the electron spin resonance
(ESR) technique. The anisotropy was found to be of the easy plane type, with
the main constant D=140mK. This value is 35% smaller than the value of the
corresponding anisotropy constant in the related compound Gd2Ti2O7.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
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