124 research outputs found
Nonlinear interactions between high-Q optical and acoustic modes in dielectric particles
The interaction between acoustic breathing modes and optical Mie resonances in a spherical particle made
of a chalcogenide glass material is investigated by means of rigorous calculations, correct to any order
in the acousto-optic coupling parameter. Our results reveal the occurrence of strong effects beyond the
linear-response approximation, which lead to enhanced modulation of light by acoustic waves through
multiphonon exchange mechanisms when both photons and phonons have a very long lifetime inside the particle
Absolute spectral gaps for infrared light and hypersound in three-dimensional metallodielectric phoxonic crystals
By means of full electrodynamic and elastodynamic multiple-scattering calculations we study the
optical and acoustic properties of three-dimensional lattices of metallic nanospheres implanted in a
dielectric host. Our results show that such structures exhibit omnidirectional spectral gaps for both
telecom infrared light and hypersound, with relatively low absorptive losses. This class of dual
phoxonic band-gap materials is an essential step toward the hypersonic modulation of light and
could lead to the development of efficient acousto-optical devices
Light modulation in phoxonic nanocavities
We report on the occurrence of strong nonlinear acousto-optic interactions in phoxonic structures, that
support, simultaneously, acoustic and optical localized resonant modes, under the influence of acoustic
losses. Deploying a detailed theoretical investigation of the acousto-optic coupling in the specific case
of a one-dimensional phoxonic cavity, realized by homogeneous SiO2 and Si layers, we demonstrate
the possibility for an enhanced modulation of light with sound through multi-phonon exchange mechanisms.
A full electrodynamic and elastodynamic multiple scattering approach is employed to describe the
optical and acoustic modes, and to account for their mutual interaction and the underlying effects both in
time and frequency domains. In particular, we discuss the influence of hypersonic attenuation on the
acousto-optic interaction by considering typical acoustic losses in the GHz regime
Use of radiobiological modeling in treatment plan evaluation and optimization of prostate cancer radiotherapy
There are many tools available that are used to evaluate a radiotherapy treatment plan, such as isodose distribution charts, dose volume histograms (DVH), maximum, minimum and mean doses of the dose distributions as well as DVH point dose constraints. All the already mentioned evaluation tools are dosimetric only without taking into account the radiobiological characteristics of tumors or OARs. It has been demonstrated that although competing treatment plans might have similar mean, maximum or minimum doses they may have significantly different clinical outcomes (Mavroidis et al. 2001). For performing a more complete treatment plan evaluation and comparison the complication-free tumor control probability (P+) and the biologically effective uniform dose (D ) have been proposed (Källman et al. 1992a, Mavroidis et al. 2000). The D concept denotes that any two dose distributions within a target or OAR are equivalent if they produce the same probability for tumor control or normal tissue complication, respectively (Mavroidis et al. 2001)..
Large-Scale Online Semantic Indexing of Biomedical Articles via an Ensemble of Multi-Label Classification Models
Background: In this paper we present the approaches and methods employed in
order to deal with a large scale multi-label semantic indexing task of
biomedical papers. This work was mainly implemented within the context of the
BioASQ challenge of 2014. Methods: The main contribution of this work is a
multi-label ensemble method that incorporates a McNemar statistical
significance test in order to validate the combination of the constituent
machine learning algorithms. Some secondary contributions include a study on
the temporal aspects of the BioASQ corpus (observations apply also to the
BioASQ's super-set, the PubMed articles collection) and the proper adaptation
of the algorithms used to deal with this challenging classification task.
Results: The ensemble method we developed is compared to other approaches in
experimental scenarios with subsets of the BioASQ corpus giving positive
results. During the BioASQ 2014 challenge we obtained the first place during
the first batch and the third in the two following batches. Our success in the
BioASQ challenge proved that a fully automated machine-learning approach, which
does not implement any heuristics and rule-based approaches, can be highly
competitive and outperform other approaches in similar challenging contexts
Transport properties of single atoms
We present a systematic study of the ballistic electron conductance through
sp and 3d transition metal atoms attached to copper and palladium crystalline
electrodes. We employ the 'ab initio' screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green's
function method to calculate the electronic structure of nanocontacts while the
ballistic transmission and conductance eigenchannels were obtained by means of
the Kubo approach as formulated by Baranger and Stone. We demonstrate that the
conductance of the systems is mainly determined by the electronic properties of
the atom bridging the macroscopic leads. We classify the conducting
eigenchannels according to the atomic orbitals of the contact atom and the
irreducible representations of the symmetry point group of the system that
leads to the microscopic understanding of the conductance. We show that if
impurity resonances in the density of states of the contact atom appear at the
Fermi energy, additional channels of appropriate symmetry could open. On the
other hand the transmission of the existing channels could be blocked by
impurity scattering.Comment: RevTEX4, 9 pages, 9 figure
Sequential Experimental Design for Predator-Prey Functional Response Experiments
Understanding functional response within a predator-prey dynamic is a
cornerstone for many quantitative ecological studies. Over the past 60 years,
the methodology for modelling functional response has gradually transitioned
from the classic mechanistic models to more statistically oriented models. To
obtain inferences on these statistical models, a substantial number of
experiments need to be conducted. The obvious disadvantages of collecting this
volume of data include cost, time and the sacrificing of animals. Therefore,
optimally designed experiments are useful as they may reduce the total number
of experimental runs required to attain the same statistical results. In this
paper, we develop the first sequential experimental design method for
predator-prey functional response experiments. To make inferences on the
parameters in each of the statistical models we consider, we use sequential
Monte Carlo, which is computationally efficient and facilitates convenient
estimation of important utility functions. It provides coverage of experimental
goals including parameter estimation, model discrimination as well as a
combination of these. The results of our simulation study illustrate that for
predator-prey functional response experiments sequential design outperforms
static design for our experimental goals. R code for implementing the
methodology is available via
https://github.com/haydenmoffat/sequential_design_for_predator_prey_experiments.Comment: Main Text: 23 pages, 7 Figures - Supplementary Text: 11 pages, 5
Figure
Do temperature, relative humidity and interspecific competition alter the population size and the damage potential of stored-product insect pests? A hierarchical multilevel modeling approach
The premises of stored agricultural products and food consists of a complex ecosystem in which several pests can seriously affect the quality and quantity of the products. In this study we utilize a 4-level hierarchical linear multilevel model in order to assess the effect of temperature, relative humidity (RH) and interspecific competition on the population size and damage potential of the larger grain borer, Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae) and the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae). As RH was increased, we observed higher percentage of live insects, while increased levels of temperature significantly decreased the percentage of live insects. The combination of R. dominica and P. truncatus lead to reduction of the percentages of live insects in comparison to single species treatments. However, P. truncatus is more damaging than R. dominica in maize, based on the proportion of damaged kernels which were infested by each insect species. We expect our results to have bearing in the management of these species
Measuring Annual Sedimentation through High Accuracy UAV-Photogrammetry Data and Comparison with RUSLE and PESERA Erosion Models
Model-based soil erosion studies have increased in number, given the availability of geodata and the recent technological advances. However, their accuracy remains rather questionable since the scarcity of field records hinders the validation of simulated values. In this context, this study aims to present a method for measuring sediment deposition at a typical Mediterranean catchment (870 ha) in Greece through high spatial resolution field measurements acquired by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) survey. Three-dimensional modeling is considered to be an emerging technique for surface change detection. The UAV-derived point cloud comparison, applying the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) technique at the Platana sediment retention dam test site, quantified annual topsoil change in cm-scale accuracy (0.02–0.03 m), delivering mean sediment yield of 1620 m3 ± 180 m3 or 6.05 t ha−1yr−1 and 3500 m3 ± 194 m3 or 13 t ha−1yr−1 for the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 estimation. Moreover, the widely applied PESERA and RUSLE models estimated the 2020–2021 mean sediment yield at 1.12 t ha−1yr−1 and 3.51 t ha−1yr−1, respectively, while an increase was evident during the 2021–2022 simulation (2.49 t ha−1yr−1 and 3.56 t ha−1yr−1, respectively). Both applications appear to underestimate the net soil loss rate, with RUSLE being closer to the measured results. The difference is mostly attributed to the model’s limitation to simulate gully erosion or to a C-factor misinterpretation. To the authors’ better knowledge, this study is among the few UAV applications employed to acquire high-accuracy soil loss measurements. The results proved extremely useful in our attempt to measure sediment yield at the cm scale through UAV-SfM and decipher the regional soil erosion and sediment transport pattern, also offering a direct assessment of the retention dams’ life expectancy.Greece and the European UnionPeer Reviewe
Optimal experimental design for predator–prey functional response experiments
Functional response models are important in understanding predator–prey interactions. The development of functional response methodology has progressed from mechanistic models to more statistically motivated models that can account for variance and the over-dispersion commonly seen in the datasets collected from functional response experiments. However, little information seems to be available for those wishing to prepare optimal parameter estimation designs for functional response experiments. It is worth noting that optimally designed experiments may require smaller sample sizes to achieve the same statistical outcomes as non-optimally designed experiments. In this paper, we develop a model-based approach to optimal experimental design for functional response experiments in the presence of parameter uncertainty (also known as a robust optimal design approach). Further, we develop and compare new utility functions which better focus on the statistical efficiency of the designs; these utilities are generally applicable for robust optimal design in other applications (not just in functional response). The methods are illustrated using a beta-binomial functional response model for two published datasets: an experiment involving the freshwater predator Notonecta glauca (an aquatic insect) preying on Asellus aquaticus (a small crustacean), and another experiment involving a ladybird beetle (Propylea quatuordecimpunctata L.) preying on the black bean aphid (Aphis fabae Scopoli). As a by-product, we also derive necessary quantities to perform optimal design for beta-binomial regression models, which may be useful in other applications
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