A k-means-based formation algorithm for the delay-aware data collection network structure

2014-2015 > Academic research: refereed > Refereed conference paperAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

Capillary origami: spontaneous wrapping of a droplet with an elastic sheet

The interaction between elasticity and capillarity is used to produce three dimensional structures, through the wrapping of a liquid droplet by a planar sheet. The final encapsulated 3D shape is controlled by tayloring the initial geometry of the flat membrane. A 2D model shows the evolution of open sheets to closed structures and predicts a critical length scale below which encapsulation cannot occur, which is verified experimentally. This {\it elastocapillary length} is found to depend on the thickness as $h^{3/2}$, a scaling favorable to miniaturization which suggests a new way of mass production of 3D micro- or nano-scale objects.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Geochemistry of post-extinction microbialites as a powerful tool to assess the oxygenation of shallow marine water in the immediate aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction

Rapid and profound changes in earth surface environments and biota across the Permian–Triassic boundary are well known and relate to the end-Permian mass extinction event. This major crisis is demonstrated by abrupt facies change and the development of microbialite carbonates on the shallow marine shelves around Palaeo-Tethys and western Panthalassa. Microbialites have been described from a range of sites in end-Permian and basal Triassic marine sedimentary rocks, immediately following the end-Permian mass extinction. Here, we present geochemical data primarily focused on microbialites. Our geochemical analysis shows that U, V, Mo and REE (Ce anomaly) may be used as robust redox proxies so that the microbialites record the chemistry of the ancient ambient sea water. Among the three trace metals reputed to be reliable redox proxies, one (V) is correlated here with terrigenous supply, the other two elements (U and Mo) do not show any significant authigenic enrichment, thereby indicating that oxic conditions prevailed during the growth of microbialites. REE profiles show a prominent negative Ce anomaly, also showing that the shallow marine waters were oxic. Our geochemical data are consistent with the presence of some benthic organisms (ostracods, scattered microgastropods, microbrachiopods and foraminifers) in shallow marine waters that survived the mass extinction event.A. Lethiers, F. Delbès, A. Michel and B. Villemant, Q. Feng, J. Haas, K. Hips and Erdal Kosu

Obese children sustain significantly more both bone forearm fractures when compared to non-obese children

The prevalence of obesity in children with ULBF was higher than in the general pediatric population. There was no statistical difference between both groups in the reported level of activity, in the kinetics and in the treatment modalities. Obese children had a significantly higher risk for a combined radius-ulna fracture. Further research is needed to evaluate the relationship between obesity, bone growth and trauma

A Formal, Resource Consumption-Preserving Translation of Actors to Haskell

We present a formal translation of an actor-based language with cooperative scheduling to the functional language Haskell. The translation is proven correct with respect to a formal semantics of the source language and a high-level operational semantics of the target, i.e. a subset of Haskell. The main correctness theorem is expressed in terms of a simulation relation between the operational semantics of actor programs and their translation. This allows us to then prove that the resource consumption is preserved over this translation, as we establish an equivalence of the cost of the original and Haskell-translated execution traces.Comment: Pre-proceedings paper presented at the 26th International Symposium on Logic-Based Program Synthesis and Transformation (LOPSTR 2016), Edinburgh, Scotland UK, 6-8 September 2016 (arXiv:1608.02534

Statistical properties of eigenstate amplitudes in complex quantum systems

We study the eigenstates of quantum systems with large Hilbert spaces, via their distribution of wavefunction amplitudes in a real-space basis. For single-particle 'quantum billiards', these real-space amplitudes are known to have Gaussian distribution for chaotic systems. In this work, we formulate and address the corresponding question for many-body lattice quantum systems. For integrable many-body systems, we examine the deviation from Gaussianity and provide evidence that the distribution generically tends toward power-law behavior in the limit of large sizes. We relate the deviation from Gaussianity to the entanglement content of many-body eigenstates. For integrable billiards, we find several cases where the distribution has power-law tails.Comment: revised version, with appendices; 15 pages, 10 figure

Hepatoprotective Effects of Chinese Medicinal Herbs: A Focus on Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Oxidative Activities

published_or_final_versio

Pericardial effusion as the only manifestation of infection with Francisella tularensis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p><it>Francisella tularensis</it>, a facultative intracellular Gram-negative bacterium, has rarely been reported as an agent of pericarditis, generally described as a complication of tularemia sepsis. <it>F. tularensis </it>is a fastidious organism that grows poorly on standard culture media and diagnosis is usually based on serological tests. However, cross-reactions may occur. Western blotting allows the correct diagnosis.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A non-smoking 53-year-old woman was admitted to hospital with a large posterior pericardial effusion. Serological tests showed a seroconversion in antibody titers to <it>F. tularensis </it>(IgG titer = 400) and <it>Legionella pneumophila </it>(IgG titer = 512). <it>F. tularensis </it>was identified by Western immunoblotting following cross-adsorption. The patient reported close contact with rabbits 2 weeks prior to the beginning of symptoms of pericarditis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We report a rare case of pericardial effusion as the only manifestation of infection by <it>F. tularensis</it>. The etiological diagnosis is based on serology. Western blotting and cross-adsorption allow differential diagnosis.</p

Dynamic Behavior of a Sensible-heat based Thermal Energy Storage

AbstractIn this paper, a mathematical model is developed to study the behavior of thermal energy storage (TES) under operation in the particular case of Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (A CAES). The A CAES consists of storing the available extra electrical energy of the electricity network in a form of compressed air (in a cavern) to discharge it during peak periods. The TES sub-system is used to charge and discharge the corresponding heat of compression, leading to a quasi adiabatic mode and an increase in the overall electricity storage efficiency (roughly from 50 to 70%) compared to diabatic CAES. The mathematical model has been converted into a computer simulation program with all the effective parameters of heat transfer in the storage reservoir. This model used to define a geometry reservoir able of storing a given power and restore it while maintaining a required temperature level at the output of unit. The influence of the input and output parameters on the storage efficiency is studied. The results illustrate the behavior of the storage reservoir under dynamic mode