Tailor-made nanostructures bridging chaos and order for highly efficient white organic light-emitting diodes

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) suffer from notorious light trapping, resulting in only moderate external quantum efficiencies. Here, we report a facile, scalable, lithography-free method to generate controllable nanostructures with directional randomness and dimensional order, significantly boosting the efficiency of white OLEDs. Mechanical deformations form on the surface of poly(dimethylsiloxane) in response to compressive stress release, initialized by reactive ions etching with periodicity and depth distribution ranging from dozens of nanometers to micrometers. We demonstrate the possibility of independently tuning the average depth and the dominant periodicity. Integrating these nanostructures into a two-unit tandem white organic light-emitting diode, a maximum external quantum efficiency of 76.3% and a luminous efficacy of 95.7 lm W−1 are achieved with extracted substrate modes. The enhancement factor of 1.53 ± 0.12 at 10,000 cd m−2 is obtained. An optical model is built by considering the dipole orientation, emitting wavelength, and the dipole position on the sinusoidal nanotexture

Mixed Hodge polynomials of character varieties

We calculate the E-polynomials of certain twisted GL(n,C)-character varieties M_n of Riemann surfaces by counting points over finite fields using the character table of the finite group of Lie-type GL(n,F_q) and a theorem proved in the appendix by N. Katz. We deduce from this calculation several geometric results, for example, the value of the topological Euler characteristic of the associated PGL(n,C)-character variety. The calculation also leads to several conjectures about the cohomology of M_n: an explicit conjecture for its mixed Hodge polynomial; a conjectured curious Hard Lefschetz theorem and a conjecture relating the pure part to absolutely indecomposable representations of a certain quiver. We prove these conjectures for n = 2.Comment: with an appendix by Nicholas M. Katz; 57 pages. revised version: New definition for homogeneous weight in Definition 4.1.6, subsequent arguments modified. Some other minor changes. To appear in Invent. Mat

Atomic structures of TDP-43 LCD segments and insights into reversible or pathogenic aggregation.

The normally soluble TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) is found aggregated both in reversible stress granules and in irreversible pathogenic amyloid. In TDP-43, the low-complexity domain (LCD) is believed to be involved in both types of aggregation. To uncover the structural origins of these two modes of β-sheet-rich aggregation, we have determined ten structures of segments of the LCD of human TDP-43. Six of these segments form steric zippers characteristic of the spines of pathogenic amyloid fibrils; four others form LARKS, the labile amyloid-like interactions characteristic of protein hydrogels and proteins found in membraneless organelles, including stress granules. Supporting a hypothetical pathway from reversible to irreversible amyloid aggregation, we found that familial ALS variants of TDP-43 convert LARKS to irreversible aggregates. Our structures suggest how TDP-43 adopts both reversible and irreversible β-sheet aggregates and the role of mutation in the possible transition of reversible to irreversible pathogenic aggregation

How to Compute Worst-Case Execution Time by Optimization Modulo Theory and a Clever Encoding of Program Semantics

International audienceIn systems with hard real-time constraints, it is necessary to compute upper bounds on the worst-case execution time (WCET) of programs; the closer the bound to the real WCET, the better. This is especially the case of synchronous reactive control loops with a fixed clock; the WCET of the loop body must not exceed the clock period. We compute the WCET (or at least a close upper bound thereof) as the solution of an optimization modulo theory problem that takes into account the semantics of the program, in contrast to other methods that compute the longest path whether or not it is feasible according to these semantics. Optimization modulo theory extends satisfiability modulo theory (SMT) to maximization problems. Immediate encodings of WCET problems into SMT yield formulas intractable for all current production-grade solvers; this is inherent to the DPLL(T) approach to SMT implemented in these solvers. By conjoining some appropriate "cuts" to these formulas, we considerably reduce the computation time of the SMT-solver. We experimented our approach on a variety of control programs, using the OTAWA analyzer both as baseline and as underlying microarchitectural analysis for our analysis, and show notable improvement on the WCET bound on a variety of benchmarks and control programs

Estimation of forest structure and canopy fuel parameters from small-footprint full-waveform LiDAR data

Precise knowledge of fuel conditions is important for predicting fire hazards and simulating fire growth and intensity across the landscape. We present a methodology to retrieve and map forest canopy fuel and other forest structural parameters using small-footprint full-waveform airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. Full-waveform LiDAR sensors register the complete returned backscattered signal through time and can describe physical properties of the intercepted objects. This study was undertaken in a mixed forest dominated by Douglas-fir, occasionally mixed with other conifers, in north-west Oregon (United States). We extracted two sets of LiDAR metrics using pulse detection and waveform modelling and then constructed several predictive models using forward stepwise multiple linear regression. The resulting models explained ~80% of the variability for many of the canopy fuel and forest structure parameters: aboveground biomass (R2 = 0.84), quadratic mean diameter (R2 = 0.82), canopy height (R2 = 0.79), canopy base height (R2 = 0.78) and canopy fuel load (R2 = 0.79). The lowest performing models included basal area (R2 = 0.76), stand volume (R2 = 0.73), canopy bulk density (R2 = 0.67) and stand density index (R2 = 0.66). Our results indicate that full-waveform LiDAR systems show promise in systematically characterising the structure and canopy fuel loads of forests, which may enable accurate fire behaviour forecasting that in turn supports the development of prevention and planning policies.This paper was developed as a result of two mobility grants funded by the Erasmus Mundus Programme of the European Commission under the Transatlantic Partnership for Excellence in Engineering (TEE Project) and the Generalitat Valenciana (BEST/2012/235). The authors appreciate the financial support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation in the framework of the project CGL2010-19591/BTE. In addition, the authors thank the Panther Creek Remote Sensing and Research cooperative program for the data provided for this research, Jim Flewelling (Seattle Biometrics) and George McFadden (Bureau of Land Management) for their help in data availability and preparation.Hermosilla Gómez, T.; Ruiz Fernández, LÁ.; Kazakova, AN.; Coops, N.; Moskal, LM. (2014). Estimation of forest structure and canopy fuel parameters from small-footprint full-waveform LiDAR data. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 23(2):224-233. https://doi.org/10.1071/WF13086S224233232Akaike, H. (1974). A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 19(6), 716-723. doi:10.1109/tac.1974.1100705Andersen, H.-E., McGaughey, R. J., & Reutebuch, S. E. (2005). Estimating forest canopy fuel parameters using LIDAR data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 94(4), 441-449. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2004.10.013Arroyo, L. A., Pascual, C., & Manzanera, J. A. (2008). Fire models and methods to map fuel types: The role of remote sensing. Forest Ecology and Management, 256(6), 1239-1252. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2008.06.048Ashworth, A., Evans, D. L., Cooke, W. H., Londo, A., Collins, C., & Neuenschwander, A. (2010). Predicting Southeastern Forest Canopy Heights and Fire Fuel Models using GLAS Data. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 76(8), 915-922. doi:10.14358/pers.76.8.915Buddenbaum, H., Seeling, S., & Hill, J. (2013). Fusion of full-waveform lidar and imaging spectroscopy remote sensing data for the characterization of forest stands. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 34(13), 4511-4524. doi:10.1080/01431161.2013.776721Chuvieco, E., & Congalton, R. G. (1989). Application of remote sensing and geographic information systems to forest fire hazard mapping. Remote Sensing of Environment, 29(2), 147-159. doi:10.1016/0034-4257(89)90023-0CHUVIECO, E., & SALAS, J. (1996). Mapping the spatial distribution of forest fire danger using GIS. International journal of geographical information systems, 10(3), 333-345. doi:10.1080/02693799608902082Chuvieco, E., Riaño, D., Aguado, I., & Cocero, D. (2002). Estimation of fuel moisture content from multitemporal analysis of Landsat Thematic Mapper reflectance data: Applications in fire danger assessment. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 23(11), 2145-2162. doi:10.1080/01431160110069818Chuvieco, E., Cocero, D., Riaño, D., Martin, P., Martı́nez-Vega, J., de la Riva, J., & Pérez, F. (2004). Combining NDVI and surface temperature for the estimation of live fuel moisture content in forest fire danger rating. Remote Sensing of Environment, 92(3), 322-331. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2004.01.019Cruz, M. G., Alexander, M. E., & Wakimoto, R. H. (2003). Assessing canopy fuel stratum characteristics in crown fire prone fuel types of western North America. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 12(1), 39. doi:10.1071/wf02024Drake, J. B., Dubayah, R. O., Clark, D. B., Knox, R. G., Blair, J. B., Hofton, M. A., … Prince, S. (2002). Estimation of tropical forest structural characteristics using large-footprint lidar. Remote Sensing of Environment, 79(2-3), 305-319. doi:10.1016/s0034-4257(01)00281-4Erdody, T. L., & Moskal, L. M. (2010). Fusion of LiDAR and imagery for estimating forest canopy fuels. Remote Sensing of Environment, 114(4), 725-737. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2009.11.002Falkowski, M. J., Gessler, P. E., Morgan, P., Hudak, A. T., & Smith, A. M. S. (2005). Characterizing and mapping forest fire fuels using ASTER imagery and gradient modeling. Forest Ecology and Management, 217(2-3), 129-146. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2005.06.013Flannigan, M. ., Stocks, B. ., & Wotton, B. . (2000). Climate change and forest fires. Science of The Total Environment, 262(3), 221-229. doi:10.1016/s0048-9697(00)00524-6García, M., Popescu, S., Riaño, D., Zhao, K., Neuenschwander, A., Agca, M., & Chuvieco, E. (2012). Characterization of canopy fuels using ICESat/GLAS data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 123, 81-89. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2012.03.018González-Olabarria, J.-R., Rodríguez, F., Fernández-Landa, A., & Mola-Yudego, B. (2012). Mapping fire risk in the Model Forest of Urbión (Spain) based on airborne LiDAR measurements. Forest Ecology and Management, 282, 149-156. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.06.056Hall, S. A., Burke, I. C., Box, D. O., Kaufmann, M. R., & Stoker, J. M. (2005). Estimating stand structure using discrete-return lidar: an example from low density, fire prone ponderosa pine forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 208(1-3), 189-209. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2004.12.001Harding, D. J. (2005). ICESat waveform measurements of within-footprint topographic relief and vegetation vertical structure. Geophysical Research Letters, 32(21). doi:10.1029/2005gl023471Heinzel, J., & Koch, B. (2011). Exploring full-waveform LiDAR parameters for tree species classification. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 13(1), 152-160. doi:10.1016/j.jag.2010.09.010Höfle, B., Hollaus, M., & Hagenauer, J. (2012). Urban vegetation detection using radiometrically calibrated small-footprint full-waveform airborne LiDAR data. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 67, 134-147. doi:10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2011.12.003HYDE, P., DUBAYAH, R., PETERSON, B., BLAIR, J., HOFTON, M., HUNSAKER, C., … WALKER, W. (2005). Mapping forest structure for wildlife habitat analysis using waveform lidar: Validation of montane ecosystems. Remote Sensing of Environment, 96(3-4), 427-437. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2005.03.005Keane, R. E., Burgan, R., & van Wagtendonk, J. (2001). Mapping wildland fuels for fire management across multiple scales: Integrating remote sensing, GIS, and biophysical modeling. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 10(4), 301. doi:10.1071/wf01028Kim, Y., Yang, Z., Cohen, W. B., Pflugmacher, D., Lauver, C. L., & Vankat, J. L. (2009). Distinguishing between live and dead standing tree biomass on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, USA using small-footprint lidar data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 113(11), 2499-2510. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2009.07.010Koetz, B., Morsdorf, F., Sun, G., Ranson, K. J., Itten, K., & Allgower, B. (2006). Inversion of a Lidar Waveform Model for Forest Biophysical Parameter Estimation. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 3(1), 49-53. doi:10.1109/lgrs.2005.856706Lefsky, M. A., Cohen, W. B., Acker, S. A., Parker, G. G., Spies, T. A., & Harding, D. (1999). Lidar Remote Sensing of the Canopy Structure and Biophysical Properties of Douglas-Fir Western Hemlock Forests. Remote Sensing of Environment, 70(3), 339-361. doi:10.1016/s0034-4257(99)00052-8Listopad, C. M. C. S., Drake, J. B., Masters, R. E., & Weishampel, J. F. (2011). Portable and Airborne Small Footprint LiDAR: Forest Canopy Structure Estimation of Fire Managed Plots. Remote Sensing, 3(7), 1284-1307. doi:10.3390/rs3071284Mallet, C., & Bretar, F. (2009). Full-waveform topographic lidar: State-of-the-art. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 64(1), 1-16. doi:10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2008.09.007Morsdorf, F., Meier, E., Kötz, B., Itten, K. I., Dobbertin, M., & Allgöwer, B. (2004). LIDAR-based geometric reconstruction of boreal type forest stands at single tree level for forest and wildland fire management. Remote Sensing of Environment, 92(3), 353-362. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2004.05.013Neuenschwander, A. L. (2009). Landcover classification of small-footprint, full-waveform lidar data. Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, 3(1), 033544. doi:10.1117/1.3229944Reich, R. M., Lundquist, J. E., & Bravo, V. A. (2004). Spatial models for estimating fuel loads in the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 13(1), 119. doi:10.1071/wf02049Reitberger, J., Krzystek, P., & Stilla, U. (2008). Analysis of full waveform LIDAR data for the classification of deciduous and coniferous trees. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 29(5), 1407-1431. doi:10.1080/01431160701736448Riaño, D., Chuvieco, E., Salas, J., Palacios-Orueta, A., & Bastarrika, A. (2002). Generation of fuel type maps from Landsat TM images and ancillary data in Mediterranean ecosystems. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 32(8), 1301-1315. doi:10.1139/x02-052Riaño, D. (2003). Modeling airborne laser scanning data for the spatial generation of critical forest parameters in fire behavior modeling. Remote Sensing of Environment, 86(2), 177-186. doi:10.1016/s0034-4257(03)00098-1Riaño, D., Chuvieco, E., Condés, S., González-Matesanz, J., & Ustin, S. L. (2004). Generation of crown bulk density for Pinus sylvestris L. from lidar. Remote Sensing of Environment, 92(3), 345-352. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2003.12.014Riaño, D., Chuvieco, E., Ustin, S. L., Salas, J., Rodríguez-Pérez, J. R., Ribeiro, L. M., … Fernández, H. (2007). Estimation of shrub height for fuel-type mapping combining airborne LiDAR and simultaneous color infrared ortho imaging. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 16(3), 341. doi:10.1071/wf06003SKOWRONSKI, N., CLARK, K., NELSON, R., HOM, J., & PATTERSON, M. (2007). Remotely sensed measurements of forest structure and fuel loads in the Pinelands of New Jersey. Remote Sensing of Environment, 108(2), 123-129. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2006.09.032Skowronski, N. S., Clark, K. L., Duveneck, M., & Hom, J. (2011). Three-dimensional canopy fuel loading predicted using upward and downward sensing LiDAR systems. Remote Sensing of Environment, 115(2), 703-714. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2010.10.012Van Leeuwen, M., & Nieuwenhuis, M. (2010). Retrieval of forest structural parameters using LiDAR remote sensing. European Journal of Forest Research, 129(4), 749-770. doi:10.1007/s10342-010-0381-4Vaughn, N. R., Moskal, L. M., & Turnblom, E. C. (2012). Tree Species Detection Accuracies Using Discrete Point Lidar and Airborne Waveform Lidar. Remote Sensing, 4(2), 377-403. doi:10.3390/rs4020377Wagner, W., Hollaus, M., Briese, C., & Ducic, V. (2008). 3D vegetation mapping using small‐footprint full‐waveform airborne laser scanners. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 29(5), 1433-1452. doi:10.1080/01431160701736398Wilson, B. A., Ow, C. F. Y., Heathcott, M., Milne, D., McCaffrey, T. M., Ghitter, G., & Franklin, S. E. (1994). Landsat MSS Classification of Fire Fuel Types in Wood Buffalo National Park, Northern Canada. Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters, 4(2), 33. doi:10.2307/2997751Zhao, K., Popescu, S., Meng, X., Pang, Y., & Agca, M. (2011). Characterizing forest canopy structure with lidar composite metrics and machine learning. Remote Sensing of Environment, 115(8), 1978-1996. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2011.04.00

European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana. Part II: Prevention and management.

Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), commonly known as the European grapevine moth (EGVM), is a primary pest of vineyards. This article provides an updated review of its monitoring, modelling, and management tools. EGVM management strategies analysed here include insecticide-based control, insecticide resistance, side-effects (particularly those caused by the exposure to sublethal doses of pesticides), cultural control, sterile insect technique, pheromone-mediated control strategies (with special reference to pheromone-based mating disruption), biological control, and area-wide control programs. Lastly, we outline significant challenges for future EGVM research and sustainable control implementation

European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana. Part I: Biology and ecology.

Though the European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) can feed on more than forty plant species, grapevine is the preferred crop worldwide. This moth is a western palearctic species that has recently spread to Chile, Argentina, and California. The possible further expansion in other regions of the Americas is greatly feared and should be monitored carefully in the near future. In this framework, we provide an updated review of the current knowledge on its taxonomy, morphology, biology, ecology, genomics, geographic distribution, and invasiveness. Then, in the last section, we develop a research agenda pointing out significant challenges for future investigations on bio-ecology and invasion biology, which are tightly connected with the prevention and management strategies

Cohomological Donaldson-Thomas theory of a quiver with potential and quantum enveloping algebras

This paper concerns the cohomological aspects of Donaldson-Thomas theory for Jacobi algebras and the associated cohomological Hall algebra, introduced by Kontsevich and Soibelman. We prove the Hodge-theoretic categorification of the integrality conjecture and the wall crossing formula, and furthermore realise the isomorphism in both of these theorems as Poincar\'e-Birkhoff-Witt isomorphisms for the associated cohomological Hall algebra. We do this by defining a perverse filtration on the cohomological Hall algebra, a result of the "hidden properness" of the semisimplification map from the moduli stack of semistable representations of the Jacobi algebra to the coarse moduli space of polystable representations. This enables us to construct a degeneration of the cohomological Hall algebra, for generic stability condition and fixed slope, to a free supercommutative algebra generated by a mixed Hodge structure categorifying the BPS invariants. As a corollary of this construction we furthermore obtain a Lie algebra structure on this mixed Hodge structure - the Lie algebra of BPS invariants - for which the entire cohomological Hall algebra can be seen as the positive part of a Yangian-type quantum group.Comment: v5 final version, 64 pages, to appear in Invent. Math. Many thanks to the anonymous referee for helpful suggestion

Impact of atrial fibrillation on clinical outcomes among patients with coronary artery disease undergoing revascularisation with drug-eluting stents

Coronary artery disease (CAD) and atrial fibrillation (AF) are major determinants of morbidity and mortality. A combined treatment with antiplatelet agents and vitamin K antagonists limits the risk of stent thrombosis and stroke while increasing the rate of bleeding. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on long-term clinical outcomes in patients with CAD undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES)