Effective algebraic degeneracy

We prove that any nonconstant entire holomorphic curve from the complex line C into a projective algebraic hypersurface X = X^n in P^{n+1}(C) of arbitrary dimension n (at least 2) must be algebraically degenerate provided X is generic if its degree d = deg(X) satisfies the effective lower bound: d larger than or equal to n^{{(n+1)}^{n+5}}

Evaluating the Usability of Automatically Generated Captions for People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

The accuracy of Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) technology has improved, but it is still imperfect in many settings. Researchers who evaluate ASR performance often focus on improving the Word Error Rate (WER) metric, but WER has been found to have little correlation with human-subject performance on many applications. We propose a new captioning-focused evaluation metric that better predicts the impact of ASR recognition errors on the usability of automatically generated captions for people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH). Through a user study with 30 DHH users, we compared our new metric with the traditional WER metric on a caption usability evaluation task. In a side-by-side comparison of pairs of ASR text output (with identical WER), the texts preferred by our new metric were preferred by DHH participants. Further, our metric had significantly higher correlation with DHH participants' subjective scores on the usability of a caption, as compared to the correlation between WER metric and participant subjective scores. This new metric could be used to select ASR systems for captioning applications, and it may be a better metric for ASR researchers to consider when optimizing ASR systems.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, published in ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17

Trapping electrons in electrostatic traps over the surface of helium

We have observed trapping of electrons in an electrostatic trap formed over the surface of liquid helium-4. These electrons are detected by a Single Electron Transistor located at the centre of the trap. We can trap any desired number of electrons between 1 and $\sim 30$. By repeatedly ($\sim 10^3-10^4$ times) putting a single electron into the trap and lowering the electrostatic barrier of the trap, we can measure the effective temperature of the electron and the time of its thermalisation after heating up by incoherent radiation.Comment: Presented at QFS06 - Kyoto, to be published in J. Low Temp. Phys., 6 pages, 3 figure

Implementation of geotechnical and vegetation modules in TELEMAC to simulate the dynamics of vegetated alluvial floodplains

Water Qualit

Three exceptionally strong East-Asian summer monsoon events during glacial times in the past 470 kyr

Chinese loess sequences are interpreted as a reliable record of the past variation of the East Asian monsoon regime through the alternation of loess and paleosols units, dominated by the winter and summer monsoon, respectively. Different proxies have been used to describe this system, mostly geophysical, geochemical or sedimentological. Terrestrial mollusks are also a reliable proxy of past environmental conditions and are often preserved in large numbers in loess deposits. The analysis of the mollusk remains in the Luochuan sequence, comprising L5 loess to S0 soil, i.e. the last 500 ka, shows that for almost all identified species, the abundance is higher at the base of the interval (L5 to L4) than in the younger deposits. Using the present ecological requirements of the identified mollusk species in the Luochuan sequence allows the definition of two main mollusk groups varying during the last 500 kyr. The cold-aridiphilous individuals indicate the so-called Asian winter monsoon regime and predominantly occur during glacials, when dust is deposited. The thermal-humidiphilous mollusks are prevalent during interglacial or interstadial conditions of the Asian summer monsoon, when soil formation takes place. In the sequence, three events with exceptionally high abundance of the Asian summer monsoon indicators are recorded during the L5, L4 and L2 glacial intervals, i.e., at about 470, 360 and 170 kyr, respectively. The L5 and L4 events appear to be the strongest (high counts). Similar variations have also been identified in the Xifeng sequence, distant enough from Luochuan, but also in Lake Baikal further North, to suggest that this phenomenon is regional rather than local. The indicators of the summer monsoon within the glacial intervals imply a strengthened East-Asian monsoon interpreted as corresponding to marine isotope stages 12, 10 and 6, respectively. The L5 and L2 summer monsoons are coeval with Mediterranean sapropels S12 and S6, which characterize a strong African summer monsoon with relatively low surface water salinity in the Indian Ocean. Changes in the precipitation regime could correspond to a response to a particular astronomical configuration (low obliquity, low precession, summer solstice at perihelion) leading to an increased summer insolation gradient between the tropics and the high latitudes and resulting in enhanced atmospheric water transport from the tropics to the African and Asian continents. However, other climate drivers such as reorganization of marine and atmospheric circulations, tectonic, and the extent of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheet are also discussed

PERC rule to exclude the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism in emergency low-risk patients: study protocol for the PROPER randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism (PE) in the emergency department (ED) is crucial. As emergency physicians fear missing this potential life-threatening condition, PE tends to be over-investigated, exposing patients to unnecessary risks and uncertain benefit in terms of outcome. The Pulmonary Embolism Rule-out Criteria (PERC) is an eight-item block of clinical criteria that can identify patients who can safely be discharged from the ED without further investigation for PE. The endorsement of this rule could markedly reduce the number of irradiative imaging studies, ED length of stay, and rate of adverse events resulting from both diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Several retrospective and prospective studies have shown the safety and benefits of the PERC rule for PE diagnosis in low-risk patients, but the validity of this rule is still controversial. We hypothesize that in European patients with a low gestalt clinical probability and who are PERC-negative, PE can be safely ruled out and the patient discharged without further testing. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a controlled, cluster randomized trial, in 15 centers in France. Each center will be randomized for the sequence of intervention periods: a 6-month intervention period (PERC-based strategy) followed by a 6-month control period (usual care), or in reverse order, with 2 months of "wash-out" between the 2 periods. Adult patients presenting to the ED with a suspicion of PE and a low pre test probability estimated by clinical gestalt will be eligible. The primary outcome is the percentage of failure resulting from the diagnostic strategy, defined as diagnosed venous thromboembolic events at 3-month follow-up, among patients for whom PE has been initially ruled out. DISCUSSION: The PERC rule has the potential to decrease the number of irradiative imaging studies in the ED, and is reported to be safe. However, no randomized study has ever validated the safety of PERC. Furthermore, some studies have challenged the safety of a PERC-based strategy to rule-out PE, especially in Europe where the prevalence of PE diagnosed in the ED is high. The PROPER study should provide high-quality evidence to settle this issue. If it confirms the safety of the PERC rule, physicians will be able to reduce the number of investigations, associated subsequent adverse events, costs, and ED length of stay for patients with a low clinical probability of PE. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02375919

Conflict and complementarity between religious and occupational identities in the workplace

Despite its recognition as an organizational diversity issue impacting personal well-being, little research to date addresses religious identity in the workplace. We conduct a systematic review of relevant literature and develop a conceptual framework to address a critical question: How do religious and occupational identities relate to each other in the workplace and with what antecedents and consequences?’ We specify key definitions and explicate the importance of the connection between religious and organizational identity to contemporary debates regarding workplace diversity. The systematic review uses a search strategy informed by an advisory panel of experts. Through a well-specified search process we conduct comprehensively screen the literature and ultimately identify 32 relevant peer-reviewed articles that form the basis of our synthesis and analysis. Findings point to three forms of religious and occupational identity relationships: compatible, incompatible and non-overlapping. Each has distinct implications for identity tension and employee well-being. Evidence suggests the benefits of expressing religious identity at work and helping employees negotiate their religious and occupational identities. Finally, we develop a theoretical framework that specifies the antecedents of the activation of religious and occupational identity in the workplace, the nature of the identity negotiation that activation triggers and its outcomes for individuals and the organization