Alternatives aux intrants chimiques en culture bananière

Les producteurs de banane antillais sont engagés en partenariat avec l'Institut Technique Tropical et le CIRAD dans une démarche de réduction de l'emploi des intrants chimiques. Les innovations accompagnant cette démarche reposent principalement sur des techniques alternatives à la lutte chimique pour le contrôle des nématodes phyto-parasites et du charançon du bananier. Ces techniques font appel à l'intégration dans le système de culture de plantes de service afin de restaurer des mécanismes de régulation biologique des bio-agresseurs, à un contrôle de l'assainissement des parcelles par des tests biologiques, à l'utilisation de matériel végétal sain (vitroplants) pour la replantation des bananeraies et à la mise en place de pièges attractifs à phéromones pour la capture du charançon du bananier. Ces techniques sont intégrés dans des prototypes de systèmes de culture mis au point et testés en milieu réel dans le cadre d'une démarche de conception et d'évaluation participative impliquant les producteurs, les services techniques et la recherche. (Résumé d'auteur

Satisfiability Modulo Transcendental Functions via Incremental Linearization

In this paper we present an abstraction-refinement approach to Satisfiability Modulo the theory of transcendental functions, such as exponentiation and trigonometric functions. The transcendental functions are represented as uninterpreted in the abstract space, which is described in terms of the combined theory of linear arithmetic on the rationals with uninterpreted functions, and are incrementally axiomatized by means of upper- and lower-bounding piecewise-linear functions. Suitable numerical techniques are used to ensure that the abstractions of the transcendental functions are sound even in presence of irrationals. Our experimental evaluation on benchmarks from verification and mathematics demonstrates the potential of our approach, showing that it compares favorably with delta-satisfiability /interval propagation and methods based on theorem proving

Determination of the yield loci of four sheet materials (AA6111-T4, AC600, DX54D+Z, and H220BD+Z) by using uniaxial tensile and hydraulic bulge tests)

In sheet metal forming simulation, a flow curve and a yield criterion are vital requirements for obtaining reliable numerical results. It is more appropriate to determine a flow curve by using biaxial stress condition tests, such as the hydraulic bulge test, than a uniaxial test because hardening proceeds higher strains before necking occurs. In a uniaxial test, higher strains are extrapolated, which might lead to incorrect results. The bulge test, coupled with the digital image correlation (DIC) system, is used to obtain stress–strain data. In the absence of the DIC system, analytical methods are used to estimate hardening. Typically, such models incorporate a correction factor to achieve correlation to experimental data. An example is the Chakrabarty and Alexander method, which uses a correction factor based on the n value. Here, the Chakrabarty and Alexander approach was modified using a correction factor based on normal anisotropy. When compared with DIC data, the modified model was found to be able to better predict the hardening curves for the materials examined in this study. Because a biaxial flow curve is required to compute the biaxial yield stress, which is an essential input to advanced yield functions, the effects of the various approaches used to determine the biaxial stress–strain data on the shape of the BBC2005 yield loci were also investigated. The proposed method can accurately predict the magnitude of the biaxial yield stress, when compared with DIC data, for all materials investigated in this study

Proving Tight Bounds on Univariate Expressions with Elementary Functions in Coq

International audienceThe verification of floating-point mathematical libraries requires computing numerical bounds on approximation errors. Due to the tightness of these bounds and the peculiar structure of approximation errors, such a verification is out of the reach of generic tools such as computer algebra systems. In fact, the inherent difficulty of computing such bounds often mandates a formal proof of them. In this paper, we present a tactic for the Coq proof assistant that is designed to automatically and formally prove bounds on univariate expressions. It is based on a formalization of floating-point and interval arithmetic, associated with an on-the-fly computation of Taylor expansions. All the computations are performed inside Coq's logic, in a reflexive setting. This paper also compares our tactic with various existing tools on a large set of examples

The Rise and Fall of "Respectable" Spanish Liberalism, 1808-1923: An Explanatory Framework

The article focuses on the reasons behind both the consolidation of what I have termed “respectable” liberalism between the 1830s and the 1840s and its subsequent decline and fall between 1900 and 1923. In understanding both processes I study the links established between “respectable” liberals and propertied elites, the monarchy, and the Church. In the first phase these links served to consolidate the liberal polity. However, they also meant that many tenets of liberal ideology were compromised. Free elections were undermined by the operation of caciquismo, monarchs established a powerful position, and despite the Church hierarchy working with liberalism, the doctrine espoused by much of the Church was still shaped by the Counter-Reformation. Hence, “respectable” liberalism failed to achieve a popular social base. And the liberal order was increasingly denigrated as part of the corrupt “oligarchy” that ruled Spain. Worse still, between 1916 and 1923 the Church, monarch, and the propertied elite increasingly abandoned the liberal Monarchist Restoration. Hence when General Primo de Rivera launched his coup the rug was pulled from under the liberals’ feet and there was no one to cushion the fall

Mechanistic models position ceritinib as a nuclear integrity disrupting therapy in pediatric liver tumors

BackgroundPediatric liver tumors with high-risk features pose therapeutic challenges, necessitating the development of more targeted and effective treatment strategies. Computational modeling of virtual patients and in silico drug response simulations, based on properly trained mechanistic models, is a powerful strategy to predict new treatment options. We aimed to leverage patient-specific mechanistic cell models to identify therapeutic alternatives for pediatric patients with high-risk liver tumors.MethodsWe generated digital twins of high-risk pediatric liver tumor patients by integrating clinical, genetic, and transcriptomic data and performed computational drug response simulations using mechanistic models. We validated the therapeutic potential of ceritinib in patient-derived xenograft models both in vitro and in vivo and used fluorescence microscopy-based imaging for functional analyses.ResultsMechanistic models trained with digital twins of high-risk pediatric liver tumor patients identified ceritinib as the most effective treatment option through iterated in silico drug response simulations. Validation on a comprehensive drug-testing platform demonstrated that ceritinib, unlike other ALK receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors with lower prediction scores, inhibited tumor growth by targeting non-canonical kinases. Mechanistically, ceritinib suppressed expression of nucleoporins, essential components of the nuclear pore complex overexpressed in pediatric liver tumors, consequently leading to the disruption of nuclear membrane integrity, perinuclear accumulation of mitochondria, production of reactive oxygen species, and induction of apoptosis. In patient-derived xenograft mouse models, ceritinib reduced tumor burden and extended survival by promoting cell death.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the successful application of mechanistic models on virtual patients to position ceritinib as a promising therapeutic agent for high-risk pediatric liver tumors, highlighting its impact on key kinases implicated in tumor aggressiveness and its ability to compromise nuclear integrity

New single-ended objective measure for non-intrusive speech quality evaluation

peer-reviewedThis article proposes a new output-based method for non-intrusive assessment of speech quality of voice communication systems and evaluates its performance. The method requires access to the processed (degraded) speech only, and is based on measuring perception-motivated objective auditory distances between the voiced parts of the output speech to appropriately matching references extracted from a pre-formulated codebook. The codebook is formed by optimally clustering a large number of parametric speech vectors extracted from a database of clean speech records. The auditory distances are then mapped into objective Mean Opinion listening quality scores. An efficient data-mining tool known as the self-organizing map (SOM) achieves the required clustering and mapping/reference matching processes. In order to obtain a perception-based, speaker-independent parametric representation of the speech, three domain transformation techniques have been investigated. The first technique is based on a perceptual linear prediction (PLP) model, the second utilises a bark spectrum (BS) analysis and the third utilises mel-frequency cepstrum coefficients (MFCC). Reported evaluation results show that the proposed method provides high correlation with subjective listening quality scores, yielding accuracy similar to that of the ITU-T P.563 while maintaining a relatively low computational complexity. Results also demonstrate that the method outperforms the PESQ in a number of distortion conditions, such as those of speech degraded by channel impairments.acceptedpeer-reviewe

On-surface synthesis of heptacene on Ag(001) from brominated and non-brominated tetrahydroheptacene precursors

Achieving the Ag(001)-supported synthesis of heptacene from two related reactants reveals the effect of the presence of Br atoms on the reaction process. The properties of reactants, intermediates and end-products are further characterized by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy.Fil: Colazzo, Luciano. Donostia International Physics Center; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Mohammed, Mohammed S. G.. Donostia International Physics Center; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Dorel, Ruth. Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology; EspañaFil: Nita, Pawel. Donostia International Physics Center; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: García Fernández, Carlos. Donostia International Physics Center; EspañaFil: Abufager, Paula Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Lorente Palacios, Nicolas. Donostia International Physics Center; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Echavarren, Antonio M.. Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology; España. Universitat Rovira I Virgili; EspañaFil: De Oteyza, Dimas G.. Donostia International Physics Center; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; España. Ikerbasque; Españ