Proving uniformity and independence by self-composition and coupling

Proof by coupling is a classical proof technique for establishing probabilistic properties of two probabilistic processes, like stochastic dominance and rapid mixing of Markov chains. More recently, couplings have been investigated as a useful abstraction for formal reasoning about relational properties of probabilistic programs, in particular for modeling reduction-based cryptographic proofs and for verifying differential privacy. In this paper, we demonstrate that probabilistic couplings can be used for verifying non-relational probabilistic properties. Specifically, we show that the program logic pRHL---whose proofs are formal versions of proofs by coupling---can be used for formalizing uniformity and probabilistic independence. We formally verify our main examples using the EasyCrypt proof assistant

A truncation in the 14 kDa protein of the signal recognition particle leads to tertiary structure changes in the RNA and abolishes the elongation arrest activity of the particle

The signal recognition particle (SRP) provides the molecular link between synthesis of polypeptides and their concomitant translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum. During targeting, SRP arrests or delays elongation of the nascent chain, thereby presumably ensuring a high translocation efficiency. Components of the Alu domain, SRP9/14 and the Alu sequences of SRP RNA, have been suggested to play a role in the elongation arrest function of SRP. We generated a truncated SRP14 protein, SRP14-20C, which forms, together with SRP9, a stable complex with SRP RNA. However, particles reconstituted with SRP9/14-20C, RC(9/14-20C), completely lack elongation arrest activity. RC(9/14-20C) particles have intact signal recognition, targeting and ribosome binding activities. SRP9/14-20C therefore only impairs interactions with the ribosome that are required to effect elongation arrest. This result provides evidence that direct interactions between the Alu domain components and the ribosome are required for this function. Furthermore, SRP9/14-20C binding to SRP RNA results in tertiary structure changes in the RNA. Our results strongly indicate that these changes account for the negative effect of SRP14 truncation on elongation arrest, thus revealing a critical role of the RNA in this functio

Multi-GPU numerical simulation of electromagnetic waves

International audienceIn this paper we present three-dimensional numerical simulations of electromagnetic waves. The Maxwell equations are solved by the Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method. For achieving high performance, we exploit two levels of parallelism. The coarse grain parallelism is managed through MPI and a classical domain decomposition. The fine grain parallelism is managed with OpenCL in order to optimize the local computations on multicore processors or GPU's. We present several numerical experiments and performance comparisons.Dans cet article, nous présentons des simulations numériques tridimensionnelles d’ondes électromagnétiques. Les équations de Maxwell sont résolues par la méthode de Galerkin Discontinue (GD). Pour accélérer les calculs, nous exploitons deux niveaux de parallélisme. Le large grain est basé sur MPI. Le parallélisme à grain fin repose sur OpenCL afin d’exploiter les processeurs massivement multicoeur (GPU ou CPU) récents. Nous présentons plusieurs expériences numériques et des tests de performance

*-Liftings for Differential Privacy

Recent developments in formal verification have identified approximate liftings (also known as approximate couplings) as a clean, compositional abstraction for proving differential privacy. There are two styles of definitions for this construction. Earlier definitions require the existence of one or more witness distributions, while a recent definition by Sato uses universal quantification over all sets of samples. These notions have different strengths and weaknesses: the universal version is more general than the existential ones, but the existential versions enjoy more precise composition principles. We propose a novel, existential version of approximate lifting, called *-lifting, and show that it is equivalent to Sato\u27s construction for discrete probability measures. Our work unifies all known notions of approximate lifting, giving cleaner properties, more general constructions, and more precise composition theorems for both styles of lifting, enabling richer proofs of differential privacy. We also clarify the relation between existing definitions of approximate lifting, and generalize our constructions to approximate liftings based on f-divergences

Polarization Observables in eta and pi Production Using a Polarized Target with the Crystal Ball/TAPS at MAMI

Recent experiments using the Crystal Ball/TAPS setup at the MAMI accelerator in Mainz, Germany, continue to study the properties and the excitation spectrum of the nucleon with meson photoproduction. Electromagnetic excitations of the proton and neutron are essential for understanding their isospin decomposition. The electromagnetic coupling of photons to protons is different than that to neutrons in certain states. Hence, a complete partial wave analysis (PWA) can assist in yielding more information about any reaction, but requires the determination of polarization observables. Polarization observables play a crucial role as they are essential in disentangling the contributing resonant and non-resonant amplitudes, whereas cross section data alone is not sufficient for separating broad overlapping resonances. Preliminary results of polarization observables of η, single, and double π production off a polarized neutron (dButanol) target will be shown with comparison to predictions of recent multipole analyses. These results will greatly increase the world database on pseudoscalar meson production on neutrons

Seasonal Climatology of Hydrographic Conditions in the Upwelling Region Off Northern Chile

Over 30 years of hydrographic data from the northern Chile (18 degreesS-24 degreesS) upwelling region are used to calculate the surface and subsurface seasonal climatology extending 400 km offshore. The data are interpolated to a grid with sufficient spatial resolution to preserve cross-shelf gradients and then presented as means within four seasons: austral winter (July-September), spring (October-December), summer (January-March), and fall (April-June). Climatological monthly wind forcing, surface temperature, and sea level from three coastal stations indicate equatorward (upwelling favorable) winds throughout the year, weakest in the north. Seasonal maximum alongshore wind stress is in late spring and summer (December-March). Major water masses of the region are identified in climatological T-S plots and their sources and implied circulation discussed. Surface fields and vertical transects of temperature and salinity confirm that upwelling occurs year-round, strongest in summer and weakest in winter, bringing relatively fresh water to the surface nearshore. Surface geostrophic flow nearshore is equatorward throughout the year. During summer, an anticyclonic circulation feature in the north which extends to at least 200 m depth is evident in geopotential anomaly and in both temperature and geopotential variance fields. Subsurface fields indicate generally poleward flow throughout the year, strongest in an undercurrent near the coast. This undercurrent is strongest in summer and most persistent and organized in the south (south of 21 degreesS), A subsurface oxygen minimum, centered at similar to 250 m, is strongest at lower latitudes. Low-salinity subsurface water intrudes into the study area near 100 m, predominantly in offshore regions, strongest during summer and fall and in the southernmost portion of the region. The climatological fields are compared to features off Baja within the somewhat analogous California Current and to measurements from higher latitudes within the Chile-Peru Current system

Seasonal Climatology of Hydrographic Conditions in the Upwelling Region Off Northern Chile

Over 30 years of hydrographic data from the northern Chile (18°S-24°S) upwelling region are used to calculate the surface and subsurface seasonal climatology extending 400 km offshore. The data are interpolated to a grid with sufficient spatial resolution to preserve crossshelf gradients and then presented as means within four seasons: austral winter (JulySeptember), spring (October-December), summer (January-March), and fall (April-June). Climatological monthly wind forcing, surface temperature, and sea level from three coastal stations indicate equatorward (upwelling favorable) winds throughout the year, weakest in the north. Seasonal maximum alongshore wind stress is in late spring and summer (DecemberMarch). Major water masses of the region are identified in climatological T-S plots and their sources and implied circulation discussed. Surface fields and vertical transects of temperature and salinity confirm that upwelling occurs year-round, strongest in summer and weakest in winter, bringing relatively fresh water to the surface nearshore. Surface geostrophic flow nearshore is equatorward throughout the year. During summer, an anticyclonic circulation feature in the north which extends to at least 200 rn depth is evident in geopotential anomaly and in both temperature and geopotential variance fields. Subsurface fields indicate generally poleward flow throughout the year, strongest in an undercurrent near the coast. This undercurrent is strongest in summer and most persistent and organized in the south (south of 21°S). A subsurface oxygen minimum, centered at ~250 m, is strongest at lower latitudes. Low-salinity subsurface water intrudes into the study area near 100 m, predominantly in offshore regions, strongest during summer and fall and in the southernmost portion of the region. The climatological fields are compared to features off Baja within the somewhat analogous California Current and to measurements from higher latitudes within the Chile-Peru Current system. Copyright 2001 by the American Geophysiccal Union

Satellite-Measured Chlorophyll and Temperature Variability Off Northern Chile During the 1996-1998 La Niña and El Niño

Time series of satellite measurements are used to describe patterns of surface temperature and chlorophyll associated with the 1996 cold La Nina phase and the 1997-1998 warm El Nino phase of the El Nino - Southern Oscillation cycle in the upwelling region off northern Chile. Surface temperature data are available through the entire study period. Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) data first became available in September 1997 during a relaxation in El Nino conditions identified by in situ hydrographic data. Over the time period of coincident satellite data, chlorophyll patterns closely track surface temperature patterns. Increases both in nearshore chlorophyll concentration and in cross-shelf extension of elevated concentrations are associated with decreased coastal temperatures during both the relaxation in El Nino conditions in September-November 1997 and the recovery from EI Nino conditions after March 1998. Between these two periods during austral summer (December 1997 to March 1998) and maximum El Nino temperature anomalies, temperature patterns normally associated with upwelling were absent and chlorophyll concentrations were minimal. Cross-shelf chlorophyll distributions appear to be modulated by surface temperature frontal zones and are positively correlated with a satellite-derived upwelling index. Frontal zone patterns and the upwelling index in 1996 imply an austral summer nearshore chlorophyll maximum, consistent with SeaWiFS data from I 1998-1999, after the El Nino. SeaWiFS retrievals in the data set used here are higher than in situ measurements by a factor of 2-4; however, consistency in the offset suggests relative patterns are valid

Optimisation d'un algorithme Galerkin Discontinu en OpenCL appliqué à la simulation en électromagnétisme

International audienceIn this paper, we present GPU and CPU optimization results of a Discontinuous Galerkin algorithm applied to electromagnetism and implemented in OpenCL and MPI. This algorithm was initially optimized to run in parallel on several GPUs and then adapted for CPUs. GPUs and CPUs require an specific implementation adapted to their hardware architectures. We begin by describing the field of application. Then, we present the GPU optimizations as well as the performances obtained on GPU and CPU with this version of the code. Finally, we describe the adaptations made for the OpenCL CPU optimizations.Dans cet article, nous présentons les résultats d'optimisation sur GPU et CPU d'un algorithme Galerkin Discontinu appliqué à l'électromagnétisme et codé en OpenCL et MPI. Cet algorithme a initialement été optimisé pour être exécuté en parallèle sur plusieurs GPUs et ensuite adapté pour CPUs. Les GPUs et CPUs nécessitent une implémentation propre à leur architecture matérielle. Nous commençons par préciser le contexte d'application. Dans un second temps, nous présentons les optimisations GPU ainsi que les performances obtenues sur GPU et CPU avec cette version du code. Enfin, nous décrivons les adaptations qui ont permis de décupler les performances sur CPU