The effective elastic thickness of the India Plate from receiver function imaging, gravity anomalies and thermomechanical modelling

The range and the meaning of the effective elastic thickness (EET) in continental areas have been subject to controversy over the last two decades. Here we take advantage of the new data set from the Hi-CLIMB seismological experiment to re-estimate the EET of the India Plate along a south-north profile extending from the Ganges basin to central Tibet. Receiver functions give a high-resolution image of the base of the foreland basin at similar to 5 km depth and constrain the crustal thickness, which increases northwards from similar to 35 km beneath the indo-gangetic plain to similar to 70 km in southern Tibet. Together with available data sets including seismic profiles, seismological images from both INDEPTH and HIMNT experiments, deep well measurements and Bouguer anomaly profiles, we interpret this new image with 2-D thermomechanical modelling solutions, using different type of crustal and mantle rheologies. We find that (1) the EET of the India Plate decreases northwards from 60-80 to 20-30 km as it is flexed down beneath Himalaya and Tibet, due to thermal and flexural weakening; (2) the only resistant layer of the India Plate beneath southern Tibet is the upper mantle, which serves as a support for the topographic load and (3) the most abrupt drop in the EET, located around 200 km south of the MFT, is associated with a gradual decoupling between the crust and the mantle. We show that our geometrical constraints do not allow to determine if the upper and lower crust are coupled or not. Our results clearly reveal that a rheology with a weak mantle is unable to explain the geometry of the lithosphere in this region, and they are in favour of a rheology in which the mantle is strong

Counting Integer flows in Networks

This paper discusses new analytic algorithms and software for the enumeration of all integer flows inside a network. Concrete applications abound in graph theory \cite{Jaeger}, representation theory \cite{kirillov}, and statistics \cite{persi}. Our methods clearly surpass traditional exhaustive enumeration and other algorithms and can even yield formulas when the input data contains some parameters. These methods are based on the study of rational functions with poles on arrangements of hyperplanes

Redesigning the jMetal Multi-Objective Optimization Framework

jMetal, an open source, Java-based framework for multi-objective optimization with metaheuristics, has become a valuable tool for many researches in the area as well as for some industrial partners in the last ten years. Our experience using and maintaining it during that time, as well as the received comments and suggestions, have helped us improve the jMetal design and identify significant features to incorporate. This paper revisits the jMetal architecture, describing its refined new design, which relies on design patterns, principles from object-oriented design, and a better use of the Java language features to improve the quality of the code, without disregarding jMetal ever goals of simplicity, facility of use, flexibility, extensibility and portability. Among the newly incorporated features, jMetal supports live interaction with running algorithms and parallel execution of algorithms.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Buzz Factor or Innovation Potential: What Explains Cryptocurrencies' Returns?

Cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular since the introduction of bitcoin in 2009. In this paper, we identify factors associated with variations in cryptocurrencies' market values. In the past, researchers argued that the "buzz" surrounding cryptocurrencies in online media explained their price variations. But this observation obfuscates the notion that cryptocurrencies, unlike fiat currencies, are technologies entailing a true innovation potential. By using, for the first time, a unique measure of innovation potential, we find that the latter is in fact the most important factor associated with increases in cryptocurrency returns. By contrast, we find that the buzz surrounding cryptocurrencies is negatively associated with returns after controlling for a variety of factors, such as supply growth and liquidity. Also interesting is our finding that a cryptocurrency's association with fraudulent activity is not negatively associated with weekly returns-a result that further qualifies the media's influence on cryptocurrencies. Finally, we find that an increase in supply is positively associated with weekly returns. Taken together, our findings show that cryptocurrencies do not behave like traditional currencies or commodities-unlike what most prior research has assumed-and depict an industry that is much more mature, and much less speculative, than has been implied by previous accounts

Organizational Adaptation

Organizational adaptation is equivocal. On the one hand, the concept is ubiquitous in management research and acts as the glue binding together the central issues of organizational change, performance, and survival. On the other hand, it lurks around in various guises (e.g., “fit,” “alignment,” “congruence,” and “strategic change”) studied from multiple theoretical streams (e.g., behavioral, resource based, and institutional) and at different levels of analysis (e.g., organization and industry levels). In a novel approach to reviewing 443 adaptation articles that leverages both computational and hand-coded analysis, we produce an interactive visual of the themes most studied by adaptation scholars. We inductively draw out a definition of adaptation as intentional decision making undertaken by organizational members, leading to observable actions that aim to reduce the distance between an organization and its economic and institutional environments. We then review the literature across three main areas of inquiry and six theoretical perspectives that surfaced from our analysis and identify 11 difficulties that have hampered adaptation research in the past 50 years. Our review suggests ways to address these difficulties to enable future research to develop and cumulate

Seismic velocities in Southern Tibet lower crust: a receiver function approach for eclogite detection

Beneath the Tibet plateau, the deficit of crustal thickening with respect to what is expected from the plate tectonic constraints is thought to be absorbed either by lateral extrusion or by vertical rock-mass transfer. To nourish the unsettled debate of the relative importance of these two processes, we propose a new approach, based on the S-to-P and the P-to-S wave conversions, enabling the precise determination of the seismic velocities. The weighted amplitudes of the direct conversion and of reverberations are stacked at their predicted arrival times for various values of layer thickness and v(P)/v(S) ratio separately for two sets of P- and S-receiver functions. For each set of receiver functions, coherent stack gives the v(P)/v(S) ratio and thickness for the considered layer (the grid search stacking method). The values of v(P)/v(S) ratio and layer thickness are functions of the velocity used for stacking the set of receiver functions, but using the P- and S-receiver functions allows us to solve this indetermination and to find the effective parameters of the layer: velocity v(S), v(P)/v(S) ratio and thickness. We use a bootstrap resampling of the receiver function data sets to estimate the parameters uncertainties. For the Southern Lhasa Block, the migrated sections of both P- and S-receiver functions (Hi-CLIMB experiment data) show a layer in the lower crust that may be related to the lower Indian crust underplated beneath Tibet. With the grid search stacking method, high shear wave velocities (v(S) similar to 4.73 km s(-1)) and low v(P)/v(S) ratios (similar to 1.69) are detected in this layer. Such values are typical for high-grade eclogites, and the low v(P)/v(S) ratio precludes the confusion with mafic granulites. There is no evidence for partial eclogitization near and south of the Yarlung-Tsangpo Suture, and the about 19 km thick eclogitic layer extends northwards only to about the middle of the Lhasa terrane

Experimental pig-to-pig transmission dynamics for African swine fever virus, Georgia 2007/1 strain

African swine fever virus (ASFV) continues to cause outbreaks in domestic pigs and wild boar in Eastern European countries. To gain insights into its transmission dynamics, we estimated the pig-to-pig basic reproduction number (R 0) for the Georgia 2007/1 ASFV strain using a stochastic susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered (SEIR) model with parameters estimated from transmission experiments. Models showed that R 0 is 2·8 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1·3–4·8] within a pen and 1·4 (95% CI 0·6–2·4) between pens. The results furthermore suggest that ASFV genome detection in oronasal samples is an effective diagnostic tool for early detection of infection. This study provides quantitative information on transmission parameters for ASFV in domestic pigs, which are required to more effectively assess the potential impact of strategies for the control of between-farm epidemic spread in European countries.ISSN:0950-2688ISSN:1469-440

Estimating the incidence of equine viral arteritis and the sensitivity of its surveillance in the French breeding stock

Equine viral arteritis (EVA) may have serious economic impact on the equine industry. For this reason, it is monitored in many countries, especially in breeding stock, to avoid its spread during breeding activities. In France, surveillance is mainly based on serological tests, since mares are not vaccinated, but difficulties in interpreting certain series of results may impair the estimation of the number of outbreaks. In this study, we propose specific rules for identifying seroconversion in order to estimate the number of outbreaks that were detected by the breeding stock surveillance component (BSSC) in France between 2006 and 2013. A consensus among multidisciplinary experts was reached to consider seroconversion as a change in antibody titer from negative to at least 32, or as an eight-fold or greater increase in antibody level. Using these rules, 239 cases and 177 outbreaks were identified. Subsequently, we calculated the BSSC's sensitivity as the ratio of the number of detected outbreaks to the total number of outbreaks that occurred in breeding stock (including unreported outbreaks) estimated using a capture-recapture model. The total number of outbreaks was estimated at 215 (95% credible interval 195-249) and the surveillance sensitivity at 82% (CrI95% 71-91). Our results confirm EVA circulation in French breeding stock, show that neutralizing antibodies can persist up to eight years in naturally infected mares and suggest that certain mares have been reinfected. This study shows that the sensitivity of the BSSC is relatively high and supports its relevance to prevent the disease spreading through mating