Testing ab initio nuclear structure in neutron-rich nuclei: Lifetime measurements of second 2+ state in 16C and 20O

To test the predictive power of ab initio nuclear structure theory, the lifetime of the second 2+ state in neutron-rich 20O,τ(2+2)=150+80−30fs, and an estimate for the lifetime of the second 2+ state in 16C have been obtained for the first time. The results were achieved via a novel Monte Carlo technique that allowed us to measure nuclear state lifetimes in the tens-to-hundreds of femtoseconds range by analyzing the Doppler-shifted γ-transition line shapes of products of low-energy transfer and deep-inelastic processes in the reaction 18O(7.0MeV/u)+181Ta. The requested sensitivity could only be reached owing to the excellent performances of the Advanced γ-Tracking Array AGATA, coupled to the PARIS scintillator array and to the VAMOS++ magnetic spectrometer. The experimental lifetimes agree with predictions of ab initio calculations using two- and three-nucleon interactions, obtained with the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group for 20O and with the no-core shell model for 16C. The present measurement shows the power of electromagnetic observables, determined with high-precision γ spectroscopy, to assess the quality of first-principles nuclear structure calculations, complementing common benchmarks based on nuclear energies. The proposed experimental approach will be essential for short lifetime measurements in unexplored regions of the nuclear chart, including r-process nuclei, when intense beams, produced by Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) techniques, become available

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based Phenotyping Using Morphometric and Spectral Analysis Can Quantify Responses of Wild Tomato Plants to Salinity Stress

With salt stress presenting a major threat to global food production, attention has turned to the identification and breeding of crop cultivars with improved salt tolerance. For instance, some accessions of wild species with higher salt tolerance than commercial varieties are being investigated for their potential to expand food production into marginal areas or to use brackish waters for irrigation. However, assessment of individual plant responses to salt stress in field trials is time-consuming, limiting, for example, longitudinal assessment of large numbers of plants. Developments in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sensing technologies provide a means for extensive, repeated and consistent phenotyping and have significant advantages over standard approaches. In this study, 199 accessions of the wild tomato species, Solanum pimpinellifolium, were evaluated through a field assessment of 600 control and 600 salt-treated plants. UAV imagery was used to: (1) delineate tomato plants from a time-series of eight RGB and two multi-spectral datasets, using an automated object-based image analysis approach; (2) assess four traits, i.e., plant area, growth rates, condition and Plant Projective Cover (PPC) over the growing season; and (3) use the mapped traits to identify the best-performing accessions in terms of yield and salt tolerance. For the first five campaigns, >99% of all tomato plants were automatically detected. The omission rate increased to 2–5% for the last three campaigns because of the presence of dead and senescent plants. Salt-treated plants exhibited a significantly smaller plant area (average control and salt-treated plant areas of 0.55 and 0.29 m2, respectively), maximum growth rate (daily maximum growth rate of control and salt-treated plant of 0.034 and 0.013 m2, respectively) and PPC (5–16% difference) relative to control plants. Using mapped plant condition, area, growth rate and PPC, we show that it was possible to identify eight out of the top 10 highest yielding accessions and that only five accessions produced high yield under both treatments. Apart from showcasing multi-temporal UAV-based phenotyping capabilities for the assessment of plant performance, this research has implications for agronomic studies of plant salt tolerance and for optimizing agricultural production under saline conditions

Online vs. Offline Channels? Testing the Effect of Promotional Communication on Shopper Behaviour

In a context where consumers and retailers are becoming increasingly multichannel, this work aims to make the following contributions: - to be the first academic study of the shortterm effect of digital flyer compared to print flyer in the FMCG industry; - to develop a field experiment based on customer level data, not aggregate, and multiple sources, i.e. CATI questionnaire and loyalty program databases; - to provide relevant managerial implications for communication mix and budget allocation decisions across different channels

Putative metabolism of Ca. Accumulibacter via the utilization of glucose

Ca. Accumulibacter was the predominant microorganism (relative FISH bio-abundance of 67 ± 5%) in a lab-scale sequential batch reactor that accomplished enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) while using glucose and acetate as the carbon sources (1:1 COD-based ratio). Both organic compounds were completely anaerobically consumed. The reactor's performance in terms of P/C ratio, phosphorous release and uptake, and overall kinetic and stoichiometric parameters were on the high end of the reported spectrum for EBPR systems (100:9.3 net mg phosphate removal per mg COD consumed when using glucose and acetate in a 1:1 ratio). The batch tests showed that, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a reactor enriched with Ca. Accumulibacter can putatively utilize glucose as the sole carbon source to biologically remove phosphate (COD:P (mg/mg) removal ratio of 100:6.3 when using only glucose). Thus, this research proposes that Ca. Accumulibacter directly anaerobically stored the fed glucose primarily as glycogen by utilizing the ATP provided via the hydrolysis of poly-P and secondarily as PHA by balancing its ATP utilization (glycogen generation) and formation (PHA storage). Alternative hypotheses are also discussed. The reported findings could challenge the conventional theories of glucose assimilation by Ca. Accumulibacter, and can be of significance for the biological removal of phosphorus from wastewaters with high contents of fermentable compounds or low VFAs

Environmental footprint of wastewater treatment: A step forward in the use of toxicological tools

The assessment of the actual impact of discharged wastewater on the whole ecosystem and, in turn, on human health requires the execution of bioassays. In effect, based on the chemical characterization alone, the synergistic/antagonistic effect of mixtures of pollutants is hardly estimable. The aim of this work was to evaluate the applicability of a battery of bioassays and to suggest a smart procedure for results representation. Two real wastewater treatment plants were submitted to analytical campaigns. Several baseline toxicity assays were conducted, together with tests for the determination of endocrine activity, genetic toxicity and carcinogenicity of wastewater. A “traffic light” model was adopted for an easy-to-understand visualization of the results. Although the legal prescriptions of chemical parameters are fully complied with, bioassays show that a certain biological activity still residues in the treated effluents. Moreover, influent and effluent responses are not always appreciably different. Some tests employing human cells were revealed to be only partially adequate for environmental applications. An interesting and helpful development of the present approach would consist in the estimation of biological equivalents of toxicity, as shown for the estrogenic compound 17-β-estradiol

Ambient Intelligence and Pervasive Systems for the Monitoring of Citizens at Cardiac Risk: New Solutions from the EPI-MEDICS Project.

In western countries, heart disease is the main cause of premature death. Most of cardiac deaths occur out of hospital. Symptoms are often interpreted incorrectly. Victims do not survive long enough to benefit from in-hospital treatments. To reduce the time before treatment, the only useful diagnostic tool to assess the presence of a cardiac event is the electrocardiogram (ECG). Event and transtelephonic ECG recorders are used to improve decision-making but require setting up new infra-structures. The pervasive solution proposed by the European EPI-MEDICS project is an intelligent Personal ECG Monitor for the early detection of cardiac events. It includes decision-making techniques, generates different alarm levels and forwards alarm messages to the relevant care providers by means of new generation wireless communication. It is cost saving, involving care provider only if necessary without specific infrastructure. Healthcare becomes personalized, wearable, ubiquitous. 1

A Why3 Framework for Reflection Proofs and its Application to GMP's Algorithms

International audienceEarlier work showed that automatic verification of GMP's algorithms using Why3 exceeds the current capabilities of automatic solvers. To complete this verification, numerous cut indications had to be supplied by the user, slowing the project to a crawl. This paper shows how we have extended Why3 with a framework for proofs by reflection, with minimal impact on the trusted computing base. This framework makes it easy to write dedicated decision procedures that make full use of Why3's imperative features and are formally verified. We evaluate how much work could have been saved when verifying GMP's algorithms, had this framework been available. This approach opens the way to efficiently tackling the further verification of GMP's algorithms