An evaluation resource for geographic information retrieval

In this paper we present an evaluation resource for geographic information retrieval developed within the Cross Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF). The GeoCLEF track is dedicated to the evaluation of geographic information retrieval systems. The resource encompasses more than 600,000 documents, 75 topics so far, and more than 100,000 relevance judgments for these topics. Geographic information retrieval requires an evaluation resource which represents realistic information needs and which is geographically challenging. Some experimental results and analysis are reported

Dislocation analysis of a complex sub-grain boundary using accurate electron channeling contrast imaging in a scanning electron microscope

International audienceIn this work, accurate electron channelling contrast imaging (A-ECCI) assisted by high resolution selected area channelling patterns (HR-SACP) was used to characterize the structure of a complex low sub-grain boundary in a creep deformed uranium dioxide (UO$_2$) ceramic. The dislocations were characterized using TEM-style g·b = 0 and g·b × u = 0 contrast criteria. Misorientations across the boundary were measured using HR-SACPs with 0.04° precision and high accuracy EBSD. The boundary was determined to be asymmetric and mixed in nature, composed of two distinct regions with different dislocation morphologies and a misorientation below 0.5°. The A-ECCI, HR-SACP, and HR-EBSD results are consistent, confirming A-ECCI as a powerful tool for characterizing even complex dislocations structures using scanning electron microscopy. This is particularly true for UO$_2$, since this material is very difficult to thin, which makes TEM examination of sub-boundaries over the scale of several micrometers difficult. Furthermore, in this study, the change in dislocations arrangement along the breath of the complex low angle sub-grain boundary is related to the misorientation across the boundary

GeoCLEF 2007: the CLEF 2007 cross-language geographic information retrieval track overview

GeoCLEF ran as a regular track for the second time within the Cross Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF) 2007. The purpose of GeoCLEF is to test and evaluate cross-language geographic information retrieval (GIR): retrieval for topics with a geographic specification. GeoCLEF 2007 consisted of two sub tasks. A search task ran for the third time and a query classification task was organized for the first. For the GeoCLEF 2007 search task, twenty-five search topics were defined by the organizing groups for searching English, German, Portuguese and Spanish document collections. All topics were translated into English, Indonesian, Portuguese, Spanish and German. Several topics in 2007 were geographically challenging. Thirteen groups submitted 108 runs. The groups used a variety of approaches. For the classification task, a query log from a search engine was provided and the groups needed to identify the queries with a geographic scope and the geographic components within the local queries

GeoCLEF 2006: the CLEF 2006 Ccross-language geographic information retrieval track overview

After being a pilot track in 2005, GeoCLEF advanced to be a regular track within CLEF 2006. The purpose of GeoCLEF is to test and evaluate cross-language geographic information retrieval (GIR): retrieval for topics with a geographic specification. For GeoCLEF 2006, twenty-five search topics were defined by the organizing groups for searching English, German, Portuguese and Spanish document collections. Topics were translated into English, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Japanese. Several topics in 2006 were significantly more geographically challenging than in 2005. Seventeen groups submitted 149 runs (up from eleven groups and 117 runs in GeoCLEF 2005). The groups used a variety of approaches, including geographic bounding boxes, named entity extraction and external knowledge bases (geographic thesauri and ontologies and gazetteers)

Modélisation et simulation numérique par méthode FFT de la localisation des contraintes internes et des densités de dislocations dans un acier composite nouvelle génération 'Fe-TiB2'

International audienceUn modèle d'élasto-viscoplasticité cristalline (EVP), basé sur la méthode des transformées de Fourier rapide (FFT) et couplé à la mécanique des champs de dislocations (MFDM), est présenté et appliqué afin de décrire l'évolution en déformation des densités de Dislocations Géométriques Nécessaires (GND) dans un composite à matrice métallique Fe-TiB2. Des volumes élémentaires réalistes basés sur la microstructure réelle sont considérés. Les résultats montrent la capacité de l'approche à prédire les gradients des champs mécaniques proches des interfaces matrice/renforts

E-cadherin and cell adhesion: a role in architecture and function in the pancreatic islet

Background/Aims: The efficient secretion of insulin from beta-cells requires extensive intra-islet communication. The cell surface adhesion protein epithelial (E)-cadherin (ECAD) establishes and maintains epithelial tissues such as the islets of Langerhans. In this study, the role of ECAD in regulating insulin secretion from pseudoislets was investigated. Methods: The effect of an immuno-neutralising ECAD on gross morphology, cytosolic calcium signalling, direct cell-to-cell communication and insulin secretion was assessed by fura-2 microfluorimetry, Lucifer Yellow dye injection and insulin ELISA in an insulin-secreting model system. Results: Antibody blockade of ECAD reduces glucose-evoked changes in [Ca2+](i) and insulin secretion. Neutralisation of ECAD causes a breakdown in the glucose-stimulated synchronicity of calcium oscillations between discrete regions within the pseudoislet, and the transfer of dye from an individual cell within a cell cluster is attenuated in the absence of ECAD ligation, demonstrating that gap junction communication is disrupted. The functional consequence of neutralising ECAD is a significant reduction in insulin secretion. Conclusion: Cell adhesion via ECAD has distinct roles in the regulation of intercellular communication between beta-cells within islets, with potential repercussions for insulin secretion. Copyright (C) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Evolution of the dipole polarizability in the stable tin isotope chain

The dipole polarizability of stable even-mass tin isotopes 112,114,116,118,120,124 was extracted from inelastic proton scattering experiments at 295 MeV under very forward angles performed at RCNP. Predictions from energy density functionals cannot account for the present data and the polarizability of 208Pb simultaneously. The evolution of the polarizabilities in neighboring isotopes indicates a kink at 120Sn while all model results show a nearly linear increase with mass number after inclusion of pairing corrections.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Lett.