Iterative Bayesian Monte Carlo for nuclear data evaluation

In this work, we explore the use of an iterative Bayesian Monte Carlo（i BMC） method for nuclear data evaluation within a TALYS Evaluated Nuclear Data Library（TENDL） framework. The goal is to probe the model and parameter space of the TALYS code system to find the optimal model and parameter sets that reproduces selected experimental data. The method involves the simultaneous variation of many nuclear reaction models as well as their parameters included in the TALYS code. The’best’ model set with...     

PPAR-Gamma Activation May Inhibit the In Vivo Degeneration of Bioprosthetic Aortic and Aortic Valve Grafts under Diabetic Conditions

Background: We aimed to examine the anti-calcification and anti-inflammatory effects of pioglitazone as a PPAR-gamma agonist on bioprosthetic-valve-bearing aortic grafts in a rat model of diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: DM was induced in male Wistar rats by high-fat diet with an intraperitoneal streptozotocin (STZ) injection. The experimental group received additional pioglitazone, and controls received normal chow without STZ (n = 20 each group). Cryopreserved aortic donor grafts including the aortic valve were analyzed after 4 weeks and 12 weeks in vivo for analysis of calcific bioprosthetic degeneration. Results: DM led to a significant media proliferation at 4 weeks. The additional administration of pioglitazone significantly increased circulating adiponectin levels and significantly reduced media thickness at 4 and 12 weeks, respectively (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.0107, respectively). Graft media calcification was highly significantly inhibited by pioglitazone after 12 weeks (p = 0.0079). Gene-expression analysis revealed a significant reduction in relevant chondro-osteogenic markers osteopontin and RUNX-2 by pioglitazone at 4 weeks. Conclusions: Under diabetic conditions, pioglitazone leads to elevated circulating levels of adiponectin and to an inhibition of bioprosthetic graft degeneration, including lower expression of chondro-osteogenic genes, decreased media proliferation, and inhibited graft calcification in a small-animal model of DM.     

Silver versus white sheet as a back reflector for microcrystalline silicon solar cells deposited on LPCVD‐ZnO electrodes of various textures

We compare the performance of two back reflector designs on the optoelectrical properties of microcrystalline silicon solar cells. The first one consists of a 5‐µm‐thick low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD)‐ZnO electrode combined with a white sheet; the second one incorporates an Ag reflector deposited on a thin LPCVD‐ZnO layer (with thickness below 200 nm). For this latter design, the optical loss in the nano‐rough Ag reflector can be strongly reduced by smoothing the surface of the thin underlying ZnO layer, by means of an Ar‐plasma treatment. Because of its superior lateral conductivity, the thin‐ZnO/Ag back reflector design provides a higher fill factor than the dielectric back reflector design. When decreasing the roughness of the front electrode with respect to our standard front LPCVD‐ZnO layer, the electrical cell performance is improved; in addition, the implementation of the thin‐ZnO/Ag back reflector leads to a significant relative gain in light trapping. Applying this newly optimized combination of front and back electrodes, the conversion efficiency is improved from 8.9% up to 9.4%, for cells with an active‐layer thickness of only 1.1 µm. We thereby highlight the necessity to optimize simultaneously the front and back electrodes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3D line-support grid flattening for more accurate geostatistical reservoir population with petrophysical properties

Reservoir models are essential if we need to clearly understand the fossil resources and, hence, to make better use of them. Feeding these models with physical properties on the basis of wells data is a key step in their construction. Line-support (LS) grid is the most popular grid in reservoir engineering, it is massively used for reservoir simulations. In the current methods used to populate with properties the LS grid of a reservoir unit, a Cartesian grid of equivalent size (in each direction), obtained by averaging the edge lengths, is first of all completed. The properties calculated in this way are then transferred as they are into the initial LS grid, because there is cell-for-cell correspondence. This leads to distortion of the Cartesian grid, making it fit the shape of the LS grid. This has the effect of altering calculations of correlation distances between well markers in geostatistical population simulations. Consequently, this primarily induces distortions on the simulated bodies. To resolve this problem, in this paper, we propose innovative methods for a “smooth” conversion from the LS grid of the structural space to the Cartesian grid of the geostatistical population space. The basic principle is to calculate the correlation distances between wells on the basis of “quasi-isometric” flattening of the stratigraphic unit LS grid in the population space. This same flattening technique is then used for inverse transfer of the properties from the population space to the structural space.     

Using immersive virtual reality and anatomically correct computer-generated characters in the forensic assessment of deviant sexual preferences

Penile plethysmography (PPG) is the gold standard for the assessment of sexual interests, especially among sex offenders of children. Nonetheless, this method faces some ethical limitations inherent to the nature of its stimuli and could benefit from the improvement of its ecological validity. The use of computer-generated characters (CGC) in virtual immersion for PPG assessment might help address these issues. A new application developed to design made-to-measure anatomically correct virtual characters compatible with the Tanner developmental stages is presented. The main purpose of this study was to determine how the virtual reality (VR) modality compares to the standard auditory modality on their capacity to generate sexual arousal profiles and deviance differentials indicative of sexual interests. The erectile responses of 22 sex offenders of children and 42 non-deviant adult males were recorded. While both stimulus modalities generated significantly different genital arousal profiles for sex offenders of children and non-deviant males, deviance differentials calculated from the VR modality allowed for significantly higher classification accuracy. Performing receiver operating characteristic analyses further assessed discriminant potential. Auditory modality yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.79 (SE = 0.059) while CGC in VR yielded an AUC of 0.90 (SE = 0.052). Overall, results suggest that the VR modality allows significantly better group classification accuracy and discriminant validity than audio stimuli, which provide empirical support for the use of this new method for PPG assessment. Additionally, the potential use of VR in interventions pertaining to self-regulation of sexual offending is addressed in conclusion.     

Accurate junction detection and characterization in line-drawing images

In this paper, we present a new approach for junction detection and characterization in line-drawing images. We formulate this problem as searching for optimal meeting points of median lines. In this context, the main contribution of the proposed approach is three-fold. First, a new algorithm for the determination of the support region is presented using the linear least squares technique, making it robust to digitization effects. Second, an efficient algorithm is proposed to detect and conceptually remove all distorted zones, retaining reliable line segments only. These line segments are then locally characterized to form a local structure representation of each crossing zone. Finally, a novel optimization algorithm is presented to reconstruct the junctions. Junction characterization is then simply derived. The proposed approach is very highly robust to common geometry transformations and can resist a satisfactory level of noise/degradation. Furthermore, it works very efficiently in terms of time complexity and requires no prior knowledge of the document content. Extensive evaluations have been performed to validate the proposed approach using other baseline methods. An application of symbol spotting is also provided, demonstrating quite good results.     

Topological Dynamics of Cellular Automata: Dimension Matters

Topological dynamics of cellular automata (CA), inherited from classical dynamical systems theory, has been essentially studied in dimension 1. This paper focuses on higher dimensional CA and aims at showing that the situation is different and more complex starting from dimension 2. The main results are the existence of non sensitive CA without equicontinuous points, the non-recursivity of sensitivity constants, the existence of CA having only non-recursive equicontinuous points and the existence of CA having only countably many equicontinuous points. They all show a difference between dimension 1 and higher dimensions. Thanks to these new constructions, we also extend undecidability results concerning topological classification previously obtained in the 1D case. Finally, we show that the set of sensitive CA is only $\varPi _{2}^{0}$ in dimension 1, but becomes $\varSigma _{3}^{0}$ -hard for dimension 3.