Distribution-free uncertainty quantification for kernel methods by gradient perturbations

Machine Learning - We propose a data-driven approach to quantify the uncertainty of models constructed by kernel methods. Our approach minimizes the needed distributional assumptions, hence,...     

Energy Recovery in Pressurized Hydraulic Networks

Water Resources Management - This paper aims to evaluate the possibility of using non-utilized hydraulic energy in urban water distribution systems. For this purpose, the viability and possible...     

The Photomontage Activity of Postmodernism

For decades now, Douglas Crimp’s landmark 1980 essay ‘The Photographic Activity of Postmodernism’ has shaped our understanding of modernism’s aftermath, at least as it unfolded in North America and Western Europe. Less remembered, however, is the degree to which the procedures of disjunction, copying, appropriation, and outright theft that he highlighted were epitomised not just by contemporary photography, but by photomontage in particular. This article recovers the debates that led critics such as Crimp, Abigail Solomon-Godeau, Christopher Phillips, Benjamin Buchloh and others to turn to photomontage as one of their principal objects of concern in what became known as the postmodern critique of photography. Why was montage tasked to perform this critical function, particularly by people around the journal October who had not otherwise devoted the balance of their writing to photography’s history? The article suggests that these men and women, along with the contemporary artists they foregrounded, manifested what Mary Anne Doane has called a ‘desire for signification’, a reaction in the late 1970s against the mute theatricality of minimalist and conceptual art. Photomontage reintroduced representation to contemporary art and to the canon of art history. But unlike the reemerging illusionism in painting that also manifested this desire, montage guarded against an uncomplicated realism by highlighting and critiquing operations of representation in a manner that painting no longer could.     

Synthesis of Long-Chain β-Lactones and Their Antibacterial Activities against Pathogenic Mycobacteria

In the quest for new antibacterial agents, a series of novel long- and medium-chain mono- and disubstituted β-lactones was developed. Their activity against three pathogenic mycobacteria—M. abscessus, M. marinum, and M. tuberculosis—was assessed by the resazurin microtiter assay (REMA). Among the 16 β-lactones synthesized, only 3-hexadecyloxetan-2-one (VM005) exhibited promising activity against M. abscessus, whereas most of the β-lactones showed interesting activities against M. marinum, similar to that of the classical antibiotic, isoniazid. Regarding M. tuberculosis, six compounds were found to be active against this mycobacterium, with β-lactone VM008 [trans-(Z)-3-(hexadec-7-en-1-yl)-4-propyloxetan-2-one] being the best growth inhibitor. The promising antibacterial activities of the best compounds in this series suggest that these molecules may serve as leads for the development of much more efficient antimycobacterial agents.     

The effect of Na addition on the first hydrogen absorption kinetics of cast hypoeutectic Mg–La alloys

With superior properties of Mg such as high hydrogen storage capacity (7.6 wt% H/MgH₂), low price, and low density, Mg has been widely studied as a promising candidate for solid-state hydrogen storage systems. However, a harsh activation procedure, slow hydrogenation/dehydrogenation process, and a high temperature for dehydrogenation prevent the use of Mg-based metal hydrides for practical applications. For these reasons, Mg-based alloys for hydrogen storage systems are generally alloyed with other elements to improve hydrogen sorption properties. In this article, we have added Na to cast Mg–La alloys and achieved a significant improvement in hydrogen absorption kinetics during the first activation cycle. The role of Na in Mg–La has been discussed based on the findings from microstructural observations, crystallography, and first principles calculations based on density functional theory. From our results in this study, we have found that the Na doped surface of Mg–La alloy systems have a lower adsorption energy for H₂ compared to Na-free surfaces which facilitates adsorption and dissociation of hydrogen molecules leading to improvement of absorption kinetic. The effect of Na on the microstructure of these alloys, such as eutectic refinement and a density of twins is not highly correlated with absorption kinetics.     

An automated treatment planning strategy for highly noncoplanar radiotherapy arc trajectories

Radiation therapy is a technology-driven cancer treatment modality that has experienced significant advances over the last decades, due to multidisciplinary contributions that include engineering and computing. Recent technological developments allow the use of noncoplanar volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), one of the most recent photon treatment techniques, in clinical practice. In this work, an automated noncoplanar arc trajectory optimization framework designed in two modular phases is presented. First, a noncoplanar beam angle optimization algorithm is used to obtain a set of noncoplanar irradiation directions. Then, anchored in these directions, an optimization strategy is proposed to compute an optimal arc trajectory. The computational experiments considered a pool of twelve difficult head-and-neck tumor cases. It was possible to observe that, for some of these cases, the optimized noncoplanar arc trajectories led to significant treatment planning quality improvements, when compared with coplanar VMAT treatment plans. Although these experiments were done in a research environment treatment planning software (matRad), the conclusions can be of interest for a clinical setting: automated procedures can simplify the current treatment workflow, produce high-quality treatment plans, making better use of human resources and allowing for unbiased comparisons between different treatment techniques.     

The Impact of PbF2-Based Glasses on Radiation Shielding and Mechanical Concepts: An Extensive Theoretical and Monte Carlo Simulation Study

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - This work aimed to investigate the impact of Lead-fluoride based glasses via theoretical and simulation techniques on mechanical and...     

Evaluation of Intellectual Property Objects in the Nanoindustry Field

Russian Microelectronics - The recently developed nanomaterials and their production technologies as intellectual property objects (IPOs) are considered. The role of the informational-analytical...