Optimized Schwarz methods without overlap for highly heterogeneous media

In this paper an original variant of the Schwarz domain decomposition method is introduced for heterogeneous media. This method uses new optimized interface conditions specially designed to take into account the heterogeneity between the sub-domains on each sides of the interfaces. Numerical experiments illustrate the dependency of the proposed method with respect to several parameters, and confirm the robustness and efficiency of this method based on such optimized interface conditions. Several mesh partitions taking into account multiple cross points are considered in these experiments.     

An Operator-integration-factor splitting method for time-dependent problems: Application to incompressible fluid flow

In this paper we present a simple, general methodology for the generation of high-order operator decomposition (splitting) techniques for the solution of time-dependent problems arising in ordinary and partial differential equations. The new approach exploits operator integration factors to reduce multiple-operator equations to an associated series of single-operator initial-value subproblems. Two illustrations of the procedure are presented: the first, a second-order method in time applied to velocity-pressure decoupling in the incompressible Stokes problem; the second, a third-order method in time applied to convection-Stokes decoupling in the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Critical open questions are briefly described.     

Reordering space design in statistical machine translation

In Statistical Machine Translation (SMT), the constraints on word reorderings have a great impact on the set of potential translations that is explored during search. Notwithstanding computational issues, the reordering space of a SMT system needs to be designed with great care: if a larger search space is likely to yield better translations, it may also lead to more decoding errors, because of the added ambiguity and the interaction with the pruning strategy. In this paper, we study the reordering search space, using a state-of-the art translation system, where all reorderings are represented in a permutation lattice prior to decoding. This allows us to directly explore and compare different reordering schemes and oracle settings. We also study in detail a rule-based preordering system, varying the length and number of rules, the tagset used, as well as contrasting with purely combinatorial subsets of permutations. We carry out experiments on three language pairs in both directions: English-French, a close language pair; English-German and English-Czech, two much more challenging pairs. We show that even though it might be desirable to design better reordering spaces, model and search errors seem to be the most important issues. Therefore, improvements of the reordering space should come along with improvements of the associated models to be really effective.     

Investigation of Heat‐Induced Degradation of Virgin Olive Oil Using Front Face Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Chemometric Analysis

A simple setup using a 365‐nm light‐emitting diode coupled to a USB spectrometer through an optical fiber, in a front‐face fluorescence configuration, was used to investigate the heat‐induced deterioration of virgin olive oil at different heating temperatures and times. The samples were heated for 30, 60, 120 and 180 min for every temperature setting of 140, 160 and 180 °C, respectively. Two important results are reported in this article. First, a neo‐formed compound around 665 nm due to the degradation of chlorophyll was observed. This new peak was attributed to pyropheophytins. The second result showed an important rise of the peak around 489 nm, which corresponded to the oxidation products. The correlation obtained between the peroxide value and the 489 nm peak using principal component analysis revealed the mechanism of the oxidation process. It further showed that the peak around 489 nm is a direct consequence of the degradation of hydroperoxide.     

Intralesional Infiltrations of Arteriosclerotic Tissue Cells-Free Filtrate Reproduce Vascular Pathology in Healthy Recipient Rats

Lower-extremity arterial disease is a major health problem with increasing prevalence, often leading to non-traumatic amputation, disability and mortality. The molecular mechanisms underpinning abnormal vascular wall remodeling are not fully understood. We hypothesized on the existence of a vascular tissue memory that may be transmitted through soluble signaling messengers, transferred from humans to healthy recipient animals, and consequently drive the recapitulation of arterial wall thickening and other vascular pathologies. We examined the effects of the intralesional infiltration for 6 days of arteriosclerotic popliteal artery-derived homogenates (100 µg of protein) into rats’ full-thickness wounds granulation tissue. Animals infiltrated with normal saline solution or healthy brachial arterial tissue homogenate obtained from traumatic amputation served as controls. The significant thickening of arteriolar walls was the constant outcome in two independent experiments for animals receiving arteriosclerotic tissue homogenates. This material induced other vascular morphological changes including an endothelial cell phenotypic reprogramming that mirrored the donor’s vascular histopathology. The immunohistochemical expression pattern of relevant vascular markers appeared to match between the human tissue and the corresponding recipient rats. These changes occurred within days of administration, and with no cross-species limitation. The identification of these “vascular disease drivers” may pave novel research avenues for atherosclerosis pathobiology.     

Effects of club size in the provision of public goods. Network and congestion effects in the case of the French municipalities

The article formalizes and measures the impact of club size on the quality of the public good provided to its members. Under a general framework we describe various functional forms that allow either network or crowding effects. Mechanisms of provision are that of a political process in which both the demand and the supply sides are considered. Estimations use the whole set of French municipalities. The supply model performs better than the demand model in the case of small municipalities, while for large cities the demand model has higher explanatory power. In so far as impact of city size on the quality of club goods is concerned, crowding does appear, but it does so in different patterns. For small towns marginal congestion first decreases then increases with population. Marginal congestion is decreasing for cities of intermediate size. For larger cities no significant effects are observed. Received: 27 June 2000 / Accepted: 20 August 2001 RID="*" ID="*" We have received particularly helpful comments from the editor-in-chief and two anonymous referees. We also thank Danièle Moret-Bailly for her friendly computational assistance.     

Retrieval of the ultraviolet aerosol optical depth during a spring campaign in the Bavarian Alps

A measurement campaign was organized in March 1999 in the Bavarian Alps as part of the European project, Characteristics of the UV Radiation Field in the Alps (CUVRA), to analyze the effect of altitude, aerosols, and snow cover on ground-level UV spectral irradiance. We present the results of simultaneous measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD) made at various sites on two cloudless days in March 1999. The two days exhibited different aerosol conditions. Results derived from spectral measurements of UV irradiance are compared with data from filter radiometer measurements made at discrete wavelengths extending from the UV to the near IR. The different methods generated values for the AOD that were in good agreement. This result confirms that one can use either method to retrieve the AOD with an uncertainty of approximately 0.03-0.05. On 18 March, high turbidity was observed at low altitude (400-nm AOD approximately 0.5 at 700 m above sea level), and the AOD decreased regularly with altitude; on 24 March, the turbidity was much less (0.11 at 700 m above sea level). On both days very low AODs (0.05-0.09) were measured at 3000 m above sea level. The spectral dependence of the AOD is often parameterized by the angstrom relationship; the alpha parameter is generally difficult or impossible to retrieve from spectral measurements because of the relatively narrow wavelength range (320-400 nm), and only one of the spectro-radiometers used during the campaign permits this retrieval. In most cases, during this field campaign, alpha was found by filter sunphotometers to be 1.1-1.5.     

Towards Reduced Basis Approaches in ab initio Electronic Structure Computations

Due to the high dimensionality of the spaces where the problems are set, adapted discretization basis are often advocated in complex physical problems (Navier–Stokes equations, solid mecanics, ab initio electronic structure computations) to express the solution in terms of solution of similar (but easier to solve) problems. However, very few mathematical studies have been undertaken to asses the numerical properties of these approximations. Within this context, we will present in this paper an overview of the tools required to develop more rigorous reduced basis approaches for quantum chemistry: a posteriori numerical analysis and fast exponential decay of the n-width of the solution set.     

Spontaneous Desorption time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry (SDMS): Time correlated emission of electrons and negative ions in a constant electric field

A very simple time of flight mass spectrometer has been used to measure mass spectra for the negative ions of organic compounds in the mass range up to 3000 u. Desorbed ions were obtained by applying a constant negative voltage to a flat metallic surface, coated with a few micrograms of organic material. We show that electrons and negative ions are emitted simultaneously from the same point on the surface. Mass spectra obtained by this technique are compared to mass spectra for the same compounds, obtained with ²⁵²Cf fission fragment ionization.