Search

Influenza A virus (IAV) infection relies on the action of the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) membrane proteins. The HA ligands anchor the IAV virion to the cell's surface by binding the sialic acid (SA) present on the host's receptors while NA is an enzyme capable of cleaving the SA from the extracellular environment. It is believed that the activity of NA ligands increases the motility of the virions favoring the propagation of the infection. In this work, we develop a numerical framework to study the dynamics of a virion moving across the cell surface for timescales much bigger than the typical ligand-receptor reaction times. We find that the rates controlling the ligand-receptor reactions and the maximal distance at which a pair of ligand-receptor molecules can interact greatly affect the motility of the virions. We also report on how different ways of organizing the two types of ligands on the virions' surface result in different types of motion that we rationalize using general principles. In particular, we show how the emerging motility of the virion is less sensitive to the rate controlling the enzymatic activity when NA ligands are clustered., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Reservoir Computers (RC) are brain-inspired algorithms that use partially untrained recurrent neural networks where only output connections are tuned. RCs can perform signal-analysis tasks such as distortion compensation. We recently demonstrated a photonic RC in which neurons are encoded in a frequency comb, untrained interconnections are realized by phase modulation, and trained output connections are realized by spectral filters. Here, we present a further development of this scheme in which the same substrate is used to implement two RCs simultaneously. The two RCs can either be used in parallel on different tasks, or in series, thereby implementing a “deep” RC., SCOPUS: cp.p, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

SCOPUS: ed.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Automated classification of satellite images is a challenging task that enables the use of remote sensing data for environmental modeling of Earth’s landscapes. In this document, we implement a GRASS GIS-based framework for discriminating land cover types to identify changes in the endorheic basins of the ephemeral salt lakes Chott Melrhir and Chott Merouane, Algeria; we employ embedded algorithms for image processing. This study presents a dataset of the nine Landsat 8–9 OLI/TIRS satellite images obtained from the USGS for a 9-year period, from 2014 to 2022. The images were analyzed to detect changes in water levels in ephemeral lakes that experience temporal fluctuations; these lakes are dry most of the time and are fed with water during rainy periods. The unsupervised classification of images was performed using GRASS GIS algorithms through several modules: ‘i.cluster’ was used to generate image classes; ‘i.maxlik’ was used for classification using the maximal likelihood discriminant analysis, and auxiliary modules, such as ‘i.group’, ‘r.support’, ‘r.import’, etc. were used. This document includes technical descriptions of the scripts used for image processing with detailed comments on the functionalities of the GRASS GIS modules. The results include the identified variations in the ephemeral salt lakes within the Algerian part of the Sahara over a 9-year period (2014–2022), using a time series of Landsat OLI/TIRS multispectral images that were classified using GRASS GIS. The main strengths of the GRASS GIS framework are the high speed, accuracy, and effectiveness of the programming codes for image processing in environmental monitoring. The presented GitHub repository, which contains scripts used for the satellite image analysis, serves as a reference for the interpretation of remote sensing data for the environmental monitoring of arid and semi-arid areas of Africa., SCOPUS: ar.j, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Regular functions of infinite words are (partial) functions realized by deterministic two-way transducers with infinite look-ahead. Equivalently, Alur et. al. have shown that they correspond to functions realized by deterministic Muller streaming string transducers, and to functions defined by MSO-transductions. Regular functions are however not computable in general (for a classical extension of Turing computability to infinite inputs), and we consider in this paper the class of deterministic regular functions of infinite words, realized by deterministic two-way transducers without look-ahead. We prove that it is a well-behaved class of functions: they are computable, closed under composition, characterized by the guarded fragment of MSO-transductions, by deterministic Büchi streaming string transducers, by deterministic two-way transducers with finite look-ahead, and by finite compositions of sequential functions and one fixed basic function called map-copy-reverse., SCOPUS: cp.p, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Background Bdelloid rotifers are micro-invertebrates distributed worldwide, from temperate latitudes to the most extreme areas of the planet like Antarctica or the Atacama Desert. They have colonized any habitat where liquid water is temporarily available, including terrestrial environments such as soils, mosses, and lichens, tolerating desiccation and other types of stress such as high doses of ionizing radiation (IR). It was hypothesized that bdelloid desiccation and radiation resistance may be attributed to their potential ability to repair DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Here, these properties are investigated and compared among nine bdelloid species collected from both mild and harsh habitats, addressing the correlation between the ability of bdelloid rotifers to survive desiccation and their capacity to repair massive DNA breakage in a phylogenetically explicit context. Our research includes both specimens isolated from habitats that experience frequent desiccation (at least 1 time per generation), and individuals sampled from habitats that rarely or never experienced desiccation. Results Our analysis reveals that DNA repair prevails in somatic cells of both desiccation-tolerant and desiccation-sensitive bdelloid species after exposure to X-ray radiation. Species belonging to both categories are able to withstand high doses of ionizing radiation, up to 1000 Gy, without experiencing any negative effects on their survival. However, the fertility of two desiccation-sensitive species, Rotaria macrura and Rotaria rotatoria ,was more severely impacted by low doses of radiation than that of desiccation-resistant species. Surprisingly, the radioresistance of desiccation-resistant species is not related to features of their original habitat. Indeed, bdelloids isolated from Atacama Desert or Antarctica were not characterized by a higher radioresistance than species found in more temperate environments. Conclusions Tolerance to desiccation and radiation are sup, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The notion of delay between finite transducers is a core element of numerous fundamental results of transducer theory. The goal of this work is to provide a similar notion for more complex abstract machines: we introduce a new notion of delay tailored to measure the similarity between streaming string transducers (SST). We show that our notion is regular: we design a finite automaton that can check whether the delay between any two SSTs executions is smaller than some given bound. As a consequence, our notion enjoys good decidability properties: in particular, while equivalence between non-deterministic SSTs is undecidable, we show that equivalence up to fixed delay is decidable. Moreover, we show that our notion has good completeness properties: we prove that two SSTs are equivalent if and only if they are equivalent up to some (computable) bounded delay. Together with the regularity of our delay notion, it provides an alternative proof that SSTs equivalence is decidable. Finally, the definition of our delay notion is machine-independent, as it only depends on the origin semantics of SSTs. As a corollary, the completeness result also holds for equivalent machine models such as deterministic two-way transducers, or MSO transducers., SCOPUS: cp.p, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

A new gold( i )-based therapeutic strategy to treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This study presents new maps of the topographic and geophysical setting and seismicity in the region of the Gulf of Panama. The spatial analysis is based on the comparative analysis of the datasets on geoid, free-air gravity anomaly, topography and earthquakes. The cartographic framework is developed using the Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) scripting toolset. Seismic activity in the Central America is high due to the complex geologic setting, tectonic activity and lithosphere plate subduction. The data include the Earth Gravitational Model (EGM2008), the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) and gravity grids. The seismicity data were collected from the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) catalogue on 1970-2021. The variations in data were compared to analyse correlations between the geophysical, seismic and topographic parameters. Free-air gravity, geoid and topographic data derived from the high-resolution datasets were used to investigate their effects on the main seismic sources in the region. The comparison of the maps showed that the distribution of the shallow earthquakes in the Pacific segment of Panama coincides with negative free-air anomalies and lower geoid values. The results revealed high values of geoid in the high mountainous regions of Panama (Cordilliera de Talamanca, southern coast of Peninsula de Azuero and eastern Panama, 77.5-78.5°W), which correspond to the topographic roughness in the highlands. Negative values of geoid are found over the Caribbean Sea basin (−4 to 0 m). The analyses of seismicity showed 1740 earthquake events varying by magnitudes from 2.9 to 7.8 at the depths up to 225 m (near the west coast of Colombia). A high concentration of the earthquakes is in the western region of the Panama's shelf waters (~82-83.5°W), and on the border with Colombia (~77-78.5°W). High gravity anomalies (over 220 mGal) are found in the mountainous regions which match the geodynamic processes associated with the Earth str, SCOPUS: ar.j, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Sensitivity to ocean warming is generally expected to be lower in populations from more heterogeneous thermal environments, owing to greater phenotypic plasticity and/or genotype selection. While resilience of benthic populations from thermally fluctuating environments has been investigated at a variety of spatial scales, this has received limited attention across depths and has remained unresolved for Antipatharian corals, key habitat-forming species across a wide bathymetric range in all of the world oceans. In this study, we aimed at addressing the thermal sensitivity of Antipatharian corals across depths characterized by different levels of temperature fluctuations. We used an acute ramping experimental approach to compare the thermal sensitivity of colonies of (1) the branched Antipatharian Antipathella wollastoni (Gray, 1857) from two distinct depths (25 and 40 m) in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain); and of (2) unbranched mesophotic (80 m) Stichopathes species, from Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain; S. gracilis (Gray, 1857)), and Stichopathes sp. clade C from Mo'orea, French Polynesia. Results showed that the daily temperature range in Gran Canaria was larger at mesophotic depths (3.9 °C vs. 2.8 °C at 40 and 25 m, respectively) and this coincided with lower thermal sensitivity in mesophotic colonies of A. wollastoni. Second, S. gracilis from Lanzarote showed a lower thermal sensitivity than the previously studied Stichopathes sp. clade C from Mo'orea (French Polynesia) inhabiting a less variable habitat. These results are in line with the climate variability hypothesis, which states that populations under more variable thermal conditions have a lower sensitivity to warming than those from more stable environments, as they have adapted/acclimated to these higher levels of temperature fluctuations., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Noble metal anisotropic nanostructures, such as silver nanoplates (AgNPls), are interesting because they possess enhanced plasmonic properties compared to their spherical counterparts: increased extinction coefficient and tunable maximum of absorption wavelength. However, their use for biosensing application is limited as these structures are intrinsically unstable and, to maintain the anisotropic structure, a coating protecting the metallic surface is required. In this work, we report on the capacity of a thin but robust coating based on calixarene-diazonium salts to maintain the structure anisotropy of silver nanoplates in conditions in which traditionally used coatings fail. We synthesized AgNPls of various sizes and coated them with two different calixarenes, differing by the functional groups attached to their small rim. After characterization of the efficiency of the ligand exchange process between the initial citrate anions and the calixarenes, the chemical and colloidal stabilities of the resulting calixarene-coated AgNPls were compared to citrate-capped AgNPls. A radical improvement of the lifetime of the material from 1 day for AgNPls coated with citrate to more than 900 days for calixarene-coated AgNPls, as well as the stability in acidic conditions, phosphate saline buffer (PBS) or biofluid, were observed. Benefiting from this exceptional robustness, calixarene-coated AgNPls were exploited to design dipstick assays. Rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) detection was developed first as proof-of-concept. The optimal system was then used for the detection of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG. In both cases, a picomolar limit of detection (LOD) was achieved as well as the detection in 100% of pooled human plasma. This sensitivity competes with that of ELISA and is better than the one previously obtained with gold or even silver nanospheres for the same target and in similar conditions. Finally, the wide range of colors provided by the AgNPls allowed the design of a multicolor mu, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

High-speed Pockels modulation and second-order nonlinearities are key components in optical systems, but CMOS-compatible platforms like silicon and silicon nitride lack these capabilities. Micro-transfer printing of thin-film lithium niobate offers a solution, but suspending large areas of thin films for long interaction lengths and high-Q resonators is challenging, resulting in a low transfer yield. We present a new source preparation method that enables reliable transfer printing of thin-film lithium niobate. We demonstrate its versatility by successfully applying it to gallium phosphide and silicon, and provide an estimate of the transfer yield by subsequently printing 25 lithium niobate films without fail., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

We use 47 gravitational wave sources from the Third LIGO-Virgo-Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector Gravitational Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC-3) to estimate the Hubble parameter H(z), including its current value, the Hubble constant H0. Each gravitational wave (GW) signal provides the luminosity distance to the source, and we estimate the corresponding redshift using two methods: the redshifted masses and a galaxy catalog. Using the binary black hole (BBH) redshifted masses, we simultaneously infer the source mass distribution and H(z). The source mass distribution displays a peak around 34Me, followed by a drop-off. Assuming this mass scale does not evolve with the redshift results in a H(z) measurement, yielding H0 = 68+12-8 km s-1 Mpc-1 (68% credible interval) when combined with the H0 measurement from GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterpart. This represents an improvement of 17% with respect to the H0 estimate from GWTC-1. The second method associates each GW event with its probable host galaxy in the catalog GLADE+, statistically marginalizing over the redshifts of each event's potential hosts. Assuming a fixed BBH population, we estimate a value of H0 = 68+8-6 km s-1 Mpc-1 with the galaxy catalog method, an improvement of 42% with respect to our GWTC-1 result and 20% with respect to recent H0 studies using GWTC-2 events. However, we show that this result is strongly impacted by assumptions about the BBH source mass distribution; the only event which is not strongly impacted by such assumptions (and is thus informative about H0) is the well-localized event GW190814., 0, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This review provides an overview of the major, currently used techniques for investigating the Soret effect and measuring thermodiffusion and Soret coefficients, and in most cases also isothermal Fickian diffusion coefficients, in liquid mixtures. The methods are introduced with a focus on binary mixtures. The optical methods comprise optical beam deflection (OBD), optical digital interferometry (ODI) both on the ground and under microgravity conditions in the SODI-IVIDIL experiment for the study of the influence of vibrations onboard the International Space Station, which are all based on Soret cells. The transient holographic grating technique of thermal diffusion-forced Rayleigh scattering (TDFRS) employs light not only for detection of the concentration changes but also for optical volume heating. Thermogravitational columns (TGC) utilize the coupling between convection and thermodiffusion to create concentration changes inside a vertical column with a horizontal temperature gradient. While samples are analyzed after extraction from the column in a classical setup, the recently developed transparent microcolumn allows for interferometric in situ monitoring of the concentration field. The most recent technique relies on the measurement of giant non-equilibrium fluctuations (NEFs) by small-angle light scattering techniques. Research on ternary mixtures, both on the ground and in microgravity, has gained momentum in the context of the DCMIX microgravity project of ESA. Most techniques employed for binaries can be extended to ternaries by introducing a second detection color or by analyzing both refractive index and density of extracted TGC samples. The accuracy is limited by the unavoidable inversion of the so-called contrast factor matrix., SCOPUS: re.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Speleothems are secondary mineral structures typically found in karstic caves and usually composed of calcite or aragonite. Despite being naturally white, some might exhibit unusual colors, such as blue, black, red, yellow or green. The causes of these exceptional colorations are poorly understood, especially for green speleothems, which are barely reported. Here we describe the occurrence of the green Ni-bearing serpentine nepouite in green aragonite and calcite speleothems, in the Aven du Marcou (Hérault, France). Nepouite is mainly found as flat lamellar crystals in the outer rim of green speleothems and crystallized alongside radially grown aragonite crystals. This supports nepouite beginning to crystallize recently, due to a change in the chemical composition of the water. Nepouite also exhibits extensive substitution between Ni, Mg and Zn. The various elements responsible for nepouite precipitation are thought to come from the weathering of pyrite crystals in the overlying rocks, which is consistent with the pH conditions of the cave and the Al-free composition of nepouite. This study explains the crystallization mechanisms and stability conditions of silicate minerals in colored caves., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Dendrochronology (tree-ring analysis) allows us to precisely date and identify the origin of timber from historic contexts. However, reference datasets to determine the origin can include timber of non-local origin. Therefore, we have applied Sr isotopic on timbers from three buildings in Jutland, Denmark, mostly dating from the late 16 th and early 17 th centuries CE to improve and refine the provenance identification. The dendrochronology suggested that some timbers analysed were imported from the Swedish side of Øresund/Kattegat while others were local, and others again might be from south Norway. By adding the Sr isotopic analysis, a far more detailed interpretation of the origin of these timbers can be presented for non-Danish timbers. In this paper we suggest that Danish ports in the provinces of Halland and Skåne played a major role in the timber trade between the Danish and Swedish parts of the Danish kingdom. For Danish timbers dendroprovenancing proved better than Sr isotopic analysis. Furthermore, a small number of Sr isotopic analyses were performed to contribute to the base-line along the Göta-river in Southern-Sweden., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

In a ternary mixture with the Soret effect, the interplay between cross-diffusion, thermodiffusion, and convection can lead to rich and complex dynamics, including spatial patterns and oscillations., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

We report the first experimental observation of single-photon ionization transitions of the SiC radical between 8.0 and 11.0 eV performed on the DESIRS beamline at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

It is sometimes difficult to determine the structure of some molecules because the optimization using standard ab initio methods (coupled-cluster with single, double, and perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] level) does not give the correct result and the experimental and semiexperimental methods are not accurate because the system of normal equations of the least-squares method is ill-conditioned. In such a case, it may be still possible to derive an accurate equilibrium structure in the following way: the experimental rotational constants are compared to those obtained at the CCSD(T) level, the latter being corrected to take into account the rovibrational correction (and, if necessary, the electronic correction). Extrapolating (or interpolating) the rotational constants calculated with different basis sets (e.g. cc-pwCVTZ and cc-pwCVQZ) towards the experimental values as a function of the bond lengths and angles permits to obtain an accurate equilibrium structure. This method is first tested on two molecules for which the multireference effects are important: O3 and HOON. It is then, applied to molecules with a weak N–X bond (HONO, FNO, ClNO, FNO2, and N2O) for which the single reference CCSD(T) method gives bonds that are too short. The results are compared to the experimental and semiexperimental equilibrium structures. As a further check, the structure of ClNO is calculated at the CCSDTQ level and the structures of FNO and ClNO are calculated at the MRCI-F12 level. From a comparison of the different results, it appears that the accuracy of the proposed method is better than 0.002 Å for the bond lengths and 0.3° for the angles., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Evaluating the subground properties during the initial stage of a construction of building is important in order to estimate the suitability of soil quality to the technical requirements of bearing capacity, resistance to stress, and strength. This study presented the evaluation of the geotechnical properties of soil intended for the construction of Max IV facility of Lund University, performed in fieldwork and laboratory. The in situ methods included drilling boreholes, core sampling and assessment, crosshole measurements, and borehole logging. The laboratory-based measurements were performed at Swedish Geotechnical Institute and combined seismic measurements of drill cores, determination of the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), and examination of material property: sieve analysis and natural moisture content. UCS was evaluated with regard to velocities of elastic P-waves. The synchronous light test by X-ray diffraction was performed for qualitative analysis of mineral composition of samples. The study applied integrated approach of the diverse geophysical methods to solve practical tasks on the evaluation of foundation strength and geotechnical parameters. This study demonstrated the benefits of integrated seismic and geophysical methods applied to soil exploration in civil engineering for testing quality of foundation materials., SCOPUS: ar.j, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This Doctoral research project focuses on investigating the Higgs sector in the off-shell regime, specifically through vector boson fusion (VBF) and gluon fusion (GF) Higgs production processes that decay into ZZ particles with 2l2nu final states. The study utilizes data collected at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) between 2016 and 2018, within the framework of the Standard Model (SM) and the SM Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) using HVV anomalous couplings. The project is part of the hzz2l2nu group.Within the hzz2l2nu group, the primary research objective is to measure the width of Higgs decays and investigate HVV anomalous couplings at a high mass scale (off-shell). This analysis aims to impose stringent constraints on HVV anomalous couplings and the Wilson coefficient of dimension-six operators by leveraging the sensitivity of Higgs to ZZ to 2l2nu processes.The analysis is conducted using data obtained from the CMS experiment during LHC run 2 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, with an integrated luminosity of approximately 140 fb-1. The main focus of the analysis revolves around two signal processes: VBF/GF Higgs production that decays into ZZ particles, which subsequently decay into two charged leptons (electrons or muons) and missing transverse energy. The off-shell regime is achieved by selecting events with an invariant transverse mass (mT) greater than 200 GeV, representing the final state system's mass. By considering both changes in the Higgs decay width and the presence of anomalous couplings, it becomes necessary to constrain both parameters simultaneously due to their impact on the off-shell cross-section.Although the signal channels exhibit sensitivity to the off-shell Higgs decay production cross-section, an analysis combining the off-shell study with the on-shell analysis of H→ ZZ→ four charged leptons are required to constrain the width accurately. The width is inferred from the ratio of off-shell to on-shell Higgs production cross sections.As part, Doctorat en Sciences, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

0, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Aqueous micellar media offer an alternative to organic solvents for the development of safe and environmentally benign synthesis. A vanadium aminotriphenolate complex, known to be an effective catalyst for the aerobic oxidative C-C cleavage of vicinal diols in organic solvents, was incorporated in zwitterionic dodecyl phosphocholine (DPC) and in mixed TPGS-750-M:DPC micelles. It efficiently performed affording the corresponding carbonyl derivatives with no overoxidation, with catalyst loading down to 0.2 mol% and reaching TONs up to 500. The mixed micelles, which combine the enhanced stability conferred by zwitterionic DPC and the exceptional extraction properties of non-ionic TPGS-750-M, could be recycled and full conversion achieved upon reloading with catalyst and substrate. The study of the correlation between the reactivity of different substrates and their local concentration in the micellar core, derived from DOSY experiments, highlights that, while lipophilicity is important, the ease with which the substrate can access the catalyst, and therefore the location of the catalyst in the micellar phase, must also be considered when trying to rationalize reactivity in micelles., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

La formation d’agrégats est un phénomène observé dans de nombreux systèmes physiques, chimiques ou biologiques. Dans les systèmes sociaux, le grégarisme est présent des unicellulaires aux vertébrés. Chez les arthropodes, l’agrégation est impliquée dans de nombreuses activités et coopérations et sous-tend des organisations plus complexes. La décision de s’agréger est médiée par des interactions conduisant les individus à rejoindre des conspécifiques et à rester en contact et ce souvent en des endroits particuliers du milieu. La stochasticité des comportements et des interactions ainsi que leur modulation par des facteurs environnementaux (température, humidité, …), sociaux (population, démographie, …) et individuels (physiologie, histoire de vie, …) sont à l’origine de la diversité des patterns d’agrégation au sein d’une espèce.L’objectif de notre thèse est de quantifier les patterns d’agrégation et les mécanismes à leur origine (comportements et interactions/feedbacks sociaux) chez Periplaneta americana (espèce modèle pour l’étude du grégarisme). Dans des situations de choix binaire (deux abris de qualités différentes et/ou variant temporellement) nous avons étudié, expérimentalement et théoriquement, l’influence des préférences individuelles et des feedbacks sociaux sur les dynamiques de choix d’individus isolés et en groupe. La première partie de ce travail est consacrée aux choix entre deux sites se différentiant soit par leur présence ou pas de l’odeur de vanilline, soit par leur humidité relative. Ces études, focalisées sur la modulation des réponses individuelles en fonction du contexte social, ont mis en évidence, que si bien la préférence individuelle n’est pas amplifiée par le groupe, les individus forment des agrégats tout de même. D’une part, la préférence individuelle à vanilline est inversée par le contexte social et, d’autre part, l’humidité relative module négativement les interactions sociales. La second partie du travail, porte sur le choix entre un, Doctorat en Sciences, iiTSE, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Desertification is one of the most destructive climate-related issues in the Sudan–Sahel region of Africa. As the assessment of desertification is possible by satellite image analysis using vegetation indices (VIs), this study reports on the technical advantages and capabilities of scripting the ‘raster’ and ‘terra’ R-language packages for computing the VIs. The test area which was considered includes the region of the confluence between the Blue and White Niles in Khartoum, southern Sudan, northeast Africa and the Landsat 8–9 OLI/TIRS images taken for the years 2013, 2018 and 2022, which were chosen as test datasets. The VIs used here are robust indicators of plant greenness, and combined with vegetation coverage, are essential parameters for environmental analytics. Five VIs were calculated to compare both the status and dynamics of vegetation through the differences between the images collected within the nine-year span. Using scripts for computing and visualising the VIs over Sudan demonstrates previously unreported patterns of vegetation to reveal climate–vegetation relationships. The ability of the R packages ‘raster’ and ‘terra’ to process spatial data was enhanced through scripting to automate image analysis and mapping, and choosing Sudan for the case study enables us to present new perspectives for image processing., SCOPUS: ar.j, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This study is aimed at evaluating the strength of stabilised soil collected from the Port of Norvik, Stockholm, Sweden, where 350,000 m 3 of clay had to be stabilized. The tests were performed in the laboratory of the Swedish Geotechnical Institute (SGI). The soil was stabilised by binder mixtures using Portland cement clinker (PCC) and lime and lime kiln dust (LKD). Accelerators (X-seed 100 BASF, PCC, LKD and salt) were added to the soil samples for quicker stabilization. The strength of the stabilised soil was assessed using resonance frequency measurements of seismic P-waves by an ICP accelerometer in order to estimate the shear strength of the soil and to evaluate the effects from the accelerators, binder ratios, and the curing temperature on the gains in stabilization and strength. Various proportions of the binders were tested, i.e. 50/50 cement/lime and 50/50 PCC/lime. The temperature was measured using a calorimeter in double experiments. The results showed that the accelerators improve the strength in the stabilized specimens and enhance the soil performance for engineering construction work., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The rise of Greta Thunberg, the Swedish ‘flygskam’ (flight shame) movement, and school strikes for climate: the context for apprehending environmental affairs changed significantly in 2018, enabling the construction of a new environmental discourse of which practices of eco-shaming and emotions of eco-shame are visible expressions. This paper conceptualizes this ‘eco-shaming’ discourse by exposing the complex set of constituents underpinning it. It demonstrates how the eco-shaming discourse embodies a conception of the environment as public good and how it relies on the idea of shared but differentiated responsibilities in caring for the environment. As such, the paper adds the eco-shaming discourse as an eleventh environmental discourse to the ones famously identified in The Politics of the Earth. The paper then compares the eco-shaming discourse with other environmental discourses and discusses its implications for environmental politics. The paper draws upon a specific methodological application of discourse analysis that gives emotion a place it usually lacks in environmental discourse analysis. The empirical analysis includes text documents (n = 2155) from three societal domains (media, policy, and advocacy) in Belgium. This paper contributes theoretical and empirical knowledge on eco-shaming, environmental discourses, policymaking, as well as methodological insights on how to acquire such knowledge., iiTSE, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

In water-scarce regions where fog is abundant, the population can rely on this resource to obtain fresh water. The potential to harvest fog is confirmed by Large Fog Collector projects worldwide, which are reviewed. Mostly maintenance issues due to environmental and complex social factors compromise the sustainability of such projects. The researchers endeavour to resolve these issues by developing enhanced materials, while others use biomimetic design, hence creating innovative collectors. The objective of this paper is to survey and review the state of the art and develop a framework of different types of innovative fog collectors, including conceptual, experimental and operational aspects., iiTSE, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The interactions between the geophysical processes and geodynamics of the lithosphere play a crucial role in the geologic structure of the Earth’s crust. The Bangui magnetic anomaly is a notable feature in the lithospheric structure of the Central African Republic (CAR) resulting from a complex tectonic evolution. This study reports on the coherence in the geophysical data and magnetic anomaly field analysed from a series of maps. The data used here include raster grids on free-air altimetric gravity, magnetic EMAG2 maps, geoid EGM2008 model and topographic SRTM/ETOPO1 relief. The data were processed to analyse the correspondence between the geophysical and geologic setting in the CAR region. Histogram equalization of the topographic grids was implemented by partition of the raster grids into equal-area patches of data ranged by the segments with relative highs and lows of the relief. The original data were compared with the equalized, normalized and quadratic models. The scripts used for cartographic data processing are presented and commented. The consistency and equalization of topography, gravity and geoid data were based using GMT modules ‘grdfft’ and ‘grdhisteq’ modules. Using GMT scripts for mapping the geophysical and gravity data over CAR shows an advanced approach to multi-source data visualization to reveal the relationships in the geophysical and topographic processes in central Africa. The results highlighted the correlation between the distribution of rocks with high magnetism in the central part of the Bangui anomaly, and distribution of granites, greenstone belts, and metamorphosed basalts as rock exposure. The correspondence between the negative Bouguer anomaly (<−80 mGal), low geoid values (<−12 m) and the extent of the magnetic anomaly with extreme negative values ranging from −1000 to −200 nT is identified. The integration of the multi-source data provides new insights into the analysis of crustal thicknesses and the average density of the Earth, SCOPUS: ar.j, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

With methods for processing remote sensing data becoming widely available, the ability to quantify changes in spatial data and to evaluate the distribution of diverse landforms across target areas in datasets becomes increasingly important. One way to approach this problem is through satellite image processing. In this paper, we primarily focus on the methods of the unsupervised classification of the Landsat OLI/TIRS images covering the region of the Qena governorate in Upper Egypt. The Qena Bend of the Nile River presents a remarkable morphological feature in Upper Egypt, including a dense drainage network of wadi aquifer systems and plateaus largely dissected by numerous valleys of dry rivers. To identify the fluvial structure and stream network of the Wadi Qena region, this study addresses the problem of interpreting the relevant space-borne data using R, with an aim to visualize the land surface structures corresponding to various land cover types. To this effect, high-resolution 2D and 3D topographic and geologic maps were used for the analysis of the geomorphological setting of the Qena region. The information was extracted from the space-borne data for the comparative analysis of the distribution of wadi streams in the Qena Bend area over several years: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2023. Six images were processed using computer vision methods made available by R libraries. The results of the k-means clustering of each scene retrieved from the multi-temporal images covering the Qena Bend of the Nile River were thus compared to visualize changes in landforms caused by the cumulative effects of geomorphological disasters and climate-environmental processes. The proposed method, tied together through the use of R scripts, runs effectively and performs favorably in computer vision tasks aimed at geospatial image processing and the analysis of remote sensing data., SCOPUS: ar.j, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

We coupled together high-resolution versions of the ocean–sea ice model NEMO and the ice sheet model BISICLES configured to the Totten Glacier area and ran a series of simulations over the recent past (1995–2014) and under warming conditions (2081–2100; SSP4-4.5) with NEMO in stand-alone mode and with the coupled model to assess the effects of the coupling. During the recent past, the ocean–ice sheet coupling has increased the time-averaged value of the basal melt rate in both the Totten and Moscow University ice shelf cavities by 6.7% and 14.2%, respectively. The relationship between the changes in ice shelf thickness and ice shelf basal melt rate suggests that the effect of the coupling is not a linear response to the melt rate but rather a more complex response, driven partly by the dynamical component of the ice sheet model. The response of the ice sheet–ocean coupling due to the ocean warming is a 10% and 3% basal melt rate decrease in the Totten and Moscow University ice shelf cavities, respectively. This indicates that the ocean–ice sheet coupling under climate warming conditions dampens the basal melt rates. Our study highlights the importance of incorporating ocean–ice sheet coupling in climate simulations, even over short time periods., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This paper addresses the issue of the satellite image processing using GRASS GIS in the mangrove forests of the Niger River Delta, southern Nigeria. The estuary of the Niger River Delta in the Gulf of Guinea is an essential hotspot of biodiversity on the western coast of Africa. At the same time, climate issues and anthropogenic factors affect vulnerable coastal ecosystems and result in the rapid decline of mangrove habitats. This motivates monitoring of the vegetation patterns using advanced cartographic methods and data analysis. As a response to this need, this study aimed to calculate and map several vegetation indices (VI) using scripts as advanced programming methods integrated in geospatial studies. The data include four Landsat 8-9 OLI/TIRS images covering the western segment of the Niger River Delta in the Bight of Benin for 2013, 2015, 2021, and 2022. The techniques included the ’i.vi’, ’i.landsat.toar’ and other modules of the GRASS GIS. Based on the GRASS GIS ’i.vi’ module, ten VI were computed and mapped for the western segment of the Niger River Delta estuary: Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index (ARVI), Green Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index (GARI), Green Vegetation Index (GVI), Difference Vegetation Index (DVI), Perpendicular Vegetation Index (PVI), Global Environmental Monitoring Index (GEMI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Second Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI2), Infrared Percentage Vegetation Index (IPVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). The results showed variations in the vegetation patterns in mangrove habitats situated in the Niger River Delta over the last decade as well as the increase in urban areas (Onitsha, Sapele, Warri and Benin City) and settlements in the Delta State due to urbanization. The advanced techniques of the GRASS GIS of satellite image processing and analysis enabled us to identify and visualize changes in vegetation patterns. The technical excellence of the GRASS GIS in image, SCOPUS: ar.j, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

In this paper, we present a new framework for improving soil strength using an advanced method of engineering statistics. The materials included clay till collected in Yttre Ringvägen, southern Sweden. Binders included quicklime, slag and ordinary Portland cement used as pure binders and blended mixtures. We first applied the Response Surface Methodology techniques aimed at binder blend optimisation: 1) Central Composite Design; 2) Box-Behnken Design; 3) Simplex Lattice Design. The Pareto charts were presented for modelling responses from tests with different binders and estimating their effects on soil strength. Finally, to examine the variables important for soil stabilisation, we also evaluated the effect of the amount of binder and the interaction between cement/lime/slag in different ratios: 30-50-20 %; 50-50-0 %; 100-0-0 % The paper highlights the major opportunities and challenges of engineering statistics as a cross-cutting research direction for the issues of civil engineering., SCOPUS: ar.j, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This work is devoted to study the process of film-wise vapour condensation on surfaces with various shapes and coatings. A new experimental approach has been used to conduct condensation experiments on promising surfaces to intensify heat transfer under the influence of the selected factors: driving force or surface coating, under variable gravity conditions. A condensate retraction system, stabilising the condensate flow along a curvilinear surface, has been proposed. The introduction of the retraction system improved the condensate's stability during microgravity. However, the idea to ensure stability through special three-dimensional condenser shape arose. A one-parameter family of axisymmetric surfaces was numerically found for which the mean curvature gradient along the generatrix is constant. Such curves form surfaces that guarantee stable condensate flow under microgravity. Furthermore, it has been found that the condensate film is sufficiently thick on the proposed surface, which is an asset for experimental measurements with commonly used optical systems.To study the impact of coated surfaces on condensation process, high-quality graphene-based coatings were created by dip coating technique. Graphene caused an almost twofold increase in heat transfer intensification when the condensate thickness was comparable with the coating thickness. Therefore, the level of intensification depends on the parameters used to create the coatings. To verify the concept, the film thickness distribution on an uncoated reference condenser was compared with classical Nusselt's results. Concurrency with Nusselt's theory proves the correctness of the approach of gravity driving force only, and any deviations in film flow behaviour could be caused by the influence of the coating only.The research's results will allow the creation of effective two-phase systems for the thermal stabilisation of various heat-generating equipment, including those intended for operation in microgravity, Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Aim: Wild bees still face striking shortfalls in knowledge of biodiversity in key regions of the world. This includes Europe, where despite a long tradition of data gathering, the continental scale distribution patterns of wild bees have not been systematically analysed to date. This study aims to characterise large-scale biodiversity patterns to: (i) understand spatial–temporal heterogeneity in large-scale databases, (ii) locate genuine diversity hotspots and their relationship with biogeographical patterns or habitats of interests and (iii) identify understudied species and areas to further design conservation actions for most at risk species in key regions. Location: Europe. Taxon: Bees. Methods: We present a continental and standardised study of bee taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity patterns in Europe, using a large compilation of occurrence records of nearly three million validated occurrence records for 1515 wild bee species. Results: Southern and eastern Europe suffer from the largest gaps in data availability while northern and western regions benefit from better historical coverage. Our models show that higher wild bee diversity in Europe is hosted in xeric, warm areas, as highlighted by a clear latitudinal gradient. However, phylogenetic diversity is predicted to be more homogenous across Europe than taxonomic diversity, suggesting that policies and strategies targeted to protect species richness may differ from those targeting greater phylogenetic diversity. Main conclusions: This study represents a significant advance in the characterisation of wild bee distribution patterns across Europe and is an important stepping stone towards the design of more targeted survey efforts and conservation actions of this key group of pollinators. This, in turn, will provide the data necessary to improve the spatiotemporal coverage in a context of ongoing and future Europe-wide monitoring schemes, to ultimately develop cost-effective, coordinated and evidence-based co, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) is currently surrounded by relatively cool water, but climatic shifts have the potential to increase basal melting via intrusions of warm modified Circumpolar Deep Water (mCDW) onto the continental shelf. Here we use an ice sheet model to show that under the current ocean regime, with only limited intrusions of mCDW, the EAIS will likely gain mass over the next 200 years due to the increased precipitation from a warming atmosphere outweighing increased ice discharge due to ice-shelf melting. However, if the ocean regime were to become dominated by greater mCDW intrusions, the EAIS would have a negative mass balance, contributing up to 48 mm of SLE over this time period. Our modelling finds George V Land to be particularly at risk to increased ocean induced melting. With warmer oceans, we also find that a mid range RCP4.5 emissions scenario is likely to result in a more negative mass balance than a high RCP8.5 emissions scenario, as the relative difference between increased precipitation due to a warming atmosphere and increased ice discharge due to a warming ocean is more negative in the mid range RCP4.5 emission scenario., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Libraries with pre-written codes optimize the workflow in cartography and reduce labour intensive data processing by iteratively applying scripts to implementing mapping tasks. Most existing Geographic Information System (GIS) approaches are based on traditional software with a graphical user's interface which significantly limits their performance. Although plugins are proposed to improve the functionality of many GIS programs, they are usually ad hoc in finding specific mapping solutions, e.g. cartographic projections and data conversion. We address this limitation by applying the principled approach of Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL), library for conversions between cartographic projections (PROJ) and Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS) GIS for geospatial data processing and morphometric analysis. This research presents topographic analysis of the dataset using scripting methods which include several tools: (1) GDAL, a translator library for raster and vector geospatial data formats used for converting Earth Global Relief Model (ETOPO1) GeoTIFF in XY Cartesian coordinates into World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) by the 'gdalwarp' utility; (2) PROJ projection transformation library used for converting ETOPO1 WGS84 grid to cartographic projections (Cassini-Soldner equirectangular, Equal Area Cylindrical, Two-Point Equidistant Azimuthal, and Oblique Mercator); and (3) GRASS GIS by sequential use of the following modules: r.info, d.mon, d.rast, r.colors, d.rast.leg, d.legend, d.northarrow, d.grid, d.text, g.region, and r.contour. The depth frequency was analysed by the module 'd.histogram'. The proposed approach provided a systematic way for morphometric measuring of topographic data and combine the advantages of the GDAL, PROJ, and GRASS GIS tools that include the informativeness, effectiveness, and representativeness in spatial data processing. The morphometric analysis included the computed slope, aspect, profile, and tangential curvatur, SCOPUS: ar.j, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Several plant species have been reported to inhibit nitrification via their root exudates, the so-called biological nitrification inhibition (BNI). Given the potential of BNI-producing plants to sustainably mitigate N losses in agrosystems, identification of BNI activity in existing germplasms is of paramount importance. A hydroponic system was combined with an optimized Nitrosomonas europaea-based bioassay to determine the BNI activity of root exudates. The pipeline allows collecting and processing hundreds of root exudates simultaneously. An additional assay was established to assess the potential bactericide effect of the root exudates. The pipeline was used to unravel the impact of developmental stage, temperature and osmotic stress on the BNI trait in selected wheat genotypes. Biological nitrification inhibition activity appeared consistently higher in wheat at the pretillering stage as compared to the tillering stage. While low-temperatures did not alter BNI activities in root exudates, osmotic stress appeared to change the BNI activity in a genotype-dependent manner. Further analysis of Nitrosomonas culture after pre-exposure to root exudates suggested that BNI activity has no or limited bactericide effects. The present pipeline will be instrumental to further investigating the dynamics of BNI activity and to uncover the diversity of the BNI trait in plant species., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

River networks represent the largest biogeochemical nexus between the continents, ocean and atmosphere. Our current understanding of the role of rivers in the global carbon cycle remains limited, which makes it difficult to predict how global change may alter the timing and spatial distribution of riverine carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. Here we review the state of river ecosystem metabolism research and synthesize the current best available estimates of river ecosystem metabolism. We quantify the organic and inorganic carbon flux from land to global rivers and show that their net ecosystem production and carbon dioxide emissions shift the organic to inorganic carbon balance en route from land to the coastal ocean. Furthermore, we discuss how global change may affect river ecosystem metabolism and related carbon fluxes and identify research directions that can help to develop better predictions of the effects of global change on riverine ecosystem processes. We argue that a global river observing system will play a key role in understanding river networks and their future evolution in the context of the global carbon budget., SCOPUS: re.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Clay soils can cause significant distress in road construction due to their low strength. Stabilizing such soil improve with binder agents prior to the geotechnical works can significantly its performance and ensure safety and stability of roads while exploitation. This research envisaged the use of five different binders (lime, energy fly ash, bio fly ash, slag, cement) as an additive stabilizing agents to improve the strength parameters of soil as required in engineering industry standards. The variations of strength was assessed using measurements of P-wave velocity of the elastic waves propagating through soil specimens stabilized by different combination of binders. Measurements were performed on 28th day of soil treatment. The best effects of added binders were noted in the following combinations: cement / energy fly ash / bio fly ash (P-waves >3100 m/s), followed by combination lime / energy fly ash / GGBFS (P-waves >2800 m/s) and cement / lime / energy fly ash (P-waves >2700 m/s). Adding lime is effective due to its fixation and chemical bond with particles. The study contributes to the industrial tests on soil strength for constructing roadbed., SCOPUS: ar.j, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

We propose a new Markov chain Monte Carlo method in which trial configurations are generated by evolving a state, sampled from a prior distribution, using a Markov transition matrix. We present two prototypical algorithms and derive their corresponding acceptance rules. We first identify the important factors controlling the quality of the sampling. We then apply the method to the problem of sampling polymer configurations with fixed endpoints. Applications of the proposed method range from the design of new generative models to the improvement of the portability of specific Monte Carlo algorithms, like configurational–bias schemes., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/inPress

Introduction: Over the last 5 years, the analysis of respiratory patterns presents a growing usage in clinical and research purposes, but there is still currently a lack of easy-to-use and affordable devices to perform such kind of evaluation. Objectives: The aim of this study is to validate a new specifically developed method, based on Kinect sensor, to assess respiratory patterns against spirometry under various conditions. Methods: One hundred and one participants took parts in one of the three validations studies. Twenty-five chronic respiratory disease patients (14 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [65 ± 10 years old, FEV1 = 37 (15% predicted value), VC = 62 (20% predicted value)], and 11 with lung fibrosis (LF) [64 ± 14 years old, FEV1 = 55 (19% predicted value), VC = 62 (20% predicted value)]) and 76 healthy controls (HC) were recruited. The correlations between the signal of the Kinect (depth and respiratory rate) and the spirometer (tidal volume and respiratory rate) were computed in part 1. We then included 66 HC to test the ability of the system to detect modifications of respiratory patterns induced by various conditions known to modify respiratory pattern (cognitive load, inspiratory load and combination) in parts 2 and 3. Results: There is a strong correlation between the depth recorded by the Kinect and the tidal volume recorded by the spirometer: r = 0.973 for COPD patients, r = 0.989 for LF patients and r = 0.984 for HC. The Kinect is able to detect changes in breathing patterns induced by different respiratory disturbance conditions, gender and oral task. Conclusions: Measurements performed with the Kinect sensors are highly correlated with the spirometer in HC and patients with COPD and LF. Kinect is also able to assess respiratory patterns under various loads and disturbances. This method is affordable, easy to use, fully automated and could be used in the current clinical context. Respiratory patterns are important to assess in d, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published