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Porridge in Graeco-Roman Egypt and Beyond: A Reconsideration of Egyptian ꜣwš/ỉwš(š)
No full textAfin d’évaluer l’importance de la bouillie de céréales dans le régime alimentaire de l’Égypte ancienne, cette étude passe en revue les données disponibles pour le démotique ꜣwš/ỉwš et le hiéroglyphique/hiératique i͗wš(š). Le premier terme est traditionnellement compris comme « résine », mais il s’avère en fait qu’il désigne la même « bouillie » que le grec ἀθήρα et le copte ⲟⲟⲩϣ. Le dernier terme, attesté dans les inscriptions des temples gréco-romains mais aussi dans d’autres textes de l’Égypte pharaonique et de la Nubie, est clairement le prédécesseur du même mot. Au total, les sources égyptiennes apportent beaucoup d’informations nouvelles sur ce plat, parfois consommé avec de la viande ou des légumes, qui devait tenir une place importante dans les habitudes alimentaires
A general DDE framework to describe insect populations:Why delays are so important?
No full textPhysiologically-based models are a valuable tool to describe the biology of terrestrial arthropods, as it is the case of insects. These models represent the division of the life cycle in various discrete stages and provide explicit connections with the external environment, making them good candidates for decision support system tools. However, despite the current literature offering good theoretical frameworks, most of them lack of a description of the minimum time required by the organisms to develop to the next life stage. This problem leads to an overestimation of the population and to a compression of the peaks of the generations, hindering their application in real scenarios. In this study we provide a new general model based on Delay Differential Equations (DDE) that overcomes the problem of the minimum development time by introducing time-dependent delays. Those delays generally depend not only on the biology of the species, but on time and on the environmental conditions. This theoretical extension has new implications from the parameter estimation point of view, which are discussed with the support of a case study of agronomic relevance: the brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys. Besides supporting the description of the model, the case of H. halys was also considered to validate the model using datasets from two geographical locations, for an overall of 5 fields. Simulations showed that the DDE model describes the experimental data better than its previous version based on ordinary differential equations. The model represents an overall step forward in theory development and can be of great support to describe multivoltine species.</p
The impact of strain on the GeV-color center in diamond
Get PDFColor centers in diamond, such as the GeV center, are promising candidates for quantum-based applications. Here, we investigate the impact of strain on the zero-phonon line (ZPL) position of GeV0. Both hydrostatic and linear strain are modeled using density functional theory for GeV0 concentrations of 1.61 % down to 0.10 %. We present qualitative and quantitative differences between the two strain types: for hydrostatic tensile and compressive strain, red- and blue-shifted ZPL positions are expected, respectively, with a linear relation between the ZPL shift and the experienced stress. By calculating the ZPL shift for varying GeV0 concentrations, a shift of 0.15 nm/GPa (0.38 meV/GPa) is obtained at experimentally relevant concentrations using a hybrid functional. In contrast, only red-shifted ZPL are found for tensile and compressive linear strain along the 〈100〉 direction. The calculated ZPL shift exceeds that of hydrostatic strain by at least one order of magnitude, with a significant difference between tensile and compressive strains: 3.2 and 4.8 nm/GPa (8.1 and 11.7 meV/GPa), respectively. In addition, a peak broadening is expected due to the lifted degeneracy of the GeV0 eg state, calculated to be about 6 meV/GPa. These calculated results are placed in perspective with experimental observations, showing values of ZPL shifts and splittings of comparable magnitude.</p
Where and why do politicians send pork? Evidence from central government transfers to French municipalities
Get PDFThis paper uses French data to simultaneously estimate the impact of two types of connections on government subsidies allocated to municipalities. Investigating different types of connection in a same setting helps to distinguish between the different motivations that could drive pork-barreling. We differentiate between municipalities where ministers held office before their appointment to the government and those where they lived as children. Exploiting ministers’ entries into and exits from the government, we show that municipalities where a minister was mayor receive 30% more investment subsidies when the politician they are linked to joins the government, and a similar size decrease when the minister departs. In contrast, we do not observe these outcomes for municipalities where ministers lived as children. These findings indicate that altruism toward childhood friends and family does not fuel pork-barreling, and suggest that altruism toward adulthood social relations or career concerns matter. We also present complementary evidence suggesting that observed pork-barreling is the result of soft influence of ministers, rather than of their formal control over the administration they lead.</p
Vibronic Structure of the UV/Visible Absorption Spectra of Phenol and Phenolate:A Hybrid Density Functional Theory─Doktorov’s Quantum Algorithm Approach
No full textThe Doktorov’s quantum algorithm has been enacted in combination with time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) to simulate the vibronic structure of the UV/visible absorption spectra of the phenol and phenolate molecules. On the one hand, DFT and TD-DFT are employed with classical algorithms to calculate the ground and excited-state electronic structures as well as their vibrational frequencies and normal modes, whereas, on the other hand, quantum algorithms are employed for evaluating the vibrational transition intensities. In comparison to a previous study, J. Phys. Chem. A 2024, 128, 4369-4377, which demonstrated Doktorov’s quantum algorithm as a proof of concept to predict the vibronic structure of ionization spectra, it is applied here to medium-size molecules with more than 30 vibrational normal modes, without accounting for Duschinsky rotations due to software limitations. This application to simulate the vibronic structures of the spectra of phenol and phenolate also enables assessing the impact of the differences in vibrational frequencies between the ground and excited electronic states.</p
Database Chatbot Success:User-Centered Design With LLMs
No full textNatural Language Data Query Solutions present a significant opportunity for business success. They offer unprecedented responsiveness to decision-makers by naturalizing and empowering their interaction with data. However, these solutions face barriers to acceptance among business professionals. The reluctance is due to the system-centered design approach followed. In contrast to user-centered design, this approach does not take into account users’ requirements, e.g. system explainability, awareness of the business context and user profile, or data security. Based on a User Study, this paper identifies, through 19 interviews with business professionals and IT experts, the user-centric requirements that drive the adoption of such solutions in the decision-making process. We then propose a generic framework, B2Data, which is aligned with these requirements. B2Data leverages the capabilities of Large Language Models. Finally, the validation of this architecture through technical implementation on medical data and 8 user tests demonstrates both the feasibility and acceptance of B2Data.</p
