Algorithms Models News Today

The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the importance of understanding precisely how diseases spread throughout networks of transportation. In a paper publishing on Thursday in the IAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, Stephen Kirkland (University of Manitoba), Zhisheng Shuai (University of Central Florida), P. van den Driessche (University of Victoria), and Xueying Wang (Washington State University) study the way in which changes in a network of multiple interconnected communities impact the ensuin...

Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Fathom Bristol used a hydraulic model to consider the degree to which human-caused climate change may have affected flooding in Houston in 2017 during Hurricane Harvey. Resources at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center were used to quantify the increase in Houston flood area and depth and to host a portal where other scientists and the public can access and explore the resulting data.

 E-Mail Researchers from Skoltech have designed and conducted experiments measuring gas permeability under various conditions for ice-containing sediments mimicking permafrost. Their results can be useful both in modeling and testing techniques for gas production from Arctic reservoirs and in tracing methane emission in high latitudes. The paper was published in the journal Energy&Fuels. Permafrost, even though it sounds very stable and permanent, is actually quite diverse: depending on the c...

Credit: IKBFU X-rays are widely used to study the structures of various objects. New sources of x-rays, like Free Electron Lasers and 4th generation synchrotrons are being built around the Globe. The best optics for the new sources is usually made of the single crystal materials, such as silicon, germanium or diamond. However, the ideal periodicity of crystals leads to some unwanted diffraction losses - X-ray glitches. This effect causes dips in the intensity of the radiation transmitted throug...

Researchers from York University and the University of British Columbia have found social media use to be one of the factors related to the spread of COVID-19 within dozens of countries during the early stages of the pandemic. The researchers say this finding resembles other examples of social media misinformation ranging from the initial phase of vaccine rollout to the 2021 Capitol riot in the United States.

 E-Mail IMAGE: Despite the recent advances in the power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells, insights into the processing-driven thermo-mechanical stability of bulk heterojunction active layers are helping to advance the field.... view more  Credit: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics/Lehigh University Today, solar energy provides 2% of U.S. power. However, by 2050, renewables are predicted to be the most used energy source (surpassing petroleum and other liqui...

A new research paper builds on previous research of COVID-19 testing in municipal sewer systems and subsequent tracing the virus back to the source by more accurately modelling a systems treelike network of one-way pipes and manholes, and by speeding up the detection/tracing process through automatic sensors installed in specific manholes, chosen according to an easier-to-use algorithm.

Supported by two Office of Naval Research grants totaling $900,000, Wenxin Liu, of Lehigh University, will continue research into the advanced control of power systems through algorithmic design and hardware experimentation. He will examine real-time optimal power flow control in power electronic power distribution systems and investigate the coordination of heterogeneous generators within a naval ships power system. Both projects could lead to improvements in civilian microgrid technology.

 E-Mail IMAGE: (Top panel, from left to right) July 12, 2012 coronal mass ejection seen in STEREO B Cor2, SOHO C2, and STEREO A Cor2 coronagraphs, respectively. (Bottom panel) The same images... view more  Credit: Talwinder Singh, Mehmet S. Yalim, Nikolai V. Pogorelov, and Nat Gopalswamy The surface of the sun churns with energy and frequently ejects masses of highly-magnetized plasma towards Earth. Sometimes these ejections are strong enough to crash through the magnetosphere -- the ...

Credit: Ben Wigler/CSHL, 2021 You would not be surprised to see an elephant in the savanna or a plate in your kitchen. Based on your prior experiences and knowledge, you know that is where elephants and plates are often to be found. If you saw a mysterious object in your kitchen, how would you figure out what it was? You would rely on your expectations or prior knowledge. Should a computer approach the problem in the same way? The answer may surprise you. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor...