The US National Ecological Observatory Network and the Global Biodiversity Framework: national research infrastructure with a global reach

Thibault Katherine M.,Laney Christine M.,Yule Kelsey M.,Franz Nico M.,Mabee Paula M. 한국생태학회 2023 Journal of Ecology and Environment Vol.47 No.4

The US National Science Foundation’s National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a continental-scale program intended to provide open data, samples, and infrastructure to understand changing ecosystems for a period of 30 years. NEON collects co-located measurements of drivers of environmental change and biological responses, using standardized methods at 81 field sites to systematically sample variability and trends to enable inferences at regional to continental scales. Alongside key atmospheric and environmental variables, NEON measures the biodiversity of many taxa, including microbes, plants, and animals, and collects samples from these organisms for long-term archiving and research use. Here we review the composition and use of NEON resources to date as a whole and specific to biodiversity as an exemplar of the potential of national research infrastructure to contribute to globally relevant outcomes. Since NEON initiated full operations in 2019, NEON has produced, on average, 1.4 M records and over 32 TB of data per year across more than 180 data products, with 85 products that include taxonomic or other organismal information relevant to biodiversity science. NEON has also collected and curated more than 503,000 samples and specimens spanning all taxonomic domains of life, with up to 100,000 more to be added annually. Various metrics of use, including web portal visitation, data download and sample use requests, and scientific publications, reveal substantial interest from the global community in NEON. More than 47,000 unique IP addresses from around the world visit NEON’s web portals each month, requesting on average 1.8 TB of data, and over 200 researchers have engaged in sample use requests from the NEON Biorepository. Through its many global partnerships, particularly with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, NEON resources have been used in more than 900 scientific publications to date, with many using biodiversity data and samples. These outcomes demonstrate that the data and samples provided by NEON, situated in a broader network of national research infrastructures, are critical to scientists, conservation practitioners, and policy makers. They enable effective approaches to meeting global targets, such as those captured in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The effect of materials properties on the reliability of hydraulic turbine runners

Thibault, Denis,Gagnon, Martin,Godin, Stephane Korean Society for Fluid machinery 2015 International journal of fluid machinery and syste Vol.8 No.4

The failure of hydraulic turbine runners is a rare event. So in order to assess the reliability of these components one cannot rely solely on the number of observed failures in a given population. However, as there is a limited number of degradation mechanisms involved, it is possible to use physically-based reliability models. Such models are often more complicated but are able to account for physical parameters in the degradation process. They can therefore help provide solutions to improve reliability. With such models, the effect of materials properties on runner reliability can be highlighted. This paper presents a brief review of the Kitagawa-Takahashi diagram which links the damage tolerance approach, based on fracture mechanics, to the stress or strain-life approaches. Using simplified response spectra based on runner stress measurements, we will show how fatigue reliability is sensitive to materials fatigue properties, namely fatigue crack propagation behaviour and fatigue limit obtained on S-N curves. Furthermore, we will review the influence of the main microstructural features observed in 13%Cr-4%Ni stainless steels commonly used for runner manufacturing. The goal is ultimately to identify the most influential microstructural features and to quantify their effect on fatigue reliability of runners.

A Family of Concatenated Network Codes for Improved Performance With Generations

Thibault, Jean-Pierre,Chan, Wai-Yip,Yousefi, Shahram The Korea Institute of Information and Commucation 2008 Journal of communications and networks Vol.10 No.4

Random network coding can be viewed as a single block code applied to all source packets. To manage the concomitant high coding complexity, source packets can be partitioned into generations; block coding is then performed on each set. To reach a better performance-complexity tradeoff, we propose a novel concatenated network code which mixes generations while retaining the desirable properties of generation-based coding. Focusing on the code's erasure performance, we show that the probability of successfully decoding a generation on erasure channels can increase substantially for any erasure rate. Using both analysis (for small networks) and simulations (for larger networks), we show how the code's parameters can be tuned to extract best performance. As a result, the probability of failing to decode a generation is reduced by nearly one order of magnitude.

Is Psychiatry Ready to Move?

Thibault Deschamps 대한신경정신의학회 2018 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.15 No.1

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Advanced DBS (Direct-Binary Search) Method for Compensating Spatial Chromatic Errors on RGB Digital Holograms in a Wide-Depth Range with Binary Holograms

LEPORTIER, Thibault,PARK, Min-Chul Institute of Electronics, Information and Communic 2018 IEICE transactions on fundamentals of electronics, Vol.ea101 No.5

The effect of materials properties on the reliability of hydraulic turbine runners

Denis Thibault,Martin Gagnon,Stéphane Godin 한국유체기계학회 2015 International journal of fluid machinery and syste Vol.8 No.4

The failure of hydraulic turbine runners is a rare event. So in order to assess the reliability of these components one cannot rely solely on the number of observed failures in a given population. However, as there is a limited number of degradation mechanisms involved, it is possible to use physically-based reliability models. Such models are often more complicated but are able to account for physical parameters in the degradation process. They can therefore help provide solutions to improve reliability. With such models, the effect of materials properties on runner reliability can be highlighted. This paper presents a brief review of the Kitagawa-Takahashi diagram which links the damage tolerance approach, based on fracture mechanics, to the stress or strain-life approaches. Using simplified response spectra based on runner stress measurements, we will show how fatigue reliability is sensitive to materials fatigue properties, namely fatigue crack propagation behaviour and fatigue limit obtained on S-N curves. Furthermore, we will review the influence of the main microstructural features observed in 13%Cr-4%Ni stainless steels commonly used for runner manufacturing. The goal is ultimately to identify the most influential microstructural features and to quantify their effect on fatigue reliability of runners.

Sport and Leisure: Bright Light or Dark Force

( Lucie Thibault ) 한국체육학회 2016 국제스포츠과학 학술대회 Vol.2016 No.1

Sport and leisure have the power to unite, to be inclusive, to spread constructive lessons for its participants, and to be a positive force in people’s lives. Several studies demonstrate how sport and leisure play an important function in the physical, psychological, social, and healthy development of children and youth, adults, older adults, and special populations (cf. Allender, Cowburn, & Foster, 2006; Fraser-Thomas, Cote, & Deakin, 2005; Janssen & LeBlanc, 2010; Nelson et al., 2007; Tudor-Locke et al., 2011). As such, sport and leisure can be a ‘bright light’ for many participants. It is important to remember however, that sport and leisure can also divide, exclude, and represent negative experiences for some participants. For my presentation, I address the challenges facing sport and leisure and I underscore the need for greater consideration of the importance for us all, as leaders, to be great stewards of sport and leisure. In the context of this presentation, the term ‘steward’ is defined as a person (or persons) or agency (or agencies) assigned to serve and protect the best interests of sport and leisure; in other words, the keeper or guardian of sport and leisure to ensure that sport and leisure remain positive for all of its participants and for society in general. Examples of sport as a ‘dark force’ include: drugs, doping, and cheating in sport; corruption and match fixing; hooliganism and spectator violence; questionable decisions favouring personal profits; and commercial interests taking precedence over athletes’ and participants’ welfare. We have also recently witnessed several high profile athletes and sport team members who have been featured in the media because they took part in immoral and/or illegal activities. Examples include Tiger Woods, Lionel Messi, Lance Armstrong, Maria Sharapova, Oscar Pistorius, and the more than 40 football players who were banned for life from the K-League and the Korean Football Association for match fixing issues in 2011 (Kelso, 2013). It is not only athletes who are involved in illegal, immoral, and corrupt activities in sport. Leaders, coaches, and officials have also been active in questionable practices leading to the decay of international sport, for example, Sepp Blatter and a number of his peers through Federation Internationale de Football Association’s bidding process; Union Cycliste Internationale’s role in concealing doping scandal of their star athlete, Lance Armstrong; Russian doping officials ensuring ‘clean’ doping results of their athletes by substituting samples through deceitful practices; and a recent case involving K-League referees occurred in the Fall of 2015 where past president from Gyeongnam FC, Ahn Jong-Buk, allegedly paid referees to ensure favourable outcomes for the team (Reuters, 2015). There are so many more cases in sport . it is surprising the extent to which leaders within sport and leisure organizations are facing questionable practices, unethical behaviours, and illegal activities. We do not have to simply rely on the headlines from sport news to understand that there are also other issues in sport and leisure that are ‘closer’ to home. Local community sport and leisure are sometimes rife with problems, for example, increasing costs and fees of participating in sport and leisure activities; limited active play time on the field; non-transparent/biased team selection process; abuse of athletes and participants by some coaches, officials, and administrators; parental pressure; early specialization; and the endangerment of athletes’ and participants’ health (e.g., concussions, overuse injuries, eating disorder). With the overwhelming cases showcasing ‘dark forces’ in sport, how can we, as stewards, make sure sport and leisure remain positive, constructive, inclusive, and beneficial for all? What solutions can we propose to cure sport and leisure of issues and problems? These are difficult questions to answer and even more difficult problems to solve but as stewards of sport and leisure, we have a responsibility to train students (our future leaders) to fully understanding ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly’ of sport and leisure and to emphasize the need to protect sport and leisure as the ‘bright light’ for all participants. Working with all stakeholders in sport and leisure including athletes and participants is essential to address the issues. Involving athletes and participants in the decisions and in the policies that directly affect the quality of their participation in sport and leisure may certainly contribute to enhance their experiences.

Converting optical scanning holograms of real objects to binary Fourier holograms using an iterative direct binary search algorithm.

Leportier, Thibault,Park, Min Chul,Kim, You Seok,Kim, Taegeun Optical Society of America 2015 Optics express Vol.23 No.3

<P>In this paper, we present a three-dimensional holographic imaging system. The proposed approach records a complex hologram of a real object using optical scanning holography, converts the complex form to binary data, and then reconstructs the recorded hologram using a spatial light modulator (SLM). The conversion from the recorded hologram to a binary hologram is achieved using a direct binary search algorithm. We present experimental results that verify the efficacy of our approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a hologram of a real object has been reconstructed using a binary SLM.</P>

Filter for speckle noise reduction based on compressive sensing

Leportier, Thibault,Park, Min-Chul SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineeri 2016 Optical engineering Vol.55 No.12

Generation of binary holograms for deep scenes captured with a camera and a depth sensor

Leportier, Thibault,Park, Min-Chul SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineeri 2017 Optical engineering Vol.56 No.1