546 research outputs found
Imaging using quantum noise properties of light
We show that it is possible to estimate the shape of an object by measuring
only the fluctuations of a probing field, allowing us to expose the object to a
minimal light intensity. This scheme, based on noise measurements through
homodyne detection, is useful in the regime where the number of photons is low
enough that direct detection with a photodiode is difficult but high enough
such that photon counting is not an option. We generate a few-photon state of
multi-spatial-mode vacuum-squeezed twin beams using four-wave mixing and direct
one of these twin fields through a binary intensity mask whose shape is to be
imaged. Exploiting either the classical fluctuations in a single beam or
quantum correlations between the twin beams, we demonstrate that under some
conditions quantum correlations can provide an enhancement in sensitivity when
estimating the shape of the object
Could Aldi Succeed in Canada?
This research considers Aldiâs potential for penetrating the Canadian grocery market. We consider the history of Aldi, its strategy and previous international expansion, and important political, economic, and social landscapes it will face in Canada. After answering a set of research questions devised to analyze all aspects of a new venture for Aldi in Canada, we provide a set of recommendations for how Aldi should proceed
Functionalized superhydrophobic coatings with micro-/nanostructured ZnO particles in a solâgel matrix
Among the methods to create superhydrophobic surfaces by wet chemistry, one of the strategies consists in coating the substrate with a hydrophobic polymer with specific morphology. Such elaborated surfaces are largely developed and can present complex architectures but are generally fragile. Ceramic-based coatings show better durability. In this work, a new route associating inorganic and polymeric parts is used. Surfaces with superhydrophobic properties are prepared with a mixture of zinc oxide (ZnO) particles in a hybrid organic inorganic matrix prepared via solâgel route. ZnO particles were synthesized by the inorganic polycondensation route and exhibit an appropriate micro-/nanostructure for superhydrophobicity. Solâgel matrix is obtained by the alkoxide route with aluminum-tri-secbutoxide (ASB) and (3-glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPTMS). A step of octadecylphosphonic acid (ODP) functionalization on ZnO particles and on film surfaces was employed to considerably improve hydrophobic properties. This new route enables to obtain superhydrophobic coatings that exhibitwater contact angles superior to 150°. These coatings show a homogeneous and smooth coverage on aluminum alloy substrate. Results attest the significance of the synergy for superhydrophobic coatings: a micro-/nanostructured surface and an intrinsic hydrophobic property of the material. The durability of the coatings has also been demonstrated with only a slight decrease in hydrophobicity after erosion
Impact of intraspecific variation in insect microbiomes on host phenotype and evolution.
Microbes can be an important source of phenotypic plasticity in insects. Insect physiology, behaviour, and ecology are influenced by individual variation in the microbial communities held within the insect gut, reproductive organs, bacteriome, and other tissues. It is becoming increasingly clear how important the insect microbiome is for insect fitness, expansion into novel ecological niches, and novel environments. These investigations have garnered heightened interest recently, yet a comprehensive understanding of how intraspecific variation in the assembly and function of these insect-associated microbial communities can shape the plasticity of insects is still lacking. Most research focuses on the core microbiome associated with a species of interest and ignores intraspecific variation. We argue that microbiome variation among insects can be an important driver of evolution, and we provide examples showing how such variation can influence fitness and health of insects, insect invasions, their persistence in new environments, and their responses to global environmental changes. A and B are two stages of an individual or a population of the same species. The drivers lead to a shift in the insect associated microbial community, which has consequences for the host. The complex interplay of those consequences affects insect adaptation and evolution and influences insect population resilience or invasion
Correlation between morphology and electrochemical behavior of chromium-free conversion coatings for aluminum alloys corrosion protection
Chromium(III)-based, tungstate-based and cerium(III)-based conversion coatings on AA2024-T3 are compared in terms of morphology and electrochemical behavior. The durability of coatings is studied under neutral salt spray conditions and in a weakly aggressive electrolyte composed of 0.1 mol/L Na2SO4 and 10â3 mol/L NaCl. The use of both microscopic and electrochemical analyses such as fitting of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy diagrams allows one to have a better insight into the influence of the interfacial and conversion layers on the degradation phenomena. The role of the remaining native interfacial oxide layer is particularly highlighted, its resistance being the highest at the beginning of the exposure. The degradation of the barrier effect of this interfacial layer is demonstrated to be closely related to the performances of the conversion layer both in terms of passive protection and a reservoir of corrosion inhibitor. Finally, coupled analyses from EIS fitting and microscopic observations allow one to reach a precise interpretation of the strengths and weak points of such system. This diagnostic is an important step towards the optimization of the chromium-free systems
Diversity of Prophage DNA Regions of Streptococcus agalactiae Clonal Lineages from Adults and Neonates with Invasive Infectious Disease
The phylogenetic position and prophage DNA content of the genomes of 142 S. agalactiae (group-B streptococcus, GBS) isolates responsible for bacteremia and meningitis in adults and neonates were studied and compared. The distribution of the invasive isolates between the various serotypes, sequence types (STs) and clonal complexes (CCs) differed significantly between adult and neonatal isolates. Use of the neighbor-net algorithm with the PHI test revealed evidence for recombination in the population studied (PHI, Pâ=â2.01Ă10â6), and the recombination-mutation ratio (R/M) was 6â¶7. Nevertheless, the estimated R/M ratio differed between CCs. Analysis of the prophage DNA regions of the genomes of the isolates assigned 90% of the isolates to five major prophage DNA groups: A to E. The mean number of prophage DNA fragments amplified per isolate varied from 2.6 for the isolates of prophage DNA group E to 4.0 for the isolates of prophage DNA group C. The isolates from adults and neonates with invasive diseases were distributed differently between the various prophage DNA groups (P<0.00001). Group C prophage DNA fragments were found in 52% of adult invasive isolates, whereas 74% of neonatal invasive isolates had prophage DNA fragments of groups A and B. Differences in prophage DNA content were also found between serotypes, STs and CCs (P<0.00001). All the ST-1 and CC1 isolates, mostly of serotype V, belonged to the prophage DNA group C, whereas 84% of the ST-17 and CC17 isolates, all of serotype III, belonged to prophage DNA groups A and B. These data indicate that the transduction mechanisms, i.e., gene transfer from one bacterium to another by a bacteriophage, underlying genetic recombination in S. agalactiae species, are specific to each intraspecies lineage and population of strains responsible for invasive diseases in adults and neonates
Genotyping of Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococci) isolated from vaginal and rectal swabs of women at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Group B streptococci (GBS), or <it>Streptococcus agalactiae</it>, are the leading bacterial cause of meningitis and bacterial sepsis in newborns. Here we compared different culture media for GBS detection and we compared the occurrence of different genotypes and serotypes of GBS isolates from the vagina and rectum.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Streptococcus agalactiae </it>was cultured separately from both rectum and vagina, for a total of 150 pregnant women, i) directly onto Columbia CNA agar, or indirectly onto ii) Granada agar resp. iii) Columbia CNA agar, after overnight incubation in Lim broth.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty six women (24%) were colonized by GBS. Of these, 19 harbored GBS in both rectum and vagina, 9 only in the vagina and 8 exclusively in the rectum. The combination of Lim broth and subculture on Granada agar was the only culture method that detected all GBS positive women. Using RAPD-analysis, a total of 66 genotypes could be established among the 118 isolates from 32 women for which fingerprinting was carried out. Up to 4 different genotypes in total (rectal + vaginal) were found for 4 women, one woman carried 3 different genotypes vaginally and 14 women carried two 2 different genotypes vaginally. Only two subjects were found to carry strains with the same genotype, although the serotype of both of these strains was different.</p> <p>Eighteen of the 19 subjects with GBS at both sites had at least one vaginal and one rectal isolate with the same genotype.</p> <p>We report the presence of two to four different genotypes in 22 (61%) of the 36 GBS positive women and the presence of identical genotypes in both sites for all women but one.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The combination of Lim broth and subculture on Granada medium provide high sensitivity for GBS detection from vaginal and rectal swabs from pregnant women. We established a higher genotypic diversity per individual than other studies, with up to four different genotypes among a maximum of 6 isolates per individual picked. Still, 18 of the 19 women with GBS from both rectum and vagina had at least one isolate from each sampling site with the same genotype.</p
âFourth placesâ: the Contemporary Public Settings for Informal Social Interaction among Strangers.
This paper introduces âfourth placesâ as an additional category of informal social settings alongside âthird placesâ (Oldenburg 1989). Through extensive empirical fieldwork on where and how social interaction among strangers occurs in the public and semi-public spaces of a contemporary masterplanned neighbourhood, this paper reveals that âfourth placesâ are closely related to âthird placesâ in terms of social and behavioural characteristics, involving a radical departure from the routines of home and work, inclusivity, and social comfort. However, the activities, users, locations and spatial conditions that support them are very different. They are characterized by âin-betweennessâ in terms of spaces, activities, time and management, as well as a great sense of publicness. This paper will demonstrate that the latter conditions are effective in breaking the âplacelessnessâ and âfortressâ designs of newly designed urban public spaces and that, by doing so, they make âfourth placesâ sociologically more open in order to bring strangers together. The recognition of these findings problematizes well-established urban design theories and redefines several spatial concepts for designing public space. Ultimately, the findings also bring optimism to urban design practice, offering new insights into how to design more lively and inclusive public spaces. Keywords: âFourth placesâ, Informal Public Social Settings, Social Interaction, Strangers, Public Space Design
Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in -tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV
Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton
collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against
a boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and
transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 GeV and in the pseudorapidity range . The
data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy
of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb. Triple
differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum
fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also
measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent
fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the
measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into
the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any
supplementary material and additional information, are available at
https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb
public pages
Study of the decay
The decay is studied
in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of TeV
using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5
collected by the LHCb experiment. In the system, the
state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is
resolved into two narrower states, and ,
whose masses and widths are measured to be where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second
systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a
prompt sample. Evidence of a new
state is found with a local significance of , whose mass and width
are measured to be and , respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode
is found with a significance of
. The relative branching fraction of with respect to the
decay is measured to be , where the first
uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from
the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb
public pages
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