Large-scale Patterning of Hydrophobic Silicon Nanostructure Arrays Fabricated by Dual Lithography and Deep Reactive Ion Etching

Abstract We describe a simple but efficient technique to fabricate large-scale arrays of highly ordered silicon nanostructures. By coupling dual lithography using light of 351.1 nm wavelength with deep reactive ion etching (DRIE), silicon nanostructures of excellent regularity and uniform coverage were achieved. The proposed nanofabrication method not only simplified the nanofabrication process but also produced high-aspect-ratio (higher than 15) nanostructures. The scalloping problem was also controlled by regulating DRIE parameters. The process is rapid, cheap, examined to optimize the fabrication process, and has the potential to be scaled up to large areas. The contact angle of a water droplet atop the surface is larger than 15°. Moreover, by coupling black silicon process with DRIE-based microfabrication, three-dimensional nano/nano dual-scale structures which show robust and stable hydrophobicity have been achieved. This process opens new application possibilities in optical, photoelectric, microelectronic, catalytic and biomedical applications.</jats:p

Distances to the Supernova Remnants in the Inner Disk

Distance measurements of supernova remnants (SNRs) are essential and important. Accurate estimates of physical size, dust masses, and some other properties of SNRs depend critically on accurate distance measurements. However, the determination of SNR distances is still a tough task. Red clump stars (RCs) have a long history been used as standard candles. In this work, we take RCs as tracers to determine the distances to a large group of SNRs in the inner disk. We first select RC stars based on the near-infrared (IR) color-magnitude diagram (CMD). Then, the distance to and extinction of RC stars are calculated. To extend the measurable range of distance, we combine near-IR photometric data from the 2MASS survey with the deeper UKIDSS and VVV surveys. With the help of the Gaia parallaxes, we also remove contaminants including dwarfs and giants. Because an SN explosion compresses the surrounding interstellar medium, the SNR region would become denser and exhibit higher extinction than the surroundings. The distance of a SNR is then recognized by the position where the extinction and its gradient is higher than that of the ambient medium. A total of 63 SNRs' distances in the Galactic inner disk are determined and divided into three Levels A, B, and C with decreasing reliability. The distances to 43 SNRs are well determined with reliability A or B. The diameters and dust masses of SNRs are estimated with the obtained distance and extinction.Comment: 31 pages, 25 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&

Studies on the characterizations of functionalities in the rice miso products supplementary with beans and buckwheat at different fermentation periods

岩手大学博士（農学）doctoral thesi

Multi-tier cooperative caching in fog radio access network

Aiming at the problem of reducing the load of the backward link in the edge buffer and fog wireless access network technology,a multi-tier cooperative caching scheme in F-RAN was proposed to further reduce the backhaul traffic load.In particular,by considering the network topology,content popularity prediction and link capacity,the optimization problem was decomposed into knapsack subproblems in multi-tiers,and effective greedy algorithms were proposed to solve the corresponding subproblems.Simulation results show that the proposed multi-tier cooperative caching scheme can effectively reduce the backhaul traffic and achieve relatively high cache hit rate

How to address vaccine hesitancy? Lessons from National Hepatitis B Immunization Program in China

China, with the severe burden of hepatitis B, plays a significant role in the global efforts towards eliminating hepatitis B disease by 2030. Vaccination is recognized as the most effective measure to prevent infectious diseases. However, vaccine hesitancy remains a significant barrier to achieving herd immunity across diverse populations. To address this issue, the health ministries and public health authorities in China have implemented various measures to encourage hepatitis B vaccination. China’s National Hepatitis B Immunization Program, initiated in 1985, has been successful in controlling this vaccine-preventable disease. Given the challenges in eliminating hepatitis B, strengthening the National Hepatitis Immunization Program in China is of utmost importance. Through an analysis of policy documents, reports, and scientific papers, the history of the program was summarized, and effective approaches to address vaccine hesitancy were identified. This will help achieve universal health coverage of vaccines and effectively work towards meeting the goals set for 2030

Centralized Photovoltaic Heliostat Field Layout and Optical Perception Optimization Based on Improved Dung Beetle Optimization Algorithm

The gradual depletion of fossil fuels underscores the pressing need for technological advancements in renewable energy. These technologies are essential to address the inefficiencies in power generation from heliostat fields. This paper proposes an innovative heliostat field layout model aimed at significantly enhancing the efficiency of photovoltaic power generation. By carefully optimizing the positioning, height, and size of the heliostats, the model results in a substantial increase in annual heat output. Additionally, an improved Dung Beetle optimization algorithm (RCDBO) is introduced, which integrates random walk and cross strategy to enhance solving efficiency and accuracy while effectively avoiding premature convergence. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithm achieves a 3% increase in efficiency compared to the traditional DBO algorithm, confirming the superiority of the RCDBO algorithm

OpenFermion: The Electronic Structure Package for Quantum Computers

Quantum simulation of chemistry and materials is predicted to be an important application for both near-term and fault-tolerant quantum devices. However, at present, developing and studying algorithms for these problems can be difficult due to the prohibitive amount of domain knowledge required in both the area of chemistry and quantum algorithms. To help bridge this gap and open the field to more researchers, we have developed the OpenFermion software package (www.openfermion.org). OpenFermion is an open-source software library written largely in Python under an Apache 2.0 license, aimed at enabling the simulation of fermionic models and quantum chemistry problems on quantum hardware. Beginning with an interface to common electronic structure packages, it simplifies the translation between a molecular specification and a quantum circuit for solving or studying the electronic structure problem on a quantum computer, minimizing the amount of domain expertise required to enter the field. The package is designed to be extensible and robust, maintaining high software standards in documentation and testing. This release paper outlines the key motivations behind design choices in OpenFermion and discusses some basic OpenFermion functionality which we believe will aid the community in the development of better quantum algorithms and tools for this exciting area of research.Comment: 22 page

Cooperative Edge Caching in Fog Radio Access Networks : A Pigeon Inspired Optimization Approach

AbstractIn this paper, the cooperative edge caching problem in fog radio access networks (F-RANs) is investigated to minimize the average download delay. Considering the non-linear and coupled multi-variable nature of the original optimizing problem, we transform it into an equivalent integer linear programming problem with decoupled variables. Then, we decomposed the transformed problem into two subproblems which can be solved separately by each fog access point (F-AP). Considering the non-deterministic polynomial hard (NP-hard) nature of the two decomposed subproblems, we propose an improved pigeon inspired optimization (PIO) based cooperative edge caching scheme, which utilizes Cauchy perturbation and self-adaptive factor to avoid pre-mature convergence and achieve a better search performance, respectively. Our proposed scheme not only allows F-APs to make cache decisions with low computational complexity, but also has very low message passing overhead. Simulation results show that our proposed scheme can greatly decrease the average download delay.Abstract In this paper, the cooperative edge caching problem in fog radio access networks (F-RANs) is investigated to minimize the average download delay. Considering the non-linear and coupled multi-variable nature of the original optimizing problem, we transform it into an equivalent integer linear programming problem with decoupled variables. Then, we decomposed the transformed problem into two subproblems which can be solved separately by each fog access point (F-AP). Considering the non-deterministic polynomial hard (NP-hard) nature of the two decomposed subproblems, we propose an improved pigeon inspired optimization (PIO) based cooperative edge caching scheme, which utilizes Cauchy perturbation and self-adaptive factor to avoid pre-mature convergence and achieve a better search performance, respectively. Our proposed scheme not only allows F-APs to make cache decisions with low computational complexity, but also has very low message passing overhead. Simulation results show that our proposed scheme can greatly decrease the average download delay

Inhibition of SARS Pseudovirus Cell Entry by Lactoferrin Binding to Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans

It has been reported that lactoferrin (LF) participates in the host immune response against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) invasion by enhancing NK cell activity and stimulating neutrophil aggregation and adhesion. We further investigated the role of LF in the entry of SARS pseudovirus into HEK293E/ACE2-Myc cells. Our results reveal that LF inhibits SARS pseudovirus infection in a dose-dependent manner. Further analysis suggested that LF was able to block the binding of spike protein to host cells at 4°C, indicating that LF exerted its inhibitory function at the viral attachment stage. However, LF did not disrupt the interaction of spike protein with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the functional receptor of SARS-CoV. Previous studies have shown that LF colocalizes with the widely distributed cell-surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs). Our experiments have also confirmed this conclusion. Treatment of the cells with heparinase or exogenous heparin prevented binding of spike protein to host cells and inhibited SARS pseudovirus infection, demonstrating that HSPGs provide the binding sites for SARS-CoV invasion at the early attachment phase. Taken together, our results suggest that, in addition to ACE2, HSPGs are essential cell-surface molecules involved in SARS-CoV cell entry. LF may play a protective role in host defense against SARS-CoV infection through binding to HSPGs and blocking the preliminary interaction between SARS-CoV and host cells. Our findings may provide further understanding of SARS-CoV pathogenesis and aid in treatment of this deadly disease