232 research outputs found
Far-Field Plasmonic Resonance Enhanced Nano-Particle Image Velocimetry within a Micro Channel
In this paper, a novel far-field plasmonic resonance enhanced
nanoparticle-seeded Particle Image Velocimetry (nPIV) has been demonstrated to
measure the velocity profile in a micro channel. Chemically synthesized silver
nanoparticles have been used to seed the flow in the micro channel. By using
Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA), plasmonic resonance enhanced light
scattering has been calculated for spherical silver nanoparticles with
diameters ranging from 15nm to 200nm. Optimum scattering wavelength is
specified for the nanoparticles in two media: water and air. The
diffraction-limited plasmonic resonance enhanced images of silver nanoparticles
at different diameters have been recorded and analyzed. By using standard PIV
techniques, the velocity profile within the micro channel has been determined
from the images.Comment: submitted to Review of Scientific Instrument
Novel non-peptide β-secretase inhibitors derived from structure-based virtual screening and bioassay
SynTable: A Synthetic Data Generation Pipeline for Unseen Object Amodal Instance Segmentation of Cluttered Tabletop Scenes
In this work, we present SynTable, a unified and flexible Python-based
dataset generator built using NVIDIA's Isaac Sim Replicator Composer for
generating high-quality synthetic datasets for unseen object amodal instance
segmentation of cluttered tabletop scenes. Our dataset generation tool can
render a complex 3D scene containing object meshes, materials, textures,
lighting, and backgrounds. Metadata, such as modal and amodal instance
segmentation masks, occlusion masks, depth maps, bounding boxes, and material
properties, can be generated to automatically annotate the scene according to
the users' requirements. Our tool eliminates the need for manual labeling in
the dataset generation process while ensuring the quality and accuracy of the
dataset. In this work, we discuss our design goals, framework architecture, and
the performance of our tool. We demonstrate the use of a sample dataset
generated using SynTable by ray tracing for training a state-of-the-art model,
UOAIS-Net. The results show significantly improved performance in Sim-to-Real
transfer when evaluated on the OSD-Amodal dataset. We offer this tool as an
open-source, easy-to-use, photorealistic dataset generator for advancing
research in deep learning and synthetic data generation.Comment: Version
Providing Authentication in Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) Environment
DTN environment is characterized by intermittent connectivity, high/variable delay, heterogeneity, high error rate and asymmetric data rate amongst others. These characteristics accounts for the poor behavior of Internet protocols in this environment. To address these problems, DTN was conceived and designed together with specialized protocols to carry out its services. Its emergence called for a new concept in security that was considered at the design stage. The main aim of this paper is to propose a traditional cryptography based authentication scheme that does not depend on network administrator’s availability during post network authentication communication and facilitates bundle processing by the recipient in the absence of connectivity. In this paper, we present and discuss the system model, the proposed credential and the propose authentication scheme. A simulation framework is developed for the implementation of the proposed and referenced schemes. From the simulation results, the proposed scheme was observed to be independent of network administrator’s availability during post network authentication communication and facilitates bundle processing in the absence of connectivity
Templated Growth of Covalently Bonded Three-Dimensional Carbon Nanotube Networks Originated from Graphene
A template-assisted method that enables the growth of covalently bonded three-dimensional carbon nanotubes (CNTs) originating from graphene at a large scale is demonstrated. Atomic force microscopy-based mechanical tests show that the covalently bonded CNT structure can effectively distribute external loading throughout the network to improve the mechanical strength of the material
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Biogeographic patterns of soil diazotrophic communities across six forests in North America.
Soil diazotrophs play important roles in ecosystem functioning by converting atmospheric N2 into biologically available ammonium. However, the diversity and distribution of soil diazotrophic communities in different forests and whether they follow biogeographic patterns similar to macroorganisms still remain unclear. By sequencing nifH gene amplicons, we surveyed the diversity, structure and biogeographic patterns of soil diazotrophic communities across six North American forests (126 nested samples). Our results showed that each forest harboured markedly different soil diazotrophic communities and that these communities followed traditional biogeographic patterns similar to plant and animal communities, including the taxa-area relationship (TAR) and latitudinal diversity gradient. Significantly higher community diversity and lower microbial spatial turnover rates (i.e. z-values) were found for rainforests (~0.06) than temperate forests (~0.1). The gradient pattern of TARs and community diversity was strongly correlated (r(2) > 0.5) with latitude, annual mean temperature, plant species richness and precipitation, and weakly correlated (r(2) < 0.25) with pH and soil moisture. This study suggests that even microbial subcommunities (e.g. soil diazotrophs) follow general biogeographic patterns (e.g. TAR, latitudinal diversity gradient), and indicates that the metabolic theory of ecology and habitat heterogeneity may be the major underlying ecological mechanisms shaping the biogeographic patterns of soil diazotrophic communities
Estimate of Leaf Area Index in an Old-Growth Mixed Broadleaved-Korean Pine Forest in Northeastern China
Leaf area index (LAI) is an important variable in the study of forest ecosystem processes, but very few studies are designed to monitor LAI and the seasonal variability in a mixed forest using non-destructive sampling. In this study, first, true LAI from May 1st and November 15th was estimated by making several calibrations to LAI as measured from the WinSCANOPY 2006 Plant Canopy Analyzer. These calibrations include a foliage element (shoot, that is considered to be a collection of needles) clumping index measured directly from the optical instrument, TRAC (Tracing Radiation and Architecture of Canopies); a needle-to-shoot area ratio obtained from shoot samples; and a woody-to-total area ratio. Second, by periodically combining true LAI (May 1st) with the seasonality of LAI for deciduous and coniferous species throughout the leaf-expansion season (from May to August), we estimated LAI of each investigation period in the leaf-expansion season. Third, by combining true LAI (November 15th) with litter trap data (both deciduous and coniferous species), we estimated LAI of each investigation period during the leaf-fall season (from September to mid-November). Finally, LAI for the entire canopy then was derived from the initial leaf expansion to the leaf fall. The results showed that LAI reached its peak with a value of 6.53 m2 m−2 (a corresponding value of 3.83 m2 m−2 from optical instrument) in early August, and the mean LAI was 4.97 m2 m−2 from May to November using the proposed method. The optical instrument method underestimated LAI by an average of 41.64% (SD = 6.54) throughout the whole study period compared to that estimated by the proposed method. The result of the present work implied that our method would be suitable for measuring LAI, for detecting the seasonality of LAI in a mixed forest, and for measuring LAI seasonality for each species
Ultrasound-Mediated DNA Transformation in Thermophilic Gram-Positive Anaerobes
Thermophilic, Gram-positive, anaerobic bacteria (TGPAs) are generally recalcitrant to chemical and electrotransformation due to their special cell-wall structure and the low intrinsic permeability of plasma membranes. transformants/µg of methylated DNA. Delivery into X514 cells was confirmed via detecting the kanamycin-resistance gene for pIKM2, while confirmation of pHL015 was detected by visualization of fluorescence signals of secondary host-cells following a plasmid-rescue experiment. Furthermore, the foreign β-1,4-glucanase gene was functionally expressed in X514, converting the host into a prototypic thermophilic consolidated bioprocessing organism that is not only ethanologenic but cellulolytic.In this study, we developed an ultrasound-based sonoporation method in TGPAs. This new DNA-delivery method could significantly improve the throughput in developing genetic systems for TGPAs, many of which are of industrial interest yet remain difficult to manipulate genetically
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