KYPO: A Tool for Collaborative Study of Cyberattacks in Safe Cloud Environment

This paper introduces the KYPO -- a cloud-based virtual environment faithfully simulating real networks and enabling users to study cyber attacks as well as to train users in isolated and controlled environment. Particularly, the paper focuses on the user environment and visualizations, providing views and interactions improving the understanding of processes emerged during experiments. Web user interface of the KYPO system supports several collaboration modes enabling the participants to experiment and replay different types of security related tasks

Photonic multilayer structure of Begonia chloroplasts enhances photosynthetic efficiency

Enhanced light harvesting is an area of interest for optimizing both natural photosynthesis and artificial solar energy capture1,2. Iridescence has been shown to exist widely and in diverse forms in plants and other photosynthetic organisms and symbioses3,4, but there has yet to be any direct link demonstrated between iridescence and photosynthesis. Here we show that epidermal chloroplasts, also known as iridoplasts, in shade-dwelling species of Begonia5, notable for their brilliant blue iridescence, have a photonic crystal structure formed from a periodic arrangement of the light-absorbing thylakoid tissue itself. This structure enhances photosynthesis in two ways: by increasing light capture at the predominantly green wavelengths available in shade conditions, and by directly enhancing quantum yield by 5-10% under low-light conditions. These findings together imply that the iridoplast is a highly modified chloroplast structure adapted to make best use of the extremely low-light conditions in the tropical forest understorey in which it is found5,6. A phylogenetically diverse range of shade-dwelling plant species has been found to produce similarly structured chloroplasts7-9, suggesting that the ability to produce chloroplasts whose membranes are organized as a multilayer with photonic properties may be widespread. In fact, given the well-established diversity and plasticity of chloroplasts10,11, our results imply that photonic effects may be important even in plants that do not show any obvious signs of iridescence to the naked eye but where a highly ordered chloroplast structure may present a clear blue reflectance at the microscale. Chloroplasts are generally thought of as purely photochemical; we suggest that one should also think of them as a photonic structure with a complex interplay between control of light propagation, light capture and photochemistry

Change in Magnetic Anisotropy at the Surface and in the Bulk of FINEMET Induced by Swift Heavy Ion Irradiation

57 Fe transmission and conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy as well as XRD were used to study the effect of swift heavy ion irradiation on stress-annealed FINEMET samples with a composition of Fe73.5 Si13.5 Nb3 B9 Cu1. The XRD of the samples indicated changes neither in the crystal structure nor in the texture of irradiated ribbons as compared to those of non-irradiated ones. However, changes in the magnetic anisotropy both in the bulk as well as at the surface of the FINEMET alloy ribbons irradiated by 160 MeV132 Xe ions with a fluence of 1013 ion cm−2 were revealed via the decrease in relative areas of the second and fifth lines of the magnetic sextets in the corresponding Mössbauer spectra. The irradiation-induced change in the magnetic anisotropy in the bulk was found to be similar or somewhat higher than that at the surface. The results are discussed in terms of the defects produced by irradiation and corresponding changes in the orientation of spins depending on the direction of the stress generated around these defects. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.CZ-11/2007, MEB040806; Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Minobrnauka: FEUZ-2020-0060; Hungarian Scientific Research Fund, OTKA: K100424, K115784, K115913, K43687, K68135; Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR; Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci: CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17_049/0008408, IGA_PrF_2022_003, IGA_PrF_2022_013; Ural Federal University, UrFU: 04-5-1131-2017/2021; Nemzeti Kutatási Fejlesztési és Innovációs Hivatal, NKFIHFunding: The research was supported by grants from the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (OTKA projects No K43687, K68135, K100424, K115913, K115784) and by the Czech-Hungarian Intergovernmental Fund, Grant No. CZ-11/2007 (MEB040806). M.I.O. was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, project No. FEUZ-2020-0060. Additionally, M.I.O. was supported in part by the Ural Federal University project within the Priority-2030 Program, funded from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. This work was also supported by the project “Swift heavy ions in research of iron-bearing nanomaterials”, No. of theme 04-5-1131-2017/2021, solved in cooperation with the Czech Republic and the JINR (3 + 3 projects), and also by internal IGA grant of Palacký University (IGA_PrF_2022_003). The authors from Palacký University Olomouc want to thank the facilitators of project CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17_049/0008408 of the Ministry of Education, Youth & Sports of the Czech Republic for their support as well.Acknowledgments: We are grateful to Z. Klencsár (Centre for Energy Research, Budapest), M. Miglierini (Technical University, Bratislava), I. Dézsi (Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest), S. Kubuki, and K. Nomura (Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo) for their participation in discussions, and L. Krupa (Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic and Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna) for his help with the organization of project cooperation. The support by grants from the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office and by the Czech-Hungarian Intergovernmental Fund, Grant No. CZ-11/2007 (MEB040806) are acknowledged. M.I.O. is grateful for support from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and from the Ural Federal University project within the Priority-2030 Program. This work was also carried out within the Agreement of Cooperation between the Ural Federal University (Ekaterinburg) and the Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest) and within the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ural Federal University (Ekaterinburg) and the Palacký University (Olomouc). Authors acknowledge the support of the project “Swift heavy ions in research of iron-bearing nanomaterials”, No. of theme 04-5-1131-2017/2021, solved in cooperation with the Czech Republic and the JINR (3 + 3 projects). Authors from Palacký University Olomouc appreciate the internal IGA grant of Palacký University (IGA_PrF_2022_013) and thank the facilitators of the project CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17_049/0008408 of the Ministry of Education, Youth & Sports of the Czech Republic as well

Isolation of novel PSII-LHCII megacomplexes from pea plants characterized by a combination of proteomics and electron microscopy

This work was supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, “Futuro in Ricerca 2013” program RBFR1334SB to CP

The dipolar endofullerene HF@C60

The cavity inside fullerenes provides a unique environment for the study of isolated atoms and molecules. We report encapsulation of hydrogen fluoride inside C60 using molecular surgery to give the endohedral fullerene HF@C60. The key synthetic step is the closure of the open fullerene cage while minimizing escape of HF. The encapsulated HF molecule moves freely inside the cage and exhibits quantization of its translational and rotational degrees of freedom, as revealed by inelastic neutron scattering and infrared spectroscopy. The rotational and vibrational constants of the encapsulated HF molecules were found to be redshifted relative to free HF. The NMR spectra display a large 1H-19F J coupling typical of an isolated species. The dipole moment of HF@C60 was estimated from the temperature-dependence of the dielectric constant at cryogenic temperatures and showed that the cage shields around 75% of the HF dipole

Models and measurements of energy-dependent quenching

Energy-dependent quenching (qE) in photosystem II (PSII) is a pH-dependent response that enables plants to regulate light harvesting in response to rapid fluctuations in light intensity. In this review, we aim to provide a physical picture for understanding the interplay between the triggering of qE by a pH gradient across the thylakoid membrane and subsequent changes in PSII. We discuss how these changes alter the energy transfer network of chlorophyll in the grana membrane and allow it to switch between an unquenched and quenched state. Within this conceptual framework, we describe the biochemical and spectroscopic measurements and models that have been used to understand the mechanism of qE in plants with a focus on measurements of samples that perform qE in response to light. In addition, we address the outstanding questions and challenges in the field. One of the current challenges in gaining a full understanding of qE is the difficulty in simultaneously measuring both the photophysical mechanism of quenching and the physiological state of the thylakoid membrane. We suggest that new experimental and modeling efforts that can monitor the many processes that occur on multiple timescales and length scales will be important for elucidating the quantitative details of the mechanism of qE