Visualising the past – an evaluation of processes and sequences for fingermark recovery from old documents

This study aimed to collect data on the effectiveness of most of the fingermark visualisation reagents currently used on porous surfaces on fingermarks aged for up to 90 years, significantly extending the timescales for which such information exists. A limited subset of the variables associated with processing of old fingermarks was explored, with a focus on the use of 1,8 diazafluoren-9-one (DFO), 1,2-indandione, ninhydrin, and physical developer. These techniques were used in sequence on batches of cheques between 11 and 32 years old, and on documents dating from the 1920s and 1940s. The potential for applying a physical developer enhancement process (blue toning) as the final step in the sequence was also explored. The benefits of using processing sequences on porous items were clearly demonstrated, with all processes in the sequence adding value in terms of additional marks found on the cheques up to 32 years old. In addition, physical developer was found to be capable of developing fingermarks up to 90 years old, whereas the amino acid reagents appear less effective on documents of 70 years and older. An experimental physical developer formulation with reduced environmental impact was found to be as effective as the existing process in these experiments. Blue toning was found to visualise an additional 10-25% of marks, and its wider use after silver-based deposition processes is recommended based on the evidence from this study.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Open Problems in α\alpha Particle Condensation

$\alpha$ particle condensation is a novel state in nuclear systems. We briefly review the present status on the study of $\alpha$ particle condensation and address the open problems in this research field: $\alpha$ particle condensation in heavier systems other than the Hoyle state, linear chain and $\alpha$ particle rings, Hoyle-analogue states with extra neutrons, $\alpha$ particle condensation related to astrophysics, etc.Comment: 12 pages. To be published in J. of Phys. G special issue on Open Problems in Nuclear Structure (OPeNST

Fingermark initial composition and aging using Fourier transform infrared microscopy (μ-FTIR)

This study investigated fingermark residues using Fourier transform infrared microscopy (μ- FTIR) in order to obtain fundamental information about the marks' initial composition and aging kinetics. This knowledge would be an asset for fundamental research on fingermarks, such as for dating purposes. Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) and single-point reflection modes were tested on fresh fingermarks. ATR proved to be better suited and this mode was subsequently selected for further aging studies. Eccrine and sebaceous material was found in fresh and aged fingermarks and the spectral regions 1000-1850 cm-1 and 2700-3600 cm-1 were identified as the most informative. The impact of substrates (aluminium and glass slides) and storage conditions (storage in the light and in the dark) on fingermark aging was also studied. Chemometric analyses showed that fingermarks could be grouped according to their age regardless of the substrate when they were stored in an open box kept in an air-conditioned laboratory at around 20°C next to a window. On the contrary, when fingermarks were stored in the dark, only specimens deposited on the same substrate could be grouped by age. Thus, the substrate appeared to influence aging of fingermarks in the dark. Furthermore, PLS regression analyses were conducted in order to study the possibility of modelling fingermark aging for potential fingermark dating applications. The resulting models showed an overall precision of ±3 days and clearly demonstrated their capability to differentiate older fingermarks (20 and 34-days old) from newer ones (1, 3, 7 and 9-days old) regardless of the substrate and lighting conditions. These results are promising from a fingermark dating perspective. Further research is required to fully validate such models and assess their robustness and limitations in uncontrolled casework conditions

QoS Supportive MAC Protocols for WSNs: Review and Evaluation

The use of wireless sensor networks technology is growing in different applications of monitoring. Since it is a relatively new technology, the interest of researchers to improve the network performance and behaviour has been enormous. In this context, new resource allocation scheme that takes into account traffic priority and load has been introduced. The evaluation of this scheme is intended to be achieved by implementing a custom simulator. This report discusses and evaluates all the important concerns needed to be considered during the development of this project. Moreover, this work also reviews the related literature in order to afford optimisations to the scheme

A conserved phosphorylation site regulates the transcriptional function of ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE3-like1 in tomato

ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE3/ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE3-like (EIN3/EIL) transcription factors are important downstream components of the ethylene transduction pathway known to regulate the transcription of early ethylene-responsive genes in plants. Previous studies have shown that phosphorylation can repress their transcriptional activity by promoting protein degradation. The present study identifies a new phosphorylation region named EPR1 (EIN3/EIL phosphorylation region 1) in tomato EIL1 proteins. The functional significance of EPR1 was tested by introducing mutations in this region of the Sl-EIL1 gene and by expressing these mutated versions in transgenic tomato plants. Transient expression data and phenotypic analysis of the transgenic lines indicated that EPR1 is essential for the transcriptional activity of Sl-EIL1. Moreover, mutation in the EPR1 site that prevents phosphorylation abolishes ethylene constitutive responses normally displayed by the Sl-EIL1-overexpressing lines. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) studies showed that the presence of a functional phosphorylation site within EPR1 is instrumental in the dimerization of Sl-EIL1 proteins. The results illuminate a new molecular mechanism for the control of EIN3/EIL activity and propose a model where phosphorylation within the EPR1 promotes the dimerization process allowing the initiation of EIL-mediated transcription of early ethylene-regulated genes

Moon phase effect on mosquito vectors of West Nile virus in Madagascar: biodiversity, abundance, host attractiveness and feeding rates

West Nile Virus (WNV) infection occurs throughout Madagascar. Its epidemiological cycle involves horses, human, birds and mosquitoes. Our entomological data shows unexpected information on mosquitoes vectors diversity and biology that relates to the collection methods. This study highlights the effect of lunar cycle that has not been previously considered in previous studies in Madagascar. During 2017, the influence of the two lunar phases (full versus new moon) on mosquito populations was analyzed in a farm located in the surroundings of Antananarivo city, Madagascar. Each month, mosquito collections were performed twice: one night during the full moon and one during the new moon. Six light traps were used: three indoors (in horse's box stall, in a house, in a cowshed), while three outdoors (near a pigsty, near a chicken coop, near a water point). During 24 night catches, 36,448 specimens belonging to 23 species were collected with Culex antennatus (64%) and Cx. quinquefasciatus (30%) the most abundant species. Cx. antennatus was mostly collected in traps associated with domestic animals while Cx. quinquefasciatus in trap placed in house. Each month, the total number of females caught during new moon was 1 to 3,5 times higher than those caught during full moon (ANOVA; F=34.4, DF=3, P0,05) the same pattern than the abundance of mosquitoes collected in the farm. The lunar cycle has an effect on mosquito abundance and host attractiveness and might vary according to the mosquito species. This lunar effect and the location of traps should be taken into consideration for one target species during entomological investigations aiming at unraveling West-Nile virus transmission when using light traps

Intrinsic vs. laboratory frame description of the deformed nucleus 48Cr

The collective yrast band of the nucleus $^{48}$Cr is studied using the spherical shell model and the HFB method. Both approaches produce basically the same axially symmetric intrinsic state up to the - accurately reproduced - observed backbending. Agreement between both calculations extends to most observables. The only significant discrepancy comes from the static moments of inertia and can be attributed to the need of a more refined treatment of pairing correlations in the HFB calculation.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX 3.0 using psfig, 6 Postscript figures included using uufile

Approximate particle number projection for finite range density dependent forces

The Lipkin-Nogami method is generalized to deal with finite range density dependent forces. New expressions are derived and realistic calculations with the Gogny force are performed for the nuclei $^{164}$Er and $^{168}$Er. The sharp phase transition predicted by the mean field approximation is washed out by the Lipkin-Nogami approach; a much better agreement with the experimental data is reached with the new approach than with the Hartree-Fock_Bogoliubov one, specially at high spins.Comment: 5 pages, RevTeX 3.0, 3 postscript figures included using uufiles. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let