Integrated Silicon Photonics for High-Speed Quantum Key Distribution

Integrated photonics offers great potential for quantum communication devices in terms of complexity, robustness and scalability. Silicon photonics in particular is a leading platform for quantum photonic technologies, with further benefits of miniaturisation, cost-effective device manufacture and compatibility with CMOS microelectronics. However, effective techniques for high-speed modulation of quantum states in standard silicon photonic platforms have been limited. Here we overcome this limitation and demonstrate high-speed low-error quantum key distribution modulation with silicon photonic devices combining slow thermo-optic DC biases and fast (10~GHz bandwidth) carrier-depletion modulation. The ability to scale up these integrated circuits and incorporate microelectronics opens the way to new and advanced integrated quantum communication technologies and larger adoption of quantum-secured communications

From Centroided to Profile Mode: Machine Learning for Prediction of Peak Width in HRMS Data

Centroiding is one of the major approaches used for size reduction of the data generated by high-resolution mass spectrometry. During centroiding, performed either during acquisition or as a pre-processing step, the mass profiles are represented by a single value (i.e., the centroid). While being effective in reducing the data size, centroiding also reduces the level of information density present in the mass peak profile. Moreover, each step of the centroiding process and their consequences on the final results may not be completely clear. Here, we present Cent2Prof, a package containing two algorithms that enables the conversion of the centroided data to mass peak profile data and vice versa. The centroiding algorithm uses the resolution-based mass peak width parameter as the first guess and self-adjusts to fit the data. In addition to the m/z values, the centroiding algorithm also generates the measured mass peak widths at half-height, which can be used during the feature detection and identification. The mass peak profile prediction algorithm employs a random-forest model for the prediction of mass peak widths, which is consequently used for mass profile reconstruction. The centroiding results were compared to the outputs of the MZmine-implemented centroiding algorithm. Our algorithm resulted in rates of false detection ≤5% while the MZmine algorithm resulted in 30% rate of false positive and 3% rate of false negative. The error in profile prediction was ≤56% independent of the mass, ionization mode, and intensity, which was 6 times more accurate than the resolution-based estimated values.publishedVersio

Wastewater-based estimation of the prevalence of gout in Australia

Embargo until 25 Jan 2022Allopurinol, a first-line gout treatment drug in Australia, was assessed as a wastewater-based epidemiology biomarker of gout via quantification of the urinary metabolite, oxypurinol in wastewater. The in-sewer stability of oxypurinol was examined using laboratory-scale sewer reactors. Wastewater from 75 wastewater treatment plants across Australia, covering approximately 52% (12.2 million) of the country's population, was collected on the 2016 census day. Oxypurinol was quantified in the wastewater samples and population-weighted mass loads calculated. Pearson and Spearman rank-order correlations were applied to investigate any link between allopurinol, other selected wastewater biomarkers, and socio-economic indicators. Oxypurinol was shown to be stable in sewer conditions and suitable as a WBE biomarker. Oxypurinol was detected in all wastewater samples. The estimated consumption of allopurinol ranged from 1.9 to 32 g/day/1000 people equating to 4.8 to 80 DDD/day/1000 people. The prevalence of gout across all tested sewer catchments was between 0.5% to 8%, with a median of 2.9% nationally. No significant positive correlation was observed between allopurinol consumption and alcohol consumption, mean age of catchment population, remoteness or higher socioeconomic status. There was a significant positive correlation with selective analgesic drug use. Wastewater analysis can be used to study gout prevalence and can provide additional insights on population level risk factors when triangulated with other biomarkers.acceptedVersio

Could wastewater analysis be a useful tool for China?: a review

Analysing wastewater samples is an innovative approach that overcomes many limitations of traditional surveys to identify and measure a range of chemicals that were consumed by or exposed to people living in a sewer catchment area. First conceptualised in 2001, much progress has been made to make wastewater analysis (WWA) a reliable and robust tool for measuring chemical consumption and/or exposure. At the moment, the most popular application of WWA, sometimes referred as sewage epidemiology, is to monitor the consumption of illicit drugs in communities around the globe, including China. The approach has been largely adopted by law enforcement agencies as a device to monitor the temporal and geographical patterns of drug consumption. In the future, the methodology can be extended to other chemicals including biomarkers of population health (e.g. environmental or oxidative stress biomarkers, lifestyle indicators or medications that are taken by different demographic groups) and pollutants that people are exposed to (e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, perfluorinated chemicals, and toxic pesticides). The extension of WWA to a huge range of chemicals may give rise to a field called sewage chemical-information mining (SCIM) with unexplored potentials. China has many densely populated cities with thousands of sewage treatment plants which are favourable for applying WWA/SCIM in order to help relevant authorities gather information about illicit drug consumption and population health status. However, there are some prerequisites and uncertainties of the methodology that should be addressed for SCIM to reach its full potential in China

Assessment of drugs of abuse in a wastewater treatment plant in New Zealand with parallel secondary wastewater treatment train

In this study, 24-hour composite wastewater samples were collected from a wastewater treatment plant of New Zealand with parallel secondary treatment units. The aim was to investigate the occurrence, removal, and consumption of 13 drugs of abuse (DOAs) including illicit drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and their metabolites. The filtered samples were analysed through direct injection on LC-MS/MS. Ethyl sulfate, one of the major metabolites of alcohol, was detected at the highest concentration (mean = 8300 ng/L) in wastewater influent. The mean concentrations of methamphetamine and hydroxycotinine in the influent were found to be 935 ng/L and 5000 ng/L, respectively. Amphetamine (383 ng/L) and cocaine (286 ng/L) were detected at the highest concentrations in the effluent. The removal efficiency of the treatment plant varied for DOAs: >99% for morphine, ethyl sulfate, and hydroxycotinine an

The message on the bottle:Rethinking plastic labelling to better encourage sustainable use

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordPlastic pollution continues to worsen globally in volume and complexity. The complexity in plastic production, use and disposal is significant, highlighting the importance of clear communication to consumers. Yet despite this, poor plastic labelling is clear, evident from poor waste management metrics even in the most equipped countries. Plastic labelling must change to contribute to a holistic intervention on global plastic mismanagement. Discussion on this topic leads to three key recommendations: 1. An accurate and clear “sustainability scale” to empower consumers to make decisions informed by environmental and human health implications; 2. Directions for appropriate disposal action in the region of purchase; 3. A comprehensive list of plastic composition, including additives.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)QUEX InstituteQueensland Health, AustraliaMinderoo Foundation, Australi

National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program - Report 2

This is the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program Second Report. It provides statistically valid datasets of drug use and distribution patterns across a large number of sites in capital cities and regional areas. Wastewater analysis is widely applied internationally as a tool to measure and interpret drug use within national populations, with the current national program in Australia representing world best practice. Wastewater analysis provides a measure of one important aspect of national health—the demand for a range of licit and illicit drugs. An understanding of this behaviour allows governments to effectively direct resources to priority areas and monitor the progress of demand and supply reduction strategie

National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program - Report 4

This is the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program Fourth Report. It provides statistically valid datasets of drug use and distribution patterns across a large number of sites in capital cities and regional areas. Wastewater analysis is widely applied internationally as a tool to measure and interpret drug use within national populations, with the current national program in Australia representing world best practice. Wastewater analysis provides a measure of one important aspect of national health—the demand for a range of licit and illicit drugs. An understanding of this behaviour allows governments to effectively direct resources to priority areas and monitor the progress of demand and supply reduction strategie

LC-HRMS suspect screening to show spatial patterns of New Psychoactive Substances use in Australia

New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) are an ever-changing class of compounds designed to imitate the effects of current recreational drugs. Such a diverse market is difficult to assess by traditional means, while collected information can become obsolete before it is available. Wastewater-based epidemiology is one technique which can capture information on where and when NPS appear at the community level. The aim of this study was to identify NPS in wastewater samples using a suspect screening approach. Weekend samples were collected from 50 wastewater treatment plants from Australian capital cities and regional areas across all eight States and Territories and screened against a database containing almost 200 NPS. A total of 22 different NPS were found across all regional and metropolitan wastewater treatment plants. Results showed that the most detected compounds were of the cathinone class, with both Alpha-PVP and methcathinone found in every region. In addition, five different synthetic cannabinoids were detected, at least once in half of the regions analysed. Herein, we report the first comprehensive nationwide analysis of NPS and show the utility of liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry screening for delivering spatial information of the NPS being consumed in communities