3,990 research outputs found
Second-order Nonlinear Optical Microscopy of Spider Silk
Asymmetric -sheet protein structures in spider silk should induce
nonlinear optical interaction such as second harmonic generation (SHG) which is
experimentally observed for a radial line and dragline spider silk by using an
imaging femtosecond laser SHG microscope. By comparing different spider silks,
we found that the SHG signal correlates with the existence of the protein -sheets. Measurements of the polarization dependence of SHG from the
dragline indicated that the -sheet has a nonlinear response
depending on the direction of the incident electric field. We propose a model
of what orientation the -sheet takes in spider silk.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl
Sum frequency generation spectroscopy of the attachment disc of a spider
The pyriform silk of the attachment disc of a spider was studied using
infrared-visible vibrational sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy. The
spider can attach dragline and radial lines to many kinds of substrates in
nature (concrete, alloy, metal, glass, plant branches, leaves, etc.) with the
attachment disc. The adhesion can bear the spider's own weight, and resist the
wind on its orb web. From our SFG spectroscopy study, the NH group of arginine
side chain and/or NH group of arginine and glutamine side chain in the
amino acid sequence of the attachment silk proteins are suggested to be
oriented in the disc. It was inferred from the observed doublet SFG peaks at
around 3300 cm that the oriented peptide contains two kinds of
structures.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figure
DoubleEcho: Mitigating Context-Manipulation Attacks in Copresence Verification
Copresence verification based on context can improve usability and strengthen
security of many authentication and access control systems. By sensing and
comparing their surroundings, two or more devices can tell whether they are
copresent and use this information to make access control decisions. To the
best of our knowledge, all context-based copresence verification mechanisms to
date are susceptible to context-manipulation attacks. In such attacks, a
distributed adversary replicates the same context at the (different) locations
of the victim devices, and induces them to believe that they are copresent. In
this paper we propose DoubleEcho, a context-based copresence verification
technique that leverages acoustic Room Impulse Response (RIR) to mitigate
context-manipulation attacks. In DoubleEcho, one device emits a wide-band
audible chirp and all participating devices record reflections of the chirp
from the surrounding environment. Since RIR is, by its very nature, dependent
on the physical surroundings, it constitutes a unique location signature that
is hard for an adversary to replicate. We evaluate DoubleEcho by collecting RIR
data with various mobile devices and in a range of different locations. We show
that DoubleEcho mitigates context-manipulation attacks whereas all other
approaches to date are entirely vulnerable to such attacks. DoubleEcho detects
copresence (or lack thereof) in roughly 2 seconds and works on commodity
devices
Treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in a remote, conflict-affected area of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a high-burden country for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Médecins Sans Frontières has supported the Ministry of Health in the conflict-affected region of Shabunda since 1997. In 2006, three patients were diagnosed with drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) and had no options for further treatment. An innovative model was developed to treat these patients despite the remote setting. Key innovations were the devolving of responsibility for treatment to non-TB clinicians remotely supported by a TB specialist, use of simplified monitoring protocols, and a strong focus on addressing stigma to support adherence. Treatment was successfully completed after a median of 24 months. This pilot programme demonstrates that successful treatment for DR-TB is possible on a small scale in remote settings
Development of freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) seed production and culture technology in the Mekong Delta Region of Vietnam: A review of the JIRCAS Project at Cantho University.
The Mekong Delta of Vietnam is a region rich in aquatic resources having high potential for aquaculture development. Inland aquaculture in the Mekong Delta has greatly increased since the last decade. Fish culture carried out in combination with other agricultural activities such as animal husbandry and rice cultivation, and intensive aquaculture in ponds and cages have been the dominant forms of fish production. However, the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, has recently become a species of economic significance and the target of aquaculture activity in the Mekong Delta. M. rosenbergii is cultured throughout the region in the rice fields, ponds, orchard gardens and in pens along river banks. The major constraints in this industry are seed supply and culture techniques, becoming the major obstacles for the further development of the culture of this species.
In a collaborative research project implemented between the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) and Cantho University (CTU) since 1994, studies have been carried out on various aspects relating to the establishment of M. rosenbergii seed production and culture technology. The project is now in the middle of its second phase and has generated a great deal of scientific and practical information. This paper presents an overview of the achievements of this project
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