Entanglement and measurement-induced nonlocality of mixed maximally entangled states in multipartite dynamics

postprin

Factors governing microalgae harvesting efficiency by flocculation using cationic polymers.

This study aims to elucidate the mechanisms governing the harvesting efficiency of Chlorella vulgaris by flocculation using a cationic polymer. Flocculation efficiency increased as microalgae culture matured (i.e. 35-45, 75, and > 97% efficiency at early, late exponential, and stationary phase, respectively. Unlike the negative impact of phosphate on flocculation in traditional wastewater treatment; here, phosphorous residue did not influence the flocculation efficiency of C. vulgaris. The observed dependency of flocculation efficiency on growth phase was driven by changes in microalgal cell properties. Microalgal extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in both bound and free forms at stationary phase were two and three times higher than those at late and early exponential phase, respectively. Microalgae cells also became more negatively charged as they matured. Negatively charged and high EPS content together with the addition of high molecular weight and positively charged polymer could facilitate effective flocculation via charge neutralisation and bridging

A model-based approach to recovering the structure of a plant from images

We present a method for recovering the structure of a plant directly from a small set of widely-spaced images. Structure recovery is more complex than shape estimation, but the resulting structure estimate is more closely related to phenotype than is a 3D geometric model. The method we propose is applicable to a wide variety of plants, but is demonstrated on wheat. Wheat is made up of thin elements with few identifiable features, making it difficult to analyse using standard feature matching techniques. Our method instead analyses the structure of plants using only their silhouettes. We employ a generate-and-test method, using a database of manually modelled leaves and a model for their composition to synthesise plausible plant structures which are evaluated against the images. The method is capable of efficiently recovering accurate estimates of plant structure in a wide variety of imaging scenarios, with no manual intervention

Exploring the Brain Responses to Driving Fatigue through Simultaneous EEG and fNIRS Measurements

© 2020 World Scientific Publishing Company. Fatigue is one problem with driving as it can lead to difficulties with sustaining attention, behavioral lapses, and a tendency to ignore vital information or operations. In this research, we explore multimodal physiological phenomena in response to driving fatigue through simultaneous functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG) recordings with the aim of investigating the relationships between hemodynamic and electrical features and driving performance. Sixteen subjects participated in an event-related lane-deviation driving task while measuring their brain dynamics through fNIRS and EEGs. Three performance groups, classified as Optimal, Suboptimal, and Poor, were defined for comparison. From our analysis, we find that tonic variations occur before a deviation, and phasic variations occur afterward. The tonic results show an increased concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) and power changes in the EEG theta, alpha, and beta bands. Both dynamics are significantly correlated with deteriorated driving performance. The phasic EEG results demonstrate event-related desynchronization associated with the onset of steering vehicle in all power bands. The concentration of phasic HbO2 decreased as performance worsened. Further, the negative correlations between tonic EEG delta and alpha power and HbO2 oscillations suggest that activations in HbO2 are related to mental fatigue. In summary, combined hemodynamic and electrodynamic activities can provide complete knowledge of the brain's responses as evidence of state changes during fatigue driving

Identification of the major chemical constituents and their metabolites in rat plasma and various organs after oral administration of effective Erxian Decoction (EXD) fraction by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple and specific LC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS method has been developed and applied for the primary investigation of the chemical constituents absorbed or metabolized in vivo, after the rat oral administration of Erxian Decoction (EXD), a Chinese medicine prescription for menopausal syndromes. Through the online ESI-MS n analysis, a total of 35 compounds have been identified or tentatively characterized from the seven tested samples, and 13 of them were unambiguously identified through a direct comparison of the retention time, UV spectra and MS n fragmentation patterns with the authentic ones. The results showed that 21 compounds were detected from rat plasma, 20 compounds were detected from rat kidneys and adrenal glands, 19 compounds were detected from rat ovaries, 12 compounds were found in rat intestines, nine compounds were identified from rat livers and nine compounds were detected from rat brains at certain time points after oral administration of the eff ective EXD fraction. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.postprin

Energy loss in perturbative QCD

We review the properties of energetic parton propagation in hot or cold QCD matter, as obtained in recent works. Advances in understanding the energy loss - collisional and radiative - are summarized, with emphasis on the latter: it features very interesting properties which may help to detect the quark-gluon plasma produced in heavy ion collisions. We describe two different theoretical approaches, which lead to the same radiated gluon energy spectrum. The case of a longitudinally expanding QCD plasma is investigated. The energy lost by a jet with given opening angle is calculated in view of making predictions for the suppression (quenching) of hard jet production. Phenomenological implications for the difference between hot and cold matter are discussed. Numerical estimates of the loss suggest that it may be significantly enhanced in hot compared to cold matter.Comment: 49 pages latex file with 11 embedded PS figures. Uses ar.sty (included), one equation revised. submitted to Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Scienc

A review on the occurrence of micropollutants in the aquatic environment and their fate and removal during wastewater treatment

Micropollutants are emerging as a new challenge to the scientific community. This review provides a summary of the recent occurrence of micropollutants in the aquatic environment including sewage, surface water, groundwater and drinking water. The discharge of treated effluent from WWTPs is a major pathway for the introduction of micropollutants to surface water. WWTPs act as primary barriers against the spread of micropollutants. WWTP removal efficiency of the selected micropollutants in 14 countries/regions depicts compound-specific variation in removal, ranging from 12.5 to 100%. Advanced treatment processes, such as activated carbon adsorption, advanced oxidation processes, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and membrane bioreactors can achieve higher and more consistent micropollutant removal. However, regardless of what technology is employed, the removal of micropollutants depends on physico-chemical properties of micropollutants and treatment conditions. The evaluation of micropollutant removal from municipal wastewater should cover a series of aspects from sources to end uses. After the release of micropollutants, a better understanding and modeling of their fate in surface water is essential for effectively predicting their impacts on the receiving environment. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

Anisotropy of Solar Wind Turbulence in the Inner Heliosphere at Kinetic Scales: PSP Observations

The anisotropy of solar wind turbulence is a critical issue in understanding the physics of energy transfer between scales and energy conversion between fields and particles in the heliosphere. Using the measurement of Parker Solar Probe (PSP), we present an observation of the anisotropy at kinetic scales in the slow, Alfvénic, solar wind in the inner heliosphere. The magnetic compressibility behaves as expected for kinetic Alfvénic turbulence below the ion scale. A steepened transition range is found between the inertial and kinetic ranges in all directions with respect to the local background magnetic field direction. The anisotropy of k⊥ Gt k∥ is found evident in both transition and kinetic ranges, with the power anisotropy P⊥/P∥ > 10 in the kinetic range leading over that in the transition range and being stronger than that at 1 au. The spectral index varies from αt∥ = −5.7 ± 1.0 to αt⊥ = −3.7 ± 0.3 in the transition range and αk∥ = −3.12 ± 0.22 to αk⊥ = −2.57 ± 0.09 in the kinetic range. The corresponding wavevector anisotropy has the scaling of ${k}_{\parallel }\sim {k}_{\perp }^{0.71\pm 0.17}$ in the transition range, and changes to ${k}_{\parallel }\sim {k}_{\perp }^{0.38\pm 0.09}$ in the kinetic range, consistent with the kinetic Alfvénic turbulence at sub-ion scales

Substantial emission reductions from Chinese power plants after the introduction of ultra-low emissions standards

In 2014, China introduced an ultra-low emissions (ULE) standards policy for renovating coal-fired power-generating units to limit SO2, NOx and particulate matter (PM) emissions to 35, 50 and 10 mg m−3, respectively. The ULE standard policy had ambitious levels (surpassing those of all other countries) and implementation timeline. We estimate emission reductions associated with the ULE policy by constructing a nationwide, unit-level, hourly-frequency emissions dataset using data from a continuous emissions monitoring systems network covering 96–98% of Chinese thermal power capacity during 2014–2017. We find that between 2014 and 2017 China’s annual power emissions of SO2, NOx and PM dropped by 65%, 60% and 72%, respectively. Our estimated emissions using actual monitoring data are 18–92% below other recent estimates. We detail the technologies used to meet the ULE standards and the determinants of compliance, underscoring the importance of ex post evaluation and providing insights for other countries wishing to reduce their power emissions