Optical Orbital Angular Momentum Demultiplexing and Channel Equalization by Using Equalizing Dammann Vortex Grating

A novel equalizing Dammann vortex grating (EDVG) is proposed as orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexer to realize OAM signal demultiplexing and channel equalization. The EDVG is designed by suppressing odd diffraction orders and adjusting the grating structure. The light intensity of diffraction is subsequently distributed evenly in the diffraction orders, and the total diffraction efficiency can be improved from 53.22% to 82%. By using the EDVG, OAM demultiplexing and channel equalization can be realized. Numerical simulation shows that the bit error rate (BER) of each OAM channel can decrease to 10-4 when the bit SNR is 22 dB, and the intensity is distributed over the necessary order of diffraction evenly

Covert communication in downlink NOMA systems with channel uncertainty

With the gradual promotion of the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication and Internet of Things (IoT) applications, wireless communication transmission will be more vulnerable to illegal interceptions and/or attacks. To ensure communication security, we study covert communication of downlink nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) systems, where the channel knowledge of users is uncertain. A multiantenna transmitter tries to covertly transmit information to a covert user (strong user) through the shield of a public communication link (weak user), while the warden tries to detect the communication behavior between the transmitter and the covert user. To improve security and energy efficiency, the ${k}$ th best antenna of the transmitter is selected, since the optimal antenna may be not available due to some schedule and/or other reasons. Aiming to evaluate the proposed framework performance, we start by deriving exact expressions for the minimum detection error probability and the optimal detection threshold of the warden, followed by a calculation analysis of the expected minimum detection error probability (EMDEP) and the outage probability of NOMA users. The asymptotic behavior for the outage probability is investigated at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to acquire greater useful insights. With the goal of improving the system covertness performance, we propose that a scheme is optimized to enhance the covert throughput of the system to the maximum. Simulation results show that the following hold: 1) channel estimation errors have a significant effect on system performance; 2) reliability performance tends to build up, as the total number of antennas grows large; and 3) as the transmitting power and number of antennas increases, there is an upper bound for maximizing the covert throughput

Tuber indicum and T. lijiangense colonization differentially regulates plant physiological responses and mycorrhizosphere bacterial community of Castanopsis rockii seedlings

Black truffles and white truffles are widely studied around the world, but their effects on plant growth and physiological responses, and on the mycorrhizosphere bacterial community of the host plant remain unclear. Here, mycorrhizal colonization of Castanopsis rockii by Tuber indicum (Chinese black truffle) and T. lijiangense (Chinese white truffle), respectively, was induced in a greenhouse study, and their effects on host growth, physiological responses and mycorrhizosphere bacterial communities were compared. The results show that colonization of both Tuber species significantly increased leaf photosynthetic rate, leaf P concentration and mycorrhizosphere acid phosphatase activity, as well as richness of mycorrhizosphere bacterial communities of C. rockii seedlings. However, T. indicum colonization on the one hand significantly decreased tartrate content, bacterial acid phosphatase, phoC gene abundance in the mycorrhizosphere, and peroxidase (POD) activity of ectomycorrhizal root tips, but on the other hand increased mycorrhizosphere pH and superoxide dismutase (SOD) of ectomycorrhizal root tips, compared to T. lijiangense colonization. Moreover, principal coordinate and β-diversity analyses show significant differences in mycorrhizosphere bacterial community composition between T. indicum and T. lijiangese colonized C. rockii seedlings. Finally, the relative abundance of the bacterium Agromyces cerinus significantly correlated to mycorrhizosphere acid phosphatase activity and leaf P concentration, suggesting that this bacterium might play an important role in P mobilization and acquisition. Overall, these results suggest that T. indicum and T. lijiangense differently regulate their host plant’s physiological responses and mycorrhizosphere bacterial community

Waterways to Greenways: A Case Study in Shangjie, Zhengzhou, Henan, China

This case study introduces how we used a water sensitive approach to plan a storm water and sponge city project, which expanded into a holistic green infrastructure project. The project is in the Shangjie district in city of Zhengzhou, Henan China. The whole site is 61.16 km² including several waterways. The city is expanding into areas that were previously agricultural. Developers and city both desire to improve the ecological value of the city to boost the economic growth of the Shangjie district. The main goal for the client is to transform the existing industrial city into a more resilient and livable ecological region. Our approach is to holistically solve the region\u27s increasing demand for flood control and storm water management, and to improve ecological and recreational values along these riparian corridors. We propose additional waterways and water bodies to act as green infrastructure, then link the greenways to existing or proposed parks to form a comprehensive greenway network. Our multidisciplinary team conducted detailed investigations and collaborated extensively. The team consists of hydraulic engineers, civil engineers, environmental planners, landscape planners, urban planners, economic planners, and others. We used a variety of technologies, including GIS, Infoworks, remote sensing technology, MIKE model, and lab tests

CYP27A1 deficiency promoted osteoclast differentiation

Background The elevating osteoclast differentiation can lead to an imbalance in bone homeostasis, which was responsible for bone loss and bone diseases, such as osteoporosis. Multiple pathways and molecules have been involved in osteoclast formation, but the role of CYP27A1 in osteoclast differentiation has never been explored. Methods CYP27A1 deficient mice were constructed using CRISPR-Cas9 system. Osteoclast differentiation was detected by TRAP staining. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using RNA-seq analysis and were confirmed by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results The results showed that CYP27A1 knockout (KO) promoted osteoclast differentiation and bone loss. The transcriptomic analysis revealed that CYP27A1 KO led to differential expression of multiple genes, including ELANE, LY6C2, S100A9, GM20708, BGN, SPARC, and COL1A2, which were confirmed by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Enrichment analysis indicated that these differential genes were significantly associated with osteogenesis-related pathways, such as PPAR signaling, IL-17 signaling, and PI3K/AKT signaling, which were confirmed by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Conclusions These results suggested that CYP27A1 was involved in osteoclast differentiation, providing a novel therapeutic target for osteoclast-related diseases

Polymorphism of Lactoferrin Gene with PCR - RFLP and its Association with Subclinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows

International audienceDécret n° 2007-1151 du 30 juillet 200

Conception and Exploration of Using Data as a Service in Tunnel Construction with the NATM

The New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) has been widely used in the construction of mountain tunnels, urban metro lines, underground storage tanks, underground power houses, mining roadways, and so on. The variation patterns of advance geological prediction data, stress–strain data of supporting structures, and deformation data of the surrounding rock are vitally important in assessing the rationality and reliability of construction schemes, and provide essential information to ensure the safety and scheduling of tunnel construction. However, as the quantity of these data increases significantly, the uncertainty and discreteness of the mass data make it extremely difficult to produce a reasonable construction scheme; they also reduce the forecast accuracy of accidents and dangerous situations, creating huge challenges in tunnel construction safety. In order to solve this problem, a novel data service system is proposed that uses data-association technology and the NATM, with the support of a big data environment. This system can integrate data resources from distributed monitoring sensors during the construction process, and then identify associations and build relations among data resources under the same construction conditions. These data associations and relations are then stored in a data pool. With the development and supplementation of the data pool, similar relations can then be used under similar conditions, in order to provide data references for construction schematic designs and resource allocation. The proposed data service system also provides valuable guidance for the construction of similar projects. Keywords: New Austrian Tunneling Method, Big data environments, Data as a service, Tunnel constructio