Improving Sample Collection Of Trace Particles Of Mock Explosive On Nano Coated Sensor

In protection against explosive-based terrorism, development and mass deployment of miniature sensors can play a tremendous role. In trace explosive detection, one of the challenges is bringing explosive vapor samples from the environment to the sensor element. Such collection of a selective and sufficient amount of air sample will enable the device detect the explosive at lower concentration. This can be done by adsorption of the explosive vapor on a substrate. This research implements the idea by developing a nano coated sensor on a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) substrate. The effects of varying the amount of polyethyleneimine in the nano coating solution of the sensor to adsorb trace particles of a mock explosive are studied. A nano coating mixture of ferrofluid, polyethyleneimine and epoxy are coated on the surface of PZT substrate, and exposed to a magnetic field to create a pattern of cones. Then it is exposed to ultraviolet rays for curing during a 24 hours period. Finally, adsorption tests are conducted on the newly created sensor. In the adsorption test, nitrogen gas is used as carrier and 2-nitrotoluene is used as the mock explosive. The carrier gas is routed to the 2-nitrotoluene in a bubbler. Then the vapor mixture of 2-nitrotoluene and nitrogen is routed to the sensor box. Next the sensor is scanned with a Raman spectrometer for spectral identification. This procedure is conducted on different sensors which are made by varying the amount of polyethyleneimine, and tested before and after plasma etching using argon gas. The results shothat increasing the amount of polyethyleneimine by mass yields an increase in the adsorption rate and also leads to the adsorption of a smaller concentration of the mock explosive. In addition, plasma etching of the sensor further improved these results. It enabled adsorption at a less concentration up to 19 ppm. This research shothat the best composition for consistent and reliable adsorption is 80% ferrofluid, 15% polyethyleneimine and 5% epoxy. The trends in this work indicate further research can lead to this sensor concept being able to capture trace explosive particles on a much lower level

Palaeomagnetism of Precambrian igneous rocks in Australia and East Antarctica: implications for the pre-Pangea supercontinents and supercontinent cycle

This thesis presents a series of new, high-quality palaeomagnetic data from Precambrian igneous rocks in Western Australia, South Australia and East Antarctica. The ages of the corresponding new palaeomagnetic poles range from late Archaean to late Mesoproterozoic. The new data improve significantly the Australian and East Antarctic palaeomagnetic database and shed lights on the tectonic evolution of Australia and global palaeogeographic reconstructions

Reap the Harvest on Blockchain: A Survey of Yield Farming Protocols

Yield farming represents an immensely popular asset management activity in decentralized finance (DeFi). It involves supplying, borrowing, or staking crypto assets to earn an income in forms of transaction fees, interest, or participation rewards at different DeFi marketplaces. In this systematic survey, we present yield farming protocols as an aggregation-layer constituent of the wider DeFi ecosystem that interact with primitive-layer protocols such as decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and protocols for loanable funds (PLFs). We examine the yield farming mechanism by first studying the operations encoded in the yield farming smart contracts, and then performing stylized, parameterized simulations on various yield farming strategies. We conduct a thorough literature review on related work, and establish a framework for yield farming protocols that takes into account pool structure, accepted token types, and implemented strategies. Using our framework, we characterize major yield aggregators in the market including Yearn Finance, Beefy, and Badger DAO. Moreover, we discuss anecdotal attacks against yield aggregators and generalize a number of risks associated with yield farming.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2105.1389

The Response of Haricot Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L) Varieties to Phosphorus Levels on Nitosols at Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

A field experiment was conducted at two locations (Bolosso Sore and Damot Sore) in Wolaita Zone of Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Regional State to evaluate the response of two varieties of haricot bean (phaseolus vulgaris L.) to phosphorus fertilizer rates on acidic soils. Combinations of four levels of P (0, 10, 20 and 30 kg ha-1) were used on two varieties. The treatments were arranged in factorial RCBD with three replications. Analysis resulted of soil samples showed that Available P, Organic carbon, Total Nitrogen & Soil pH values were very low. Application of lime with P resulted significant changes on these chemical properties of the soils in the two locations.  The maximum values of these parameters recorded at 30 kg Pha-1. Growth parameters yield and yield components were significantly increased with increasing rates of P at the two locations. Maximum grain yields (1488.40 and 1523.7 kgha-1 for Hawse Dume at Gunno and Dollar, respectively and 1242.12 and 1352.01 kgha-1 for Omo-95 at Gunn and Dollar, respectively) recorded at rates of 30 kgPha-1 in the both locations. From the result of this study it could be conclude that improve soil pH, Available P and performance of haricot bean varieties but till now there is some gap on correcting P application of grain yield of the varieties. So application of P could be   increased the production of the crops. Keywords: Hawse Dume, Omo-95, soil acidity and yiel

Selective detection of gaseous ammonia with specifically functionalized silicon photonic microring resonator: towards low cost and portable breath monitoring

We demonstrate a selective ammonia sensor based on a silicon photonic microring resonator functionalized with nanoporous silicate films. The potential of this sensor as a low cost, portable and real-time medical breath monitoring device is discussed

Upregulation of AKAP12 by demethylation inhibits proliferation and increases chem osensitivity to adriamycin in leukemic cells

Purpose: To elucidate the role of AKAP12 in leukemia cells.Methods: Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting (WB) were employed to determine the expression of AKAP12 in leukocyte cell lines, while 5-azacytidine was used to treat the cells, followed by assessment of the expression of AKAP12. After constructing the overexpressing vector pc-AKAP12 and transfecting it into cells or treating the cells with 5-azacytidine, cell counting kit-8 assay (CCK-8) was used to determine cell proliferation. Cloning ability of the cells was evaluated by colony formation assay.  Furthermore, flow cytometry was employed to measure the degrees of cell cycle and cell apoptosis. The effect of AKAP12 on PI3K/AKT were determined by western blot.Results: The results showed that AKAP12 was lowly expressed in lymphocytic leukemia cell lines (p < 0.001), but was reversed by 5-azacytidine. Transfection of AKAP12 or 5-azacytidine treatment increased the expression of AKAP12 in the cells (p > 0.001), inhibited leukemia cell proliferation and clonality, and arrested cell cycle in G1 phase as well as induced apoptosis. In addition, PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was inhibited by AKAP12.Conclusion: AKAP12 is lowly expressed in leukemia cells, and may also play a role in inhibiting leukemia progression by suppressing the activity of PI3K/AKT pathway.Thus, targeting AKAP12 mght be a potential strategy in the management of lukemia

SoK: Design, Vulnerabilities and Defense of Cryptocurrency Wallets

The rapid growth of decentralized digital currencies, enabled by blockchain technology, has ushered in a new era of peer-to-peer transactions, revolutionizing the global economy. Cryptocurrency wallets, serving as crucial endpoints for these transactions, have become increasingly prevalent. However, the escalating value and usage of these wallets also expose them to significant security risks and challenges. This research aims to comprehensively explore the security aspects of cryptocurrency wallets. It provides a taxonomy of wallet types, analyzes their design and implementation, identifies common vulnerabilities and attacks, and discusses defense mechanisms and mitigation strategies. The taxonomy covers custodial, non-custodial, hot, and cold wallets, highlighting their unique characteristics and associated security considerations. The security analysis scrutinizes the theoretical and practical aspects of wallet design, while assessing the efficacy of existing security measures and protocols. Notable wallet attacks, such as Binance, Mt. Gox are examined to understand their causes and consequences. Furthermore, the paper surveys defense mechanisms, transaction monitoring, evaluating their effectiveness in mitigating threats

An integrated optic ethanol vapor sensor based on a silicon-on-insulator microring resonator coated with a porous ZnO film

Optical structures fabricated on silicon-on-insulator technology provide a convenient platform for the implementation of highly compact, versatile and low cost devices. In this work, we demonstrate the promise of this technology for integrated low power and low cost optical gas sensing. A room temperature ethanol vapor sensor is demonstrated using a ZnO nanoparticle film as a coating on an SOI micro-ring resonator of 5 mu m in radius. The local coating on the ring resonators is prepared from colloidal suspensions of ZnO nanoparticles of around 3 nm diameter. The porous nature of the coating provides a large surface area for gas adsorption. The ZnO refractive index change upon vapor adsorption shifts the microring resonance through evanescent field interaction. Ethanol vapor concentrations down to 100 ppm are detected with this sensing configuration and a detection limit below 25 ppm is estimated. (C) 2009 Optical Society of Americ

Fungal pretreatment of miscanthus for fermentable sugar production: experimental and techno-economic evaluation

Lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant, renewable feedstock for biorefineries, but pretreatment is usually required to overcome its high recalcitrance to biodegradation. Fungal pretreatment, an alternative process to traditional pretreatments, can enhance the enzymatic digestibility of the lignocellulosic biomass. Fungal pretreatment can be performed at low temperature, without added chemicals, and no wastewater generation. However, in comparison with traditional pretreatments, longer residence times, lower yields, and feedstock sterilization requirements make it challenging to implement. This work investigated the fungal pretreatment of the dedicated energy crop Miscanthus × giganteus with the white rot fungus Ceriporiopsis subvermispora. Fungal pretreatment of non-sterile miscanthus was performed in batch using miscanthus previously colonized with the fungus as inoculum. The process enhanced the enzymatic digestibility of miscanthus by 2-fold over that of untreated miscanthus, and was comparable to the pretreatment of sterilized miscanthus inoculated with a pure culture of the white rot fungus. The finished material from the unsterilized pretreatment was used as inoculum for two more generations in a sequential fungal pretreatment process, where no increase in enzymatic digestibility was observed. A propagation of indigenous fungi that out-colonized C. subvermispora was observed through the generations, showing that sterilization is a required step for the stability and reproducibility of fungal pretreatment. A techno-economic analysis of the production of fermentable sugars from miscanthus using fungal pretreatment showed that the process was not feasible at full biorefinery scale due to the high capital cost caused by long residence time, low feedstock bulk density, and low sugar yields