Testing alternative theories of gravity with space-based gravitational wave detectors

We use gravitational waves (GWs) from binary black holes (BBHs) and neutron stars inspiraling into intermediate-mass black holes to evaluate how accurately the future space-based GW detectors such as LISA, Taiji and TianQin and their combined networks can determine source parameters and constrain alternative theories of gravity. We find that, compared with single detector, the detector network can greatly improve the estimation errors of source parameters, especially the sky localization, but the improvement of the constraint on the graviton mass $m_g$ and the Brans-Dicke coupling constant $\omega_{BD}$ is small. We also consider possible scalar modes existed in alternative theories of gravity and we find the inclusion of the scalar mode has little effect on the constraints on source parameters, $m_g$, and $\omega_{BD}$ and the parametrized amplitude $A_B$ of scalar modes are small. For the constraint on the graviton mass, we consider both the effects in the GW phase and the transfer function due to the mass of graviton. With the network of LISA, Taiji and TianQin, we get the lower bound on the graviton Compton wavelength $\lambda_g\gtrsim 1.24 \times 10^{20}$ m for BBHs with masses $(10^6+10^7)M_\odot$, and $A_B< 5.7\times 10^{-4}$ for BBHs with masses $(1+2)\times 10^5M_\odot$; $\omega_{BD}>6.11\times10^{6}$ for neutron star-black hole binary with masses $(1.4+400)M_{\odot}$.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables. Typos corrected and references updated. Published in PR

Understanding the fate of nitrogen during catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction of sewage sludge

In this study, the fate of nitrogen during catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of sewage sludge (SS) is investigated using three different catalysts (CuNi/SiO$_2$, HCOOH, CuSO$_4$) with 5 wt% loading. The bio-crude yields obtained from HTL experiments catalyzed with CuNi/SiO$_2$ are similar to those obtained through non-catalyzed experiments. HCOOH slightly increases the bio-crude yields, while maximum yields of 24.5 wt% is obtained in the presence of CuSO$_4$, which also reduces the nitrogen content by 15 % and enhances the hydrocarbons compared to the non-catalyzed HTL. Mechanistic investigations regarding the interaction of amino acids and carbohydrates by Maillard reactions are carried out using model compounds, namely lysine and lactose. CuSO$_4$ effectively increases the yield with 50 % and reduces the nitrogen content by 24 % in the bio-crude during HTL of lysine alone. In the case of the model mixtures, bio-crude yields, nitrogen content, and Maillard reactions products behaved similarly both for catalytic and non-catalytic HTL, a slight reduction of amines was found in the presence of CuSO$_4$. Hydro-char and some organic compounds are assumed to act highly reductant during catalytic HTL. Coke deposition and adsorbed poisoning by Maillard reaction products are proposed as the main reasons for the deactivation of catalysts

Exploiting wireless received signal strength indicators to detect evil-twin attacks in smart homes

Evil-twin is becoming a common attack in Smart Home environments where an attacker can set up a fake AP to compromise the security of the connected devices. To identify the fake APs, The current approaches of detecting Evil-twin attacks all rely on information such as SSIDs, the MAC address of the genuine AP or network traffic patterns. However, such information can be faked by the attacker, often leading to low detection rates and weak protection. This paper presents a novel evil-twin attack detection method based on the received signal strength indicator (RSSI). Our key insight is that the location of the genuine AP rarely moves in a home environment and as a result the RSSI of the genuine AP is relatively stable. Our approach considers the RSSI as a fingerprint of APs and uses the fingerprint of the genuine AP to identify fake ones. We provide two schemes to detect a fake AP in two different scenarios where the genuine AP can be located at either a single or multiple locations in the property, by exploiting the multipath effect of the WIFI signal. As a departure from prior work, our approach does not rely on any professional measurement devices. Experimental results show that our approach can successfully detect 90% of the fake APs, at the cost of an one-off, modest connection delay

Nanomaterial-based photodynamic therapy for antibacterial applications: a comprehensive review

Microbial infections continue to pose a significant health challenge, especially with an increase in drug-resistant bacteria. Conventional antibiotic treatments show limited efficacy, prompting researchers to explore alternative treatments. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a promising alternative that uses reactive oxygen species (ROS) to induce oxidative stress, offering the potential for cyclic treatment without fostering new drug resistance mechanisms. The success of PDT relies heavily on the selection of appropriate photosensitizers (PSs). Various nanomaterials are being developed as PSs or carriers to enhance the efficacy of PDT in the antibacterial field. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the four main ROS generated during PDT and outline their corresponding antibacterial mechanisms. Additionally, we highlight the prominent types of nanomaterials used as PSs or carriers in PDT. We analyze the current challenges associated with nanomaterial-based PDT for antibacterial therapy and propose potential strategies for optimizing their applications

Continuous monitoring of the spatio-temporal patterns of surface water in response to land use and land cover types in a mediterranean lagoon complex

Mediterranean coastal lagoons and their peripheral areas often provide a collection of habitats for many species, and they often face significant threats from anthropogenic activities. Diverse human activities in such areas directly affect the spatio-temporal dynamic of surface water and its ecological characteristics. Monitoring the surface water dynamic, and understanding the impact of human activities are of great significance for coastal lagoon conservation. The Regional Natural Park of Narbonne includes a typical Mediterranean lagoon complex where surface water dynamic and its potential link with local diverse human activities has not yet been studied. In this context, based on all the available Landsat images covering the study area during 2002–2016, this study identified the water and non-water classes for each satellite observation by comparing three widely used spectral indices (i.e., NDVI, NDWI and MNDWI) and using the Otsu method. The yearly water frequency index was then computed to present the spatio-temporal dynamic of surface water for each year, and three water dynamic scenarios were also identified for each year: permanent water (PW), non-permanent water (NPW) and non-water (NW). The spatial and inter-annual variation in the patterns of the three water scenarios were characterized by computing the landscape metrics at scenario-level quantifying area/edge, shape, aggregation and fragmentation. Finally, the quantitative link between different land use and land cover (LULC) types derived from the LULC maps of 2003, 2012 and 2015 and the surface water dynamic scenarios was established in each of the 300 m × 300 m grid cells covering the study area to determine the potential impact of human activities on the surface water dynamic. In terms of the inter-annual variation during 2002–2016, PW presented an overall stability, and NPW occupied only a small part of the water surface in each year and presented an inter-annual fluctuation. NPW had a smaller patch size, with lower connectivity degree and higher fragmentation degree. In terms of spatial variation during 2002–2016, NPW often occurred around PW, and its configurational features varied from place to place. Moreover, PW mostly corresponded to the natural lagoon, and salt marsh (as a part of lagoons), and NPW had a strong link with arable land (agricultural irrigation) and salt marsh (salt production), sand beach/dune, coastal wetlands and lagoon for the LULC maps of 2003, 2012 and 2015. However, more in-depth analysis is required for understanding the impact of sand beach/dune, coastal wetlands and lagoon on surface water dynamics. This study covers the long-term variations of surface water patterns in a Mediterranean lagoon complex having intense and diverse human activities, and the potential link between LULC types and the water dynamic scenarios was investigated on different dates. The results of the study should be useful for environmental management and protection of coastal lagoons

Study of an Oxygen Supply and Oxygen Saturation Monitoring System for Radiation Therapy Associated with the Active Breathing Coordinator

Abstract In this study, we designed an oxygen supply and oxygen saturation monitoring (OSOSM) system. This OSOSM system can provide a continuous supply of oxygen and monitor the peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) of patients who accept radiotherapy and use an active breathing coordinator (ABC). A clinical test with 27 volunteers was conducted. The volunteers were divided into two groups based on the tendency of SpO2 decline in breath-holding without the OSOSM system: group A (12 cases) showed a decline in SpO2 of less than 2%, whereas the decline in SpO2 in group B (15 cases) was greater than 2% and reached up to 6% in some cases. The SpO2 of most volunteers declined during rest. The breath-holding time of group A without the OSOSM system was significantly longer than that of group B (p < 0.05) and was extended with the OSOSM system by 26.6% and 27.85% in groups A and B, respectively. The SpO2 recovery time was reduced by 36.1%, and the total rest time was reduced by 27.6% for all volunteers using the OSOSM system. In summary, SpO2 declines during breath-holding and rest time cannot be ignored while applying an ABC. This OSOSM system offers a simple and effective way to monitor SpO2 variation and overcome SpO2 decline, thereby lengthening breath-holding time and shortening rest time

DRET:a system for detecting evil-twin attacks in smart homes

Evil-twin is one of most commonly attacks in the WIFI environments, with which an attacker can steal sensitive information by cloning a fake AP in Smart Homes. The current approaches of detecting Evil-twin AP uses some identities/fingerprints of legitimated APs to identify rouge APs. Prior work in the area uses information like SSIDs, MAC addresses, and network traffics to detect bogus APs. However, such information can be easily intimated by the attacker, leading to low detection rates. This paper introduces a novel Evil-Twin AP detection method based on received signal strength indicator (RSSI). Our approach exploits the fact that the AP location is relatively stable in Smart Homes, which is to great extent to meet the requirement of the detection factor not easy to imitate as previous refer. We employ two detection strategies: a single position detection and a multi-positioned detection methods. Our approach exploits the multipath effect of WIFI signals to translate the problem of attack detection into AP positioning detection. Compared to classical detection methods, our approach can perform detection without relying on professional devices. Experimental results show that the single position detection approach achieves 20 seconds’ reduction of delay time with an accuracy of 98%, whereas the multi-positioned detection approach achieves 90% correct

Research progress on the roles of actin-depolymerizing factor in plant stress responses

Actin-depolymerizing factors (ADFs) are highly conserved small-molecule actin-binding proteins found throughout eukaryotic cells. In land plants, ADFs form a small gene family that displays functional redundancy despite variations among its individual members. ADF can bind to actin monomers or polymerized microfilaments and regulate dynamic changes in the cytoskeletal framework through specialized biochemical activities, such as severing, depolymerizing, and bundling. The involvement of ADFs in modulating the microfilaments’ dynamic changes has significant implications for various physiological processes, including plant growth, development, and stress response. The current body of research has greatly advanced our comprehension of the involvement of ADFs in the regulation of plant responses to both biotic and abiotic stresses, particularly with respect to the molecular regulatory mechanisms that govern ADF activity during the transmission of stress signals. Stress has the capacity to directly modify the transcription levels of ADF genes, as well as indirectly regulate their expression through transcription factors such as MYB, C-repeat binding factors, ABF, and 14-3-3 proteins. Furthermore, apart from their role in regulating actin dynamics, ADFs possess the ability to modulate the stress response by influencing downstream genes associated with pathogen resistance and abiotic stress response. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current advancements in plant ADF gene research and suggests that the identification of plant ADF family genes across a broader spectrum, thorough analysis of ADF gene regulation in stress resistance of plants, and manipulation of ADF genes through genome-editing techniques to enhance plant stress resistance are crucial avenues for future investigation in this field

Interactions of Oxide Surfaces with Water Revealed with Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy.

Hydrous materials are ubiquitous in the natural environment and efforts have previously been made to investigate the structures and dynamics of hydrated surfaces for their key roles in various chemical and physical applications, with the help of theoretical modeling and microscopy techniques. However, an overall atomic-scale understanding of the water-solid interface, including the effect of water on surface ions, is still lacking. Herein, we employ ceria nanorods with different amounts of water as an example and demonstrate a new approach to explore the water-surface interactions by using solid-state NMR in combination with density functional theory. NMR shifts and relaxation time analysis provide detailed information on the local structure of oxygen ions and the nature of water motion on the surface: the amount of molecularly adsorbed water decreases rapidly with increasing temperature (from room temperature to 150 °C), whereas hydroxyl groups are stable up to 150 °C, and dynamic water molecules are found to instantaneously coordinate to the surface oxygen ions. The applicability of dynamic nuclear polarization for selective detection of surface oxygen species is also compared to conventional NMR with surface selective isotopic-labeling: the optimal method depends on the feasibility of enrichment and the concentration of protons in the sample. These results provide new insight into the interfacial structure of hydrated oxide nanostructures, which is important to improve performance for various applications