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Ultra high field (UHF) brain MRI has proved its value by providing enhanced SNR, contrast, and higher resolution derived from the higher magnetic field (B0). Nonetheless, with the increased B0 of UHF MRI, the transmit RF magnetic field (B1+) inhomogeneity also became one of the critical issues requiring attention. As the effective wavelength of RF becomes comparable or smaller than the dimension of the brain at B0 larger than 7 Tesla, the increased B1+ inhomogeneity of UHF MRI results in poor SNR and uneven contrast. While parallel transmission techniques (PTx) and high permittivity material (HPM) structures for the mitigation of B1+ inhomogeneity have been suggested, the associated complexity in PTx and restricted volume of homogenization with HPM approach still remain as challenges. In this work, we address the B1+ inhomogeneity in the notion of mode-shaping. Treating a brain phantom as a dielectric potential-well resonator, we apply a phantom-conformal HPM potential-well in combination with a low-index potential barrier (air), to achieve the homogeneity of B1+ in the region of interest (ROI). Based on the electromagnetic simulations using a realistic brain model at 7T, we show that the proposed HPM structure reduces both the average deviation of B1+ in axial slices by 54% and peak SAR by 42%, respectively.

As freshwater sources continue to be influenced by wastewater effluents, there is a dire need to develop advanced water treatment processes capable of treating the wastewater-derived contaminants, especially for pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs). Ultraviolet light (UV) combined with calcium peroxide (CaO2) as an advanced oxidation process (AOP) to attenuate five widespread PhACs (carbamazepine (CBZ), primidone (PMD), phenobarbital (PBB), thiamphenicol (TAP) and florfenicol (FF)) was investigated in this paper. The degradation of these compounds followed pseudo-first-order kinetics (R2 > 0.96). The optimum CaO2 dosage was 0.1 g L-1 and lower initial contaminants concentration was beneficial to their degradation. The UV/CaO2 treatment of test PhACs was attributed to the combination of UV/H2O2 and UV-base-photolysis (UV/Ca(OH)2), and the degradation mechanism was recognized as both UV direct photolysis and indirect photolysis caused by reactive radicals (•OH, triplet states of dissolved organic matter (3DOM*), and 1O2). Furthermore, the tentative transformation pathways of the five PhACs were proposed based on the detected intermediates and the degradation mechanisms. The final products of inorganic carbon and nitrogen indicate UV/CaO2 treatment can significantly mineralize test PhACs. Also, the CaO2 addition significantly reduced the energy consumption of UV irradiation according to electrical energy per order. The effective removal of CBZ and PMD in a secondary wastewater effluent by UV/CaO2 treatment demonstrates the potential use of this AOP technology in advanced treatment of wastewater-derived PhACs. Accepted version

We investigate the native defects, the Mo substitutional impurities of the group-VB and -VIIB elements, and the S substitutional impurities of the group-VA and -VIIA elements in single-layer MoS2, through density-functional theory calculations. It is found that the S-vacancy (V_S) and S-interstitial (S_i) are low in formation energy, about ~1 eV, in Mo- and S-rich conditions, respectively, but the carrier doping ability of the V_S and S_i is found to be poor, as they are deep level defects. The V, Nb, and Ta (group-VB) and Re (group-VIIB) impurities are found to be easily incorporated in single-layer MoS2, as Mo substitutional defects, where the V, Nb, and Ta are shallow acceptors and the Re is the only shallow donor among the considered. The unintentional n-type doping in single-layer MoS2 exfoliated from the naturally grown MoS2 bulk materials is suggested to originate from the Re impurity.

International audience

The Ocean Acoustic Observatory Federation (OAOF) includes several laboratories and universities: the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) and the Marine Physical Laboratory (MPL) at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Pacific Meteorological and Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) of NOAA, the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), and the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington (UW/APL).

In multicellular organisms, exchange of genetic information occurs mainly among individuals belonging to the same species through sexual reproduction. Lateral gene transfer between distantly related taxa has been demonstrated in some cases, but its frequency and evolutionary importance have been controversial. By comparing genomes of many grasses, we show that large blocks of DNA containing functional genes are laterally passed among distantly related species. Some of these genes are then used by the recipient species, expanding their genetic toolkit. The spread of functional genes across grasses that have developed distinct physiological and ecological adaptations may therefore represent a significant evolutionary driving force in this globally important group of plants.

Authenticated key exchange protocols are of fundamental importance in securing communications and are now extensively deployed for use in various real-world network applications. In this work, we reveal major previously unpublished security vulnerabilities in the password-based authenticated three-party key exchange protocol according to Lee and Hwang (2010): (1) the Lee-Hwang protocol is susceptible to a man-in-the-middle attack and thus fails to achieve implicit key authentication; (2) the protocol cannot protect clients’ passwords against an offline dictionary attack; and (3) the indistinguishability-based security of the protocol can be easily broken even in the presence of a passive adversary. We also propose an improved password-based authenticated three-party key exchange protocol that addresses the security vulnerabilities identified in the Lee-Hwang protocol. Refereed/Peer-reviewed