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The single-mode bosonic channel is addressed with classical interference in the modulation and with side information at the transmitter. This model can viewed as the quantum counterpart of the classical random-parameter Gaussian channel. Based on Costa's writing-on-dirty-paper result (1983), the effect of the channel parameter can be canceled even when the decoder has no side information, and regardless of the input power constraint. For both homodyne and heterodyne detection with a coherent-state protocol, the model reduces to a classical channel with either real or complex-valued Gaussian noise. Thereby, by applying Costa's dirty paper coding strategy, we observe that the effect of the classical interference can be canceled for those channels as well. Then, we consider the bosonic channel with joint detection, for which the classical results do not apply, and derive a dirty-paper coding lower bound. Furthermore, considering the special case of a pure-loss bosonic channel, we demonstrate that the optimal coefficient for dirty paper coding is not necessarily the MMSE estimator coefficient as in the classical setting.

Paper-based devices have a wide range of applications in point-of-care diagnostics, environmental analysis, and food monitoring. Paper-based devices can be deployed to resource-limited countries and remote settings in developed countries. Paper-based point-of-care devices can provide access to diagnostic assays without significant user training to perform the tests accurately and timely. The market penetration of paper-based assays requires decreased device fabrication costs, including larger packing density of assays (i.e., closely packed features) and minimization of assay reagents. In this review, we discuss fabrication methods that allow for increasing packing density and generating closely packed features in paper-based devices. To ensure that the paper-based device is low-cost, advanced fabrication methods have been developed for the mass production of closely packed assays. These emerging methods will enable minimizing the volume of required samples (e.g., liquid biopsies) and reagents in paper-based microfluidic devices.

Luminosity contributes to the paper model surface perception. It has a significant impact on the perception of colour and details. The main purpose of this paper is to study the reflection luminosity of paper model surface which can be of complex or difficult shape surface. The final perception quality of a product, whether it is plain or 3D or other different shape, depends on the surface luminosity perceived by the receptor, such as eyes or measurement instruments. However, the number of parameters and limits of the paper model surface are enormous. It is a time-consuming work to select every parameter by a trial-and-error procedure. For a paper surface under the fixed lighting environment, the most important factors to decide the performance of perception are commonly viewing angles and surface tone. Therefore, the two related terms, perception angle and surface tone, were chosen to work in the analysis process. The final analysis, based on the initial conditions, enabled to predict the perception of paper model surface and to set the optimal perceived angels and tones. It still proposed the next step to model the perception of paper model surface of different shapes in a relatively short period.

Paper-based microfluidic devices based on electrowetting principle, more specifically electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD), have attracted increasing attention due to their powerful liquid handling capability as compared to continuous-flow paper-based analytical devices (μPAD) that use capillary effects to control liquids. Here, we demonstrate fabrication of paper-based EWOD devices using cellulose paper as substrate and paraffin wax as dielectric hydrophobic layer by a simple pressing treatment for the cellulose paper and melting or spray-coating of paraffin wax. We optimized the key fabrication parameters according to the surface morphology and hydrophobicity of the obtained wax film, including the pressing pressure, thermal annealing temperature and amount of paraffin wax. Moreover, the EWOD devices fabricated by the spray-coating method demonstrate larger contact angle changes but with smaller contact angle hysteresis under DC electric field when compared with the devices fabricated by the melting method. Our study opens up potential fabrication of hybrid paper-based microfluidic device combining advantages of continuous-flow and electrowetting using cellulose paper and paraffin wax.

Penggunaan Bacterial cellulose sebagai bahan baku alternatif untuk mengurangi penggunaan NBKP dalam proses pembuatan kertas baking memiliki banyak keunggulan. Karakteristik BC yang kuat serta luas permukaan yang tinggi dapat meningkatkan nilai kekuatan, permukaan, dan ketahanan kertas. Sehingga penggunaan BC sangat memungkinkan untuk di aplikasikan sebagai bahan baku alternatif pengganti kayu terlebih lagi NBKP, yang harga import mahal dan masa panen yang cukup lama.

This paper reports on the manufacture of ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) from Prosopis juliflora leaf extracts. Various methods of characterization were used, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope TEM. ZnO NPs has a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferred orientation of 101 planes, according to XRD. The functional groups found in ZnO NPs isolated from leaves are responsible for the FT-IR peaks that correspond to them. The morphology of the produced nanoparticles is a sphere-like form, as shown in the SEM pictures. TEM examination revealed ZnO NPs with a size of 50–55 nm. These ZnO NPs were used to remediate pollutants in paper mill effluents, and they were able to remove 86% of the organic pollutants from the sample at 0.05 mg/L dose and reduce 89% of the organic pollutants during a 5-h reflex time. Meanwhile, for the photocatalysis of paper mill effluents, it has been noted that COD was removed by 74.30%, 63.23%, and 57.96% for the first, second, and third cycles, respectively.

Altres ajuts: Agència per a la Competitivitat de l'Empresa de la Generalitat de Catalunya by FEDER funds, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, and ERDF funds In this paper, an organic, fully recyclable and eco-friendly 20-bit inkjet-printed chipless RFID tag is presented. The tag operates in the near field and is implemented by means of chains of resonant elements. The characterization and manufacturing process of the tag, printed with a few layers of a commercial organic ink on conventional paper substrate (DIN A4), are presented, and tag functionality is demonstrated by reading it by means of a custom-designed reader. The tags are read by proximity (through the near field), by displacing them over a resonator-loaded transmission line, and each resonant element (bit) of the tag is interrogated by a harmonic signal tuned to the resonance frequency. The coupling between the reader line and the resonant elements of the tag produce and amplitude modulated (AM) signal containing the identification (ID) code of the tag.

A novel paper-based potentiometric sensor with an enhanced response for the detection of glucose in biological fluids is presented. The electrode consists on platinum sputtered on a filter paper and a Nafion membrane to immobilize the enzyme glucose oxidase. The response obtained is proportional to the logarithm of the concentration of glucose, with a sensitivity of -119 +/- 8 mV.decade(-1), a linear range that spans from 10(-4)M to 10(-2.5) M and a limit of detection of 10(-4.5) M of glucose. It is shown that Nafion increases the sensitivity of the technique while minimizing interferences. Validation with human serum samples shows an excellent agreement when compared to standard methods. This approach can become an interesting alternative for the development of simple and affordable devices for point of care and home-based diagnostics.

Paper sludge ash (PSA) typically has a low Si abundance and significant Ca content because of the presence of calcite fillers, which interfere with the zeolitic conversion of PSA. Ca-masking with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) was used to reduce Ca interference during zeolite synthesis so that a zeolitic product with a high cation exchange capacity (CEC) could be synthesized. Hydroxysodalite, zeolite-P, hydroxycancrinite, tobermorite, and zeolite-A can be synthesized from PSA by an alkali reaction with EDTA. With the addition of EDTA, calcium ions in the solution were trapped by chelation, and the number of zeolitic crystals with low Si/Al (Si/Al = 1), zeolite-A, increased owing to the promotion of the synthesis reaction. A product with a high CEC that has a high zeolite-A content was obtained. The chelating agent can inhibit Ca interference for zeolite synthesis by Ca-masking, and a product with a high zeolite-A content can be obtained from PSA using EDTA.

This paper proposes a method of distinguishing the contributions of ionized and injected charges to the charge transport in oil immersed paper in triple-layer and double-layer samples. With the double-layer sample, the apparent mobility including the ions contribution is obtained by the calculation according to the speed of accumulated charge density at the interface. The contribution of ions is excluded by subtracting the accumulated charge density in the triple-layer sample from that in the double-layer sample. It is found that the interface charge mainly comes from the ionization charges under a low field, and the contribution of injected charge takes a more important part at higher electric field.

Over the last decade, the Low-Energy Nuclear Physics (LENP) and Nuclear Astrophysics (NAP) communities have increasingly organized themselves in order to take a coherent approach to resolving the challenges they face. As a result, there is a high level of optimism in view of the unprecedented opportunities for substantial progress. In preparation of the 2015 US Nuclear Science Long Range Plan (LRP), the two American Physical Society Division of Nuclear Physics town meetings on LENP and NAP were held jointly on August 21–23, 2014, at Texas A&M, College Station, in Texas. These meetings were co-organized to take advantage of the strong synergy between the two fields. The present White Paper attempts to communicate the sense of great anticipation and enthusiasm that came out of these meetings. A unanimously endorsed set of joint resolutions condensed from the individual recommendations of the two town meetings were agreed upon. The present LENP White Paper discusses the above and summarizes in detail for each of the sub-fields within low-energy nuclear physics, the major accomplishments since the last LRP, the compelling near-term and long-term scientific opportunities plus the resources needed to achieve these goals, along with the scientific impact on, and interdisciplinary connections to, other fields.

This white paper informs the nuclear astrophysics community and funding agencies about the scientific directions and priorities of the field and provides input from this community for the 2015 Nuclear Science Long Range Plan. It summarizes the outcome of the nuclear astrophysics town meeting that was held on August 21–23, 2014 in College Station at the campus of Texas A&M University in preparation of the NSAC Nuclear Science Long Range Plan. It also reflects the outcome of an earlier town meeting of the nuclear astrophysics community organized by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA) on October 9–10, 2012 Detroit, Michigan, with the purpose of developing a vision for nuclear astrophysics in light of the recent NRC decadal surveys in nuclear physics (NP2010) and astronomy (ASTRO2010). The white paper is furthermore informed by the town meeting of the Association of Research at University Nuclear Accelerators (ARUNA) that took place at the University of Notre Dame on June 12–13, 2014. In summary we find that nuclear astrophysics is a modern and vibrant field addressing fundamental science questions at the intersection of nuclear physics and astrophysics. These questions relate to the origin of the elements, the nuclear engines that drive life and death of stars, and the properties of dense matter. A broad range of nuclear accelerator facilities, astronomical observatories, theory efforts, and computational capabilities are needed. With the developments outlined in this white paper, answers to long standing key questions are well within reach in the coming decade.

This work presents the design and analysis of a novel dual-wideband bandpass filter (BPF) using the transversal filtering section (TFS), coupled lines (CLs), and stepped impedance stubs (SISs). Initially, a dual-band BPF employing TFS and CLs is designed. To enhance the bandwidth and selectivity, SIS units and quarter wavelength transmission lines are attached at the input and output ports. This novel filter’s frequency response has six transmission zeros in the stopband and four transmission poles in each passband. A prototype with center frequencies of 1.17 and 2.4 GHz is realized on a biodegradable substrate and tested. The tested and simulated results are in high congruence, validating the proposed design circuit and theory.

This paper introduces physical models of drill string whirling and torsional vibrations and analyses the physical models in V.I. Gulyayev's three papers on drill string whirling and torsional vibrations: “V.I. Gulyayev, L.V. Shevchuk, Drill string bit whirl simulation with the use of frictional and nonholonomic models, Journal of Vibration and Acoustics 138(1) (2016) 011021”, “V.I. Gulyayev, L.V. Shevchuk, Nonholonomic dynamics of drill string bit whirling in a deep bore-hole, J Multi-body Dynamics 227(3) (2013) 234–244” and “V.I. Gulyayev, SN Hudoliy, O.V. Glushakova, Simulation of torsion relaxation auto-oscillations of drill string bit with viscous and coulombic friction moment models, J Multi-body Dynamics 225 (2011) 139–152”. This work finds that the physical models described in these three papers are clearly incorrect. Keywords: Drill string, Vibration, Lateral, Torsion, Whirl

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can evolve in a viable technology if environmentally sound materials are developed and became available at low cost for these devices. This is especially important not only for the designing of large wastewater treatment systems, but also for the fabrication of low-cost, single-use devices. In this work we synthesized membranes by a simple procedure involving easily-biodegradable and economic materials such as poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), chitosan (CS) and the composite PVA:CS. Membranes were chemical and physically characterized and compared to Nafion®. Performance was studied using the membrane as separator in a typical H-Type MFCs showing that PVA:CS membrane outperform Nafion® 4 times (power production) while being 75 times more economic. We found that performance in MFC depends over interactions among several membrane characteristics such as oxygen permeability and ion conductivity. Moreover, we design a paper-based micro-scale MFC, which was used as a toxicity assay using 16 µL samples containing formaldehyde as a model toxicant. The PVA:CS membrane presented here can offer low environmental impact and become a very interesting option for point of need single-use analytical devices, especially in low-income countries where burning is used as disposal method, and toxic fluoride fumes (from Nafion®) can be released to the environment. Fil: Gonzalez Pabon, Maria Jesus. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Figueredo, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Martínez Casillas, Diana Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Corton, Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

O objetivo deste estudo foi testar a utilizacao de papel absorvente contendo amonia recuperada de ambiente controlado como fonte de nutriente na producao da alface crespa. O experimento foi conduzido no laboratorio de Quimica e na area experimental do Centro de Referencia de Campo Verde do Instituto Federal de Mato Grosso - Campus Sao Vicente. Os papeis contendo amonia foram obtidos pela captacao em cuba de vidro mediante volatilizacao e absorcao de amonia concentrada por papel impregnado com acido fosforico. O cultivo das plantas foi realizado em ambiente protegido por meio de um delineamento em blocos inteiramente casualizados com 4 tratamentos e 4 repeticoes. Os tratamentos foram constituidos de duas proporcoes de nitrogenio e fosforo: T1= 100% de fosforo + 75% de nitrogenio + material absorvente; T2=75% de fosforo + 100% de nitrogenio + material absorvente; T3= 75% de fosforo + 75% de nitrogenio + material absorvente; T4=100% de fosforo + 100% de nitrogenio + material absorvente, sendo as porcentagens de fosforo e nitrogenio correspondentes aos valores recomendados. As plantas foram cultivadas em vasos de plastico com substrato inerte juntamente com os papeis absorventes contendo amonia triturados. As caracteristicas analisadas foram, indice de clorofila das folhas, numero de folhas, materia seca e fresca da parte aerea e raizes, nitrogenio e fosforo foliar, area foliar e comprimento da raiz. Os dados foram submetidos ao teste tukey com 5% de probabilidade e os resultados mostraram que nao houve alteracao significativa na utilizacao do papel absorvente nas quantidades utilizadas neste estudo.

Today, optical sensors are the subject of a very significant number of studies and applications. Many well-established technologies, including free-space optics, integrated photonics, and fiber optics approaches, have been developed in recent decades to fabricate and develop increasingly more efficient optical sensors for applications ranging from industrial control to monitoring the environment, biomedical use, and even as part of the Internet of Things.

Assessments are usually thought of as ways for instructors to get information from students. In this work, we flip this perspective and explore how assessments communicate information to students. Specifically, we consider how assessments may provide information about what faculty and/or researchers think it means to know and do physics, i.e., their epistemologies. Using data from students completing assessment questions during one-on-one think aloud interviews, we explore how assessment features did (or did not) impact student engagement with the assessment problems. We analyze video recordings and transcripts to infer the epistemological framings and resources students use while completing introductory-level physics problems. Students’ framings tended to be fairly stable, but when shifts occurred, they were triggered by a shift in epistemological resource, which can be activated by assessment feature. This work extends existing work on epistemological framing into the realm of assessment and allows us to consider the effects of assessments on our students’ understanding of physics teaching and learning.

The question of the use of vortex flowmeters with different versions of the flow body (TO) under operating conditions on the technological lines of pulp and paper production is considered. It is shown that when using different TO in vortex flowmeters, an error occurs in the working range of speeds (flow rates). The observed error arises due to a change in the Strouhal number (Sh) and is associated with the measurement method. In this case, the Strouhal number begins to depend not only on the TO used as a vortex generator, but also on the flow velocity and the concentration of the fibrous suspension. As the main comparative factor for the investigated TOs, the force action on the sensitive element (flexible electrode) located inside the TO was taken. The study was carried out in several stages using numerical modeling and experimental design method. According to the results of a numerical study, the dependence of the Strouhal number (Sh) on the flow rate (V) and the concentration of the suspension (c) is presented. In a comparative analysis of the deviation of the Strouhal number from the average values, it was revealed that MOT No. 1 has a minimal effect on the concentration of the suspension in the working range of flow rates (± 0.5%). This circumstance makes it possible to verify and test flow meters with such maintenance in conventional pouring installations. The analysis of the maintenance with respect to the signal-to-noise ratio shows that the purest signal is generated by the cylindrical maintenance (maintenance No. 3), and maintenance No. 2 and No. 1 have noticeably large noise. The differences are explained by the absence on the surface of a cylindrical TO of extra protrusions, faces, which leads to a smoother flow of a suspension around its surface, as well as to a decrease in internal spurious noise.

Background and Aim: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine helps to develop immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in most cases preventing the disease. Although various brands of vaccines work in different modes, all COVID-19 vaccines prompt an immune reaction to make the body remembers how to protect from the virus in the future. The present study aims to evaluate the safety and the immune response for mixing of Sputnik V and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines on mice. Materials and Methods: Our experimental study was performed on mice weighing on average of 20 g, selected by random allocation. The mice were divided into four groups of 12. Group one received a single dose of 0.5 ml Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, group two received two doses of 0.5 ml AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, group three received two doses of 0.5 ml Sputnik V together with 0.5 ml AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and group four received two doses of 0.5 ml of 0.9 % NaCl. Results: Our study shows that mixing of Sputnik V and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines is safe and induces good immunity for mice. Conclusion: Mixing of Sputnik V and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines creates no problems and provides good immunity to mice and may be an interesting technique to help to overcome shortcomings of one or the other vaccine. Further toxicity studies are required to assess potential hazards for humans to evaluate the histopathological characteristics.

Charles Edouard Guillaume (1861–1928) was a Swiss physicist who received the 1920 Nobel Prize in physics for his precision measurements and discovery of anomalies in nickel steel alloys. In this work, we present a complete and commented translation of his remarkable article of 1896 on the temperature of interstellar space. The importance of this work is that it is the oldest estimate known to us of the temperature acquired by a black body, which is in interstellar space far from other stars. This temperature was presumed to be due to an equilibrium state in which the radiation received by this body from the stars around it would be equal to the radiation emitted by the body. He arrived at a temperature of 5.6 K, regarding this figure as an upper limit on the effect he was seeking to estimate. In 1926, Arthur Eddington (1882–1944) arrived at a temperature of 3.18 K, utilizing essentially the same procedure but with better data.

The internal dosimetry of β- and γ-emitters has been established by several authors. Smith ([1][1]) cites the work of Loevinger et al. ([2][2]) and Ellet et al. ([3][3]), pioneers in the field. Somehow, internal dosimetry manages to intimidate many, when, as shown by Smith, it is just energy per

Applications of digital micromirror device for lidar are overviewed. A large Lagrange invariant value makes DMD as one of the attractive beam steering transmitter and receiver solutions for a time-of-flight lidar, especially with its an extended angular throw by synchronized pulsed laser illumination.

Bees, wasps, and ants have no specialized receptors for the perception of an electric field. An appropriate response to naturally occurring electric fields in bees and ants is associated with atmospheric exposure, amplified by the approach of the front of a thunderstorm. The primary transducers of mechanoreceptors that respond to displacement are related to the perception of low-frequency electric fields of high intensity by insects. The non-specific mechanism of perception of electric fields is based on irritation by induced currents that flow in the locations of their contact with each other and/or conductive surfaces. The frequency dependence of the electric field sensitivity is determined mainly by the magnitude of the current induced by it and the intensity of its contact action. The magnitude of the current induced in the outer part of the insect body is non-linearly related to the frequency of the electric field. The region with the highest sensitivity to electric fields is close to 500 Hz, which is consistent with the maximum magnitude of the induced current. At the same time, the threshold of the sensitivity to an electric field in wasps is approximately 0.04 kV/m, while in bees it is 0.45 kV/m. Ants react to the action of an electric field of 7–10 kV/m by slowing their movement. Magnetic fields and ionization, which accompany the generation of an electric field whose intensity reaches 15–20 kV/m, do not stimulate changes in the behavior of insects.

O estudo de estereoquimica tem grande dificuldade entre os alunos, principalmente pelo fato de ser abstrato, decorativo e fora de contexto, quando o aluno participa da aula confeccionando o seu proprio material didatico com certeza havera um melhor entendimento, com base nessa premissa, desenvolveu-se um modelo molecular confeccionado em papel e recortado com tesoura, para o entendimento do conteudo de estereoquimica, tais como quiralidade, plano de simetria, enantiomero, diastereoisomero, meso-isomero, entre outros.