Apparent power-law distributions in animal movements can arise from intraspecific interactions

Lévy flights have gained prominence for analysis of animal movement. In a Lévy flight, step-lengths are drawn from a heavy-tailed distribution such as a power law (PL), and a large number of empirical demonstrations have been published. Others, however, have suggested that animal movement is ill fit by PL distributions or contend a state-switching process better explains apparent Lévy flight movement patterns. We used a mix of direct behavioural observations and GPS tracking to understand step-length patterns in females of two related butterflies. We initially found movement in one species (Euphydryas editha taylori) was best fit by a bounded PL, evidence of a Lévy flight, while the other (Euphydryas phaeton) was best fit by an exponential distribution. Subsequent analyses introduced additional candidate models and used behavioural observations to sort steps based on intraspecific interactions (interactions were rare in E. phaeton but common in E. e. taylori). These analyses showed a mixed-exponential is favoured over the bounded PL for E. e. taylori and that when step-lengths were sorted into states based on the influence of harassing conspecific males, both states were best fit by simple exponential distributions. The direct behavioural observations allowed us to infer the underlying behavioural mechanism is a state-switching process driven by intraspecific interactions rather than a Lévy flight.     

Real-Time Duplex Applications of Loop-Mediated AMPlification (LAMP) by Assimilating Probes

Isothermal nucleic-acid amplification methods such as Loop-Mediated isothermal AMPlification (LAMP) are increasingly appealing alternatives to PCR for use in portable diagnostic system due to the low cost, weight, and power requirements of the instrumentation. As such, interest in developing new probes and other functionality based on the LAMP reaction has been intense. Here, we report on the development of duplexed LAMP assays for pathogen detection using spectrally unique Assimilating Probes. As proof of principle, we used a reaction for Salmonella enterica as a model coupled with a reaction for λ-phage DNA as an internal control, as well as a duplexed assay to sub-type specific quarantine strains of the bacterial wilt pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum. Detection limits for bacterial DNA analyzed in individual reactions was less than 100 genomic equivalents in all cases, and increased by one to two orders of magnitude when reactions were coupled in duplexed formats. Even so, due to the more robust activity of newly available strand-displacing polymerases, the duplexed assays reported here were more powerful than analogous individual reactions reported only a few years ago, and represent a significant advance for incorporation of internal controls to validate assay results in the field.     

Third order optical nonlinearities characteristics of Disperse Red1 organic dye molecules inside of polymeric nanocapsules

Measuring nonlinear optical response of a specific material in a mixture, not only leads to investigate the behavior of a particular component in various circumstances, but also can be a way to select suitable combination and optimum concentration of additives and therefore obtaining the maximum nonlinear optical signals. In this work, by using dual-arm Z-scan technique, the nonlinear refractive index of Disperse Red1 (DR1) organic dye molecules inside the core of prepared polymeric nanocapsules was measured among various materials which prepared nanocapsules were made of them. Then the measured value was compared with nonlinear refractive index of DR1 solved in dichloromethane.     

Enhancement of optical and electrical properties of SILAR deposited ZnO thin films through fluorine doping and vacuum annealing for photovoltaic applications

Undoped and fluorine doped ZnO thin films were deposited onto glass substrates using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique and then annealed at 350 °C in vacuum ambience. The F doping level was varied from 0 to 15 at% in steps of 5 at%. The XRD analysis showed that all the films are polycrystalline with hexagonal wurtzite structure and preferentially oriented along the (002) plane. Crystallite sizes were found to increase when 5 at% of F is doped and then decreased with further doping. It was seen from the SEM images that the doping causes remarkable changes in the surface morphology and the annealing treatment results in well-defined grains with an improvement in the grain size irrespective of doping level. All the films exhibit good transparency (>70%) after vacuum annealing. Electrical resistivity of the film was found to be minimum (1.32×10⁻³ Ω cm) when the fluorine doping level was 5 at%.     

Mishik A. Kazaryan (1948–2020) – One of the pioneers of Russian hydrogen energetics

In 2018, Mishik Airazatovich Kazaryan received the highest award of the International Association for Alternative Energy and Ecology - Order of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry “For Improving the Quality of Life on the Planet of People” (IAAEE) on nominating the Award Committee of the Editorial Board of the International Scientific Journal for Alternative Energy and Ecology (ISJAEE). The award was given for his outstanding contribution to development of alternative energetics and ecology. M.A. Kazaryan's prominent contribution to the development of alternative energetics and ecology is based on his pioneering works in the field of development of methods for producing hydrogen as environmentally friendly safe fuel, as well as works in the field of processing organic compounds by various physical methods. As a part of joint research with colleagues from Lebedev Physical Institute of RAS (LPI), M.A. Kazaryan participated in creation of new methods for producing hydrogen from various chemical compounds. The method of conversion of liquid-phase compounds in plasma discharges under the influence of intensive ultrasonic cavitation occupies a special place. In the course of these works, it is shown that low-temperature plasma initiated in liquid-phase media in discharge between electrodes is able to effectively decompose hydrogen-containing molecules of organic compounds and form gaseous products where the part of hydrogen is more than 90%. Estimations of energy efficiency calculated taking into account hydrogen combustion heat and initial substances, as well as electricity costs, showed an efficiency level of about 60–70% in depending on the composition of the starting mixture. Another notable contribution of M.A. Kazaryan to the development of alternative energetics was the work on the optimization and justification of technological and structural parameters of energy discharge devices based on high-voltage pulse-periodic discharge for creating a reactor for plasmachemical processing of polymer wastes into hydrogen and other valuable compounds.     

一种实用的多数据库量子信息检索协议

针对目前量子私有信息检索不能适用与云存储的多数据库问题,基于现在成熟的量子密钥分发方法,提出了一种适合在多数据库环境下,实用的量子私有信息检索协议。对于不同大小的数据库,协议可通过调节参数θ和k,在保证数据库安全及用户隐私的情况下,完成信息的检索。性能分析结果表明,协议的通信复杂度低,检索成功率高、易于实施。     

Facile growth of novel morphology correlated Ag/Co-doped ZnO nanowire/flake-like composites for superior photoelectrochemical water splitting activity

In this paper, novel morphology correlation between silver nanowires (AgNWs) and cobalt (Co)-doped ZnO (Co-ZnO) flake-like thin films (nanowire/flake-like) has been proposed for enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting activity. Here in, high-quality AgNWs/Co-ZnO heterostructures enabled superior visible light water splitting activity compared to the pure ZnO and AgNWs/ZnO. To address the strategic effect of AgNWs coupling and transition metal (Co-2?at%) doping into the ZnO host lattice, we have carried out the X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–Vis transmittance, water contact angle and PEC analyses. In this way, PEC water splitting activity was mainly examined by linear sweep voltammetry (I-V), amperometric I-t and photoconversion efficiency (η) studies. The experimental results provide clear evidence of morphology correlation between AgNWs and Co-ZnO flake-like structures for strong visible light absorption. Specifically, AgNWs/Co-ZnO composites exhibited significant enhancement in the photocurrent density (7.0?×?10^?4 A/cm²) than AgNWs/ZnO (3.2?×?10^?4 A/cm²) and pure ZnO (1.5?×?10^?6 A/cm²). As a result, detailed AgNWs/Co-ZnO geometry has great potential for photoconversion efficiency (0.73%). In a word, the merits of controllable AgNWs/Co-ZnO heterostructure are proposed to improve the visible light harvesting and charge carrier generation for energy conversion devices.     

Synthesis,structure, optical and magnetic properties of Nd1−xAxMn0.5Co0.5O3−δ (A = Ba,Sr and Ca; x = 0 and 0.25)

The structural, optical, and magnetic properties of polycrystalline Nd_1-xA_xMn_0.5Co_0.5O_3−δ (A = Ba, Sr and Ca; x = 0 and 0.25) perovskite oxides were investigated. The powder XRD pattern demonstrates that the unit cell volume decreases with the changing A-site dopant type. The estimated bandgap energy (Eg) from UV–vis spectroscopic for NdMn_0.5Co_0.5O_3−δ, Nd_0.75Ba_0.25Mn_0.5Co_0.5O_3−δ, Nd_0.75Sr_0.25Mn_0.5Co_0.5O_3−δ and Nd_0.75Ca_0.25Mn_0.5Co_0.5O_3−δ are 3.27, 3.82, 3.79 and 3.53 eV respectively. The substitution of divalent element alters the absorption spectrum, while the redshift optical transition was observed with an increasing ionic radius of dopant. Temperature-dependent magnetization exposes that the Curie temperature (TC) gradually decreases with the decreasing size of alkaline earth metals, and glassy nature was observed at a lower applied magnetic field. The observation of TC can be well explained by the considering of the cationic size disorder parameter in A-site than the random distribution of B-site ions.     

一款紧凑增强型可变阻抗电磁带隙结构

基于传统AI-EBG结构,提出了一种小尺寸的增强型电磁带隙结构,实现了从0.5~9.4 GHz的宽频带-40 dB噪声抑制深度,且下截止频率减少到数百MHz,可有效抑制多层PCB板间地弹噪声。文中同时研究了EBG结构在高速电路应用时的信号完整性问题,使用差分信号方案可改善信号完整性。     

继电保护中多路模拟量采集系统的设计

介绍了一种基于高性能浮点DSP芯片TMS320C32、CPLD芯片XC95288和A/D采样芯片AD976组成的多路采集系统的工作原理以及设计方法。通过对第一路施加特殊的电压量,在CCS开发环境下读取采样缓冲区的值,并利用Matlab对采样数据进行了全波傅氏变换。此外,该系统已在继电保护中得到广泛应用,实践表明,该系统能较好地解决多路模拟量的采集,并确保了采样数据的安全可靠性。