Measurement and simulation of laser-induced fluorescence from non-equilibrium ultracold neutral plasmas

We report new measurements and simulations of laser-induced fluorescence in ultracold neutral plasmas. We focus on the earliest times, when the plasma equilibrium is evolving and before the plasma expands. In the simulation, the ions interact via the Yukawa potential in a small cell with wrapped boundary conditions. We solve the optical Bloch equation for each ion in the simulation as a function of time. Both the simulation and experiment show the initial Bloch vector rotation, disorder-induced heating, and coherent oscillation of the rms ion velocity. Detailed modeling of the fluorescence signal makes it possible to use fluorescence spectroscopy to probe ion dynamics in ultracold and strongly coupled plasmas

Big Data, Digitization, and Social Change (Ubiquity Symposium)

The term “big data” is something of a misnomer. Every generation of computers since the 1950s has been confronted with problems where data was way too large for the memory and processing power available. This seemed like an inconvenience of the technology that would someday be resolved when the next generation of computers came along. So what is different about big data today? The revolution is happening at the convergence of two trends: the expansion of the internet into billions of computing devices, and the digitization of almost everything. The internet gives us access to vast amounts of data. Digitization creates digital representations for many things once thought to be beyond the reach of computing technology. The result is an explosion of innovation of network-based big data applications and the automation of cognitive tasks. This revolution is introducing what Brynjolfsson and McAfee call the “Second Machine Age.” This symposium will examine this revolution from a number of angles

Measurement and simulation of laser-induced fluorescence from non-equilibrium ultracold neutral plasmas

We report new measurements and simulations of laser-induced fluorescence in ultracold neutral plasmas. We focus on the earliest times, when the plasma equilibrium is evolving and before the plasma expands. In the simulation, the ions interact via the Yukawa potential in a small cell with wrapped boundary conditions. We solve the optical Bloch equation for each ion in the simulation as a function of time. Both the simulation and experiment show the initial Bloch vector rotation, disorder-induced heating, and coherent oscillation of the rms ion velocity. Detailed modeling of the fluorescence signal makes it possible to use fluorescence spectroscopy to probe ion dynamics in ultracold and strongly coupled plasmas

Global Estimates of PBL Depth from Space-Borne LIDAR

The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is responsible for communicating the exchange of energy, moisture, momentum, pollutants, and aerosols between the surface and the free atmosphere and is therefore crucial to many studies of the atmosphere. Unfortunately, there have historically been few observations of this important layer due to the complexity involved in its measurement. However, with the advent of more advanced satellites, global measurements of the PBL are now becoming possible. The PBL is often characterized by a high concentration of aerosols within the layer and low level clouds capping it and these are observable from space. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite was launched in 2006 with the intention of observing aerosols and clouds and was the first space-based LIDAR optimized for this purpose. CALIPSO observations are therefore well suited to observing the depth of the PBL. Since it was launched, CALIPSO has been making nearly continuous measurements enabling a global picture of PBL depth. We plan to present a global PBL depth product and how it evolves throughout the year. The product is able to identify deeper PBL depths in the summer hemisphere over land and deeper depths along the northern hemisphere oceanic storm tracks in winter associated with cold air traveling over warm water. Large seasonal cycles are also evident in the subtropical desert locations among other features. In addition, comparisons will be made between several estimates of PBL depth based on turbulent intensity, meteorology profiles, and aerosol profiles from the GEOS5 model

Detecting control flow in Smarphones: Combining static and dynamic analyses

International audienceSecurity in embedded systems such as smartphones requires protection of confidential data and applications. Many of security mechanisms use dynamic taint analysis techniques for tracking information flow in software. But these techniques cannot detect control flows that use conditionals to implicitly transfer information from objects to other objects. In particular, malicious applications can bypass Android system and get privacy sensitive information through control flows. We propose an enhancement of dynamic taint analysis that propagates taint along control dependencies by using the static analysis in embedded system such as Google Android operating system. By using this new approach, it becomes possible to protect sensitive information and detect most types of software exploits without reporting too many false positives

The PER model of abstract non-interference

Abstract. In this paper, we study the relationship between two models of secure information flow: the PER model (which uses equivalence relations) and the abstract non-interference model (which uses upper closure operators). We embed the lattice of equivalence relations into the lattice of closures, re-interpreting abstract non-interference over the lattice of equivalence relations. For narrow abstract non-interference, we show non-interference it is strictly less general. The relational presentation of abstract non-interference leads to a simplified construction of the most concrete harmless attacker. Moreover, the PER model of abstract noninterference allows us to derive unconstrained attacker models, which do not necessarily either observe all public information or ignore all private information. Finally, we show how abstract domain completeness can be used for enforcing the PER model of abstract non-interference

Serious fungal infections in Portugal

There is a lack of knowledge on the epidemiology of fungal infections worldwide because there are no reporting obligations. The aim of this study was to estimate the burden of fungal disease in Portugal as part of a global fungal burden project. Most published epidemiology papers reporting fungal infection rates from Portugal were identified. Where no data existed, specific populations at risk and fungal infection frequencies in those populations were used in order to estimate national incidence or prevalence, depending on the condition. An estimated 1,510,391 persons develop a skin or nail fungal infection each year. The second most common fungal infection in Portugal is recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis, with an estimated 150,700 women (15-50 years of age) suffering from it every year. In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected people, oral or oesophageal candidiasis rates were estimated to be 19.5 and 16.8/100,000, respectively. Candidaemia affects 2.19/100,000 patients, in a total of 231 cases nationally. Invasive aspergillosis is less common than in other countries as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is uncommon in Portugal, a total of 240 cases annually. The estimated prevalence of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis after tuberculosis (TB) is 194 cases, whereas its prevalence for all underlying pulmonary conditions was 776 patients. Asthma is common (10% in adults) and we estimate 16,614 and 12,600 people with severe asthma with fungal sensitisation and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, respectively. Sixty-five patients develop Pneumocystis pneumonia in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and 13 develop cryptococcosis. Overall, we estimate a total number of 1,695,514 fungal infections starting each year in Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Corticosteroid treatment is associated with increased filamentous fungal burden in allergic fungal disease

Background Allergic diseases caused by fungi are common. The best understood conditions are allergic bronchopulmonaryaspergillosis (ABPA) and severe asthma with fungal sensitisation (SAFS). Our knowledge of the fungal microbiome (mycobiome) is limited to a few studies involving healthy individuals, asthmatics and smokers. No study has yet examined the mycobiome in fungal lung disease. Objectives The main aim of this study was to determine the mycobiome in lungs of individuals with well characterised fungal disease. A secondary objective was to determine possible effects of treatment on the mycobiome. Methods After bronchoscopy, ITS1 DNA was amplified and sequenced and fungal load determined by RT-PCR. Clinical and treatment variables were correlated with the main species identified. ABPA (n=16), SAFS (n=16), severe asthma not sensitised to fungi, (n=9), mild asthma patients(n=7) and 10 healthy controls were studied. Results The mycobiome was highly varied with severe asthmatics carrying higher loads of fungus. Healthy individuals had low fungal loads, mostly poorly characterised Malasezziales.The most common fungus in asthmatics was Aspergillus fumigatus complex and this taxon accounted for the increased burden of fungus in the high level samples. Corticosteroid treatment was significantly associated with increased fungal load (p<0.01). Conclusions The mycobiome is highly variable. Highest loads of fungus are observed in severe asthmatics and the most common fungus is Aspergillus fumigatus complex. Individuals receiving steroid therapy had significantly higher levels of Aspergillus and total fungus in their BAL

Monte Carlo studies of two-dimensional polymer–solvent systems

<div><p>Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) in asthma is a severe, life-affecting disease that potentially affects over 4.8 million people globally. In the UK, ABPA is predominantly caused by the fungus <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i>. Phagocytosis is important in clearance of this fungus, and Early Endosome Antigen 1 (<i>EEA1</i>) has been demonstrated to be involved in phagocytosis of fungi. We sought to investigate the role of <i>EEA1</i> mutations and phagocytosis in ABPA. We used exome sequencing to identify variants in <i>EEA1</i> associated with ABPA. We then cultured monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) from 17 ABPA subjects with <i>A</i>. <i>fumigatus</i> conidia, and analyzed phagocytosis and phagolysosome acidification in relation to the presence of these variants. We found that variants in <i>EEA1</i> were associated with ABPA and with the rate of phagocytosis of <i>A</i>. <i>fumigatus</i> conidia and the acidification of phagolysosomes. MDMs from ABPA subjects carrying the disease associated genotype showed increased acidification and phagocytosis compared to those from ABPA subjects carrying the non-associated genotypes or healthy controls.The identification of ABPA-associated variants in EEA that have functional effects on MDM phagocytosis and phagolysosome acidification of <i>A</i>. <i>fumigatus</i> conidia revolutionizes our understanding of susceptibility to this disease, which may in future benefit patients by earlier identification or improved treatments. We suggest that the increased phagocytosis and acidification observed demonstrates an over-active MDM profile in these patients, resulting in an exaggerated cellular response to the presence of <i>A</i>. <i>fumigatus</i> in the airways.</p></div

Ensuring Secure Non-interference of Programs by Game Semantics

Non-interference is a security property which states that improper information leakages due to direct and indirect flows have not occurred through executing programs. In this paper we investigate a game semantics based formulation ofnon-interference that allows to perform a security analysis of closed and open procedural programs. We show that such formulation is amenable to automated verification techniques. The practicality of this method is illustrated by several examples, which also emphasize its advantage compared to known operational methods for reasoning about open programs.<br/