Performance of a Distributed Simultaneous Strain and Temperature Sensor Based on a Fabry-Perot Laser Diode and a Dual-Stage FBG Optical Demultiplexer

A simultaneous strain and temperature measurement method using a Fabry-Perot laser diode (FP-LD) and a dual-stage fiber Bragg grating (FBG) optical demultiplexer was applied to a distributed sensor system based on Brillouin optical time domain reflectometry (BOTDR). By using a Kalman filter, we improved the performance of the FP-LD based OTDR, and decreased the noise using the dual-stage FBG optical demultiplexer. Applying the two developed components to the BOTDR system and using a temperature compensating algorithm, we successfully demonstrated the simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature distributions under various experimental conditions. The observed errors in the temperature and strain measured using the developed sensing system were 0.6 °C and 50 με, and the spatial resolution was 1 m, respectively

Affordable method of video recording for ecologists and citizen-science participants

Abstract Observations and video documentation of interactions between animals living in dens, cavities, and other enclosed spaces are difficult, but they play an important role in field biology, ecology, and conservation. For example, bird parents visiting nests and feeding their nestlings may provide crucial information for testing of ecological hypotheses and may easily attract attention of participants of citizen-science ecological and conservation projects. Because of the nest concealment of cavity-nesting birds, their behaviors in the nest can only be studied by using video surveillance. Professional wildlife surveillance systems are extremely expensive. Here, we describe an inexpensive video setup that can be constructed with relatively little effort and is more affordable than any previously described system. We anticipate that the relatively low cost of about 250 USD for a battery-operated system is an important feature for citizen-science type of projects and for applications in heavily populated areas where the potential for theft and vandalism may be high. Based on our experiences, we provide methodological advice on practical aspects of using this system in the field for ecological research on birds. We highlight the low cost, easiness of construction, and potential availability to a large number of observers taking part in wildlife monitoring projects, and we offer technical help to participants of such research projects

HyperCLOVA X Technical Report

We introduce HyperCLOVA X, a family of large language models (LLMs) tailored to the Korean language and culture, along with competitive capabilities in English, math, and coding. HyperCLOVA X was trained on a balanced mix of Korean, English, and code data, followed by instruction-tuning with high-quality human-annotated datasets while abiding by strict safety guidelines reflecting our commitment to responsible AI. The model is evaluated across various benchmarks, including comprehensive reasoning, knowledge, commonsense, factuality, coding, math, chatting, instruction-following, and harmlessness, in both Korean and English. HyperCLOVA X exhibits strong reasoning capabilities in Korean backed by a deep understanding of the language and cultural nuances. Further analysis of the inherent bilingual nature and its extension to multilingualism highlights the model's cross-lingual proficiency and strong generalization ability to untargeted languages, including machine translation between several language pairs and cross-lingual inference tasks. We believe that HyperCLOVA X can provide helpful guidance for regions or countries in developing their sovereign LLMs.Comment: 44 pages; updated authors list and fixed author name

A synthetic ion transporter that disrupts autophagy and induces apoptosis by perturbing cellular chloride concentrations

Perturbations in cellular chloride concentrations can affect cellular pH, autophagy and lead to the onset of apoptosis. With this in mind synthetic ion transporters have been used to disturb cellular ion homeostasis and thereby induce cell death; however, it is not clear whether synthetic ion transporters can also be used to disrupt autophagy. Here we show that squaramide-based ion transporters enhance the transport of chloride anions in liposomal models and promote sodium chloride influx into the cytosol. Liposomal and cellular transport activity of the squaramides is shown to correlate with cell death activity, which is attributed to caspase-dependent apoptosis. One ion transporter was also shown to cause additional changes in the lysosomal pH which leads to impairment of lysosomal enzyme activity and disruption of autophagic processes. This disruption is independent of the initiation of apoptosis by the ion transporter. This study provides the first experimental evidence that synthetic ion transporters can disrupt both autophagy and induce apoptosis

Nondestructive, Colorimetric Monitoring of Amines and Thiols on a Solid Support

A new, nondestructive, highly sensitive method for colorimetric monitoring of primary amines, secondary amines, and thiols on a solid support was developed. The resin used in this method is simply regenerated for the repetition of the reaction or an ensuing reaction. By using this new method, several peptides containing secondary amide linkages and C-terminal hydrazide groups were prepared in high purities and yields