Practical long-distance quantum key distribution system using decoy levels

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has the potential for widespread real-world applications. To date no secure long-distance experiment has demonstrated the truly practical operation needed to move QKD from the laboratory to the real world due largely to limitations in synchronization and poor detector performance. Here we report results obtained using a fully automated, robust QKD system based on the Bennett Brassard 1984 protocol (BB84) with low-noise superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) and decoy levels. Secret key is produced with unconditional security over a record 144.3 km of optical fibre, an increase of more than a factor of five compared to the previous record for unconditionally secure key generation in a practical QKD system.Comment: 9 page

Gauging circadian variation in ketamine metabolism by real-time breath analysis

The time-of-day of drug application is an important factor in maximizing efficacy and minimizing toxicity. Real-time in vivo mass spectrometric breath analysis of mice was deployed to investigate time-of-day variation in ketamine metabolism. Different production rates of ketamine metabolites, including the recently described anti-depressant hydroxynorketamine, were found in opposite circadian phases. Thus, breath analysis has potential as a rapid and 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) conforming screening method to estimate the time-dependence of drug metabolism

Efeito do uso de um núcleo energético-protéico no desempenho de frangos de corte.

bitstream/item/56397/1/publicacao-489.pdfProjeto/Plano de Ação: 10.11.21006-01 (BASF

On the Origins of Three-Dimensionality And Unsteadiness in the Laminar Separation Bubble

We analyse the three-dimensional non-parallel instability mechanisms responsible for transition to turbulence in regions of recirculating steady laminar two-dimensional incompressible separation bubble ®ow in a twofold manner. First, we revisit the problem of Tollmien{Schlichting (TS)-like disturbances and we demonstrate, for the ­ rst time for this type of ®ow, excellent agreement between the parabolized stabil- ity equation results and those of independently performed direct numerical simula- tions. Second, we perform a partial-derivative eigenvalue problem stability analysis by discretizing the two spatial directions on which the basic ®ow depends, precluding TS-like waves from entering the calculation domain. A new two-dimensional set of global ampli­ ed instability modes is thus discovered. In order to prove earlier topo- logical conjectures about the ®ow structural changes occurring prior to the onset of bubble unsteadiness, we reconstruct the total ®ow­ eld by linear superposition of the steady two-dimensional basic ®ow and the new most-ampli­ ed global eigenmodes. In the parameter range investigated, the result is a bifurcation into a three-dimensional ®ow­ eld in which the separation line remains una¬ected while the primary reattach- ment line becomes three dimensional, in line with the analogous result of a multitude of experimental observations

Validation of the performance of a GMO multiplex screening assay based on microarray detection

A new screening method for the detection and identification of GMO, based on the use of multiplex PCR followed by microarray, has been developed and is presented. The technology is based on the identification of quite ubiquitous GMO genetic target elements first amplified by PCR, followed by direct hybridisation of the amplicons on a predefined microarray (DualChip® GMO, Eppendorf, Germany). The validation was performed within the framework of a European project (Co-Extra, contract no 007158) and in collaboration with 12 laboratories specialised in GMO detection. The present study reports the strategy and the results of an ISO complying validation of the method carried out through an inter-laboratory study. Sets of blind samples were provided consisting of DNA reference materials covering all the elements detectable by specific probes present on the array. The GMO concentrations varied from 1% down to 0.045%. In addition, a mixture of two GMO events (0.1% RRS diluted in 100% TOPAS19/2) was incorporated in the study to test the robustness of the assay in extreme conditions. Data were processed according to ISO 5725 standard. The method was evaluated with predefined performance criteria with respect to the EC CRL method acceptance criteria. The overall method performance met the acceptance criteria; in particular, the results showed that the method is suitable for the detection of the different target elements at 0.1% concentration of GMO with a 95% accuracy rate. This collaborative trial showed that the method can be considered as fit for the purpose of screening with respect to its intra- and inter-laboratory accuracy. The results demonstrated the validity of combining multiplex PCR with array detection as provided by the DualChip® GMO (Eppendorf, Germany) for the screening of GMO. The results showed that the technology is robust, practical and suitable as a screening too

The clock genes Period 2 and Cryptochrome 2 differentially balance bone formation

Background: Clock genes and their protein products regulate circadian rhythms in mammals but have also been implicated in various physiological processes, including bone formation. Osteoblasts build new mineralized bone whereas osteoclasts degrade it thereby balancing bone formation. To evaluate the contribution of clock components in this process, we investigated mice mutant in clock genes for a bone volume phenotype. Methodology/Principal Findings: We found that Per2Brdm1 mutant mice as well as mice lacking Cry2-/- displayed significantly increased bone volume at 12 weeks of age, when bone turnover is high. Per2Brdm1 mutant mice showed alterations in parameters specific for osteoblasts whereas mice lacking Cry2-/- displayed changes in osteoclast specific parameters. Interestingly, inactivation of both Per2 and Cry2 genes leads to normal bone volume as observed in wild type animals. Importantly, osteoclast parameters affected due to the lack of Cry2, remained at the level seen in the Cry2-/- mutants despite the simultaneous inactivation of Per2. Conclusions/Significance: This indicates that Cry2 and Per2 affect distinct pathways in the regulation of bone volume with Cry2 influencing mostly the osteoclastic cellular component of bone and Per2 acting on osteoblast parameters

The Relationship Between Belief and Credence

Sometimes epistemologists theorize about belief, a tripartite attitude on which one can believe, withhold belief, or disbelieve a proposition. In other cases, epistemologists theorize about credence, a fine-grained attitude that represents one’s subjective probability or confidence level toward a proposition. How do these two attitudes relate to each other? This article explores the relationship between belief and credence in two categories: descriptive and normative. It then explains the broader significance of the belief-credence connection and concludes with general lessons from the debate thus far

Congo Basin rainfall variability with ENSO, global SST, and CESM2

An analysis of the variability of rainfall over the Congo Basin is examined with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), temporal correlations of sea surface temperatures (SST) through observations, and the Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2) Large Ensemble. Our understanding of rainfall variability over the Congo is limited and there is little knowledge about how rainfall variability is influenced by oceanic forcings, such as ENSO or other modes of SST variability. This is partly attributed to the decline of ground-based observations over the past decades. The objective of this work is to investigate this rainfall variability, and determine if there is a robust connection to these oceanic forcings. We discover that Congo rainfall correlates with neither phase of ENSO, but ENSO forced rainfall variability is observable in other well-documented regions of Africa. Neither do we discover a robust connection between Congo rainfall and global SSTs, however, do find for Eastern Africa rainfall variability and global SST. SST and rainfall correlations are evaluated for a robust signal between CESM2 and observations during the rainy season of September, October, and November. We discover that the two CESM2 simulations, coupled and atmosphere-only, have a higher magnitude of correlation relative to the observations, and the observations tend to disagree with one another. With the disagreement between the observations, it is challenging to identify a robust signal associated with Congo rainfall variability.Geological Science

On the Resolution of Critical Flow Regions in Inviscid Linear And Nonlinear Instability Calculations

Numerical methods for tackling the inviscid instability problem are discussed. Convergence is demon- strated to be a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for accuracy. Inviscid flow physics set requirements regarding grid-point distribution in order for physically accurate results to be obtained. These requirements are relevant to the viscous problem also and are shown to be related to the resolution of the critical layers. In this respect, high-resolution nonlinear calculations based on the inviscid initial-boundary-value problem are presented for a model shear-layer flow, aiming at identification of the regions that require attention in the course of high-Reynolds-number viscous calculations. The results bear a remarkable resemblance with those pertinent to viscous flow, with a cascade of high-shear regions being shed towards the vortex-core centre as time progresses. In parallel, numerical instability related to the finite-time singularity of the nonlinear equations solved globally contaminates and eventually destroys the simulations, irrespective of resolution