Monotone flows in N-dimensional partially saturated porous media: Lipschitz-continuity of the interface

Communicated by J. B. McLeod     

Ultrastructural Damages to H1N1 Influenza Virus Caused by Vapor Essential Oils

Influenza viruses are transmitted from human to human via airborne droplets and can be transferred through contaminated environmental surfaces. Some works have demonstrated the efficacy of essential oils (EOs) as antimicrobial and antiviral agents, but most of them examined the liquid phases, which are generally toxic for oral applications. In our study, we describe the antiviral activity of Citrus bergamia, Melaleuca alternifolia, Illicium verum and Eucalyptus globulus vapor EOs against influenza virus type A. In the vapor phase, C. bergamia and M. alternifolia strongly reduced viral cytopathic effect without exerting any cytotoxicity. The E. globulus vapor EO reduced viral infection by 78% with no cytotoxicity, while I. verum was not effective. Furthermore, we characterized the EOs and their vapor phase by the head-space gas chromatography–mass spectrometry technique, observing that the major component found in each liquid EO is the same one of the corresponding vapor phases, with the exception of M. alternifolia. To deepen the mechanism of action, the morphological integrity of virus particles was checked by negative staining transmission electron microscopy, showing that they interfere with the lipid bilayer of the viral envelope, leading to the decomposition of membranes. We speculated that the most abundant components of the vapor EOs might directly interfere with influenza virus envelope structures or mask viral structures important for early steps of viral infection.     

Modification of a three-way catalyst washcoat by aging: A study along the longitudinal axis

This work reports the research carried out by studying aliquots extracted at different axial coordinates from Three Way Catalyst (TWC) monoliths aged under real traffic conditions. Our study focused on the catalytic properties and on several chemical and physical effects caused in the Front and Rear monolith washcoat surfaces by vehicle aging after 60,000 km. Regarding the catalytic properties, all the used aliquots showed poorer activity than their corresponding fresh counterparts. The strongest deactivation was detected for NO and hydrocarbon conversion. CO conversion was less affected and the Rear monolith was as deactivated as the Front one. The characterisation techniques (TXRF, N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms, XRD and H₂-TPR) detected - (i) the deposition of P, Zn and Pb; (ii) the formation of CePO₄ on account of the Ce from the washcoat; (iii) thermal sintering; (iv) inhibition of the reducibility of Ce oxides - as the main effects brought about by vehicle aging conditions. The deactivation observed at the beginning of the Front monolith was the result of a combination of the former effects. When moving downstream to higher axial coordinates, Pb accumulation and the loss of specific area appeared to be the only probable sources of deactivation.     

Proposed experiment for testing quantum contextuality with neutrons

We show that an experimental demonstration of quantum contextuality using 2 degrees of freedom of single neutrons based on a violation of an inequality derived from the Peres-Mermin proof of the Kochen-Specker theorem would be more conclusive than those obtained from previous experiments involving pairs of ions [M. A. Rowe, Nature (London) 409, 791 (2001)10.1038/35057215] and single neutrons [Y. Hasegawa, Nature (London) 425, 45 (2003)10.1038/nature01881] based on violations of Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt-like inequalities.     

Convolutional Neural Network Approach for Multispectral Facial Presentation Attack Detection in Automated Border Control Systems

Automated border control systems are the first critical infrastructure point when crossing a border country. Crossing border lines for unauthorized passengers is a high security risk to any country. This paper presents a multispectral analysis of presentation attack detection for facial biometrics using the learned features from a convolutional neural network. Three sensors are considered to design and develop a new database that is composed of visible (VIS), near-infrared (NIR), and thermal images. Most studies are based on laboratory or ideal conditions-controlled environments. However, in a real scenario, a subject’s situation is completely modified due to diverse physiological conditions, such as stress, temperature changes, sweating, and increased blood pressure. For this reason, the added value of this study is that this database was acquired in situ. The attacks considered were printed, masked, and displayed images. In addition, five classifiers were used to detect the presentation attack. Note that thermal sensors provide better performance than other solutions. The results present better outputs when all sensors are used together, regardless of whether classifier or feature-level fusion is considered. Finally, classifiers such as KNN or SVM show high performance and low computational level.     

Enhancing the violation of the einstein-podolsky-rosen local realism by quantum hyperentanglement

Mermin's observation [Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 1838 (1990)] that the magnitude of the violation of local realism, defined as the ratio between the quantum prediction and the classical bound, can grow exponentially with the size of the system is demonstrated using two-photon hyperentangled states entangled in polarization and path degrees of freedom, and local measurements of polarization and path simultaneously.     

Bipartite bell inequalities for hyperentangled states

We show that bipartite Bell inequalities based on the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen criterion for elements of reality and derived from the properties of some hyperentangled states allow feasible experimental verification of the fact that quantum nonlocality grows exponentially with the size of the subsystems, and Bell loophole-free tests with currently available photodetection efficiencies.     

A Kochen-Specker inequality from a SIC

Yu and Oh (eprint) [1] have given a state-independent proof of the Kochen-Specker theorem in three dimensions using only 13 rays. The proof consists of showing that a non-contextual hidden variable theory necessarily leads to an inequality that is violated by quantum mechanics. We give a similar proof making use of 21 rays that constitute a SIC (symmetric informationally-complete positive operator-valued measure) and a complete set of MUB (mutually unbiased bases). A theory-independent inequality is also presented using the same 21 rays, as required for experimental tests of contextuality.     

Preparation and characterization of ZrO2:Sm amorphous thin films by solid state photochemical deposition method

Thin films of ZrO₂ loaded with 10, 30 and 50 mol% Sm were prepared by a photochemical method using thin films of metal acetylacetonate complexes as precursors. The photolysis of these films induces the fragmentation of the acetylacetonate ligand and the partial reduction of metal ion together with volatile organic compounds. When the metallic complex is exposed to air, the product of the reaction is metal oxide. The photoreactivity of these films was monitored by FT-IR spectroscopy, followed by a post-annealing treatment process. The obtained films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy.Photoluminescense studies of the films employed 400 nm radiation for excitation of the Sm ions present. The emission spectra showed signals arising from the ⁴G_5/2→⁶H_J (J=3/2, 7/2, 9/2) transitions, where the ⁴G_5/2→⁶H_3/2 transition has the highest intensity. The concentration dependence of the PL intensity was also studied. A maximum PL intensity was observed with 10 mol% Sm content but then diminished with higher Sm concentrations.