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Cyber security in the nuclear industry: A closer look at digital control systems, networks and human factors
Get PDFThe development life cycle of conventional nuclear power plants (NPPs) needs to be optimized if the energy produced by advanced reactors and small modular reactors is to be competitive. One of the proposed optimisation initiatives is the digitalization of nuclear facility control and instrumentation. Digitalization of nuclear control and instrumentation will improve plants' performance and cost competitiveness. However, it could also introduce cyber security challenges. To create a strong cyber-defence for critical digital assets in nuclear facilities, an extensive analysis of threats and vulnerabilities in systems, networks, and devices is necessary. This article examines recent research that analyses the digital assets at nuclear power facilities for threats and vulnerabilities. This work synthesizes and categorises potential attack propagation paths in digitalized nuclear facilities based on five different surfaces: direct network path, programmable logic controllers, sensor/actuator signals, and indirect propagation paths such as attacks that exploit human factors and the supply chain. The work's main contribution is it provides a state-of-the-art understanding of the relationship between attack propagation paths, associated vulnerabilities, and current security controls. Based on the literature review, a framework for developing an attack-resilient control system for NPPs is suggested, which would be helpful for a security-informed design of reactor control systems. The discussion on nuclear cyber risks, vulnerabilities, attack routes, and defence methods offers a cutting-edge understanding of the security challenges in digitalized nuclear facilities. The suggested framework is an essential foundation for future research direction, towards a secured and resilient digitisation of nuclear power plant control systems
A large-scale review of wave and tidal energy research over the last 20 years
Get PDFOver the last two decades, a large body of academic scholarship has been generated on wave and tidal energy related topics. It is therefore important to assess and analyse the research direction and development through horizon scanning processes. To synthesise such large-scale literature, this review adopts a bibliometric method and scrutinises over 8000 wave/tidal energy related documents published during 2003–2021. Overall, 98 countries contributed to the literature, with the top ten mainly developed countries plus China produced nearly two-thirds of the research. A thorough analysis on documents marked the emergence of four broad research themes (dominated by wave energy subjects): (A) resource assessment, site selection, and environmental impacts/benefits; (B) wave energy converters, hybrid systems, and hydrodynamic performance; (C) vibration energy harvesting and piezoelectric nanogenerators; and (D) flow dynamics, tidal turbines, and turbine design. Further, nineteen research sub-clusters, corresponding to broader themes, were identified, highlighting the trending research topics. An interesting observation was a recent shift in research focus from solely evaluating energy resources and ideal sites to integrating wave/tidal energy schemes into wider coastal/estuarine management plans by developing multicriteria decision-making frameworks and promoting novel designs and costsharing practices. The method and results presented may provide insights into the evolution of wave/tidal energy science and its multiple research topics, thus helping to inform future management decisions
Seasonal variation is a bigger driver of soil faunal and microbial community composition than exposure to the neonicotinoid acetamiprid within Brassica napus production systems
Get PDFNeonicotinoid pesticides are widely used within agroecosystems. Due to their systemic nature and high solubility, neonicotinoids are frequently recorded in soil, water, untreated plant matter and non-target organisms. Studies have demonstrated their capacity to induce invertebrate mortality, however, very little research has been conducted beyond pollinator exposure, particularly under field conditions. Typically, many neonicotinoids are applied via seed-dressings, reducing their direct contact with pollinators, but offering an unintended soil-exposure pathway. Soil biology underpins many vital functions, from regulating water and gas flow, to maintaining physical soil structure. In this study we investigated the effect of a commercial neonicotinoid pesticide (Insyst®) on the abundance, richness, and composition of both the mesofaunal and microbial communities and associated metabolome during oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) production. Our results showed that over a single growing season, foliar application of Insyst® (250 g ha−1, 50 g ha−1 of the active ingredient, acetamiprid) had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on the measured soil biological indexes. Seasonal variation was a significantly greater driver in regulating biological communities within the soil than Insyst® application. In addition, we showed that the active ingredient (acetamiprid) was rapidly degraded by the soil microbial community (theoretical half-life = 119 days) during the summer cropping season. These results help highlight the need for realistic field studies, as agricultural pesticides are never pure, often containing surfactants, adjuvants, or emulsifiers which alter their behaviour and ecotoxicity. Understanding the biological interactions of vital soil fauna with necessary pesticide usage will enable proper risk alleviation measures to maintain soil biological and ecological health
Bio-impedance spectroscopy added to a fluid management protocol does not improve preservation of residual kidney function in incident hemodialysis patients in a randomized controlled trial
Get PDFAvoiding excessive dialysis-associated volume depletion may help preserve residual kidney function (RKF). To establish whether knowledge of the estimated normally hydrated weight from bioimpedance measurements (BI-NHW) when setting the post-hemodialysis target weight (TW) might mitigate rate of loss of RKF, we undertook an open label, randomized controlled trial in incident patients receiving HD, with clinicians and patients blinded to bioimpedance readings in controls. A total of 439 patients with over 500 ml urine/day or residual GFR exceeding 3 ml/min/1.73m2 were recruited from 34 United Kingdom centers and randomized 1:1, stratified by center. Fluid assessments were made for up to 24 months using a standardized proforma in both groups, supplemented by availability of BI-NHW in the intervention group. Primary outcome was time to anuria, analyzed using competing-risk survival models adjusted for baseline characteristics, by intention to treat. Secondary outcomes included rate of RKF decline (mean urea and creatinine clearance), blood pressure and patient-reported outcomes. There were no group differences in cause-specific hazard rates of anuria (0.751; 95% confidence interval (0.459, 1.229)) or sub-distribution hazard rates (0.742 (0.453, 1.215)). RKF decline was markedly slower than anticipated, pooled linear rates in year 1: –0.178 (–0.196, –0.159)), year 2: –0.061 (–0.086, –0.036)) ml/min/1.73m2/month. Blood pressure and patient-reported outcomes did not differ by group. The mean difference agreement between TW and BI-NHW was similar for both groups, Bioimpedance: –0.04 kg; Control: –0.25 kg. Thus, use of a standardized clinical protocol for fluid assessment when setting TW is associated with excellent preservation of RKF. Hence, bioimpedance measurements are not necessary to achieve this
Does the Saw-Scaled Viper (Echis carinatus sochureki) show phenotypic plasticity of venom composition in response to dietary change?
Get PDFBehavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies
Get PDFIn social groups, infection risk is not distributed evenly across individuals. Individual behaviour is a key source of variation in infection risk, yet its effects are difficult to separate from other factors (e.g., age). Here, we combine epidemiological experiments with chemical, transcriptomic, and automated behavioural analyses in clonal ant colonies, where behavioural individuality emerges among identical workers. We find that: (1) Caenorhabditis-related nematodes parasitise ant heads and affect their survival and physiology, (2) differences in infection emerge from behavioural variation alone, and reflect spatially-organised division of labour, (3) infections affect colony social organisation by causing infected workers to stay in the nest. By disproportionately infecting some workers and shifting their spatial distribution, infections reduce division of labour and increase spatial overlap between hosts, which should facilitate parasite transmission. Thus, division of labour, a defining feature of societies, not only shapes infection risk and distribution but is also modulated by parasites.</p
Relating Dispositional Mindfulness and Long-Term Mindfulness Training with Executive Functioning, Emotion Regulation, and Well-Being in Pre-adolescents
Get PDFThe present study examined whether both dis- positional mindfulness without mindfulness training and mindfulness resulting from longer-term mindfulness training are positively associated with pre-adolescents’ well-being, via enhanced executive functioning (EF) and emotion regu- lation. EF was assessed in a GoNoGo task via behavioral performance and event-related potentials. Study 1 (N = 62) investigated associations of dispositional mindfulness with- out mindfulness training with EF, well-being and emotion regulation; longitudinal Study 2 with an active control group compared the effects of long-term mindfulness training (N = 28) with a positive psychology intervention (N = 15). Dispositional mindfulness without training was associated with lower EF, unrelated to emotion regulation and the rela- tionship with well-being was mixed. Long-term mindfulness training was positively related to EF and well-being (reduced negative affect), but was uncorrelated with emotion regu- lation and mindfulness scores. Taken together, long-term mindfulness training was found to have mixed effects. Fur- ther research is required in this area
Sub-40 GHz Broadband Polarization Chaos Generation Using Mutually Coupled Free-Running VCSELs
Get PDFThe Endangered Sardinian Grass Snake: Distribution Update, Bioclimatic Niche Modelling, Dorsal Pattern Characterisation, and Literature Review
Get PDFThe Sardinian grass snake, Natrix helvetica cetti, is an endangered endemic snake subspecies with a restricted and highly fragmented geographic distribution. Information on its ecology and detailed geographic distribution are scarce and may negatively impact on its conservation status. Therefore, a literature review on its taxonomy, morphology, ecology, and conservation is presented here. Moreover, field records from the authors, citizen science and the existing literature provide an updated geographic distribution highlighting its presence within 13 new and 7 historic 10 × 10 km cells. Bioclimatic niche modelling was then applied to explore patterns of habitat suitability and phenotypic variation within N. h. cetti. The geographic distribution of the species was found to be positively correlated with altitude and precipitation values, whereas temperature showed a negative correlation. Taken together, these outcomes may explain the snake’s presence, particularly in eastern Sardinia. In addition, analysis of distribution overlap with the competing viperine snake (N. maura) and the urodeles as possible overlooked trophic resources (Speleomantes spp. and Euproctus platycephalus) showed overlaps of 66% and 79%, respectively. Finally, geographical or bioclimatic correlations did not explain phenotypic variation patterns observed in this highly polymorphic taxon. Perspectives on future research to investigate N. h. cetti’s decline and support effective conservation measures are discussed
Wizualization - A Hard Magic Visualization System for Immersive and Ubiquitous Analytics
Get PDFWhat if magic could be used as an effective metaphor to perform data visualization and analysis using speech and gestures while mobile and on-the-go? In this paper, we introduce WIZUALIZATION, a visual analytics system for eXtended Reality (XR) that enables an analyst to author and interact with visualizations using such a magic system through gestures, speech commands, and touch interaction. Wizualization is a rendering system for current XR headsets that comprises several components: a cross-device (or ARCANE FOCUSES) infrastructure for signalling and view control (WEAVE), a code notebook (SPELLBOOK), and a grammar of graphics for XR (OPTOMANCY). The system offers users three modes of input: gestures, spoken commands, and materials. We demonstrate Wizualization and its components using a motivating scenario on collaborative data analysis of pandemic data across time and space