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To address the potential threat to the power grid industry posed by quantum computers and ensure the security of bidirectional communication in smart grids, it is imperative to develop quantum-safe authentication protocols. This paper proposes a semi-quantum bidirectional authentication protocol between a control center (CC) and a neighboring gateway (NG). This method uses single photons to facilitate communication between the CC and the NG. Security analysis demonstrates that the protocol can effectively resist common attack methods, including double CNOT attacks, impersonation attacks, interception-measurement-retransmission attacks, and entanglement-measurement attacks. Comparisons with other protocols reveal that this protocol has significant advantages, making it more appealing and practical for real-world applications. Finally, by simulating the protocol on the IBM quantum simulator, this protocol not only validates the theoretical framework but also confirms the practical feasibility of the protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

That certain preconceptual paternal exposures reprogram the developmental phenotypic plasticity in future generation(s) has conceptualized the "paternal programming of offspring health" hypothesis. This transgenerational effect is transmitted primarily through sperm epigenetic mechanisms—DNA methylation, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and associated RNA modifications, and histone modifications—and potentially through non-sperm-specific mechanisms—seminal plasma and circulating factors—that create 'imprinted' memory of ancestral information. The epigenetic landscape in sperm is highly responsive to environmental cues, due to, in part, the soma-to-germline communication mediated by epididymosomes. While human epidemiological studies and experimental animal studies have provided solid evidences in support of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, how ancestral information is memorized as epigenetic codes for germline transmission is poorly understood. Particular elusive is what the downstream effector pathways that decode those epigenetic codes into persistent phenotypes. In this review, we discuss the paternal reprogramming of offspring phenotype and the possible underlying epigenetic mechanisms. Cracking these epigenetic mechanisms will lead to a better appreciation of "Paternal Origins of Health and Disease" and guide innovation of intervention algorithms to achieve 'healthier' outcomes in future generations. All this will revolutionize our understanding of human disease etiology. Highlight: Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance defines phenotypic plasticity in future generations. Paternally acquired phenotype is primarily transmitted through sperm epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetic information in sperm is highly responsive to environmental cues. Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance revolutionizes our understanding of human disease etiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fatigue behavior of large wind turbine blades is complex and stochastic due to their complex structure and operating environment. This paper focuses on developing a probabilistic fatigue life assessment method for wind turbine blades considering the uncertainties from wind velocity, material mechanical properties, pitch angle, and layer thickness. To improve the efficiency of stochastic fatigue behavior analysis of wind turbine blade, unidirectional fluid‐structure coupling (UFSC) and bidirectional fluid‐structure coupling (BFSC) analysis are employed to analyze the stochastic response. Then, Gaussian process regression (GPR) and Bayesian updating are combined to establish the stochastic fatigue behavior prediction model for wind turbine blade. On this basis, a modified S‐N curve formulation is proposed, and the fatigue life of wind turbine blade is analyzed by the modified S‐N curve and compared with the three‐parameter Weibull model. The results indicate that the proposed method for fatigue life assessment has better accuracy. The proposed probabilistic fatigue life assessment method with high accuracy and high efficiency, which is beneficial for the fatigue reliability design of wind turbine blades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sustainable and cost-effective energy storage system is the research focus at present and also the development direction of the future. A green and cost-effective cathode material for high-voltage dual-ion batteries (DIBs) is presented in this work through the artificial implantation of unsaturated organic sulfonates on the surface of natural graphite (NG) particles via a low-cost and green synthesis route. It is interesting to discover and validate that π–π stacking interactions exist between the π-bonds of unsaturated sulfonates and graphite layers through both practical experiments and density functional theory simulations. The C≡C bond-containing propyne sulfonate (PyS) exhibits stronger π–π stacking interactions on graphite layers than the C＝C bond-containing allyl sulfonate and C–C bond-containing propane sulfonate. The PyS layer works as an artificial and highly stable cathode/electrolyte interphase (CEI), which effectively precludes electrolyte decomposition, reduces interfacial resistance and protects the NG cathode from structural degradation. The as-prepared NG@PyS exhibits outstanding cycling performance as the cathode material of DIBs by virtue of the high adhesion capability of PyS on graphite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The ClACO gene encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase enabled highly efficient 15N uptake in watermelon. Nitrogen is one of the most essential nutrient elements that play a pivotal role in regulating plant growth and development for crop productivity. Elucidating the genetic basis of high nitrogen uptake is the key to improve nitrogen use efficiency for sustainable agricultural productivity. Whereas previous researches on nitrogen absorption process are mainly focused on a few model plants or crops. To date, the causal genes that determine the efficient nitrogen uptake of watermelon have not been mapped and remains largely unknown. Here, we fine-mapped the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ClACO) gene associated with nitrogen uptake efficiency in watermelon via bulked segregant analysis (BSA). The variations in the ClACO gene led to the changes of gene expression levels between two watermelon accessions with different nitrogen uptake efficiencies. Intriguingly, in terms of the transcript abundance of ClACO, it was concomitant with significant differences in ethylene evolutions in roots and root architectures between the two accessions and among the different genotypic offsprings of the recombinant BC2F1(ZJU132)-18. These findings suggest that ethylene as a negative regulator altered nitrogen uptake efficiency in watermelon by controlling root development. In conclusion, our current study will provide valuable target gene for precise breeding of ‘green’ watermelon varieties with high-nitrogen uptake efficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliability of blades has a profound impact on both serviceability and safety of offshore wind turbines. Reliability estimation of wind turbine blade is a complex and time-consuming problem with multi-physics coupling and multi-failure modes correlation. Developing physics-of-failure modeling and reliability analysis methods with high efficiency and accuracy is a long-term challenge. In this work, a high availability and cost-effectiveness reliability estimation framework for offshore wind turbine blade by combining transfer learning (TL) and direct probability integral method (DPIM) is proposed. Extensive performance simulation of offshore wind turbine blade is a complex and necessary task, this paper develops a new adaptive sampling strategy to improve the validity of sample selection in the design space; On this basis, a physics-of-failure surrogate modeling approach is proposed by introducing TL method to fuse two kinds of multi-physics coupling analysis data, then the performance of all critical loads can be predicted efficiently in advance to provide a reliable design; Further, this paper provides an efficient reliability estimation method for offshore wind turbine blades by combining DPIM and surrogate model. Finally, the validity of the proposed approach is illustrated by numerical example and offshore wind turbine blade reliability estimation. The proposed framework provides a cost-effective alternative to higher loads simulation efforts and safety factors selection. • A new adaptive sampling strategy for multi-failure modeling is proposed. • A failure modeling method is developed for multi-physics coupling system. • A reliability estimation method is proposed based on Dirac delta function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tap water quality is at risk for odor-producing algae. Besides being hazardous to source water and water treatments, these algae threaten drinking water distribution system (DWDS). Yet little information is available for odorous risks occurring, responding, and transforming in real DWDS. Hence, two algae (Microcystis aeruginosa , MA; Pseudanabaena sp., PS) were selected for pilot studies. Two ways were verified for algal occurrence, including insufficient water treatments and DWDS-biofilm attachment. MA survived moderate disinfectant exposures and restored odorants (β-cyclocitral). Also, MA could be attached to biofilm and its detachment occurred upon flushing (0.60 m/s). These occurrence ways were not seen for PS. Three factors were compared for living algae in DWDS. Flow velocities had minimal impacts on MA but affected PS odorant (2-methylisobropanol, 2-MIB) releases. Releasing rates increased by 115.79% with velocity from 0.05 m/s to 1.50 m/s. Disinfectants were the riskiest, maximizing risks for MA and PS, respectively at 0.30 mg/L NH 2 Cl and 1.00 mg/L Cl 2. Coexisting antibiotics showed selective effects and reduced risks, e.g., tetracycline reduced MA intensity and PS odorant production. For naked odorant transformation, 2-MIB in DWDS had reduced degradation ratios compared to beaker conditions. Overall, odorous risks by MA and PS were different. MA was tough and could resist water treatments and adverse stressors in DWDS, with partial odorants remaining within cells. PS was vulnerable to treatments and DWDS, and the released odorants were not degradable. Hence, customized management is required for various algal odorous problems in DWDS. [Display omitted] • Viable algae entered pipes and formed odorous risks due to insufficient treatments. • Microcystis cells were attached to pipe-biofilm, while Pseudanabaena cells were not. • Flow rates did not affect Microcystis ' integrity, but caused Pseudanabaena 's rupture. • Pipe-biofilm influenced disinfectants and antibiotics working on algal behaviors. • Transforming patterns of 2-MIB differed in pipe and beaker conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality deterioration of drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) caused by water source switching has been reported previously. However, systematic investigation of the biostability of DWDS under water source switching is limited. Aged pipes, including three commonly used pipe materials dug out from a practical DWDS, were used to systematically investigate the biofilm stability mechanism of DWDS under water source switching to quality-improved water. An increase in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration in the bulk water during the initial stage of the switching period was observed, indicating the risk of biofilm release through aged pipe surfaces after water source switching. Sloughing of biofilms might contribute to temporary instability. From day 35, the ATP concentration in the polyethylene (PE) and plastic stainless steel composite (PS) pipes were maintained at approximately 2.40 and 2.56 ng/L, respectively. In contrast, the ATP concentration in the ductile iron (DI) pipes was higher, at approximately 3.43 ng/L from day 42. The water quality variation could cause areas of the biofilm to slough and reduce the biomass of biofilm, causing partial alteration of the microbial community. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing–based functional prediction revealed that the biofilm could increase the abundance of chlorine-resistant bacteria attributed to the increase in Pseudomonas and Methylobacterium after switching to quality-improved water. Moreover, the profiles of specific pathways linked to human diseases, antibiotic resistance, and antibiotic biosynthesis revealed that the safety of the biofilm could improve after switching to quality-improved water. Key points: • The PE and PS biofilm showed improved resistance to water quality perturbation. • Greater number of Methylobacterium was found in the biofilm after water source switching. • 3.16S gene–based metagenomics prediction revealed that the safety of the biofilm under water source switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RA signaling tiers mitochondrial metabolism to Sertoli cell-mediated efferocytosis of apoptotic germ cells via a mechanism independent of the nuclear RA receptor (RAR) activity. [Display omitted] Efferocytosis of massive non-viable germ cells by Sertoli cells (SCs), the specialized phagocytes, is essential for maintaining testis homeostasis. What elusive is the contribution of mitochondrial metabolism to this energy-consuming process, as SC has a preference of aerobic glycolysis. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA, hereafter referred to as RA) is a well-known morphogen that primarily acts through the nuclear RA receptor (RAR). It sustains SC blood-testis barrier integrity, and it's SC-derived RA sets the timing of meiotic commitment. In this study, we revisited RA in SC biology, from the perspective of SC-mediated efferocytosis. We provide evidence that RA induces transcriptional programming of multiple regulators involved in efferocytosis, which thereby represses SC-mediated efferocytosis, via a RAR-independent mechanism, as blocking pan-RAR activity fails to rescue RA-induced defective efferocytosis. RA-treated SCs exhibit alternations in mitochondrial dynamics and metabolism, and the hindered efferocytosis can be rescued by stimulating mitochondrial OXPHOS via pharmacological targeting of AMPK and PDK. We thus prefer to propose a signaling axis of RA-mitochondrial metabolism-efferocytosis. Our study uncovers a hitherto unappreciated role of RA in SC biology and tiers mitochondria metabolism to SC-mediated efferocytosis, contributing a deeper understanding of SC in male reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To guarantee information security in communication, quantum identity authentication plays a key role in politics, economy, finance, daily life and other fields. In this paper, a new quantum multiparty simultaneous identity authentication protocol with Greenberger–Home–Zeilinger (GHZ) state is presented. In this protocol, the authenticator and the certified parties are the participants with quantum ability, whereas the third party is a classical participant. Here, the third-party is honest and the other two parties may be dishonest. With the help of a classical third-party, a quantum authenticator and the multiple certified parties can implement two-way identity authentication at the same time. It reduces the quantum burden of participants and lowers down the trustworthiness, which makes the protocol be feasible in practice. Through further security analysis, the protocol can effectively prevent an illegal dishonest participant from obtaining a legitimate identity. It shows that the protocol is against impersonation attack, intercept-measure-resend attack and entangle-measure attack, etc. In all, the paper provides positive efforts for the subsequent security identity authentication in quantum network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of multifunctional electric device is of great significance for improving the integration dense of integrated circuits in the future. Herein, amorphous WOx-based memristor was fabricated and the mechanism of resistance switching was studied in detail. The device exhibited a stable coexistence of bipolar resistive switching (RS) and negative differential resistance (NDR) behaviors at room temperature, which could modulated by changing the annealing time at 300 °C. The optimal high-resistance state (HRS)/low-resistance state (LRS) resistance ratio of ~30 was obtained by postannealing in 100 min. However, both RS and NDR behaviors disappeared with the crystallization of amorphous films when the annealing time was 300 min. The Ohmic conduction mechanism should be responsible for the charge transport of LRS, while the HRS transmission was corporately dominated by the trap-controlled space charge limited conduction (SCLC) and Poole–Frenkel (P–F) emission. The change of trap levels modulated by postannealing was calculated and considered to be the reason for the change of RS and NDR behaviors. Raman spectroscopy provided evidence for the formation of strong W–O bonds, which contributed to the disappearance of RS and NDR behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, adaptive proportional derivative (APD) parameter control was proposed to solve the problem of high power consumption caused by the unclear mechanism of liquid disturbance during the lifting-up of magnetic bearing in left ventricular assist devices. A mathematical model was derived that describes how the rotor operates in liquid filling. The disturbance caused by the liquid in the lifting-up process was analyzed, and an adaptive control system was developed to improve dynamic performance and reduce power consumption. The experimental results show that APD control requires a shorter rise time without overshoot of rotor displacement compared to traditional fixed configurations. When using the APD controller, the peak current dropped by 8%. The duration in which the current is greater than 1A was reduced by 10.2 ms, and the average current also dropped by 34%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of a variety of organic pollutants has complicated wastewater treatment; thus, the search for sustainable and effective treatment technology has drawn significant attention. In recent years, bulk nanobubbles, which have extraordinary properties differing from those of microbubbles, including high stability and long residence times in water, large specific surface areas, high gas transfer efficiency and interface potential, and the capability to generate free radicals, have shown attractive technological advantages and promising application prospects for wastewater treatment. In this review, the basic characteristics of bulk nanobubbles are summarized in detail, and recent findings related to their implementation pathways and mechanisms in organic wastewater treatment are systematically discussed, which includes improving the air flotation process, increasing water aeration to promote aerobic biological technologies including biological activated carbon, activated sludge, and membrane bioreactors, and generating active free radicals that oxidise organic compounds. Finally, the current technological difficulties of bulk nanobubbles are analysed, and future focus areas for research on bulk nanobubble technology are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serine is a metabolite with ever-expanding metabolic and non-metabolic signaling attributes. By providing one‑carbon units for macromolecule biosynthesis and functional modifications, serine and serine metabolism largely impinge on cellular survival and function. Cancer cells frequently have a preference for serine metabolic reprogramming to create a conducive metabolic state for survival and aggressiveness, making intervention of cancer-associated rewiring of serine metabolism a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. Beyond providing methyl donors for methylation in modulation of innate immunity, serine metabolism generates formyl donors for mitochondrial tRNA formylation which is required for mitochondrial function. Interestingly, fully developed neurons lack the machinery for serine biosynthesis and rely heavily on astrocytic l -serine for production of d -serine to shape synaptic plasticity. Here, we recapitulate recent discoveries that address the medical significance of serine and serine metabolism in malignancies, mitochondrial-associated disorders, and neurodegenerative pathologies. Metabolic control and epigenetic- and posttranslational regulation of serine metabolism are also discussed. Given the metabolic similarities between cancer cells, neurons and germ cells, we further propose the relevance of serine metabolism in testicular homeostasis. Our work provides valuable hints for future investigations that will lead to a deeper understanding of serine and serine metabolism in cellular physiology and pathology. A landscape of the regulatory network of serine biosynthetic enzyme Phgdh. The metabolic and non-metabolic activity of Phgdh is regulated at multiple regulatory layers, ranging from transcriptional to posttranslational regulation. [Display omitted] • Serine is a non-essential amino acid with essential signaling attributes in health and disease • Serine provides building blocks for biosynthesis and functional modifications that supports cell survival and function • Deregulation of serine metabolism implicates in diverse diseases, with particularly relevance in cancer immunity • Intervention of disease-associated rewiring of serine metabolism is a promising therapeutic strategy for disease mitigation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor impermeability of fractured rock induced by excavation and construction is improved through the application of microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP), but it is difficult to monitor and evaluate the permeability reduction under a confining pressure and fracture aperture. For this, the grouting ratio, permeability, and electrochemical impedance of fractured rock with MICP grouting were experimented with, considering the effects of fracture aperture and confining pressure. The equivalent circuit model of grouting-fractured rock is presented, and the corresponding ratio of the electrical resistivity and cross-sectional area of the grouted fracture (ρ / S) is indicated by an electrochemical impedance spectroscope (EIS). The relationships of the permeability coefficient, the ρ / S , and the grouting ratio are analysed. The experimental results show that the Darcy permeability coefficient of fractured rock with MICP grouting is reduced by an order of magnitude of 3 to 4. As fracture aperture ranged from 1.28 to 2.56 mm and grouting rate was 0.003 ml/s, the Darcy permeability coefficient decreased with an increase in confining pressure. The grouting ratio and fracture aperture also decreased with a reduction in ρ / S. The results also showed that the permeability reduction of MICP correspondingly increased in these conditions. What is more, the Darcy permeability coefficient of fractured rock grouted by MICP and its permeability reduction may be well predicted by confining pressure and ρ / S. This study provides a new EIS method for predicting the reduction in permeability of MICP grouting-fractured rock and further enriches the application of MICP and EIS techniques in impermeable rock engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence of taste and odour (T&O) in drinking water is one of the principal causes of consumer complaints and is commonly related to algae growth. Numerous studies have confirmed the existence of algal blooms emerging specifically in low-temperature periods, herein referred to as "cold algae"; these include chrysophytes, cryptophytes, dinoflagellates and diatoms. In addition, the adaption mechanisms of these "cold algae" involve high flexibility in their nutrient intake and to the hydrological characteristics of the waters and their high contents of intracellular polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Like algae proliferating in higher temperature waters, cold algae can also produce offensive odours. The potential dominant T&O compounds of low-temperature algae probably include saturated/unsaturated aldehydes and even some terpenoids. Among these, the polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs), the derivatives of polyunsaturated fatty acids, are the dominant T&O compounds and are probably synthesized during cell rupture. It was found that, for cold algae, low temperature may have a favourable effect on the generation of algae-induced T&O compounds. Furthermore, to better understand the internal mechanisms of algal T&O production, the stress response theory is introduced, which provides ideas for T&O control in raw water and in water treatment. Finally, implications for T&O management are given based on this review. Key points: • Like algae proliferating in higher temperature waters, cold algae can produce offensive odours. • Low temperatures may have a favourable effect on the generation of algae-induced T&O compounds. • The stress response theory can help to better understand the internal mechanisms of algal T&O production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cast thin sections of tight oil reservoirs contain important parameters such as rock mineral composition and content, porosity, permeability and stratigraphic characteristics, which are of great significance for reservoir evaluation. The use of deep learning technology for intelligent identification of thin section images is a development trend of mineral identification. However, the difficulty of making cast thin sections, the complexity of the making process and the high cost of thin section annotation have led to a lack of cast thin section images, which cannot meet the training requirements of deep learning image recognition models. In order to increase the sample size and improve the training effect of deep learning model, we proposed a generation and annotation method of thin section images of tight oil reservoir based on deep learning, by taking Fuyu reservoir in Sanzhao Sag as the target area. Firstly, the Augmentor strategy space was used to preliminarily augment the original images while preserving the original image features to meet the requirements of the model. Secondly, the category attention mechanism was added to the original StyleGAN network to avoid the influence of the uneven number of components in thin sections on the quality of the generated images. Then, the SALM annotation module was designed to achieve semi-automatic annotation of the generated images. Finally, experiments on image sharpness, distortion, standard accuracy and annotation efficiency were designed to verify the advantages of the method in image quality and annotation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Progressive supranuclear palsy is a neuropathologically defined disease, and many studies worked on detecting the diagnostic use of Magnetic resonance imaging. This article purposed to detect the diagnostic performance of Magnetic resonance parkinsonism index (MRPI).Methods: We systematically searched electronic database PubMed for articles published since 1996 using the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Society for PSP (NINDS-SPSP) criteria as the diagnostic standard. Methodological quality was assessed by Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) and software Review Manager 5.3, software STATA 14.0 and meta-disc were applied in statistics analysis.Results: Totally 14 articles were included in this article. MRPI is proved to have pooled sensitivity of 0.98, pooled specificity of 0.99 in differentiating patients with Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) from patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and the area under the Receiver operating characteristic curve value was 1.00.Conclusion: MRPI shows excellent performance in differentiating patients with PSP from patients with PD, the clinical usage of MRPI in auxiliary diagnosis of PSP is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taste and odor (T & O) issues in drinking water have become serious problems which cannot be ignored by customers. Several studies have confirmed that microbes in water can biotransform halophenols (HPs) to haloanisoles (HAs) with earthy and musty flavors via microbial O -methylation. In this paper, the formation of 2-chloroanisole (2-CA), 2,4-dichloroanisole (2,4-DCA), 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (2,4,6-TCA), 2,3,6-trichloroanisole (2,3,6-TCA) and 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (2,4,6-TBA), and the microbial variation during the microbial O -methylation were investigated in annular reactors (ARs) with three coupon materials. For precursors, 42.5% of 2-CP and 68.9% of 2,4-DCP decayed during the reaction. Among the five HAs, the formation rate constant followed an order of 2,4,6-TCA > 2-CA > 2,4,6-TBA > 2,4-DCA ~ 2,3,6-TCA, while [HA] max followed a totally opposite one. The simulated flow velocity had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on HA formation. Ductile iron (DI) AR could produce more HAs than stainless steel (SS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ARs. The final HA molar concentration followed an order of 2,3,6-TCA > 2,4-DCA > 2,4,6-TBA ~ 2,4,6-TCA > 2-CA, which might be explained by multiple factors including HP's dissociation degree, halogen atom's steric hindrance and specificity of HP O -methyltransferases. During the reaction, the microbial biomass dramatically increased 6.8–9.0 times in bulk water but dropped significantly on coupon biofilms. The effect of HPs significantly changed the bacterial communities on coupon in terms of composition and diversity, and declined the relative abundance of HA-producing bacteria, while fungi and their HA-producing genus showed better resistance ability towards HPs. By using Pearson correlation analysis, a significant correlation (p = 0.0003) was found between [HA] max and initial coupon biofilm biomass. Finally, a linear relationship was established between initial total biomass and HA formation potential. Unlabelled Image • Formation of five haloanisoles (HAs) was studied in annular reactors (ARs). • Ductile iron AR produced more HAs than stainless steel and polyvinyl chloride ARs. • 2,3,6-trichloroanisole had the largest yield among the five HAs. • Both biomass and coupon microbial communities shifted during the reaction. • A linear relationship existed between initial total biomass and [HA] max. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adiponectin (APN) is an important cytokine secreted by fat cells that is responsible for regulating numerous biological functions. However, the APN gene in lamprey and its precise function remain unidentified. In this study, the full-length cDNA sequence of L-APN was cloned, and it encoded a protein of 267 amino acid residues with a globular domain. The results of immunohistochemistry and FACS assays showed that APN protein was distributed in multiple tissues. L-APN expression in the supraneural body (SB) and leukocytes was differentially upregulated in response to Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria and poly (I:C). The expression levels of inflammatory cytokines were upregulated, and a proapoptotic effect was stimulated in SB cells treated with recombinant APN. Furthermore, L-APN could inhibit cell proliferation and arrest cell growth in the G1 phase. In summary, the APN protein from the lamprey plays an important role in inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing the production of inflammatory cytokines and promoting cell apoptosis, and it is also involved in immune responses and immune defenses. Our data provide insights into the evolutionary origin of the structure and function of APN gene. • A novel APN gene was cloned from Lampetra mori Berg. • The L-APN protein was primarily distributed in the liver and supraneural body tissue of lamprey but was also marginally detectable in the cytoplasm. • The mRNA expression of L-APN gene was differentially upregulated after stimulation with different pathogens. • The administration of recombinant L-APN inhibited significantly the tumor cell proliferation and arrested the cell cycle to result in the pro-apoptotic role. And it could induce the release of cytokines in RAW 264.7 cells. • rL-APN treatment could enhance the mRNA expression of HMGB1 and the effect of promoting cell apoptosis in lamprey supraneural body cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the Minimizing-Interference-for-Multiple-Paths (MIMP) problem for routing with minimum interference in wireless sensor networks, which is defined as: Given k routing requests { s 1 , t 1 } , ... , { s k , t k } , find k paths connecting these routing requests with minimum (wireless) interference. A key point to solve this problem is how to quantify interference level among multiple routing paths. However, all the existing metrics cannot measure interference precisely under some certain circumstances, e.g., some of the routing paths have common nodes or links. This paper proposes a metric that can measure interference precisely among any set of paths, even though these paths have some nodes or links in common. For this proposed metric, the MIMP problem is NP-hard even for k = 2. A heuristic Distributed On-line Algorithm for Minimizing Interference (DOAMI) is given to solve the MIMP problem. DOAMI has good communication and time complexity in theory, whose efficiency is also verified by simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid and credible evaluations of the microbial stability of a drinking water distribution system (DWDS) are of great significance for ensuring the safety of drinking water and predicting microbial pollution. Conventional biostability assessment methods mainly focus on bacterial regrowth or evaluation of the level of nutrients that support bacterial regrowth. However, such methods are time-consuming and have many limitations. An adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assay can rapidly measure all active microorganisms and is known to be a useful method to assess the microbial activity of drinking water. The measurement of ATP has been used for more than a decade in the field of drinking water research. This article reviews the application of an ATP luminescence-based method to assess the biostability of drinking water and discusses the feasibility of ATP measurement as a parameter for quickly evaluating this criterion. ATP measurement will help researchers and water managers better monitor the biological stability of drinking water from the source to the consumer's tap. This review covers the: (1) principle and application of the ATP measurement in drinking water quality assessment; (2) comparison of the merits and demerits of several methods for evaluating the biostability of drinking water; (3) discussions on using ATP measurement in evaluating biostability; and (4) improvements in the use of ATP measurement in evaluating biostability. At the end of this review, recommendations were given for better application of the ATP measurement as a parameter for monitoring the microbial quality of drinking water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diagenetic facies of tight oil reservoirs reflect the diagenetic characteristics and micro-pore structure of reservoirs, determining the formation and distribution of sweet spot zones. By establishing the correlation between diagenetic facies and logging curves, we can effectively identify the vertical variation of diagenetic facies types and predict the spatial variation of reservoir quality. However, it is still challenging work to establish the correlation between logging and diagenetic facies, and there are some problems such as low accuracy, high time consumption and high cost. To this end, we propose a lithofacies identification method for tight oil reservoirs based on hybrid intelligence using the Fuyu oil layer of the Sanzhao depression in Songliao Basin as the target area. Firstly, the geological characteristics of the selected area were analyzed, the definition and classification scheme of diagenetic facies and the dominant diagenetic facies were discussed, and the logging response characteristics of various diagenetic facies were summarized. Secondly, based on the standardization of logging curves, the logging image data set of various diagenetic facies was built, and the imbalanced data set processing was performed. Thirdly, by integrating CNN (Convolutional Neural Networks) and ViT (Visual Transformer), the C-ViTM hybrid intelligent model was constructed to identify the diagenetic facies of tight oil reservoirs. Finally, the effectiveness of the method is demonstrated through experiments with different thicknesses, accuracy and single-well identification. The experimental results show that the C-ViTM method has the best identification effect at the sample thickness of 0.5 m, with Precision of above 86%, Recall of above 90% and F1 score of above 89%. The calculation result of the Jaccard index in the identification of a single well was 0.79, and the diagenetic facies of tight reservoirs can be identified efficiently and accurately. At the same time, it also provides a new idea for the identification of the diagenetic facies of old oilfields with only logging image data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taste & odor (T&O) problems in drinking water are always complained by customers. Recent studies have indicated biofilms in drinking water distribution system (DWDS) are always ignored as potential sources of T&O compounds. In this paper, the formation of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (2,4,6-TCA), one of the dominant T&O compounds, was investigated in a pilot-scale DWDS. The addition of precursor 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) of 0.2 mg/L induced the formation of 2,4,6-TCA with a maximum yield of ∼400 ng/L, and the formation kinetics can be described by a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Effects of water distribution factors such as pipe material, temperature, flow velocity, and residual chlorine on the formation of 2,4,6-TCA were evaluated, and the pipe material was found to have the most remarkable effect. Ductile iron and stainless steel pipes produced much more 2,4,6-TCA than polyethylene (PE) pipe. The biofilm microbial communities on the three types of pipe walls were then comprehensively analyzed by heterotrophic plate count and 16S rRNA/ITS1 genes high throughput sequencing. The links between the 2,4,6-TCA formation potential and the microbial activity in genus and enzymatic levels in DWDS have been revealed for the first time. According to the characteristics of microbial assemblages of producing 2,4,6-TCA, quorum-sensing (QS) bacterial signaling system and extracellular DNA (eDNA) may be two promising targets for biofilm treatment and 2,4,6-TCA control in DWDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peracetic acid (PAA) is a disinfection oxidant used in many industries including wastewater treatment. β -Lactams, a group of widely prescribed antibiotics, are frequently detected in wastewater effluents and surface waters. The reaction kinetics and transformation of seven β -lactams (cefalexin (CFX), cefadroxil (CFR), cefapirin (CFP), cephalothin (CFT), ampicillin (AMP), amoxicillin (AMX) and penicillin G (PG)) toward PAA were investigated to elucidate the behavior of β -lactams during PAA oxidation processes. The reaction follows second-order kinetics and is much faster at pH 5 and 7 than at pH 9 due to speciation of PAA. Reactivity to PAA follows the order of CFR ∼ CFX > AMP ∼ AMX > CFT ∼ CFP ∼ PG and is related to β -lactam's nucleophilicity. The thioether sulfur of β -lactams is attacked by PAA to generate sulfoxide products. Presence of the phenylglycinyl amino group on β -lactams can significantly influence electron distribution and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) location and energy in ways that enhance the reactivity to PAA. Reaction rate constants obtained in clean water matrix can be used to accurately model the decay of β -lactams by PAA in surface water matrix and only slightly overestimate the decay in wastewater matrix. Results of this study indicate that the oxidative transformation of β -lactams by PAA can be expected under appropriate wastewater treatment conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both excellent osteoinductivity and self-antibacterial performance are important for the successful clinical application of Ti-based metals as bone implant materials. Titania nanotube (TNT) arrays can endow Ti-based materials with multi-biofunctions due to the unique geometric structures of TNT that can be directly functionalized on the substrates through diverse techniques. In this work, strontium (Sr) and zinc oxides (ZnO) were doped into TNT arrays successively by hydrothermal treatment (HT) and subsequent atomic layer deposition (ALD). The super hydrophobic TNT array was obtained by grafting octadecylphosphonic acid (OPDA)-toluene. The results showed that the dual doping of Sr and ZnO together with super-hydrophobic property could not only enhance the osteoinductivity of Ti-based implants but also endow these implant materials with effective self-antibacterial ability. The former was ascribed to the osteogenic effects of Sr while the latter was contributed to the synergistic effects of ZnO and hydrophobic of OPDA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important for water utilities to provide esthetically acceptable drinking water to the public, because our consumers always initially judge the quality of the tap water by its color, taste, and odor (T&O). Microorganisms in drinking water contribute largely to T&O production and drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) are known to harbor biofilms and microorganisms in bulk water, even in the presence of a disinfectant. These microbes include T&O-causing bacteria, fungi, and algae, which may lead to unwanted effects on the organoleptic quality of distributed water. Importantly, the understanding of types of these microbes and their T&O compound-producing mechanisms is needed to prevent T&O formation during drinking water distribution. Additionally, new disinfection strategies and operation methods of DWDS are also needed for better control of T&O problems in drinking water. This review covers: (1) the microbial species which can produce T&O compounds in DWDS; (2) typical T&O compounds in DWDS and their formation mechanisms by microorganisms; (3) several common factors in DWDS which can influence the growth and T&O generation of microbes; and (4) several strategies to control biofilm and T&O compound formation in DWDS. At the end of this review, recommendations were given based on the conclusion of this review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chloroanisoles are often reported as off-flavor compounds which produce an earthy and musty flavors and odors in drinking water. To improve understanding and ultimately minimize the formation of 2,4-dichloroanisole (2,4-DCA), 2,6-dichloroanisole (2,6-DCA) and 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (2,4,6-TCA), which have low odor threshold concentrations (OTC: 0.03–4 ng L −1 ), a kinetic database for the chlorination of anisole was established by kinetic measurements. The results showed that HOCl reacted with anisole in acidic solution, with the hydrogen ion as an important catalyst. Quantification of product distribution of the produced chloroanisoles demonstrated that a chlorine attack in the para-position was favored over the ortho-position. A kinetic model was formulated, which permitted investigation of the relative importance of the chlorine dose and other water quality parameters including the concentrations of anisole and several metal ions, as well as temperature, on the product distribution of chloroanisoles. In general, high chlorine doses led to low concentrations of intermediates. The presence of ions such as Fe 3+ and Al 3+ facilitated the formation of chloroanisoles, but Zn 2+ and Mn 2+ did not. The kinetic model can be applied to optimize water chlorination and minimize earthy and musty odors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the thermoelectric properties of long-period HgCdTe superlattices (MCT SLs) from cryogenic temperature to room temperature. We find that the thermal conductivity is lower than the alloy value especially at low temperatures, the electrical conductivity is similar to that of alloy films, and the Seebeck coefficient is comparable to other SLs. Calculations based on Rytov's elastic model show that the phonon group velocity is reduced due to folding by more than a factor of two relative to its value in bulk CdTe or HgTe. Thermal conductivity is found to be relatively constant over a wide range of temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photocatalytic degradation of sulfonamides in aqueous TiO2 suspension under UV irradiation has been investigated using potassium ferrate as electron acceptors. The results showed that the stability of Fe(VI) is dependent on pH significantly, and the stability reduces obviously in the presence of UV-TiO2. The experiments indicated that Fe(VI) could effectively scavenge the conduction band electrons from the surface of TiO2. The photocatalytic oxidation of sulfonamides with Fe(VI) was found to be much faster than that without Fe(VI). The SD, SM, and SMX concentration was greatly reduced by 89.2%, 83.4%, and 82.0%, respectively, after 10 min with UV-TiO2-Fe(VI), comparing to 65.2%, 66.0%, and 71.9%, respectively, with Fe(VI) only in the dark and 71.3%, 72.7%, and 76.0%, respectively, with UV-TiO2. The pH value of solution significantly influenced the sulfonamides degradation in UV-TiO2-Fe(VI) system. The degradation amount of sulfonamides after 10 min was a maximum at pH 7. The intermediate products of sulfonamides oxidation by UV-TiO2-Fe(VI) were analysed by LC-HESI-MS-MS and the results suggested that a majority of sulfonamides turned into large-molecule products without complete mineralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfa antibiotics are a family of typical broad-spectrum antibiotics, which have become one of the most frequently detected antibiotics in water, posing a great threat to human health and ecosystem. Potassium ferrate is a new type of high-efficiency multifunctional water treatment agent, collecting the effects of oxidation, adsorption, flocculation, coagulation, sterilization, and deodorization. Performance and mechanism of degradation of typical broad-spectrum antibiotics by Fe(VI)-US were further studied, investigating the degradation effect of sulfa antibiotics by single ultrasound, single potassium ferrate, and potassium ferrate-ultrasound (Fe(VI)-US). It was found that Fe(VI)-US technology had a significant role in promoting the degradation of sulfa antibiotics via orthogonal experiments. Factors evaluated included sulfa antibiotics type, pH value, potassium ferrate dosage, ultrasonic frequency, and ultrasonic power, with the pH value and potassium ferrate dosage being affected most significantly. One reason for synergy facilitating the degradation is the common oxidation of potassium ferrate and ultrasound, and the other is that Fe(III) produced promotes the degradation rate. According to the product analysis and degradation pathways of three sulfa antibiotics, ferrate-sonication sulfa antibiotics are removed by hydroxyl radical oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Epanet combined with BP neural network was used to build a multi-parameter water quality model. • Complex chloric odor with chlorine and chloramines was considered. • Balancing chloric odor intensity and biosecurity in DWDS using Borg algorithm. • Chloric odor was firstly applied in real case to optimize chlorine dosage and sites. The traditional methods of increasing the chlorine disinfectant dosage in the drinking water distribution system (DWDS) to control microorganisms and improve the safety of drinking water quality are subjected to several challenges. One noticeable problem is the unpleasant odor generated by chlorine and chloramines. However, the generally proposed chlorine dosage optimization model ignores the chloric odor distribution in the DWDS. This study proposes a comprehensive multi-parameter water quality model and aims to balance the trade-offs between: (i) minimize the flavor profile analysis (FPA) degree of the chloric odor produced by chlorine and chloramines in the DWDS, and (ii) minimize the economic investment (chlorine dosage and operation cost). EPANET and back propagation (BP) network integrated with the Borg algorithm were employed as innovative approaches to simulate the chlorine, chloramines, and chloric odor intensity in the DWDS. Moreover, the application of the multi-parameter model was demonstrated in a real-world DWDS case study. 0.5 mg-Cl 2 /L (mg/L) chlorine at 8 secondary chlorination points was added to the DWDS as an optimized chlorine dosing scheme considering the olfactory and financial objective functions simultaneously. When switching to a superior water source, the FPA of the chloric odor in DWDS increased by a maximum of 1.4 at most if the initial chlorine dosage remained as before. To avoid the occurrence of chloric odor and also control the residual free chlorine (residual chlorine) at a suitable value, the initial and secondary chlorine dosages were optimized to 0.4 mg/L and 0.3 mg/L, respectively. Under this condition, the initial chlorine dosage was reduced by 50% compared to the original operation scheme in City J, China, the qualification rate of the residual chlorine reached 97.2%, basically consistent with that before water source switching, and the chloric odor intensity of the DWDS was controlled below FPA 3.4. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smtnl2 is an epithelial Smoothelin that binds to actin filaments and is crucial for epithelial morphogenesis. We examined the role of Smtnl2 in Sertoli cells, which undergo dynamic cytoskeleton reorganization to phagocytose apoptotic germ cells, a process known as efferocytosis. We observed Smtnl2 expression in primary mouse Sertoli cells and the 15P1 Sertoli cell line. Smtnl2 expression increased in 15P1 cells committing efferocytosis. Smtnl2-deficient Sertoli cells exhibited defective ability to engulf apoptotic germ cells and importantly, the phenomenon occurred in the setting of an unaffected maturation of phagosome. We demonstrated that Smtnl2 regulates the engulfment process through the function of branched actin nucleation protein ARP3, an actin assembly dictator. Intriguingly, a shift in glucose metabolism that restricts lactate production in Sertoli cells was induced upon Smtnl2 depletion, leading to the activation of downstream AMPK and AKT signaling. Using an in vivo RNAi approach, we found that silencing of Smtnl2 in testis triggers an obvious disruption in cytoskeleton architecture and blood-testis barrier integrity across seminiferous epithelium, causing the detachment of massive germ cells from their nest, as evidenced by their exfoliation into the lumen. Overall, our study identifies Smtnl2 as a determinant for Sertoli cells' functioning in supporting spermatogenesis. [Display omitted] • Smtnl2 is an actin filament-binding protein required for mouse Sertoli cells function. • RNA silencing of Smtnl2 in cultured Sertoli cells impairs efferocytosis and lactate biosynthesis. • Smtnl2 orchestrates actin assembly by recruitment of ARP3. • RNA inhibition of Smtnl2 in mouse testis disrupts spermatogenesis and the blood-testis barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, and it has been widely developed worldwide since the last decade. Malignant melanoma is currently the most deadly skin cancer. If malignant melanoma is diagnosed at an early stage, the probability of patients being cured will be greatly improved. At present, most existing skin lesion image classification methods only use deep learning. However, the multi‐modal features of skin lesions in the medical domain are not well utilized and integrated. To reduce the classification error of the skin lesion images caused by the complexity and subjectivity of visual interpretation, a malignant melanoma dermoscopy image classification method based on multi‐modal medical features is proposed in this paper which is inspired by the fuzzy decision‐making process of doctors. It can reduce the subjective difference in the image classification process and assist dermatologists to analyze the skin lesion area. Firstly, the feature detection method based on the extension theory can effectively quantify the difference between different colour features. Then, an interpretable segmentation edge of the skin lesion is established by using the neutrosophic theory which can convert the image into the neutrosophic space. The edge of the skin lesion is captured by applying the Hierarchical Gaussian Mixture Model (HGMM) method. Next, the edge sequence is established by segmenting the edge, and the contour regularity, symmetry, and uniformity of the edge of the skin lesion are analyzed. Finally, the extracted multi‐feature sets are used for dermoscopy image classification. Experiments are carried out on real datasets, and the classification accuracy of four kernel functions is verified. The experimental results show that the authors' method can effectively improve the classification accuracy of benign dermoscopy images and malignant dermoscopy images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbitrated quantum signature (AQS) is a cryptographic scenario in which the sender (signer), Alice, generates the signature of a message and then a receiver (verifier), Bob, can verify the signature with the help of a trusted arbitrator, Trent. In this paper, we point out there exist some security weaknesses in two AQS protocols. Our analysis shows Alice can successfully disavow any of her signatures by a simple attack in the first protocol. Furthermore, we study the security weaknesses of the second protocol from the aspects of forgery and disavowal. Some potential improvements of this kind of protocols are given. We also design a new method to authenticate a signature or a message, which makes AQS protocols immune to Alice's disavowal attack and Bob's forgery attack effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Yuan et al. summarized some previous analysis of quantum secret sharing task and designed a multiparty quantum secret sharing protocol based on the continuous variable operations (CVO) with the ideas of dense coding and ping-pong technique (YMQSS). However, our research shows that the YMQSS protocol is unable to complete the quantum secret sharing task securely if the particular participant, Bob, is dishonest. In order to show that, we describe the following two attack strategies: one is that Bob can get the accurate shared secrets himself and leave the other sharers get his forged ones; the other one is that Bob can conspire with another sharer Bob ( i≠0) to get Alice's secrets without anyone's help. Finally, our discussions and conclusions are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production and characteristics of typical taste and odor (T&O) compounds by Microcystis aeruginosa were investigated. A few terpenoid chemicals, including 2-MIB, β-cyclocitral, and β-ionone, and a few sulfur compounds, such as dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl trisulfide, were detected. β-Cyclocitral and β-carotene concentrations were observed to be relevant to the growth phases of Microcystis . During the stable growth phase, 41–865 fg/cell of β-cyclocitral were found in the laboratory culture. β-Cyclocitral concentrations correlated closely with β-carotene concentrations, with the correlation coefficient R 2 = 0.96, as it is formed from the cleavage reaction of β-carotene. For dead cell cases, a high concentration of dimethyl trisulfide was detected at 3.48–6.37 fg/cell. Four T&O compounds, including β-cyclocitral, β-ionone, heptanal and dimethyl trisulfide, were tested and found to be able to inhibit and damage Microcystis cells to varying degrees. Among these chemicals, β-cyclocitral has the strongest ability to quickly rupture cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The security of the recent quantum multi-signature protocol based on teleportation is analyzed. We show that there are some security vulnerabilities in the protocol. The detailed attack strategies are described from the aspect of participant attack. We also point out that the protocol is not secure against external attack. Finally, we give some possible countermeasures to improve the protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Orthodontic tooth movement (OTM), a process of alveolar bone remodelling, is induced by mechanical force and regulated by local inflammation. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) play a fundamental role in osteogenesis during OTM. Macrophages are mechanosensitive cells that can regulate local inflammatory microenvironment and promote BMSCs osteogenesis by secreting diverse mediators. However, whether and how mechanical force regulates osteogenesis during OTM via macrophage-derived exosomes remains elusive. Results: Mechanical stimulation (MS) promoted bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMDM)-mediated BMSCs osteogenesis. Importantly, when exosomes from mechanically stimulated BMDMs (MS-BMDM-EXOs) were blocked, the pro-osteogenic effect was suppressed. Additionally, compared with exosomes derived from BMDMs (BMDM-EXOs), MS-BMDM-EXOs exhibited a stronger ability to enhance BMSCs osteogenesis. At in vivo, mechanical force-induced alveolar bone formation was impaired during OTM when exosomes were blocked, and MS-BMDM-EXOs were more effective in promoting alveolar bone formation than BMDM-EXOs. Further proteomic analysis revealed that ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase isozyme L3 (UCHL3) was enriched in MS-BMDM-EXOs compared with BMDM-EXOs. We went on to show that BMSCs osteogenesis and mechanical force-induced bone formation were impaired when UCHL3 was inhibited. Furthermore, mothers against decapentaplegic homologue 1 (SMAD1) was identified as the target protein of UCHL3. At the mechanistic level, we showed that SMAD1 interacted with UCHL3 in BMSCs and was downregulated when UCHL3 was suppressed. Consistently, overexpression of SMAD1 rescued the adverse effect of inhibiting UCHL3 on BMSCs osteogenesis. Conclusions: This study suggests that mechanical force-induced macrophage-derived exosomal UCHL3 promotes BMSCs osteogenesis by targeting SMAD1, thereby promoting alveolar bone formation during OTM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum dual-signature means that two signed quantum messages are combined and expected to be sent to two different recipients. A quantum signature requires the cooperation of two verifiers to complete the whole verification process. As an important quantum signature aspect, the trusted third party is introduced to the current protocols, which affects the practicability of the quantum signature protocols. In this paper, we propose a quantum dual-signature protocol without arbitrator and entanglement for the first time. In the proposed protocol, two independent verifiers are introduced, here they may be dishonest but not collaborate. Furthermore, strongly nonlocal orthogonal product states are used to preserve the protocol security, i.e., no one can deny or forge a valid signature, even though some of them conspired. Compared with existing quantum signature protocols, this protocol does not require a trusted third party and entanglement resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The remediation of water polluted by fluroquinolones antibiotics remains an important issue. Although zero-valent copper (ZVC) coupled with molecular oxygen can destruct refractory organic pollutants, the activation efficiency still needs to be further improved. In this study, the introduction of ascorbic acid (AA) in ZVC/air process maintained a high-concentration of Cu(Ⅰ), which can efficiently activate molecular oxygen to generate reactive oxygen species (ROSs). Superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals coexisted in nZVC/AA/air system. The former contributed to the yield of H 2 O 2 and also acted as a mediator for Cu(Ⅱ)/Cu(Ⅰ) redox cycles, the latter was the pivotal ROSs for ciprofloxacin (CIP) destruction. The CIP degradation decelerated through the addition of excessive nZVC and AA, and the optimum dosages of nZVC and AA were determined to be 0.2 g/L and 1 mM, respectively. The developed nZVC/AA/air process could efficiently operate in a relative broad pH range of 3.0–7.0, which was due to the fact that AA prevented the precipitation of copper ions in solution via forming stable chelates. The coexistence of Cl− severely retarded the CIP removal. According to the results of UPLC-MS/MS analysis and density functional theory calculations, the plausible degradation pathways including the decarboxylation, defluorination, hydroxylation and cleavage of C–C bond in piperazine ring were proposed. [Display omitted] • The introduction of AA in nZVC/air system greatly accelerated CIP degradation. • AA maintained a high-concentration of Cu(Ⅰ), which efficiently activated molecular oxygen to generate ROSs. • Hydroxyl radicals mainly contributed to CIP destruction, while superoxide radical functioned as the mediator for copper cycles. • Several key affecting factors including ZVC dosage, AA concentration, solution pH and chlorine were examined. • The transformation route of CIP in nZVC/AA/air system was put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blind millionaires’ problem is an expansion of the millionaires’ problem, comparing the secrets belonging to two different sets. When each set has only one participant, it corresponds to the original millionaires’ problem. In this paper, we propose a new solution to quantum blind millionaires’ (QBM) problem based on d-level n-particle entangled states | χ ⟩ n for the first time. In our solution, the summation of the secrets held by the participants from two sets can be compared successfully; here, each participant may have one or multiple secrets. Specially two different cases for overall and local comparison are discussed, respectively. During the QBM solution for overall comparison, it can be seen that the summation of all the secrets in each set can compare its value with the other set. Accordingly, during the QBM solution for local comparison, any one participant in one set can compare his secret with the summation of all the secrets in the other set. Moreover, the security analysis shows that the present solutions can prevent secrets leakage even if participants collude. Finally, the efficiency and some further discussions of our solutions are also proposed. As a new attempt, we hope these work may make positive effects to the development of quantum secure multiparty computation in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Eight bacteria from biofilms were identified and could produce haloanisoles. • Sphingomonadaceae was firstly proved to be able to O -methylate halophenols. • The halophenol O -methyltransferases of some bacteria were inducible. • Trihaloanisoles have higher potential risks than less substituted haloanisoles. • A new drinking water 2,4,6-trichlorophenol criteria was proposed. Microorganisms in drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) can O -methylate toxic halophenols (HPs) into earthy-musty haloanisoles (HAs). However, the dominant HA-producing bacterial species and their O -methylation properties are still unknown. In this study, eight bacterial strains from DWDS were isolated and the community abundances of the related genera in bulk water and biofilms as well as their O -methylation properties were investigated. Among the genera discovered in this study, Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas are dominant and play important roles in DWDSs. All bacteria could simultaneously convert five HPs to the corresponding HAs. Two Sphingomonas ursincola strains mainly produced 2,3,6-trichloroanisole (2,3,6-TCA) (2.48 × 10-9−1.18 × 10-8 ng/CFU), 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (2,4,6-TCA) (8.12 × 10-10−3.11 × 10-9 ng/CFU) and 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (2,4,6-TBA) (2.95 × 10-9−3.21 × 10-9 ng/CFU), while two Pseudomonas moraviensis strains preferred to generate 2-monochloroanisole (2-MCA) (1.19 × 10-9−3.70 × 10-9 ng/CFU) and 2,4-dichloroanisole (2,4-DCA) (3.81 × 10-9−1.20 × 10-8 ng/CFU). Among the chloramphenicol-susceptible strains, four strains contained inducible O -methyltransferases (OMTs), while the O -methylations of the others were expressed constitutively. All bacteria could use S -adenosyl methionine as methyl donor. Potential taste and odor (T & O) risks of five HAs in DWDS followed an order of 2,4,6-TBA > 2,4,6-TCA > 2,3,6-TCA > 2,4-DCA > 2-MCA. The recommended 2,4,6-TCP criteria for T & O control is 0.003−0.07 mg/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Degradation rate followed the order: 2,4,6-TBA>2-MCA>2,4-DCA>2,4,6-TCA. • OH and superoxide radical were involved in PAA/UV system. • The primary contribution: TBA (light radiation) and TCA (OH attacking). • The degradation pathway of haloanisoles in PAA/UV process were determined. • PAA/UV could largely reduce olfactory discomfort and health risk of haloanisoles. This study reported the kinetics and mechanism of degradation of odorant haloanisoles by peracetic acid combined with UV irradiation (PAA/UV). The removal efficiency of haloanisoles by PAA/UV was more than 92 % after 1 h reaction at pH 5, 25 °C, [HAs] =50 μg/L and [PAA] = 10 mg/L. The degradation of haloanisoles was fitted by the first-order kinetic model, and the rate constants of various haloanisoles followed the order: 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (2,4,6-TBA, (9.25 ± 0.71)×10−2 s-1) > 2-monochloroanisole (2-MCA, (8.00 ± 0.34)×10−2 s-1) > 2,4-dichloroanisole (2,4-DCA, (6.24 ± 0.55)×10−2 s-1) > 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (2,4,6-TCA, (5.05 ± 0.04)×10−2 s-1). The contribution of PAA (mainly composed of free radicals produced from PAA activation by UV) to the degradation rate of chloroanisoles in PAA/UV process ranged from 24 % to 36 %, while 25 % to the degradation rate of bromoanisole. Direct photolysis contributed much more to the removal of bromoanisole (42 %) than chloroanisoles (9–14 %). The inhibition of tert -butanol on degradation demonstrated the existence of ·OH, and superoxide radical and carbon-centered radicals were also probably existed in PAA/UV process. Combining density functional theory (DFT) calculation and products analysis, the degradation pathway of haloanisoles in PAA/UV process were determined. The odor and toxicity evaluation indicated PAA/UV process could reduce olfactory discomfort and health risk of haloanisoles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin lesion segmentation is the first and indispensable step of malignant melanoma recognition and diagnosis. At present, most of the existing skin lesions segmentation techniques often used traditional methods like optimum thresholding, etc., and deep learning methods like U-net, etc. However, the edges of skin lesions in malignant melanoma images are gradually changed in color, and this change is nonlinear. The existing methods can not effectively distinguish banded edges between lesion areas and healthy skin areas well. Aiming at the uncertainty and fuzziness of banded edges, the neutrosophic set theory is used in this paper which is better than fuzzy theory to deal with banded edge segmentation. Therefore, we proposed a neutrosophy domain-based segmentation method that contains six steps. Firstly, an image is converted into three channels and the pixel matrix of each channel is obtained. Secondly, the pixel matrixes are converted into Neutrosophic Set domain by using the neutrosophic set conversion method to express the uncertainty and fuzziness of banded edges of malignant melanoma images. Thirdly, a new Neutrosophic Entropy model is proposed to combine the three memberships according to some rules by using the transformations in the neutrosophic space to comprehensively express three memberships and highlight the banded edges of the images. Fourthly, the feature augment method is established by the difference of three components. Fifthly, the dilation is used on the neutrosophic entropy matrixes to fill in the noise region. Finally, the image that is represented by transformed matrix is segmented by the Hierarchical Gaussian Mixture Model clustering method to obtain the banded edge of the image. Qualitative and quantitative experiments are performed on malignant melanoma image dataset to evaluate the performance of the NeDSeM method. Compared with some state-of-the-art methods, our method has achieved good results in terms of performance and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microcystis aeruginosa and Pseudanabaena are two common cyanobacterial species/genus and they can occur coincidently in many eutrophic lakes globally. These two cyanobacteria could produce Taste & Odor (T&O) compounds, and their production of T&O compounds might be changed when they are present coincidently. The amounts of T&O compounds and their producers may influence the effectiveness of water treatment processes. Therefore, the mutual interactions between Microcystis aeruginosa (FACHB-905, M) and Pseudanabaena sp. (FACHB-1277, P) on T&O compounds in co-cultures were evaluated in this study. Different initial cell concentrations of M and P, with ratios of M:P = 1:1, M:P = 1:2 and M:P = 2:1 were applied in the co-cultures. The growth of M was enhanced under all of the cyanobacterial cell ratios. The growth of P was enhanced under the ratio of M:P = 1:1, while it was inhibited under the ratios of M:P = 1:2 and M: P = 2:1. In addition, the growth of the two cyanobacteria and their production of β-cyclocitral and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) in the filtrate of P were higher than those in the filtrate of M, which may be attributed to their associated secondary metabolites. The cell integrity and photosynthetic capacity of the two studied cyanobacteria are greatly affected by exposure to β-cyclocitral and 2-MIB. The results showed that β-cyclocitral and 2-MIB had the allelopathic effects on the two cyanobacteria species which might influence the composition of co-existing cyanobacteria and their production of T&O compounds. Image 1 • The growth of M. aeruginosa and associated β-cyclocitral is enhanced in co-cultures. • Allelopathy is crucial in the interspecific competition of co-existed cyanobacteria. • β-cyclocitral and 2-MIB could impact cyanobacterial growth and metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]