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In this paper, a lossless image compression and encryption algorithm combining JPEG-LS, neural networks and hyperchaotic mapping is proposed to protect the privacy of digital images and reduce data storage space. Firstly, we design a new 2-Dimensional Logistic-Like Hyperchaotic Map (2DLLHM), which has more complex dynamics than some existing known chaotic systems, and can be used to build a good pseudorandom sequence generator. Secondly, to compress images efficiently, we design a new pixel predictor by combining the MED (Median Edge Detector) of JPEG-LS with MLP (Multilayer Perceptron). This predictor is called MMP. The MMP can effectively improve the prediction effect of edge texture area. On this basis, a threshold segmentation method is proposed. The method combined with MMP, run-length coding and Huffman coding can further improve the image compression ratio. Finally, to avoid some of the existing weak encryption designs, we construct a multi-round nonlinear diffusion structure with more excellent diffusion performance. Experiments show that the algorithm achieves a good compression ratio and can resist brute force attacks, statistical attacks, chosen-plaintext attacks and chosen-ciphertext attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sludge resource utilization and the high value-added development are environmentally friendly means for sludge treatment. With its rich organic substances and metals content, sludge can replace activated carbon and become a widely used carbon-based material, such as sludge-based activated carbon (SBAC). Meanwhile, as a heterogeneous catalyst, sludge-based catalyst (SBC) can solve the requirements of traditional Fenton catalysts for pH, metal ion leaching, and catalyst recycling. In this paper, combining the properties of SBAC/SBCs, the characteristics of the three methods of activation, support, and hydrothermal preparation of SBAC/SBCs are reviewed. In general, it is necessary to select an appropriate preparation method based on pollutants and environmental treatment goals. Furthermore, compared with other catalysts, SBC heterogeneous oxidation has obvious advantages in refractory organic pollutants. And the reaction mechanism usually involves SO4·-, ·OH, O2·-, and 1O2 processes. Finally, some possible directions for future research involving environmentally friendly SBAC/SBCs are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: According to practice guidelines, adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) is required for all patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who have received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) and total mesorectal excision (TME). The objective of this study was to determine whether ACT is necessary for patients achieving pathological complete response (pCR) after NCRT followed by surgery. Methods: By retrospectively reviewing a prospectively collected database in our single tertiary care center, 210 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who underwent NCRT followed by TME were identified between February 2005 and August 2013. All patients achieving ypCR were enrolled in this study, in which who underwent ACT (chemo group) and who did not (non-chemo group) were compared in terms of local recurrence (LR) rate, 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rate. Results: Forty consecutive patients with ypCR were enrolled, 19 (47.5 %) in chemo group and 21 (52.5 %) in non-chemo group. After a median follow-up of 57 months, five patients developed systemic recurrences, with the 5y-DFS rate of 83.5 %. No LR occurred in the two groups. The 5y-DFS rates for patients in chemo group and non-chemo group was 90.9 and 76.0 %, respectively, showing no statistically significant difference ( p = 0.142). Multivariate analysis showed that tumor grade was the only independent prognostic factor for 5y-DFS and 5y-OS. Conclusions: Results of this study suggested that it may not be necessary for all rectal cancer patients with ypCR after NCRT and radical surgery to receive ACT. Prospective randomized trials are warranted to further determine the value of ACT for ypCR patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgroud: Echinochloa curs-galli (barnyardgrass) is the most prominent weed in rice fields, and its herbicide resistance seriously threatens rice yields. Penoxsulam failed to control an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population (R) in field. However, the resistance level, cross-resistance pattern and resistance mechanism is not characterized.The whole plant method was employed to determine the resistance level to penoxsulam and the cross-resistance pattern in R. Enzyme activity, gene cloning and sequencing, quantative real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) were conducted to determine the target-site resistance mechanisms. Metabolism enzyme inhibitors pretreatment, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and qRT-PCR validation were performed to identify the penoxsulam-resistance related metabolism genes.Here we identified an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population (R) highly resistant to acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor penoxsulam, cross-resistant to bispyribac-sodium and pyribenzoxim, and multiple-resistant to auxin mimics florpyrauxifen, but susceptible to acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) cyhalofop-butyl and the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) inhibitor benzobicyclon. Molecular investigation indicated that the penoxsulam resistance was unrelated to amino acid substitution or overexpression of the target enzyme. The metabolism inhibitors were employed to investigate the non-target site resistance mechanism consequently. P450s inhibitor malathion or GSTs inhibitor 4-chloro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-Cl) both significantly decreased the resistance level to penoxsulam in population R. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR validation indicated that 15 P450s and 5 glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes were upregulated by penoxsulam in R plants.We present an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population with resistance to penoxsulam and multiple-resistance to auxin mimics. Enhanced herbicide metabolism via P450s and GSTs played a vital role in penoxsulam resistance.Methods: Echinochloa curs-galli (barnyardgrass) is the most prominent weed in rice fields, and its herbicide resistance seriously threatens rice yields. Penoxsulam failed to control an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population (R) in field. However, the resistance level, cross-resistance pattern and resistance mechanism is not characterized.The whole plant method was employed to determine the resistance level to penoxsulam and the cross-resistance pattern in R. Enzyme activity, gene cloning and sequencing, quantative real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) were conducted to determine the target-site resistance mechanisms. Metabolism enzyme inhibitors pretreatment, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and qRT-PCR validation were performed to identify the penoxsulam-resistance related metabolism genes.Here we identified an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population (R) highly resistant to acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor penoxsulam, cross-resistant to bispyribac-sodium and pyribenzoxim, and multiple-resistant to auxin mimics florpyrauxifen, but susceptible to acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) cyhalofop-butyl and the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) inhibitor benzobicyclon. Molecular investigation indicated that the penoxsulam resistance was unrelated to amino acid substitution or overexpression of the target enzyme. The metabolism inhibitors were employed to investigate the non-target site resistance mechanism consequently. P450s inhibitor malathion or GSTs inhibitor 4-chloro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-Cl) both significantly decreased the resistance level to penoxsulam in population R. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR validation indicated that 15 P450s and 5 glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes were upregulated by penoxsulam in R plants.We present an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population with resistance to penoxsulam and multiple-resistance to auxin mimics. Enhanced herbicide metabolism via P450s and GSTs played a vital role in penoxsulam resistance.Results: Echinochloa curs-galli (barnyardgrass) is the most prominent weed in rice fields, and its herbicide resistance seriously threatens rice yields. Penoxsulam failed to control an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population (R) in field. However, the resistance level, cross-resistance pattern and resistance mechanism is not characterized.The whole plant method was employed to determine the resistance level to penoxsulam and the cross-resistance pattern in R. Enzyme activity, gene cloning and sequencing, quantative real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) were conducted to determine the target-site resistance mechanisms. Metabolism enzyme inhibitors pretreatment, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and qRT-PCR validation were performed to identify the penoxsulam-resistance related metabolism genes.Here we identified an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population (R) highly resistant to acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor penoxsulam, cross-resistant to bispyribac-sodium and pyribenzoxim, and multiple-resistant to auxin mimics florpyrauxifen, but susceptible to acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) cyhalofop-butyl and the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) inhibitor benzobicyclon. Molecular investigation indicated that the penoxsulam resistance was unrelated to amino acid substitution or overexpression of the target enzyme. The metabolism inhibitors were employed to investigate the non-target site resistance mechanism consequently. P450s inhibitor malathion or GSTs inhibitor 4-chloro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-Cl) both significantly decreased the resistance level to penoxsulam in population R. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR validation indicated that 15 P450s and 5 glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes were upregulated by penoxsulam in R plants.We present an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population with resistance to penoxsulam and multiple-resistance to auxin mimics. Enhanced herbicide metabolism via P450s and GSTs played a vital role in penoxsulam resistance.Conclusion: Echinochloa curs-galli (barnyardgrass) is the most prominent weed in rice fields, and its herbicide resistance seriously threatens rice yields. Penoxsulam failed to control an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population (R) in field. However, the resistance level, cross-resistance pattern and resistance mechanism is not characterized.The whole plant method was employed to determine the resistance level to penoxsulam and the cross-resistance pattern in R. Enzyme activity, gene cloning and sequencing, quantative real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) were conducted to determine the target-site resistance mechanisms. Metabolism enzyme inhibitors pretreatment, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and qRT-PCR validation were performed to identify the penoxsulam-resistance related metabolism genes.Here we identified an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population (R) highly resistant to acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor penoxsulam, cross-resistant to bispyribac-sodium and pyribenzoxim, and multiple-resistant to auxin mimics florpyrauxifen, but susceptible to acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) cyhalofop-butyl and the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) inhibitor benzobicyclon. Molecular investigation indicated that the penoxsulam resistance was unrelated to amino acid substitution or overexpression of the target enzyme. The metabolism inhibitors were employed to investigate the non-target site resistance mechanism consequently. P450s inhibitor malathion or GSTs inhibitor 4-chloro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-Cl) both significantly decreased the resistance level to penoxsulam in population R. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR validation indicated that 15 P450s and 5 glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes were upregulated by penoxsulam in R plants.We present an E. crus-galli var. zelayensis population with resistance to penoxsulam and multiple-resistance to auxin mimics. Enhanced herbicide metabolism via P450s and GSTs played a vital role in penoxsulam resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]