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Abstract Algebraic Side‐Channel Attacks (ASCAs), first proposed by Renauld and Standaert in 2009, are a potent cryptanalysis method against block ciphers. In this paper, the authors initially utilize ASCAs to analyze the security of the Trivium stream cipher, given its concise algebraic structure. Considering its efficiency in both hardware and software implementations, the authors deploy ASCAs to target Trivium implemented both in application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) under the Hamming Distance Leakage Model (HDLM) (noted as CASE 1) and in microcontrollers of various buses (i.e. some common 8‐bit, 16‐bit, and 32‐bit architectures, noted as CASE 2, CASE 3, and CASE 4, respectively) under the Hamming Weight Leakage Model (HWLM). Here, the authors’ attacks are conducted on power‐simulated targets and not on real devices. For a single power consumption trace without measurement errors, this paper presents experimental results using MiniSat 2.0. Unfortunately, the authors were unable to break the ASIC implementation of Trivium under HDLM (CASE 1) with a time complexity of 2109 s or so, which is worse than the exhaustive key attack. For CASEs 2 to 4, the authors can find the complete 288‐bit state of Trivium within a reasonable timeframe. Specially, the success rate can reach 100% with an average solving time of less than 1 s when only measuring the leakages of the first eight consecutive rounds for CASE 2. Furthermore, the authors can still successfully recover the internal state even when obtaining leakages of the first 41 rounds with a random loss rate. In fact, it can tolerate a 74% random loss rate for the first 223 rounds. With regard to the potential errors in the measurements, the authors mitigate them using Tolerant ASCA (TASCA). Similarly, CASE 1 cannot be compromised even in error‐free situations, while the authors can still successfully recover the internal state of CASEs 2 to 4 from a single power trace, even with a high error rate, including 100% incorrect measurements. Surprisingly, for CASEs 2 to 4, the authors can recover the internal state with a 100% success rate, regardless of the error rate. As a result, the security of Trivium will not be enhanced when transitioning from a smaller 8‐bit platform to a larger 32‐bit platform. In the end, the authors will consider some more abstract attack models. The results can provide us with additional insights into the security of Trivium from a different perspective.

Biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) melt-blown nonwovens are attractive candidates to replace non-degradable polypropylene melt-blown nonwovens. However, it is still an extremely challenging task to prepare PLA melt-blown nonwovens with sufficient mechanical properties for practical application. Herein, we report a simple strategy for the large-scale preparation of biodegradable PLA/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) melt-blown nonwovens with high strength and excellent toughness. In this process, a small amount of PHBV is added to PLA to improve the latter’s crystallization rate and crystallinity. In addition, when the PHBV content increases from 0 to 7.5 wt%, the diameters of the PLA/PHBV melt-blown fibers decrease significantly (with the proportion of nanofibers increasing from 7.7% to 42.9%). The resultant PLA/PHBV (5 wt% PHBV) melt-blown nonwovens exhibit the highest mechanical properties. The tensile stress, elongation, and toughness of PLA/PHBV (5 wt% PHBV) melt-blown nonwovens reach 2.5 MPa, 45%, and 1.0 MJ·m−3, respectively. More importantly, PLA/PHBV melt-blown nonwovens can be completely degraded into carbon dioxide and water after four months in the soil, making them environmentally friendly. A general tensile-failure model of melt-blown nonwovens is proposed in this study, which may shed light on mechanical performance enhancement for nonwovens.

Background and Objective Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major public health issue, and accurate prediction of the progression of kidney failure is critical for clinical decision-making and helps improve patient outcomes. As such, we aimed to develop and externally validate a machine-learned model to predict the progression of CKD using common laboratory variables, demographic characteristics, and an electronic health records database. Methods We developed a predictive model using longitudinal clinical data from a single center for Chinese CKD patients. The cohort included 987 patients who were followed up for more than 24 months. Fifty-three laboratory features were considered for inclusion in the model. The primary outcome in our study was an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≤15 mL/min/1.73 m2 or kidney failure. Machine learning algorithms were applied to the modeling dataset (n = 296), and an external dataset (n = 71) was used for model validation. We assessed model discrimination via area under the curve (AUC) values, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and F1 score. Results Over a median follow-up period of 3.75 years, 148 patients experienced kidney failure. The optimal model was based on stacking different classifier algorithms with six laboratory features, including 24-h urine protein, potassium, glucose, urea, prealbumin and total protein. The model had considerable predictive power, with AUC values of 0.896 and 0.771 in the validation and external datasets, respectively. This model also accurately predicted the progression of renal function in patients over different follow-up periods after their initial assessment. Conclusions A prediction model that leverages routinely collected laboratory features in the Chinese population can accurately identify patients with CKD at high risk of progressing to kidney failure. An online version of the model can be easily and quickly applied in clinical management and treatment.

IntroductionVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) have attracted widespread attention due to their adverse effects on human health. Photocatalytic oxidation is an effective technology for degrading VOCs under ambient conditions.MethodsIn order to better understand the trends and development of global trends in photocatalytic oxidation of VOCs, the analysis of 2493 articles or reviews from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) in the Web of Science Core Collection, covering the period from 1998 to 2023, was conducted using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software.Results and DiscussionThe findings indicate significant growth in papers concerning photocatalytic oxidation of VOCs. China emerges as the most active country among the main drivers. Principal sources publishing relevant research are Applied Catalysis B-Environmental, Chemical Engineering Journal, Journal of Hazardous Materials, and Environmental Science and Technology. A relatively well-established theoretical framework has been developed for the study of photocatalytic oxidation of VOCs. In the field of VOCs photocatalytic oxidation, the focus is on the development and optimization of advanced photocatalysts with efficient charge separation, better adsorption performance, and a wider light response range. In addition, the in-depth study of the charge generation and transfer mechanisms within the photocatalysts, as well as the comprehensive understanding of the reaction kinetics and catalytic oxidation process, the optimization of the reaction conditions, and the improvement of the catalytic efficiency are at the forefront of the research in this field. This research system is advancing and becoming more refined, with its theoretical propositions, research findings, and methodologies increasingly employed and confirmed.

This study identified literatures from the Web of Science Core Collection on the application of artificial intelligence in wastewater treatment from 2011 to 2022, through bibliometrics, to summarize achievements and capture the scientific and technological progress. The number of papers published is on the rise, and especially, the number of papers issued after 2018 has increased sharply, with China contributing the most in this regard, followed by the US, Iran and India. The University of Tehran has the largest number of papers, WATER is the most published journal, and Nasr M has the largest number of articles. Collaborative network has been developed mainly through cooperation between European countries, China and the US. Remote sensing in developing countries needs to be further integrated with water quality monitoring programs. It is worth noting that artificial neural network is a research hotspot in recent years. Through keyword clustering analysis, 'machine learning' and 'deep learning' are hot keywords that have emerged since 2019. The use of neural networks for predicting the effectiveness of treatment of difficult to degrade wastewater is a future research trend. The rapid advancement of deep learning provides the opportunity to build automated pipeline defect detection systems through image recognition. HIGHLIGHTS Using bibliometrics to explore the application of artificial intelligence in wastewater treatment.; The combination of deep learning has been developed.; Remote sensing technology has become a research hotspot.; Machine learning or deep learning modeling is widely used to build data-driven predictive models.;

The use of surfactants is crucial in the chemical–mechanical polishing fluid system for silicon wafers. This paper examines the impact of the functional group structure of polyoxyethylene-based nonionic surfactants and the variation in the polyoxyethylene (EO) addition number on the polishing performance of monocrystalline silicon wafers, to achieve the appropriate material removal rate and surface quality. The results demonstrated that the straight-chain structure of fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether (AEO-9) exhibited superior performance in wafer polishing compared to octylphenol polyoxyethylene ether (OP-9) and isoprenol polyoxyethylene ether (TPEG) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). By varying the number of EO additions of AEO-type surfactants, this study demonstrated that the polishing performance of monocrystalline silicon wafers was affected by the number of EO additions. The best polishing effect was achieved when the number of EO additions was nine. The mechanism of the role of polyoxyethylene-type nonionic surfactants in silicon wafer polishing was derived through polishing experiments, the contact angle, abrasive particle size analysis, zeta potential measurement, XPS, and other means of characterization.

Abstract Background IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is a major cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Renal interstitial fibrosis is a hallmark of CKD progression. Non-invasive biomarkers are needed to dynamically evaluate renal fibrosis. Data independent acquisition (DIA)-based liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) was used to identify candidate urinary biomarkers in IgAN patients with different renal interstitial fibrosis degrees. Methods Eighteen biopsy-proven IgAN patients and six healthy controls were recruited in a discovery cohort. Interstitial fibrosis changes were evaluated according to Oxford MEST-C scores. Urinary samples were analyzed with DIA-MS to identify hub proteins. Hub proteins were then confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in a validation cohort and the associated gene mRNA expression was analyzed using public gene expression omnibus (GEO) datasets. Results Complement and coagulation cascades pathway was the main KEGG pathway related to the over-expressed proteins. Fibrinogen γ-Chain (FGG) was selected as the potential urinary marker for further validation. Urinary FGG to creatinine ratio (uFGG/Cr) levels were higher in both disease controls and IgAN group than in healthy controls, but were not significantly different between IgAN and disease groups. uFGG/Cr was confirmed to be increased with the extent of renal fibrosis and presented moderate correlations with T score (r = 0.614, p 5%, AUC 0.743; T0 vs. T1 + 2, AUC 0.839; T0 + 1 vs. T2, AUC 0.854. In disease control group, uFGG/Cr showed better performance of AUC than UTP between minimal and mild fibrosis (p = 0.038 for Delong’s test). Moreover, GSE104954 dataset showed that FGG mRNA expression was up-regulated (fold change 1.20, p = 0.009) in tubulointerstitium of IgAN patients when compared to healthy living kidney donors. Conclusion Urinary FGG is associated with renal interstitial fibrosis and could be used as a noninvasive biomarker for renal fibrosis in IgAN.

The differential property of the lightweight cipher algorithm ACE was researched.n-dimension ring AND-gate combination was defined and its differential property was described accurately by only O(n) expressions with the MILP method by analyzing the relationship among AND gates.The nonlinear operation of ACE was transformed to the 32-dimension ring AND-gate combination and the MILP differential model of ACE was proposed.According to the characteristics of Gurobi solver, a model for fast solving the MILP differential model of ACE was given.For ACE permutation with 3 to 6 steps, the optimal differential characteristic was obtained and its probability was improved by multi-difference technique.The differential forge attack on authenticated encryption algorithm ACE- AE-128 and the differential collision attack on hash algorithm ACE- H-256 was given with 3-step ACE permutation, and the success probability was 2-90.52.And it was proved that the 4-steps ACE permutation arrived the differential security bound of 128 bit.Actually, the MILP differential description of ring AND-gate combination can be applied on more cipher algorithms, such as SIMON, Simeck.

Astragaloside IV is a biologically active substance derived from the traditional Chinese medicine Astragalus mambranaceus Bunge, and has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of astragaloside IV on Klebsiella pneumonia rats and the underlying mechanisms. Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) rats were treated with different dosages of astragaloside IV (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg) by intragastric administration. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were determined. Pathological changes of lung tissue were inspected by HE staining. The expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 in lung tissue was determined with immunohistochemistry, and the expression levels of TGF-β1, p-Smad2/Smad2, p-Smad3/Smad3, IκBα/p-IκBα, and p65/p-p65 in lung tissue were determined by western blot. The mechanism was further investigated with TGF-β1 inhibitor SB-431542. Astragaloside IV reduced the elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines caused by K. pneumoniae and improved lung tissue damage in a dose-dependent manner. Astragaloside IV also decreased the expression of TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway-related proteins and decreased the protein levels of inflammation-related p-IκBα and p65 in lung tissues induced by K. pneumoniae. Additionally, it was found that the effects of 20 mg/kg astragaloside IV were similar to SB-431542, which could improve pulmonary fibrosis induced by K. pneumoniae, decrease the levels of TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway-related proteins in lung, and reduce inflammation at the same time. Astragaloside IV could alleviate the inflammation of rat pneumonia induced by K. pneumoniae through suppressing the TGF-β1/Smad pathway.

In order to improve the construction efficiency and widen the application depth of cycle-joining method, from the view of the number of cycles in the cycle structure, a method for constructing de Bruijn sequence based on whole LFSR with 4 cycles was proposed.Based on the characteristic of cascade connection of LFSR, the cycle structure of a class of cascaded feedback shift registers was determined.Accordingly, the exact number of whole n-order LFSR with 4 cycles was given, and the total number of n-order de Bruijn sequences constructed from whole n-order LFSR with 4 cycles as well.

Objective To assess the factors associated with outcomes of arthroscopic surgical repair of rotator cuff tears (RCTs). Method This prospective study recruited patients, at least 18 years old, who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair for full‐thickness RCTs at the First People's Hospital of Hangzhou Xiaoshan between July 2019 and October 2020. Patient demographics, lifestyle habits, and medical histories were collected preoperatively; RCT sizes and affected tendons were determined intraoperatively. Outcomes were assessed by shoulder range of motion (ROM) determinations 1.5 and 3 months postoperatively. The factors associated with ROM were determined using a binary logistic regression analysis, and the results were expressed as adjusted relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results A total of 132 patients with RCTs underwent arthroscopic surgery. Five were lost to follow‐up, leaving 127 patients (mean age, 59 years; 58.3% women) who were included in the study analysis. The majority of the patients (54.5%) had RCTs that were classified as large or massive, and approximately 20% had tears involving multiple tendons; 80.3% of the patients had tears involving only a single tendon. Moreover, 29.9% of the patients had hypertension and 11.0% had diabetes. Among the patients, 23.0% were smokers and 34.6% drank alcohol. According to the multivariate analysis, none of the assessed factors were associated with shoulder ROM at the 1.5‐month follow‐up. At the 3‐month follow‐up, RCTs involving a single tendon demonstrated 3‐fold better abduction (RR = 4.00; 95% CI, 1.30–12.33; P = 0.016) and 3.15‐fold better internal rotation (RR = 3.15; 95% CI, 1.19–8.36; P = 0.021) than did RCTs involving multiple tendons. Patients who did not drink alcohol demonstrated 6.08‐fold better anteflexion (RR = 7.08; 95% CI, 2.11–23.73; P = 0.002) and nearly 4‐fold better abduction (RR = 4.97; 95% CI, 1.62–15.23; P = 0.005) than patients who drank alcohol. Conclusion To improve outcomes, the results indicate that more targeted measures should be directed toward patients with multiple‐tendon RCTs and that preoperative alcohol abstinence education is needed for patients with RCTs.

The removal of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 209), as a typical persistent organic pollutant (POP), is of worldwide concern. Mechanochemical (MC) processes are promising methods to degrade environmental pollutants, most of which use a single grinding reagent. The performance of MC processes with co-milling agents still needs to be further verified. In this study, an efficient MC treatment with combined utilization of lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) and iron (Fe) as co-milling reagents for BDE 209 degradation was investigated. The synchronous action of LiCoO2 and Fe with a LiCoO2/Fe/Br molar ratio of 1.5:1.67:1 and a ball-to-powder ratio of 100:1 led to almost thorough-paced abatement and debromination of BDE 209 within 180 min using a ball milling rotation speed of 600 rpm. The reduction in particle sizes and the destruction of crystal structure in mixture powders with the increase in milling time induced the enhanced degradation of BDE 209, as characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization showed that the valence state of Co was converted from Co(III) to Co(II), and Fe(0) was changed to Fe(III) when treated with an MC process. This indicated that the reductive debromination of BDE 209 by Fe and the following oxidative degradation of debrominated products by LiCoO2 were integrated in a concerted way. It proved the removal of BDE 209 via an MC treatment. The full breakage of C-Br and C-O bonds in BDE 209 was confirmed by Fourier transform-infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) spectra, and a possible abatement pathway was also proposed based on the identified intermediate products using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). These obtained results indicated that a combination of LiCoO2 and Fe as co-milling reagents is promising in the MC treatment of toxic halogenated pollutants like BDE 209.

Abstract There are several authenticated encryption modes for block cipher GIFT in the NIST lightweight cryptography standardisation process. In this study, the authors research on the fault attacks on this kind of authenticated encryption modes and mainly complete two tasks. First, the fault attack on the nonce‐based authenticated encryption mode LOTUS/LOCUS is presented. At Asiacrypt2016, Dobraunig et al. showed the first fault attacks on several nonce‐based authenticated encryption modes. Because LOTUS/LOCUS adopts the structure similar to XEX with secret nonce‐dependent masks, their work is not applicable to LOTUS/LOCUS. A new fault attack is launched on LOTUS/LOCUS assuming that two bits can be made to reset in the fixed location during the encryption process. In this attack, neither plaintext nor ciphertext of the underlying block cipher is necessary to be known. To recover the correct key, a few hundred faulty ciphertexts are needed when transient faults are injected, while just one faulty ciphertext is sufficient for a permanent fault. Second, the Collision Fault Attack on GIFT is shown, in which 64 faulty ciphertexts are needed to recover the correct key. Based on this attack, authenticated encryption modes ESTATE_TweGIFT‐128, GIFT‐COFB and SUNDAE‐GIFT are analysed and their keys are efficiently obtained with chosen nonce.

Sludge retention time (SRT) regulation is one of the essential management techniques for refined control of the main-sidestream treatment process under the low ammonia density. It is indispensable to understand the effect of SRTs changes on the Nitrifier kinetics to obtain the functional separation of the Nitrifier and the refined control of the nitrification process. In this study, Nitrifier was cultured with conditions of 35 ± 0.5 °C, pH 7.5 ± 0.2, DO 5.0 ± 0.5 mg-O/L, and SRTs were controlled for 40 d, 20 d, 10 d, and 5 d. The net growth rate (), decay rate (), specific growth rate (), the yield of the Nitrifier (), temperature parameter (), and inhibition coefficient () have been measured and extended with the SRT decreases. Instead, the half-saturation coefficient () decreased. In addition, the limited value of pH inhibition occurs (), and the pH of keeping 5% maximum reaction rate () was in a relatively stable state. The trade of kinetics may be induced by the change of species structure of Nitrifier. The Nitrosomonas proportion was increased, and the Nitrospira was contrary with the SRT decreasing. It is a match for the functional separation of Nitrifier when SRTs was 20 d at ambient temperature under the low ammonia density. The kinetics of ammonia-oxidizing organisms (AOO) and nitrite-oxidizing organisms (NOO) in Nitrifier under different SRT conditions should be measured respectively to the refined control of the partial nitrification process in future study. HIGHLIGHT The Nitrifier typical kinetics were affected notably by SRTs changes.; The species structure of the Nitrifier was recognized beneath distinctive SRTs.; The change of Nitrifier kinetics with SRTs was estimated by the species structure changes.;

To solve the grid-dependent phenomena, such as singular structure, checkerboard structure, and gray element phenomenon, that often appear in the topology optimization of the SIMP interpolation model of the variable density method, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was introduced to the SIMP model. In addition, a new inertia weight was designed to calculate the fitness value of structural flexibility for the redivision population of the elements after sensitivity filtering. The MBB beam was designed by different topology optimization methods. The results show that the improved algorithm can effectively avoid iteration falling into a locally optimal solution, and the grid-dependent and gray element phenomenon of the optimized structure are suppressed to a certain extent. The optimized structure has good stability, the number of gray elements is reduced by 6%~ 17%, and the boundaries of the structure are clearer.

Simple summarySomatic and germline aberrations in homologous recombinant repair (HHR) genes are associated with increased incidence and poor prognosis for prostate cancer. Through next-generation sequencing of prostate cancer patients across all clinical states from north China, here the authors identified a somatic mutational rate of 3% and a germline mutational rate of 3.9% for HRR genes using 200 tumor tissues and 714 blood specimens. Thus, mutational rates in HRR genes were lower compared with previous studies.BackgroundHomologous recombination repair deficiency is associated with higher risk and poorer prognosis for prostate cancer. However, the landscapes of somatic and germline mutations in these genes remain poorly defined in Chinese patients, especially for those with localized disease and those from north part of China. In this study, we explore the genomic profiles of these patients.MethodsWe performed next-generation sequencing with 200 tumor tissues and 714 blood samples from prostate cancer patients at Peking University First Hospital, using a 32 gene panel including 19 homologous recombination repair genes.ResultsTP53, PTEN, KRAS were the most common somatic aberrations; BRCA2, NBN, ATM were the most common germline aberrations. In terms of HRR genes, 3% (6/200) patients harbored somatic aberrations, and 3.8% (28/714) patients harbored germline aberrations. 98.0% (196/200) somatic-tested and 72.7% (519/714) germline tested patients underwent prostatectomy, of which 28.6% and 42.0% had Gleason scores ≥8 respectively. Gleason scores at either biopsy or prostatectomy were predictive for somatic aberrations in general and in TP53; while age of onset

With high toxicity and solubility, traditional treatment methods are almost ineffective for treating water-soluble pollutants. In this work, an environmentally friendly chitosan/graphene oxide/zinc oxide (chitosan/GO/ZnO, CGZ) three-dimensional (3D) network structure hydrogel was facilely prepared. The hydrogel with high adsorption improves the mass transfer efficiency of pollutant molecules and blocks the direct contact between ZnO and water, improving the photocorrosion-resistance of traditional ZnO photocatalyst. The 3D hydrogel structure is stable and recyclable, which has a degradation rate of 86.5% after four consecutive experiments. The CGZ hydrogel provides an alternative route for the practical application in removal of other water-soluble pollutants.

FRIET is a duplex-based authenticated encryption scheme proposed at EUROCRYPT 2020. It follows a novel design approach for built-in countermeasures against fault attacks. By a judicious choice of components, the designers propose the permutation FRIET-PC that can be used to build an authenticated encryption cipher denoted as FRIET-AE. And FRIET-AE provides a 128-bit security claim for integrity and confidentiality. In this paper, we research the propagation of pairs of differences and liner masks through the round function of FRIET-PC. For the full-round FRIET-PC, we can construct a differential distinguisher whose probability is 1 and a linear distinguisher whose absolute value of correlation is 1. Moreover, we use the differential distinguisher with probability 1 to construct a set consisting of valid tags and ciphertexts which are not created by legal users. This breaks FRIET-AE’s security claim for integrity and confidentiality. As far as we know, this is the first practical attack that threatens the security of FRIET-AE.

Abstract To observe and compare the curative effect of a locking plate plus titanium cable under the Guide device and clavicular hook plate in the treatment of Neer type II distal clavicle fractures. A prospective cohort study was conducted to analyse the clinical data of 36 patients with distal clavicle fractures from January 2016 to January 2019. The results were analysed. According to the random number method, the patients were divided into two groups: the titanium cable group (fixed with a titanium cable in combination with a locking plate) and hook plate group (fixed with a clavicular hook plate only). Under the guidance of a special device (for which a patent was obtained), in the titanium cable group, the coracoclavicular ligament was fixed with tension reduction, and then the distal clavicular fracture was fixed with a locking plate. In the hook plate group, the distal clavicle fracture was fixed with a hook plate. The incision length, operation time, bleeding volume and VAS score before, 1 week after and 1 year after the operation were compared between the two groups. The effect of the operation was evaluated by the Constant-Murley score before and 1 year after the operation. X-ray films were taken 2 days, 3 months, half a year and 1 year after the operation to observe the reduction and healing of fractures. At the same time, complications were recorded. The amount of bleeding was the same in the two groups. The operation time in the hook plate group was relatively short, and the difference was statistically significant (P

The MXene-based nanocomposites comprised by multi-layered Ti3C2-MXene (ML-Ti3C2) nanosheets and transition metal oxide (TMO) nanomaterials, i.e. zinc oxide (ZnO), bismuth molybdate (Bi2MoO6) and tin dioxide (SnO2), were prepared in this work. After loading ML-Ti3C2 MXene, the contact angle of oleophobic ZnO, Bi2MoO6, and SnO2 for oil drop decreases to 98°, 62°, and 75°, respectively. The improvement of lipophilicity of the composites is conducive to the adsorption of water-soluble organic pollutants. Coupling of MXene enhances the adsorption capacity of the composite catalyst for pollutants. The adsorption capacities of ZnO/ML-Ti3C2, SnO2/ML-Ti3C2 and Bi2MoO6/ML-Ti3C2 for methylene blue (MB) molecules are 155 mg/g, 163 mg/g and 152 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption of MB on ML-Ti3C2 based nanocomposites follows the Langmuir model, indicating that the monolayer covering of the nanocomposites is the main adsorption mechanism. Under visible-light irradiation, 150 mg/L of high concentration MB solution and 20 mg/L of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) solution could be completely removed by adsorption and photocatalysis over ZnO/ML-Ti3C2 for 4 h. The electron spin resonance (ESR) trapping method and free radical scavenger experiments both show that hydroxyl radicals and superoxide free radicals are reactive species in the degradation process. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum analysis shows that coupling TMO and MXene inhibits the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The synergistic removal of pollutants by strong adsorption and visible photocatalysis of MXene-based nanocomposites provides a new idea for environmental pollution control.

Newly mined bauxitic claystone resources have received attention due to the rapidly growing demand for lithium. However, existing methods for extracting lithium from bauxitic claystone are still difficult and costly. This study proposed a novel aluminum hydroxide precipitation method to improve the extraction rate of Li by cleverly utilizing Al from bauxitic claystone. First, the ball-milled and calcined bauxitic claystone samples were leached by sulfuric acid to obtain a leaching solution with a high concentration of Al3+. Then, a NaOH solution was added to form amorphous aluminum hydroxide to adsorb Li+. The precipitation rate of Li+ reached 97.2% under the suitable precipitation conditions. Lastly, the precipitate was calcined and leached with deionized water to extract lithium. Li+ reached a water-leaching rate of 86.13%. According to the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) results, the prepared precipitate was mainly amorphous aluminum hydroxide and part was composed of a gibbsite phase. The elution experiment showed that the amorphous aluminum hydroxide had good adsorption selectivity for Li+. In addition, Al2O3 could be recovered from the solid phase after water-leaching, which can significantly reduce the cost.

A new S-box based on cellular automata was found by experiments.The permutation properties of the S-box were analyzed,which proved that the S-box was a permutation only when the size of lattice was 5.Then the relation between the nontrivial difference transition probability of the S-box and the rank of the difference matrix was proved by constructing the difference matrix.And it was proved that the cyclic shift of input differential would not change the corresponding nontrivial differential transition probability,and obtained the sufficient and necessary conditions about the maximum and minimum nontrivial differential transition probabilities when the size of lattice was 5.Then the problem of the difference distribution of the S-box in this situation is completely solved.

The government plays a crucial role in regulating the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC). We investigated the reward-penalty mechanism (RPM) for the manufacturer and the subsidy mechanism (SM) for the collector in CLSCs. The government’s goal is to maximize social welfare. Based on the centralized and decentralized decision-making models without government intervention, we developed two CLSC models where the government rewards or penalizes the manufacturer and subsidizes the collector. Then, the impact of government input cost and environmental benefit coefficients on the decision variable, firm’s profit and social welfare was analyzed. We found the following conclusions: (i) both RPM and SM increase the collection rate and the profit of CLSC partners, while the price of a new product decreases if the environmental benefit coefficient is moderate; (ii) social welfare and the profits of the manufacturer and retailer under RPM are higher than under SM, while a collector’s profit under RPM is lower than that under SM; (iii) RPM is more feasible to implement in terms of the higher collection rate, buyback price and social welfare. These conclusions could provide several managerial implications for both the government and partners of the CLSC.

Division property proposed by Todo at EUROCRYPT 2015 is a generalized integral property. Then, conventional bit-based division property (CBDP) and bitbased division property using three subsets (BDPT) were proposed by Todo and Morii at FSE 2016. At ASIACRYPT 2016, Xiang et al. extended Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) method to search integral distinguishers based on CBDP. And at ASIACRYPT 2019, Wang et al. proposed an MILP-aided method of searching integral distinguishers based on BDPT. Although BDPT is powerful in searching integral distinguishers, the accuracy is not perfect. For block cipher SPECK32, as the block size is only 32 bits, we can experimentally observe the behaviors of all the plaintexts under a fixed key. By testing 210 random secret keys, we experimentally find a better integral distinguisher of 6-round SPECK32 with 30 active bits. But this experimental integral distinguisher cannot be proved by existing methods. So there still exists a gap between the proved distinguisher and the experimental one. To fill the gap, we explore secret keys in searching integral distinguishers based on BDPT. We put forward a situation where “Xor with The Secret Key” operation can be bypassed. Based on the new BDPT propagation rule, an improved automatic algorithm of searching integral distinguishers is proposed. For SPECK32, our improved algorithm can find the 6-round integral distinguisher with 230 chosen plaintexts. The gap between the proved distinguisher and the experimental one is filled. Moreover, we apply this improved method to search the integral distinguishers of SPECK, KATAN/KTANTAN, SIMON, SIMECK, SIMON(102), PRESENT and RECTANGLE block ciphers. The integral distinguishers found by our improved method are better than or consistent with the previous longest distinguishers.

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular apicomplexan protozoan that can parasitize most warm-blooded animals and cause severe diseases in immunocompromised individuals or fetal abnormalities in pregnant woman. The treatment of toxoplamosis has been limited by effective drugs. Our previous work indicated that the novel gene wx2 of T. gondii may serve as a vaccine antigen candidate. To further investigate the molecular functions of wx2 in highly virulent T. gondii (RH strain), a wx2 gene deletion mutant RH strain (KO-wx2) was established using CRISPR-Cas9. The phynotype of KO-wx2 was analyzed by plaque, invasion, and replication assays in vitro as well as in vivo virulence assays. The results indicated that the targeted deletion of the wx2 gene significantly inhibited in vitro parasite growth and replication in the host cells as well as attenuated parasite virulence in the mouse model. Notably, the percentage of pro-inflammatory factors of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and interlukin-17A (IL-17A) and anti-inflammatory factor of interlukin-10 (IL-10) in the lymph nodes were upregulated in mice infected with the KO-wx2 strain. Our data suggested that the wx2 gene plays an important role in the process of the parasite’s life cycle and virulence in mice. In addition, it also plays an important role in the host’s immunity reaction, mainly via Th1 and Th17 cellular immunity, not Th2.

This study aims at addressing a problem on icing detection for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV for short) because traditional icing detection methods are costly and bulky. Toward this end, a pitot-based icing detection method is proposed, and the effect of different types of icing blocking on pressure is firstly reported. An icing detection system based on the pitot tube is designed and fabricated. Icing wind tunnel results indicate that if the pitot tube is blocked by glaze ice, then the total pressure of the pitot tube decreases gradually and remains unchanged and less than static pressure. However, if the pitot tube is blocked by rime ice, then the total pressure drops to the same level as the static pressure. If the pitot tube is blocked by non-ice organic materials, then the total pressure suddenly drops to the same level as the static pressure and remains unchanged. Furthermore, if the pitot tube contacts the water droplets but does not freeze, the total pressure output value fluctuates slightly. The effect of icing on pressure is caused by differences in ice microstructure, temperature, and flow velocity. At the same time, the proposed method offers a facile and low-cost approach for UAV icing detection.

The construction of M-sequence feedback functions has always been a hotspot in the theory of stream cipher.Based on the structural properties of the M-sequence feedback function constructed by the m-sequence,the method of fast construction of a class M-sequence feedback functions was proposed by combining the function transformation and function derivative.Meanwhile,polynomial representation,amount and weight property of the class M-sequence feedback functions were considered.

Abstract Background Previous studies examining associations between subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) with in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome indicate some benefits of levothyroxine (LT4) treatment. But IVF outcomes in treated SCH women whose serum Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) concentration did and did not exceed 2.5 mIU/L before the IVF cycle has not been studied thoroughly. Methods In this study, we performed a prospective cohort study with 270 treated subclinical hypothyroidism patients undergoing their first IVF retrieval cycle at a single cite. Results SCH in women receiving LT4 replacement with a basal TSH level between 0.2-2.5mIU/L displayed a similar rate of clinical pregnancy (47.4% vs 38.7%, P = .436), miscarriage (7.4% vs 16.7%, P = .379) and live birth (43.9% vs 32.3%, P = .288) compared to women with a basal TSH level between 2.5-4.2 mIU/L. Conclusion Strictly controlled TSH (less than 2.5 mIU/L) before IVF may have no effect on the pregnancy rate in LT4 treated SCH women.

Background: We aimed to investigate the effect of probiotic VSL#3 on NF-κB and TNF-α in rats with colitis and the correlation with TLR4-NF-κB signal pathway. Methods: Sixty Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were divided into the control, model and therapy groups (n=20) according to the random number table. Rats in the model and therapy groups were modeled for colitis, and rats in the therapy group were intragastrically administered with probiotic VSL#3. The expression of TLR4 and NF-κB protein, and the levels of NF-κB, TLR4, and TNF-α mRNA in the colon tissue were detected. The concentration of TNF-α in the serum after modeling but before intragastric administration (T0), 3d (T1) and 7d after intragastric administration (T2) was detected. Results: The expression of TLR4 and NF-κB p65 protein, and the levels of TLR4, NF-κB, and TNF-α mRAN in the therapy group decreased (P < 0.001). At T0, T1, and T2, the concentration of TNF-α in the model and control groups increased (P < 0.001). TLR4 and NF-κB in the therapy group were positively correlated with TNF-α mRAN (P < 0.050).Conclusion: In conclusion, probiotic VSL#3 inhibits the expression of NF-κB and TNF-α in rats with colitis through TLR4-NF-κB signal pathway, so it is expected to be a first choice drug for the treatment of colitis. Conclusion: In conclusion, probiotic VSL#3 inhibits the expression of NF-κB and TNF-α in rats with colitis through TLR4-NF-κB signal pathway, so it is expected to be a first choice drug for the treatment of colitis.

Few effective therapeutic options are available for treating severe infections caused by extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (XDR-AB). Using a murine thigh-infection model, we examined the in vivo efficacy of colistin in combination with meropenem, tigecycline, fosfomycin, fusidic acid, rifampin, or sulbactam against 12 XDR-AB strains. Colistin, tigecycline, rifampin, and sulbactam monotherapy significantly decreased bacterial counts in murine thigh infections compared with those observed in control mice receiving no treatment. Colistin was the most effective agent tested, displaying bactericidal activity against 91.7% of strains at 48 h post-treatment. With strains showing a relatively low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for meropenem (MIC ≤ 32 mg/L), combination therapy with colistin plus meropenem caused synergistic inhibition at both 24 h and 48 h post-treatment. However, when the meropenem MIC was ≥64 mg/L, meropenem did not significantly alter the efficacy of colistin. The addition of rifampin and fusidic acid significantly improved the efficacy of colistin, showing a synergistic effect in 100% and 58.3% of strains after 24 h of treatment, respectively, while the addition of tigecycline, fosfomycin, or sulbactam did not show obvious synergistic activity. No clear differences in activities were observed between colistin-rifampin and colistin-fusidic acid combination therapy with most strains. Overall, our in vivo study showed that administering colistin in combination with rifampin or fusidic acid is more efficacious in treating XDR-AB infections than other combinations. The colistin-meropenem combination may be another appropriate option if the MIC is ≤32 mg/L. Further clinical studies are urgently needed to confirm the relevance of these findings.

A guess and determine attack on E0was presented,the stream cipher that was used in the short-range wireless technology Bluetooth.In the attack,an ingenious assumption by linear approximation to diminish the number of values that have to be guessed was made.Futher more,a test equation to reduce the number of the guessed candidates was used.The guess and determine attack on E0with time complexity of O(276)required about 988 keystream bit.Compared with long keystream attacks,short keystream attacks were more threatening to E0cipher which require less than 2 745 bit.This attack which belongs to short keystream attack was the fastest state recovery attack on E0so far compared with any other existed short keystream attacks.

Diclofenac is one of most frequently detected compounds in the water cycle. In this work, the effect of initial concentration, liquid inclusion complexes with β-Cyclodextrins (β-CDs) on the photodegradation of diclofenac were studied. Six phototransformation products were detected by HPLC chromatograms. UV-absorption spectra of diclofenac and phototransformation products were determined. One of the phototransformation products was identified. The degradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The experiment showed that irradiation of diclofenac in the presence of β-CDs increase photodegradation rate and determined the optimal molar ratio of diclofenac to β-CDs as 1:2. The reduced photohaemolytic activity of diclofenac in the presence of β-CDs may be attributed to the sequestering and stabilizing of the radical intermediates and /or photoproducts by complexation.

Loiss is a novel byte-oriented stream cipher proposed in 2011. In this paper, based on solving systems of linear equations, we propose an improved Guess and Determine attack on Loiss with a time complexity of 2231 and a data complexity of 268, which reduces the time complexity of the Guess and Determine attack proposed by the designers by a factor of 216. Furthermore, a related key chosen IV attack on a scaled-down version of Loiss is presented. The attack recovers the 128-bit secret key of the scaled-down Loiss with a time complexity of 280, requiring 264 chosen IVs. The related key attack is minimal in the sense that it only requires one related key. The result shows that our key recovery attack on the scaled-down Loiss is much better than an exhaustive key search in the related key setting.

INTRODUCTION: Integration-deficient lentiviral vectors (IDLVs) are a promising platform for immunisation to elicit both humoral immunity and cellular mediated immunity (CMI). Here, we compared the specific immunity in mice immunised via different regimens (homologous and cocktail) with IDLV-based HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpps) carrying pseudotyped glycoproteins E1E2 and bearing the HCV NS3 gene. Humoral and cell-mediated immune responses were also evaluated after IDLV-HCVpp immunisation combined with heterologous rAd5-CE1E2 priming protocols. Sera from the mice effectively elicited anti-E1, -E2, and -NS3 antibody responses, and neutralised various HCVpp subtypes (1a, 1b, 2a, 3a and 5a). No significant CMI was detected in the groups immunised with IDLV-based HCVpps. In contrast, the combination of rAd5-CE1E2 priming and IDLV-based HCVpp boosting induced significant CMI against multiple antigens (E1, E2, and NS3). CONCLUSION: IDLV-based HCVpps are a promising vaccination platform and the combination of rAd5-CE1E2 and IDLV-based HCVpp prime-boost strategy should be further explored for the development of a cross-protective HCV vaccine.