The contribution of one major or a combination of several physiological processes in salt tolerance was assessed in three local varieties (Blacklong, Advanta-1103, and Dilpasand) of ridge gourd Luffa ...acutangula (L.) Roxb. at varying salt levels (0, 75, and 150 mM NaCl). Based on growth attributes, var. Dilpasand as salt-tolerant and var. Blacklong as moderately salt-tolerant, while var. Advanta-1103 as salt-sensitive. Inter-varietal differences for photosynthetic pigments and relative water content (RWC) was not observed. The salt-sensitive variety Advanta 1103 had greater Na+ accumulation (73.72%) in the leaves than those in the moderately tolerant and tolerant varieties. Total soluble proteins were relatively lower (58.25%) in the salt-sensitive variety but maximal increase (69.34%) in total free amino acids was observed. However, accumulation of proline was maximal in the salt-tolerant variety (Dilpasand). Salt-tolerant variety exhibited minimal oxidative stress (relative low levels of H2O2) and membrane damage (low content of MDA and electrolytic leakage) and higher activities of antioxidant enzymes (catalase and peroxidase). Although all ridge gourd varieties down-regulated the electron transport through PSII by increasing the safe dissipation of heat Y(NPQ) to lower the ROS generation, this was maximal in the salt-tolerant variety Dilpasand. Relatively greater reduction in Y(ND) and enhancement in Y(NA) indicated PSI-photoinhibition in salt-sensitive variety. The greater salt tolerance in var. Dilpasand was due to the coordinated impact of ion exclusion, higher accumulation of proline, better capacity to manage electron transport from PSII to PSI with higher Y(NPQ) and antioxidant capacity.
•Considerable intra-specific variability for salt tolerance in a small set of germplasm of ridge gourd has been found.•Degree of salt tolerance in ridge gourd varieties was associated with ion exclusion, proline accumulation, antioxidant potential and efficiency of photosystem II.•Salt tolerant variety Dilpasand had better ability to protect PSII by down-regulating electron transport and up-regulating Y(NPQ).•Quantum yield of PSII and Y(NPQ) are positively correlated with MDA, activities of CAT and POD, Na+ accumulation, and proline accumulation.•Quantum yield of PSII and Y(NPQ) can be used as potential indicators of salt tolerance in ridge gourd.
Telepathy is one of the most commonly reported psi-type experiences and represents the idea that one person can acquire information relating to the thoughts/feelings/intentions of another from a ...distance via a non-usual route. Typically the procedure involves a Sender and a Receiver who are physically separated whilst the former attempts to relay target information to the latter. Refinements to this paradigm have included placing the Receiver in sensory isolation in an effort to enhance the signal to noise ratio of the signal, as seen in the ganzfeld research. Here the aim was to immerse the Sender in a virtual reality (VR) environment in an effort to boost the transmission of the target whilst keeping the Receiver in partial sensory isolation. Using such a paradigm we tested eleven pairs of participants, each acting as Sender and Receiver across five trials. In each trial the Sender was immersed in a VR environment depicting a positive arousing experience (e.g., skiing downhill, driving a racing car). The Receiver’s task was to identify the correct target image from a set of 5 (i.e., 20% chance) matched for mean valence and arousal. Initial analysis of Receiver performance showed hit rates that did not differ significantly from chance. However, a post-hoc analysis comparing participants top two choices to chance showed a mean hit rate of 52% which was significantly greater than chance (at 40%). Examination of possible associations between hit rate and belief in psi as well as the subjectively rated strength of the relationship between Sender-Receiver pairings only showed a correlation with the psi sub-scale of the RPB. Hence, we argue that participant hit rate is more suggestive than conclusive of a telepathic effect. In addition, we outline a number of methodological refinements which we think could help to improve the viability and effectiveness of using VR.
Using 1.8 fb super(-1) of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, we present measurements of the production cross sections of ...Upsilon(1S, 2S, 3S) mesons. Upsilon mesons are reconstructed using the dimuon decay mode. Total production cross sections for p sub(T) < 70 GeV and in the rapidity interval y super(Upsilon) < 2.25 are measured to be, 8.01 + or - 0.02 + or - 0.36 + or - 0.31 nb, 2.05 + or - 0.01 + or - 0.12 + or - 0.08 nb, and 0.92 + or - 0.01 + or - 0.07 + or - 0.04 nb, respectively, with uncertainties separated into statistical, systematic, and luminosity measurement effects. In addition, differential cross section times dimuon branching fractions for Upsilon(1S), Upsilon(2S), and Upsilon(3S) as a function of Upsilon transverse momentum p sub(T) and rapidity are presented. These cross sections are obtained assuming unpolarized production. If the production polarization is fully transverse or longitudinal with no azimuthal dependence in the helicity frame, the cross section may vary by approximately + or -20%. If a nontrivial azimuthal dependence is considered, integrated cross sections may be significantly enhanced by a factor of 2 or more. We compare our results to several theoretical models of Upsilon meson production, finding that none provide an accurate description of our data over the full range of Upsilon transverse momenta accessible with this data set.
In this work, we fabricated the free-standing porous silicon/MXene-2:1 composite film (pSi/MXene-2:1 film) as anodes for LIBs by facile vacuum filtration method. The pSi/MXene-2:1 film possesses ...excellent mechanical flexibility and the voids in the structure can well accommodate the volume expansion during cycling. Accordingly the film anodes shows steady cycling performance and rate performance.
Display omitted
•Free-standing and binder-free pSi/MXene films were synthesized by vacuum filtration.•The porous structure accommodates volume expansion of pSi.•Thin thickness of pSi flakes provides superior reation kinetics.•The layer-by-layer structure ensures adequate electrical contact of pSi with MXene.•Both of half and full cell exhibit superior electrochemical performance.
Silicon is an ideal anode candidate for next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high specific capacity, low working potential and abundant sources. However, its practical application is seriously hindered by its huge volume expansion, which leads to the destruction of the electrode structure and the short cycle life. Herein, we fabricated flexible self-supporting binder-free porous silicon/MXene-2:1 composite film (pSi/MXene-2:1 film) as anode for LIBs by vacuum filtration. The pSi possesses sheet-shape resulting from layered montmorillonite, which is beneficial to shorten ion transport length. Furthermore, the pSi/MXene-2:1 film possesses excellent mechanical flexibility and the voids in the structure can well accommodate the volume expansion during cycling. Benefitting from these advantages, the pSi/MXene-2:1 film anode shows steady cycling performance with 1039.3 mAh/g at 500 mA g−1 after 200 cycles and excellent rate performance with 840.3 mAh/g at 5 A/g. Furthermore, a high reversible capacity of 1201 mAh/g can be obtained at 1 A/g for pSi/MXene-2:1||LiFePO4 full cell. This work provides a strategy to fabricate high-capacity and long-cycle self-supporting silicon-based anodes for flexible LIBs.
The aim of this article was to systematically review the available literature on patient specific total temporomandibular joint total joint replacement (PS-TMJR) implants for their biomaterial, ...designs, fabrication techniques and their outcomes.
A literature review was conducted using PubMed, and science direct databases using the key words three-dimensional printing, 3D printing, CAD CAM, computer aided designing, computer aided manufacturing, additive technology, custom made implants, patient specific implants in combination with Temporomandibular joint, TMJ surgery.
The search revealed 2760 articles, of which 374 were in English and discussed TMJ reconstruction. Further filtering shortlisted 74 articles that discussed PS-TMJR. Duplicates were removed and additional added from article references. 39 articles describing biomaterial, designing and fabrication of PS-TMJR implants and their outcomes were selected for analysis.
Although PS-TMJR implants allow a better anatomical fit, improved fixation, and safeguard various structures such as the inferior alveolar nerve, they vary in designs, material and fabrication techniques. However, PS-TMJR printed with SLM and EBM technologies have yet to be compared with the conventional ones in terms of mechanical strength, and clinical outcome. With emerging bioprinting technologies, even newer biomaterials should be considered for 3D printing of PS-TMJR devices designed to achieve harmony in function between the joint device, bone and masticatory muscles.
This paper presents a method for the analysis of process \(J/\psi \rightarrow \rho\pi \rightarrow \pi^+\pi^-\pi^0\) based on the consideration of the angles of expansion of finite pion pairs. The ...proposed approach makes it possible to effectively carry out selection of events in both neutral and charge-conjugate modes of the decay of \(J/\psi \rightarrow \rho\pi\). Application of the method for the analysis of similar three-body decays in some cases will simplify the analysis and refine current results.
In 2-party Circuit-based Private Set Intersection (Circuit-PSI),
and
hold sets S
and S
respectively and wish to securely compute a function
over the set S
∩ S
(e.g., cardinality, sum over associated ...attributes, or threshold intersection). Following a long line of work, Pinkas
(PSTY, Eurocrypt 2019) showed how to construct a concretely efficient Circuit-PSI protocol with linear communication complexity. However, their protocol requires super-linear computation.
In this work, we construct concretely efficient Circuit-PSI protocols with linear computational and communication cost. Further, our protocols are more performant than the state-of-the-art, PSTY – we are ≈ 2.3
more communication efficient and are up to 2.8
faster. We obtain our improvements through a new primitive called
(RB-OPPRF) that can be seen as a strict generalization of Batch OPPRFs that were used in PSTY. This primitive could be of independent interest.
Private Set Intersection (PSI) protocols can securely compute the intersection of the private sets on the server and the client without revealing additional data. This work introduces the concept of ...Privacy-Preserving Feature Retrieved Private Set Intersection (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {P^{2}FRPSI} </tex-math></inline-formula>). In <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {P^{2}FRPSI} </tex-math></inline-formula> protocols, the client can obtain the intersection that satisfies a given predicate without revealing the predicate and additional data. We formally define the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {P^{2}FRPSI} </tex-math></inline-formula> protocol, including its inputs, outputs, functionality, and security. To achieve the privacy guarantee in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {P^{2}FRPSI} </tex-math></inline-formula> protocols, a new two-party protocol is designed, namely Secure Secret Shared Retrieval (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {S^{3}R} </tex-math></inline-formula>), which can be used to securely determine whether each item on the server satisfies the predicate. We construct an <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {S^{3}R} </tex-math></inline-formula> protocol and prove its security in the semi-honest model. On the basis of this, we design an efficient OT-based <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {P^{2}FRPSI} </tex-math></inline-formula> protocol and an easy-to-implement DH-based <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {P^{2}FRPSI} </tex-math></inline-formula> protocol and prove that they are secure in the semi-honest model. Our implementation shows that the OT-based <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {P^{2}FRPSI} </tex-math></inline-formula> protocol can perform the matching for about 1000K items in 3.8 seconds with a single thread. Moreover, the DH-based <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {P^{2}FRPSI} </tex-math></inline-formula> can perform the matching for about 7000K items in one hour with four threads, with communication totaling 1456 MB, while the OT-based <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mathsf {P^{2}FRPSI} </tex-math></inline-formula> protocol requires 1673 MB.