Microplastics (MPs) are an emerging concern and potential risk to marine and terrestrial environments. Surface soils are reported to act as a sink. However, MP vertical mobility in the subsurface ...remains uncertain due to a lack of scientific data. This study focused on MP penetration in sand soil column experiments. Here we report the mobility of five different MPs, which consisted of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) particles of various sizes and densities. We observed that the smallest sized PE MPs (21 μm) had the greatest movement potential. Moreover, it was found that when these MPs were subjected to greater numbers of wet-dry cycles, the penetration depth significantly increased, with an apparent linear relationship between depth and wet-dry cycle number (r2 = 0.817). In comparison, increasing the volume of infiltration liquid or the surface MP concentration had only negligible or weak effects on migration depth (r2 = 0.169 and 0.312, respectively). Based on the observed wet-dry cycle trend, we forecast 100-year penetration depths using weather data for 347 cities across China. The average penetration depth was calculated as 5.24 m (95% CI = 2.78–7.70 m), with Beijing Municipality and Hebei, Henan and Hubei provinces being the most vulnerable to MP vertical dispersion. Our results suggest that soils may not only represent a sink for MPs, but also a feasible entryway to subsurface receptors, such as subterranean fauna or aquifers. Finally, research gaps are identified and suggested research directions are put forward to garner a better understanding MP vertical migration in soil.
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•MP size, plastic type, and wet-dry cycles were related to sand penetration depth.•Infiltration volume and concentration had negligible or weak effects on MP migration.•The average forecasted 100-year penetration depth for 347 cities in China was 5.24 m.•Beijing Municipality and Hebei, Henan and Hubei Provinces were the most vulnerable.•Soils may not only represent a sink, but also a feasible entryway to the subsurface.
The widespread use of Internet technology has changed people’s traditional life mode and created a new market transaction mode, namely, e-commerce platform. The Internet of Things can carry out ...real-time monitoring and management of any product in e-commerce and not only can realize information sharing in commercial activities but also can play a greater role in the protection of personal and enterprise information security. In this context, the efficiency and low cost of information flow, cash flow, logistics, and human resources among enterprises are particularly important. The Internet of Things technology is a means to effectively improve and optimize the operation mode of the supply chain. This paper analyzes the status of traditional supply chain management, which discusses the development of a supply chain management based on the Internet of Things technology. Finally, this paper analyzes how to realize the optimization strategy of e-commerce supply chain management based on the Internet of Things technology, which provides strong support for the informatization of e-commerce supply chain management. Through the application of the Internet of Things technology, small- and medium-sized enterprises can optimize the workflow and circulation links of the e-commerce supply chain management, enhance the matching level of product value and information transmission, improve the supply chain operation mechanism, and increase economic benefits.
We study the genuine tripartite nonlocality (GTN) and the genuine tripartite entanglement (GTE) of Dirac fields in the background of a Schwarzschild black hole. We find that the Hawking radiation ...degrades both the physically accessible GTN and the physically accessible GTE. The former suffers from “sudden death” at some critical Hawking temperature, and the latter approaches to the nonzero asymptotic value in the limit of infinite Hawking temperature. We also find that the Hawking effect cannot generate the physically inaccessible GTN, but can generate the physically inaccessible GTE for fermion fields in curved spacetime. These results show that on the one hand the GTN cannot pass through the event horizon of black hole, but the GTE do can, and on the other hand the surviving physically accessible GTE and the generated physically inaccessible GTE for fermions in curved spacetime are all not nonlocal. Some monogamy relations between the physically accessible GTE and the physically inaccessible GTE are found.
Xylan is the most abundant hemicellulose, constitutes about 25-35% of the dry biomass of woody and lignified tissues, and occurs up to 50% in some cereal grains. The accurate degree and position of ...xylan acetylation is necessary for xylan function and for plant growth and development. The post synthetic acetylation of cell wall xylan, mainly regulated by Reduced Wall Acetylation (
), Trichome Birefringence-Like (
), and Altered Xyloglucan 9 (
) genes, is essential for effective bonding of xylan with cellulose. Recent studies have proven that not only xylan acetylation but also its deacetylation is vital for various plant functions. Thus, the present review focuses on the latest advances in understanding xylan acetylation and deacetylation and explores their effects on plant growth and development. Baseline knowledge about precise regulation of xylan acetylation and deacetylation is pivotal to developing plant biomass better suited for second-generation liquid biofuel production.
Robust and secure image hashing Swaminathan, A.; Yinian Mao; Min Wu
IEEE transactions on information forensics and security,
06/2006, Volume:
1, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Image hash functions find extensive applications in content authentication, database search, and watermarking. This paper develops a novel algorithm for generating an image hash based on Fourier ...transform features and controlled randomization. We formulate the robustness of image hashing as a hypothesis testing problem and evaluate the performance under various image processing operations. We show that the proposed hash function is resilient to content-preserving modifications, such as moderate geometric and filtering distortions. We introduce a general framework to study and evaluate the security of image hashing systems. Under this new framework, we model the hash values as random variables and quantify its uncertainty in terms of differential entropy. Using this security framework, we analyze the security of the proposed schemes and several existing representative methods for image hashing. We then examine the security versus robustness tradeoff and show that the proposed hashing methods can provide excellent security and robustness.
Pd is the peak amplitude of displacement in the first three seconds after the arrival of the P wave. We investigated the attenuation of Pd with the hypocentral distance R in southern California as a ...function of magnitude M, and obtained the following relationship: log (Pd) = −3.463 + 0.729 × M − 1.374 × log (R) ± 0.305. Given an earthquake location determined by the P‐wave arrival times at stations close to the epicenter, this relationship can be used to define a so‐called “Pd magnitude” of earthquakes. Our result shows that for earthquakes in southern California the Pd magnitudes agree with the catalog magnitudes with a standard deviation of 0.18 for events less than magnitude 6.5. Therefore, Pd is a robust measurement for estimating the magnitudes of earthquakes and has practical application in earthquake early warning systems.
The influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) and coronavirus spike (S) protein mediate virus entry. HA and S proteins are heavily glycosylated, making them potential targets for carbohydrate binding agents ...such as lectins. Here, we show that the lectin FRIL, isolated from hyacinth beans (Lablab purpureus), has anti-influenza and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. FRIL can neutralize 11 representative human and avian influenza strains at low nanomolar concentrations, and intranasal administration of FRIL is protective against lethal H1N1 infection in mice. FRIL binds preferentially to complex-type N-glycans and neutralizes viruses that possess complex-type N-glycans on their envelopes. As a homotetramer, FRIL is capable of aggregating influenza particles through multivalent binding and trapping influenza virions in cytoplasmic late endosomes, preventing their nuclear entry. Remarkably, FRIL also effectively neutralizes SARS-CoV-2, preventing viral protein production and cytopathic effect in host cells. These findings suggest a potential application of FRIL for the prevention and/or treatment of influenza and COVID-19.
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•FRIL is a plant lectin with potent anti-influenza and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity•FRIL preferentially binds to complex-type N-glycans on viral glycoproteins•FRIL inhibits influenza virus entry by sequestering virions in late endosomes•Intranasal administration of FRIL protects against lethal H1N1 challenge in mice
Liu et al. demonstrate that FRIL, a plant lectin isolated from the hyacinth bean, has potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and diverse influenza virus strains. FRIL is effective in vivo against H1N1. FRIL’s antiviral activity is mediated by binding to complex-type N-glycans on viral glycoproteins, interfering with viral entry.
Current genome-editing systems generally rely on inducing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). This may limit their utility in clinical therapies, as unwanted mutations caused by DSBs can have ...deleterious effects. CRISPR/Cas9 system has recently been repurposed to enable target gene activation, allowing regulation of endogenous gene expression without creating DSBs. However, in vivo implementation of this gain-of-function system has proven difficult. Here, we report a robust system for in vivo activation of endogenous target genes through trans-epigenetic remodeling. The system relies on recruitment of Cas9 and transcriptional activation complexes to target loci by modified single guide RNAs. As proof-of-concept, we used this technology to treat mouse models of diabetes, muscular dystrophy, and acute kidney disease. Results demonstrate that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated target gene activation can be achieved in vivo, leading to measurable phenotypes and amelioration of disease symptoms. This establishes new avenues for developing targeted epigenetic therapies against human diseases.
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•A CRISPR/Cas9 system transcriptionally activates endogenous target genes in vivo•Recruiting the transcriptional machinery induces trans-epigenetic remodeling•Inducing target gene expression leads to physiological phenotypes in postnatal mammals•The system ameliorates symptoms associated with several mouse models of human diseases
In vivo delivery of a Cas9-based epigenetic gene activation system ameliorates disease phenotypes in mouse models of type I diabetes, acute kidney injury, and muscular dystrophy
In multicellular organisms, tissue integrity and organ size are maintained through removal of aberrant or damaged cells and compensatory proliferation. Little is known, however, about this ...homeostasis system in postmitotic tissues, where tissue-intrinsic genetic programs constrain cell division and new cells no longer arise from stem cells. Here we show that, in postmitotic Drosophila follicular epithelia, aberrant but viable cells are eliminated through cell competition, and the resulting loss of local tissue volume triggers sporadic cellular hypertrophy to repair the tissue. This “compensatory cellular hypertrophy” is implemented by acceleration of the endocycle, a variant cell cycle composed of DNA synthesis and gap phases without mitosis, dependent on activation of the insulin/IGF-like signaling pathway. These results reveal a remarkable homeostatic mechanism in postmitotic epithelia that ensures not only elimination of aberrant cells through cell competition but also proper organ-size control that involves compensatory cellular hypertrophy induced by physical parameters.
•Cell competition occurs in the postmitotic epithelium•Compensatory cellular hypertrophy (CCH) as a tissue repair mechanism•CCH is implemented by acceleration of the endoreplication cycle•Loss of local tissue volume triggers sporadic epithelial CCH over a long range
Tamori and Deng show that cell competition occurs in postmitotic epithelia to remove aberrant cells. Their studies also reveal that a loss of local tissue volume resulting from cell death or reduced cell size triggers compensatory cellular hypertrophy sporadically throughout the epithelium to ensure tissue homeostasis.
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