Robust Optical Data Encryption by Projection-Photoaligned Polymer-Stabilized-Liquid-Crystals

The emerging Internet of Things (IoTs) invokes increasing security demands that require robust encryption or anti-counterfeiting technologies. Albeit being acknowledged as efficacious solutions in processing elaborate graphical information via multiple degrees of freedom, optical data encryption and anti-counterfeiting techniques are typically inept in delivering satisfactory performance without compromising the desired ease-of-processibility or compatibility, thus leading to the exploration of novel materials and devices that are competent. Here, a robust optical data encryption technique is demonstrated utilizing polymer-stabilized-liquid-crystals (PSLCs) combined with projection photoalignment and photopatterning methods. The PSLCs possess implicit optical patterns encoded via photoalignment, as well as explicit geometries produced via photopatterning. Furthermore, the PSLCs demonstrate improved robustness against harsh chemical environments and thermal stability, and can be directly deployed onto various rigid and flexible substrates. Based on this, it is demonstrated that single PSLC is apt to carry intricate information, or serve as exclusive watermark with both implicit features and explicit geometries. Moreover, a novel, generalized design strategy is developed, for the first time, to encode intricate and exclusive information with enhanced security by spatially programming the photoalignment patterns of a pair of cascade PSLCs, which further illustrates the promising capabilies of PSLCs in optical data encryption and anti-counterfeiting

The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes

This is the final version. Available on open access from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordData availability: All collapsed and paired-end sequence data for samples sequenced in this study are available in compressed fastq format through the European Nucleotide Archive under accession number PRJEB44430, together with rescaled and trimmed bam sequence alignments against both the nuclear and mitochondrial horse reference genomes. Previously published ancient data used in this study are available under accession numbers PRJEB7537, PRJEB10098, PRJEB10854, PRJEB22390 and PRJEB31613, and detailed in Supplementary Table 1. The genomes of ten modern horses, publicly available, were also accessed as indicated in their corresponding original publications57,61,85-87.NOTE: see the published version available via the DOI in this record for the full list of authorsDomestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 BC. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia and Anatolia, have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 BC, synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled chariots. We find that equestrianism involved strong selection for critical locomotor and behavioural adaptations at the GSDMC and ZFPM1 genes. Our results reject the commonly held association between horseback riding and the massive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists into Europe around 3000 BC driving the spread of Indo-European languages. This contrasts with the scenario in Asia where Indo-Iranian languages, chariots and horses spread together, following the early second millennium BC Sintashta culture

Tropospheric ozone effects on the productivity of some crops in central Saudi Arabia

This study was conducted to evaluate damaging degree of ambient ozone (O3) levels in certain economically important crops in typical areas of the central KSA (Riyadh). Daily mean ozone concentrations were recorded by portable O3 analyzers in the center of Batha, Naseem, Oleya and Industrial City, from the beginning of October, 2006 to middle of June, 2007. Maseef area was used as control because it is receiving fewer pollutants (O3 levels less than 40 nL L-1). Selected crops grown in pots were exposed to short-term of pollution at defined localities. These crops include Triticum aestivum L. cv. Giza 68 (wheat), Vicia faba L. cv. Lara, (broad bean), Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Giza 3 (kidney bean) and Pisum sativum L. cv. Perfection (pea). The exposure indicators of them are length, injury symptoms, biomass and yield. The maximum values of daily O3 were 125 nL L-1, 77 nL L-1, 95 nL L-1 and 166 nL L-1, in all the four studied areas, respectively in mid June, 2007. Results showed that the estimated yield losses varied in all four studied areas, being 35, 9, 39 and 46%, respectively for wheat; being 16, 13, 21 and 33%, respectively for broad bean; being 22, 20, 28 and 45%, respectively for kidney bean and being 5, 3, 14 and 30%, respectively for pea. This research recommended that these plant species can be used to give bio-indicator significance to assess ambient ozone impacts of different examined areas in KS

Data from: Evolutionary patterns and processes: lessons from ancient DNA

Ever since its emergence in 1984, the field of ancient DNA has struggled to overcome the challenges related to the decay of DNA molecules in the fossil record. With the recent development of high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies and molecular techniques tailored to ultra-damaged templates, it has now come of age, merging together approaches in phylogenomics, population genomics, epigenomics, and metagenomics. Leveraging on complete temporal sample series, ancient DNA provides direct access to the most important dimension in evolution—time, allowing a wealth of fundamental evolutionary processes to be addressed at unprecedented resolution. This review taps into the most recent findings in ancient DNA research to present analyses of ancient genomic and metagenomic data

Zonkey: A simple, accurate and sensitive pipeline to genetically identify equine Fl-hybrids in archaeological assemblages

Horses, asses and zebras, can produce first-generation Fl-hybrids, despite their striking karyotypic and phenotypic differences. Such Fl-hybrids are mostly infertile, but often present characters of considerable interest to breeders. They were extremely valued in antiquity, and commonly represented in art and on coinage. However, hybrids appear relatively rarely in archaeological faunal assemblages, mostly because identification based on morphometric data alone is extremely difficult. Here, we developed a methodological framework that exploits high-throughput sequencing data retrieved from archaeological material to identify Fl-equine hybrids. Our computational methodology is distributed in the open-source Zonkey pipeline, now part of PALEOMIX (https://github.com/MikkelSchubert/paleomix), together with full documentation and examples. Using both synthetic and real sequence datasets, from living and ancient Fl-hybrids, we find that Zonkey shows high sensitivity and specificity, even with limited sequencing efforts. Zonkey is thus well suited to the identification of equine Fl-hybrids in the archaeological record, even in cases where DNA preservation is limited. Zonlcey can also help determine the sex of ancient animals, and allows species identification, which advantageously complements morphological data in cases where material is fragmentary and/or multiple candidate equine species coexisted in sympatry. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Zonkey:a simple, accurate and sensitive pipeline to genetically identify equine Fl-hybrids in archaeological assemblages

Horses, asses and zebras, can produce first-generation F1-hybrids, despite their striking karyotypic and phenotypic differences. Such F1-hybrids are mostly infertile, but often present characters of considerable interest to breeders. They were extremely valued in antiquity, and commonly represented in art and on coinage. However, hybrids appear relatively rarely in archaeological faunal assemblages, mostly because identification based on morphometric data alone is extremely difficult. Here, we developed a methodological framework that exploits high-throughput sequencing data retrieved from archaeological material to identify F1-equine hybrids. Our computational methodology is distributed in the open-source Zonkey pipeline, now part of PALEOMIX (https://github.com/MikkelSchubert/paleomix), together with full documentation and examples. Using both synthetic and real sequence datasets, from living and ancient F1-hybrids, we find that Zonkey shows high sensitivity and specificity, even with limited sequencing efforts. Zonkey is thus well suited to the identification of equine F1-hybrids in the archaeological record, even in cases where DNA preservation is limited. Zonkey can also help determine the sex of ancient animals, and allows species identification, which advantageously complements morphological data in cases where material is fragmentary and/or multiple candidate equine species coexisted in sympatry

Experimental conditions improving in-solution target enrichment for ancient DNA

High-throughput sequencing has dramatically fostered ancient DNA research in recent years. Shotgun sequencing, however, does not necessarily appear as the best-suited approach due to the extensive contamination of samples with exogenous environmental microbial DNA. DNA capture-enrichment methods represent cost-effective alternatives that increase the sequencing focus on the endogenous fraction, whether it is from mitochondrial or nuclear genomes, or parts thereof. Here, we explored experimental parameters that could impact the efficacy of MYbaits in-solution capture assays of ~5000 nuclear loci or the whole genome. We found that varying quantities of the starting probes had only moderate effect on capture outcomes. Starting DNA, probe tiling, the hybridization temperature and the proportion of endogenous DNA all affected the assay, however. Additionally, probe features such as their GC content, number of CpG dinucleotides, sequence complexity and entropy and self-annealing properties need to be carefully addressed during the design stage of the capture assay. The experimental conditions and probe molecular features identified in this study will improve the recovery of genetic information extracted from degraded and ancient remains.No Full Tex