Lorenz System Parameter Determination and Application to Break the Security of Two-channel Chaotic Cryptosystems

This paper describes how to determine the parameter values of the chaotic Lorenz system used in a two-channel cryptosystem. The geometrical properties of the Lorenz system are used firstly to reduce the parameter search space, then the parameters are exactly determined, directly from the ciphertext, through the minimization of the average jamming noise power created by the encryption process.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures Preprint submitted to IEEE T. Cas II, revision of authors name spellin

LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 Thin Films Grown by Magnetron Sputtering under Inert Gas Flow Mixtures as High-Voltage Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Delivering a commercial high-voltage spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) cathode electrode for Li-ion batteries would result in a significant step forward in terms of energy density. However, the structural ordering of the spinel and particle size have considerable effects on the cathode material's cyclability and rate capability, which are crucial challenges to address. Here, a novel mid-frequency alternating current dual magnetron sputtering method was presented, using different Ar-N-2 gas mixtures ratios for the process gas to prepare various LNMO thin films with highly controlled morphology and particle size; as determined from X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy. It resulted in enhanced cycling and rate performance. This processing method delivered N-containing LNMO thin film electrodes with up to 15 % increased discharge capacity at 1 C (120 mAh g(-1)) with respect to standard LNMO (grown under only Ar gas flow) thin film electrodes, along with outstanding rate performance up to 10 C (99 mAh g(-1)) in the operating voltage window 3.5-4.85 V vs. Li+/Li. Besides, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results showed that the intricate phase transitions present in standard LNMO electrodes were almost suppressed in N-containing LNMO thin films grown under different Ar-N-2 gas flow mixtures

Deconstructing Weight Management Interventions for Young Adults: Looking Inside the Black Box of the EARLY Consortium Trials.

ObjectiveThe goal of the present study was to deconstruct the 17 treatment arms used in the Early Adult Reduction of weight through LifestYle (EARLY) weight management trials.MethodsIntervention materials were coded to reflect behavioral domains and behavior change techniques (BCTs) within those domains planned for each treatment arm. The analytical hierarchy process was employed to determine an emphasis profile of domains in each intervention.ResultsThe intervention arms used BCTs from all of the 16 domains, with an average of 29.3 BCTs per intervention arm. All 12 of the interventions included BCTs from the six domains of Goals and Planning, Feedback and Monitoring, Social Support, Shaping Knowledge, Natural Consequences, and Comparison of Outcomes; 11 of the 12 interventions shared 15 BCTs in common across those six domains.ConclusionsWeight management interventions are complex. The shared set of BCTs used in the EARLY trials may represent a core intervention that could be studied to determine the required emphases of BCTs and whether additional BCTs add to or detract from efficacy. Deconstructing interventions will aid in reproducibility and understanding of active ingredients

A low density of 0.8 g/cc for the Trojan binary asteroid 617 Patroclus

The Trojan population consists of two swarms of asteroids following the same orbit as Jupiter and located at the L4 and L5 Lagrange points of the Jupiter-Sun system (leading and following Jupiter by 60 degrees). The asteroid 617 Patroclus is the only known binary Trojan (Merline et al. 2001). The orbit of this double system was hitherto unknown. Here we report that the components, separated by 680 km, move around the system centre of mass, describing roughly a circular orbit. Using the orbital parameters, combined with thermal measurements to estimate the size of the components, we derive a very low density of 0.8 g/cc. The components of Patroclus are therefore very porous or composed mostly of water ice, suggesting that they could have been formed in the outer part of the solar system.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Severe childhood malaria syndromes defined by plasma proteome profiles

BACKGROUND Cerebral malaria (CM) and severe malarial anemia (SMA) are the most serious life-threatening clinical syndromes of Plasmodium falciparum infection in childhood. Therefore it is important to understand the pathology underlying the development of CM and SMA, as opposed to uncomplicated malaria (UM). Different host responses to infection are likely to be reflected in plasma proteome-patterns that associate with clinical status and therefore provide indicators of the pathogenesis of these syndromes. METHODS AND FINDINGS Plasma and comprehensive clinical data for discovery and validation cohorts were obtained as part of a prospective case-control study of severe childhood malaria at the main tertiary hospital of the city of Ibadan, an urban and densely populated holoendemic malaria area in Nigeria. A total of 946 children participated in this study. Plasma was subjected to high-throughput proteomic profiling. Statistical pattern-recognition methods were used to find proteome-patterns that defined disease groups. Plasma proteome-patterns accurately distinguished children with CM and with SMA from those with UM, and from healthy or severely ill malaria-negative children. CONCLUSIONS We report that an accurate definition of the major childhood malaria syndromes can be achieved using plasma proteome-patterns. Our proteomic data can be exploited to understand the pathogenesis of the different childhood severe malaria syndromes

Clinical and genetic characterisation of dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy in a family of Miniature Poodle dogs

Four full-sibling intact male Miniature Poodles were evaluated at 4–19 months of age. One was clinically normal and three were affected. All affected dogs were reluctant to exercise and had generalised muscle atrophy, a stiff gait and a markedly elevated serum creatine kinase activity. Two affected dogs also showed poor development, learning difficulties and episodes of abnormal behaviour. In these two dogs, investigations into forebrain structural and metabolic diseases were unremarkable; electromyography demonstrated fibrillation potentials and complex repetitive discharges in the infraspinatus, supraspinatus and epaxial muscles. Histopathological, immunohistochemical and immunoblotting analyses of muscle biopsies were consistent with dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy. DNA samples were obtained from all four full-sibling male Poodles, a healthy female littermate and the dam, which was clinically normal. Whole genome sequencing of one affected dog revealed a >5 Mb deletion on the X chromosome, encompassing the entire DMD gene. The exact deletion breakpoints could not be experimentally ascertained, but we confirmed that this region was deleted in all affected males, but not in the unaffected dogs. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction confirmed all three affected males were hemizygous for the mutant X chromosome, while the wildtype chromosome was observed in the unaffected male littermate. The female littermate and the dam were both heterozygous for the mutant chromosome. Forty-four Miniature Poodles from the general population were screened for the mutation and were homozygous for the wildtype chromosome. The finding represents a naturally-occurring mutation causing dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy in the dog

Methods for Analysis of Matrix Metalloproteinase Regulation of Neutrophil-Endothelial Cell Adhesion

Recent evidence indicates novel role for matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), in particular gelatinase A (MMP-2), in the regulation of vascular biology that are unrelated to their well-known proteolytic breakdown of matrix proteins. We have previously reported that MMP-2 can modulate vascular reactivity by cleavage of the Gly32-Leu33 bound in big endothelin-1 (ET-1) yielding a novel vasoactive peptide ET-1[1-32]. These studies were conducted to investigate whether gelatinolytic MMPs could affect neutrophil-endothelial cell attachment. ET-1[1-32] produced by MMP-2 up-regulated CD11b/CD18 expression on human neutrophils, thereby promoted their adhesion to cultured endothelial cells. ET-1[1-32] evoked release of gelatinase B (MMP-9), which in turn cleaved big ET-1 to yield ET-1[1-32], thus revealing a self-amplifying loop for ET-1[1-32] generation. ET-1[1-32] was rather resistant to cleavage by neutrophil proteases and further metabolism of ET-1[1-32] was not a prerequisite for its biological actions on neutrophils. The neutrophil responses to ET-1[1-32] were mediated via activation of ET(A)receptors through activation of the Ras/Raf-1/MEK/ERK signaling pathway. These results suggest a novel role for gelatinase A and B in the regulation of neutrophil functions and their interactions with endothelial cells. Here we describe the methods in detail as they relate to our previously published work