m6A modifications regulate intestinal immunity and rotavirus infection

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is an abundant mRNA modification and affects many biological processes. However, how m6A levels are regulated during physiological or pathological processes such as virus infections, and the in vivo function of m6A in the intestinal immune defense against virus infections are largely unknown. Here, we uncover a novel antiviral function of m6A modification during rotavirus (RV) infection in small bowel intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). We found that rotavirus infection induced global m6A modifications on mRNA transcripts by down-regulating the m6a eraser ALKBH5. Mice lacking the m6A writer enzymes METTL3 in IECs

Zipf’s Law in Passwords

Despite more than thirty years of research efforts, textual passwords are still enveloped in mysterious veils. In this work, we make a substantial step forward in understanding the distributions of passwords and measuring the strength of password datasets by using a statistical approach. We first show that Zipf\u27s law perfectly exists in real-life passwords by conducting linear regressions on a corpus of 56 million passwords. As one specific application of this observation, we propose the number of unique passwords used in regression and the slope of the regression line together as a metric for assessing the strength of password datasets, and prove it in a mathematically rigorous manner. Furthermore, extensive experiments (including optimal attacks, simulated optimal attacks and state-of-the-art cracking sessions) are performed to demonstrate the practical effectiveness of our metric. To the best of knowledge, our new metric is the first one that is both easy to approximate and accurate to facilitate comparisons, providing a useful tool for the system administrators to gain a precise grasp of the strength of their password datasets and to adjust the password policies more reasonably

catena-Poly[[(1,10-phenanthroline)lead(II)]bis­(μ-5-chloro-2-hy­droxy­benzoato)]

In the title polymer, [Pb(C7H4ClO3)2(C12H8N2)]n, the Pb(II) ion displays a distorted pseudo-octa­hedral coordination geometry. The metal center is coordinated by six O atoms from four 5-chloro­salicylate ligands and two N atoms from a chelating phenanthroline ligand. The polymeric structure is built up from bridging carboxyl­ate O atoms, forming chains along [100]. The crystal structure is stabilized by π–π inter­actions between the 1,10-phenanthroline and 5-chloro­salicylate ligands, the shortest centroid–centroid separation between neighbouring aromatic rings being 3.652 (1) Å

Method for refractive index detection for emulsion concentration

The existing approaches to the determination of the oil concentration in the oil-water emulsion (where the dispersed phase is oil) are analyzed in accordance with the theory of light scattering and the change in the refractive index in the suspension. Based on the CCD method, an automatic measuring device was developed to measure the refractive index of the emulsion, the relationship between the concentration and the refractive index of the emulsion was determined

Sprite possibly produced by two distinct positive cloud-to-ground lightning flashes

Transient luminous event (TLEs) observations have been conducted in mainland China since 2007, with a number of TLEs documented. This study analyzed a very unusual and unique positive sprite event, that may be produced jointly by two distinct positive cloud-to-ground lightning flashes (+CGs) occurring within a short time difference but with different locations separated by about 27 km. This observation is different from previous studies reporting that most of the sprites were triggered by a single +CG flash and its possible following continuous current. Detailed analysis on extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic field shows that combined charge moment change (CMC) due to the two +CGs is smaller (~1478 C km) than those of the parent CGs for the other two sprites (1582 and 2134 C km, respectively) recorded over the same thunderstorm. The vertical extension and brightness of the sprites correspond well with the CMC of their parent CGs, namely, the larger the CMC value the brighter the sprite, and the larger the CMC value the larger the vertical extension. Negative lightning flashes dominated during the thunderstorm life cycle. The three sprites occurred during a time window in which both negative and positive flashes were active. The three sprites occurred over the thunderstorm stratiform region