Improved Biclique Cryptanalysis of the Lightweight Block Cipher Piccolo

Biclique cryptanalysis is a typical attack through finding a biclique which is a type of bipartite diagram to reduce the computational complexity. By investigating the subkey distribution and the encryption structure, we find out a weakness in the key schedule of Piccolo-80. A 6-round biclique is constructed for Piccolo-80 and a 7-round biclique for Piccolo-128. Then a full round biclique cryptanalysis of Piccolo is presented. The results of the attacks are with data complexity of 240 and 224 chosen ciphertexts and with computational complexity of 279.22 and 2127.14, respectively. They are superior to other known results of biclique cryptanalytic on Piccolo

Molecular epidemiology and clinical characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus in hospitalized children during winter 2021–2022 in Bengbu, China

ObjectiveThis study aimed to study the molecular epidemiology and clinical characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection from hospitalized children with ARTI in Bengbu.MethodsOne hundred twenty-four nasopharyngeal swab specimens and clinical data from children with ARTI cases were collected in Bengbu, China, during winter 2021–2022. The samples were detected by qPCR of 13 respiratory viruses. Phylogenetic analysis was constructed using MEGA 7.0. All analyses were performed using SAS software, version 9.4.ResultsIn winter 2021–2022, URTI, NSCAP, SCAP, and bronchiolitis accounted for 41.03%, 27.35%, 17.09%, and 14.53% of hospitalized children in Bengbu, China. The detection rates of the top three were RSV (41.94%), ADV (5.65%), and FluB (5.65%) in hospitalized children through 13 virus detection. RSV is the main pathogen of hospitalized children under 2 years old. Forty-eight sequences of G protein of RSV were obtained through PCR amplification, including RSV-A 37 strains and RSV-B 11 strains. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all RSV-A and RSV-B were ON1 and BA9 genotypes, respectively. ON1 genotypes were further divided into two clades. The majority of ON1 strains formed a unique genetic clade with T113I, V131D, N178 G, and H258Q mutations. Furthermore, RSV infection was an independent risk factor for ventilator use (OR = 9.55, 95% CI 1.87–48.64).ConclusionThere was a high incidence of RSV among hospitalized children during winter 2021–2022 in Bengbu with ON1 and BA9 being the dominant strains. This study demonstrated the molecular epidemiological characteristics of RSV in children with respiratory infections in Bengbu, China

Constrained stabilization problems for discrete-time linear plants

In this paper we discuss discrete-time systems which have constraints on all or part of the inputs as well as on the states of the system. We show that solvability of stabilization problems is closely related to two important concepts: right-invertibility of the constraints and the constraint invariant zeros. In the case of right-invertible constraints we give constructive methods to determine suitable controllers

Constrained stabilization problems for discrete-time linear plants

In this paper we study discrete-time linear systems with full or partial constraints on both input and state. It is shown that the solvability conditions of stabilization problems are closely related to important concepts, such as the right-invertibility of the constraints, the location of constraint invariant zeros and the order of constraint infinite zeros. The main results show that for right-invertible constraints the order of constrained infinite zeros cannot be greater than one in order to achieve global or semi-global stabilization. This is in contrast to the continuous-time case. Controllers for both state feedback and measurement feedback are constructed in detail. Issues regarding non-right invertible constraints are discussed as well

Palladium-Catalyzed Cascade Cyclization-Oxidative Olefination of tert-Butyl 2-Alkynylbenozates

Palladium(II) can catalyze the oxidative coupling of tert-butyl 2-alkynylbenzoates with olefins such as acrylates and styrenes, leading to isocoumarines. The reaction was carried out under simple aerobic conditions, and in most cases, high selectivity has been attained

Activation of ROP6 GTPase by Phosphatidylglycerol in Arabidopsis

Plant Rho-like GTPases (ROPs) are switch-like proteins which play essential roles in controlling cell polarity development and cellular activities. ROPs are regulated by many factors, such as auxin, light, and RopGEFs and RopGAPs proteins. However, it has not been reported yet whether small molecules play a role in the regulation of ROP activity. Here, we showed that AtROP6 specially bound to a phospholipid, phosphatidylglycerol (PG), by the protein-lipid overlay and liposome sedimentation assays, and further MST assay gave a dissociation constant (Kd) of 4.8 ± 0.4 μM for binding of PG to His-AtROP6. PG profile analysis in Arabidopsis revealed that PG existed both in leaves and roots but with distinctive fatty acyl chain patterns. By evaluating AtROP6 activity using RIC1 effector binding-based assay, we found that PG stimulated AtROP6 activity. In the FM4-64 uptake experiment, PG inhibited AtROP6-mediated endocytosis process. By evaluating internalization of PIN2, PG was shown to regulate endocytosis process coordinately with NAA. Further root gravitropism experiment revealed that PG enhanced the AtROP6-mediated root gravity response. These results suggest that the phospholipid PG physically binds AtROP6, stimulates its activity and influences AtROP6-mediated root gravity response in Arabidopsis

Effects of precipitation change on fine root morphology and dynamics at a global scale: A meta-analysis

We compiled data from 495 observations from 103 papers and carried out a meta-analysis of the responses of fine root biomass, production, decomposition and morphology to precipitation increases and decreases. In addition, we evaluated the effects of plant life form, soil depth and experiment duration on the responses of fine roots to precipitation changes. Our results confirmed that decreased precipitation limited fine root diameter and accelerated turnover. Increased precipitation stimulated fine root elongation and enhanced fine root accumulation. The responses of fine roots to precipitation changes varied among plants of different life forms. Tree fine root production and decomposition and non-tree fine root diameter varied most strongly under decreased precipitation. Specific root length of non-tree fine roots was much higher than that of tree fine roots under increased precipitation. Decreased precipitation limited the growth of fine roots in 20-40 cm soil, whereas increased precipitation promoted the growth of fine roots in both shallow and deep soil layers. The responses of fine roots to decreased precipitation were affected by experiment duration. Results filled the gap of evaluation data on the effect of precipitation change on fine root morphology and dynamics, which are useful for better predicting C cycle under precipitation change.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Pollution characteristics, spatial distribution, and source identification of heavy metals in road dust in a central eastern city in China: a comprehensive survey

Road dust enriched with heavy metals (HMs) is detrimental to ecosystems and human health in urban environments. In this study, it is to explore the concentrations, spatial distribution, contaminated levels, and source identification of six HMs (lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni)) based on 130 road dusts in Xinyang urban area. The results indicated that the contents of Pb, Zn, Cu, and Co were higher than the background values in more than 99% of the samples, and their average concentrations were 15.2, 9.2, 8.6, and 6.3 times the background value, respectively. The spatial distribution of high-value areas for Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, and Ni was more similar, which was associated with traffic density near major roads and population and settlement patterns. Co was relatively different from the five elements, which was distributed in the areas of residence, commerce, and industry. Furthermore, the investigated HMs were clearly polluted, with Pb, Zn, Cu, and Co indicating high levels of contamination, while Cr and Ni were moderately polluted. The comprehensive pollution of the six HMs was mostly moderate to heavy in this study. Moreover, three sources of HMs designated by correlation analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were mixed traffic emissions and industrial waste for Cu and Cr; automotive emissions for Pb, Ni, and Zn; and mixed domestic waste and industrial activities for Co, with contributions of 42.3%, 46.4%, and 11.3% via the principal component analysis-multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR) model. The multi-factor index for pollution assessment combined with source identification is extremely effective and practical for providing reliable data support and a theoretical reference for pollution monitoring and governance

Optimization of the Extraction Conditions for Buddleja officinalis Maxim. Using Response Surface Methodology and Exploration of the Optimum Harvest Time

The Box-Behnken design was used to evaluate the effects of the methanol concentration (60–100%), liquid to solid ratio (20:1 to 40:1 mL/g) and extraction time (20–40 min) on the yield of 11 constituents from Buddleja officinalis Maxim using ultrasound-assisted extraction. The Derringer’s desirability function approach showed that the modified optimum extraction conditions were: 76% methanol concentration, 33 min extraction time and a 34:1 mL/g solvent to solid ratio. Under these conditions, the experimentally measured yields of the compounds were in good agreement with the predicted values. An accurate and sensitive method was also established using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection for the simultaneous determination of the 11 compounds in Buddleja officinalis. The newly developed method was used to determine the amounts of bioactive components in Buddleja officinalis during four different growth stages. According to these results, we recommend that the full blossom stage is the best time for harvesting this plant to obtain the highest yield of crude materials