15 research outputs found
A type of block withholding delay attack and the countermeasure based on type-2 fuzzy inference
We proposed a new type of bitcoin withholding attack named block withholding delay (BWD). It is different from the traditional withholding attacks which always drop valid blocks. BWD attackers never discard blocks but they delay the submissions of blocks to the pool managers, resulting the pool failed in the mining competitions and loss of rewards. We analyzed the optimum strategy of a BWD attacker who split its computing power into two parts, one was utilized to launch BWD attacks on the victim pools, while the other part was used for solo mining. We present detailed quantitative analysis of the maximum incentive that an attacker can earn by carefully splitting its computing power, and demonstrated that the attacker can obtain higher incentives than its contribution to the network in different conditions. Furthermore, we proposed a countermeasure against BWD based on the interval type-2 Takagi-Sugeno-Kang fuzzy inference system (IT2-TSK-FIS). The principle is to modify the private payoff scheme of pools to increase the risk of losing revenues of the rogue miners who deliberately delay block submissions. The scheme dealing the uncertain cause of block delay using fuzzy inference, and it is so designed that it does not require modifications of public mining protocols or data structures of the bitcoin network, which makes it applicable in practical pools
Field Control Effect and Initial Mechanism: A Study of Isobavachalcone against Blister Blight Disease
Blister blight (BB) disease is caused by the obligate biotrophic fungal pathogen Exobasidium vexans Massee and seriously affects the yield and quality of Camellia sinensis. The use of chemical pesticides on tea leaves substantially increases the toxic risks of tea consumption. Botanic fungicide isobavachalcone (IBC) has the potential to control fungal diseases on many crops but has not been used on tea plants. In this study, the field control effects of IBC were evaluated by comparison and in combination with natural elicitor chitosan oligosaccharides (COSs) and the chemical pesticide pyraclostrobin (Py), and the preliminary action mode of IBC was also investigated. The bioassay results for IBC or its combination with COSs showed a remarkable control effect against BB (61.72% and 70.46%). IBC, like COSs, could improve the disease resistance of tea plants by enhancing the activity of tea-plant-related defense enzymes, including polyphenol oxidase (PPO), catalase (CAT), phenylalanine aminolase (PAL), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), β-1,3-glucanase (Glu), and chitinase enzymes. The fungal community structure and diversity of the diseased tea leaves were examined using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal rDNA genes. It was obvious that IBC could significantly alter the species’ richness and the diversity of the fungal community in affected plant sites. This study broadens the application range of IBC and provides an important strategy for the control of BB disease
Anti-allergic actions of a Chinese patent medicine, huoxiangzhengqi oral liquid, in RBL-2H3 cells and in mice
Context Huoxiangzhengqi oral liquid (HXZQ-OL), a traditional Chinese medicine formula, has antibacterial, anti-inflammation and gastrointestinal motility regulation effects. Objective The study investigates the anti-allergic activity and underlying mechanism of HXZQ-OL. Materials and methods IgE/Ag-mediated RBL-2H3 cells were used to evaluate the anti-allergic activity of HXZQ-OL (43.97, 439.7 and 4397 μg/mL) in vitro. The release of cytokines and eicosanoids were quantified using ELISA. RT-qPCR was used to measure the gene expression of cytokines. The level of intracellular Ca2+ was measured with Fluo 3/AM. Immunoblotting analysis was performed to investigate the mechanism of HXZQ-OL. In the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA), BALB/c mice (5 mice/group) were orally administrated with HXZQ-OL (263.8, 527.6 and 1055 mg/kg/d) or dexamethasone (5 mg/kg/d, positive control) for seven consecutive days. Results HXZQ-OL not only inhibited degranulation of mast cells (IC50, 123 μg/mL), but also inhibited the generation and secretion of IL-4 (IC50, 171.4 μg/mL), TNF-α (IC50, 88.4 μg/mL), LTC4 (IC50, 52.9 μg/mL) and PGD2 (IC50, 195.8 μg/mL). Moreover, HXZQ-OL suppressed the expression of IL-4 and TNF-α mRNA, as well as the phosphorylation of Fyn, Lyn and multiple downstream signalling proteins including MAPK and PI3K/NF-κB pathways. In addition, HXZQ-OL (527.5 mg/kg) attenuated the IgE-mediated PCA with 55% suppression of Evans blue exudation in mice. Conclusions HXZQ-OL attenuated the activation of mast cell and PCA. Therefore, HXZQ-OL might be used as an alternative treatment for allergic diseases
Correction: Genetic analysis of agronomic traits in elite sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) germplasm.
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233752.]
Omics Evidence: Single Nucleotide Variants Transmissions on Chromosome 20 in Liver Cancer Cell Lines
Cancer genomics unveils many cancer-related mutations, including
some chromosome 20 (Chr.20) genes. The mutated messages have been
found in the corresponding mRNAs; however, whether they could be translated
to proteins still requires more evidence. Herein, we proposed a transomics
strategy to profile the expression status of human Chr.20 genes (555
in Ensembl v72). The data of transcriptome and translatome (the mRNAs
bound with ribosome, translating mRNAs) revealed that ∼80%
of the coding genes on Chr.20 were detected with mRNA signals in three
liver cancer cell lines, whereas of the proteome identified, only
∼45% of the Chr.20 coding genes were detected. The high amount
of overlapping of identified genes in mRNA and RNC-mRNA (ribosome
nascent-chain complex-bound mRNAs, translating mRNAs) and the consistent
distribution of the abundance averages of mRNA and RNC-mRNA along
the Chr.20 subregions in three liver cancer cell lines indicate that
the mRNA information is efficiently transmitted from transcriptional
to translational stage, qualitatively and quantitatively. Of the 457
genes identified in mRNAs and RNC-mRNA, 136 were found to contain
SNVs with 213 sites, and >40% of these SNVs existed only in metastatic
cell lines, suggesting them as the metastasis-related SNVs. Proteomics
analysis showed that 16 genes with 20 SNV sites were detected with
reliable MS/MS signals, and some SNVs were further validated by the
MRM approach. With the integration of the omics data at the three
expression phases, therefore, we are able to achieve the overall
view of the gene expression of Chr.20, which is constructive in understanding
the potential trend of encoding genes in a cell line and exploration
of a new type of markers related to cancers
Omics Evidence: Single Nucleotide Variants Transmissions on Chromosome 20 in Liver Cancer Cell Lines
Cancer genomics unveils many cancer-related mutations, including
some chromosome 20 (Chr.20) genes. The mutated messages have been
found in the corresponding mRNAs; however, whether they could be translated
to proteins still requires more evidence. Herein, we proposed a transomics
strategy to profile the expression status of human Chr.20 genes (555
in Ensembl v72). The data of transcriptome and translatome (the mRNAs
bound with ribosome, translating mRNAs) revealed that ∼80%
of the coding genes on Chr.20 were detected with mRNA signals in three
liver cancer cell lines, whereas of the proteome identified, only
∼45% of the Chr.20 coding genes were detected. The high amount
of overlapping of identified genes in mRNA and RNC-mRNA (ribosome
nascent-chain complex-bound mRNAs, translating mRNAs) and the consistent
distribution of the abundance averages of mRNA and RNC-mRNA along
the Chr.20 subregions in three liver cancer cell lines indicate that
the mRNA information is efficiently transmitted from transcriptional
to translational stage, qualitatively and quantitatively. Of the 457
genes identified in mRNAs and RNC-mRNA, 136 were found to contain
SNVs with 213 sites, and >40% of these SNVs existed only in metastatic
cell lines, suggesting them as the metastasis-related SNVs. Proteomics
analysis showed that 16 genes with 20 SNV sites were detected with
reliable MS/MS signals, and some SNVs were further validated by the
MRM approach. With the integration of the omics data at the three
expression phases, therefore, we are able to achieve the overall
view of the gene expression of Chr.20, which is constructive in understanding
the potential trend of encoding genes in a cell line and exploration
of a new type of markers related to cancers