3-Hydr­oxy-7,8-dimethoxy­quinolin-2(1H)-one

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C11H11NO4, intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding results in the formation of a planar five-membered ring, which is nearly coplanar with the quinoline group. Inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into centrosymmetric dimers

Blockwise Rank Decoding Problem and LRPC Codes: Cryptosystems with Smaller Sizes

In this paper, we initiate the study of the Rank Decoding (RD) problem and LRPC codes with blockwise structures in rank-based cryptosystems. First, we introduce the blockwise errors ($\ell$-errors) where each error consists of $\ell$ blocks of coordinates with disjoint supports, and define the blockwise RD ($\ell$-RD) problem as a natural generalization of the RD problem whose solutions are $\ell$-errors (note that the standard RD problem is actually a special $\ell$-RD problem with $\ell=1$). We adapt the typical attacks on the RD problem to the $\ell$-RD problem, and find that the blockwise structures do not ease the problem too much: the $\ell$-RD problem is still exponentially hard for appropriate choices of $\ell>1$. Second, we introduce blockwise LRPC ($\ell$-LRPC) codes as generalizations of the standard LPRC codes whose parity-check matrices can be divided into $\ell$ sub-matrices with disjoint supports, i.e., the intersection of two subspaces generated by the entries of any two sub-matrices is a null space, and investigate the decoding algorithms for $\ell$-errors. We find that the gain of using $\ell$-errors in decoding capacity outweighs the complexity loss in solving the $\ell$-RD problem, which makes it possible to design more efficient rank-based cryptosystems with flexible choices of parameters. As an application, we show that the two rank-based cryptosystems submitted to the NIST PQC competition, namely, RQC and ROLLO, can be greatly improved by using the ideal variants of the $\ell$-RD problem and $\ell$-LRPC codes. Concretely, for 128-bit security, our RQC has total public key and ciphertext sizes of 2.5 KB, which is not only about 50% more compact than the original RQC, but also smaller than the NIST Round 4 code-based submissions HQC, BIKE, and Classic McEliece

Development and test of a spring-finger roller-type hot pepper picking header

In order to improve picking efficiency, performance and reduce harvesting costs, this study developed a spring-finger roller type hot pepper picking header. The picking header was mainly composed of a roller, spring-fingers, a steel frame, an upper cover plate, and transmission parts. According to the mechanical characteristics of the hot pepper, the picking structure model of hot pepper was developed based on SolidWorks. The movement law of the picking spring-finger was analyzed based on the working principle to select appropriate motion parameters of main factors. A prototype of hot pepper picking header was developed based on these selected parameters, and field experiments were carried out to study main factors affecting the harvesting effect. The rotation speed of the roller and the travel speed of picking machine were monitored by setting sensors. The test results were analyzed and optimized based on Central Composite Design (CCD) by using Design Expert. The orthogonal test results showed that: when roller rotation speed was 215.00 r⋅min−1, and travel speed was 3.59 km⋅h−1, the hot pepper picking header had the best harvest effect. The picking rate was 98.47%, and the breakage rate was 3.87%. The field experiment proved that the spring-finger roller type hot pepper picking header had a good picking effect

Four Eremophilane Sesquiterpenes from the Mangrove Endophytic Fungus Xylaria sp. BL321

Three new eremophilane sesquiterpenes (1–3) were isolated from the mangrove endophytic fungus Xylaria sp. BL321 together with 07H239-A (4), a known analogue of the new compounds. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by analysis of their MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. Compound 4 showed activation activity on α-glucosidase at 0.15 μM (146%), and then, 4 gradually produced inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase with increasing concentration, and the IC50 value is 6.54 μM

An epigenomic approach to therapy for tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer

Tamoxifen has been a frontline treatment for estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-positive breast tumors in premenopausal women. However, resistance to tamoxifen occurs in many patients. ER still plays a critical role in the growth of breast cancer cells with acquired tamoxifen resistance, suggesting that ERα remains a valid target for treatment of tamoxifen-resistant (Tam-R) breast cancer. In an effort to identify novel regulators of ERα signaling, through a small-scale siRNA screen against histone methyl modifiers, we found WHSC1, a histone H3K36 methyltransferase, as a positive regulator of ERα signaling in breast cancer cells. We demonstrated that WHSC1 is recruited to the ERα gene by the BET protein BRD3/4, and facilitates ERα gene expression. The small-molecule BET protein inhibitor JQ1 potently suppressed the classic ERα signaling pathway and the growth of Tam-R breast cancer cells in culture. Using a Tam-R breast cancer xenograft mouse model, we demonstrated in vivo anti-breast cancer activity by JQ1 and a strong long-lasting effect of combination therapy with JQ1 and the ER degrader fulvestrant. Taken together, we provide evidence that the epigenomic proteins BRD3/4 and WHSC1 are essential regulators of estrogen receptor signaling and are novel therapeutic targets for treatment of Tam-R breast cancer

Using microneedle array electrodes for non-invasive electrophysiological signal acquisition and sensory feedback evoking

Introduction: Bidirectional transmission of information is needed to realize a closed-loop human-machine interaction (HMI), where electrophysiological signals are recorded for man-machine control and electrical stimulations are used for machine-man feedback. As a neural interface (NI) connecting man and machine, electrodes play an important role in HMI and their characteristics are critical for information transmission.Methods: In this work, we fabricated a kind of microneedle array electrodes (MAEs) by using a magnetization-induced self-assembly method, where microneedles with a length of 500–600 μm and a tip diameter of ∼20 μm were constructed on flexible substrates. Part of the needle length could penetrate through the subjects’ stratum corneum and reach the epidermis, but not touch the dermis, establishing a safe and direct communication pathway between external electrical circuit and internal peripheral nervous system.Results: The MAEs showed significantly lower and more stable electrode-skin interface impedance than the metal-based flat array electrodes (FAEs) in various testing scenarios, demonstrating their promising impedance characteristics. With the stable microneedle structure, MAEs exhibited an average SNR of EMG that is more than 30% higher than FAEs, and a motion-intention classification accuracy that is 10% higher than FAEs. The successful sensation evoking demonstrated the feasibility of the MAE-based electrical stimulation for sensory feedback, where a variety of natural and intuitive feelings were generated in the subjects and thereafter objectively verified through EEG analysis.Discussion: This work confirms the application potential of MAEs working as an effective NI, in both electrophysiological recording and electrical stimulation, which may provide a technique support for the development of HMI