Parameterization of LSB in Self-Recovery Speech Watermarking Framework in Big Data Mining

The privacy is a major concern in big data mining approach. In this paper, we propose a novel self-recovery speech watermarking framework with consideration of trustable communication in big data mining. In the framework, the watermark is the compressed version of the original speech. The watermark is embedded into the least significant bit (LSB) layers. At the receiver end, the watermark is used to detect the tampered area and recover the tampered speech. To fit the complexity of the scenes in big data infrastructures, the LSB is treated as a parameter. This work discusses the relationship between LSB and other parameters in terms of explicit mathematical formulations. Once the LSB layer has been chosen, the best choices of other parameters are then deduced using the exclusive method. Additionally, we observed that six LSB layers are the limit for watermark embedding when the total bit layers equaled sixteen. Experimental results indicated that when the LSB layers changed from six to three, the imperceptibility of watermark increased, while the quality of the recovered signal decreased accordingly. This result was a trade-off and different LSB layers should be chosen according to different application conditions in big data infrastructures

Escherichia coli O88 induces intestinal damage and inflammatory response through the oxidative phosphorylation and ribosome pathway in Pekin ducks.

peer reviewedColibacillosis is one of the major health threats in the poultry industry worldwide. Understanding the pathogenic mechanisms involved in Escherichia coli-induced inflammatory response may lead to the development of new therapies to combat the disease. To address this, a total of 96 1-day-old male lean Pekin ducklings were employed and randomly allocated to two treatments, each with six replicates of eight ducks. Ducks in the experiment group (EG) and the control group (CG) were separately orally administered with 0.2 ml of pathogenic E. coli O88 (3 × 109 CFU/ml) or equivalent volumes of 0.9% sterile saline solution on day 7, two times with an 8-h interval. Serum and intestinal samples were collected on days 9, 14, and 28. Results showed that ducks challenged with E. coli had lower average daily gain and higher feed intake/weight gain during days 9-14 and overall (P < 0.05). Histopathological examination showed that E. coli decreased the villus height and the ratio of villus height/crypt depth in the jejunum (P < 0.05) on days 9 and 14. The intestinal barrier was disrupted, presenting in E. coli ducks having higher serum DAO and D-LA on days 9 and 14 (P < 0.05) and greater content of serum LPS on day 9 (P < 0.05). Escherichia coli infection also triggered a systemic inflammatory response including the decrease of the serum IgA, IgM, and jejunal sIgA on day 14 (P < 0.05). In addition to these, 1,062 differentially expressed genes were detected in the jejunum tissues of ducks by RNA-seq, consisting of 491 upregulated and 571 downregulated genes. Based on the KEGG database, oxidative phosphorylation and the ribosome pathway were the most enriched. These findings reveal the candidate pathways and genes that may be involved in E. coli infection, allow a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of inflammation progression and may facilitate the genetic improvement of ducks, and provide further insights to tackle the drug sensitivity and animal welfare issues

Incision of submarine channels over pockmark trains in the South China Sea

The genesis of submarine channels is often controlled by gravity flows, but channels can also be formed by oceanographic processes. Using multibeam bathymetry and two-dimensional seismic data from the western South China Sea, this study reveals how pockmarks can ultimately form channels under the effect of bottom currents and gravity-driven sedimentary processes. We demonstrate that alongslope and across-slope channels were initiated by pockmark trains on the seafloor. Discrete pockmarks were elongated due to the erosion of gravity-driven sedimentary processes and bottom currents, and later coalesced to form immature channels with irregular thalwegs. These gradually evolved into mature channels with continuous overbanks and smooth thalwegs. Submarine channel evolution was significantly influenced by seafloor topography since the Late Miocene. The evolutionary model documented here is a key to understanding how channels are formed in deep-water environments

Quantitative and geomorphologic parameterization of megaclasts within mass-transport complexes, offshore Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

Mass-transport complexes (MTCs) in sedimentary basins reflect the gravitational transport of sediments from the shelf edge to the abyssal plain. Megaclasts, large sedimentary blocks of hundreds of meters long within MTCs, can record kinematic and sedimentary information deemed essential to understanding source-to-sink systems. Yet, deformation structures in such megaclasts remain poorly understood. This study uses high-quality, three-dimensional (3-D) seismic reflection data from the deep-water Taranaki Basin offshore New Zealand to analyze the morphological character of 123 megaclasts and propose a new classification scheme based on their morphometric properties. The megaclasts are up to 400 m tall, 1900 m long, and 1200 m wide. In the study area, they are high- to moderate-amplitude features owing to their different lithologies and continuous-to-contorted seismic facies. The megaclasts can be classified as undeformed, rotated, deformed, and highly deformed based on their internal deformational styles. Two different kinds of morphological depressions observed on their basal shear zones further indicate whether the megaclasts are transported or formed in situ. Our study demonstrates that quantitative parameterization of the megaclasts provides important information about their deformational processes and a more complete understanding of megaclast emplacement along continental margins

Carotid Atherosclerosis Detected by Ultrasonography: A National Cross‐Sectional Study

Background: Carotid atherosclerosis (CA) is a reflector of generalized atherosclerosis that is associated with systemic vascular disease. Data are limited on the epidemiology of carotid lesions in a large, nationally representative population sample. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of CA detected by carotid ultrasonography and related risk factors based on a national survey in China. Methods and Results: A total of 107 095 residents aged ≥40 years from the China National Stroke Prevention Project underwent carotid ultrasound examination. Participants with carotid endarterectomy or carotid stenting and those with stroke or coronary heart disease were excluded. Data from 84 880 participants were included in the analysis. CA was defined as increased intima–media thickness (IMT) ≥1 mm or presence of plaques. Of the 84 880 participants, 46.4% were men, and the mean age was 60.7±10.3 years. The standardized prevalence of CA was 36.2% overall, increased with age, and was higher in men than in women. Prevalence of CA was higher among participants living in rural areas than in urban areas. Approximately 26.5% of participants had increased IMT, and 13.9% presented plaques. There was an age‐related increase in participants with increased IMT, plaque presence, and stenosis. In multiple logistic regression analysis, older age, male sex, residence in rural areas, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia were associated with CA. Conclusions: CA was highly prevalent in a middle‐aged and older Chinese population. This result shows the potential clinical importance of focusing on primary prevention of atherosclerosis progression

Ketamine Prevents a Persistent Increase in α5 GABAA Receptor Activity Induced by General Anesthetic Drugs

GABAA receptors mediate two distinct forms of inhibition: phasic inhibition and tonic inhibition. In the hippocampus, tonic inhibition is mainly mediated by extrasynaptic α5 subunit-containing GABAA receptors, and sustained overexpression of these receptors contributes to cognitive deficits and mood disorders. Recently, ketamine, a NMDA receptor antagonist, was shown to prevent postoperative cognitive deficits and exert long-lasting antidepressant effects in patients. Given this relationship, we hypothesize that ketamine prevents a persistent increase in α5 subunit-containing GABAA receptor activity. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, we show for the first time that ketamine prevents this overactivity in mouse hippocampal neurons in vitro. Furthermore, this effect is mediated by key proteins implicated in ketamine’s antidepressant actions including BDNF and GSK3β, but not by inhibition of NMDA receptors. Interestingly, ketamine acts through both neurons and astrocytes to prevent this overactivity. Our study provides a novel mechanism for the cognition-sparing and antidepressant properties of ketamine.M.Sc.2021-11-20 00:00:0