Direct Injection of CRISPR/Cas9-Related mRNA into Cytoplasm of Parthenogenetically Activated Porcine Oocytes Causes Frequent Mosaicism for Indel Mutations

Some reports demonstrated successful genome editing in pigs by one-step zygote microinjection of mRNA of CRISPR/Cas9-related components. Given the relatively long gestation periods and the high cost of housing, the establishment of a single blastocyst-based assay for rapid optimization of the above system is required. As a proof-of-concept, we attempted to disrupt a gene (GGTA1) encoding the α-1,3-galactosyltransferase that synthesizes the α-Gal epitope using parthenogenetically activated porcine oocytes. The lack of α-Gal epitope expression can be monitored by staining with fluorescently labeled isolectin BS-I-B₄ (IB4), which binds specifically to the α-Gal epitope. When oocytes were injected with guide RNA specific to GGTA1 together with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and human Cas9 mRNAs, 65% (24/37) of the developing blastocysts exhibited green fluorescence, although almost all (96%, 23/24) showed a mosaic fluorescent pattern. Staining with IB4 revealed that the green fluorescent area often had a reduced binding activity to IB4. Of the 16 samples tested, six (five fluorescent and one non-fluorescent blastocysts) had indel mutations, suggesting a correlation between EGFP expression and mutation induction. Furthermore, it is suggested that zygote microinjection of mRNAs might lead to the production of piglets with cells harboring various mutation types.     

Glibenclamide for the Treatment of Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke

Ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes are associated with severe functional disability and high mortality. Except for recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, therapies targeting the underlying pathophysiology of central nervous system (CNS) ischemia and hemorrhage are strikingly lacking. Sur1-regulated channels play essential roles in necrotic cell death and cerebral edema following ischemic insults, and in neuroinflammation after hemorrhagic injuries. Inhibiting endothelial, neuronal, astrocytic and oligodendroglial sulfonylurea receptor 1–transient receptor potential melastatin 4 (Sur1–Trpm4) channels and, in some cases, microglial K_ATP (Sur1–Kir6.2) channels, with glibenclamide is protective in a variety of contexts. Robust preclinical studies have shown that glibenclamide and other sulfonylurea agents reduce infarct volumes, edema and hemorrhagic conversion, and improve outcomes in rodent models of ischemic stroke. Retrospective studies suggest that diabetic patients on sulfonylurea drugs at stroke presentation fare better if they continue on drug. Additional laboratory investigations have implicated Sur1 in the pathophysiology of hemorrhagic CNS insults. In clinically relevant models of subarachnoid hemorrhage, glibenclamide reduces adverse neuroinflammatory and behavioral outcomes. Here, we provide an overview of the preclinical studies of glibenclamide therapy for CNS ischemia and hemorrhage, discuss the available data from clinical investigations, and conclude with promising preclinical results that suggest glibenclamide may be an effective therapeutic option for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.     

基于WiMAX通信网络的电源监控系统的构建

分析了全球微波接入互存(WiMAX)的技术特点和算法复杂度,探讨了其在电源监控系统中的应用,提出了基于Inter WiMAX Connection 2250技术的远程电源监控系统。在讨论WiMAX物理层算法的基础上,确定了以正交频分多址(OFDMA)模式为主体的物理层通信协议,提高了信道的利用率,抑制了码间干扰,为构建电源监控系统打下了良好的基础。     

Sensor network design based on system-wide reliability criteria. Part I: Objectives

Reliability based criteria are quite popular for optimal sensor network design. We present a modified definition of system reliability for sensor network design for two applications: reliable estimation of variables in a steady state linear flow process, and reliable fault detection and diagnosis for any process. Unlike the weakest-link based definition of system reliability in the literature, the proposed definition considers the entire system and is consistent with the reliability concept used in classical reliability literature. For each application, dual approaches for defining system reliability are proposed, and their analogy with the reliability problem in the classical reliability literature is established. Using examples and stochastic simulations, the advantage of using the proposed system reliability in contrast to the existing definition is illustrated. Part II of this series of articles presents methods for efficient generation of the system reliability function and its use in optimization-based approaches for designing optimal sensor networks.     

基于词法特征的恶意域名快速检测算法

针对互联网中恶意域名攻击事件频发，现有域名检测方法实时性不强的问题，提出一种基于词法特征的恶意域名快速检测算法。该算法根据恶意域名的特点，首先将所有待测域名按照长度进行正则化处理后赋予权值；然后利用聚类算法将待测域名划分成多个小组，并利用改进的堆排序算法按照组内权值总和计算各域名小组优先级，根据优先级降序依次计算各域名小组中每一域名与黑名单上域名之间的编辑距离；最后依据编辑距离值快速判定恶意域名。算法运行结果表明，基于词法特征的恶意域名快速检测算法与单一使用域名语义和单一使用域名词法的恶意域名检测算法相比，准确率分别提高1.7%与2.5%，检测速率分别提高13.9%与6.8%，具有更高的准确率和实时性。     

An adaptive image steganographic scheme based on Noise Visibility Function and an optimal chaotic based encryption method

Steganography is the science of hiding secret message in an appropriate digital multimedia in such a way that the existence of the embedded message should be invisible to anyone apart from the sender or the intended recipient. This paper presents an irreversible scheme for hiding a secret image in the cover image that is able to improve both the visual quality and the security of the stego-image while still providing a large embedding capacity. This is achieved by a hybrid steganography scheme incorporates Noise Visibility Function (NVF) and an optimal chaotic based encryption scheme. In the embedding process, first to reduce the image distortion and to increase the embedding capacity, the payload of each region of the cover image is determined dynamically according to NVF. NVF analyzes the local image properties to identify the complex areas where more secret bits should be embedded. This ensures to maintain a high visual quality of the stego-image as well as a large embedding capacity. Second, the security of the secret image is brought about by an optimal chaotic based encryption scheme to transform the secret image into an encrypted image. Third, the optimal chaotic based encryption scheme is achieved by using a hybrid optimization of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) which is allowing us to find an optimal secret key. The optimal secret key is able to encrypt the secret image so as the rate of changes after embedding process be decreased which results in increasing the quality of the stego-image. In the extracting process, the secret image can be extracted from the stego-image losslessly without referring to the original cover image. The experimental results confirm that the proposed scheme not only has the ability to achieve a good trade-off between the payload and the stego-image quality, but also can resist against the statistics and image processing attacks.     

Elitist clonal selection algorithm for optimal choice of free knots in B-spline data fitting

Data fitting with B-splines is a challenging problem in reverse engineering for CAD/CAM, virtual reality, data visualization, and many other fields. It is well-known that the fitting improves greatly if knots are considered as free variables. This leads, however, to a very difficult multimodal and multivariate continuous nonlinear optimization problem, the so-called knot adjustment problem. In this context, the present paper introduces an adapted elitist clonal selection algorithm for automatic knot adjustment of B-spline curves. Given a set of noisy data points, our method determines the number and location of knots automatically in order to obtain an extremely accurate fitting of data. In addition, our method minimizes the number of parameters required for this task. Our approach performs very well and in a fully automatic way even for the cases of underlying functions requiring identical multiple knots, such as functions with discontinuities and cusps. To evaluate its performance, it has been applied to three challenging test functions, and results have been compared with those from other alternative methods based on AIS and genetic algorithms. Our experimental results show that our proposal outperforms previous approaches in terms of accuracy and flexibility. Some other issues such as the parameter tuning, the complexity of the algorithm, and the CPU runtime are also discussed.     

Distributed wireless power transfer in sensor networks with multiple Mobile Chargers

We investigate the problem of efficient wireless power transfer in wireless sensor networks. In our approach, special mobile entities (called the Mobile Chargers) traverse the network and wirelessly replenish the energy of sensor nodes. In contrast to most current approaches, we envision methods that are distributed and use limited network information. We propose four new protocols for efficient charging, addressing key issues which we identify, most notably (i) what are good coordination procedures for the Mobile Chargers and (ii) what are good trajectories for the Mobile Chargers. Two of our protocols (DC, DCLK) perform distributed, limited network knowledge coordination and charging, while two others (CC, CCGK) perform centralized, global network knowledge coordination and charging. As detailed simulations demonstrate, one of our distributed protocols outperforms a known state of the art method, while its performance gets quite close to the performance of the powerful centralized global knowledge method.     

一种快速解压的无损压缩算法

随着信息技术的不断发展,大量数据给存储和传输都带来了巨大的挑战。数据压缩能够有效减少数据量,方便数据的处理和传输。无损压缩是一种利用数据的冗余特点进行压缩的压缩方法,解压时可以完全还原数据而不会有任何失真。在研究LZO算法的快速解压原理基础上,设计了一种新的压缩算法。该算法通过减少压缩数据中压缩块的数量,降低了解压程序的执行开销。测试结果表明,新算法可实现比LZO算法更快的解压速度。     

泛在电力物联网在北京经济技术开发区的应用探索

泛在电力物联网是物联网在电力领域的具体体现，建设泛在电力物联网是推进"三型两网"建设的关键环节，也是实现能源转型的必要手段。阐述了泛在电力物联网的定义，从供电公司角度出发，根据北京经济技术开发区实际情况，讨论了依托地区特点的泛在电力物联网实施策略和实际应用场景，分析了可能遇到的问题。得出结论：随着泛在电力物联网的深入建设，供电公司能够为电力客户提供多元化服务，提高客户满意度；地市供电公司能够依托泛在电力物联网开展更多电力相关业务；泛在电力物联网的安全性、实用性、有效性是发展面临的首要问题。