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In this paper, a new and efficient pixel-level image encryption algorithm is presented. In contrast to the traditional permutation–diffusion architecture, the proposed method enhances the connection between position shuffling for pixels and value changing for grayness. As a result, the separate attack becomes more difficult when attacking our structure of permutation–rewriting–diffusion (PRD). Before the diffusion operation, a rewriting function is applied to the permuted image in a simple way, which can be seen as a remedy for permutation’s inability to change the frequency of pixels. Moreover, the keystream is designed dependent upon the plain-image. Therefore, the proposed method can disturb the chosen plain-image and known plain-image attacks. Experimental results together with security analysis also show good efficiency of the PRD mechanism. Compared to some bit-level-based image encryption algorithms, our method shows increased faster speed and satisfies the performance requirements of real-time communication.

It is well‐known that ground‐level ozone is not just a local or regional air quality problem; emission sources from super‐regional (sources outside the PRD region) scales are known to contribute significantly to local ozone concentrations. However, source apportionment studies differentiating the relative contributions of local, regional, and super‐regional ozone precursors are still limited. In this paper, using the Pearl River Delta (PRD) as an example, we have conducted a detailed apportionment (by source categories and by source regions) study of surface ozone using photochemical model source apportionment tools. Our results show that, while the super‐regional contribution is dominant under mean ozone conditions, elevated local and regional sources are the causative factor for the formation of high ozone episodes. In particular, the local and PRD regional contributions increase from about 30% during non‐episode days to about 50% during high ozone episode days in the autumn (November 2006) and even up to about 70% during high ozone episodes in the summer (July 2006). These results suggest that local and regional controls of ozone precursors are still very important for ozone reduction, particularly for episodic events. Furthermore, our results show that mobile emission is by far the highest contributing source category to ozone levels in the PRD for episodic ozone events. Moreover, we find substantial seasonal variations in the way ozone precursors from neighboring areas affect ozone levels in any particular city, suggesting that regional collaborations are important for developing effective long‐term strategies to reduce ozone over the PRD region. Key Points Super‐regional contribution is dominant during non‐episode days Local and regional sources become larger and are the main cause of ozone episodes Mobile source is the dominant source category for ozone formation in the PRD

With continuing cooperation from 18 domestic and international brain banks over the last 36 years, we have analyzed the aluminum content of the temporal lobe neocortex of 511 high-quality human female brain samples from 16 diverse neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, including 2 groups of age-matched controls. Temporal lobes (Brodmann areas A20-A22) were selected for analysis because of their availability and their central role in massive information-processing operations including efferent-signal integration, cognition, and memory formation. We used the analytical technique of (i) Zeeman-type electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometry (ETAAS) combined with (ii) preliminary analysis from the advanced photon source (APS) hard X-ray beam (7 GeV) fluorescence raster-scanning (XRFR) spectroscopy device (undulator beam line 2-ID-E) at the Argonne National Laboratory, US Department of Energy, University of Chicago IL, USA. Neurological diseases examined were Alzheimer's disease (AD; N = 186), ataxia Friedreich's type (AFT; N = 6), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; N = 16), autism spectrum disorder (ASD; N = 26), dialysis dementia syndrome (DDS; N = 27), Down's syndrome (DS; trisomy, 21; N = 24), Huntington's chorea (HC; N = 15), multiple infarct dementia (MID; N = 19), multiple sclerosis (MS; N = 23), Parkinson's disease (PD; N = 27), and prion disease (PrD; N = 11) that included bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE; \"mad cow disease\"), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and Gerstmann-Straussler-Sheinker syndrome (GSS), progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML; N = 11), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP; N = 24), schizophrenia (SCZ; N = 21), a young control group (YCG; N = 22; mean age, 10.2 ± 6.1 year), and an aged control group (ACG; N = 53; mean age, 71.4 ± 9.3 year). Using ETAAS, all measurements were performed in triplicate on each tissue sample. Among these 17 common neurological conditions, we found a statistically significant trend for aluminum to be increased only in AD, DS, and DDS compared to age- and gender-matched brains from the same anatomical region. This is the largest study of aluminum concentration in the brains of human neurological and neurodegenerative disease ever undertaken. The results continue to suggest that aluminum's association with AD, DDS, and DS brain tissues may contribute to the neuropathology of those neurological diseases but appear not to be a significant factor in other common disorders of the human brain and/or CNS.

Background And Objectives: Epidemiologie studies have attributed adverse health effects to air pollution; however, controversy remains regarding the relationship between ambient oxidante [ozone (O₃) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)] and mortality, especially in Asia. We conducted a fourcity time-series study to investigate acute effects of O₃ and NO₂ in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) of southern China, using data from 2006 through 2008. Methods: We used generalized linear models with Poisson regression incorporating natural spline functions to analyze acute mortality in association with O₃ and NO₂, with PM₁₀ (paniculate matter ≤ 10 μm in diameter) included as a major confounder. Effect estimates were determined for individual cities and for the four cities as a whole. We stratified the analysis according to high-and low-exposure periods for O₃. Results: We found consistent positive associations between ambient oxidants and daily mortality across the PRD cities. Overall, 10-μg/m³ increases in average O₃ and NO₂ concentrations over the previous 2 days were associated with 0.81% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.63%, 1.00%] and 1.95% (95% CI: 1.62%, 2.29%) increases in total mortality, respectively, with stronger estimated effects for cardiovascular and respiratory mortality. After adjusting for PM₁₀, estimated effects of O₃ on total and cardiovascular mortality were stronger for exposure during high-exposure months (September through November), whereas respiratory mortality was associated with O3 exposure during nonpeak exposure months only. Conclusions: Our findings suggest significant acute mortality effects of O₃ and NO₂ in the PRD and strengthen the rationale for further limiting the ambient pollution levels in the area.

Drying a portion of a root system (partial root-zone drying (PRD)) can induce partial stomatal closure, but this response is not always observed. We hypothesized that some of the variation in PRD response reflects adaptations to the native environment, where plants subjected to frequent PRD events may display a greater degree of root-level compensation. Here, we examined PRD responses of Melaleuca argentea, a tree native to intermittent waterways in which PRD events are common. Seedlings were grown with part of their root system in soil and part in an aquatic compartment, mimicking conditions often observed in the field. The aquatic roots initially provided two-thirds of total water uptake, but draining the aquatic compartment had no effect on stomatal conductance, so long as soil moisture remained c. 80% of field capacity. Water uptake from the soil compartment increased threefold within 24 h, with a corresponding transient threefold increase in root hydraulic conductance (L p ), an increase in plasma membrane intrinsic protein 1 (PlP1) aquaporins at 24 h, and a decrease in PlP2 aquaporins by 48 h. Our results demonstrate that PRD can induce rapid changes in L p and aquaporin expression in roots, which may play a role in short-term water uptake adjustments, particularly in species adapted to heterogeneous water availability.

Spoofing interference is one of the most emerging threats to the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS); therefore, the research on anti-spoofing technology is of great significance to improving the security of GNSS. For single spoofing source interference, all the spoofing signals are broadcast from the same antenna. When the receiver is in motion, the pseudo-range of spoofing signals changes nonlinearly, while the difference between any two pseudo-ranges changes linearly. Authentic signals do not have this characteristic. On this basis, an anti-spoofing method is proposed by jointly monitoring the linearity of the pseudo-range difference (PRD) sequence and pseudo-range sum (PRS) sequence, which transforms the spoofing detection problem into the sequence linearity detection problem. In this paper, the model of PRD and PRS is derived, the hypothesis based on the linearity of PRD sequence and PRS sequence is given, and the detection performance of the method is evaluated. This method uses the sum of squares of errors (SSE) of linear fitting of the PRD sequence and PRS sequence to construct detection statistics, and has low computational complexity. Simulation results show that this method can effectively detect spoofing interference and distinguish spoofing signals from authentic signals.

Land is an essential component of the natural eco-system, the source of human existence, and has a crucial influence on the future health development and stability of human society. Analyzing the status of land eco-safety in the Pearl River Delta area can provide a scientific basis and decision-making support for the sustainable use of land resources in the Pearl River Delta region. At the same time, it can reveal the complex factors affecting the eco-safety of land resources in the region and their interaction mechanisms. Based on the 2012–2021 data of the Pearl River Delta area municipalities, This study chooses the DPSIR theory to construct the land resource eco-safety evaluation system, which contains 5 criterion layers and 21 indicator layers. The evaluation system not only integrates the systematic and hierarchical advantages of the DPSIR theoretical but also makes full use of the flexibility of the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method in dealing with uncertainty, effectively improving the accuracy and reliability of the evaluation. The spatial visualization tool Quantum GIS(QGIS) and objective evaluation index method entropy weight method topsis(EWM-TOPSIS) were applied to assess the land ecological situation in the Pearl River Delta area from 2012 to 2021. The correlation coefficients between the land eco-safety condition in the Pearl River Delta area and the influencing factors were derived using gray correlation analysis (GCA). The results show that (1) there is a differentiation in the land resource eco-safety status among the cities in the Pearl River Delta area, with Jiangmen (0.495) in the best condition and Dongguan (0.425) in the worst condition compared to the other eight cities. (2) During the study period, the Pearl River Delta’s land resource eco-safety composite index area increased by 187.23%. The land status shows the stage characteristics of small climb, smooth improvement, and flat. (3) The deficiency of land ecological management system and policy was revealed, and the optimization and perfection of management system was put forward as the key factor to improve urban ecological security.

The PR/SET domain family (PRDM) comprise a family of genes whose protein products share a conserved N-terminal PR [PRDI-BF1 (positive regulatory domain I-binding factor 1) and RIZ1 (retinoblastoma protein-interacting zinc finger gene 1)] homologous domain structurally and functionally similar to the catalytic SET [Su(var)3-9, enhancer-of-zeste and trithorax] domain of histone methyltransferases (HMTs). These genes are involved in epigenetic regulation of gene expression through their intrinsic HMTase activity or via interactions with other chromatin modifying enzymes. In this way they control a broad spectrum of biological processes, including proliferation and differentiation control, cell cycle progression, and maintenance of immune cell homeostasis. In cancer, tumor-specific dysfunctions of PRDM genes alter their expression by genetic and/or epigenetic modifications. A common characteristic of most PRDM genes is to encode for two main molecular variants with or without the PR domain. They are generated by either alternative splicing or alternative use of different promoters and play opposite roles, particularly in cancer where their imbalance can be often observed. In this scenario, PRDM proteins are involved in cancer onset, invasion, and metastasis and their altered expression is related to poor prognosis and clinical outcome. These functions strongly suggest their potential use in cancer management as diagnostic or prognostic tools and as new targets of therapeutic intervention.

Spatial synergy is strengthened integration and connection between cities in a mega-city region, transcending administrative boundaries. The central flow theory suggests that the mega-city regions are formed by the interconnected flows of people across cities, making the spatial synergy can be measured by assessing the aggregation and intensity of flows and interactions between cities and regions. Human mobility data, such as mobile phone data and social media check-ins, enable the tracking of human movements, thus facilitating the transition of central flow theory from theoretical constructs to empirical research. To this end, this study presents an alternative data-driven framework to reveal the multi-scale spatial synergy of mega-city regions from a human mobility perspective. It uncovers homogeneously spatial communities with high inter-city integration using community detection. Strong internal spatial connections of 2.13 billion mobility are filtered using network backbone extraction. An experiment in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China, demonstrates a multi-scale and multi-core hierarchical spatial synergy in the PRD region. The detailed findings are as follows: (1) Three cities attract the majority of human mobility. Mobility distance is short in urban centers and long in suburban areas. (2) The spatial integration pattern shows the detected communities reveal the hierarchical integration pattern with three main integrated regions: Guangzhou-Foshan-Zhaoqing, Shenzhen-Dongguan-Huizhou, and Zhuhai-Zhongshan-Jiangmen. (3) The spatial connection pattern illustrates the close ties of 9 cities and three core cities, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Foshan. These results provide a human-centric understanding of urban synergy and deeper insights into central flow theory, which supports cooperative development in mega-city regions.