Over-shadowed by eye-catching vocal and visual signals, chemical communication has long been overlooked in birds. This study aimed at exploring whether volatile composition of the uropygial gland secretion (UGS) of ...Over-shadowed by eye-catching vocal and visual signals, chemical communication has long been overlooked in birds. This study aimed at exploring whether volatile composition of the uropygial gland secretion (UGS) of birds was associated with the information about sex, individual and species. By using dichloromethane extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we analyzed the UGS volatiles of domesticated Bengalese finches ( Lonchura striata, Estrildiea) which is also known as white-rumped munias. We characterized 16 volatile molecules from the UGS, including eight n-alkanols, five diesters, an ester, an aldehyde and a fatty acid, and quantified them in terms of GC peak area percentages (relative abundances) . Among these compounds, hexadecanol and octadecanol were major components in both sexes. The former was richer in males than in females and the latter richer in females than in males, suggesting that they might be male and female pheromone candidates, respectively. The high inter-individual variations, in relative abundance, of the UGS volatiles implied that these compounds might carry information about individuality. The similarity between GC profiles of the UGS and wing feather from same individuals indicates that the birds might preen the secretion to their feathers to transmit chemical cues. Additionally, by comparing with three sympatric passerine species, i. e., zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata, yellow-bowed buntings Emberiza chrysophrys and rooks Corvus frugilegus, we found that the composition of C13 - C18 alkanols in the UGS might code for information about species. Our study also showed that quantitative differences (degree) of same UGS volatiles might be the key for the Bengalese finch to code for information about sex and individuality whereas both the kind and degree of UGS constituents could be utilized to code for information about species [ Current Zoology 55 (5): 357-365, 2009].展开更多
The asymmetric leaves2 ( as2) is a classical Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. mutant that shows leaf lobes and leaflet-like structures from the petioles of leaves. Genetic and molecular analyses have demonstrated that...The asymmetric leaves2 ( as2) is a classical Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. mutant that shows leaf lobes and leaflet-like structures from the petioles of leaves. Genetic and molecular analyses have demonstrated that the AS2 function is required for repression of meristem-related homeobox genes in leaves. In this study, we describe phenotypic characterizations of new as2 alleles that are in the Landsberg erecta (Ler) genetic background. In addition to the as2 phenotypes reported previously, the new as2 mutants have some leaves with petiole growth underneath the leaf blade, showing a lotus-leaf structure. More severe rosettes leaves of the as2 mutants form a filament-like structure, reflecting a loss of the adaxial-abaxial polarity in leaves. Among as2 mutants analyzed in different genetic backgrounds, only those that are in the Ler genetic background resulted in a high frequency of the lotus-leaf structure. We have isolated the AS2 gene by map-based gene cloning. The predicted AS2 protein contains a leucine-zipper motif, and its N-terminus shares high levels of sequence similarity to those of a group of predicted proteins with no known biological functions. AS2 transcripts were detected in leaves, flowers and fruits, but absent in stems, consistent with the mutant phenotypes.展开更多
By utilizing the two numerical codes RFPA3 D and FLAC3 D, the effect of heterogeneity on failure mode and failure mechanism of rock around deep underground excavations under tri-axial stress is analyzed. It is found t...By utilizing the two numerical codes RFPA3 D and FLAC3 D, the effect of heterogeneity on failure mode and failure mechanism of rock around deep underground excavations under tri-axial stress is analyzed. It is found that zonal disintegration is a large scale shear-slip failure developed in deep surrounding rock mass under tri-axial stress, which is accompanied by a large amount of tensile failure. The distance between fractures and the number of fractures have a close correlation with the rock mass heterogeneity. With an increase of the homogeneity index of the rock mass, the distances between fractures decrease and the number of fractures increases. For an intact hard rock mass with relative high homogeneity, only failure mode characterized as v-shaped notches can be formed due to the intersection of intensively developed shear bands. None of the zonal disintegration can be formed due to the fact that with increasing homogeneity, the failure mechanism of rock mass is gradually dominated by shear failure rather than tensile failure.展开更多
Rate-distortion optimization greatly improves the performance of compression coding system so that it pervades all of the source coding from an informationtheoretic standpoint and for the design of practical coding sy...Rate-distortion optimization greatly improves the performance of compression coding system so that it pervades all of the source coding from an informationtheoretic standpoint and for the design of practical coding systems. For the case of rate-distortion optimization, Lagrange multiplier method provides the efficient and nearly optimal solution. In this paper, a fast and efficient algorithm is proposed to solve the optimal slope λ* of the rate-distortion curve at the given bit budget. Based on Lagrange multiplier method, the presented algorithm find λ* using the golden-ratio search. Compared with the Bisection method that only adapts to the system with the dense operational points on the rate-distortion curve, the proposed algorithm can be adapted to the system whether the operational points are populated densely or not. Thus it can be applied to both the wavelet coding system and the video coding standards such as H. 264, where Bisection method can not work well. In particular, the algorithm has been verified on the platform of the quadtree classified and trellis coded quantized (QTCQ) wavelet image compression system and the newest video coding standard H. 264. The experimental results are provided to demonstrate the efficiency of the algorithm. The proposed algorithm can improve the performance. A gain abour 0.6 - 0.7 dB can be achieved with the same rate in H. 264. In addition, it converges as fast as Bisection method, with almost the same ctinplexity.展开更多
Determining deep holes is an important open problem in decoding Reed-Solomon codes. It is well known that the received word is trivially a deep hole if the degree of its Lagrange interpolation polynomial equals the di...Determining deep holes is an important open problem in decoding Reed-Solomon codes. It is well known that the received word is trivially a deep hole if the degree of its Lagrange interpolation polynomial equals the dimension of the Reed-Solomon code. For the standard Reed-Solomon codes [p-1, k]p with p a prime, Cheng and Murray conjectured in 2007 that there is no other deep holes except the trivial ones. In this paper, we show that this conjecture is not true. In fact, we find a new class of deep holes for standard Reed-Solomon codes [q-1, k]q with q a power of the prime p. Let q≥4 and 2≤k≤q-2. We show that the received word u is a deep hole if its Lagrange interpolation polynomial is the sum of monomial of degree q-2 and a polynomial of degree at most k-1. So there are at least 2(q-1)qk deep holes if k q-3.展开更多
The rate and distortion of Id-slice do not fit the globally linear relationship on a logarithmic scale. Lagrange multiplier selection methods based on the globally linear approximate relationship are neither efficient...The rate and distortion of Id-slice do not fit the globally linear relationship on a logarithmic scale. Lagrange multiplier selection methods based on the globally linear approximate relationship are neither efficient nor optimal for multi-view video coding (MVC). To improve the coding efficiency of MVC, a local curve fitting based Lagrange multiplier selection method is proposed in this paper, where Lagrange multipliers are selected according to the local slopes of the approximate curves. Experi-mental results showed that the proposed method improves the coding efficiency. Up to 2.5 dB gain was achieved at low bitrates.展开更多
Korchmaros and Nagy [Hermitian codes from higher degree places. J Pure Appl Algebra, doi: 10. 1016/j.jpaa.2013.04.002, 2013] computed the Weierstrass gap sequence G(P) of the Hermitian function field Fq2 (H) at a...Korchmaros and Nagy [Hermitian codes from higher degree places. J Pure Appl Algebra, doi: 10. 1016/j.jpaa.2013.04.002, 2013] computed the Weierstrass gap sequence G(P) of the Hermitian function field Fq2 (H) at any place P of degree 3, and obtained an explicit formula of the Matthews-Michel lower bound on the minimum distance in the associated differential Hermitian code CΩ(D, mP) where the divisor D is, as usual, the sum of all but one 1-degree Fq2-rational places of Fq2 (H) and m is a positive integer. For plenty of values of m depending on q, this provided improvements on the designed minimum distance of CΩ(D, mP). Further improvements from G(P) were obtained by Korchmaros and Nagy relying on algebraic geometry. Here slightly weaker improvements are obtained from G(P) with the usual function-field method depending on linear series, Riemann-Roch theorem and Weierstrass semigroups. We also survey the known results on this subject.展开更多
Passive Faraday-mirror(PFM) attack is based on imperfect Faraday mirrors in practical quantum cryptography systems and a set of three-dimensional Positive Operator-Valued Measure(POVM) operators plays an important rol...Passive Faraday-mirror(PFM) attack is based on imperfect Faraday mirrors in practical quantum cryptography systems and a set of three-dimensional Positive Operator-Valued Measure(POVM) operators plays an important role in this attack.In this paper,we propose a simple scheme to implement the POVM in PFM attack on an FaradayMichelson quantum cryptography system.Since the POVM can not be implemented directly with previous methods,in this scheme it needs to expand the states sent by Alice and the POVM operators in the attack into four-dimensional Hilbert space first,without changing the attacking effect by calculation.Based on the methods proposed by Ahnert and Payne,the linear-optical setup for implementing the POVM operators is derived.At last,the complete setup for realizing the PFM attack is presented with all parameters.Furthermore,our scheme can also be applied to realize PFM attack on a plug-and-play system by changing the parameters in the setup.展开更多
基金supported by grants from Chinese NSF(No.30870297to J.X.ZNo.30370196to M.X.Z.)International Partnership Project of CAS(CXTD2005-4to L.S and J.X.Z)
文摘Over-shadowed by eye-catching vocal and visual signals, chemical communication has long been overlooked in birds. This study aimed at exploring whether volatile composition of the uropygial gland secretion (UGS) of birds was associated with the information about sex, individual and species. By using dichloromethane extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we analyzed the UGS volatiles of domesticated Bengalese finches ( Lonchura striata, Estrildiea) which is also known as white-rumped munias. We characterized 16 volatile molecules from the UGS, including eight n-alkanols, five diesters, an ester, an aldehyde and a fatty acid, and quantified them in terms of GC peak area percentages (relative abundances) . Among these compounds, hexadecanol and octadecanol were major components in both sexes. The former was richer in males than in females and the latter richer in females than in males, suggesting that they might be male and female pheromone candidates, respectively. The high inter-individual variations, in relative abundance, of the UGS volatiles implied that these compounds might carry information about individuality. The similarity between GC profiles of the UGS and wing feather from same individuals indicates that the birds might preen the secretion to their feathers to transmit chemical cues. Additionally, by comparing with three sympatric passerine species, i. e., zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata, yellow-bowed buntings Emberiza chrysophrys and rooks Corvus frugilegus, we found that the composition of C13 - C18 alkanols in the UGS might code for information about species. Our study also showed that quantitative differences (degree) of same UGS volatiles might be the key for the Bengalese finch to code for information about sex and individuality whereas both the kind and degree of UGS constituents could be utilized to code for information about species [ Current Zoology 55 (5): 357-365, 2009].
文摘The asymmetric leaves2 ( as2) is a classical Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. mutant that shows leaf lobes and leaflet-like structures from the petioles of leaves. Genetic and molecular analyses have demonstrated that the AS2 function is required for repression of meristem-related homeobox genes in leaves. In this study, we describe phenotypic characterizations of new as2 alleles that are in the Landsberg erecta (Ler) genetic background. In addition to the as2 phenotypes reported previously, the new as2 mutants have some leaves with petiole growth underneath the leaf blade, showing a lotus-leaf structure. More severe rosettes leaves of the as2 mutants form a filament-like structure, reflecting a loss of the adaxial-abaxial polarity in leaves. Among as2 mutants analyzed in different genetic backgrounds, only those that are in the Ler genetic background resulted in a high frequency of the lotus-leaf structure. We have isolated the AS2 gene by map-based gene cloning. The predicted AS2 protein contains a leucine-zipper motif, and its N-terminus shares high levels of sequence similarity to those of a group of predicted proteins with no known biological functions. AS2 transcripts were detected in leaves, flowers and fruits, but absent in stems, consistent with the mutant phenotypes.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51304036, 51222401 and 51174045)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China(Nos. N120101001 and N120601002)+1 种基金the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2013CB227900)the China-South Africa Joint Research Program (No. 2012DFG71060)
文摘By utilizing the two numerical codes RFPA3 D and FLAC3 D, the effect of heterogeneity on failure mode and failure mechanism of rock around deep underground excavations under tri-axial stress is analyzed. It is found that zonal disintegration is a large scale shear-slip failure developed in deep surrounding rock mass under tri-axial stress, which is accompanied by a large amount of tensile failure. The distance between fractures and the number of fractures have a close correlation with the rock mass heterogeneity. With an increase of the homogeneity index of the rock mass, the distances between fractures decrease and the number of fractures increases. For an intact hard rock mass with relative high homogeneity, only failure mode characterized as v-shaped notches can be formed due to the intersection of intensively developed shear bands. None of the zonal disintegration can be formed due to the fact that with increasing homogeneity, the failure mechanism of rock mass is gradually dominated by shear failure rather than tensile failure.
基金Special Foundation of Outstanding Young Teacher of ShanghaiShanghai Educational Development Foundation,China (No.2007CG66)+1 种基金Shanghai Key Research Project,China ( No.071605125,No.08160510600)Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission,China(No.09ZZ185,No.09YZ337)
文摘Rate-distortion optimization greatly improves the performance of compression coding system so that it pervades all of the source coding from an informationtheoretic standpoint and for the design of practical coding systems. For the case of rate-distortion optimization, Lagrange multiplier method provides the efficient and nearly optimal solution. In this paper, a fast and efficient algorithm is proposed to solve the optimal slope λ* of the rate-distortion curve at the given bit budget. Based on Lagrange multiplier method, the presented algorithm find λ* using the golden-ratio search. Compared with the Bisection method that only adapts to the system with the dense operational points on the rate-distortion curve, the proposed algorithm can be adapted to the system whether the operational points are populated densely or not. Thus it can be applied to both the wavelet coding system and the video coding standards such as H. 264, where Bisection method can not work well. In particular, the algorithm has been verified on the platform of the quadtree classified and trellis coded quantized (QTCQ) wavelet image compression system and the newest video coding standard H. 264. The experimental results are provided to demonstrate the efficiency of the algorithm. The proposed algorithm can improve the performance. A gain abour 0.6 - 0.7 dB can be achieved with the same rate in H. 264. In addition, it converges as fast as Bisection method, with almost the same ctinplexity.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.10971145)by the Ph.D. Programs Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20100181110073)
文摘Determining deep holes is an important open problem in decoding Reed-Solomon codes. It is well known that the received word is trivially a deep hole if the degree of its Lagrange interpolation polynomial equals the dimension of the Reed-Solomon code. For the standard Reed-Solomon codes [p-1, k]p with p a prime, Cheng and Murray conjectured in 2007 that there is no other deep holes except the trivial ones. In this paper, we show that this conjecture is not true. In fact, we find a new class of deep holes for standard Reed-Solomon codes [q-1, k]q with q a power of the prime p. Let q≥4 and 2≤k≤q-2. We show that the received word u is a deep hole if its Lagrange interpolation polynomial is the sum of monomial of degree q-2 and a polynomial of degree at most k-1. So there are at least 2(q-1)qk deep holes if k q-3.
基金Project (Nos. 60505017 and 60534070) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘The rate and distortion of Id-slice do not fit the globally linear relationship on a logarithmic scale. Lagrange multiplier selection methods based on the globally linear approximate relationship are neither efficient nor optimal for multi-view video coding (MVC). To improve the coding efficiency of MVC, a local curve fitting based Lagrange multiplier selection method is proposed in this paper, where Lagrange multipliers are selected according to the local slopes of the approximate curves. Experi-mental results showed that the proposed method improves the coding efficiency. Up to 2.5 dB gain was achieved at low bitrates.
基金financially supported by the TAMOP-4.2.1/B-09/1/KONV-2010-0005 project
文摘Korchmaros and Nagy [Hermitian codes from higher degree places. J Pure Appl Algebra, doi: 10. 1016/j.jpaa.2013.04.002, 2013] computed the Weierstrass gap sequence G(P) of the Hermitian function field Fq2 (H) at any place P of degree 3, and obtained an explicit formula of the Matthews-Michel lower bound on the minimum distance in the associated differential Hermitian code CΩ(D, mP) where the divisor D is, as usual, the sum of all but one 1-degree Fq2-rational places of Fq2 (H) and m is a positive integer. For plenty of values of m depending on q, this provided improvements on the designed minimum distance of CΩ(D, mP). Further improvements from G(P) were obtained by Korchmaros and Nagy relying on algebraic geometry. Here slightly weaker improvements are obtained from G(P) with the usual function-field method depending on linear series, Riemann-Roch theorem and Weierstrass semigroups. We also survey the known results on this subject.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos.61472446,U1204602National High Technology Research and Development Program of China under Grant No.2011AA010803the Open Project Program of the State Key Laboratory of Mathematical Engineering and Advanced Computing under Grant No.2013A14
文摘Passive Faraday-mirror(PFM) attack is based on imperfect Faraday mirrors in practical quantum cryptography systems and a set of three-dimensional Positive Operator-Valued Measure(POVM) operators plays an important role in this attack.In this paper,we propose a simple scheme to implement the POVM in PFM attack on an FaradayMichelson quantum cryptography system.Since the POVM can not be implemented directly with previous methods,in this scheme it needs to expand the states sent by Alice and the POVM operators in the attack into four-dimensional Hilbert space first,without changing the attacking effect by calculation.Based on the methods proposed by Ahnert and Payne,the linear-optical setup for implementing the POVM operators is derived.At last,the complete setup for realizing the PFM attack is presented with all parameters.Furthermore,our scheme can also be applied to realize PFM attack on a plug-and-play system by changing the parameters in the setup.