The surprising success of cryptocurrencies has led to a surge of interest in deploying large scale, highly robust, Byzantine fault tolerant (BFT) protocols for mission-critical applications, such as financial transactions. Although the conventional wisdom is to build atop a (weakly) synchronous protocol such as PBFT (or a variation thereof), such protocols rely critically on network timing assumptions, and only guarantee liveness when the network behaves as expected. We argue these protocols are ill-suited for this deployment scenario.We present an alternative, HoneyBadgerBFT, the first practical asynchronous BFT protocol, which guarantees liveness without making any timing assumptions. We base our solution on a novel atomic broadcast protocol that achieves optimal asymptotic efficiency. We present an implementation and experimental results to show our system can achieve throughput of tens of thousands of transactions per second, and scales to over a hundred nodes on a wide area network. We even conduct BFT experiments over Tor, without needing to tune any parameters. Unlike the alternatives, HoneyBadgerBFT simply does not care about the underlying network.

The human gut-resident commensal microbiota is a unique ecosystem associated with various bodily functions, especially immunity. Gut microbiota dysbiosis plays a crucial role in autoimmune disease pathogenesis as well as in bowel-related diseases. However, the role of the gut microbiota, which causes or influences systemic immunity in autoimmune diseases, remains elusive. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor, a ligand-activated transcription factor, is a master moderator of host-microbiota interactions because it shapes the immune system and impacts host metabolism. In addition, treatment optimization while minimizing potential adverse effects in autoimmune diseases remains essential, and modulation of the gut microbiota constitutes a potential clinical therapy. Here, we present evidence linking gut microbiota dysbiosis with autoimmune mechanisms involved in disease development to identify future effective approaches based on the gut microbiota for preventing autoimmune diseases.

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PurposeThe auto industry in the USA is facing tremendous challenges – plunging demands due to economic downturn, the gloomy trend in technology development, and fierce global competition. This article aims to examine the challenges of supply chain management and to propose a triple‐C (cease‐control‐combine) remedy for the North American auto industry's supply chain management.Design/methodology/approachThe authors applied management theories, collected information from managers at different levels of the auto industry's supply chain management, and developed a novel theoretical model of sustainability in supply chain management for the auto industry.FindingsIt is argued that outsourcing to low cost countries – the current supply chain strategy – is not only unsustainable but also irresponsible for the auto industry and society. A triple‐C (cease‐control‐combine) remedy is proposed for the auto industry's supply chain management.Practical implicationsThe proposed triple‐C strategy will save the auto industry money in R&D investment, reduce quality cost and inventory waste, help the industry go through the volatile economy, and achieve sustainable development. With close relationships and strong supports from suppliers, the industry can speed up technology development, introduce new gas efficiency models quickly, and become less dependent on gas price. Finally, the triple‐C strategy will help the industry keep jobs and generate new jobs in the USA. These activities lead to public support and restored corporate image.Originality/valueThe current business environment is analyzed, problems of current supply chain strategy discussed, and a new supply chain strategy remedy for the North American auto industry proposed.

The groundwater in Bayingnormen (Ba Men), located in Central West Inner Mongolia, China, is naturally contaminated with arsenic at concentrations ranging from 50 microg/L to 1.8 mg/L. Various adverse health effects in this region, including cancer, have been linked to arsenic exposure via drinking water. A pilot study was undertaken to evaluate frequencies of micronuclei (MN), as measures of chromosomal alterations, in multiple exfoliated epithelial cell types from residents of Ba Men chronically exposed to arsenic via drinking water. Buccal mucosal cells, airway epithelial cells in sputum, and bladder urothelial cells were collected from 19 residents exposed to high levels of arsenic in drinking water (527.5 +/- 24 microg/l), and from 13 control residents exposed to relatively low levels of arsenic in drinking water (4.4 +/- microg/L). Analytical results from these individuals revealed that MN frequencies in the high-exposure group were significantly elevated to 3.4-fold over control levels for buccal and sputum cells, and to 2.7-fold over control for bladder cells (increases in MN frequency significant at p < .001 for buccal cells; p < .01 for sputum cells; p < .05 for bladder cells). When smokers were excluded from high-exposure and control groups the effects of arsenic were observed to be greater, although only in buccal and sputum cells; approximately 6-fold increases in MN frequency occurred in these tissues. The results indicate that residents of Ba Men chronically exposed to high levels of arsenic in drinking water reveal evidence of genotoxicity in multiple epithelial cell types; higher levels of induced MN were observed in buccal and sputum cells than in bladder cells.

Abstract. Parallel monitoring of 222 Rn and its short-lived progeny ( 218 Po and 214 Pb) were carried out from November 2007 to April 2008 close to the top of the Schauinsland mountain, partly covered with forest, in South-West Germany. Samples were aspired from the same location at 2.5 m above ground level. We measured 222 Rn with a dual flow loop, two-filter detector and its short-lived progeny with a one-filter detector. A reference sector for events, facing a steep valley and dominated by pasture, was used to minimize differences between 222 Rn and progeny-derived 222 Rn activity concentrations. In the two major wind sectors covered by forest to a distance between 60 m and 80 m towards the station progeny-derived 222 Rn activity concentration was on average equal to 87% (without precipitation) and 74% (with precipitation) of 222 Rn activity concentration. The observations show that most of the time both detector types follow the same pattern. Still, there is no single disequilibrium factor that could be used to exactly transform short-lived progeny to 222 Rn activity concentration under all meteorological conditions.

Extreme precipitation events over the North China Plain (NCP) in midsummer during 1979–2016 are classified into two types using objective cluster analysis: a northern pattern with heavy precipitation and a central–southern pattern with relatively moderate precipitation. The large‐scale circulation patterns responsible for the midsummer extreme precipitation are then determined. In the northern NCP type, extreme precipitation accompanies a zonal gradient between an anomalous low‐pressure system at high latitudes and the westward‐ and northward‐extended western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH). Anomalous southwesterlies flow is driven by a trough that extended from the high latitudes to the northern NCP, where it encounters southeasterly wind flow induced by an anomalously northward‐extended WNPSH and a southern low‐pressure anomaly at low latitudes. Anomalous amounts of moisture are mainly transported from the tropical western Pacific by southeasterlies. In the central–southern NCP type, remarkable anomalous low‐pressure systems control all of northern China with centers over the Sichuan Basin and northeast China. The westward‐extended WNPSH occupies further south than that of the northern NCP type. The southwesterly low‐level jet (LLJ) is more prevalent in the central–southern NCP type than in the northern NCP type. This southwesterly LLJ plays an important role in extreme precipitation over the central–southern NCP by transporting moisture primarily from the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea and generating convergence. In addition, the upper‐level anomalous strong divergence that is anchored over the right entrance of the westerly jet makes a greater contribution to extreme precipitation in the northern type than in the central–southern type.