A high-energy pulsed vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) solid-state laser at 177 nm with high peak power by the sixth harmonic of a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) amplifier in a KBe2BO3F2 prism-coupled device was demonstrated. The ultraviolet (UV) pump laser is a 352 ps pulsed, spatial top-hat super-Gaussian beam at 355 nm. A high energy of a 7.12 mJ VUV laser at 177 nm is obtained with a pulse width of 255 ps, indicating a peak power of 28 MW, and the conversion efficiency is 9.42% from 355 to 177 nm. The measured results fitted well with the theoretical prediction. It is the highest pulse energy and highest peak power ever reported in the VUV range for any solid-state lasers. The high-energy, high-peak-power, and high-spatial-uniformity VUV laser is of great interest for ultra-fine machining and particle-size measurements using UV in-line Fraunhofer holography diagnostics.

We test the signaling view of corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement using two complementary quasi-natural experiments that impose exogenous negative pressure on stock prices. Firms under such adverse price pressure increase CSR activities compared to otherwise similar firms. This effect concentrates among firms with stronger signaling incentives, namely, those facing greater information asymmetry, more product market competition, higher shareholder litigation risk, and higher stock price crash risk. Firms under the exogenous negative price pressure mainly improve CSR strengths, including costly environmental investments. We also find that CSR engagement attracts socially responsible investors and lowers the cost of capital for signaling firms.

In 2016, an outbreak of paratyphoid fever occurred in 40 cases at Qingyang town, in China. A case-control study was carried out to determine the source of this outbreak. Case-control study was conducted to identify the risk factors of this outbreak. The cases were identified as patients with isolation of S. Paratyphi, controls were confirmed cases’ healthy classmates, colleagues or neighbors and matched by age (±5 y) and gender. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was performed to source tracking. Totally, 40 cases were reported: 24 cases were students, and 20 (20/24) of them were Qingyang High School students. For the case-control study, consuming Chinese egg pancakes was detected as a risk factor (OR1:1 = 5.000; 95% CI: 1.710-14.640), and hand-washing before meals was protective behavior compared with seldom hand-washing (OR1:1 = 23.256; 95% CI: 2.451-200.000). S. Paratyphi was cultured from a well water sample used for washing contents of the pancakes. Isolates from well water and paratyphoid cases showed the same PFGE patterns. Contaminated well water and Chinese egg pancakes were likely source and vehicle of this outbreak. Health education, especially handwashing, and food safety supervision should be promoted particularly in schools.

The hawksbill sea turtle Eretmochelys imbricata is categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and its population has declined by over 80% in the last century. The Eastern Pacific population is one of the most threatened hawksbill populations globally. Western Mexico is the northern distribution limit for hawksbill sea turtles in the Eastern Pacific and recent research indicates that the Mexican Pacific portion of the population is a separate management unit because of the restricted movements of these turtles. Here we use the most complete database of sighting records in the north-west Pacific of Mexico to identify sites where hawksbill turtles are present. We also develop a conservation index to determine the conservation status of hawksbill turtle sites. Our results demonstrate the importance of this region for juveniles and the relevance of rocky reefs and mangrove estuaries as habitats for hawksbill turtles. We identified 52 sites with records of hawksbill turtles. Most of these sites (71%) are not protected; however, sites with high conservation value included islands and coastal sites along the Baja California peninsula that are established as marine protected areas. Reefs and mangrove estuaries relevant for hawksbill turtles are probably also significant fish nursery areas that are important for local fishing communities, creating opportunities for conservation strategies that combine science, local engagement and policy to benefit both local fishing communities and hawksbill sea turtle conservation.

To assess the role of dietary creatine on myofibre characteristics and protein synthesis in muscle, we fed grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus, initial body weight: 88·47 ± 1·44 g) creatine-supplemented diets (1·84, 5·91, 8·48 and 15·44 g/kg diet) for 8 weeks. Creatine supplementation did not affect growth performance, but significantly increased creatine contents in muscle and liver. At 8·48 g/kg, creatine decreased the activities of alanine transaminase and aspartate aminotransferase in serum and improved hardness and chewiness of muscle due to shorter myofibre mean diameter, higher myofibre density and the frequencies of the diameters of classes I and III and collagen content, longer sarcomere length and upregulated mRNA levels of slow myosin heavy chains. Creatine supplementation upregulated the mRNA expressions of myogenic regulatory factors. The 8·48 g/kg creatine-supplemented diet significantly increased the contents of protein, total amino acids (AA), essential AA and free flavour AAs in muscle, the protein levels of insulin-like growth factor I, myogenic differentiation antigen and PPAR-γ coactlvator-1α in muscle and stimulated the phosphorylation of target of rapamycin (TOR) pathway in muscle. In summary, 8·48 mg/kg creatine improved fish health and skeletal muscle growth and increased hardness and protein synthesis in muscle of grass carp by affecting myofibre characteristics and the TOR signalling pathway. A second-order regression model revealed that the optimal dietary creatine supplementation of grass carp ranges between 8·48 and 12·04 g/kg.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: We have reported that radiofrequency renal denervation (RF-RDN) in SHR at 20-weeks of age, decreased blood pressure (BP) and fibrosis in kidney cortex and medulla when rats were sacrificed at 6 months. However, whether RF-RDN can have similar benefits in older rats remains unknown. This study examined whether performing RF-RDN in older rats also has a beneficial effect on BP and renal fibrosis. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Baseline systolic and diastolic BP (SBP/DPB) was measured (telemetry) in nine-month-old SHR and Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). Groups of rats then received bilateral RF-RDN or Sham-RDN (SHR-RDN, n=9; SHR-Sham, n=10; WKY-RDN, n=5; WKY-Sham, n=8). Rats were then sacrificed at 12-months of age. Kidneys were harvested, sectioned, and assessed for fibrosis by Masson’s trichrome stain. A pathologist, who was blinded to treatment groups, evaluated each kidney section for fibrosis. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Compared to SHR with Sham-RDN, RF-RDN prevented a further increase in systolic and diastolic BP from baseline (9-month) in SHR as they aged to 12-months (SHR-Sham mmHg: 9-month 193±4/127±4; 12-month 207±3/142±5; SHR-RDN mmHg: 9-month 197±3/132±2; 12-month 197±4/132±3). RF-RDN did not alter SBP or DBP in aged WKY. One-year-old SHR with prior Sham-RDN showed extensive renal fibrosis in kidney cortex and medulla. In contrast, RF-RDN significantly decreased renal fibrosis in the medulla, but not cortex. There was no fibrosis in kidneys of age matched WKY. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: These findings suggest that RF-RDN may be a potential therapy for halting progression of hypertension and decreasing medullary fibrosis in the aged population.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The goal of this study was to investigate whether RF-RDN attenuates renal fibrosis and inflammation in SHR with established hypertension. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Twenty-two-week-old SHR received bilateral RF-RDN or Sham-RDN (Biosense Webster Stockert 70 generator and RF-probe). Four weeks later, SHR were sacrificed and paraffin sections of kidneys were stained for fibrosis by Masson’s trichrome staining. Kidney tissue were homogenized for measurement of cytokines levels by ELISA. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The results showed that Sham-RDN treated SHR had extensive fibrosis as demonstrated by moderate thickening of Bowman’s capsule, collagen deposition in glomerulus, extensive tubulointerstitial fibrosis, and segmental glomerulosclerosis. In contrast, RF-RDN significantly reduced each of these pathological components of fibrosis in kidney cortex and medulla as compared with Sham-RDN treated kidneys. In other studies, RF-RDN decreased B cells, CD4+ T cells, and CD8+ T cells in the kidney of SHR as measured by flow cytometry. Meanwhile, kidney tissue levels of IL-17, INF-γ, MIP-3a, TNF-α, and TGF-β were decreased as compared with respective levels in Sham-RDN. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Together, these findings demonstrate that removal of the influence of heightened renal sympathetic activity by RF-RDN decreases kidney inflammatory markers and attenuates renal fibrosis in hypertensive SHR.

Continuous repetitive upsetting and extrusion (CRUE) processing was performed to investigate its effects on microstructures, mechanical properties and texture characteristics of a 2A66 Al–Li alloy. The results show that the average grain size is effectively refined from initial as-extruded ∼140 µm to ∼4 µm after 3 CRUE passes. The grain refinement is the combined effect of continuous dynamic recrystallization and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization. The texture intensity tends to be weaker and new cube texture is gradually developed with increasing CRUE passes. In addition, the fraction of high angle grain boundaries increases to 86.37% after 3 CRUE passes. Tensile test results reveal that the ductility is greatly enhanced with modest reduction in strength after CRUE processing. The variation in mechanical properties may be mainly due to the decrease of dislocation density and weakening of texture.

Using photospheric data obtained by vector magnetograph in Huairou Solar Observing Station of China, we have statistically studied the strength evolution of several magnetic nonpotentiality measures, along with a quantified parameter characterizing the active-region magnetic complexity – effective distance, and their relationship with associated flares during the latest 22nd and 23rd solar cycles. And the flare-prediction performance of these magnetic nonpotentiality and complexity parameters is verified by a machine learning technique.

Let q be an odd prime. In this paper, we prove that if N is an odd perfect number with qα∥N then σ(N/qα)/qα≠p,p2,p3,p4,p1p2,p21p2, where p,p1, p2 are primes and p1≠p2. This improves a result of Dris and Luca [‘A note on odd perfect numbers’, arXiv:1103.1437v3 [math.NT]]: σ(N/qα)/qα≠1,2,3,4,5. Furthermore, we prove that for K≥1 , if N is an odd perfect number with qα ∥N and σ(N/qα)/qα ≤K, then N≤4K8.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of exon 8 of the GHR gene were detected in Chinese Holstein cows by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The results showed that exon 8 of the GHR gene digested by TasI could be divided into two kinds of alleles and three kinds of genotypes. The frequencies of allele A and T were 0.6339 and 0.3661, respectively. The frequencies of genotypes AA, AT and TT were 0.459, 0.350 and 0.191, respectively. Sequencing showed one single nucleotide mutation T→A at 4962 bp of the gene in genotype TT when compared with genotype AA, and this mutation resulted in an amino acid change of phenylalanine (TTT)→tyrosine (TAT). The result of χ2 testing indicated that the genotypic frequency of the GHR gene digested by TasI did not fit with Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium in this population (P<0.05). The least-square mean of the fat percentage of this population was higher for genotype TT than for genotype AA (P<0.05).

In vitro bulb scales of Lilium longiflorum×L. formosanum were used as explants to develop a highly efficient regeneration system. A high regeneration rate (100%) was reached through organogenesis on basal Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) and 1.0 mg/l naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). A genetic transformation system for the lily was developed using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated method. An improved genetic transformation rate (12‰) was obtained when the explants were pre-cultured for 3 days, immersed in bacterial suspension (OD600≈0.8) for 5 min, and co-cultivated for 5 days. The binary vector pBI121 containing Zm401, a maize pollen-specific gene, was introduced into the Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 and transformed into the explants using the genetic transformation system. Gene integration into the lily genome was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR–Southern analysis. These results could lead to the production of new pollenless lily plants.

A cDNA library was constructed from the heading leaf in the early phase of the heading stage of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis). By sequencing the randomly selected clones, 1363 sequences longer than 200 bp were found, with better trace data. After removing the poly(A) and contamination sequences, 1162 ESTs longer than 150 bp were obtained, of which 1102 shared significant similarity with known sequences in protein and nucleotide databases of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) as revealed by searches using the BLASTX and BLASTN engines. Functional assignment of the ESTs was based on the method used in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome-sequencing project. About 77% of the putative protein sequences with known biological functions best matched with those of A. thaliana deposited in the non-redundant database of NCBI. These data suggest that Chinese cabbage is closely related to A. thaliana. This result is different from that reported in other Brassica species. At nucleotide level, however, 51% of the ESTs were homologous to those deposited for A. thaliana when all ESTs were searched against the est-others database. In addition, 60 ESTs had no homology with any of the plant gene sequences deposited in GenBank. These ESTs are very important for understanding the unique developmental process of Chinesecabbage and elaborating its genetic mapping. Among the genes with assigned functions, the most abundant representatives were those involved in protein synthesis and energy metabolism. With the 1162 ESTs, 895 non-redundant contigs were generated after being aligned using the Seqman II module of DNAStar software at the threshold of more than 80% homology over a minimum of 40 base pairs. Of these, 723 were singletons containing only one EST sequence, indicating that many kinds of such genes are expressed in the heading leaf of Chinese cabbage. An expression profile of Chinese cabbage heading leaf with the 1162 ESTs was therefore acquired in this work. This could be very useful for uncovering the mechanism of the heading process, which is the most obvious characteristic of Chinese cabbage and perhaps other related species, such as Brassica oleracea. This work could accelerate the finding and characterization of genes specifically expressed in the heading stage of Chinese cabbage.