The laboratory generation and diagnosis of uniform near-critical-density (NCD) plasmas play critical roles in various studies and applications, such as fusion science, high energy density physics, astrophysics as well as relativistic electron beam generation. Here we successfully generated the quasistatic NCD plasma sample by heating a low-density tri-cellulose acetate (TCA) foam with the high-power-laser-driven hohlraum radiation. The temperature of the hohlraum is determined to be 20 eV by analyzing the spectra obtained with the transmission grating spectrometer. The single-order diffraction grating was employed to eliminate the high-order disturbance. The temperature of the heated foam is determined to be T = 16.8 ± 1.1 eV by analyzing the high-resolution spectra obtained with a flat-field grating spectrometer. The electron density of the heated foam is about $N_e=4.0\pm 0.3\times {10}^{20}{\text{cm}}^{-3}$ under the reasonable assumption of constant mass density.

In preparation for an experiment with a laser-generated intense proton beam at the Laser Fusion Research Center at Mianyang to investigate the 11B(p,α)2α reaction, we performed a measurement at very low proton energy between 140 keV and 172 keV using the high-voltage platform at the Institute of Modern Physics, Lanzhou. The aim of the experiment was to test the ability to use CR-39 track detectors for cross-section measurements and to remeasure the cross-section of this reaction close to the first resonance using the thick target approach. We obtained the cross-section σ = 45.6 ± 12.5 mb near 156 keV. Our result confirms the feasibility of CR-39 type track detector for nuclear reaction measurement also in low-energy regions.

A walking robot consisting of double Stewarts parallel legs was designed by our research team in the past time, which was mainly used for the transportation of the wounded after the disaster. In order to promote stability of control locomotion and ensure invariably horizontal state of the robot platform in the process of motion, the central pattern generator (CPG) based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) is presented to optimize the kinematic model. The purpose of optimization is to solve the hysteresis problem of displacement variation among the electric cylinders. Moreover, the dynamic model of the robot is established, which can provide mechanical basis for the feedback of control signal and make the robot move stably. The simulation results show that the displacement hysteresis problem of the electric cylinders is solved well. Meanwhile, compared with simulation results based on GA-CPG method, it is demonstrated that the robot motion planned using PSO-CPG method has better motion stability and can avoid the impact of legs landing during the transition phase of the motion cycle. The experimental results show that the platform on the robot can maintain an invariably horizontal state, and the locomotion is more stable. It verifies the feasibility of PSO-CPG model and the correctness of the dynamic model of the parallel mobile rescue robot.

Childhood maltreatment has been suggested to have an adverse impact on neurodevelopment, including microstructural brain abnormalities. Existing neuroimaging findings remain inconsistent and heterogeneous. We aim to explore the most prominent and robust cortical thickness (CTh) and gray matter volume (GMV) alterations associated with childhood maltreatment. A systematic search on relevant studies was conducted through September 2022. The whole-brain coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) on CTh and GMV studies were conducted using the seed-based d mapping (SDM) software. Meta-regression analysis was subsequently applied to investigate potential associations between clinical variables and structural changes. A total of 45 studies were eligible for inclusion, including 11 datasets on CTh and 39 datasets on GMV, consisting of 2550 participants exposed to childhood maltreatment and 3739 unexposed comparison subjects. Individuals with childhood maltreatment exhibited overlapped deficits in the median cingulate/paracingulate gyri simultaneously revealed by both CTh and GM studies. Regional cortical thinning in the right anterior cingulate/paracingulate gyri and the left middle frontal gyrus, as well as GMV reductions in the left supplementary motor area (SMA) was also identified. No greater regions were found for either CTh or GMV. In addition, several neural morphology changes were associated with the average age of the maltreated individuals. The median cingulate/paracingulate gyri morphology might serve as the most robust neuroimaging feature of childhood maltreatment. The effects of early-life trauma on the human brain predominantly involved in cognitive functions, socio-affective functioning and stress regulation. This current meta-analysis enhanced the understanding of neuropathological changes induced by childhood maltreatment.

Nutritional Risk Screening index is a standard tool to assess nutritional risk, but epidemiological data are scarce on controlling nutritional status (CONUT) as a prognostic marker in acute haemorrhagic stroke (AHS). We aimed to explore whether the CONUT may predict a 3-month functional outcome in AHS. In total, 349 Chinese patients with incident AHS were consecutively recruited, and their malnutrition risks were determined using a high CONUT score of ≥ 2. The cohort patients were divided into high-CONUT (≥ 2) and low-CONUT (< 2) groups, and primary outcomes were a poor functional prognosis defined as the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of ≥ 3 at post-discharge for 3 months. Odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for the poor functional prognosis at post-discharge were estimated by using a logistic analysis with additional adjustments for unbalanced variables between the high-CONUT and low-CONUT groups. A total of 328 patients (60·38 ± 12·83 years; 66·77 % male) completed the mRS assessment at post-discharge for 3 months, with 172 patients at malnutrition risk at admission and 104 patients with a poor prognosis. The levels of total cholesterol and total lymphocyte counts were significantly lower in high-CONUT patients than low-CONUT patients (P = 0·012 and < 0·001, respectively). At 3-month post discharge, there was a greater risk for the poor outcome in the high-CONUT compared with the low-CONUT patients at admission (OR: 2·32, 95 % CI: 1·28, 4·17). High-CONUT scores independently predict a 3-month poor prognosis in AHS, which helps to identify those who need additional nutritional managements.

Aggressive behaviour is common in animals and typically has lifetime consequences. As younger males have higher residual reproductive value than older males and lose more from injuries than older males do, the propensity for fighting tends to increase with age in many empirical reports and species. However, fighting patterns in those empirical reports cannot confirm the hypothesis that individuals cannot readily inflict injuries on their opponents. To address this shortcoming, a parasitoid wasp species, Anastatus disparis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), was used as an experimental model to explore the characteristics of aggression from a life-history perspective; this wasp exhibits extreme fighting, resulting in contestants experiencing injury and death. Results showed that the energetic costs of fighting to injury significantly shortened life and caused the loss of most mating ability. Inconsistent with general predictions, the frequency and intensity of fighting in A. disparis significantly decreased with male age. Further study results showed significantly more young males were received by and successfully mated with virgin females, and most genes related to energy metabolism were downregulated in aged males. Our study provided supporting evidence that young A. disparis males show more aggression likely because of their resource holding potential and sexual attractiveness decline with age.

The Megamaser Cosmology Project (MCP) measures the Hubble Constant by determining geometric distances to circumnuclear 22 GHz H2O megamasers in galaxies at low redshift (z < 0.05) but well into the Hubble flow. In combination with the recent, exquisite observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background by WMAP and Planck, these measurements provide a direct test of the standard cosmological model and constrain the equation of state of dark energy. The MCP is a multi-year project that has recently completed observations and is currently working on final analysis. Based on distance measurements to the first four published megamasers in the sample, the MCP currently determines H0 = 69.3 ± 4.2 km s−1 Mpc−1. The project is finalizing analysis for five additional galaxies. When complete, we expect to achieve a ~4% measurement. Given the tension between the Planck prediction of H0 in the context of the standard cosmological model and astrophysical measurements based on standard candles, the MCP provides a critical and independent geometric measurement that does not rely on external calibrations or a distance ladder.

A novel scheme for power-combined frequency tripler adopting 2N diodes is proposed in this work. Even mode coupled suspended substrate stripline is used to divide and recombine the input and output power. The circuits of the tripler are printed on both sides of the substrate, with N diodes on the front side and the other N diodes on the back side. The front diodes and back diodes are in anti-parallel connection, and DC biased separately to increase the bandwidth and power capacity. Three Q-band prototypes with two, four, and six diodes are fabricated and tested. The output compression powers at output frequency of 43.5 GHz for two/four/six-diode tripler are 9.2, 11, and 12 dBm, respectively. Power capacity is improved with the proposed tripler. Optimum DC bias is also discussed in this work, and it is found that it first increases with drive power, and then drops when large drive power applied because of the increased series resistance of the diode due to high junction temperature.

Fossil isopod crustaceans in the suborder Phreatoicidea have a known stratigraphic range from the Carboniferous to the Jurassic. Until now, all Mesozoic records of this group were thought to occur in fresh water habitats. A new phreatoicidean isopod fossil of the Triassic Luoping marine fauna, Yunnan Province, China, is described. The new species, based on several exceptionally complete specimens, is assigned to the genus Protamphisopus Nicholls and the family Amphisopidae Nicholls. This Chinese record is the first report of a Mesozoic-age phreatoicidean isopod outside of Gondwanan terranes, requiring a revision of known biogeographic patterns of the Phreatoicidea. Whether this record is from a marine habitat or is the result of a secondary deposition is not certain. Sottyella Racheboef, Schram and Vidal from the Carboniferous (Stephanian) Lagerstätte of Montceaules-Mines that was assigned to this suborder may be a decapod. Therefore, it has no relationship to this new species.

The family Mixosauridae Baur, 1887 is a dominant group of Middle Triassic ichthyosaurs. Its generic composition has been controversial, but recent findings from southern China enabled Jiang et al. (2006) to recognize two monophyletic taxa within the clade, suggesting the presence of two genera within the family, namely Mixosaurus Baur, 1887 and Phalarodon Merriam, 1910. The latter genus, which was invalidated at one point (Nicholls et al., 1999; McGowan and Motani, 2003), was recently resurrected by Schmitz (2005) by validating its type species. Mixosaurus is Tethyan in distribution, whereas Phalarodon had been known mostly from North America and Spitsbergen, apart from a possible juvenile from Switzerland (Brinkmann, 1997, 1998). More recently, Jiang et al. (2003) reported a largely complete, yet poorly preserved skeleton as the first record of the genus Phalarodon from Asia and referred it to Phalarodon sp. However, important synapomorphies were not clearly identified, and evidence has since emerged that the specimen had been tampered with by farmers after it was collected. In the light of the cladistic analysis by Jiang et al. (2006), the referral of the specimen to the genus Phalarodon is questionable.

We report on a method based on cross-sectional scanning photoelectron microscopy and spectroscopy (XSPEM/S) for studying electronic structure of III-nitride surfaces and interfaces on a submicrometer scale. Cross-sectional III-nitride surfaces prepared by in situ cleavage were investigated to eliminate the polarization effects associated with the interface charges/dipoles normal to the cleaved surface. In contrast to the as-grown polar surfaces which show strong surface band bending, the cleaved nonpolar surfaces have been found to be under the flat-band conditions. Therefore, both doping and compositional junctions can be directly visualized at the cleaved nonpolar surfaces. Additionally, we show that the “intrinsic” valence band offsets at the cleaved III-nitride heterojunctions can be unambiguously determined.

ZnO films were grown on (0001) sapphire substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using diethylzinc (DeZn) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in an inductively heated reactor operated at atmospheric pressure. Low-temperature (LT) ZnO buffer layers having various thicknesses were deposited at 400¢J followed by subsequent growth of ZnO films at 600¢J. Some of the ZnO films were then post-annealed at 1000¢J in the N2O flow. Under certain growth conditions, ZnO nanowires were formed on the post-annealed ZnO samples. Room temperature (RT) photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the ZnO nanowires show strong ultraviolet (UV) near band edge emissions at 3.27 eV with a typical full width at half-maximum ( FWHM ) of ~130 meV and quenched defect luminescence at 2.8 eV. 10 K PL spectra of the post-annealed ZnO all exhibit sharp excitonic emissions with the dominant emission being located at 3.36 eV having a FWHM of 4.6 meV.

Nanoscaled Cr2O3 powder with an average particle size of 20–40 nm, coated on alumina particles, has been produced by means of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in a fluidized chamber, using the pyrolysis of Cr(CO)6 precursor. Amorphous and crystalline Cr2O3 particles were obtained when the temperatures of the pyrolysis were 300 and 400 °C, respectively. To prepare nanoscaled Cr3C2 powder from the nanometer-sized Cr2O3, carbonizing behavior of the Cr2O3 particles was investigated. It was found that, when amorphous Cr2O3 powders were carbonized in graphite furnace at 1150 °C for 2 h in vacuum (10−3 Torr), the powder was transformed into Cr3C2, while the crystalline Cr2O3 was transformed into a mixture of Cr7C3 and Cr3C2. The examinations by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy confirmed the transformation of the nano-sized Cr3C2 powders. The results of thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis indicated that the transformation temperature was ∼1089 °C for amorphous Cr2O3 and ∼1128 °C for crystalline Cr2O3.