This study examined the sour grapes/sweet lemons rationalization through 2 conditions: ‘attainable’ (sweet lemons) and ‘unattainable’ (sour grapes), reflecting China’s 2019-nCoV vaccination strategy. The aim was to find ways to change people’s beliefs and preferences regarding vaccines by easing their safety concerns and encouraging more willingness to get vaccinated. An online survey was conducted from January 22 to 27, 2021, with 3,123 residents across 30 provinces and municipalities in the Chinese mainland. The direction of belief and preference changed in line with the sour grapes/sweet lemons rationalization. Using hypothetical and real contrasts, we compared those for whom the vaccine was relatively unattainable (‘sour grapes’ condition) with those who could get the vaccine easily (‘sweet lemons’). Whether the vaccine was attainable was determined in the early stage of the vaccine roll-out by membership in a select group of workers that was supposed to be vaccinated to the greatest extent possible, or, by being in the second stage when the vaccine was available to all. The attainable conditions demonstrated higher evaluation in vaccine safety, higher willingness to be vaccinated, and lower willingness to wait and see. Hence, we propose that the manipulation of vaccine attainability, which formed the basis of the application of sour grapes/sweet lemons rationalization, can be utilized as a means to manipulate the choice architecture to nudge individuals to ease vaccine safety concerns, reducing wait-and-see tendencies, and enhancing vaccination willingness. This approach can expedite universal vaccination and its associated benefits in future scenarios resembling the 2019-nCoV vaccine rollout.

The most important issue for the clinical application of sarcopenic obesity (SO) is the lack of a consensus definition. The aim of the present study was to determine the best measurement for SO by estimating the association between various definitions and the risk of falls and metabolic syndrome (MS). We studied a community of 765 adults aged 65 years and older in 2015–2017. Sarcopenia obesity was measured by sarcopenia (defined by low muscle mass with either low handgrip strength or low gait speed or both) plus obesity (defined by waist circumference, body fat percentage and BMI). The MS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program ATP III. Logistic regression models were constructed to examine the relationships between sarcopenia obesity and risk of fall and MS. In the analysis of the fall risk with SO defined by waist circumference, the participants with non-sarcopenia/non-obesity were treated as the reference group. The OR to fall in participants with SO was 10·16 (95 % CI 2·71, 38·13) after adjusting for confounding covariates. In the analysis of the risk of the MS between participants with individual components of sarcopenia coupled with obesity defined by waist circumference, the risk was statistically significant for low gait speed (OR: 7·19; 95 % CI 3·61, 14·30) and low grip strength (OR: 9·19; 95 % CI 5·00, 16·91). A combination of low grip strength and abdominal obesity for identifying SO may be a more precise and practical method for predicting target populations with unfavourable health risks, such as falls risk and MS.

Northeastern China is a region of high tick abundance, multiple tick-borne pathogens and likely human infections. The spectrum of diseases caused by tick-borne pathogens has not been objectively evaluated in this region for clinical management and for comparison with other regions globally where tick-transmitted diseases are common. Based on clinical symptoms, PCR, indirect immunofluorescent assay and (or) blood smear, we identified and described tick-borne diseases from patients with recent tick bite seen at Mudanjiang Forestry Central Hospital. From May 2010 to September 2011, 42% (75/180) of patients were diagnosed with a specific tick-borne disease, including Lyme borreliosis, tick-borne encephalitis, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, human babesiosis and spotted fever group rickettsiosis. When we compared clinical and laboratory features to identify factors that might discriminate tick-transmitted infections from those lacking that evidence, we revealed that erythema migrans and neurological manifestations were statistically significantly differently presented between those with and without documented aetiologies (P < 0.001, P = 0.003). Twelve patients (6.7%, 12/180) were co-infected with two tick-borne pathogens. We demonstrated the poor ability of clinicians to identify the specific tick-borne disease. In addition, it is necessary to develop specific laboratory assays for optimal diagnosis of tick-borne diseases.

Video streaming over mobile wireless networks is getting popular in recent years. High video quality relies on large bandwidth provisioning, however, it decreases the number of supported users in wireless networks. Thus, effective bandwidth utilization becomes a crucial issue in wireless network as the bandwidth resource in wireless environment is precious and limited. The NGN quality of service mechanisms should be designed to reduce the impact of traffic burstiness on buffer management. For this reason, we propose an active dropping mechanism to deal with the effective bandwidth utilization in this paper. We use scalable video coding extension of H.264/AVC standard to provide different video quality for users of different levels. In the proposed dropping mechanism, when the network loading exceeds the threshold, the dropping mechanism starts to drop data of the enhancement layers for users of low service level. The dropping probability alters according to the change in network loading. With the dropping mechanism, the base station increases the system capability and users are able to obtain better service quality when the system is under heavy loading. We also design several methods to adjust the threshold value dynamically. By using the proposed mechanism, better quality can be provided when the network is in congestion.

Ion beam synthesis of nanoclusters is studied via both kinetic Monte Carlo simulations and the self-consistent mean-field solution to a set of coupled rate equations. Both approaches predict a steady-state shape for the cluster size distribution that depends only on a characteristic length determined by the ratio of the effective diffusion coefficient times the effective solubility to the ion flux. The average cluster size in the steady state regime is determined by the implanted species/matrix interface energy.

GeSn alloy nanocrystals were formed by implantation of Ge and Sn ions into an amorphous SiO2 matrix and subsequent thermal annealing. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with a high angle annular dark field (HAADF) detector were used to show that phase-segregated crystalline bi-lobe nanocrystals were formed. Rapid melting and solidification using a single excimer laser pulse transformed the bi-lobe structure into a homogeneously mixed amorphous structure. Raman spectroscopy was used to monitor the crystalline nature and approximate grain size of the Ge portion of the nanocrystals after each heat treatment, and the Raman spectra were compared with the TEM images.

Biomaterials such as DNA are currently being explored as potential application in nanotechnology. DNA templates were immobilized on crystal-violet-treated mica by spin coating as a grid-like network. The DNA templates were then activated with PdCl2, followed by reduction with dimethylamine borane (DMAB) to form seeding nanoclusters on the DNA chain. Afterward the DNA chain with deposition of zero-valence Pd nanoclusters was grew in a Co electroless plating bath. SEM/EDS analysis revealed that Co nanoparticles could be assembled on the DNA template to form magnetic nanowires with a diameter of 25nm to 250nm by a conventional electroless plating. Vibrating Sample Magnetometer analysis indicated that Co-DNA nanowires showed a paramagnetic characteristic. Grid-like networks of DNA template were effectively preserved after Co electroless plating. These characteristics indicated that DNA is an ideal template for the production of magnetic nanowires, which could be useful in the development of high-density memory storage or magnetic field sensors.

In performing compression-expansion-recompression process during preparation of diacetylene (DA) monolayer, the change in colour of polydiacetylene (PDA) LB films was observed and more ordered structure of the films was achieved. The effect on optical properties could be ascribed to better arrangement of DA monomer which favoured the formation of PDA films in blue-form in polymerization.