In laser systems requiring a flat-top distribution of beam intensity, beam smoothing is a critical technology for enhancing laser energy deposition onto the focal spot. The continuous phase modulator (CPM) is a key component in beam smoothing, as it introduces high-frequency continuous phase modulation across the laser beam profile. However, the presence of the CPM makes it challenging to measure and correct the wavefront aberration of the input laser beam effectively, leading to unwanted beam intensity distribution and bringing difficulty to the design of the CPM. To address this issue, we propose a deep learning enabled robust wavefront sensing (DLWS) method to achieve effective wavefront measurement and active aberration correction, thereby facilitating active beam smoothing using the CPM. The experimental results show that the average wavefront reconstruction error of the DLWS method is 0.04 μm in the root mean square, while the Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor reconstruction error is 0.17 μm.

Data on epidemiology trends of paediatric tuberculosis (TB) are limited in China. So, we investigated the clinical and epidemiological profiles in diagnosed TB disease and TB infection patients at Beijing Children’s Hospital. Of 3 193 patients, 51.05% had pulmonary TB (PTB) and 15.16% had extrapulmonary TB (EPTB). The most frequent forms of EPTB were TB meningitis (39.05%), pleural TB (29.75%), and disseminated TB (10.33%). PTB patients were significantly younger and associated with higher hospitalization frequency. Children aged 1–4 years exhibited higher risk of PTB and TB meningitis, and children aged 5–12 years had higher risk of EPTB. The proportion of PTB patients increased slightly from 40.9% in 2012 to 65% in 2019, and then decreased to 17.8% in 2021. The percentage of EPTB cases decreased from 18.3% in 2012 to 15.2% in 2019, but increased to 16.4% in 2021. Among EPTB cases, the largest increase was seen in TB meningitis. In conclusion, female and young children had higher risk of PTB in children. TB meningitis was the most frequent forms of EPTB among children, and young children were at high risk of TB meningitis. The distribution of different types of EPTB differed by age.

In the present study, acid-modified attapulgite was used, as an adsorbent, to remove as much Cd2+ as possible from aqueous solution. Static adsorption experiments using powdered acid-modified attapulgite, and dynamic adsorption using granular acid-modifed attapulgite, were conducted to explore the practical application of modified attapulgite in the adsorption of Cd2+. The modified attapulgite had a larger specific surface area and thinner fibrous crystals than the unmodified version. No obvious differences were noted, in terms of the crystal structure, between the natural attapulgite and the modified version. The effects of initial concentration, pH, contact time, and ionic strength on the adsorption of Cd2+ were investigated, and the results showed that the adsorption capacity of the modified attapulgite was increased with increasing pH and the initial Cd2+ concentration. The adsorption properties were analyzed by means of dynamic adsorption tests with respect to various Cd2+ concentrations and flow rates. The maximum adsorption capacity of 8.83 mg/g occurred at a flow rate of 1 mL/min and at an initial concentration of 75 mg/L. Because there was better accord between the data and a pseudo-second order model than a pseudo-first-order model, external mass transfer is suggested to be the rate-controlling process. The experimental data were also fitted for the intraparticle diffusion model, implying that the intraparticle diffusion of Cd2+ onto the modified attapulgite was also important for controlling the adsorption process. The Bohart-Adams model was more suitable than the Thomas model for describing the dynamic behavior with respect to the flow rate and the initial Cd2+ concentration. This research provided the theoretical basis for the dynamic adsorption of Cd2+ on the modified attapulgite. Compared to the powdered modified attapulgite, the dynamic adsorption by granular modified attapulgite appeared more favorable in terms of practical application.

Most natural and synthetic rubbers have inherently high flammability, a property which limits their uses. The aim of the present work was to study the effect of organo-montmorillonite (OMMT) and modified OMMT on the flame-retardance and mechanical properties of natural rubber (NR) composites. The OMMT was modified with hyper-branched polymer via condensation polymerization between the intercalation agent, N,N-di(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-dodecyl-N-methylammonium chloride, and the monomer, N,N-dihydroxyl-3-aminomethyl propionate. This modified OMMT was then reacted with phosphate, and a novel flame-retardant hyper-branched organic montmorillonite (FR-HOMMT) was thus obtained. The surface morphology, interlayer space, interlamellar structure, and thermal properties of these modified clays were investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. The FR-HOMMT showed increased basal spacing and better thermal stabilities due to the different arrangement and thermal stability of the novel organic macromolecular surfactant. Natural rubber NR/OMMT and NR/FR-HOMMT composites were prepared by conventional compounding with OMMT and the phosphorus-based organo-montmorillonite. The cure characteristics, tensile strength, wear resistance, thermal stabilities, and flame-retardant properties were researched and compared. The best dispersion of this modified clay was observed for 20 phr (parts per hundred of rubber) of FR-HOMMT-filled composite, which resulted in the best mechanical performance with an increase of 47% in tensile strength, of 40% in elongation at break, and decrease of 140% in abrasion loss compared with 20 phr of the OMMT-filled matrix. A mechanism for reinforcing and flame retardance is proposed here. The 'anchor' effect caused by the hyper-branched polymer may decrease the number and size of the voids in the NR matrix, and thus increase the crack path during tensile drawing. Meanwhile, the flame retardance of the OMMT and the phosphate may increase the number of carbonaceous layers, thus inhibiting the degree of pyrolysis of the NR matrix during burning.

Competition among the two-plasmon decay (TPD) of backscattered light of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), filamentation of the electron-plasma wave (EPW) and forward side SRS is investigated by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Our previous work [K. Q. Pan et al., Nucl. Fusion 58, 096035 (2018)] showed that in a plasma with the density near 1/10 of the critical density, the backscattered light would excite the TPD, which results in suppression of the backward SRS. However, this work further shows that when the laser intensity is so high ($>{10}^{16}$ W/cm2) that the backward SRS cannot be totally suppressed, filamentation of the EPW and forward side SRS will be excited. Then the TPD of the backscattered light only occurs in the early stage and is suppressed in the latter stage. Electron distribution functions further show that trapped-particle-modulation instability should be responsible for filamentation of the EPW. This research can promote the understanding of hot-electron generation and SRS saturation in inertial confinement fusion experiments.

We investigated the drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from patients with tuberculosis (TB) and HIV, and those diagnosed with only TB in Sichuan, China. TB isolates were obtained from January 2018 to December 2020 and subjected to drug susceptibility testing (DST) to 11 anti-TB drugs and to GeneXpert MTB/RIF testing. The overall proportion of drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) isolates was 32.1% (n = 10 946). HIV testing was not universally available for outpatient TB cases, only 29.5% (3227/10 946) cases had HIV testing results. The observed proportion of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) isolates was almost double than that of the national level, with approximately 1.5% and 0.1% of the isolates being extensively drug resistant and universally drug resistant, respectively. The proportions of resistant isolates were generally higher in 2018 and 2019 than in 2020. Furthermore, the sensitivities of GeneXpert during 2018–2020 demonstrated a downward trend (80.9, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 76.8–85.0; 80.2, 95% CI 76.4–84.1 and 75.4, 95% CI 70.7–80.2, respectively). Approximately 69.0% (7557/10 946) of the TB cases with DST results were subjected to GeneXpert detection. Overall, the DR-TB status and the use of GeneXpert in Sichuan have improved, but DR-TB challenges remain. HIV testing for all TB cases is recommended.

Crematogaster rogenhoferi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), an omnivorous ant, is one of the dominant predatory natural enemies of a soft scale pest, Parasaissetia nigra Nietner (Homoptera: Coccidae), and can effectively control P. nigra populations in rubber forests. Olfaction plays a vital role in the process of predation. However, the information about the molecular mechanism of olfaction-evoked behaviour in C. rogenhoferi is limited. In this study, we conducted antennal transcriptome analysis to identify candidate olfactory genes. We obtained 53,892 unigenes, 16,185 of which were annotated. Based on annotations, we identified 49 unigenes related to chemoreception, including four odourant-binding proteins, three chemosensory proteins, 37 odourant receptors, two odourant ionotropic receptors and three sensory neuron membrane proteins. This is the first report on the molecular basis of the chemosensory system of C. rogenhoferi. The findings provide a basis for elucidating the molecular mechanisms of the olfactory-related behaviours of C. rogenhoferi, which would facilitate a better application of C. rogenhoferi as a biological control agent.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a common adverse drug reaction leading to the interruption of tuberculosis (TB) therapy. We aimed to identify whether the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection would increase the risk of DILI during first-line TB treatment. A meta-analysis of cohort studies searched in PubMed, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure was conducted. Effect sizes were reported as risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and calculated by R software. Sixteen studies with 3960 TB patients were eligible for analysis. The risk of DILI appeared to be higher in TB patients co-infected with HBV (RR 2.66; 95% CI 2.13–3.32) than those without HBV infection. Moreover, patients with positive hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) were more likely to develop DILI (RR 3.42; 95% CI 1.95–5.98) compared to those with negative HBeAg (RR 2.30; 95% CI 1.66–3.18). Co-infection with HBV was not associated with a higher rate of anti-TB DILI in latent TB patients (RR 4.48; 95% CI 0.80–24.99). The effect of HBV infection on aggravating anti-TB DILI was independent of study participants, whether they were newly diagnosed with TB or not. Besides, TB and HBV co-infection patients had a longer duration of recovery from DILI compared to non-co-infected patients (SMD 2.26; 95% CI 1.87–2.66). To conclude, the results demonstrate that HBV infection would increase the risk of DILI during TB therapy, especially in patients with positive HBeAg, and close liver function monitoring is needed for TB and HBV co-infection patients.

Limited literatures report the management of congenital left atrial appendage aneurysm (LAAA) which is extremely rare. Chest X-ray firstly showed an enlarged left cardiac silhouette for a 3-year-old patient with pneumonia. Echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a large cyst attached to the left atrium. Aneurysmectomy was performed through lateral thoracotomy using step-by-step method and under the guidance of transoesophageal echocardiography. We aim to show the safety and efficacy of this approach applied to children associated with congenital LAAA.

Laser interaction with an ultra-thin pre-structured target is investigated with the help of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. With the existence of a periodic structure on the target surface, the laser seems to penetrate through the target at its fundamental frequency even if the plasma density of the target is much higher than the laser’s relativistically critical density. The particle-in-cell simulations show that the transmitted laser energy behind the pre-structured target is increased by about two orders of magnitude compared to that behind the flat target. Theoretical analyses show that the transmitted energy behind the pre-structured target is actually re-emitted by electron ‘islands’ formed by the surface plasma waves on the target surfaces. In other words, the radiation with the fundamental frequency is actually ‘surface emission’ on the target rear surface. Besides the intensity of the component with the fundamental frequency, the intensity of the high-order harmonics behind the pre-structured target is also much enhanced compared to that behind the flat target. The enhancement of the high-order harmonics is also related to the surface plasma waves generated on the target surfaces.

This paper proposes a new radar cross section (RCS) reduced microstrip antenna incorporating 475 square slots on the patch. The proposed antenna achieves wideband RCS reduction with radiation performance sustained. The modified and reference antenna are simulated and analyzed in radiating and scattering mode, respectively. Prototypes of two antennas are fabricated and measured. Compared with the reference antenna, the simulated result shows the modified antenna RCS reduced in the frequency range 1.1–2.6 GHz, which contains the in-band and out-of-band frequency band simultaneously. And the maximum RCS reduction is 7.6dB at the frequency of 1.19GHz. Besides, the modified antenna can achieve the antenna RCS reduction in the case of oblique incidence. The prototypes of two antennas are fabricated and measured, and the accuracy of the simulation is proved by the measured result. Due to its advantages of simplicity, wideband RCS reduced, broad-angle RCS reduced, the method in this paper is suitable for wideband antenna RCS reduction in space-limited environment.

To suppress the interface gap between the cell walls of wood and filled epoxy resin, a green and universal H2O2 or H2O2/HAc steam-modified delignification approach is developed to remove more lignin, thereby generating more pores to be more conveniently backfilled by epoxy resin for highly transparent wood composites. Utilizing the excellent penetration ability of steam, not only different wood species, such as basswood and pine, with different cutting directions but also the thickest (40 mm) and largest (210 × 190 mm) wood samples can be successfully delignified. Compared with the 1.9% lignin content (which is the normal content of delignified wood prepared by solution-based methods) of delignified wood, the as-prepared delignified wood has the lowest lignin content of 0.84% to date. After the infiltration of epoxy resin, not only did the mechanical strength of the 5-mm transparent wood composite increase from 12.5 to 20.6 MPa, but the transmittance (the wavelength was 550 nm) also increased from 80 to 87% due to the lower absorbance of visible light by lignin and the suppression of the interface debonding gap between the cell walls and the backfilled epoxy resin.

Laves phase plays a positive role in improving the strength of high-entropy alloys (HEAs); Nb and Ti elements have potential to promote Laves phase formation in some HEAs. For improving the strength of the face-centered cubic (FCC) CoCrFeMnNi HEA, a series of (CoCrFeMnNi)100−xNbx (atomic ratio: x = 0, 4, 8, 12, 16) and (CoCrFeMnNi)100−xTix (atomic ratio: x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12) HEAs were prepared by melting. The effects of Nb and Ti on the microstructure evolution and compressive properties of the CoCrFeMnNi HEAs were investigated. For (CoCrFeMnNi)100−xNbx HEAs, the second-phase (Laves and σ phase) volume fraction increased from 0 to 42%. The yield strength also increased gradually from 202 to 1010 MPa. However, the fracture strain decreased from 60% (no fracture) to 12% with increasing Nb content. For (CoCrFeMnNi)100−xTix HEAs, the yield strength increased from 202 to 1322 MPa. The Laves phase volume fraction also increased from 0 to 27%. However, the fracture strain decreased from 60% (no fracture) to 7.5% with increasing Ti content. Addition of Nb and Ti has a good effect on improving the strength of FCC CoCrFeMnNi HEA.

In this study, a new microstrip patch antenna with wideband radar cross-section (RCS) reduction is presented. The RCS of the proposed antenna was reduced by subtracting the current-direction slots of the patch, with the radiation performance sustained not only for the current-direction subtraction, but also for the no modification in the ground plane. Modified and reference antenna were fabricated and measured. The simulation and measurement results showed that the modified antenna reduced the in-band and out-band RCS simultaneously with no detriment to the radiation performance. In the frequency band from 3.9 to 8.1 GHz, the RCS of the modified antenna was reduced in the whole band compared with the RCS of the reference antenna. The maximum RCS reduction was 7 dB at a frequency of 6.7 GHz.