The calibration between national regulatory oversight and local policy autonomy is a prominent feature in the discussion regarding social assistance institutions in large countries. The complex principal-agent structure embedded within such institutions and the resultant information asymmetry make it difficult for the national principal to monitor the behaviour of subnational agents, resulting in prevalent mis-targeting of welfare benefits and petty corruption. Built on a principal-agent framework, this study seeks to explain the puzzling shrinkage of China’s Minimum Livelihood Guarantee Scheme (Dibao) in recent years. Accountability mechanisms are found to exert major impacts on the scale of welfare programs. Using a unique city-level panel dataset and difference-in-differences (DID) strategy, this quantitative study finds that discipline inspection by upper-level government leads to a significant decrease of Dibao coverage in a city, a link reinforced by the local intensity of China’s anti-corruption campaign. Blame avoidance and the defensive reaction of local agents triggered by draconian enforcement of accountability result in distorted welfare administration on the ground. Building informational capacity presents a useful approach in mitigating the vertical control–autonomy dilemma illustrated in this study.

This study focused on the effect of the cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) combined with aripiprazole on cognitive functions and psychological state of schizophrenia patients. Seventy-eight schizophrenia patients were divided into two groups. One group received aripiprazole with conventional nursing treatment for 3 months (control group, n = 39), and the other received aripiprazole with CBT for 3 months (observation group, n = 39) (1 session per week, each session lasting 60 min. In the two groups before and after treatment, the severity of symptoms was evaluated using the Psychiatric Symptom Rating Scale (BPRS). Cognitive function was assessed with the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). The Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) was utilised to evaluate mental status, while the Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) measured psychological state. Additionally, the quality of life was assessed using the General Quality of Life Inventory-74 (GQOLI-74). In the final analysis, post-treatment efficacy and complications for the two groups were counted. Both groups showed significant improvements: BPRS and PANSS scores decreased, while RBANS, GSES, and GQOLI-74 scores increased. The observation group showed greater improvements than the control group. The total improvement rate was 89.74% (35/39) in the observation group, higher than the 71.79% (28/39) in the control group. The complication rate was 33.33% (13/39) in the observation group and 38.46% (15/39) in the control group. The treatment of CBT combined with aripiprazole for schizophrenia has a significantly positive effect on the cognitive functions and psychological state of patients.

To comprehensively study the physical properties of inductively coupled plasma (ICP), a finite element method (FEM) simulation model of ICP is developed using the well-established COMSOL software. To benchmark the validation of the FEM model, two key physical parameters, the electron density and the electron temperature of the ICP plasma, are precisely measured by the state-of-the-art laser Thomson scattering diagnostic approach. For low-pressure plasma such as ICP, the local pressure in the generator tube is difficult to measure directly. The local gas pressure in the ICP tube has been calibrated by comparing the experimental and simulation results of the maximum electron density. And on this basis, the electron density and electron temperature of ICP under the same gas pressure and absorbed power have been compared by experiments and simulations. The good agreement between the experimental and simulation data of these two key physical parameters fully verifies the validity of the ICP FEM simulation model. The experimental verification of the ICP FEM simulation model lays a foundation for further study of the distribution of various physical quantities and their variation with pressure and absorption power, which is beneficial for improving the level of ICP-related processes.

Fluid interfacial instability induced by gravity or external acceleration, known as the Rayleigh–Taylor instability, plays an important role in both scientific research and industrial application. How to control this instability is challenging. Researchers have been actively exploring the suppression method of applying electric fields parallel to dielectric fluid interfaces. The instability is characterized by the penetration of fingers at the interface. The velocities at the finger tips are the most important quantities since they characterize how fast the penetration occurs. The dynamics of the fingers is nonlinear. We present a nonlinear perturbation procedure for determining the amplitude and velocity of fingers at a Rayleigh–Taylor unstable interface between two incompressible, inviscid, immiscible and perfectly dielectric fluids in the presence of a horizontal electric field in two dimensions. The analytic formulas are displayed explicitly up to the third order of the initial disturbance. The comparison with the data from numerical simulations based on the vortex sheet method shows the theoretical formulas can capture well the nonlinear behaviour of the fingers. It is known that the interplay between the electric field and the fluids can lead to the suppression of interfacial instability. We further analyse the electrical force along the interface and show how this force leads to the instability suppression in our setting. It has been reported numerically in the literature that switching the electric permittivities of the fluids leads to quantitative differences in finger velocity. We show theoretically this phenomenon can only be explained by the nonlinear behaviour of the system.

This study aimed to assess human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine effectiveness (VE) against both vaccine-type and nonvaccine-type high-risk HPV (hrHPV) infection, and duration of protection in United States. The study population was female participants aged 18–35 years with an HPV vaccination history and genital testing for HPV from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007–2016. Participants vaccinated before sexual debut were assessed against 13 nonvaccine-type hrHPV infection including 31/33/35/39/45/51/52/56/58/59/68/73/82. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate VE overall, by age at diagnosis, time since vaccination and lifetime sexual partners. A total of 3866 women were included in the analysis, with 23.3% (95% CI 21.3%–25.4%) having been vaccinated (≥1 dose). VE against vaccine-type HPV18/16/11/6 infection was 58% overall, which was mainly driven by those aged 18–22 years (VE = 64%) and 23–27 years (65%). Among participants aged 18–22 years vaccinated before sexual debut, the VE was 47% (23%–64%) against 13 nonvaccine-type hrHPV and 61% (95% CI 36%–77%) against 5 selected nonvaccine-type hrHPV35/39/52/58/59. Both direct effectiveness and cross-protection maintained effective for 5–10 years post vaccination. We also found the prevalence of ever diagnosed cervical cancer among vaccinated was significantly lower (0.46%, 4/874) than that among unvaccinated participants (1.27%, 38/2992). These findings highlight the potential of significant reduction of cervical cancer following the universal HPV vaccination programme.

Cap-shaped skeletal fossils are the earliest undisputed body fossils of mollusks appearing in the basal Cambrian. A study on the morphometry of cap-shaped fossils from the Nanjiang area (North Sichuan, China) is undertaken to understand the origin and evolution of the early mollusks. The distribution of these fossil cap-shaped mollusks indicates a stepwise increase in their diversity during the early Cambrian. Maikhanella Zhegallo in Voronin et al., 1982 co-occuring with the spinose sclerites of siphogonuchitids, is regarded as the earliest scleritized mollusk. It is followed by other maikhanellids, e.g., Purella Missarzhevsky, 1974 and Yunnanopleura Yu, 1987, which co-occur with the earliest univalved helcionellids, e.g., Igorella Missarzhevsky in Rozanov et al., 1969. Cluster analysis of their morphometric characteristics shows that the Maikhanella group is similar to the Purella and Yunnanopleura groups, but is less comparable with univalved helcionellids. The maikhanellids are interpreted as representatives of the stem group Aculifera, although it remains uncertain if one or two larger cap-shaped shell plates were present on the elongate slug-like body, comparable to those of Halkieria Poulsen, 1967 or Orthrozanclus Conway Morris and Caron, 2007. Maikhanellids are characterized by the prominent protrusions or scales on the cap-shaped shell plates arranged in a concentric pattern around the shell apex. Evolutionarily, the protrusions or scales are reduced in younger strata, whereas subsequently a typically concentric ornament developed, the cap-shaped shell plates developed higher profiles, and the apical region became increasingly bare of scales. Meanwhile, the cap-shaped shell plates gradually evolved into a helcionellid-like appearance with an anteroposteriorly inclined apex. The morphological evolution of the earliest sclerotized mollusks reflects biotic evolution and environmental adaption among the stem-group mollusks during the early Cambrian.

The orogenic process and crustal growth of the Changning–Menglian Palaeo-Tethys orogenic belt in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau is not fully understood. Triassic Caojian rhyolites and granites occur extensively in this orogenic belt and represent important constraints for this issue. This study aims to examine the relationships between the Triassic Caojian rhyolites and granites and to gain a better understanding of their possible petrogenesis. The study used zircon U–Pb geochronology, trace element analyses and Sr–Nd–Hf isotope data to better understand the relationships and possible origin of the rhyolites and granites. Recent zircon U–Pb ages indicated that the Caojian rhyolites were emplaced at 227.2 Ma, whereas age estimates for Caojian granites were slightly older (233.4–236.9 Ma). The Caojian rhyolites are enriched in large-ion lithophile elements and high-field-strength elements, with elevated FeOtot/MgO and Ga/Al ratios. However, they are significantly depleted in Ba, Sr, Eu, P and Ti. These geochemical characteristics indicate that they have an A-type affinity. Furthermore, the Caojian granites comprise biotite monzogranites and granodiorites and show unfractionated composition. Mineralogically, the Caojian granites were found to contain diagnostic I-type minerals such as hornblende. Geochemical data suggest that the petrogenesis of the Triassic Caojian rhyolites is characterized by rejuvenation of crystal mush represented by the Triassic Caojian granites. The necessary thermal input was supplied by mafic magma. This magmatic evolution was likely related to lithospheric delamination and upwelling of the asthenosphere during the Mid- to Late Triassic, forming post-collisional I-type granites and A-type volcanics in the Changning–Menglian Palaeo-Tethys orogenic belt.

We propose a novel Fabry–Pérot (FP) antenna consisting of a checkered polarization-conversion metasurface (PCM), corner-cut square patch antennas, and sandwiched compounds. The proposed antenna achieves low radar-cross-section (RCS), high gain, and wideband circular polarization (CP). The corner-cut square patch antennas facilitate high reflectivity, satisfactory transmission magnitude, and the desired phase difference. An embedded metal between two rings of substrate contributes to reducing cross-polarization, improving transmission efficiency, enhancing bandwidth, and reducing RCS. Following simulations, we fabricated a prototype of the proposed antenna and tested its performance. Measurements from the simulation and prototype tests were similar within a reasonable margin of error. Compared with alternative antennas, our proposed FP antenna offers high gain, wideband CP, low cost, a low RCS, and a lower profile.

This research involves a compact wideband circularly-polarized antenna array, which consists of a sequential rotating phase feed network, 2 × 2 mushroom-type metamaterial (MTM) unit, and so on. Each antenna array unit contains a microstrip feedline, an L-shaped slot antenna, and so on. The MTM-based antennas were incorporated with a sequential-phase network of sequentially rotated series-parallel feed to achieve wideband operation. The operational bandwidth and the radiation model in the high-frequency area were improved through the adjustment of spacing between the L-shaped slots while maintaining the size and structure of the MTM. The proposed design had dimensions of 80 mm × 80 mm × 3.5 mm (~1.64 λ0 × 1.64 λ0 × 0.072 λ0 at 6.15 GHz), and it was simulated, fabricated, and tested.

During pulsar navigation, the high-frequency noise carried by the pulsar profile signal reduces the accuracy of the pulse TOA (Time of Arrival) estimation. At present, the main method to remove signal noise by using wavelet transform is to redesign the function of the threshold and level of wavelet transform. However, the signal-to-noise ratio and other indicators of the filtered signal need to be further optimised, so a more appropriate wavelet basis needs to be designed. This paper proposes a wavelet basis design method based on frequency domain analysis to improve the denoising effect of pulsar signals. This method first analyses the pulsar contour signal in the frequency domain and then designs a Crab pulsar wavelet basis (CPn, where n represents the wavelet basis length) based on its frequency domain characteristics. In order to improve the real-time performance of the algorithm, a wavelet lifting scheme is implemented. Through simulation, this method analyses the pulsar contour signal data at home and abroad. Results show the signal-to-noise ratio can be increased by 4 dB, the mean square error is reduced by 61% and the peak error is reduced by 45%. Therefore, this method has better filtering effect.

The poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, is currently the most common ectoparasite affecting egg-laying hens. Since continuous culture of D. gallinae on birds is a biologically and economically costly endeavour, storage techniques for mites are urgently needed. Effects of temperature on adult and nymph survival were first studied to optimize storage conditions. Then, fecundity of D. gallinae was studied after mites were stored at optimal storage conditions. Results showed the survival rates of protonymphs (42.11%), deutonymphs (8.19%) and females (19.78%) at 5°C after 84 days were higher than those at 0, 25 and 30°C. Thereafter the fecundity and the capability of re-establishing colonies of D. gallinae were evaluated after they were stored for 40 and 80 days at 5°C. After storage, the mean number of eggs showed no statistical difference between treated (5°C for 40 or 80 days) and control groups (25°C for 7 days), while the hatching rates of eggs were in all cases above 97%. The dynamic changes of mite populations and egg numbers showed similar trends to the control group after the stored adult or nymph mites were fed on chicks. Dermanyssus gallinae can be successfully stored at 5°C for 80 days with no interference with the fecundity of mites, and the stored mites could re-establish colonies successfully. Adults and nymphs were two main stages with capability for low temperature storage. These results suggest that low temperature storage is a viable option for colony maintenance of D. gallinae under laboratory conditions.

Pulmonary artery sling is a congenital cardiovascular disease and is usually accompanied by tracheobronchial stenosis. Generally, infants diagnosed with pulmonary artery sling should have surgery. However, the treatment of tracheobronchial stenosis is still controversial. Our team developed a customised, degradable, three-dimensional printed splint and successfully applied it in the treatment of pulmonary artery sling associated with severe bilateral bronchus stenosis. We suggested that three-dimensional printing may be a novel and effective way to treat tracheobronchial stenosis and other diseases in children.

An effective multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the simultaneous detection of three major pathogens, Nosema bombycis Nägeli (Microsporidia: Nosematidae), Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (Baculoviridae: genus Alphabaculovirus) (NPV), and Bombyx mori densovirus (Parvoviridae: genus Iteravirus) (DNV), in silkworms (Bombyx mori (Linnaeus); Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) was developed in this study. Polymerase chain reaction and real-time PCR tests and basic local alignment search tool searches revealed that the primers and probes used in this study had high specificities for their target species. The ability of each primer/probe set to detect pure pathogen DNA was determined using a plasmid dilution panel, in which under optimal conditions the multiplex real-time PCR assay showed high efficiency in the detection of three mixed target plasmids with a detection limit of 8.5×103 copies for N. bombycis and Bombyx mori NPV (BmNPV) and 8.5×104 copies for Bombyx mori DNV (BmDNV). When the ability to detect these three pathogens was examined in artificially inoculated silkworms, our method presented a number of advantages over traditional microscopy, including specificity, sensitivity, and high-throughput capabilities. Under the optimal volume ratio for the three primer/probe sets (3:2:2=N. bombycis:BmNPV:BmDNV), the multiplex real-time PCR assay showed early detection of BmNPV and BmDNV by day 1 post inoculation using DNA templates of the three pathogens in various combinations from individually infected silkworms; the early detection of N. bombycis was possible by day 3 post inoculation using the DNA isolated from the midgut of N. bombycis-infected silkworms.

This paper describes a new genus Liaous, with L. shaiwensis He and Chen n. gen. n. sp. as the type species, from the Xinyuan Formation of Anisian age in Ziyun, southern Guizhou, China. The phylogenetic tree revealed by the parsimony analysis shows that Liaous is closely allied to both Mentzelia Quenstedt, 1871 and Paramentzelia Xu, 1978 of the subfamily Mentzeliinae. A new classification scheme for the Spiriferinoidea is also proposed based on a phylogenetic tree of the superfamily indicated by parsimony analysis. The Spiriferinoidea includes three families and nine subfamilies. Three new subfamilies—Madoinae He and Chen, new subfam., Qinghaispiriferininae He and Chen, new subfam., and Triadispirinae He and Chen, new subfam. are proposed. Liaous shaiwensis He and Chen n. gen. n. sp. is found in the Posidonia wengensis-Liaous shaiwensis (P-L) paleocommunity, which is dominated by r-strategists (i.e., organisms defined by a fauna with a high dominance and small body sizes) and has a low diversity and high dominance. The P-L paleocommunity therefore has little similarity to its coeval communities from the Anisian Stage of South China and instead it appears more similar to the Lower Triassic shelly faunas in community structures. This paleocommunity is interpreted to have inhabited a relatively deep, low-energy, dysaerobic offshore basin/slope setting with the influence of episodic storms.