We prove several results showing that every locally finite Borel graph whose large-scale geometry is ‘tree-like’ induces a treeable equivalence relation. In particular, our hypotheses hold if each component of the original graph either has bounded tree-width or is quasi-isometric to a tree, answering a question of Tucker-Drob. In the latter case, we moreover show that there exists a Borel quasi-isometry to a Borel forest, under the additional assumption of (componentwise) bounded degree. We also extend these results on quasi-treeings to Borel proper metric spaces. In fact, our most general result shows treeability of countable Borel equivalence relations equipped with an abstract wallspace structure on each class obeying some local finiteness conditions, which we call a proper walling. The proof is based on the Stone duality between proper wallings and median graphs (i.e., CAT(0) cube complexes). Finally, we strengthen the conclusion of treeability in these results to hyperfiniteness in the case where the original graph has one (selected) end per component, generalizing the same result for trees due to Dougherty–Jackson–Kechris.

Effect size indices are useful tools in study design and reporting because they are unitless measures of association strength that do not depend on sample size. Existing effect size indices are developed for particular parametric models or population parameters. Here, we propose a robust effect size index based on M-estimators. This approach yields an index that is very generalizable because it is unitless across a wide range of models. We demonstrate that the new index is a function of Cohen’s d, $R^2$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$R^2$$\end{document}, and standardized log odds ratio when each of the parametric models is correctly specified. We show that existing effect size estimators are biased when the parametric models are incorrect (e.g., under unknown heteroskedasticity). We provide simple formulas to compute power and sample size and use simulations to assess the bias and standard error of the effect size estimator in finite samples. Because the new index is invariant across models, it has the potential to make communication and comprehension of effect size uniform across the behavioral sciences.

Studies with sensitive questions should include a sufficient number of respondents to adequately address the research interest. While studies with an inadequate number of respondents may not yield significant conclusions, studies with an excess of respondents become wasteful of investigators’ budget. Therefore, it is an important step in survey sampling to determine the required number of participants. In this article, we derive sample size formulas based on confidence interval estimation of prevalence for four randomized response models, namely, the Warner’s randomized response model, unrelated question model, item count technique model and cheater detection model. Specifically, our sample size formulas control, with a given assurance probability, the width of a confidence interval within the planned range. Simulation results demonstrate that all formulas are accurate in terms of empirical coverage probabilities and empirical assurance probabilities. All formulas are illustrated using a real-life application about the use of unethical tactics in negotiation.

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is the key vector insect transmitting the Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) bacterium that causes the devastating citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing, HLB) worldwide. The D. citri salivary glands (SG) exhibit an important barrier against the transmission of HLB pathogen. However, knowledge on the molecular mechanism of SG defence against CLas infection is still limited. In the present study, we compared the SG transcriptomic response of CLas-free and CLas-infected D. citri using an illumine paired-end RNA sequencing. In total of 861 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the SG upon CLas infection, including 202 upregulated DEGs and 659 downregulated DEGs were identified. Functional annotation analysis showed that most of the DEGs were associated with cellular processes, metabolic processes, and the immune response. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses revealed that these DEGs were enriched in pathways involving carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, the immune system, the digestive system, the lysosome, and endocytosis. A total of 16 DEGs were randomly selected to further validate the accuracy of RNA-Seq dataset by reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. This study provides substantial transcriptomic information regarding the SG of D. citri in response to CLas infection, which may shed light on the molecular interaction between D. citri and CLas, and provides new ideas for the prevention and control of citrus psyllid.

The mumps resurgence has frequently been reported around the world in recent years, especially in many counties mumps vaccines have been widely used. This study aimed to describe the spatial epidemiological characteristics of mumps in Jiangsu, and provide a scientific basis for the implementation and adjustment of strategies to prevent and control mumps. The epidemiological characteristics were described with ratio or proportion. Spatial autocorrelation, Tango's flexible spatial scan statistics, and Kulldorff's elliptic spatiotemporal scan statistics were applied to identify the spatial autocorrelation, detect hot and cold spots of mumps incidence, and aggregation areas. A total of 172 775 cases were reported from 2004 to 2020 in Jiangsu. The general trend of mumps incidence is declining with a bimodal seasonal distribution identified mainly in summer and winter, respectively. Children aged 5–10 years old are the main risk group. A migration trend of hot spots from southeast to northwest over time was found. Similar high-risk aggregations were detected in the northwestern parts through spatial-temporal analysis with the most likely cluster time frame around 2019. Local medical and health administrations should formulate and implement targeted health care policies and allocate health resources more appropriately corresponding to the epidemiological characteristics of mumps.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of dietary starch structure on muscle protein synthesis and gastrointestinal amino acid (AA) transport and metabolism of goats. Twenty-seven Xiangdong black female goats (average body weight = 9·00 ± 1·12 kg) were randomly assigned to three treatments, i.e., fed a T1 (normal maize 100 %, high amylose maize 0 %), T2 (normal maize 50 %, high amylose maize 50 %) and T3 (normal maize 0 %, high amylose maize 100 %) diet for 35 d. All AA in the ileal mucosa were decreased linearly as amylose:amylopectin increased in diets (P < 0·05). The plasma valine (linear, P = 0·03), leucine (linear, P = 0·04) and total AA content (linear, P = 0·03) increased linearly with the increase in the ratio of amylose in the diet. The relative mRNA levels of solute carrier family 38 member 1 (linear, P = 0·01), solute carrier family 3 member 2 (linear, P = 0·02) and solute carrier family 38 member 9 (linear, P = 0·02) in the ileum increased linearly with the increase in the ratio of amylose in the diet. With the increase in the ratio of amylose:amylopectin in the diet, the mRNA levels of acetyl-CoA dehydrogenase B (linear, P = 0·04), branched-chain amino acid transferase 1 (linear, P = 0·02) and branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase complex B (linear, P = 0·01) in the ileum decreased linearly. Our results revealed that the protein abundances of phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) (P < 0·001), phosphorylated 4E-binding protein 1 (P < 0·001) and phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6 kinases 1 (P < 0·001) of T2 and T3 were significantly higher than that of T1. In general, a diet with a high amylose ratio could reduce the consumption of AA in the intestine, allowing more AA to enter the blood to maintain higher muscle protein synthesis through the mTOR pathway.

Choi, Jiang, and Shenkar (2015) offer an interesting and new perspective on the relationship between local governance and firm performance in China. This commentary focuses first on how we conceive of the nature of China's capitalism and then examines what that suggests about their metrics and findings.

A novel dual-band planar antenna with a low profile for mobile communication system is proposed in this paper. The antenna is composed of one shorted patch with two radiating notches for low frequency resonance and one square patch for high frequency resonance. The low profile is achieved via the shorting patch, which introduces the parallel electrical field between the reflector and antenna. A step-impedance microstrip line is used to feed the antenna. The coupling between the square patch and microstrip line cancels out the inductance of shorting probe, which increases the working bandwidth of proposed antenna. A prototype with a low profile of 0.0286λ is fabricated and measured. The antenna achieves dual impedance bandwidths of 1.6% for the low frequency band and 60% for the high frequency band, covering the frequency range 851–865 MHz and 1.97–3.65 GHz, respectively. The measured results show good agreements with the simulated ones.

In this paper we present a fully discrete A-ø finite element method to solve Maxwell’sequations with a nonlinear degenerate boundary condition, which represents ageneralization of the classical Silver-Müller condition for anon-perfect conductor. The relationship between the normal components of theelectric field E and the magnetic field H obeys a power-law nonlinearity of the type H x n = n x (|E x n|α-1E x n) with α ∈ (0,1]. We prove the existence anduniqueness of the solutions of the proposed A-ø scheme and derive the error estimates. Finally, wepresent some numerical experiments to verify the theoretical result.

This study uses a mixed logit model to analyze monetary and nonmonetary factors that influence location choice behavior of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico shrimpers. Shrimpers' responses to economic conditions are compared and contrasted for two periods related to changing economic conditions in the industry. Results show that even though shrimpers are generally revenue driven in choosing a fishing site, their past experience also plays an important role. Further, changes in economic conditions appear to exhibit an influence on the risk attitudes of some shrimpers.

A 24 GHz low-power transceiver is designed, fabricated, and characterized using 130 nm complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The designed transceiver is targeted for frequency-modulated-continuous-wave (FMCW) wireless local positioning. The transceiver includes four switchable receiving channels, one transmitting channel and local-oscillator generation circuitries. Several power-saving techniques are implemented, such as switch channel and adaptive mixer biasing. The design aspects of the low-power circuit blocks and integration considerations are presented in details. The integrated transceiver has a chip area of only 2.2 mm × 1.7 mm. In transmitting mode the transceiver achieves an output power of 4 dBm and phase noise of −90 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz, while consuming 75 mW power consumption under 1.5 V power supply. In switch-channel receiving mode the transceiver demonstrates 31 dB gain and 6 dB noise figure with 65 mW power consumption. The transceiver measurements compare well with the simulated results and achieve state-of-the-art performance with very low-power consumption.

To detect the expression of pro-fibrotic molecules, such as heat shock protein 47 (Hsp47), transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in liver specimens, and analyse their correlations with the progression of schistosomal hepatic fibrosis, liver biopsy was performed in 42 chronic schistosomiasis (CS) patients, 16 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and five healthy individuals (HI). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses displayed that the expression of Hsp47, TGF-β1 and CTGF was increased in CS and CHB patients compared with HI. Using real-time PCR, the mRNA levels of Hsp47, TGF-β1 and CTGF were higher in CS patients compared with HI. In CS patients, the mRNA levels of these genes were correlated with the stage of fibrosis, and TGF-β1 mRNA expression was associated with the grade of inflammation. Additional analyses indicated that the mRNA levels of Hsp47 and CTGF were highly correlated with liver stiffness value and spleen thickness diameter, both of which represented the severity of fibrosis. In conclusion, the three molecules are involved in the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis infected by Schistosoma japonicum. TGF-β1 participates not only in the inflammatory process, but also in the fibrotic process in which Hsp47 and CTGF probably play a key role.

The governing equations for heat transfer and fluid flow are often formulated in a general form for the simplification of discretization and programming, which has achieved great success in thermal science and engineering. Based on the analysis of the popular general form of governing equations, we found that energy conservation cannot be guaranteed when specific heat capacity is not constant, which may lead to unreliable results. A new concept of generalized density is put forward, based on which a new general form of governing equations is proposed to guarantee energy conservation. A number of calculation examples have been employed to verify validation and feasibility.

A gradient structure was synthesized on the surface of Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30 alloy with high glass-forming ability by laser surface melting (LSM). Along the laser incident direction, the surface remelted alloy exhibits gradient microstructure distributed in the sequence of amorphous structure, nanocrystal- reinforced amorphous matrix composite (transitional layer A), dendrites–amorphous phase composite (transitional layer B), and crystalline phases from the top surface to the substrate. The formation mechanism of this gradient structure is discussed based on the experimental results of the microstructure together with the finite volume simulation of the process of LSM treatment. The friction coefficient of the transitional layer A is ∼2.5 times lower than those of the other layers under the same sliding friction condition, and possible reasons for this phenomenon are discussed in connection with the rolling motion and material transfer mechanism. The transitional layer B exhibits the best wear resistance among all the structures studied here, which is related to the optimized ratio of microhardness to reduced Young’s modulus (H/Er).

A family of ultrahigh strength Co-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with critical diameters up to 2 mm is synthesized in Co65–xTaxB35 (at.%, x = 5–10) alloys by copper mold casting. The improved glass-forming ability associated with near eutectic compositions is attributed to the appropriate addition of Ta. The glassy alloys exhibit high glass transition temperature of 930–975 K, ultrahigh compressive strength of 5.6–6.0 GPa, high specific strength of 639–654 N·m/g, Vickers hardness of 15–16 GPa, and distinct plastic strain of 0.5–1.5%. The strength and the specific strength are the highest values reported for bulk metallic materials known so far. Several universal criteria correlated with the thermal properties, elastic constants, and mechanical properties were validated in the Co-based BMG system. These Co–Ta–B BMGs combining with superior mechanical properties, high thermal stability, and simple elemental composition are significant for scientific research as modeling materials and industrial application as advanced structural materials.

Ni- and Cu-free Zr–Al–Co–Ag bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with diameters up to 20 mm were synthesized by copper mold casting. The effects of Ag alloying on the superior glass-forming ability (GFA) of Zr–Al–Co–Ag alloys were studied based on the localized atomic structure and crystallization behavior. High-energy synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction result reveals that Ag addition in Zr–Al–Co system results in a more homogeneous local atomic structure, which could be an origin for the improved GFA of the Zr–Al–Co–Ag alloy. Crystallization products of the Zr–Al–Co–Ag glassy alloy are more complex than those of the Zr–Al–Co glassy alloy. The Zr–Al–Co–Ag BMGs free from highly toxic elements Ni and Cu exhibited a combination of superior GFA, high compressive fracture strength over 2000 MPa, low Young’s modulus of 93 to 94 GPa, and good corrosion resistance in phosphate-buffered solution (PBS), inspiring their potential biomedical applications.