Straightplasma channels are widely used to guide relativistic intense laser pulses over several Rayleigh lengths for laser wakefield acceleration. Recently, a curved plasma channel with gradually varied curvature was suggested to guide a fresh intense laser pulse and merge it into a straight channel for staged wakefield acceleration [Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 154801 (2018)]. In this work, we report the generation of such a curved plasma channel from a discharged capillary. Both longitudinal and transverse density distributions of the plasma inside the channel were diagnosed by analyzing the discharging spectroscopy. Effects of the gas-filling mode, back pressure and discharging voltage on the plasma density distribution inside the specially designed capillary are studied. Experiments show that a longitudinally uniform and transversely parabolic plasma channel with a maximum channel depth of 47.5 μm and length of 3 cm can be produced, which is temporally stable enough for laser guiding. Using such a plasma channel, a laser pulse with duration of 30 fs has been successfully guided along the channel with the propagation direction bent by 10.4°.

Trematodes of the genus Ogmocotyle are intestinal flukes that can infect a variety of definitive hosts, resulting in significant economic losses worldwide. However, there are few studies on molecular data of these trematodes. In this study, the mitochondrial (mt) genome of Ogmocotyle ailuri isolated from red panda (Ailurus fulgens) was determined and compared with those from Pronocephalata to investigate the mt genome content, genetic distance, gene rearrangements and phylogeny. The complete mt genome of O. ailuri is a typical closed circular molecule of 14 642 base pairs, comprising 12 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes and 2 non-coding regions. All genes are transcribed in the same direction. In addition, 23 intergenic spacers and 2 locations with gene overlaps were determined. Sequence identities and sliding window analysis indicated that cox1 is the most conserved gene among 12 PCGs in O. ailuri mt genome. The sequenced mt genomes of the 48 Plagiorchiida trematodes showed 5 types of gene arrangement based on all mt genome genes, with the gene arrangement of O. ailuri being type I. Phylogenetic analysis using concatenated amino acid sequences of 12 PCGs revealed that O. ailuri was closer to Ogmocotyle sikae than to Notocotylus intestinalis. These data enhance the Ogmocotyle mt genome database and provide molecular resources for further studies of Pronocephalata taxonomy, population genetics and systematics.

The objective of this study was to analyze differences in birth weight and overweight/obesity in a Shanghai twin cohort. We also wanted to study their association and explore possible risk factors for the discordance of overweight/obesity within twins. This was an internal case–control study designed for twins. The 2012 Shanghai Twin Registration System baseline survey data of a total of 3417 twin pairs were statistically analyzed using SPSS22 software. Results show that the body mass index (BMI) of the Shanghai twin population increased with age. Twins with a high birth weight had a higher BMI and a higher rate of overweight and obesity; 0- to 6-year-old twins, male twins and dizygotic (DZ) twins had higher rates of overweight/obesity than other groups. The greater the discordant birth weight rate of twins, the more obvious the difference in BMI (p < .05). There was a significant difference in overweight/obesity between twins with a relative difference of birth weight ≥15% in DZ twins (p < .05). DZ twins, male twins and 0- to 6-year-old twins were more likely to be discordant in overweight/obese than others. The discordant birth weight within twins was not a risk factor for discordant overweight/obesity. However, attention should be paid to childhood obesity, and appropriate interventions should be made at the appropriate time. Genetics may play an important role in the occurrence and development of overweight/obesity. In conclusion, discordant growth and development in the uterus early in life may not lead to discordant weight development in the future.

In this paper, field effect transistors (FET) based on different kinds of non-graphene materials are introduced, which are MoS2, WSe2 and black phosphorus (BP). Those devices have their unique features in fabrication process compared with conventional FETs. Among them, MoS2 FET shows better electrical characteristics by applying a SiO2 protective layer; WSe2 FET is fabricated based on a new low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) method; BP FET acquires high on/off ratio and high hole mobility by using a simple dry transfer method. Those novel non-graphene materials inspire new design and fabrication process of basic logic device.

Ultrashort electron bunch trains can be used for plasma wake field acceleration (PWFA) to overcome the limit of transformer ratio of a single electron bunch, or high-power terahertz (Thz) radiation production by various radiation mechanisms. Basic facility for high-power THz radiation development based on ultrashort electron beam has been set up at accelerator lab of TUB. Using birefringent crystal serials, ultraviolet (UV) pulse shaping for photocathode radio frequency gun to produce THz-repetition-rate pulse train was realized. Driven by such pulses, ultrashort electron bunch train with picosecond (ps) spacing was obtained for THz production. Measurement of the stacked UV pulse trains was done by difference frequency generation (DFG), and the measured group velocity mismatch of α-BBO crystal at 266.7-nm wavelength was 0.8 ps/mm. This method may also be applied to form ramped electron bunch trains for PWFA.

The expression of the YUCAA1 gene and the amount of endogenous indole acetic acid (IAA) in rice (Oryza sativa subsp. japonica) plants and rice suspension cells infected by Rice stripe virus (RSV) were investigated by real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The results showed that the expression of the YUCAA1 gene and the amount of endogenous IAA increased at various times (16, 32, 48 and 64 h) after infection of rice suspension cells by RSV. In rice plants infected with RSV, the expression of the YUCAA1 gene and the amount of endogenous IAA increased, in comparison with healthy rice plants, at 4–8 days after infection, and decreased at 12 and 16 days. These results indicated that RSV infection could regulate auxin biosynthesis in rice. Additionally, the expression of the RSV gene CP increased 2.9 times in rice plants after they were treated with a KPSC buffer to deplete the endogenous auxins, and decreased 45% after treatment with 30 μmol/l IAA. All of these results suggest that auxin may play a role in RSV replication in rice plants.

We studied seasonal variation in density and species richness of seeds in the 0–10 cm soil depth layer in primary, secondary and pine forests, and in shrubland and grassland in the Shilin Stone Forest Geographical Park, Yunnan, SW China. Soil samples were collected four times during the year at 3-month intervals. Seeds from 119 species were identified by germination tests in the soil samples. Density and species richness of seeds of herbaceous plants were greater than woody plants at all five sites throughout the year. Sampling time and site differences had significant effects on the mean number of species and on seed-bank density. Mean number of species per sample increased from February, reached the highest value in May, decreased to the lowest value in August and then increased in November. An exception was in the primary forest, where the highest number of species was found in February. Mean seed-bank density peaked in May at all five sites, and no significant differences were found between densities in February, November and August, except for the primary forest. The peak in seed-bank density in May might be due to dispersal of new seeds of spring-fruiting species, combined with persistence of seeds dispersed in previous years. This seasonal variation of individual species was due primarily to differences in species phenology rather than to differences between sites. Four seasonal seed-bank strategies were identified: two transient and two persistent. At all sites, similar numbers of seeds of herbaceous species were found between seasons, but the number of species of trees and shrubs decreased in August.