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The cyst nematodes, subfamily Heteroderinae, are plant pathogens of worldwide economic significance. A new cyst nematode of the genus Cactodera within the Heteroderinae, Cactodera xinanensis n. sp., was isolated from rhizospheres of crops in the Guizhou and Sichuan provinces of southwest China. The new species was characterized by having the cyst with a length/width = 1.3 ± 0.1 (1.1–1.6), a fenestral diameter of 28.1 ± 4.3 (21.3–38.7) μm, vulval denticles present; second-stage juvenile with stylet 21.5 ± 0.5 (20.3–22.6) μm long, tail 59.4 ± 2.0 (55.9–63.8) μm long and hyaline region 28.7 ± 2.7 (25.0–36.3) μm long, lateral field with four incisures; the eggshell with punctations. The new species can be differentiated from other species of Cactodera by a longer tail and hyaline region of second-stage juveniles. Phylogenetic relationships within populations and species of Cactodera are given based on the analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS-rRNA), the large subunit of the nuclear ribosomal RNA (28S-rRNA) D2-D3 region and the partial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences here. The ITS-rRNA, 28S-rRNA and COI gene sequences clearly differentiated Cactodera xinanensis n. sp. from other species of Cactodera. A key and a morphological identification characteristic table for the species of Cactodera are included in the study.
The pulsed jet is a novel and effective active mixing enhancement approach. For the transverse pulsed jet in the supersonic crossflow, the frequency influence is investigated using the three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with the SST k-ω turbulence model. The averaged flow field properties of the pulsed jet are better than those of the steady jet when considering mixing efficiency and jet penetration depth, especially for the case with the pulsed frequency being 50kHz. The flow field structures of the pulsed jet are connected with the time, with periodic wave structures generating in the flow field and moving downstream. The size of the wave structures and its distance are related to the frequency, namely the size and flow distance are relatively small at 50kHz, and it takes some time for the pulsed jet to establish its influence in the full flow field. At low frequencies, the flow field produces large fluctuations, and this may be detrimental to the stable operation of the engine.
The great demographic pressure brings tremendous volume of beef demand. The key to solve this problem is the growth and development of Chinese cattle. In order to find molecular markers conducive to the growth and development of Chinese cattle, sequencing was used to determine the position of copy number variations (CNVs), bioinformatics analysis was used to predict the function of ZNF146 gene, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used for CNV genotyping and one-way analysis of variance was used for association analysis. The results showed that there exists CNV in Chr 18: 47225201-47229600 (5.0.1 version) of ZNF146 gene through the early sequencing results in the laboratory and predicted ZNF146 gene was expressed in liver, skeletal muscle and breast cells, and was amplified or overexpressed in pancreatic cancer, which promoted the development of tumour through bioinformatics. Therefore, it is predicted that ZNF146 gene affects the proliferation of muscle cells, and then affects the growth and development of cattle. Furthermore, CNV genotyping of ZNF146 gene was three types (deletion type, normal type and duplication type) by Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR). The association analysis results showed that ZNF146-CNV was significantly correlated with rump length of Qinchuan cattle, hucklebone width of Jiaxian red cattle and heart girth of Yunling cattle. From the above results, ZNF146-CNV had a significant effect on growth traits, which provided an important candidate molecular marker for growth and development of Chinese cattle.
We report the experimental results of the commissioning phase in the 10 PW laser beamline of the Shanghai Superintense Ultrafast Laser Facility (SULF). The peak power reaches 2.4 PW on target without the last amplifying during the experiment. The laser energy of 72 ± 9 J is directed to a focal spot of approximately 6 μm diameter (full width at half maximum) in 30 fs pulse duration, yielding a focused peak intensity around 2.0 × 1021 W/cm2. The first laser-proton acceleration experiment is performed using plain copper and plastic targets. High-energy proton beams with maximum cut-off energy up to 62.5 MeV are achieved using copper foils at the optimum target thickness of 4 μm via target normal sheath acceleration. For plastic targets of tens of nanometers thick, the proton cut-off energy is approximately 20 MeV, showing ring-like or filamented density distributions. These experimental results reflect the capabilities of the SULF-10 PW beamline, for example, both ultrahigh intensity and relatively good beam contrast. Further optimization for these key parameters is underway, where peak laser intensities of 1022–1023 W/cm2 are anticipated to support various experiments on extreme field physics.
The long-distance stable transport of relativistic electron beams (REBs) in plasmas is studied by full three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Theoretical analysis shows that the beam transport is mainly influenced by three transverse instabilities, where the excitation of self-modulation instability, and the suppression of the filamentation instability and the hosing instability are important to realize the beam stable transport. By modulating the transport parameters such as the electron density ratio, the relativistic Lorentz factor, the beam envelopes and the density profiles, the relativistic bunches having a smooth density profile and a length of several plasma wave periods can suppress the beam-plasma instabilities and propagate in plasmas for long distances with small energy losses. The results provide a reference for the research of long-distance and stable transport of REBs, and would be helpful for new particle beam diagnosis technology and space active experiments.
We report on experimental observation of non-laminar proton acceleration modulated by a strong magnetic field in laser irradiating micrometer aluminum targets. The results illustrate the coexistence of ring-like and filamentation structures. We implement the knife edge method into the radiochromic film detector to map the accelerated beams, measuring a source size of 30–110 μm for protons of more than 5 MeV. The diagnosis reveals that the ring-like profile originates from low-energy protons far off the axis whereas the filamentation is from the near-axis high-energy protons, exhibiting non-laminar features. Particle-in-cell simulations reproduced the experimental results, showing that the short-term magnetic turbulence via Weibel instability and the long-term quasi-static annular magnetic field by the streaming electric current account for the measured beam profile. Our work provides direct mapping of laser-driven proton sources in the space-energy domain and reveals the non-laminar beam evolution at featured time scales.
Considering the shortcomings of current methods for real-time resolution of two-aircraft flight conflicts, a geometric optimal conflict resolution and recovery method based on the velocity obstacle method for two aircraft and a cooperative conflict resolution method for multiple aircraft are proposed. The conflict type was determined according to the relative position and velocity of the aircraft, and a corresponding conflict mitigation strategy was selected. A resolution manoeuvre and a recovery manoeuvre were performed. On the basis of a two-aircraft conflict resolution model, a multi-aircraft cooperative conflict resolution game was constructed to identify an optimal solution for maximising group welfare. The solution and recovery method is simple and effective, and no new flight conflicts are introduced during track recovery. For multi-aircraft conflict resolution, an equilibrium point that maximises the welfare function of the group was identified, and thus, an optimal strategy for multi-aircraft conflict resolution was obtained.
A new near-infrared direct acceleration mechanism driven by Laguerre–Gaussian laser is proposed to stably accelerate and concentrate electron slice both in longitudinal and transversal directions in vacuum. Three-dimensional simulations show that a 2-μm circularly polarized ${\mathrm{LG}}_p^l$ (p = 0, l = 1, σz = −1) laser can directly manipulate attosecond electron slices in additional dimensions (angular directions) and give them annular structures and angular momentums. These annular vortex attosecond electron slices are expected to have some novel applications such as in the collimation of antiprotons in conventional linear accelerators, edge-enhancement electron imaging, structured X-ray generation, and analysis and manipulation of nanomaterials.
Developing alternatives to antibiotics is an urgent need in livestock production. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are regarded as powerful antibiotic substitutes (ASs) because AMPs have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities and growth-promoting ability. Here, we aimed to comprehensively assess the effects of AMPs on the growth performance, diarrhea rate, intestinal morphology and immunity of healthy or challenged piglets, compared with an antibiotics group or negative control group. We performed a set of meta-analyses of feeding trials from database inception to 27 May 2019. Among the 1379 identified studies, 20 were included in our meta-analyses (56 arms and 4067 piglets). The meta-analyses revealed that (1) compared with the negative control group, AMPs significantly improved the healthy piglets’ average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), gain : feed ratio (G/F), levels of immune globulin (Ig) IgM and IgG, and intestinal villus height : crypt depth ratio (V/C) (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, AMPs significantly increased the challenged piglets’ ADG, ADFI, G/F and V/C of the jejunum and ileum, and notably deceased the diarrhea rate (P < 0.05); (2) compared with antibiotics group, the effects of AMPs were slightly weaker than those of antibiotics in the healthy piglets, but AMPs have similar effects to those of antibiotics in challenged piglets. In a higher purity, the optimal dose of AMPs may be approximately 0.01%. Our findings indicate that AMPs can improve piglet growth performance, enhance immunity, benefit intestinal morphology and decrease the diarrheal rate. AMPs could be great ASs especially under infection conditions.
A new developed spatially targeted mollusciciding technology for snail control was utilised in a research site. This study aims to analyse whether this technology can achieve rational effectiveness compared with the routine method. Snail density was monitored every spring and autumn from 2010 to 2017 at the research site and routine mollusciciding for snail control was then performed. After snail density monitoring in spring 2018, spatially targeted mollusciciding technology was adopted. Log-linear regression and nonlinear regression models were used for snail density prediction in autumn 2018 and the predicted value was compared with the actual snail density in autumn 2018 to verify the effectiveness of the spatially targeted mollusciciding. Monitoring results showed that overall snail density in the research site decreased from 2010 to 2018. The monitored snail density in autumn 2018 was 0.014/0.1 m2. Predicted by the log-linear regression model, the snail density in autumn 2018 would be 0.028 (95% CI 0.11–0.072)/0.1 m2. Predicted by the nonlinear regression model, the snail density growth in autumn 2018 in contrast to spring 2018 would be 79.79% (95% CI 54.81%–104.77%) and the actual value was 55.56%. Therefore, the effectiveness of the first application of spatially targeted mollusciciding was acceptable. However, the validation of its sustainable effectiveness still needs a replicated study comparing areas where targeted and untargeted methods are applied simultaneously and both snail abundance and human infection are monitored.
The treatment of refractory schizophrenia has been a clinical challenge for most psychiatrists. The possible mechanism of the refractory schizophrenia included diagnostic errors, medical conditions and brain dysgensis. Here, we described a patient with childhood-onset schizophrenia who had severe psychiatric symptoms such as auditory hallucination and persecutory delusion and so on. We reexamined all his possible medical conditions and found the patient had an abnormal enlarged Cavus Septum Pellucidum (CSP) combined with Cavum Vergae (CV) (maximum length>30 mm). Some reports suggested that abnormal CSP(length>6 mm) has an significant association with schizophrenia. However, abnormally large CSP or CSP/CV and related prognosis were reported rarely. This case suggested that abnormally enlarged CSP or CSP/CV may lead to schizophrenia and worse prognosis.
The present study was designed to detect three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located on 22q11 that was thought as being of particularly importance for genetic research into schizophrenia. We recruited a total of 176 Chinese family trios of Han descent, consisting of mothers, fathers and affected offspring with schizophrenia for the genetic analysis. The transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) showed that of three SNPs, rs10314 in the 3′-untranslated region of the CLDN5 locus was associated with schizophrenia (χ2 = 4.75, P = 0.029). The other two SNPs, rs1548359 present in the CDC45L locus centromeric of rs10314 and rs739371 in the 5′-flanking region of the CLDN5 locus, did not show such an association. The global chi-square (χ2) test showed that the 3-SNP haplotype system was not associated with schizophrenia although the 1-df test for individual haplotypes showed that the rs1548359(C)-rs10314(G)-rs739371(C) haplotype was excessively non-transmitted (χ2 = 5.32, P = 0.02). Because the claudin proteins are a major component for barrier-forming tight junctions that could play a crucial role in response to changing natural, physiological and pathological conditions, the CLDN5 association with schizophrenia may be an important clue leading to look into a meeting point of genetic and environmental factors.
An increasing number of studies have described the relationship between velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS) and schizophrenia. in a family-based study, we found that rs10314, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) present in the 3’-flanking region of the CLDN5 gene, was associated with schizophrenia among a Chinese population. High false positive rate is a common problem with the association study of human diseases. It is very important to replicate an initial finding with different samples and experimental designs.
Methods:
A total of 749 patients with schizophrenia and 383 age and sex matched healthy control subjects in Chinese population were recruited. PCR-based RFLP protocol was applied to genotype rs10314 to see its disease association.
Results:
The χ2 goodness-of-fit test showed that the genotypic distributions of rs10314 were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in both the patient group (χ2=1.12, P=0.289) and the control group (χ2=0.22, P=0.639). rs10314 was associated with schizophrenia with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.32 in the male subjects (χ2=5.45, P=0.02, 95% CI 1.05-1.67) but not in the female subjects (χ2=0.64, P=0.425, OR=1.14, 95% CI 0.83-1.57). the χ2 test showed a genotypic association only for combined samples (χ2=7.80, df=2, P=0.02). SNP rs10314 is a G to C base change. Frequency of the genotypes containing the C allele was significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group.
Conclusions:
The present work shows that the CLDN5 gene polymorphism is more likely to be involved in schizophrenic men than women, suggesting that this gene may contribute to the gender differences in schizophrenia.
The majority of neuroimaging studies reported smaller hippocampal volumes in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our previous study found that PTSD is associated with selective volume loss of the CA3/dentate gyrus subfields However, the causality of smaller hippocampal volumes and PTSD cannot be determined in these studies because of the cross-sectional nature of them. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to determine if PTSD caused hippocampal subfields volume loss following traffic accidents. Volumes of hippocampal subfields in thirty seven traffic accident survivors were measured using 3T MRI in one week after accident, and twenty five of them completed one year follow-up MRI scan. Fourteen participants met the PTSD diagnosis in one year follow-up while other eleven did not met PTSD diagnosis criteria. PTSD was significantly associated with volumes reduction of CA3/dentate gyrus subfield (β=0.244 p=0.017) while other subfields were spared. It also shown volume loses of Entorhinal Cortex (ERC) of both side in one year follow-up for the whole sample (mean volume reduction: right 19.25mm3, left 22.04 mm3). But no association has been found between PTSD and ERC volume alteration. The findings indicate for the first time in humans that selective volume loss of the CA3/dentate gyrus subfields is the results but not the risk factor of PTSD. It also suggested that ERC may also be a stress sensitive region.
Although alienation toward parents is important for children (for current mental health status or later interpersonal relationships in adulthood), it is undervalued and even lacks a standardized tool of assessment. Moreover, the large number of left-behind children in China is a cause of public concern. However, their experienced alienation toward their parents remains unclear, which may be important for early detection or intervention for behavioral problems in this population. Hence, the current study aimed to develop an alienation inventory for children and then use it to investigate the experienced alienation toward parents in Chinese left-behind children.
Methods
Two studies were carried out. Study 1 was designed to develop a standard inventory of alienation toward parents (IAP). In study 2, 8361 children and adolescents (6704 of them were left-behind status) of the Chongqing area, aged between 8 and 19 years old, were recruited for investigation. All participants were surveyed with a standard sociodemographic questionnaire, children's cognitive style questionnaire, children's depression inventory, adolescent self-rating life events checklist, and newly built IAP in study 1.
Results
In study 1, we developed a two-component (communication and emotional distance) and 18-item (9 items for maternal or paternal form, respectively) IAP questionnaire. In study 2, exploratory factor analysis indicated an expected two-factor structure of IAP, which was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients showed a good reliability (0.887 and 0.821 for maternal and paternal form, respectively). Children with absent mother experienced the highest alienation toward parents. Boys as well as children aged 8–10 years old experienced higher alienation toward parents. Poor communication with parents (sparse or no connection), level of left-behind condition (parents divorced, been far away from parents), and psychosocial vulnerability (stressful life events, negative cognitive style) were risk factors of alienation toward parents.
Conclusions
The current study develops a two-factor (communication and emotional distance) IAP, which offers a reliable tool to assess experienced alienation of affection toward parents in children aged between 8 and 19 years old. Our result is the first investigation of experienced alienation and potential influential factors in Chinese left-behind children. The findings that children with absent mother experience higher alienation toward parents, as well as three recognized risk factors for alienation of affection toward parents (poor communication with absent parents, worse left-behind condition, and psychosocial vulnerability), give valuable guidance for parents who intend to leave or who are already leaving as well as for government policymaking.
Crystal structure and electronic structure of YMnO3 were investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy related techniques. According to the density of states (DOS), the individual interband transitions to energy loss peaks in the low energy loss spectrum were assigned. The hybridization of O 2p with Mn 3d and Y 4d analyzed by the partial DOS was critical to the ferroelectric nature of YMnO3. From the simulation of the energy loss near-edge structure, the fine structure of O K-edge was in good agreement with the experimental spectrum. The valence state of Mn (+3) in YMnO3 was determined by a comparison between experiment and calculations.
The crystal plastic theory was used to examine the effect of film-cooling hole arrangements on mechanical properties of cooled turbine blade. The finite element method was used to analyze the maximum von Mises stress and resolved shear stress of an octahedral slip system considering the number of rows, diameter, spacing, and tangential-to-longitudinal hole spacing (h/l) ratio. The different arrangements were found to have a significant influence on the maximum von Mises stress and resolved shear stress. For the triangular arrangement, the von Mises stress and resolved shear stress were highest with double rows, followed by a single row and then triple rows. For the quadrilateral arrangement, the stresses were highest with double rows, followed by triple rows and then a single row. Increasing the spacing or decreasing the diameter reduced the maximum von Mises stress and weakened the multi-hole interference effect. Both the maximum von Mises stress and resolved shear stress decreased with the h/l ratio.
Global inequity in access to and availability of essential mental health services is well recognized. The mental health treatment gap is approximately 50% in all countries, with up to 90% of people in the lowest-income countries lacking access to required mental health services. Increased investment in global mental health (GMH) has increased innovation in mental health service delivery in LMICs. Situational analyses in areas where mental health services and systems are poorly developed and resourced are essential when planning for research and implementation, however, little guidance is available to inform methodological approaches to conducting these types of studies. This scoping review provides an analysis of methodological approaches to situational analysis in GMH, including an assessment of the extent to which situational analyses include equity in study designs. It is intended as a resource that identifies current gaps and areas for future development in GMH. Formative research, including situational analysis, is an essential first step in conducting robust implementation research, an essential area of study in GMH that will help to promote improved availability of, access to and reach of mental health services for people living with mental illness in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While strong leadership in this field exists, there remain significant opportunities for enhanced research representing different LMICs and regions.
Heading date (HD) and flowering date (FD) are critical for yield potential and stability, so understanding their genetic foundation is of great significance in wheat breeding. Three related recombinant inbred line populations with a common female parent were developed to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for HD and FD in four environments. In total, 25 putative additive QTL and 20 pairwise epistatic effect QTL were detected in four environments. The additive QTL were distributed across 17 wheat chromosomes. Of these, QHd-1A, QHd-1D, QHd-2B, QHd-3B, QHd-4A, QHd-4B and QHd-6D were major and stable QTL for HD. QFd-1A, QFd-2B, QFd-4A and QFd-4B were major and stable QTL for FD. In addition, an epistatic interaction test showed that epistasis played important roles in controlling wheat HD and FD. Genetic relationships between HD/FD and five yield-related traits (YRTs) were characterized and ten QTL clusters (C1–C10) simultaneously controlling YRTs and HD/FD were identified. The present work laid a genetic foundation for improving yield potential in wheat molecular breeding programmes.
The seasonality of individual influenza subtypes/lineages and the association of influenza epidemics with meteorological factors in the tropics/subtropics have not been well understood. The impact of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic on the prevalence of seasonal influenza virus remains to be explored. Using wavelet analysis, the periodicities of A/H3N2, seasonal A/H1N1, A/H1N1pdm09, Victoria and Yamagata were identified, respectively, in Panzhihua during 2006–2015. As a subtropical city in southwestern China, Panzhihua is the first industrial city in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The relationship between influenza epidemics and local climatic variables was examined based on regression models. The temporal distribution of influenza subtypes/lineages during the pre-pandemic (2006–2009), pandemic (2009) and post-pandemic (2010–2015) years was described and compared. A total of 6892 respiratory specimens were collected and 737 influenza viruses were isolated. A/H3N2 showed an annual cycle with a peak in summer–autumn, while A/H1N1pdm09, Victoria and Yamagata exhibited an annual cycle with a peak in winter–spring. Regression analyses demonstrated that relative humidity was positively associated with A/H3N2 activity while negatively associated with Victoria activity. Higher prevalence of A/H1N1pdm09 and Yamagata was driven by lower absolute humidity. The role of weather conditions in regulating influenza epidemics could be complicated since the diverse viral transmission modes and mechanism. Differences in seasonality and different associations with meteorological factors by influenza subtypes/lineages should be considered in epidemiological studies in the tropics/subtropics. The development of subtype- and lineage-specific prevention and control measures is of significant importance.