This study examined global trends in influenza-associated lower respiratory infections (LRIs) deaths from 1990 to 2019 using data from the GBD 2019. The annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC) were used to analyze age-standardized death rates (ASDR). Globally, the ASDR of influenza-associated LRIs was 3.29/100,000 in 2019, which was higher in the African region (6.57/100,000) and among adults aged 70 years and older (29.88/100,000). The ASDR of influenza-associated LRIs decreased significantly from 1990 to 2019 (AAPC = −1.88%, P < 0.05). However, it was significantly increased among adults aged 70 years and older during 2017–2019 (APC = 2.31%, P < 0.05), especially in Western Pacific Region and South-East Asia Regions. The ratio of death rates between adults aged 70 years and older and children aged under 5 years increased globally from 1.63 in 1990 to 5.34 in 2019, and the Western Pacific Region experienced the most substantial increase, with the ratio soaring from 1.83 in 1990 to 12.98 in 2019. Despite a decline in the global ASDR of influenza-associated LRIs, it continues to impose a significant burden, particularly in the African, Western Pacific regions and among the elderly population.

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, and the tsunami and meltdowns that followed in its wake, there have been many moving stories about how the disaster impacted, and continues to impact, especially Japanese living in Fukushima and the Sanriku Coast. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, life returned to normal for the vast majority of the population within a few years. March 2011 and its aftermath seem like distant memories, something that happened a long time ago in a region far, far away.

Recently, there has been a Renaissance for multi-level selection models to explain the persistence of unselfish behavior in social dilemmas, in which assortative/correlated matching plays an important role. In the current study of a multi-round prisoners’ dilemma experiment, we introduce two correlated matching procedures that match subjects with similar action histories together. We discover significant treatment effects, compared to the control procedure of random matching. Particularly with the weighted history matching procedure we find bifurcations regarding group outcomes. Some groups converge to the all-defection equilibrium even more pronouncedly than the control groups do, while other groups generate much higher rate of cooperation, which is also associated with higher relative reward for a typical cooperative action. All in all, the data show that cooperation does have a much better chance to persist in a correlated/assortative-matching environment, as predicted in the literature.

Characterised by the extensive use of obsidian, a blade-based tool inventory and microblade technology, the late Upper Palaeolithic lithic assemblages of the Changbaishan Mountains are associated with the increasingly cold climatic conditions of Marine Isotope Stage 2, yet most remain poorly dated. Here, the authors present new radiocarbon dates associated with evolving blade and microblade toolkits at Helong Dadong, north-east China. At 27 300–24 100 BP, the lower cultural layers contain some of the earliest microblade technology in north-east Asia and highlight the importance of the Changbaishan Mountains in understanding changing hunter-gatherer lifeways in this region during MIS 2.

We investigate the influence of vortices remote from the boundary on the near-wall flow dynamics in wall-bounded flows. A vortex ring with precisely controlled local twist is introduced into the outer layer of a channel flow at a moderate Reynolds number. We find that the minimum vorticity flux for triggering the transition to turbulence is significantly reduced from the initial disturbance of an untwisted vortex ring to that of a twisted ring. In particular, the latter disturbance can cause vortex bursting in the early transitional stage. The impact of vortex bursting on the transition process is characterised by the near-wall, wall-normal velocity with the rapid distortion theory. The wall-normal velocity grows during vortex bursting, and leads to streak formation and then the transition to turbulence. The notable wall-normal velocity is induced by the large di-vorticity generated in vortex bursting. We model the growing radial component of the di-vorticity in terms of the local twist, and demonstrate that its surge is due to the generation of highly twisted vortex lines in vortex bursting. Then, we derive that the generation of the di-vorticity in the outer layer enhances the wall-normal velocity in the inner layer via the Poisson equation with the image method and the multipole expansion. Thus, we elucidate that the vortex bursting can have an effect on the transition process.

We derive the spin Euler equation for ideal flows by applying the spherical Clebsch mapping. This equation is based on the spin vector, a unit vector field encoding vortex lines, instead of the velocity. The spin Euler equation enables a feasible Lagrangian study of fluid dynamics, as the isosurface of a spin-vector component is a vortex surface and material surface in ideal flows. We establish a non-blowup criterion for the spin Euler equation, suggesting that the Laplacian of the spin vector must diverge if the solution forms a singularity at some finite time. The direct numerical simulations (DNS) of three ideal flows – the vortex knot, the vortex link and the modified Taylor–Green flow – are conducted by solving the spin Euler equation. The evolution of the Lagrangian vortex surface illustrates that the regions with large vorticity are rapidly stretched into spiral sheets. The DNS result exhibits a pronounced double-exponential growth of the maximum norm of Laplacian of the spin vector, showing no evidence of the finite-time singularity formation if the double-exponential growth holds at later times. Moreover, the present criterion with Lagrangian nature appears to be more sensitive than the Beale–Kato–Majda criterion in detecting the flows that are incapable of producing finite-time singularities.

This paper retrospectively analysed the prevalence of macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MRMP) in some parts of China. Between January 2013 and December 2019, we collected 4,145 respiratory samples, including pharyngeal swabs and alveolar lavage fluid. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in Beijing, the highest resistance rate was 100% in Shanghai, and Gansu was the lowest with 20%. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in 2013, and the highest MRMP was 97.4% in 2019; the PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae for adults in Beijing was 17.9% and the MRMP was 10.48%. Among the children diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), the PCR-positive and macrolide-resistant rates of M. pneumoniae were both higher in the severe ones. A2063G in domain V of 23S rRNA was the major macrolide-resistant mutation, accounting for more than 90%. The MIC values of all MRMP to erythromycin and azithromycin were ≥ 64 μg/ml, and the MICs of tetracycline and levofloxacin were ≤ 0.5 μg/ml and ≤ 1 μg/ml, respectively. The macrolide resistance varied in different regions and years. Among inpatients, the macrolide-resistant rate was higher in severe pneumonia. A2063G was the common mutation, and we found no resistance to tetracycline and levofloxacin.

In preparation for an experiment with a laser-generated intense proton beam at the Laser Fusion Research Center at Mianyang to investigate the 11B(p,α)2α reaction, we performed a measurement at very low proton energy between 140 keV and 172 keV using the high-voltage platform at the Institute of Modern Physics, Lanzhou. The aim of the experiment was to test the ability to use CR-39 track detectors for cross-section measurements and to remeasure the cross-section of this reaction close to the first resonance using the thick target approach. We obtained the cross-section σ = 45.6 ± 12.5 mb near 156 keV. Our result confirms the feasibility of CR-39 type track detector for nuclear reaction measurement also in low-energy regions.

Modified kaolinites possess excellent adsorption properties and, therefore, are regarded widely as potential catalytic components. The use of modified kaolinites as a catalytic component for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) has remained unexplored, however. In the current study, delaminated and pit-rich nano-kaolinite was prepared via acid treatment of N-methylformamide (NMF)-intercalated kaolinite (intercalation-etching strategy), and was used as a support to prepare a cobalt-based FTS catalyst (denoted as 15%-Co-HNKln). Compared with other FTS catalysts, the supports for which were raw kaolinite or directly acid-treated kaolinite, the 15%-Co-HNKln showed several advantages such as large specific surface area, dispersed Co particles with small particle size, more new active sites, and significant surface acidity. Given the aforementioned advantages, the 15%-Co-HNKln catalyst demonstrated very good FTS performance. Compared with that of the raw kaolinite-supported FTS catalyst, the CO conversion rate and C5–C12 hydrocarbon selectivity of 15%-Co-HNKln increased by 20% and 15%, respectively.

The effects of magnetic vortex acceleration (MVA) are investigated with two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations by laser interaction with near-critical density (NCD) plasma inside a hollow conical plasma. Energetic and collimated proton beams can be accelerated by a longitudinal charge-separation field. Energetic protons with a peak energy of 220 MeV are produced in PIC simulations. Compared with a uniform NCD plasma, both the cutoff energy and collimation of proton beams are improved remarkably. Furthermore, the influence of different gap sizes of cone tip is taken into account. For optimizing magnetic vortex acceleration, the gap size of the cone tip is suggested to match the focal spot size of laser pulse.

In order to establish a compact all-optical Thomson scattering source, experimental studies were conducted on the 45 TW Ti: sapphire laser facility. By including a steel wafer, mixed gas, and plasma mirror into a double-exit jet, several mechanisms, such as shock-assisted ionization injection, ionization injection, and driving laser reflection, were integrated into one source. So, the source of complexity was remarkably reduced. Electron bunches with central energy fluctuating from 90 to 160 MeV can be produced. Plasma mirrors were used to reflect the driving laser. The scattering of the reflected laser on the electron bunches led to the generation of X-ray photons. Through comparing the X-ray spots under different experimental conditions, it is confirmed that the X-ray photons are generated by Thomson scattering. For further application, the energy spectra and source size of the Thomson scattering source were measured. The unfolded spectrum contains a large amount of low-energy photons besides a peak near 67 keV. Through importing the electron energy spectrum into the Monte Carlo simulation code, the different contributions of the photons with small and large emitting angles can be used to explain the origin of the unfolded spectrum. The maximum photon energy extended to about 500 keV. The total photon production was 107/pulse. The FWHM source size was about 12 μm.

Xiaonanshan is an archaeological site dated to 16.5–13.5 cal kyr BP, situated beside the Ussuri River in China. The lithic assemblages feature microblade debitage, bifacial points and stone adzes, which provide important new materials for this project to explore Neolithisation in the Amur River basin of northeast Asia.

It is now generally believed that elderly may have slightly higher dietary protein requirements than those of the young-middle-aged adults. We have previously conducted related studies by the indicator amino acid oxidation (IAAO) technique, but more research data are needed to revise the protein requirements of the elderly. The main objective was to reevaluate the dietary protein requirements of healthy Chinese adults (65–80 years) without sarcopenia by using the IAAO technique. Nine healthy adult men and seven healthy adult women participated in the study, with protein intakes ranging from 0·1 to 1·8 g/(kg·d). Diets that delivered energy at a 1·5 resting energy expenditure were isocaloric. The amounts of phenylalanine and tyrosine needed to remain constant for each protein dosage. By applying a nonlinear mixed-effects model analysis on the F13CO2 data, which revealed a breakpoint in F13CO2 in response to graded protein intakes, the mean protein requirement was calculated. The mean estimated average requirement (EAR) for healthy elderly Chinese adults without sarcopenia was determined to be 0·94 g/(kg·d). The protein recommended nutrient intake (RNI) determined using various derivation approaches ranged from 1·13 to 1·36 g/(kg·d). The EAR for Chinese adults without sarcopenia aged 65–80 years in this study is 6·8 % higher than the current recommended EAR (0·88 g/(kg·d)). The RNI derived using various derivation approaches are all greater than the current RNI (0·98 g/(kg·d)). This trial was registered with the Chinese clinical trial registry as ChiCTR2200061382.

We review the progress on the applications of the vortex-surface field (VSF). The VSF isosurface is a vortex surface consisting of vortex lines. Based on the generalized Helmholtz theorem, the VSF isosurfaces of the same threshold at different times have strong coherence. As a general flow diagnostic tool for studying vortex evolution, the numerical VSF solution is first constructed in a given flow field by solving a pseudo-transport equation driven by the instantaneous frozen vorticity, and then the VSF evolution is calculated by the two-time method. From the database of numerical simulations or experiments, the VSF can elucidate mechanisms in the flows with essential vortex dynamics, such as isotropic turbulence, wall flow transition, flow past a flapping plate and turbulence–flame interaction. The characterization of VSFs reveals the correlation between robust statistical features and the critical quantities needed to be predicted in engineering applications, such as the friction coefficient in transition, thrust in bio-propulsion and growth rate in interface instability. Since the VSF evolution captures the essential Lagrangian-based dynamics of vortical flows, it inspires novel numerical methods on cutting-edge hardware, e.g. graphic and quantum processors.

Accumulating evidence shows associations between rapid eating and overweight. Modifying eating rate might be a potential weight management strategy without imposing additional dietary restrictions. A comprehensive understanding of factors associated with eating speed will help with designing effective interventions. The aim of this review was to synthesise the current state of knowledge on the factors associated with eating rate. The socio-ecological model (SEM) was utilised to scaffold the identified factors. A comprehensive literature search of eleven databases was conducted to identify factors associated with eating rate. The 104 studies that met the inclusion criteria were heterogeneous in design and methods of eating rate measurement. We identified thirty-nine factors that were independently linked to eating speed and mapped them onto the individual, social and environmental levels of the SEM. The majority of the reported factors pertained to the individual characteristics (n = 20) including demographics, cognitive/psychological factors and habitual food oral processing behaviours. Social factors (n = 11) included eating companions, social and cultural norms, and family structure. Environmental factors (n = 8) included food texture and presentation, methods of consumption or background sounds. Measures of body weight, food form and characteristics, food oral processing behaviours and gender, age and ethnicity were the most researched and consistent factors associated with eating rate. A number of other novel and underresearched factors emerged, but these require replication and further research. We highlight directions for further research in this space and potential evidence-based candidates for interventions targeting eating rate.

Helicity, an invariant under ideal-fluid (Euler) evolution, has a topological interpretation in terms of writhe and twist for a closed vortex tube, but accurately quantifying twist is challenging in viscous flows. With a novel helicity decomposition, we present a framework to construct the differential twist that establishes the theoretical relation between the total twisting number and the local twist rate of each vortex surface. This framework can characterize coiling vortex lines and internal structures within a vortex – important in laminar–turbulence transition, and in vortex instability, reconnection and breakdown. As a typical example, we explore the dynamics of vortex rings with differential twist via direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the Navier–Stokes equations. Two twist waves with opposite chiralities propagate towards each other along the ring and then collide whence the local twist rate rapidly surges. Local vortex surfaces are squeezed into a disk-like dipole structure containing coiled vortex lines, leading to vortex bursting. We derive a Burgers-equation-like model to quantify this process, which predicts a bursting time that agrees well with DNS.

Precision irrigation is a potential viable strategy for water use reductions on golf courses by making variable or site-specific irrigation applications. A group of US golf course superintendents were surveyed to examine whether and how superintendents’ risk preferences (attitudes) affect the adoption decisions of precision irrigation technologies on their golf courses. Under the prospect theory (PT) framework, a lottery experiment was used to elicit the measures of three risk attitudes, that is, risk curvature, probability distortion, and loss aversion. Using these three measures and other questions in the survey, we found that risk curvature has a significant positive effect on the precision irrigation technologies adoption on golf courses, while probability distortion affects the adoption negatively. Compared to the golf course in low precipitation areas, superintendents’ risk attitudes are more likely to affect the precision irrigation technologies adoption in the golf course in high precipitation areas. Additionally, risk curvature dominates the adoption decisions for newer technologies, while probability distortion dominates the older technologies adoption decisions. Our research enriches the literature on the decision-making behaviors of managers by considering how probability distortion, a factor typically ignored by other studies, affects technology adoption decisions and adds to the literature on examining the technology adoption behaviors under PT by focusing on golf course superintendents, a group that has not been studied.