Five orthopteran specimens from the uppermost Middle–lowermost Upper Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China are described and attributed to the genus Sigmaboilus Fang, Zhang & Wang, 2007 (Prophalangopsidae); and a new species, S. calophlebius sp. nov., is established herein. The diagnostic characters for Sigmaboilus are revised and a key to species of Sigmaboilus, based on male forewings, is provided. Intraspecific variation in forewings of this genus is also discussed.

Population decline among Asian horseshoe crabs in Asia is increasingly reported, but knowledge of their population and ecological status in China is limited. We conducted community interviews in 30 fishing villages around Beibu Gulf in Guangxi, China, to collect distribution information about the potential spawning/nursery grounds of Tachypleus tridentatus and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda, and any imminent threats to their populations. Based on the results from 400 respondents we identified 45 potential spawning/nursery grounds distributed widely along the shores of Beibu Gulf. We visited 10 of these sites and verified the presence of juvenile horseshoe crabs by field surveys. Nearly all respondents reported an overall depletion in horseshoe crab populations from these 45 sites, which they attributed mainly to unsustainable fishing practices. Respondents who reported having seen horseshoe crab mating pairs on shores were mostly older people, which may suggest a considerable reduction in horseshoe crabs coming to the shores to spawn in recent years. The mean daily harvest of adult T. tridentatus offshore, as indicated by fishers, has declined from c. 50–1,000 in the 1990s to 0–30 individuals during 2011–2016. Our Wisdom of Crowds approach, supported by confirmatory field surveys, is a cost-effective method for assessing the population status of horseshoe crabs, and the level of threat they face. Similar approaches with other species are likely to be particularly valuable in the Asia–Pacific region, where well-structured population monitoring is largely unaffordable.

Suprathermal electrons produced by laser–plasma interactions at 0.53-μm laser wavelength have been investigated using 19 electron spectrometers. The targets were 2- and 10-μm-thick Al foils, while the laser average intensities were 2 × 1013 and 7 × 1014 W/cm2. A double temperature distribution was observed in the electron energy spectrum: the lower electron temperature was below 25 keV, whereas the higher was ~50 keV. The angular distribution of the total suprathermal electron energy approximately obeyed the Gaussian distribution, peaking along the k vector of the incident laser beam for perpendicular incidence. Furthermore, the conversion rate of laser energy into escaped suprathermal electron energy over the π sr solid angle was ~10−4 at $\sim \!\!10^{14} \; {\rm W}/{\rm c}{\rm m}^{\rm 2}$ , increasing almost linearly with the laser intensity.

A facile synthesis procedure of nitrogen-self-doped porous carbon (NPC) derived from abundant natural biological materials has been presented. The pyrolysis temperature and the weight ratio of Co3O4 to carbon play a key role in determining microscopic structure and electrochemical performances of the final materials. The ordered mesostructures with nanopores in the channel walls provided support for immobilization of well-dispersed Co3O4 nanoparticles. They also served as a highly conductive substrate for effectively alleviating severe particle aggregation during the charge/discharge processes, which prevented capacity fading from deteriorated electric contact between the components. Taking advantage of the interconnected porous structures and high specific surface area (1799 m2/g) of carbon substrate, the Co3O4/NPC composite as anode in lithium-ion battery delivers a stable reversible capacity of 903 mA h/g after 400 cycles. It is expected that by loading other electrode active materials on such carbon material, the manufacture of the promising anode materials with excellent cycle stability is highly possible.

The propagation of a pre-existing center crack in single crystal tungsten under cyclic loading was examined by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at various temperatures. The results indicated that the deformation mechanism and fracture behavior at crack tip were differences for variously oriented cracks. The [001](010) crack propagated as the form of the formation of slip, while the deformation mechanisms of [10−1](101) crack were blunting voids at 300 K. At higher temperature, many more slip systems were activated resulting in the change of mode of crack propagation. Simulated results showed that the effect of temperature on deformation mechanism and fracture behavior of [001](010) crack was more sensitive than that of [10−1](101) crack. Meanwhile, the influence of a 5〈310〉{110} model grain boundary (GB) on crack propagation was also discussed. Detailed analysis showed that the grain boundary resisted the crack growth by changing the deformation mechanisms and the path of crack propagation at crack tip before the crack reached the grain boundary, and had an important influence on the crack growth rate.

Tungstate based phosphors have efficient absorption in the UV region and can be used for UV-pumped light emitting. For novel and effective materials and synthesis methods in this system, a series of Eu3+ and Tb3+ co-doped NaY(WO4)2 phosphors have been synthesized via the molten salt method. The powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns, scanning electronic microscope (SEM), and photoluminescent spectra have been characterized for the prepared samples. The results show the flux (NaCl) not only decreases the reaction temperature (700–900 °C) than the normal solid state synthesis (∼1000 °C), but also controls the morphology of the products. The shape and size of products can be changed simply and effectively by the reaction conditions, such as temperature and heating time. It is also found that the emission colors of the samples can be tuned from red to green by simply adjusting the doping concentrations of Eu3+ and Tb3+ ions under the same wave length excitation, which has potential applications for multi-color display and illumination as a single-component phosphor.

Orthocoelium streptocoelium is a common paramphistome species parasitizing the rumen and/or reticulum of small ruminants, leading to significant losses. This study first determined the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of O. streptocoelium. The complete mt genome of O. streptocoelium was amplified, sequenced, assembled, analysed and then compared with those of other digeneans. The entire mt genome of O. streptocoelium is 13,800 bp in length, which is smaller than those of other digeneans except for Opisthorchis viverrini. This mt genome contains 12 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and two non-coding regions. The arrangement of the O. streptocoelium mt genome is the same as those of other digeneans except for Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma spindale. Phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated amino acid sequences of the 12 protein-coding genes representing 16 digeneans were conducted to assess the relationship of O. streptocoelium with other digeneans. The result indicated that O. streptocoelium is closely related to Paramphistomum cervi and Fischoederius elongates, which is in accordance with their relationships by taxonomy. This complete mt genome of O. streptocoelium enriched the mitochondrial genome data of paramphistomes and provided important molecular markers for diagnostics and studies of population variation, epidemiology, ecology and evolution of O. streptocoelium and other digeneans.

With the 3D data of SDSS-IV MaNGA (Bundy et al. 2015) spectra and multi-wavelength SED modeling, we expect to have a better understanding of the distribution of dust, gas and star formation of galaxy mergers. For a case study of the merging galaxy Mrk848, we use both UV-to-IR broadband SED and the MaNGA integral field spectroscopy to obtain its star formation histories at the tail and core regions. From the SED fitting and full spectral fitting, we find that the star formation in the tail regions are affected by the interaction earlier than the core regions. The core regions show apparently two times of star formation and a strong burst within 500Myr, indicating the recent star formation is triggered by the interaction. The star formation histories derived from these two methods are basically consistent.

We investigated the boron isotopic composition in loess–paleosol sequences in five different profiles in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Three possible boron sources are identified: atmospheric input, carbonates, and weathered silicate rocks. Variations of [Sr], [B], δ11B and the magnetic susceptibility correlate well with the pedogenetic intensity in three out of the five studied profiles, where pedogenesis under a cold–dry climate indicates lower δ11B, lower [B], lower magnetic susceptibility and higher [Sr] values. Exceptions to the variations between the δ11B and other known proxies were observed in arenaceous soils and the Red Clay sequence: the former suggested that vertical redistribution probably occurred with the boron migration, and the latter indicated an unknown mechanism of susceptibility enhancement. A better correlation between the δ11B and magnetic susceptibility and the quantitative estimation of boron budget from each source confirms the influence of paleoenvironmental changes on boron geochemical cycle. Significant positive correlations in Sr/Ca vs. B/Ca and Mg/Ca vs. B/Ca reflect consistent enrichment behavior of those mobile elements into calcium carbonate. The preliminary results imply that boron isotopic compositions in soils can be a potential geochemical proxy to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental changes in loess–paleosol sequences.

This paper develops a model to assess the quantitative effects of entry costs and financial frictions on cross-country income and total factor productivity (TFP) differences, with a primary focus on the interaction between entry costs and financial frictions. The model is calibrated to match the establishment-level statistics for the U.S. economy, assuming a perfect financial market. The simulations based on the calibrated model show that entry costs and financial frictions together account for 55% and 46% of the cross-country variation in output and TFP in the data. Moreover, a substantial portion of the variation is accounted for by the interaction between entry costs and financial frictions. The main mechanism is that financial frictions amplify the effect of entry costs.

The fabrication of Ce3+-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate (Lu2SiO5:Ce, LSO:Ce) scintillation ceramics was investigated by pressureless sintering starting from synthetic submicrometer polycrystalline LSO:Ce powder. It was found that translucent LSO ceramics were densified successfully with relative density of 99.5% under sintering condition of 1720 °C for 4 h. As-sintered LSO ceramics were pore-free with average grain size of 5 μm and exhibited a translucent state. The broad emission spectra centered at 419 nm of the LSO:Ce ceramics under vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and UV excitation at room temperature. Under x-ray excitation, the overall emission intensity of obtained LSO ceramics achieved twice of that of bismuth germanium oxide (also known as bismuth germanate) single crystal at room temperature. Under excitation of 356 nm and emission of 420 nm, the luminescence decay time of the obtained LSO scintillation ceramics reached only 21.2 ns. The light yield of the LSO ceramics was 21,300 ph/MeV, which reached 91% of that of LSO single crystal.

This work presents the preparation and characterization of N-doped TiO2 nanocrystals obtained by a solid-state reaction in vacuum with urea as the nitrogen source. The particle sizes of the products are smaller than 20 nm from the x-ray powder diffraction patterns and the transmission electron microscopy images. Different from the reported samples obtained in air or under dry N2 or NH3 gas flow, the doped nitrogen exists mainly as absorbed NOx groups but as smaller incorporated species in the nanocrystals, which is supported by the results from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Dependent on the nitrogen amount, the surface photovoltage (SPV) response reaches the maximum at the mediate molar ratio of 5:4 (urea to TiO2), which can be explained that proper nitrogen concentration can enhance the separation of the photogenerated carriers to improve the SPV intensity, but excess nitrogen can spread the impurity energy levels to narrow energy gaps, which reinforces the combination of the photogenerated electrons and holes and then decreases the SPV signal. The corresponding detailed discussion is also reported.

The present study investigated the potential health-promoting effects of heat-inactivated Lactobacillus gasseri TMC0356 (TMC0356) on the metabolic syndrome (MS) and the probable mechanisms underlying these effects using an MS rat model. For the purpose of the study, sixty Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: a control group fed a conventional diet, an MS model group fed a high-fat and high-salt (HFS) diet and three TMC0356 test groups (low-, medium- and high-dose groups) fed an HFS diet supplemented with TMC0356 at 41·8, 83·5 and 167·0 mg/kg body weight (BW) per d, respectively. Food intake and BW were measured weekly. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), lipid profiles and blood pressure (BP) were measured at 0, 5, 10 and 15 weeks. Organ coefficients, immune cell counts and serum insulin, adiponectin, C-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6, TNF-α, IgG and secretory IgA levels were measured at the 15th week after diet intervention. The HFS diet increased the BW, liver or fat:BW ratio, FBG, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, adiponectin, serum LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol levels and BP (P< 0·01). Average food and energy intakes in the three TMC0356 groups were significantly lower than those of the MS model group. All the metabolic indices, except BP, were markedly improved (P< 0·05) by oral administration of low and medium doses of TMC0356. The thymus index in the medium-dose group and lymphocyte, CRP, IL-6, TNF-α and IgG levels in all the three TMC0356 groups were significantly increased (P< 0·05 or P< 0·01) compared with those in the MS model group. These results suggest that TMC0356 can improve the metabolic characteristics of MS rats by suppressing appetite. Additionally, the enhancement of inflammatory immune response may be, at least in part, the mechanism underlying the health-promoting effects of TMC0356 on the MS.

A traditional assumption is that schistosome cercariae lose their tails at the onset of penetration. It has, however, recently been demonstrated that, for Schistosoma mansoni, cercarial tails were not invariably being shed as penetration took place and a high proportion of tails entered human skin under experimental conditions. This phenomenon was termed delayed tail loss (DTL). In this paper, we report that DTL also happens with S. japonicum cercariae during penetration of mouse skin. It occurred at all cercarial densities tested, from as few as 10 cercariae/2·25 cm2 of mouse skin up to 200 cercariae. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that there was a density-dependent increase in DTL as cercarial densities increased. No such density-dependent enhancement was shown for percentage attachment over the same cercarial density range.

Traps have been studied by thermally stimulated current spectroscopy (TSC) with intrinsic (1.96 eV) and extrinsic (1.15 eV) light for both In doped and undoped LEC materials grown under various non-stoichiometric conditions. Significant differences are seen in the bulk trap spectra associated with Ga-rich and As-rich material and with isoelectronic In doping. Proximity wafer-annealing at 950° C has been shown to improve minority carrier lifetime in n-type GaAs and we show that in semi-insulating GaAs this causes changes in trap structure. From such thermal studies and the effects of non-stoichiometric growth, the probable nature of the traps commonly seen is inferred.

The microwave sintering technology is still at the developmental stage due to the limitation of the volume (or size) and batch of the ceramic products that can be fabricated by microwave processing. The present paper introduces a new microwave processing technique, i.e. a continuous microwave sintering, which makes it possible to sinter ceramic products with an infinite length in a microwave field. By this technique, alumina-mullite ceramic rollers of 40 mm in diameter and 2400 mm in length have been successfully microwave sintered. The exploratory results show this new technique could offer some new opportunities to scale up microwave sintering for industrial applications.

Three-dimensional (3D) sphere-like Eu3+-doped white light lutetium tungstate phosphors have been fabricated by the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)-assisted hydrothermal method, which presents a diameter of ∼2-μm morphology assembled by nanoflakes with a length of 100 to ∼200 nm. The results demonstrate that CTAB, suitable pH values, reaction time, and reaction temperature are all essential for the formation of lutetium tungstate microspheres. Photoluminescence measurement indicates that lutetium tungstate microspheres show a broad O–W Charge transfer state (CTS) transition and the characteristic emission of Eu3+ at ∼591 and ∼611 nm.

An electrical technique was recently developed to measure the in situ contact area continuously during instrumented indentation by simultaneously monitoring electrical contact response between a conductive indenter tip and a conductive sample. This technique has the potential to overcome limitations of the Oliver-Pharr method caused by the lack of a direct contact area measurement. However, the electrical contact current-voltage (I-V) curves measured from the technique were nonlinear, posing a significant challenge to inferring accurate in situ contact areas. To overcome this challenge and extend the electrical technique to more applications, various I-V curve analysis methods were investigated for their abilities to infer in situ contact area and hardness. Annealed Cu was indented using both linear and exponential loading tests. When analyzing the resulting data, the feasibility of each method was evaluated and the optimal methods to calculate the in situ contact area and hardness were determined. It was found that a simple summation of the absolute values of area under I-V curves or the area under I-V curves at positive voltages yielded the most robust area measure, whereas error in the inferred contact area was systematic and primarily from velocity dependence of the I-V response.