Biogeochemical analyses of organisms’ tissues provide direct proxies for diets, behaviors, and environmental interactions that have proven invaluable for studies of extant and extinct species. Applying these to Cretaceous ecosystems has at times produced anomalous results, however, as dinosaurs preserve unusually positive stable carbon isotope compositions relative to extant C3-feeding vertebrates. This has been hypothesized to be a unique property of dinosaur dietary physiology, with potential significance for our interpretations of their paleobiology. We test that hypothesis through multi-taxic stable carbon isotope analyses of a spatiotemporally constrained locality in the Late Cretaceous of Canada, and compare the results to a modern near-analogue environment in Louisiana. The stable carbon isotope anomaly is present in all sampled fossil vertebrates, dinosaur or not. This suggests another more widespread factor is responsible. Examinations of diagenetic effects suggest that, where present, they are insufficient to explain the isotope anomaly. The isotope anomaly is therefore not primarily the result of a unique dietary physiology of dinosaurs, but rather a mix of factors impacting all taxa, such as environmental and/or source-diet differences. Our study underscores the importance of multi-taxic samples from spatiotemporally constrained localities in testing hypotheses of extinct organisms and ecosystems, and in the use of modern data to “ground truth” when evaluating analogue versus non-analogue conditions in greenhouse paleoecosystems.

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.

In this prospective, longitudinal study, we examined the risk factors for severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among a cohort of chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients and healthcare personnel (HCPs) over a 6-month period. The risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HD patients and HCPs was consistently associated with a household member having SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) has emerged out of the quantitative approach to psychiatric nosology. This approach identifies psychopathology constructs based on patterns of co-variation among signs and symptoms. The initial HiTOP model, which was published in 2017, is based on a large literature that spans decades of research. HiTOP is a living model that undergoes revision as new data become available. Here we discuss advantages and practical considerations of using this system in psychiatric practice and research. We especially highlight limitations of HiTOP and ongoing efforts to address them. We describe differences and similarities between HiTOP and existing diagnostic systems. Next, we review the types of evidence that informed development of HiTOP, including populations in which it has been studied and data on its validity. The paper also describes how HiTOP can facilitate research on genetic and environmental causes of psychopathology as well as the search for neurobiologic mechanisms and novel treatments. Furthermore, we consider implications for public health programs and prevention of mental disorders. We also review data on clinical utility and illustrate clinical application of HiTOP. Importantly, the model is based on measures and practices that are already used widely in clinical settings. HiTOP offers a way to organize and formalize these techniques. This model already can contribute to progress in psychiatry and complement traditional nosologies. Moreover, HiTOP seeks to facilitate research on linkages between phenotypes and biological processes, which may enable construction of a system that encompasses both biomarkers and precise clinical description.

The incidence of scarlet fever has increased dramatically in recent years in Chongqing, China, but there has no effective method to forecast it. This study aimed to develop a forecasting model of the incidence of scarlet fever using a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model. Monthly scarlet fever data between 2011 and 2019 in Chongqing, China were retrieved from the Notifiable Infectious Disease Surveillance System. From 2011 to 2019, a total of 5073 scarlet fever cases were reported in Chongqing, the male-to-female ratio was 1.44:1, children aged 3–9 years old accounted for 81.86% of the cases, while 42.70 and 42.58% of the reported cases were students and kindergarten children, respectively. The data from 2011 to 2018 were used to fit a SARIMA model and data in 2019 were used to validate the model. The normalised Bayesian information criterion (BIC), the coefficient of determination (R2) and the root mean squared error (RMSE) were used to evaluate the goodness-of-fit of the fitted model. The optimal SARIMA model was identified as (3, 1, 3) (3, 1, 0)12. The RMSE and mean absolute per cent error (MAPE) were used to assess the accuracy of the model. The RMSE and MAPE of the predicted values were 19.40 and 0.25 respectively, indicating that the predicted values matched the observed values reasonably well. Taken together, the SARIMA model could be employed to forecast scarlet fever incidence trend, providing support for scarlet fever control and prevention.

This paper presents results from a design neurocognition study on the effect of gender on EEG frequency band power when performing constrained and open design. We used electroencephalography to measure the brain activity of 84 professional designers. We investigated differences in frequency power associated with gender of 38 female and 46 male designers, while performing two prototypical design tasks. The aim of the study was to explore whether gender moderates brain activity while performing a constrained versus an open design task. Neurophysiological results for aggregate activations across genders and between tasks indicate a main effect of gender for theta, alpha 2, and beta 1 frequency bands. Females show higher theta, alpha 2, and beta 1, namely in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, right occipitotemporal cortex, secondary visual cortex, and prefrontal cortex in both tasks. Females show higher beta bands than males, in areas of the left prefrontal cortex, in the constrained design. While in the open design, females showed higher theta, alpha, and beta 2 in the left prefrontal cortex and secondary visual cortex for all frequency bands. Results within gender between tasks indicate higher theta and alpha in the prefrontal cortex in the constrained design for both genders. Whilst for open design, results indicate higher theta and alpha 1 in the right hemisphere and higher alpha 2 and beta bands across hemispheres for both genders. Results within gender reveal common brain areas and frequency bands in distinguishing constrained from open design.

Background: Susac Syndrome (SuS) is a rare autoimmune disorder of the cerebral, retinal, and inner ear microvasculature. One of the cardinal manifestations of central nervous system (CNS) involvement is encephalopathy, however the cognitive profile in SuS is poorly characterized in the literature. Methods: In this cross-sectional case series of seven participants diagnosed with Susac Syndrome in remission in British Columbia, we use a battery of neuropsychological testing, subjective disease scores, and objective markers of disease severity to characterize the affected cognitive domains and determine if any disease characteristics predict neuropsychological performance. We also compare this battery of tests to neuroimaging markers to determine if correlation exists between radiographic markers of CNS disease and clinical evaluation of disease severity. Results: There were a variety of cognitive deficits, with memory and language dysfunction being the most common. Despite the variability, performance on some neuropsychological tests (MoCA) correlated to markers of functional disability (EDSS). Additionally, MoCA and EDSS scores correlated with neuroimaging findings of both corpus callosum and white matter changes. Finally, psychiatric scores correlated with participant reported scores of disease severity. Conclusions: There is a relationship between cognitive deficits, subjective and objective disease disability, and neuroimaging findings in Susac Syndrome.

The cosmic evolution of the chemical elements from the Big Bang to the present time is driven by nuclear fusion reactions inside stars and stellar explosions. A cycle of matter recurrently re-processes metal-enriched stellar ejecta into the next generation of stars. The study of cosmic nucleosynthesis and this matter cycle requires the understanding of the physics of nuclear reactions, of the conditions at which the nuclear reactions are activated inside the stars and stellar explosions, of the stellar ejection mechanisms through winds and explosions, and of the transport of the ejecta towards the next cycle, from hot plasma to cold, star-forming gas. Due to the long timescales of stellar evolution, and because of the infrequent occurrence of stellar explosions, observational studies are challenging, as they have biases in time and space as well as different sensitivities related to the various astronomical methods. Here, we describe in detail the astrophysical and nuclear-physical processes involved in creating two radioactive isotopes useful in such studies, $^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ and $^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ . Due to their radioactive lifetime of the order of a million years, these isotopes are suitable to characterise simultaneously the processes of nuclear fusion reactions and of interstellar transport. We describe and discuss the nuclear reactions involved in the production and destruction of $^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ and $^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ , the key characteristics of the stellar sites of their nucleosynthesis and their interstellar journey after ejection from the nucleosynthesis sites. This allows us to connect the theoretical astrophysical aspects to the variety of astronomical messengers presented here, from stardust and cosmic-ray composition measurements, through observation of $\gamma$ rays produced by radioactivity, to material deposited in deep-sea ocean crusts and to the inferred composition of the first solids that have formed in the Solar System. We show that considering measurements of the isotopic ratio of $^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ to $^{60}\mathrm{Fe}$ eliminate some of the unknowns when interpreting astronomical results, and discuss the lessons learned from these two isotopes on cosmic chemical evolution. This review paper has emerged from an ISSI-BJ Team project in 2017–2019, bringing together nuclear physicists, astronomers, and astrophysicists in this inter-disciplinary discussion.

The current study investigated associations between variation in the bovine perilipin-2 gene (PLIN2) and milk traits (milk fat content, milk protein content, milk yield and milk fatty acid (FA) component levels) in 409 New Zealand pasture-grazed Holstein-Friesian × Jersey-cross (HF × J-cross or Kiwicross™) cows. Five nucleotide sequence variants were found in three regions of the gene, including c.17C>T in exon 2, c.53A>G in exon 3, c.595+23G>A and c.595+104_595+108del in intron 5, and c.*302T>C in the 3′-untranslated region. The c.*302T>C substitution produces two nucleotide sequence variants (A5 and B5), and this variation was associated with variation in milk protein content and milkfat composition for C10:0, C11:0, C12:0, C13:0 and C16:0 FA and medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) and long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) groups. After correcting for the effect of variation in the diacylglycerol acyl-CoA acyltransferase 1 gene (DGAT1) that results in the amino acid substitution p.K232A, variation in the FA binding protein 4 gene (FABP4) and variation in the stearoyl-CoA desaturase (Δ-9-desaturase) gene (SCD) that results in the amino acids substitution p.A293V, significant differences between A5A5 and B5B5 cows were found for C10:0, C11:0, C12:0, C13:0, C16:0, and the MCFA, LCFA, total saturated FA and C10:1 index groups. This suggests that nucleotide sequence variation in PLIN2 may be affecting milk FA component levels.

Longan is an economically important sub-tropical fruit tree native to southern China and southeast Asia. Its production has been affected significantly by climate change, but the underlying reasons remain unclear. Herein, the potential growing areas of longan were simulated by the Maxent model under current and future conditions. The results showed excellent prediction performance, with an area under curve of >0.9 for model training and validation. The key environmental variables identified were mean temperature of the coldest quarter, minimum temperature of the coldest month, annual mean temperature and mean temperature of the driest quarter. The optimum suitable areas of longan were found to be concentrated mainly in south-western, southern and eastern China, with a slight increase in optimum suitable areas under two different emission scenarios of three global climatic models. However, its future potential growing areas were predicted to differ among provinces or cities. Suitable growing areas in Sichuan, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Chongqing will first increase and then remain approximately unchanged between the 2050s and 2070s; those in Yunnan, Guangdong and Hainan will remain approximately unchanged from the present to the 2070s; those in Fujian and Guizhou will fluctuate slightly from the present to the 2050s and then increase to the 2070s; those in Taiwan will first decrease and then increase. In summary, the major future production areas of longan will be Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi provinces, followed by Chongqing, Yunnan, Fujian and Taiwan. Thus, this study serves as a useful guide for the management of longan.

Determination of antibodies against ToRCH antigens at the beginning of pregnancy allows assessment of both the maternal immune status and the risks to an adverse pregnancy outcome. Age-standardised seroprevalences were determined in sera from 1009 women of childbearing age residing in Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Turkey or China using a multiparametric immunoblot containing antigen substrates for antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1, HSV-2), Bordetella pertussis, Chlamydia trachomatis, parvovirus B19, Treponema pallidum and varicella zoster virus (VZV). Seroprevalences for antibodies against HSV-1 were >90% in samples from Brazil and Turkey, whereas the other four countries showed lower mean age-adjusted seroprevalences (range: 62.5–87.9%). Samples from Brazilian women showed elevated seroprevalences of antibodies against HSV-2 (40.1%), C. trachomatis (46.8%) and B. pertussis (56.6%) compared to the other five countries. Seroprevalences of anti-T. gondii antibodies (0.5%) and anti-parvovirus B19 antibodies (7.5%) were low in samples from Chinese women, compared to the other five countries. Samples from German women revealed a low age-standardised seroprevalence of anti-CMV antibodies (28.8%) compared to the other five countries. These global differences in immune status of women in childbearing age advocate country-specific prophylaxis strategies to avoid infection with ToRCH pathogens.

Ruelle predicted that the maximal amplification of perturbations in homogeneous isotropic turbulence is exponential $\exp ({\sigma \sqrt {Re} \,t})$ (where $\sigma \sqrt {Re}$ is the maximal Lyapunov exponent). In our earlier works, we predicted that the maximal amplification of perturbations in fully developed turbulence is faster than exponential and is given by $\exp ({\sigma \sqrt {Re} \sqrt {t} +\sigma _1 t})$ where $\sigma \sqrt {Re} \sqrt {t}$ is much larger than $\sigma \sqrt {Re} \, t$ for small $t$. That is, we predicted superfast initial amplification of perturbations. Built upon our earlier numerical verification of our prediction, here, we conduct a large numerical verification with resolution up to $2048^3$ and Reynolds number up to $6210$. Our direct numerical simulation here confirms our analytical prediction. Our numerical simulation also demonstrates that such superfast amplification of perturbations leads to superfast nonlinear saturation. We conclude that such superfast amplification and superfast nonlinear saturation of ever existing perturbations suggest a mechanism for the generation, development and persistence of fully developed turbulence.

We report key learning from the public health management of the first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 identified in the UK. The first case imported, and the second associated with probable person-to-person transmission within the UK. Contact tracing was complex and fast-moving. Potential exposures for both cases were reviewed, and 52 contacts were identified. No further confirmed COVID-19 cases have been linked epidemiologically to these two cases. As steps are made to enhance contact tracing across the UK, the lessons learned from earlier contact tracing during the country's containment phase are particularly important and timely.

FeCrAl alloys are among the best and most mature accident tolerant fuel cladding candidates produced to date, due to their superior combination of mechanical properties and stability at elevated temperatures. For fuel cladding applications, these materials are drawn into tubes with plugs welded to the ends. The mechanical properties of such welds and the impact on cladding performance have not been fully investigated. A novel mesoscale mechanical test and a variety of microscale tests were performed to evaluate a range of properties including nanoindentation hardness, compression and shear yield strengths, and tensile strengths and elongations. Micromechanical testing generally matched the trends of the larger mesoscale testing, with nanoindentation reproducing the trend the best, although some discrepancies existed in regions with low dislocation content. Mesoscale tensile testing showed good correlation with macroscale tests and revealed that the plug heat-affected zone possessed the lowest strength and ductility. This indicated that failure would occur first in or near this region.