We explore whether international disputes harm commerce by galvanizing consumer boycotts of foreign products. Boycotts increase the social penalty of owning goods associated with a foreign adversary, offsetting individual incentives to free ride or discount the utility of participation. By harming international commerce, boycotts can help reveal information about resolve and avoid more costly forms of conflict. Using administrative data on the universe of new passenger vehicle registration records in China from 2009 to 2015, we demonstrate that consumer boycotts that arose amid tensions between China and Japan over a territorial dispute in 2012 had significant and persistent effects on vehicle sales, especially in cities that witnessed anti-Japanese street demonstrations. The market share of Japanese brands dropped substantially during and after the boycott with long lasting effects. Our analysis provides concrete evidence of the short- and long-term impacts of international tensions on economic activities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs). We aimed to identify the factors associated with depression among HCWs during the pandemic. We conducted literature search using eight electronic databases up to July 27 2022. Observational studies with more than 200 participants investigating correlates of depression in HCWs after COVID-19 outbreak were included. We used fixed- and random-effects models to pool odds ratios (ORs) across studies, and Cochran's chi-squared test and I2 statistics to assess study heterogeneity. Publication bias was evaluated by funnel plots. Thirty-five studies involving 44,362 HCWs met the inclusion criteria. Female (OR=1.50, 95% CI [1.23,1.84]), single (OR=1.36, 95% CI [1.21,1.54]), nurse (OR=1.69, 95% CI [1.28,2.25]), history of mental diseases (OR=2.53, 95% CI [1.78,3.58]), frontline (OR=1.79, 95% CI [1.38,2.32]), health anxiety due to COVID-19 (OR=1.88, 95% CI [1.29,2.76]), working in isolation wards (OR=1.98, 95% CI [1.38,2.84]), and insufficient personal protective equipment (OR=1.49, 95% CI [1.33,1.67]) were associated with increased risk of depression. Instead, HCWs with a positive professional prospect (OR=0.34, 95% CI [0.24,0.49]) were less likely to be depressed. This meta-analysis provides up-to-date evidence on the factors linked to depression among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the persistent threats posed by COVID-19, early screening is crucial for the intervention and prevention of depression in HCWs.

Hepatitis E virus infection is a major cause of acute hepatitis, typically self-limiting but occasionally leading to liver failure. Understanding disease progression factors could inform prevention strategies. This study aimed to analyse the characteristics of a large cohort of hospitalised hepatitis E patients in Tianjin, China, and explore factors influencing their progression to liver failure. A total of 1279 hospitalised patients with hepatitis E were included in this cross-sectional study in Tianjin, China. Student's t-test and the Mann–Whitney U-test were used for comparisons. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association. Among these 1279 patients, 107 (8.4%) developed liver failure. Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.150–2.887, p = 0.011), liver cirrhosis (95% [CI] 2.229–7.224, p < 0.001), and hepatitis B (95% [CI] 1.159–4.512, p = 0.017) were more likely to progress to liver failure. Hepatitis E patients with comorbid DM, liver cirrhosis, or hepatitis B virus co-infection have higher risks of developing liver failure. Hepatitis E vaccination may be recommended for these vulnerable patients to curb disease severity.

This work demonstrates the generation of short pulse duration and high-beam-quality laser pulses using transient stimulated Brillouin scattering at a high repetition rate. Thermal effects and optical breakdown are identified as the main factors that restrict energy reflectivity and beam quality under high repetition rates and transient situations. Through experimental analysis, the interaction length and focal point size are determined to be the key parameters in reducing the thermal effect by reducing the absorption of the laser pulse by the medium. The obtained results show that pulses with a duration of 175 ps and beam quality M2 of around 1.2 can be achieved with a maximum energy reflectivity of over 40% under an interaction length of 50 mm. Furthermore, at an interaction length of 90 mm, a pulse output with a minimum duration of 115 ps (0.5τQ) is achieved.

Continuous risky decisions refer to decisions that involve trade-offs among options with persistent risks. People can use the probability of occurrence per unit time (e.g., ‘the probability of occurrence is 1% per month’) or the average time of risk occurrence (e.g., ‘the average occurrence time is 100 months’) to represent continuous risky options. In this study, we examined the effect of the presentation format (i.e., the probability of occurrence per unit time vs. the average time of risk occurrence) on continuous risky decisions in the gain domain and further explored the underlying mechanism. In Study 1 (N = 122), we demonstrated the effect of presentation format on continuous risky decisions and the moderating effect of the magnitude of probabilities. Specifically, when the probabilities were relatively low, compared with the probability of occurrence per unit time, using the average time of risk occurrence to present the continuous risky options led to more risk-averse decisions. However, when the probabilities were relatively high, compared with the probability of occurrence per unit time, the presentation format of the average time occurrence led to more risk-seeking decisions. In Study 2 (N = 136), we found that the moderating effect of the option probabilities on continuous risky decisions was mediated by the subjective attribute-wise difference judgment. In Study 3 (N = 221), we replicated the effect of presentation format on continuous risky decisions in more natural scenarios. The study offered a deep understanding of the mechanism of continuous risky decision-making, and the results were conducive to further developing theories in relevant fields.

Glacier surface albedo dominates glacier energy balance, thus strongly affecting the glacier mass balance. Glaciers in the Western Nyainqentanglha Mountains (WNM) experienced large mass losses in the past two decades, but long-term changes of glacier albedo and its drivers are less understood. In this study, we retrieved glacier albedo with MODIS reflectance data to characterize the spatiotemporal variability of albedo from 2001 to 2020. Air temperature, rainfall, snowfall and deposition of light-absorbing impurities (LAIs) were evaluated as potential drivers of the observed variability in glacier albedo. The results showed that: (1) the glacier albedo experienced large inter-annual fluctuations, with the mean albedo being 0.552 ± 0.002 and a clear decreasing trend of 0.0443 ± 2 × 10−4 dec−1 in the WNM. The fastest decline was observed in autumn and in the vicinity of the equilibrium line altitude, indicating an extended melt season and an expansion of the ablation region to higher elevation; (2) local meteorology and LAIs deposition are the main drivers of glacier albedo change, but their effects on seasonal albedos are different due to different glacier processes. Both air temperature and the balance between liquid and solid precipitation affect summer and autumn albedos due to glacier ablation. Air temperature is the main driver of spring and winter albedos due to sublimation and metamorphism of snow, while snowfall carried by westerlies has limited influence on these two seasonal albedos due to less snowfall. LAIs mainly affect spring albedo due to high concentration coupled with the southerly wind in spring. These findings highlight the significance of changes in glacier albedo and the key role of local meteorology and LAIs deposition in determining such changes, which play an important role in glaciological and cryosphere processes.

Echinococcus shiquicus is peculiar to the Qinghai–Tibet plateau of China. Research on this parasite has mainly focused on epidemiological surveys and life cycle studies. So far, limited laboratory studies have been reported. Here, experimental infection of E. shiquicus metacestode in BALB/c mice and Mongolian jirds (Meriones unguiculatus) was carried out to establish alternative laboratory animal models. Intraperitoneal inoculation of metacestode material containing protoscoleces (PSCs) obtained from infected plateau pikas were conducted on BALB/c mice. Furthermore, metacestode material without PSCs deriving from infected BALB/c mice was intraperitoneally inoculated to Mongolian jirds. Experimental animals were dissected for macroscopic and histopathological examination. The growth of cysts in BALB/c mice was infiltrative, and they invaded the murine entire body. Most of the metacestode cysts were multicystic, but a few were unilocular. The cysts contained sterile vesicles, which had no PSCs. The metacestode materials were able to successfully infect new mice. In the jirds model, E. shiquicus cysts were typically formed freely in the peritoneal cavity; the majority of these cysts were free while a small portion adhered loosely to nearby organs. The proportion of fertile cysts was high, and contained many PSCs. The PSCs produced in Mongolian jirds also successfully infected new ones, which confirms that jirds can serve as an alternative experimental intermediate host. In conclusion, a laboratory animal infection was successfully established for E. shiquicus using BALB/c mice and Mongolian jirds. These results provide new models for the in-depth study of Echinococcus metacestode survival strategy, host interactions and immune escape mechanism.

Large gatherings of people on cruise ships and warships are often at high risk of COVID-19 infections. To assess the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 on warships and cruise ships and to quantify the effectiveness of the containment measures, the transmission coefficient (β), basic reproductive number (R0), and time to deploy containment measures were estimated by the Bayesian Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered model. A meta-analysis was conducted to predict vaccine protection with or without non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). The analysis showed that implementing NPIs during voyages could reduce the transmission coefficients of SARS-CoV-2 by 50%. Two weeks into the voyage of a cruise that begins with 1 infected passenger out of a total of 3,711 passengers, we estimate there would be 45 (95% CI:25-71), 33 (95% CI:20-52), 18 (95% CI:11-26), 9 (95% CI:6-12), 4 (95% CI:3-5), and 2 (95% CI:2-2) final cases under 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 90% vaccine protection, respectively, without NPIs. The timeliness of strict NPIs along with implementing strict quarantine and isolation measures is imperative to contain COVID-19 cases in cruise ships. The spread of COVID-19 on ships was predicted to be limited in scenarios corresponding to at least 70% protection from prior vaccination, across all passengers and crew.

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.

We consider the following Kirchhoff-type problem in an unbounded exterior domain $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^{3}$:(*)

\begin{align}\left\{\begin{array}{ll}-\left(a+b\displaystyle{\int}_{\Omega}|\nabla u|^{2}\,{\rm d}x\right)\triangle u+\lambda u=f(u), & x\in\Omega,\\\\u=0, & x\in\partial \Omega,\\\end{array}\right.\end{align}

$b\geq0$

$\partial\Omega\neq\emptyset$

$\mathbb{R}^{3}\backslash\Omega$

$u\in H_{0}^{1}(\Omega)$

$f\in C^1(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$

\begin{equation*}-\Delta u+\lambda u=f(u), \qquad x\in \mathbb R^3 \end{equation*}

$H^1(\mathbb R^3)$

$\mathbb R^3\setminus \Omega$

The oscillatory Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) instability of a planar liquid sheet was experimentally investigated in the presence of an axial oscillating gas flow. An experimental system was initiated to study the oscillatory K–H instability. The surface wave growth rates were measured and compared with theoretical results obtained using the authors’ early linear method. Furthermore, in a larger parameter range experimentally studied, it is interesting that there are four different unstable modes: first disordered mode (FDM), second disordered mode (SDM), K–H harmonic unstable mode (KHH) and K–H subharmonic unstable mode (KHS). These unstable modes are determined by the oscillating amplitude, oscillating frequency and liquid inertia force. The frequencies of KHH are equal to the oscillating frequency; the frequency of KHS equals half the oscillating frequency, while the frequencies of FDM and SDM are irregular. By considering the mechanism of instability, the instability regime maps on the relative Weber number versus liquid Weber number (Werel–Wel) and the Weber number ratio versus the oscillating frequency (Werel/Wel–$\varOmega$s2) were plotted. Among these four modes, KHS is the most unexpected: the frequency of this mode is not equal to the oscillating frequency, but the surface wave can also couple with the oscillating gas flow. Linear instability theory was applied to divide the parameter range between the different unstable modes. According to linear instability theory, K–H and parametric unstable regions both exist. However, note that all four modes (KHH, KHS, FDM and SDM) corresponded primarily to the K–H unstable region obtained from the theoretical analysis. Nevertheless, the parametric unstable mode was also observed when the oscillating frequency and amplitude were relatively low, and the liquid inertia force was relatively high. The surface wave amplitude was small but regular, and the evolution of this wave was similar to that of Faraday waves. The wave oscillating frequency was half that of the surface wave.

One of the most common harmful mites in edible fungi is Histiostoma feroniarum Dufour (Acaridida: Histiostomatidae), a fungivorous astigmatid mite that feeds on hyphae and fruiting bodies, thereby transmitting pathogens. This study examined the effects of seven constant temperatures and 10 types of mushrooms on the growth and development of H. feroniarum, as well as its host preference. Developmental time for the total immature stages was significantly affected by the type of mushroom species, ranging from 4.3 ± 0.4 days (reared on Pleurotus eryngii var. tuoliensis Mou at 28°C) to 17.1 ± 2.3 days (reared on Auricularia polytricha Sacc. at 19°C). The temperature was a major factor in the formation of facultative heteromorphic deutonymphs (hypopi). The mite entered the hypopus stage when the temperature dropped to 16°C or rose above 31°C. The growth and development of this mite were significantly influenced by the type of species and variety of mushrooms. Moreover, the fungivorous astigmatid mite preferred to feed on the ‘Wuxiang No. 1’ strain of Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler and the ‘Gaowenxiu’ strain of P. pulmonarius (Fr.) Quél., with a shorter development period compared with that of feeding on other strains. These results therefore quantify the effect of host type and temperature on fungivorous astigmatid mite growth and development rates, and provide a reference for applying mushroom cultivar resistance to biological pest control.

This study aimed to examine the same-sex matching effect of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms from parents to children and the mediating role of children’ sense of security and catastrophization. Longitudinal data from 447 parent–child dyads were acquired using self-report scales. Parents (77.0% mothers; M age = 40.15 years old) reported their PTSD symptoms 3 months after Super Typhoon Lekima, and children (55.9% girls; M age = 13.40 years old) reported their PTSD symptoms, sense of security, and catastrophization 3 months and 15 months after the typhoon. Results showed that intrusion in mothers predicated intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms in daughters, while avoidance and hyperarousal in mothers predicted the same symptoms in daughters. This was not observed in any other parent–child dyads. Moreover, mothers’ intrusion positively predicted daughters’ PTSD symptoms via daughters’ sense of security and then catastrophization, while mothers’ hyperarousal showed the opposite prediction. These findings suggest that a same-sex matching effect occurs from mothers to daughters in terms of intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD. Thus, clinical interventions that target daughters’ PTSD symptoms should also consider mothers’ intrusion and avoidance symptoms. Moreover, it may be possible to develop interventions to improve daughters’ sense of security.

For the omnivorous Cherax quadricarinatus crayfish, plant raw materials can be good alternatives to dietary fish meal (FM). A 56-d feeding trial was conducted in C. quadricarinatus (11·70 (se 0·13) g). Diet with 100 % FM as the protein source was the control. Seven experimental diets were formulated by replacing 75 or 100 % of FM with soyabean meal (SM75, SM100) or cottonseed meal (CM75 and CM100), and a mixture of SM and CM (protein content is 1:1) replacing 50, 75 or 100 % of FM (SC50, SC75 and SC100). Crayfish fed the CM100 and SC100 showed significantly lower weight gain (WG), specific growth rate, trypsin and pepsin activities compared with the control diet. Crayfish in CM100 group showed significantly higher GPx, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase activities and malondialdehyde content than the control. SM100 and CM100 diets can cause slight separation of the peritrophic membrane from the intestinal folds. The pepsin activity of crayfish in SC50 was significantly higher than those in other experimental diets. The highest WG and muscle arginine content were also found in crayfish fed SC50. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Unclassified Enterobacteriaceae and Candidatus Bacilloplasma was significantly higher, but Actinobacteriota was significantly lower in SM100, CM100 and SC100 than in control. Microbiota functional prediction indicated that the relative abundance of ‘cell motility’ pathway in crayfish fed CM100 was significantly decreased compared with the control. In conclusion, only half of the FM can be effectively substituted with a mixture of SM and CM (protein content is 1:1) for C. quadricarinatus.