To accurately calculate the turbulent exchange coefficient, the contribution of multi-scale turbulent transportation needs to be considered, especially in the complex terrain of the coastal area. In September 2019, a comprehensive observation experiment on the offshore atmospheric boundary layer was carried out at the Yangmeikeng Ecological Monitoring Station and Sai Chung Gulf. Through scale decomposition, it is shown that the turbulent motion in the atmospheric boundary layer in the coastal area is affected by the underlying surface, such as that of the coastal land or the sea–land boundary. This is the main reason behind the phenomenon whereby different scales make different contributions to momentum flux. Different multi-scale characteristics of turbulent structures on the underlying surface affect the drag coefficient. Through wavelet transform and finite element method, the characteristics of the multi-scale flow structures produced by the complicated offshore terrain are analysed. It is found that large-scale flow structures enhance the pulsating intensity at the small scale, but the large-scale coherence characteristics are different from those at the small scale. In summary, in comparing these three sites, the flux exchange on the roof is greatest, followed by that on the tower. In the Gulf, the flux exchange is mainly dependent on small-scale structures, which are linked with the smallest values.

Relativistic few-cycle mid-infrared (mid-IR) pulses are unique tools for strong-field physics and ultrafast science, but are difficult to generate with traditional nonlinear optical methods. Here, we propose a scheme to generate such pulses with high efficiency via plasma-based frequency modulation with a negatively chirped laser pulse (NCLP). The NCLP is rapidly compressed longitudinally due to dispersion and plasma etching, and its central frequency is downshifted via photon deceleration due to the enhanced laser intensity and plasma density modulations. Simulation results show that few-cycle mid-IR pulses with the maximum center wavelength of $7.9\;\unicode{x3bc} \mathrm{m}$ and pulse intensity of ${a}_{\mathrm{MIR}}=2.9$ can be generated under a proper chirp parameter. Further, the maximum energy conversion efficiency can approach 5.0%. Such a relativistic mid-IR source is promising for a wide range of applications.

We describe an outbreak of echovirus 18 infection involving 10 patients in our neonatal intensive care unit (an attack rate of 33%). The mean age at the onset of illness was 26.8 days. Eighty percent were preterm infants. All were discharged home without sequelae. There were no differences in gestation age, birth weight, delivery mode, use of antibiotics, and parenteral nutrition between the enterovirus (EV) group and non-EV group, but the rate of breastfeeding was significantly higher in the EV group. Separation care and reinforcement of hand-washing seemed to be effective in preventing further spread of the virus. Visiting policy, hygiene practice, and handling of expressed breastmilk should be reinforced.

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.

We demonstrate an ultra-broadband high temporal contrast infrared laser source based on cascaded optical parametric amplification, hollow-core fiber (HCF) and second harmonic generation processes. In this setup, the spectrum of an approximately 1.8 μm laser pulse has near 1 μm full bandwidth by employing an argon gas-filled HCF. Subsequently, after frequency doubling with cascaded crystals and dispersion compensation by a fused silica wedge pair, 9.6 fs (~3 cycles) and 150 μJ pulses centered at 910 nm with full bandwidth of over 300 nm can be generated. The energy stability of the output laser pulse is excellent with 0.8% (root mean square) over 20 min, and the temporal contrast is >1012 at –10 ps before the main pulse. The excellent temporal and spatial characteristics and stability make this laser able to be used as a good seed source for ultra-intense and ultrafast laser systems.

As the interface between plants and the environment, the leaf epidermis provides the first layer of protection against drought, ultraviolet light, and pathogen attack. This cell layer comprises highly coordinated and specialised cells such as stomata, pavement cells and trichomes. While much has been learned from the genetic dissection of stomatal, trichome and pavement cell formation, emerging methods in quantitative measurements that monitor cellular or tissue dynamics will allow us to further investigate cell state transitions and fate determination in leaf epidermal development. In this review, we introduce the formation of epidermal cell types in Arabidopsis and provide examples of quantitative tools to describe phenotypes in leaf research. We further focus on cellular factors involved in triggering cell fates and their quantitative measurements in mechanistic studies and biological patterning. A comprehensive understanding of how a functional leaf epidermis develops will advance the breeding of crops with improved stress tolerance.

Multilayer dielectric gratings typically remove multiple-grating pillars after picosecond laser irradiation; however, the dynamic formation process of the removal is still unclear. In this study, the damage morphologies of multilayer dielectric gratings induced by an 8.6-ps laser pulse were closely examined. The damage included the removal of a single grating pillar and consecutive adjacent grating pillars and did not involve the destruction of the internal high-reflection mirror structure. Comparative analysis of the two damage morphological characteristics indicated the removal of adjacent pillars was related to an impact process caused by the eruption of localized materials from the left-hand pillar, exerting impact pressure on its adjacent pillars and eventually resulting in multiple pillar removal. A finite-element strain model was used to calculate the stress distribution of the grating after impact. According to the electric field distribution, the eruptive pressure of the dielectric materials after ionization was also simulated. The results suggest that the eruptive pressure resulted in a stress concentration at the root of the adjacent pillar that was sufficient to cause damage, corresponding to the experimental removal of the adjacent pillar from the root. This study provides further understanding of the laser-induced damage behavior of grating pillars and some insights into reducing the undesirable damage process for practical applications.

Using a detailed case study of house eviction in peri-urban China as well as original data from an online survey experiment, this article explores the opportunistic bargaining phenomenon in China in which citizens leverage the policy priorities of authorities with tactics that are not approved by the state to bargain for goals beyond those promised by the state. We find that opportunistic bargaining is widely accepted by Chinese citizens and that such an inclination is encouraged by successful precedents and clear signals of an opening through which to leverage government policy priorities; however, it is dampened by unclear signals and failed precedents. We also find that opportunistic bargainers tend to hold more negative perceptions of the current regime and are less likely to abide by state rules or social norms. The characteristics of opportunistic bargaining appear to be the opposite of the dominant “rightful resistance” framework.

This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of Chinese politics research from 2001 to 2020 (N = 11,285) using Social Sciences Citation Index data. The number of publications in the field by scholars from Mainland China surged in the past 20 years; however, their influence on academia remained limited. Chinese institutions serve as the major hubs of collaborative networks. Using structural topic models, we identified 25 research topics that can be categorized in three clusters. In the past 20 years, scholars from Mainland China steered the focus of Chinese politics by causing a reduction in the proportion of international relation topics and an increase in the proportion of political economy topics. Domestic politics topics had the most citations. Scholars from Mainland China have made contributions to better research methods in the field. This article is a comprehensive view of Chinese politics research using a tool that is rarely used by political scientists. It depicts how studies of Chinese politics influence academia from a bibliometrics perspective.

In this study, we report the first complete mitochondrial genome of the tapeworm Nippotaenia mogurndae in the order Nippotaeniidea Yamaguti, 1939. This mitogenome, which is 14,307 base pairs (bp) long with an A + T content of 72.2%, consists of 12 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two rRNA genes, and two non-coding regions. Most tRNAs have a conventional cloverleaf structure, but trnS1 and trnR lack dihydrouridine arms of tRNA. The two largest non-coding regions, NCR1 (220 bp) and NCR2 (817 bp), are located between trnY and trnS2 and between nad5 and trnG, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of mitogenomic data indicate that N. mogurndae is closely related to tapeworms in the order Cyclophyllidea.

The bacterial community is important for shaping the fermentation characteristics of silage. This study aimed to investigate the fermentation characteristics, bacterial community and predicted functional characteristics of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) silage. First-cutting red clover was collected at the early bloom stage, wilted for 5 h and then ensiled in 10 litre-capacity silos. Triplicate silos were sampled after 1, 3, 7, 15, 30 and 60 days of ensiling, respectively. The bacterial communities on days 3 and 60 were assessed through high-throughput sequencing technology, and 16S rRNA-gene predicted functional characteristics were analysed based on the KEGG using Tax4Fun. After 60 days of ensiling, red clover silage was fermented well, as indicated by high lactic acid (~77.3 g/kg DM), and low concentrations of butyric acid (~3.73 g/kg DM) and ammonia nitrogen (~55.0 g/kg TN). During the initial stage of ensiling, fructose and glucose were more preferred than sucrose for microbes. The predominant genus Lactococcus (0.542) on day 3 was replaced by Lactobacillus (0.553) on day 60. The metabolism of amino acids, energy, cofactors and vitamins was inhibited, while the metabolism of nucleotides and carbohydrates was enhanced after ensiling. High-throughput sequencing technology combined with 16S rRNA gene-predicted functional analyses revealed the differences during the early and late stages of red clover silage not only for distinct bacterial compositions but also for specific functional traits. Our results could provide a comprehensive insight into bacterial community and their functional profiles to further improve the silage quality.

Time-differenced carrier phase (TDCP) is a commonly used method of precise velocimetry, but when the receiver is in a dynamic or complex observation environment, the estimation accuracy is reduced. Doppler velocimetry aims at estimating instantaneous velocity, and the accuracy is restricted by the accuracy of measurement. However, in such unfavourable cases, the Doppler measurement is more reliable than the carrier phase measurement. This paper derives the relationship between Doppler observation and TDCP observation, then proposes a Doppler enhanced TDCP algorithm, for the purpose of improving the velocity estimation accuracy in dynamic and complex observation environments. In addition, considering the error caused by the constant speed state update model in the robust Kalman filter (RKF), this paper designs a terrain adaptive and robust Kalman filter (TARKF). After three experimental tests, the improved TDCP algorithm can significantly increase the speed measurement accuracy to sub-metre per second, and the accuracy can be further improved after using TARKF.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of substituting rice straw with citrus pulp (CRP), sweet potato peels (SPP) and vines (SPV) on fermentation quality and in vitro digestibility when ensiled with or without wet brewers' grains (WBG). Seven treatments were set as follows: (i) rice straw only (control); (ii) 800 g rice straw/kg + 200 g CRP/kg (RC); (iii) 720 g rice straw/kg + 180 g CRP/kg + 100 g WBG/kg (RC+); (iv) 800 g rice straw/kg + 200 g SPP/kg (RP); (v) 720 g rice straw + 180 g SPP/kg + 100 g WBG/kg (RP+); (vi) 800 g rice straw/kg + 200 g SPV/kg (RV); (vii) 720 g rice straw/kg + 180 g SPV/kg + 100 g WBG/kg (RV+). After ensiling for 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days, silos were opened for fermentation profile, aerobic stability and in vitro parameter analyses. All substitution types improved fermentation quality, characterized by significantly lower pH and NH3-N content, higher lactic acid content and V-scores. WBG application promoted hetero-fermentation and significantly increased DM losses, acetic acid and ethanol contents. After 60 days of ensiling, the NDF, ADF and cellulose contents in mixed silages significantly decreased compared to control. During aerobic exposure, WBG application significantly prolonged aerobic stability. SPV substitution significantly improved in vitro digestibility of dry matter, NDF and ADF. In conclusion, the SPP substitution combined with WBG application was recommended as a result of the optimal balance of fermentation quality, aerobic stability and in vitro digestibility.

The parasite Fasciola hepatica is an important zoonotic parasite. The development of an animal model of F. hepatica's life cycle is critical for studying the biological characteristics of the parasite in snails and mammals. Eggs of F. hepatica of bovine origin were cultured, and metacercariae were obtained after infection of Galba pervia snails. The life cycle system of F. hepatica was initiated in 2 different animals by orally infecting rabbits, SD rats and Kunming mice with the metacercariae. The animals' survival after infection, parasite migration in the animals and pathological damage to the liver were observed. We discovered that rabbits died due to acute suppurative hepatitis 60–69 days after infection, and eggs were found in the feces on day 63 of infection. The liver of SD rats showed punctate lesions on day 3 of infection, and further changes occurred as the infection progressed. However, liver repair was observed at week 9. SD rats survived for more than a year after infection and continued the F. hepatica life cycle. The liver lesions in Kunming mice after infection were similar but more severe than those in SD rats. Death was observed on the 31st post-infection day. We discovered that while rabbits, SD rats and Kunming mice can all be used as animal models of F. hepatica, SD rats are more suitable experimental animals in terms of tolerance and pathological response.

Pyroptosis is a recently identified mechanism of programmed cell death related to Caspase-1 that triggers a series of inflammatory reactions by releasing several proinflammatory factors such as IL-1β and IL-18. The process is characterised by the rupture of cell membranes and the release of cell contents through the mediation of gasdermin (GSDM) proteins. GSDMD is an important member of the GSDM family and plays a critical role in the two pathways of pyroptosis. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a microvascular complication of diabetes and a major cause of end-stage renal disease. Recently, it was revealed that GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis plays an important role in the occurrence and development of DN. In this review, we focus on two types of kidney cells, tubular epithelial cells and renal podocytes, to illustrate the mechanism of pyroptosis in DN and provide new ideas for the prevention, early diagnosis and molecular therapy of DN.