The development of GaN-on-diamond devices offers bright prospects for the creation of high-power density electronics. This article presents a process of fabricating GaN-on-diamond structure by depositing diamond films on dual sides, including heat dissipation diamond film and sacrificial carrier diamond film. Prior to heat dissipation diamond film layer preparation, aluminum nitride (AlN) is chosen as a dielectric layer and pretreated by nanodiamond (ND) particles, to enhance the nucleation density. Zeta potential measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used to analyze the AlN surface after each treatment. The results show that oxygen-terminated ND particles tend to adhere to an AlN surface because the oxygen-terminated NDs have –COOH and –OH groups, and hold a negative potential. On the contrary, fluorine-terminated AlN prefers to attract the hydrogen-terminated ND seeds, which resulted in higher diamond nucleation density. Based on this preliminary study, a dense high-quality GaN-on-diamond wafer is successfully produced by using AlN as the dielectric layer and a diamond film as the sacrificial carrier.

This paper presents a comprehensive study of the zircon geochronology, geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotope geology of Devonian mafic rocks developed in the East Kunlun orogenic belt, northern Tibetan Plateau, and reveals their mantle sources, petrogenesis and geodynamic implications for continental exhumation. The zircon geochronology of typical samples indicates that these mafic rocks crystallized at 406∼408 Ma. They can be classified into two different groups based on petrographic observations and geochemical compositions. Group 1 rocks exhibit low TiO2 and FeOt contents and Nb/Y ratios and have enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (E-MORB)-like compositions with slight negative Nb and Ta anomalies. However, Group 2 rocks have distinctly high TiO2 and FeOt contents and Nb/Y ratios, comparable to typical Fe–Ti-rich mafic rocks worldwide. All the samples exhibit weak enrichments in light rare earth elements, Nb and Ta relative to the primitive mantle. Based on geochemical and isotopic studies, Group 1 rocks are suggested to be derived from depleted asthenospheric mantle that was metasomatized by c. 3–5 % continental crustal components, while Group 2 rocks originated from partial melting of enriched lithospheric mantle. The high contents of Fe, Ti and Nb for Group 2 rocks could be attributed to a high degree of olivine crystallization under low fO2 conditions with delayed nucleation of Fe–Ti oxides. Combining those results with other geological data, we conclude that slab break-off was the key factor causing exhumation of eclogites and triggering flare-up of the Devonian magmatism, and that continental collision or continental subduction may have initiated at 431∼436 Ma.

This study was for the first time to investigate the effects of condensed tannins (CT) on intestinal immune function in on-growing grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). A total of 540 healthy grass carp were fed six diets containing different levels of CT (0, 10.00, 20.00, 30.00, 40.00 and 50.00 g/kg diet) for 70 days and then challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila for 14 days. The results showed that, compared with the control group, dietary CT (1) induced intestinal histopathological lesions and aggravated enteritis; (2) decreased the lysozyme and acid phosphatase activities, complement 3 (C3), C4 and immunoglobulin M contents, and down-regulated the Hepcidin, liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide(LEAP)-2A, LEAP-2B, Mucin2 and β-defensin-1 mRNA levels in the proximal intestine (PI), mid intestine (MI) and distal intestine (DI) (P < 0·05); (3) down-regulated the mRNA levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, TGF-β2 (not in MI and DI), IL-4/13A (not IL-4/13B), IL-10 and IL-11 partly correlated with target of rapamycin (TOR) signalling; (4) up-regulated the mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interferon-γ2 (IFN-γ2), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-8 (not in PI), IL-12p35, IL-12p40, IL-15 and IL-17D partly related to nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signalling in the intestine of on-growing grass carp. Overall, the results indicated that CT could impair the intestinal immune function, and its potential regulation mechanisms were partly associated with TOR and NF-κB signalling pathways. Finally, based on the PWG and enteritis morbidity, the maximum allowable levels of CT for on-growing grass carp (232.22-890.11g) were estimated to be 18.6 and 17.4 g/kg diet, respectively.

When the average intermolecular distance is comparable to the size of gas molecules, the Boltzmann equation, based on the dilute gas assumption, becomes invalid. The Enskog equation was developed to account for this finite size effect that makes the collision non-local and increases the collision frequency. However, it is time-consuming to solve the Enskog equation due to its complicated structure of collision operator and high dimensionality. In this work, on the basis of the Shakhov model, a gas kinetic model is proposed to simplify the Enskog equation for non-ideal monatomic dense gases. The accuracy of the proposed Shakhov–Enskog model is assessed by comparing its solutions of the normal shock wave structures with the results of the Enskog equation obtained by the fast spectral method. It is shown that the Shakhov–Enskog model is able to describe non-equilibrium flow of dense gases, when the maximum local mean free path of gas molecules is still greater than the size of a molecular diameter. The accuracy and efficiency of the present model enable simulations of non-equilibrium flow of dense gases for practical applications.

A multilevel nonvolatile memory based on an amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide thin-film transistor is successfully demonstrated by using an atomic layer–deposited ZnO film as a charge trapping layer. The memory device shows a much higher erasing efficiency at a negative bias, i.e., after erasing at −13 V for 1 μs, the threshold voltage shift is as large as −7.4 V. In the case of 13 V/1 μs programming (P) and −12 V/1 μs erasing (E), the device demonstrates an ON/OFF readout drain current (IDS) ratio of ∼103 after 105 s, and a large and stable ON/OFF IDS ratio of ∼106 till 104 of P/E cycles. Furthermore, multilevel memory characteristics are also demonstrated on the device, showing an IDS ratio of >102 for 4 different states. Additionally, the device also successfully demonstrates typical synaptic behaviors, such as excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic current with different memory times at different memory states.

The Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR), initiated in 2001, has now become the largest twin registry in Asia. From 2015 to 2018, the CNTR continued to receive Chinese government funding and had recruited 61,566 twin-pairs by 2019 to study twins discordant for specific exposures such as environmental factors, and twins discordant for disease outcomes or measures of morbidity. Omic data, including genetics, genomics, metabolomics, and proteomics, and gut microbiome will be tested. The integration of omics and digital technologies in public health will advance our understanding of precision public health. This review introduces the updates of the CNTR, including study design, sample size, biobank, zygosity assessment, advances in research and future systems epidemiologic research.

Graphite nitride carbon nanosheets have received more and more attention toward the photocatalytic research and applications. Ultrathin g-CN nanosheets with porous structure were synthesized successfully by thermal calcination of melamine supramolecular complexes, which was obtained by pre-treating melamine in nitric acid solution at different concentrations (0.5–2 mol/L). Effects of HNO3 pre-treatment on the microstructure of supramolecular complexes were studied. The characteristics of g-CN nanosheets were investigated by X-ray diffractometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The degradation performance for RhB and water splitting hydrogen production performance were used to evaluate the photocatalytic performances of g-CN nanosheets. The morphology and microstructure of HNO3/melamine supramolecular complexes are different from those of melamine precursor due to the better arrangement of the melamine units. Ultrathin porous g-CN nanosheets which possess a thickness of less than 2 nm were successfully prepared by calcination of melamine pre-treated with 1.0 mol/L nitric acid. The g-CN(1.0) nanosheets possess the highest photocatalytic degradation performance and water splitting hydrogen production performance due to the effective separation of photogenerated carriers and high specific surface area providing a large number of active sites.

The timing of the Holocene summer monsoon maximum (HSMM) in northeastern China has been much debated and more quantitative precipitation records are needed to resolve the issue. In the present study, Holocene precipitation and temperature changes were quantitatively reconstructed from a pollen record from the sediments of Tianchi Crater Lake in northeastern China using a plant functional type-modern analogue technique (PFT-MAT). The reconstructed precipitation record indicates a gradual increase during the early to mid-Holocene and a HSMM at ~5500–3100 cal yr BP, while the temperature record exhibits a divergent pattern with a marked rise in the early Holocene and a decline thereafter. The trend of reconstructed precipitation is consistent with that from other pollen records in northeastern China, confirming the relatively late occurrence of the HSMM in the region. However, differences in the onset of the HSMM within northeastern China are also evident. No single factor appears to be responsible for the late occurrence of the HSMM in northeastern China, pointing to a potentially complex forcing mechanism of regional rainfall in the East Asian monsoon region. We suggest that further studies are needed to understand the spatiotemporal pattern of the HSMM in the region.

We incorporate deep learning (DL) into tiled aperture coherent beam combining (CBC) systems for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. By using a well-trained convolutional neural network DL model, which has been constructed at a non-focal-plane to avoid the data collision problem, the relative phase of each beamlet could be accurately estimated, and then the phase error in the CBC system could be compensated directly by a servo phase control system. The feasibility and extensibility of the phase control method have been demonstrated by simulating the coherent combining of different hexagonal arrays. This DL-based phase control method offers a new way of eliminating dynamic phase noise in tiled aperture CBC systems, and it could provide a valuable reference on alleviating the long-standing problem that the phase control bandwidth decreases as the number of array elements increases.

Mastery of strengthening strategies to achieve high-capacity anodes for lithium-ion batteries can shed light on understanding the nature of diffusion-induced stress and offer an approach to use submicro-sized materials with an ultrahigh capacity for large-scale batteries. Here, we report solute strengthening in a series of silicon (Si)–germanium (Ge) alloys. When the larger solute atom (Ge) is added to the solvent atoms (Si), a compressive stress is generated in the vicinity of Ge atoms. This local stress field interacts with resident dislocations and subsequently impedes their motion to increase the yield stress in the alloys. The addition of Ge into Si substantially improves the capacity retention, particularly in Si0.50Ge0.50, aligning with literature reports that the Si/Ge alloy showed a maximum yield stress in Si0.50Ge0.50. In situ X-ray diffraction studies on the Si0.50Ge0.50 electrode show that the phase change undergoes three subsequent steps during the lithiation process: removal of surface oxide layer, formation of cluster-size Lix(Si,Ge), and formation of crystalline Li15(Si,Ge)4. Furthermore, the lithiation process starts from higher index facets, i.e., (220) and (311), then through the low index facet (111), suggesting the orientation-dependence of the lithiation process in the Si0.50Ge0.50 electrode.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is growing rapidly in many countries. Socioeconomic inequalities might be important for this increase. The aim of this study was to determine associations of body mass index (BMI), overweight and obesity with educational level and marital status in Chinese twins. Participants were adult twins recruited through the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR), aged 18 to 79 years, and the sample comprised 10,448 same-sex twin pairs. Current height, weight, educational attainment, and marital status were self-reported. Regression analyses and structural equation models were conducted to evaluate BMI, overweight, and obesity associated with educational level and marital status in both sexes. At an individual level, both educational level and marital status were associated with higher BMI and higher risk of being overweight and obesity in men, while in women the effects of educational level on BMI were in the opposite direction. In within-Monozygotic (MZ) twin-pair analyses, the effects of educational level on BMI disappeared in females. Bivariate structural equation models showed that genetic factors and shared environmental confounded the relationship between education and BMI in females, whereas marital status was associated with BMI on account of significant positive unique environmental correlation apart in both sexes. The present data suggested that marital status and BMI were associated, independent of familiar factors, for both sexes of this study population, while common genetic and shared environmental factors contributed to education-associated disparities in BMI in females.

In the past few years, our group worked on the area of transformation from the two-dimensional (2-D) nanocrystalline films to one-dimensional (1-D) nanomaterials by using thermal oxidation. In this paper, we overview the research work on the controllable growth processes, transformation phenomena, growth mechanisms and applications. In general, the preparation process includes the following steps: 1) prepare a pure metal nanocrystalline film via a pulse electro – deposition; 2) grow variant 1-D nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), and 1-D metal oxide nanoneedles involving ZnO, CuO and Fe3O4, etc. by using this film as catalyst. This process exhibits the following features: 1) the 1-D nanomaterials grow according to “base growth” model and no residual catalyst exists at the tip of the products; 2) the diameter of the 1-D nanomaterials can be controlled by controlling grain sizes of the 2-D films through adjusting pulse electro-deposition parameters; 3) it is more easily to get the 1-D nanomaterials with large area, uniform, vertical alignment and good shape on the substrates. We propose a “solid state based-up diffusion growth mechanism” for growth of the 1-D metal oxide nanoneedles, and “base growth model” for the 1-D carbon nanomaterials. The physical properties, such as Field emission and magnetics, of the 1-D metal oxide nanoneedles were studied, which showed desired values. In addition, we couple the ZnO nanoneedles with NiO, TiO2, graphene, Au nanoparticles, etc. for enhancing photocatalytic properties in the areas of environmental purification.

In the past few years, we have performed a 22 GHz H2O maser survey towards hundreds of BGPS sources using the 25-meter Nanshan Radio Telescope (NSRT) of the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, and detected more than one hundred masers. Our aim is to study star formation activities associated with these sources, as well as search for any correlations that may exist between 22 GHz H2O masers and the evolutionary stage of high-mass star formation regions. The NSRT has been upgraded and have now an effective diameter of 26 meter. Besides, cryogenically cooled dual-beam receiver systems covering seven millimeter-wave observing bands have been installed on the NSRT. For the next step of maser observation, we will continue to do H2O and SiO masers survey of massive dust clumps and monitor some maser sources.

Herbicide-resistant weeds pose a considerable threat to agriculture, but their resistance mechanisms are poorly understood. Differential gene expression analysis of a weed subjected to herbicide treatment is a key step toward more mechanistic studies. Such an analysis, often involving quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), requires suitable reference genes as internal controls. In this study, we identified optimal reference genes in the noxious weed, Japanese foxtail. This weed has evolved resistance to acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) inhibitors. We analyzed the stability of eight commonly used candidate reference genes (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [GAPDH]; ubiquitin [UBQ]; capsine phosphatase [CAP]; beta-tubulin [TUB]; eukaryotic initiation factor 4a [EIF4A]; elongation factor-1 alpha [EF1]; 18S ribosomal RNA [18S]; 25S ribosomal RNA [25S]) from root, stem, and leaf tissue of plants that were either resistant or sensitive to ACCase inhibitors, with or without herbicide stress, using qPCR. The results were further ranked and analyzed using geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper software. These analyses identified EF1 and UBQ in roots, EF1, TUB, CAP, and 18S in stems, and EF1, GAPDH, and 18S in leaves as suitable references for qPCR normalization. We have identified a set of reference genes that can be used to study herbicide resistance mechanisms in Japanese foxtail.

The increase in religion-related conflicts around the world emphasizes the urgent need for a better understanding of the role of religion and religious freedom on socio-economic development, both theoretically and empirically. While studies on the role of religion on economic development have existed as early as Weber (1905), there is a dearth of studies on the effect of religious freedom on economic growth, and the existing studies overlook possible negative impacts on economies by unrestricted religious freedom. Drawing on institutional theory, we propose that different types of religious restrictions can exert either positive or negative effects on economic growth. We test our propositions using a comprehensive dataset on religious freedom covering 198 countries for seven years from 2007 to 2013.

Obesity is associated with blood pressure (BP), but the associations between different obesity indicators and BP have not reached agreement. Besides, both obesity and BP are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Whether they share the same genetic or environmental etiology has not been fully understood. We therefore analyzed the relationship between different obesity indicators and BP components as well as the genetic and environmental contributions to these relationships in a Chinese adult twin sample. Twins aged 18–79 years (n = 941) were included in this study. Body mass index (BMI) was used as the index of general obesity, whereas waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were used as the indicators of central obesity. BP components included systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Linear regression models and bivariate structural equation models were used to examine the relation of various obesity indicators with BP components, and genetic or environmental influences on these associations, respectively. A strong association of BP components with BMI—and a somewhat weaker association with WC, WHtR, and WHR—was found in both sexes, independent of familial factors. Of these phenotypic correlations between obesity indicators and BP components, 60–76% were attributed to genetic factors, whereas 24–40% were attributed to unique environmental factors. General obesity was most strongly associated with high BP in Chinese adult twins. There were common genetic backgrounds for obesity and BP, and unique environmental factors also played a role.