Based on the linear shallow-water equations, new analytical solutions are derived for trapped waves over a ridge with a hyperbolic-cosine squared cross-sectional profile which may be used to idealize many real-world ocean ridges. In the new analytical formulation, the free surface of the trapped waves is described using the combination of the first and second kinds of the associated Legendre functions, which is further analysed to reveal the existence of both symmetrical and anti-symmetrical trapped waves on the ridge under consideration. New algebraic equations are also derived to depict the wave dispersion relationships, allowing explicit quantification of their sensitivity to the topographic profile. Furthermore, a ray-tracing method is applied to interpret the propagation paths of trapped waves over the ridge and better understand the excitation mechanisms. Finally, an extensively validated Boussinesq wave model is used to conduct numerical experiments for trapped waves induced by tsunamis. The numerical predictions are consistent with the new analytical solutions, which effectively confirms the validity of the new analytical framework for trapped waves over a more general type of oceanic ridges.

Since the photocatalytic effect of a single conventional photocatalyst is often not ideal, it is particularly important to design and construct an efficient and stable photocatalyst in a compound way. In this study, we exploited the sol–gel method to combine BiOCl and TiO2 and gave full play to their respective advantages to prepare BiOCl/TiO2 composite materials. Then, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) characterization techniques were utilized to study important indicators of composites—composition, morphology, and structure. In the photodegradation experiment of methyl orange (MO), it was found that the photocatalytic performance of 10BTO (the molar ratio of TiO2 to BiOCl is 10:1) was the best among all the composite photocatalysts, and almost complete degradation of MO was realized. Besides, repeated experiments and recyclability tests on composite materials display favorable stability. Through ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–Vis DRS), photoluminescence (PL), transient photocurrent response, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and electron spin resonance (ESR), a possible degradation mechanism is proposed. Given that there are serious environmental pollution problems in our country, we sincerely hope this research will do its best to degrade organic pollutants in wastewater.

In order to clarify fine structures of the hypothetical meridian conduits of Chinese traditional medicine (CTM) in the skin, the present study used light and transmission electron microscopy to examine fasciae in different vertebrate species. Collagen fiber bundles and layers were arranged in a crisscross pattern, which developed into a special tissue micro-channel (TMC) network, in a manner that was analogs to the proposed skin meridian conduits. It was further revealed that tissue fluid in lateral TMC branches drained into wide longitudinal channels, which were distinctly different from lymphatic capillary. Mast cells, macrophages, and extracellular vesicles such as ectosomes and exosomes were distributed around telocytes (TCs) and their long processes (Telopodes, Tps) within the TMC. Cell junctions between TCs developed, which could enable the communication between contiguous but distant Tps. On the other hand, winding free Tps without cell junctions were also uncovered inside the TMC. Tissue fluid, cell junctions of TCs, mast cells, macrophages, and extracellular vesicles within the TMC corresponded to the circulating “气血” (“Qi-Xue”, i.e., information, message, and energy) of meridian conduits at the cytological level. These results could provide morphological evidence for the hypothesis that “meridians are the conduit for Qi-Xue circulation” in CTM.

Telocytes (TCs) are very long, non-neuronal, somatic cells whose function is widely believed to be involved in providing connections between different cells within the body. The cellular characteristics of TCs in various organs have been studied by immunohistochemistry, double immunofluorescence and electron microscopy in different vertebrate species, and here we investigate the proposed properties of these cells in the context of the “meridian” in Chinese Traditional Medicine (CTM). The results show that TCs and their long extensions, telopodes (Tps) develop a complicated network by homo- and heterocellular junctions in the connective tissue throughout the body, which can connect the skin with distant organs. In concept, this is the analogue of ancient meridian maps connecting skin acupoints with the viscera. Various active cells and extracellular vesicles including exosomes move along Tps, which, along with developed mitochondria within the podoms of Tps, may account for the structural evidence for “Qi” (vital energy and signal communication) in CTM. Morphological associations of TCs with the nerve, vascular, endocrine, and immune systems are also compatible with previously proposed meridian theories in CTM. Close relationships exist between TCs and collagen fiber bundles and some structures in skin fascia provide the microanatomical support for acupuncture treatment based on the meridian principle. The dynamicity in the distribution and structure of TCs reflects the plasticity of the meridian at the cellular level. As the same attribute, both the meridian and the TC have been associated with various diseases. Here, we summarize structural analogues between the TC and the meridian, suggesting that TCs have the cytological characteristics of the CTM meridian. We, therefore, hypothesize that TCs are the “essence cells” of the CTM meridian, which can connect and integrate different cells and structures in the connective tissue.

This paper summarizes a multi-state, multi-year study assessing the potential for local agriculture in northern New England. While largely rural, this region's agricultural sector differs greatly from the rest of the United States, and demand for locally produced food has been increasing. To assess this unique economic landscape, researchers and Cooperative Extension at the Universities of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont investigated four key areas: (1) local food capacities, (2) constraints to agricultural expansion, (3) consumer preferences for local and organic produce, and (4) the role of intermediaries as alternative local food outlets. The project included input from local farmers, Extension members, restaurants, and the general public. We present the four research areas in a sequential, overlapping fashion. The timing of our research was such that each step in the process informed the next and can be used as a template for assessing a region's potential for local agricultural production.

Heteroatom-doped carbon plays a vital role in the field of energy storage and conversion, and the synthesis of them has intimate relation with doping pathways. In this work, a facile two-step doping pathway, i.e., hydrothermal method followed by thermal annealing process, was employed to prepare annealed three-dimensional N,S-codoped graphene framework (3D A-NSG). The morphology, structure, composition, and related electrochemical performance were all studied. The results showed that A-NSG possessed typical 3D thin nanosheets, much increased specific surface area and structural defects, strengthened conductivity, and optimized N and S configurations (especially for dominated pyridinic N as well as graphitic N and –C–S–C–). As a result, A-NSG presented much better capacitance and oxygen reduction reaction performance than the counterparts. Apparently, our work offers a good guidance on the synthesis of advanced heteroatom-doped carbon materials by adjusting the doping strategy.

This paper presents new LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb chronology, whole-rock geochemical and zircon Hf isotopic data for the felsic lavas of the Huili Group from the southwestern Yangtze Block. LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb dating shows that these rocks were emplaced in Late Mesoproterozoic time (∼1028 to 1019 Ma). Relative to typical I-type and S-type granitoids, all the samples are characterized by low Sr and Eu, and high high-field-strength element contents, high TFeO/MgO, enriched rare earth element compositions and negative Eu anomalies, indicating that they share the geochemical signatures of A-type granitoid. They can be further divided into two groups: Group I and Group II. Group I are A1-type felsic rocks and were produced by fractional crystallization of alkaline basaltic magmas. The Group II felsic lavas belong to the A2-type and were derived by partial melting of a crustal source with mixing of mantle-derived magmas. Both Group I and Group II felsic lavas may erupt in a continental back-arc setting. The coexistence of A1- and A2-type rocks in the southwestern Yangtze Block suggests that they can occur in the same tectonic setting.

Path planning under 2D map is a key issue in robot applications. However, most related algorithms rely on point-by-point traversal. This causes them usually cannot find the strict shortest path, and their time cost increases dramatically as the map scale increases. So we proposed RimJump to solve the above problem, and it is a new path planning method that generates the strict shortest path for a 2D map. RimJump selects points on the edge of barriers to form the strict shortest path. Simulation and experimentation prove that RimJump meets the expected requirements.

Soil moisture is a key factor affecting vegetation growth and survival in arid and semi-arid regions. Knowledge of deep soil moisture dynamics is very important for guiding vegetation restoration and for improving land management practices on the water-limited Loess Plateau. Temporal changes and vertical variations in deep soil moisture (at soil depths of 0–600cm) combined with soil moisture availability were monitored in situ under Caragana korshinskii shrubs of different ages (named CK-10a, CK-20a and CK-35a) in the Loess hilly region during the growing season of 2013. The soil moisture content (SMC) under C. korshinskii shrubs of different ages was highly consistent with the seasonal precipitation variations and generally decreased as follows: CK-10a>CK-20a>abandoned land>CK-35a. The SMC varied greatly over time during the growing season (P<0.01), decreasing from April to May and then slowly increasing with some fluctuation from June to October. The SMC drastically decreased with depth from 0–300cm and then gradually increased with some fluctuation from 300–600cm. A critical turning point and transition zone connecting the shallow and deep soil moisture occurred at 200–300cm. Therefore, the soil profile was divided into active, secondary active and relatively steady soil layers in terms of soil moisture. The SMC fluctuated at depths of 0–100cm and 300–400cm and was relatively stable in the deeper soil layers. The amount of available soil moisture gradually decreased as the forest stand age increased, especially at CK-35a, where most of the soil moisture was unavailable for plant use. In addition, our study indicates that a large-scale restoration strategy with pure shrubland or woodland may not be suitable for soil moisture recovery in arid environments.

(1 − x)Ba(Mg1/3Ta2/3)O3–xBa(Co1/3Nb2/3)O3 (BMT–BCN, x = 0.0, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.40) ceramics were prepared using the traditional solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction patterns have shown that the intensities of (001) and (100) super-lattices decrease with the increase in the BCN content. Seven main Raman vibrational modes are observed, assigned, and illustrated, in particular. Raman shifts of Eg(O) modes and the FWHM values of F2g(O)/A1g(O) modes have close relationship with the dielectric properties. The calculated values by the four-parameter semiquantum model based on IR reflectivity match well with the measured data (@3.8 GHz), which means that most of dielectric contribution to the system may be ascribed to the absorption of structural phononic oscillations at the infrared region, and the contribution from the scattering of the defective phonons is small. The contributions of each vibrational mode on the dielectric responses were investigated in detail, indicating that the low-frequency modes (A2u(1) and Eu(1)) have a decisive role to the dielectric properties.

The deformation of the Solonker Belt and nearby regions is helpful for understanding the tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. This study carried out structural analysis in the Mandula and Ganqi areas of western Inner Mongolia, including the Solonker Belt, the Southern Orogenic Belt and the northern Yinshan Belt (Langshan range). Our results reveal that the Solonker Belt, the Southern Orogenic Belt and the northern Yinshan Belt underwent two stages (D1 and D2) of deformation during the Mesozoic period. The D1 stage produced the NNE-directed thrusts and asymmetric folds, indicating a NNE–SSW contraction. The northern Yinshan Belt, the Southern Orogenic Belt and the Solonker Belt formed as a series of NNE-verging tectonic nappes. The D2 stage developed the NE-trending folds and the SE- or NW-directed thrusts that cross-cut the D1 structures. The two events of nearly orthogonal or oblique shortening gave rise to the superimposed structures (e.g. fold interference patterns). The quartz veins that filled the fractures of the D1 deformation contain zircons of Middle Triassic U–Pb ages. The new dating data, along with the regional sedimentary hiatus, led us to infer that the D1 stage of deformation occurred in Middle Triassic time and the D2 stage occurred in Late Jurassic time. We consider that the D1 stage of deformation resulted from a convergent event, which might be related to the closure of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean or limited, narrow ocean basins; and the D2 stage of deformation was the far-field result of subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific Ocean and the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean.

The theories of thermionic emission and field emission (also known as the Richardson–Dushman [RD] and Fowler–Nordheim [FN] Laws, respectively) were formulated more than 80 years ago for bulk materials. In single-layer graphene, electrons mimic massless Dirac fermions and follow relativistic carrier dynamics. Thus, their behavior deviates significantly from the nonrelativistic electrons that reside in traditional bulk materials with a parabolic energy-momentum dispersion relation. In this article, we assert that due to linear energy dispersion, the traditional thermionic emission and field emission models are no longer valid for graphene and two-dimensional Dirac-like materials. We have proposed models that show better agreement with experimental data and also show a smooth transition to the traditional RD and FN Laws.

Positive solutions of a Kirchhoff-type nonlinear elliptic equation with a non-local integral term on a bounded domain in ℝ N , N ⩾ 1, are studied by using bifurcation theory. The parameter regions of existence, non-existence and uniqueness of positive solutions are characterized by the eigenvalues of a linear eigenvalue problem and a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. Local and global bifurcation diagrams of positive solutions for various parameter regions are obtained.

A “RE-free” and I-phase-containing Mg–8Sn-based alloy system was developed and successfully fabricated through the equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) process. The influence of the Zn/Al mass ratio on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the as-ECAPed Mg–8Sn–(5,6,7)Zn–2(wt%)Al alloys was investigated using an optical microscope, an X-ray diffractometer, a scanning electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope, and a universal testing machine. Grain size, dynamic recrystallization behavior, and texture were found to be greatly affected by the Zn/Al mass ratio. Furthermore, the ultimate tensile strength (250 MPa) and elongation (14.5%) of the alloy with a Zn/Al mass ratio of 3 were considerably increased compared to those of the as-ECAPed alloys with Zn/Al ratios of 2.5 and 3.5 (ultimate tensile strength and elongation of 215 MPa and 13% and 184 MPa and 10%, respectively). This significant enhancement was attributed to extensive grain boundary strengthening, precipitation strengthening, and higher work hardening capacity as well as texture randomization. The strength and ductility of the as-ECAPed alloys are also discussed in terms of the I-phase and Mg2Sn formation.

Although some novel antimicrobial peptides (AMP) have been successfully isolated from Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel, the mechanisms underlying the induction of these peptides are still elusive. The homolog of NF-κB transcription factor Relish, designated as BdRelish, was cloned from B. dorsalis. The full length cDNA of BdRelish is 3954 bp with an open reading frame that encodes 1013 amino acids. Similar to Drosophila Relish and the mammalian p100, it is a compound protein containing a conserved Rel homology domain, an IPT (Ig-like, plexins, transcription factors) domain and an IκB-like domain (four ankyrin repeats), the nuclear localization signal RKRRR is also detected at the residues 449–453, suggesting that it has homology to Relish and it is a member of the Rel family of transcription activator proteins. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis reveals that BdRelish mRNAs are detected in different quantities from various tissues and the highest transcription level of BdRelish is determined in fat body. The injection challenge of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureas significantly upregulated the expression of BdRelish. The injection of BdRelish dsRNA markedly reduced the expression of BdRelish and decreased the transcription magnitude of antimicrobial peptides. Individuals injected BdRelish dsRNA died at a significantly faster rate compared with the control groups. Therefore, BdRelish is vital for the transcription of AMPs to attack the invading bacteria.

SrZrO3 ceramic with perovskite-type structure was synthesized by a conventional solid-state reaction method at 1500 °C for 3 h. The crystal structures were studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD), and lattice vibrational modes were obtained by Raman and Fourier transform far-infrared (FTIR) reflection spectroscopy. The dielectric properties of the samples were also measured. According to XRD data, the SrZrO3 ceramic displayed the orthorhombic structure Pbnm (62). The Raman spectrum with ten active vibrators can be fitted by the Lorentzian function, and the vibrators were assigned. Far-infrared spectrum with six infrared active modes was fitted by the four-parameter semiquantum models. Consequently, the modes were assigned as F1u (1) (102 cm−1), F2u (2) (120 cm−1), F1u (3) (140 cm−1), F3u (4)′ (228 cm−1), F3u (4)″ (287 cm−1), F1u (5) (326 cm−1), and F1u (6) (527 cm−1). The infrared mode F1u (1), that can be represented as the Sr–ZrO6 inverted translational vibration, has the highest contribution to the dielectric properties (permittivity and dielectric loss). The calculated data agree well with the measured values.

In the real practice of multi-AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) cooperative systems, tasks or malfunctions will change the topology. The process of mutative topology structure will affect the reliability of multi-AUV cooperative system. The interactive Markov chains model, which is an intercurrent model of functional action and capability index, is selected to reflect the reliability of topology-changed multi-AUV cooperative systems. In this model, multi-AUV cooperative systems are described by the conception—“Action”. The concept of “action transfer” is used to describe the topology-changed multi-AUV cooperative system, and model checking is used to solve the interactive Markov chains, giving the probability of reliability within a certain time for the system. The result shows that the method proposed in this paper has a practical value.

In this paper, the recent studies of laboratory astrophysics with strong magnetic fields in China have been reviewed. On the Shenguang-II laser facility of the National Laboratory on High-Power Lasers and Physics, a laser-driven strong magnetic field up to 200 T has been achieved. The experiment was performed to model the interaction of solar wind with dayside magnetosphere. Also the low beta plasma magnetic reconnection (MR) has been studied. Theoretically, the model has been developed to deal with the atomic structures and processes in strong magnetic field. Also the study of shock wave generation in the magnetized counter-streaming plasmas is introduced.

Analyses of morphological, anatomical, chemical and DNA sequences led to the recognition of ten species of Anzia in the Hengduan Mountains, which harbour all species known from China, including A. pseudocolpota sp. nov. and A. hypomelaena comb. & stat. nov. Furthermore, populations similar to A. hypoleucoides but with narrow lobes and a yellow-orange pigmented medulla may be a phylogenetically distinct species tentatively recognized as A. aff. hypoleucoides. The species are primarily distinguished by the presence or absence of a central axis, the colour and shape of the spongy cushion and the nature of the secondary compounds. A key to all known species of Anzia from China is presented.