Fast neutron absorption spectroscopy is widely used in the study of nuclear structure and element analysis. However, due to the traditional neutron source pulse duration being of the order of nanoseconds, it is difficult to obtain a high-resolution absorption spectrum. Thus, we present a method of ultrahigh energy-resolution absorption spectroscopy via a high repetition rate, picosecond duration pulsed neutron source driven by a terawatt laser. The technology of single neutron count is used, which results in easily distinguishing the width of approximately 20 keV at 2 MeV and an asymmetric shape of the neutron absorption peak. The absorption spectroscopy based on a laser neutron source has one order of magnitude higher energy-resolution power than the state-of-the-art traditional neutron sources, which could be of benefit for precisely measuring nuclear structure data.

This article introduces the 2D multilayer Laue lens (MLL) nanofocusing optics recently developed for high-resolution hard X-ray microscopy. The new optics utilized a micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS)-based template to accommodate two linear MLL optics in a pre-aligned configuration. Angular misalignment between the two lenses was controlled in tens of millidegrees, and the lateral position error was on a micrometer scale. Using the developed 2D MLLs, an astigmatism-free point focus of approximately 14 nm by 13 nm in horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, at 13.6 keV photon energy was obtained. The success of 2D MLL optics with an approaching 10 nm resolution is a significant step forward for the development of high-resolution hard X-ray microscopy and applications of MLL optics in the hard X-ray community.

A new system for preparing 14C samples was established for a compact accelerator mass spectrometer (GXNU-AMS) at Guangxi Normal University. This sample preparation system consists of three units: a vacuum maintenance unit, a CO2 purification unit, and a CO2 reduction unit, all of which were made of quartz glass. A series of radiocarbon (14C) preparation experiments were conducted to verify the reliability of the system. The recovery rate of graphite obtained was more than 80%. The carbon content in the commercial toner and wood sample was linearly fitted to the CO2 pressure in the measurement unit of the system. The results showed a good linear relationship, indicating that the reliability of the sample preparation system. AMS measurements were conducted on a batch of standard, wood, and dead graphite samples prepared using this system. The results showed that the beam current of 12C- for each sample was more than 40 μA, the carbon contamination introduced during the sample preparation process was ∼ 2 × 10–15, and that the new sample preparation system is compact, low-contamination, and efficient and meets the GXNU-AMS requirements for 14C samples.

Many waterflooding oil fields, injecting water into an oil-bearing reservoir for pressure maintenance, are in their middle to late stages of development. To explore the geological conditions and improve oilfield recovery of the most important well group of the Hu 136 block, located on the border areas of three provinces (Henan, Shandong, and Hebei), Zhongyuan Oilfield, Sinopec, central China, a 14C cross-well tracer monitoring technology was developed and applied in monitoring the development status and recognize the heterogeneity of oil reservoirs. The tracer response in the production well was tracked, and the water drive speed, swept volume of the injection fluid were obtained. Finally, the reservoir heterogeneity characteristics, such as the dilution coefficient, porosity, permeability, and average pore-throat radius, were fitted according to the mathematical model of the heterogeneous multi-layer inter-well theory. The 14C-AMS technique developed in this work is expected to be a potential analytical method for evaluating underground reservoir characteristics and providing crucial scientific guidance for the mid to late oil field recovery process.

Nutritional Risk Screening index is a standard tool to assess nutritional risk, but epidemiological data are scarce on controlling nutritional status (CONUT) as a prognostic marker in acute haemorrhagic stroke (AHS). We aimed to explore whether the CONUT may predict a 3-month functional outcome in AHS. In total, 349 Chinese patients with incident AHS were consecutively recruited, and their malnutrition risks were determined using a high CONUT score of ≥ 2. The cohort patients were divided into high-CONUT (≥ 2) and low-CONUT (< 2) groups, and primary outcomes were a poor functional prognosis defined as the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of ≥ 3 at post-discharge for 3 months. Odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for the poor functional prognosis at post-discharge were estimated by using a logistic analysis with additional adjustments for unbalanced variables between the high-CONUT and low-CONUT groups. A total of 328 patients (60·38 ± 12·83 years; 66·77 % male) completed the mRS assessment at post-discharge for 3 months, with 172 patients at malnutrition risk at admission and 104 patients with a poor prognosis. The levels of total cholesterol and total lymphocyte counts were significantly lower in high-CONUT patients than low-CONUT patients (P = 0·012 and < 0·001, respectively). At 3-month post discharge, there was a greater risk for the poor outcome in the high-CONUT compared with the low-CONUT patients at admission (OR: 2·32, 95 % CI: 1·28, 4·17). High-CONUT scores independently predict a 3-month poor prognosis in AHS, which helps to identify those who need additional nutritional managements.

The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is greatly threatening the public health in the world. We reconstructed global transmissions and potential demographic expansions of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 based on genomic information. We found that intercontinental transmissions were rare in January and early February but drastically increased since late February. After world-wide implements of travel restrictions, the transmission frequencies decreased to a low level in April. We identified a total of 88 potential demographic expansions over the world based on the star-radiative networks and 75 of them were found in Europe and North America. The expansion numbers peaked in March and quickly dropped since April. These findings are highly concordant with epidemic reports and modelling results and highlight the significance of quarantine validity on the global spread of COVID-19. Our analyses indicate that the travel restrictions and social distancing measures are effective in containing the spread of COVID-19.

In this paper, the generation of relativistic electron mirrors (REMs) and the reflection of an ultra-short laser off this mirrors are discussed, applying two-dimensional particle-in-cell (2D-PIC) simulations. REMs with ultra-high acceleration and expanding velocity can be produced from a solid nanofoil illuminated normally by an ultra-intense femtosecond laser pulse with a sharp rising edge. Chirped attosecond pulse can be produced through the reflection of a counter-propagating probe laser off the accelerating REM. In the electron moving frame, the plasma frequency of the REM keeps decreasing due to its rapidly expanding. The laser frequency, on the contrary, keeps increasing due to the acceleration of REM and the relativistic Doppler shift from the lab frame to the electron moving frame. Within an ultra-short time interval, the two frequencies will be equal in the electron moving frame, which leads the resonance between laser and REM. The reflected radiation near this interval and the corresponding spectra will be amplified due to the resonance. Through adjusting the arriving time of the probe laser, certain part of the reflected field could be selectively amplified or depressed, leading to the selectively adjusting of the corresponding spectra.

The present study investigated whether word-boundary information, provided by alternating colors (consistent or inconsistent with word-boundary information) in a Chinese sentence would facilitate the reading of second-language (L2) learners. Thirty-three Korean students were recruited in the eye-movement experiment. Relative to a baseline (i.e., mono-colors) condition, incorrect word segmentation produced closer fixation location toward the beginning of words, longer fixation duration, higher refixation rate, and slower reading speed. In contrast, word segmentation with alternating colors produced further fixation location toward the center of words, shorter fixation duration, lower refixation rate, and faster reading speed. These results indicate that L2 readers are capable of making use of word-boundary knowledge for saccade generation, which can result in a facilitation of reading efficiency.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China, spread rapidly throughout China and gradually to some countries abroad. How is the development of an epidemic controlled? Early diagnosis is one of the important contents in prevention and control. COVID-19 patients with early mild pneumonia often lack typical evidence to make a definitive diagnosis. Based on the analysis of the cases of 4 patients, this article finds that early diagnosis requires a combination of epidemiology, clinical manifestations, imaging, and etiology, with particular emphasis on epidemiology history and chest computed tomography (CT) manifestations.

A diode-pumped alkali vapor laser (DPAL) is one of the most promising candidates of the next-generation high-powered laser source. As the saturated number density of alkali vapor is highly dependent on the temperature inside a vapor cell, the temperature distribution in the cross-section of a cell will greatly affect the homogeneity of a laser medium and the output characteristics of a DPAL. In this paper, we developed an algorithm based on the regime concluding quasi-Hilbert transform to evaluate the phase aberration of a wavefront when the probe beam passes through the vapor cell placed in one arm of a Mach–Zehnder interference setup. According to the theoretical algorithm, we deduced the temperature distribution of a cesium vapor cell for different heating conditions. The study is thought to be useful for development of a high-powered laser.

A diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL) provides the significant promise for high-powered performances. In this paper, a mathematical model is introduced for examination of the kinetic processes of a diode-pumped cesium vapor hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber (HC-PCF) laser, in which the cesium vapor is filled in the center hole of a photonic-bandgap fiber instead of a glass cell. The influence of deleterious processes including energy pooling, photo-ionization, and Penning ionization on the physical features of a fiber DPAL is studied in this report. It has been theoretically demonstrated that the deleterious processes cannot be ignored in a high-powered fiber-DPAL system.

The effects of pre-treatments on the precipitate microstructures of an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy are investigated. Meanwhile, the creep-rupture behavior of the under-aged and peak-aged alloys are comparatively analyzed. Additionally, the effects of pre-treatment on the fracture mechanisms are discussed. It is found that the precipitate microstructures are sensitive to pre-treatments. The intragranular precipitates of the peak-aged alloy are larger than those of the under-aged. The precipitate free zone of the peak-aged alloy is wider than that of the under-aged. Some large intergranular precipitates appear on the grain boundaries of the under-aged alloy, and induce the nucleation of microvoids. Eventually, the creep fracture of the under-aged alloy is accelerated. Therefore, the differences in microstructures lead to the shorter creep-rupture life of the under-aged alloy, compared to the peak-aged alloy.

The ownership structure of Chinese firms has experienced significant changes over the last three decades, including the development of a fast growing stock market through which a large number of domestic firms have become publicly traded corporations. These changes have drawn increasing attention from researchers of corporate governance. In this article, we review the empirical research on corporate governance in China, with a focus on the internal and external governance mechanisms that have been investigated and the findings about the effectiveness of these mechanisms. On the basis of our review of 132 studies, we summarize the major findings and discuss the limitation of agency theory in understanding the governance issue in Chinese firms. We offer several ideas (e.g., the importance of the social context, new conceptualization of governance, different outcomes of governance, and data/method issues) for a new agenda to guide future research in the corporate governance of firms operating in the Chinese and other emerging economy contexts.

A double-slice-foil target is proposed for the generation of quasi-monoenergetic proton bunches by intense laser pulses. In this new target structure, two symmetrical solid slices are adjoined obliquely to the front side of a plane double-layer target. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that a large number of hot electrons are pulled out from solid slices and accelerated forward by direct laser acceleration, which lead to significant enhancement of the sheath field and the produced proton beam energy as compared with the normal plane double-layer target and some other modified targets. It appears that well-collimated proton bunches with energy larger than 200 MeV can be produced at the focused laser intensity of about 1021W/cm2 with the proposed target design.

Cryopreservation can cause cumulus cell damage around the immature oocytes, which may result in poor subsequent development. To evaluate the effect of the meiosis stage on the cumulus cell cryoinjury and determine the suitable stage for cryopreservation in immature oocytes, mouse oocytes at germinal vesicle (GV) and germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) stages were vitrified using open pulled straw (OPS) method. Cumulus cells damage was scored immediately after thawing by double-fluorescent staining. The survival rate of the oocytes was evaluated and the subsequent development of oocytes was assessed through in vitro culture (IVC) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) separately. After vitrification, a higher proportion of cumulus cells of GV oocytes were damaged than those of GVBD and untreated control groups. The survival rate of vitrified GVBD oocytes (94.1%) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of GV oocytes (85.4%). Oocytes vitrified at GVBD stage (55.7%) showed similar cleavage rate compared to those at GV stage (49.2%), but significantly higher (p < 0.05) blastocyst rate (40.9% vs. 27.4%). These results demonstrate that oocytes at GVBD stage remain better cumulus membrane integrity and developmental ability during vitrification than those at GV stage, indicating they are more suitable for immature oocytes cryopreservation in mice.

Target region amplified polymorphism (TRAP) was used to compare genetic structures among three populations of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) – one wild and two cultured populations. Seven out of 15 primer combinations produced good amplification patterns and provided 103 amplified loci from the three populations. Numbers of polymorphic loci in the wild population were higher, indicating a decrease in genetic polymorphism in the two cultured populations. Compared with the wild population, only 39.98% loci gene frequency remained unchanged in the cultured samples, showing a genetic structure change in cultured populations. The genetic distances between wild and cultured populations were 0.0421 and 0.0809. With primer combination Ga5-800-E5, we detected a region in the electrophoretic pattern in which the number of amplified loci apparently decreased in cultured populations. These results establish a good scientific basis for developing molecular markers that can help in distinguishing wild from cultured populations.

The lithospheric mantle beneath the North China Craton changed dramatically in its geophysical and geochemical characteristics from Palaeozoic to Cenozoic times. This study uses samples of Mesozoic basalts and mafic intrusions from the North China Craton to investigate the nature of this mantle in Mesozoic times. Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic data demonstrate that the Late Mesozoic lithospheric mantle was extremely heterogeneous. In the central craton or the Luzhong region, it is slightly Sr–Nd isotopically enriched, beneath the Taihangshan region it has an EM1 character (87Sr/86Sri=0.7050–0.7066; εNd(t)=−17–−10), and beneath the Luxi–Jiaodong region, it possesses EM2-like characteristics (87Sr/86Sri up to 0.7114). Compositional variation with time is also apparent in the Mesozoic lithospheric mantle. Our data suggest that the old lithospheric mantle was modified during Mesozoic times by a silicic melt, where beneath the Luxi–Jiaodong region it was severely modified, but in the Luzhong and Taihangshan regions the effects were much less marked. The silicic melt may have been the product of partial melting of crustal materials brought into the mantle by the subducted slab during the formation of circum-cratonic orogenic belts. This Mesozoic mantle did not survive for a long time, and was replaced by a Cenozoic mantle with depleted geochemical characteristics.