Vortex shedding in the wake of a cylinder in uniform flow can be suppressed via the application of a porous coating; however, the suppression mechanism is not fully understood. The internal flow field of a porous coated cylinder (PCC) can provide a deeper understanding of how the flow within the porous medium affects the wake development. A structured PCC (SPCC) was three-dimensionally printed using a transparent material and tested in water tunnel facilities using flow visualisation and tomographic particle image velocimetry at outer-diameter Reynolds numbers of $Re = 7 \times 10^{3}$ and $7.3 \times 10^{4}$, respectively. The internal and near-wall flow fields are analysed at the windward and mid-circumference regions. Flow stagnation is observed in the porous layer on the windward side and its boundary is shown to fluctuate with time in the outermost porous layer. This stagnation region generates a quasi-aerodynamic body that influences boundary layer development on the SPCC inner diameter, that separates into a shear layer within the porous medium. For the first time via experiment, spectral content within the separated shear layer reveals vortex shedding processes emanating through single pores at the outer diameter, providing strong evidence that SPCC vortex shedding originates from the inner diameter. Velocity fluctuations linked to this vortex shedding propagate through the porous layers into the external flow field at a velocity less than that of the free stream. The Strouhal number linked to this velocity accurately predicts the SPCC vortex shedding frequency.

Service design has been an emerging transdisciplinary field that includes product, system, and social science, since the term was first introduced to academic research in the early 1990s. With socioeconomical shifts and emerging technologies, people have faced more complex and systemic challenges, which enable researchers to consider how to reapply service design not only as problem-solving tools but also as ways for communication and alignment to adapt to the change. The study focuses on the paradigm shifts of service from its definitions to applications by interviewing nine design experts from academia and industry, and utilizing survey results to help us explore applying service design to solve complicated social-technological challenges. We present four takeaways: 1) a new understanding of service design, 2) the purpose of using service design tools, 3) the evaluation of service quality through time, and 4) the applications of service design in the public sector. We proposed a macro-trend model with service systems: product, service, and experience to conclude 1) constructing service systems in the macro-trend context and 2) gaining holistic views and building service implementation capability in the era of transformations.

The purpose of the study is to understand the design considerations for creating a provocative financial planning toolkit with services to help facilitate more constructive and meaningful conversations to build trust and empathy between financial advisors and senior people. We conducted four rounds of 60-minute co-creation workshops with eight invited participants from various design disciplines to work in pairs to generate four preliminary concepts suggesting design considerations. We used ATLAS.ti to do qualitative research analysis under an NCT (notice, collecting, thinking) model to identify 22 codes synthesized from verbal and behavioral data. The study concluded with three design principles: 1) the concept of financial planning is about people's expectation management, 2) a financial planning toolkit is designed under service systems, and 3) the tailor-made and modular design features can give financial advisors more flexibility to engage with senior people and enable them to share more about their life stories and needs to recommend financial planning packages precisely according to personal preference, health conditions, and financial status.

The radio signal transmitted by the Mars Express (MEX) spacecraft was observed regularly between the years 2013–2020 at X-band (8.42 GHz) using the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry (EVN) network and University of Tasmania’s telescopes. We present a method to describe the solar wind parameters by quantifying the effects of plasma on our radio signal. In doing so, we identify all the uncompensated effects on the radio signal and see which coronal processes drive them. From a technical standpoint, quantifying the effect of the plasma on the radio signal helps phase referencing for precision spacecraft tracking. The phase fluctuation of the signal was determined for Mars’ orbit for solar elongation angles from 0 to 180 deg. The calculated phase residuals allow determination of the phase power spectrum. The total electron content of the solar plasma along the line of sight is calculated by removing effects from mechanical and ionospheric noises. The spectral index was determined as $-2.43 \pm 0.11$ which is in agreement with Kolmogorov’s turbulence. The theoretical models are consistent with observations at lower solar elongations however at higher solar elongation ($>$160 deg) we see the observed values to be higher. This can be caused when the uplink and downlink signals are positively correlated as a result of passing through identical plasma sheets.

A relation among invariants of filtered velocity gradients with two different filter sizes is derived. Based on this relation and physical reasoning, it is shown analytically that strain self-amplification contributes more to energy transfer than vortex stretching in homogeneous turbulence, as observed in recent numerical investigations of homogeneous isotropic turbulence. We note that the invariant relation studied and hence the inequality between strain self-amplification and vortex stretching apply to all homogeneous flows, not restricted to isotropic turbulence.

We derive from first principles analytic relations for the second- and third-order moments of $\boldsymbol{\mathsf{m}}$, the spatial gradient of fluid velocity $\boldsymbol{u}$, $\boldsymbol{\mathsf{m}} = \nabla \boldsymbol{u}$, in compressible turbulence, which generalize known relations in incompressible flows. These relations, although derived for homogeneous flows, hold approximately for a mixing layer. We also discuss how to apply these relations to determine all the second- and third-order moments of the velocity gradient experimentally for isotropic compressible turbulence.

The great demographic pressure brings tremendous volume of beef demand. The key to solve this problem is the growth and development of Chinese cattle. In order to find molecular markers conducive to the growth and development of Chinese cattle, sequencing was used to determine the position of copy number variations (CNVs), bioinformatics analysis was used to predict the function of ZNF146 gene, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used for CNV genotyping and one-way analysis of variance was used for association analysis. The results showed that there exists CNV in Chr 18: 47225201-47229600 (5.0.1 version) of ZNF146 gene through the early sequencing results in the laboratory and predicted ZNF146 gene was expressed in liver, skeletal muscle and breast cells, and was amplified or overexpressed in pancreatic cancer, which promoted the development of tumour through bioinformatics. Therefore, it is predicted that ZNF146 gene affects the proliferation of muscle cells, and then affects the growth and development of cattle. Furthermore, CNV genotyping of ZNF146 gene was three types (deletion type, normal type and duplication type) by Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR). The association analysis results showed that ZNF146-CNV was significantly correlated with rump length of Qinchuan cattle, hucklebone width of Jiaxian red cattle and heart girth of Yunling cattle. From the above results, ZNF146-CNV had a significant effect on growth traits, which provided an important candidate molecular marker for growth and development of Chinese cattle.

The depth-integrated wave–current models developed by Yang & Liu (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 883, 2020, A4) are extended to investigate currents with an arbitrary vertical profile in the water column. In the present models, horizontal velocities are decomposed into two components. The first part deduces the prescribed current velocity when waves are absent. The second part is approximated in a polynomial form. The resulting depth-integrated wave–current models are obtained by applying the weighted residual method. In the absence of currents, the present models are identical to those in Yang & Liu (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 883, 2020, A4) and are validated with several three-dimensional (3D) benchmark laboratory experiments. A theoretical analysis is conducted to study the frequency dispersion relation of linear waves on currents with an exponential vertical profile and the results are compared with numerical solutions of the Rayleigh equation. Using the new models, validations and investigations are then conducted for periodic waves and solitary waves on currents with an arbitrary profile in one-dimensional horizontal (1DH) space. Furthermore, the new models are applied to wave–current interactions in two-dimensional horizontal (2DH) space. Two scenarios are considered: (1) wave propagation over a vortex-ring-like current and (2) obliquely incident wave propagation over a 3D sheared current on a varying bathymetry. The vertical and horizontal shear of the current have significant effects on modifying various wave properties, which are well captured by the present models. However, the time-averaged velocity under wave–current interaction shows small differences with the prescribed current velocity, except in the region between the wave trough and crest.

The epidemic of tuberculosis has posed a serious burden in Qinghai province, it is necessary to clarify the epidemiological characteristics and spatial-temporal distribution of TB for future prevention and control measures. We used descriptive epidemiological methods and spatial statistical analysis including spatial correlation and spatial-temporal analysis in this study. Furthermore, we applied an exponential smoothing model for TB epidemiological trend forecasting. Of 43 859 TB cases, the sex ratio was 1.27:1 (M:F), and the average annual TB registered incidence was 70.00/100 000 of 2009–2019. More cases were reported in March and April, and the worst TB stricken regions were the prefectures of Golog and Yushu. High TB registered incidences were seen in males, farmers and herdsmen, Tibetans, or elderly people. 7132 cases were intractable, which were recurrent, drug resistant, or co-infected with other infections. Three likely cases clusters with significant high risk were found by spatial-temporal scan on data of 2009–2019. The exponential smoothing winters' additive model was selected as the best-fitting model to forecast monthly TB cases in the future. This research indicated that TB in Qinghai is still a serious threaten to the local residents' health. Multi-departmental collaboration and funds special for TB treatments and control are still needed, and the exponential smoothing model is promising which could be applied for forecasting of TB epidemic trend in this high-altitude province.

Background: Ischemic stroke occurs following trauma-related blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI) in up to 20% of cases. Preventative treatment includes antiplatelets, anticoagulants, and/or endovascular treatment (ET), but the optimal choice remains unclear. The objective of this study was to compare the ischemic stroke rate between these three treatments. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we queried the OVID Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases from September 2019 to inception to identify studies reporting treatment-stratified outcomes in BCVI patients. Meta-analysis was performed to compare outcomes between the treatment groups, using odds ratios. Retrospective review of our institutional experience with BCVI outcomes was performed and added to the meta-analysis. Results: Analysis of seven comparative studies of antiplatelets (n=334) versus anticoagulation (n=325) found no significant difference in ischemic stroke rate (OR 1.27, 95%CI 0.40-3.99), but a decrease in hemorrhagic complications (OR 0.38, 95%CI 0.15-1.00). Analysis of seven comparative studies of antiplatelets/anticoagulants (n=805) versus ET (n=235) also found no significant difference in stroke rate (OR 0.71, 95%CI 0.35-1.42). Conclusions: Antiplatelets and anticoagulants were similarly effective in reducing ischemic stroke risk in BCVI, but antiplatelets were better tolerated in this trauma population. The addition of endovascular treatment did not further reduce stroke risk compared to antiplatelets or anticoagulants alone.

The Silurian and Devonian plant fossil record is the basis for our understanding of the early evolution of land plants, yet our appreciation of early global phytogeographic evolution has been constrained by the focus of most studies on deposits from Europe, North America, and, more recently, South China. Devonian plants have been recorded rarely from northeastern China, and among previous records, few plants have been illustrated and formally described. In this article, megafossil plants representing a Late Devonian-aged (probably Famennian) flora are described from a locality at northern Sonid Zuoqi, Inner Mongolia, NE China. The flora includes Melvillipteris sonidia new species, Archaeopteris sp., and fragments of some other plants. The new plant shows main axes and two orders of lateral branches. The first-order branches of this plant show a typical zigzag appearance and are borne in pairs on main axes. Second-order branches are straight or slightly flexed, and are borne helically or alternately on first-order branches. Sterile ultimate appendages and fertile structures of M. sonidia n. sp. are borne alternately on second-order branches. An associated palynological assemblage, as well as U-Pb ages of detrital zircon grains from adjacent horizons, are also reported, indicating a Late Devonian age in accord with the megafossil plants. The present study contributes to our appreciation of the Devonian floristic diversity of the Xing'an Block, and, through our review of the record of early vascular plants from NE China, more broadly to the understanding of the mid-latitude vegetation of the Northern Hemisphere during the Late Devonian.

The Ediacaran tubular fossils Cloudina, Sinotubulites, and Conotubus are taxonomically revised with type materials. It is proposed that Aulophycus lucianoi Beurlen and Sommer, 1957, is not a senior synonym of Cloudina hartmannae Germs, 1972. Instead, most of its syntypes may be assigned to Sinotubulites or other taxa. Lectotypes of Sinotubulites baimatuoensis Chen et al., 1981, and Conotubus hemiannulatus Zhang and Lin in Lin et al., 1986, are designated from rediscovered syntypes. Sinotubulites baimatuoensis Chen et al., 1981, is reported from the Mooifontein Member of Nama Group at Aar Farm, Namibia. Cloudina waldei Hahn and Pflug, 1985, is assigned to Sinotubulites baimatuoensis, and thus its occurrence range is extended to Brazil. The lectotype of Conotubus hemiannulatus shows corrugations and annulations on the surface distinguishing it from Cloudina and other collared Ediacaran tubular fossils. Based on the taxonomic revision, we propose a Cloudina hartmannae Interval Zone for the terminal Ediacaran with the upper boundary defined by the first appearance datum of Protohertzina anabarica (i.e., the index fossil of the early Cambrian Anabarites trisulcatus-Protohertzina anabarica Assemblage Zone).