Recently, the collisionless pitch-angle scattering for relativistic runaway electrons (REs) in toroidal geometries such as tokamaks was discovered through a full orbit simulation approach (Liu et al., Nucl. Fusion, vol. 56, 2016, p. 064002), and it was then theoretically investigated that a new expression for the magnetic moment, including the second-order corrections, could essentially reproduce the so-called collisionless pitch-angle scattering process (Liu et al., Nucl. Fusion, vol. 58, 2018, p. 106018). In this paper, with synchrotron radiation, extensive numerical verification of the validity of the high-order guiding-centre theory is given for simulations involving REs by incorporating such an expression for the magnetic moment into our particle tracing code. A high-order guiding-centre simulation approach with synchrotron radiation (HGSA) is applied. Synchrotron radiation plays an essential role in the life cycle of REs. The energy of REs first increases and then becomes saturated until the electric field acceleration is balanced by the radiation dissipation. Unfortunately, the process cannot be simulated accurately with the standard guiding-centre model, i.e. the first-order guiding-centre model. Remarkably, it is found that the HGSA can effectively produce the fundamental process of REs. Since the time scale of the energy saturation of REs is close to seconds, the computational cost becomes significant. In order to save costs, it is necessary to estimate the time of energy saturation. An analytical estimate is derived for the time it takes for synchrotron drag to balance an accelerating electric field and the provided formula has been numerically verified. Test calculations reveal that HGSA is favourable for exploiting the dynamics of REs in tokamak plasmas.

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 optimization of laser pulse shapes is of great importance and a major challenge for laser direct-drive implosions. In this paper, we propose an efficient intelligent method to perform laser pulse optimization via hydrodynamic simulations guided by the genetic algorithm and random forest algorithm. Compared to manual optimizations, the machine-learning guided method is able to efficiently improve the areal density by a factor of 63% and reduce the in-flight-aspect ratio by a factor of 30% at the same time. A relationship between the maximum areal density and ion temperature is also achieved by the analysis of the big simulation dataset. This design method has been successfully demonstrated by the 2021 summer double-cone ignition experiments conducted at the SG-II upgrade laser facility and has great prospects for the design of other inertial fusion experiments.

The present study aimed to explore the association between dietary patterns in abdominal obesity obtained by reduced-rank regression (RRR) with visceral fat index (VFI) as a dependent variable and dyslipidemia in rural adults in Henan, China. A total of 29538 people aged 18–79 were selected from the Henan Rural Cohort Study. RRR analysis was used to identify dietary patterns; logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic spline regression models were applied to analyze the association between dietary patterns in abdominal obesity and dyslipidemia. VFI was used as a mediator to estimate the mediation effect. The dietary pattern in abdominal obesity was characterized by high carbohydrate and red meat intake and low consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, etc. After full adjustment, the highest quartile of dietary pattern scores was significantly associated with an increased risk of dyslipidemia (OR: 1·33, 95 % CI 1·23–1·44, Ptrend < 0·001), there was a non-linear dose–response relationship between them (Poverall-association < 0·001, Pnon-lin-association = 0·022). The result was similar in dose-response between the dietary pattern scores and VFI. The indirect effect partially mediated by VFI was significant (OR: 1·07, 95 % CI 1·06–1·08). VIF explained approximately 53·3 % of odds of dyslipidemia related to the dietary pattern. Abdominal obesity dietary pattern scores positively affected VFI and dyslipidemia; there was a dose-response in both relationships. Dyslipidemia progression increased with higher abdominal obesity dietary pattern scores. In addition, VFI played a partial mediating role in relationship between abdominal obesity dietary pattern and dyslipidemia.

Salicylic acid (SA), a phytohormone, has been considered to be a key regulator mediating plant defence against pathogens. It is still vague how SA activates plant defence against herbivores such as chewing and sucking pests. Here, we used an aphid-susceptible wheat variety to investigate Sitobion avenae response to SA-induced wheat plants, and the effects of exogenous SA on some defence enzymes and phenolics in the plant immune system. In SA-treated wheat seedlings, intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm), fecundity and apterous rate of S. avenae were 0.25, 31.4 nymphs/female and 64.4%, respectively, and significantly lower than that in the controls (P < 0.05). Moreover, the increased activities of phenylalanine-ammonia-lyase, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase in the SA-induced seedlings obviously depended on the sampling time, whereas activities of catalase and 4-coumarate:CoA ligase were suppressed significantly at 24, 48 and 72 h in comparison with the control. Dynamic levels of p-coumaric acid at 96 h, caffeic acid at 24 and 72 h and chlorogenic acid at 24, 48 and 96 h in wheat plants were significantly upregulated by exogenous SA application. Nevertheless, only caffeic acid content was positively correlated with PPO activity in SA-treated wheat seedlings (P = 0.031). These findings indicate that exogenous SA significantly enhanced the defence of aphid-susceptible wheat variety against aphids by regulating the plant immune system, and may prove a potential application of SA in aphid control.

Over recent decades, Chinese giant salamanders Andrias spp. have declined dramatically across much of their range. Overexploitation and habitat degradation have been widely cited as the cause of these declines. To investigate the relative contribution of each of these factors in driving the declines, we carried out standardized ecological and questionnaire surveys at 98 sites across the range of giant salamanders in China. We did not find any statistically significant differences between water parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, salinity, alkalinity, hardness and flow rate) recorded at sites where giant salamanders were detected by survey teams and/or had been recently seen by local respondents, and sites where they were not detected and/or from which they had recently been extirpated. Additionally, we found direct and indirect evidence that the extraction of giant salamanders from the wild is ongoing, including within protected areas. Our results support the hypothesis that the decline of giant salamanders across China has been primarily driven by overexploitation. Data on water parameters may be informative for the establishment of conservation breeding programmes, an initiative recommended for the conservation of these species.

The North Qilian orogenic belt in North China has been defined as a subduction–collision zone between the Alxa Block and the Qilian Block. We present petrography, zircon U–Pb geochronology, major- and trace-element geochemistry, and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotope analysis for the Yushigou diabase from the Longshoushan area, which is located SW of the Alxa Block, aiming to understand its petrogenetic link to subduction processes. The Yushigou diabase belongs to the tholeiite series, and shows enrichment in light rare earth and large-ion lithophile elements, and a depletion in heavy rare earth and high-field-strength elements. Laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry U–Pb zircon dating yielded an emplacement age of 414 ± 9 Ma, with an ϵHf(t) value in the range of −10.3 to 1.8. The whole-rock initial 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios of the diabase range over 16.811–17.157, 15.331–15.422 and 37.768–37.895, respectively. The (87Sr/86Sr)i ratios vary between 0.7086 and 0.7106, and ϵNd(t) values vary between −14.4 and −13.4, which are significantly higher than the ϵHf(t) value (Nd–Hf decoupling). An interpretation of the elemental and isotopic data suggests that the Yushigou diabase was derived from partial melting of an enriched mantle I (EM-I) -type lithospheric mantle in the spinel–garnet transitional zone. Based on the geochemical features and previous regional geological data, we propose that the Silurian magmatism was most likely triggered by slab break-off after the closure of the North Qilian Ocean, and ancient continental materials from the subduction slab metasomatized the overlying lithospheric mantle during exhumation.

Octapyrgites elongatus n. gen. n. sp., a relatively rare, tetraradial olivooid (Cnidaria, Medusozoa), is described from Bed 5 of the Yanjiahe Formation (Cambrian Stage 2) near Yichang, China. Although similar to Olivooides and Quadrapyrgites from the Fortunian Stage in consisting of a partially corrugated (longitudinal) periderm with a quadrate (transverse) apical portion and V-shaped apertural lobes, O. elongatus is substantially larger than other olivooids. The elongate apical region of O. elongatus is similar to four-sided Anaconularia anomala (Barrande, 1867), though with a flat tip that may have been an adaption for a sessile mode of life. As in other olivooids, embryonic development in O. elongatus may have been direct. Last, the paucity of olivooids and the absence of pentaradial cnidarians and carinachitids in Cambrian Stage 2 indicate a marked decline in the disparity of cnidarians near the Fortunian–Cambrian Age 2 boundary, when by contrast bilaterians underwent rapid diversification.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/60acc2f9-44f8-4a97-9449-960ad76f8fff

We construct a multiply Xiong chaotic set with full Hausdorff dimension everywhere that is contained in some multiply proximal cell for the full shift over finite symbols and the Gauss system, respectively.

Ceramics are strong but brittle. According to the classical theories, ceramics are brittle mainly because dislocations are suppressed by cracks. Here, the authors report the combined elastic and plastic deformation measurements of nanoceramics, in which dislocation-mediated stiff and ductile behaviors were detected at room temperature. In the synchrotron-based deformation experiments, a marked slope change is observed in the stress–strain relationship of MgAl2O4 nanoceramics at high pressures, indicating that a deformation mechanism shift occurs in the compression and that the nanoceramics sample is elastically stiffer than its bulk counterpart. The bulk-sized MgAl2O4 shows no texturing at pressures up to 37 GPa, which is compatible with the brittle behaviors of ceramics. Surprisingly, substantial texturing is seen in nanoceramic MgAl2O4 at pressures above 4 GPa. The observed stiffening and texturing indicate that dislocation-mediated mechanisms, usually suppressed in bulk-sized ceramics at low temperature, become operative in nanoceramics. This makes nanoceramics stiff and ductile.

Nanotechnology has been considered as a promising strategy for diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. However, the stability and circulation times of the conventional nano-carriers, such as liposomes and micelles, are still unsatisfied. Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are biologic inert synthetic materials, which are highly hydrophobic and have a tendency to self-aggregation. Additionally, PFCs themselves can act as 19F magnetic resonance imaging agents and oxygen carriers. Thus, the construction of the fluorinated carriers will not only improve the stability of the carriers, but also endow them with additional functions. Here we review the recent advances of PFC-based nanosystems for diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

A coaxial-output rolled strip pulse-forming line (RSPFL) with a dry structure is researched for the purpose of miniaturization and all-solid state of pulse-forming lines (PFL). The coaxial-output RSPFL consists of a coaxial-output electrode (COE) and a rolled strip line (RSL). The COE is characterized by quasi-coaxial structure, making the output pulse propagate along the axial direction with a small output inductance. The RSL is rolled on the COE, whose transmission characteristics are analyzed theoretically. It shows that the RSL can be regarded as a planar strip line when the rolling radius of the strip line is larger than 60 times of the thickness of the insulation dielectric layer of RSL. CST modeling was carried out to simulate the discharging characteristic of the coaxial-output RSPFL. It shows that the coaxial-output RSPFL can deliver a discharging pulse with a rise time <6 ns when the impedance of the RSL matches that of the COE, which confirms the theoretical analysis. A prototype of the coaxial-output RSPFL was developed. A 49-kV discharging pulse on a matched load was achieved when it was charged to 100 kV. The discharging waveform has a pulse width of 32 ns, with a rise time of 6 ns, which is consistent with the simulation waveform. An energy-storage density of 1.9 J/L was realized in the coaxial-output RSPFL. By the method of multi-stage connection in series, a much higher output voltage is convenient to be obtained.

We establish a dynamical version of the Kuratowski–Mycielski theorem on the existence of ‘large’ invariant dependent sets. We apply this result to the study of invariant chaotic sets in topological dynamical systems, simplify many known results on this topic and also obtain some new results.

A novel scheme for power-combined frequency tripler adopting 2N diodes is proposed in this work. Even mode coupled suspended substrate stripline is used to divide and recombine the input and output power. The circuits of the tripler are printed on both sides of the substrate, with N diodes on the front side and the other N diodes on the back side. The front diodes and back diodes are in anti-parallel connection, and DC biased separately to increase the bandwidth and power capacity. Three Q-band prototypes with two, four, and six diodes are fabricated and tested. The output compression powers at output frequency of 43.5 GHz for two/four/six-diode tripler are 9.2, 11, and 12 dBm, respectively. Power capacity is improved with the proposed tripler. Optimum DC bias is also discussed in this work, and it is found that it first increases with drive power, and then drops when large drive power applied because of the increased series resistance of the diode due to high junction temperature.