Instability evolutions of shock-accelerated thin cylindrical SF$_6$ layers surrounded by air with initial perturbations imposed only at the outer interface (i.e. the ‘Outer’ case) or at the inner interface (i.e. the ‘Inner’ case) are numerically and theoretically investigated. It is found that the instability evolution of a thin cylindrical heavy fluid layer not only involves the effects of Richtmyer–Meshkov instability, Rayleigh–Taylor stability/instability and compressibility coupled with the Bell–Plesset effect, which determine the instability evolution of the single cylindrical interface, but also strongly depends on the waves reverberated inside the layer, thin-shell correction and interface coupling effect. Specifically, the rarefaction wave inside the thin fluid layer accelerates the outer interface inward and induces the decompression effect for both the Outer and Inner cases, and the compression wave inside the fluid layer accelerates the inner interface inward and causes the decompression effect for the Outer case and compression effect for the Inner case. It is noted that the compressible Bell model excluding the compression/decompression effect of waves, thin-shell correction and interface coupling effect deviates significantly from the perturbation growth. To this end, an improved compressible Bell model is proposed, including three new terms to quantify the compression/decompression effect of waves, thin-shell correction and interface coupling effect, respectively. This improved model is verified by numerical results and successfully characterizes various effects that contribute to the perturbation growth of a shock-accelerated thin heavy fluid layer.

The deformation, movement and breakup of a wall-attached droplet subject to Couette flow are systematically investigated using an enhanced lattice Boltzmann colour-gradient model, which accounts for not only the viscoelasticity (described by the Oldroyd-B constitutive equation) of either droplet (V/N) or matrix fluid (N/V) but also the surface wettability. We first focus on the steady-state deformation of a sliding droplet for varying values of capillary number ($Ca$), Weissenberg number ($Wi$) and solvent viscosity ratio ($\beta$). Results show that the relative wetting area $A_r$ in the N/V system is increased by either increasing $Ca$, or by increasing $Wi$ or decreasing $\beta$, where the former is attributed to the increased viscous force and the latter to the enhanced elastic effects. In the V/N system, however, $A_r$ is restrained by the droplet elasticity, especially at higher $Wi$ or lower $\beta$, and the inhibiting effect strengthens with an increase of $Ca$. Decreasing $\beta$ always reduces droplet deformation when either fluid is viscoelastic. The steady-state droplet motion is quantified by the contact-line capillary number $Ca_{cl}$, and a force balance is established to successfully predict the variations of $Ca_{cl}/Ca$ with $\beta$ for each two-phase viscosity ratio in both N/V and V/N systems. The droplet breakup is then studied for varying $Wi$. The critical capillary number of droplet breakup monotonically increases with $Wi$ in the N/V system, while it first increases, then decreases and finally reaches a plateau in the V/N system.

Objectives: Central-line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) has been the leading cause of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. Previous studies have shown that a care bundle is effective in reducing CLABSI rates; however, the data on long-term sustainability and cost savings of bundled care are limited. Methods: From January 2011 to December 2020, a prospective surveillance was performed to monitor CLABSI at a university hospital in northern Taiwan. To reduce the CLABSI rate, a hospital-wide bundled care program for CLABSI prevention was implemented in 2013. We evaluated the long-term effect of the care bundle on CLABSI incidence and length of stay in the ICU. Results: During the study period, the overall CLABSI incidence decreased from 8.22 per 1,000 catheter days before the care bundle was implemented to 6.33 per 1,000 catheter days in 2020 (P for trend <.01). The most common pathogens causing CLABSI were gut organisms (1,420 of 2,363, 60.1%), followed by environmental organisms (734 of 2,363, 31.1%) and skin organisms (177 of 2,363, 7.5%). The decreasing trend was statistically significant in the incidence of CLABSI caused by skin organisms (P for trend < .01), but not in the incidence of CLABSI caused by environmental organisms (P for trend = .86) or gut organisms (P for trend = .06). In the multivariable analysis, implementation of this care bundle was independently associated with a decrease in the CLABSI rate (RR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.66–0.88). Compared with patients without CLABSI, patients with CLABSI had a longer average ICU length of stay (27 vs 17 days). Conclusions: A sustainable reduction in the incidence of CLABSI caused by common commensals could be achieved through a cost-saving bundled care program.

The highly nonlinear evolution of the single-mode stratified compressible Rayleigh–Taylor instability (RTI) is investigated via direct numerical simulation over a range of Atwood numbers ($A_T=0.1$–$0.9$) and Mach numbers ($Ma=0.1$–$0.7$) for characterising the isothermal background stratification. After the potential stage, it is found that the bubble is accelerated to a velocity which is well above the saturation value predicted in the potential flow model. Unlike the bubble re-acceleration behaviour in quasi-incompressible RTI with uniform background density, the characteristics in the stratified compressible RTI are driven by not only vorticity accumulation inside the bubble but also flow compressibility resulting from the stratification. Specifically, in the case of strong stratification and high $A_T$, the flow compressibility dominates the bubble re-acceleration characters. To model the effect of flow compressibility, we propose a novel model to reliably describe the bubble re-acceleration behaviours in the stratified compressible RTI, via introducing the dilatation into the classical model that takes into account only vorticity accumulation.

Climbing robots have broad application prospects in aerospace equipment inspection, forest farm monitoring, and pipeline maintenance. Different types of climbing robots in existing research have different advantages. However, the self-adaptability and stability have not been achieved at the same time. In order to realize the self-adaptability of holding and climbing stability, this work proposes a new type of climbing robot under the premise of minimizing the driving source. The robot realizes stable multifinger holding and wheeled movement through two motors. At the same time, the robot has two different working modes, namely pole climbing and ground crawling. The holding adaptability and climbing stability are realized by underactuated holding mechanism and model reference adaptive controller (MRAC). On the basis of model design and parameter analysis, a prototype of the climbing robot is built. Experiments prove that the proposed climbing robot has the ability to stably climb poles of different shapes. The holding and climbing stability, self-adaptability, and climbing and crawling speed of the proposed climbing robot are verified by experiments.

Parasitoid wasps are key agents for controlling insect pests in integrated pest management programs. Although many studies have revealed that the behavior of parasitic wasps can be influenced by insecticides, the strategies of patch time allocation and oviposition have received less attention. In the present study, we forced the endoparasitoid Meteorus pulchricornis to phoxim exposure at the LC30 and tested the foraging behavior within patches with different densities of the host, the larvae of the tobacco cutworm Spodoptera litura. The results showed that phoxim treatment can significantly increase the patch-leaving tendency of female wasps, while host density had no impact. The number of oviposition and the number of previous patch visits also significantly influenced the patch time allocation decisions. The occurrence of oviposition behavior was negatively affected by phoxim exposure; however, progeny production was similar among patches with different host densities. Phoxim exposure shaped the offspring fitness correlates, including longer durations from cocoon to adult wasps, smaller body size, and shorter longevity. The findings of the present study highlight the sublethal effects that reduce the patch residence time and the fitness of parasitoid offspring, suggesting that the application of phoxim in association with M. pulchricornis should be carefully schemed in agroecosystems.

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.

We investigated the effects of botulinum toxin on gait in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with foot dystonia. Six patients underwent onabotulinum toxin A injection and were assessed by Burke–Fahn–Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (BFMDRS), visual analog scale (VAS) of pain, Timed Up and Go (TUG), Berg Balance Test (BBT), and 3D gait analysis at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months. BFMDRS (p = 0.002), VAS (p = 0.024), TUG (p = 0.028), and BBT (p = 0.034) were improved. Foot pressures at Toe 1 (p = 0.028) and Midfoot (p = 0.018) were reduced, indicating botulinum toxin’s effects in alleviating the dystonia severity and pain and improving foot pressures during walking in PD.

High fibre intake is associated with reduced mortality risk in both general and chronic kidney disease populations. However, in dialysis patients, such data are limited. Therefore, the association between dietary fibre intake (DFI) and the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality was examined in this study. A total of 1044 maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) patients from eight outpatient dialysis centres in China were included in this study. Data on DFI were collected using 24-h dietary recalls for 3 d in a week and were normalised to actual dry weight. The study outcomes included all-cause and CVD mortality. Over a median of 46 months of follow-up, 354 deaths were recorded, of which 210 (59 %) were due to CVD. On assessing DFI as tertiles, the CVD mortality risk was significantly lower in patients in tertiles 2–3 (≥0·13 g/kg per d; hazard ratio (HR) 0·71; 95 % CI 0·51, 0·97) compared with those in tertile 1 (<0·13 g/kg per d). A similar but non-significant trend was found for the association between DFI (tertiles 2–3 v. tertile 1; HR 0·83; 95 % CI 0·64, 1·07) and all-cause mortality. In summary, higher DFI was associated with lower CVD mortality risk among Chinese MHD patients. This study emphasises the significance of DFI in MHD patients and provides information that is critical for the improvement of dietary guidelines for dialysis patients.

The development of thermoelectric measurement technology at nanoscale is a challenging task. Here, a novel MEMS-based dual temperature control (DTC) measurement method for thermoelectric properties of individual nanowires was proposed. Different from conventional thermal bridge testing devices, this DTC thermoelectric testing device can obtain the thermoelectric properties by independently control ambient temperature and temperature difference between two ends of the nanowires through two separate resistance thermometers without auxiliary heating devices. The reliability of the model and the testing accuracy were verified by accurately measuring the thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and the absolute value of the Seebeck coefficient of VO2 nanowires.

Maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) is the use of a machine to filter wastes, salts and fluid from blood for at least 3 months to prolong the life of patients with advanced kidney failure. Although low dietary energy intake (DEI) has been observed in MHD patients, few studies have related DEI to the risk of mortality. To explore this relationship, a study included 1039 MHD patients from eight centres was conducted. DEI was assessed by three 24-h diet recalls and was normalised to ideal body weight (IBW). All-cause mortality and CVD mortality were the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. During a median follow-up of 28 months, a U-shaped relationship was observed between DEI and all-cause or CVD mortality. The risk of all-cause mortality decreased significantly with the increase of DEI in participants with DEI <167·4 kJ/kg IBW per d (hazard ratio (HR) 0·98; 95 % CI 0·96, 1·00) and increased significantly with the increase of DEI in those with DEI ≥167·4 kJ/kg IBW per d (HR 1·12; 95 % CI 1·04, 1·20). Similarly, the risk of CVD mortality decreased with the increase of DEI in participants with DEI <152·7 kJ/kg IBW per d (HR 0·96; 95 % CI 0·93, 0·99) and increased with the increase of DEI in participants with DEI ≥152·7 kJ/kg IBW per d (HR 1·11; 95 % CI 1·04, 1·18). In summary, there was a U-shaped association between DEI and all-cause or CVD mortality, with a turning point at about 167·4 and 152·7 kJ/kg IBW per d, respectively, in MHD patients.

Underground Nuclear Astrophysics in China (JUNA) will take the advantage of the ultra-low background in Jinping underground lab. High current accelerator with an ECR source and detectors were commissioned. JUNA plans to study directly a number of nuclear reactions important to hydrostatic stellar evolution at their relevant stellar energies. At the first period, JUNA aims at the direct measurements of 25Mg(p,γ)26 Al, 19F(p,α) 16 O, 13C(α, n) 16O and 12C(α,γ) 16O near the Gamow window. The current progress of JUNA will be given.