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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.
Laser–plasma accelerators (LPAs) have great potential to realize a compact X-ray free-electron laser (FEL), which is limited by the beam properties currently. Two-color high-intensity X-ray FEL provides a powerful tool for probing ultrafast dynamic systems. In this paper, we present a simple and feasible method to generate a two-color X-ray FEL pulse based on an LPA beam. In this scheme, time-dependent mismatch along the bunch is generated and manipulated by the designed lattice system, enabling FEL lasing at different wavelength within two undulator sections. The time separation between the two pulses can be precisely adjusted by varying the time-delay chicane. Numerical simulations show that two-color soft X-ray FELs with gigawatt-level peak power and femtosecond duration can be generated, which confirm the validity and feasibility of the scheme.
Peanut shell plays key roles in protecting the seed from diseases and pest infestation but also in the processing of peanut and is an important byproduct of peanut production. Most studies on peanut shell have focused on the utilization of its chemical applications, but the genetic basis of shell-related traits is largely unknown. A panel of 320 peanut (Arachis hypogaea) accessions including var. hypogaea, var. vulgaris, var. fastigiata and var. hirsuta was used to study the genetic basis of two physical and five microstructure-related traits in peanut shell. Significant phenotypic differences were revealed among the accessions of var. hypogaea, var. hirsuta, var. vulgaris and var. fastigiata for mechanical strength, thickness, three sclerenchymatous layer projections and main cell shape of the sclerenchymatous layer. We identified 10 significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) through genome-wide association study (P < 5.0 × 10−6) combining the shell-related traits and high-quality SNPs. In total, 192 genes were located in physical proximity to the significantly associated SNPs, and 11 candidate genes were predicted related to their potential contribution to the development and structure of the peanut shell. All SNPs were detected on the B genome demonstrating the biased contribution of the B genome for the phenotypical make-up of peanut. Exploring the newly identified candidate genes will provide insight into the molecular pathways that regulate peanut shell-related traits and provide valuable information for molecular marker-assisted breeding of an improved peanut shell.
We sought to examine the prospective associations of specific fruit consumption, in particular flavonoid-rich fruit (FRF) consumption, with the risk of stroke and subtypes of stroke in a Japanese population. A study followed a total of 39 843 men and 47 334 women aged 44–76 years, and free of CVD, diabetes and cancer at baseline since 1995 and 1998 to the end of 2009 and 2012, respectively. Data on total and specific FRF consumption for each participant were obtained using a self-administrated FFQ. The hazard ratios (HR) of stroke in relation to total and specific FRF consumption were estimated through Cox proportional hazards regression models. During a median follow-up of 13·1 years, 4091 incident stroke cases (2557 cerebral infarctions and 1516 haemorrhagic strokes) were documented. After adjustment for age, BMI, study area, lifestyles, dietary factors and other risk factors, it was found that total FRF consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of stroke in women (HR = 0·70; 95 % CI 0·58, 0·84), while the association in men was not significant (HR = 0·93; 95 % CI 0·79, 1·09). As for specific FRF, consumptions of citrus fruits, strawberries and grapes were found associated with a lower stroke risk in women. Higher consumptions of FRF, in particular citrus fruits, strawberries and grapes, were associated with a lower risk of developing stroke in Japanese women.
With the progress in science and technology, hazardous chemicals are becoming more essential in chemical products, industrial and agricultural production, and daily life. Hazardous chemicals have poisoning, corrosive, explosive, and combusting natures; once on fire, they can trigger a chain of catastrophic incidences, resulting in casualties, property loss, and environmental pollution and posing hazards to life and property. Using the “8–12” explosion of the Ruihai Logistics warehouse in Tianjin Port (Binhai New District, China), the present study analyzes the characteristics of trauma of the casualties in this accident and the emergency medical rescue strategies. The goals were to improve the ability of emergency rescue in such accidents and to save people’s lives and property to the maximum extent.
To reveal the thermal shock resistance of double-layer thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), two types of TBCs were prepared via atmospheric plasma spraying, i.e., Gd2Zr2O7/yttria-stabilized zirconia (GZ/YSZ) TBCs and La2Zr2O7 (LZ)/YSZ TBCs, respectively. Subsequently, thermal cycling tests of the two TBCs were conducted at 1100 °C and their thermal shock resistance and failure mechanism were comparatively investigated through experiments and the finite element method. The results showed that the thermal shock failure of the two TBCs occurred inside the top ceramic coating. However, the GZ/YSZ TBCs had longer thermal cycling life. It was the mechanical properties of the top ceramic coating, and the thermal stresses arising from the thermal mismatch between the top ceramic coating and the substrate that determined the thermal cycling life of the two TBCs together. Compared with the LZ layer in the LZ/YSZ TBCs, the GZ layer in the GZ/YSZ TBCs had smaller elastic modulus, larger fracture toughness, and smaller thermal stresses, which led to the higher crack propagation resistance and less spallation tendency of the GZ/YSZ TBCs. Therefore, the GZ/YSZ TBCs exhibited superior thermal shock resistance to the LZ/YSZ TBCs.
The Arsenic (+3 oxidation state) methyltransferase (AS3MT) gene has been identified as a top risk gene for schizophrenia in several large-scale genome-wide association studies. A variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) of this gene is the most significant expression quantitative trait locus, but its role in brain activity in vivo is still unknown.
Methods
We first performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan of 101 healthy subjects during a memory span task, trained all subjects on an adaptive memory span task for 1 month, and finally performed another fMRI scan after the training. After excluding subjects with excessive head movements for one or more scanning sessions, data from 93 subjects were included in the final analyses.
Results
The VNTR was significantly associated with both baseline brain activation and training-induced changes in multiple regions including the prefrontal cortex and the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex. Additionally, it was associated with baseline brain activation in the striatum and the parietal cortex. All these results were corrected based on the family-wise error rate method across the whole brain at the peak level.
Conclusions
This study sheds light on the role of AS3MT gene variants in neural plasticity related to memory span training.
We conducted a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCT) to examine the effects of strawberry interventions on cardiovascular risk factors. We searched multiple databases including PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus to identify eligible studies published before 19 May 2019. The endpoints were blood pressure, total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, TAG, fasting blood glucose, endothelial function and inflammatory factors. Pooled analyses were performed using random- or fixed-effects models according to a heterogeneity test. We also conducted sub-group analyses by baseline endpoint levels. We included eleven RCT in this meta-analysis (six for blood pressure, seven for lipid profile, seven for fasting blood glucose and six for C-reactive protein (CRP)). Overall, the strawberry interventions significantly reduced CRP levels by 0·63 (95 % CI −1·04, −0·22) mg/l but did not affect blood pressure, lipid profile or fasting blood glucose in the main analyses. Our analysis stratified by baseline endpoint levels showed the strawberry interventions significantly reduced TC among people with baseline levels >5 mmol/l (−0·52 (95 % CI −0·88, −0·15) mmol/l) and reduced LDL-cholesterol among people with baseline levels >3 mmol/l (−0·31 (95 % CI −0·60, −0·02) mmol/l). There was little evidence of heterogeneity in the analysis and no evidence of publication bias. In summary, strawberry interventions significantly reduced CRP levels and may improve TC and LDL-cholesterol in individuals with high baseline levels.
In recent years, there have been a significant influenza activity and emerging influenza strains in China, resulting in an increasing number of influenza virus infections and leading to public health concerns. The aims of this study were to identify the epidemiological and aetiological characteristics of influenza and establish seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models for forecasting the percentage of visits for influenza-like illness (ILI%) in urban and rural areas of Shenyang. Influenza surveillance data were obtained for ILI cases and influenza virus positivity from 18 sentinel hospitals. The SARIMA models were constructed to predict ILI% for January–December 2019. During 2010–2018, the influenza activity was higher in urban than in rural areas. The age distribution of ILI cases showed the highest rate in young children aged 0–4 years. Seasonal A/H3N2, influenza B virus and pandemic A/H1N1 continuously co-circulated in winter and spring seasons. In addition, the SARIMA (0, 1, 0) (0, 1, 2)12 model for the urban area and the SARIMA (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 0)12 model for the rural area were appropriate for predicting influenza incidence. Our findings suggested that there were regional and seasonal distinctions of ILI activity in Shenyang. A co-epidemic pattern of influenza strains was evident in terms of seasonal influenza activity. Young children were more susceptible to influenza virus infection than adults. These results provide a reference for future influenza prevention and control strategies in the study area.
To evaluate the effects of gestational weight gain (GWG) in the first trimester (GWG-F) and the rate of gestational weight gain in the second trimester (RGWG-S) on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), exploring the optimal GWG ranges for the avoidance of GDM in Chinese women.
Design:
A population-based prospective study was conducted. Gestational weight was measured regularly in every antenatal visit and assessed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) criteria (2009). GDM was assessed with the 75-g, 2-h oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 weeks of gestation. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the effects of GWG-F and RGWG-S on GDM, stratified by pre-pregnancy BMI. In each BMI category, the GWG values corresponding to the lowest prevalence of GDM were defined as the optimal GWG range.
Setting:
Southwest China.
Participants:
Pregnant women (n 1910) in 2017.
Results:
After adjusting for confounders, GWG-F above IOM recommendations increased the risk of GDM (OR; 95 % CI) among underweight (2·500; 1·106, 5·655), normal-weight (1·396; 1·023, 1·906) and overweight/obese women (3·017; 1·118, 8·138) compared with women within IOM recommendations. No significant difference was observed between RGWG-S and GDM (P > 0·05) after adjusting for GWG-F based on the previous model. The optimal GWG-F ranges for the avoidance of GDM were 0·8–1·2, 0·8–1·2 and 0·35–0·70 kg for underweight, normal-weight and overweight/obese women, respectively.
Conclusions:
Excessive GWG in the first trimester, rather than the second trimester, is associated with increased risk of GDM regardless of pre-pregnancy BMI. Obstetricians should provide more pre-emptive guidance in achieving adequate GWG-F.
Compulsive behaviors in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been related to impairment within the associative cortical-striatal system connecting the caudate and prefrontal cortex that underlies consciously-controlled goal-directed learning and behavior. However, little is known whether this impairment may serve as a biomarker for vulnerability to OCD.
Methods
Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we employed Granger causality analysis (GCA) to measure effective connectivity (EC) in previously validated striatal sub-regions, including the caudate, putamen, and the nucleus accumbens, in 35 OCD patients, 35 unaffected first-degree relatives and 35 matched healthy controls.
Results
Both OCD patients and their first-degree relatives showed greater EC than controls between the left caudate and the orbital frontal cortex (OFC). Both OCD patients and their first-degree relatives showed lower EC than controls between the left caudate and lateral prefrontal cortex. These results are consistent with findings from task-related fMRI studies which found impairment in the goal-directed system in OCD patients.
Conclusions
The same changes in EC were present in both OCD patients and their unaffected first-degree relatives suggest that impairment in the goal-directed learning system may be a biomarker for OCD.
La3+-doped BaSnO3 microtubes (La3+–BaSnO3) have been synthesized by electrospinning method, and the influence of La3+ content on the sensing properties of BaSnO3 for detection of formaldehyde vapor has been investigated. The as-prepared materials have been characterized using XRD, SEM, DSC, XPS, and UV-Vis. The La3+–BaSnO3 sample doped with 4 wt% La exhibited a response as high as 220 to formaldehyde vapor (1000 ppm concentration) along with a very low detection limit of 0.1 ppm at 270 °C, whereas at 140 °C, it exhibited a response of 80 and detection limit of 1 ppm. In addition, the sensor showed excellent selectivity of 57 to formaldehyde at 140 °C when compared with other vapors. Further, the sensor also showed good repeatability and stability over a long period of time suggesting its strong potential as a commercial formaldehyde sensor.
We incorporate deep learning (DL) into tiled aperture coherent beam combining (CBC) systems for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. By using a well-trained convolutional neural network DL model, which has been constructed at a non-focal-plane to avoid the data collision problem, the relative phase of each beamlet could be accurately estimated, and then the phase error in the CBC system could be compensated directly by a servo phase control system. The feasibility and extensibility of the phase control method have been demonstrated by simulating the coherent combining of different hexagonal arrays. This DL-based phase control method offers a new way of eliminating dynamic phase noise in tiled aperture CBC systems, and it could provide a valuable reference on alleviating the long-standing problem that the phase control bandwidth decreases as the number of array elements increases.
Metal–air batteries promise higher energy densities than state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries and have, therefore, received significant research attention lately. The most distinguishing feature of this technology is that it takes advantage of reversible conversion reactions of O2 or other air components (such as N2 or CO2) at the cathode. To promote these reactions, catalysts are often needed. A large number of materials have been studied for this purpose. In the present paper, we discuss the roles played by catalysts in metal–air battery systems. In particular, we choose to focus the discussions on the Li–O2 batteries as they are most intensely studied in the literature. Within this context, catalysts are often shown effective to facilitate the oxygen (O2) reduction reactions and/or O2 evolution reactions. The overall cell performance as measured by the round-trip efficiencies and charge/discharge rates can be significantly improved by the incorporation of catalysts. However, the presence of catalysts is also found to complicate the chemical reactions as they often exhibit activities toward parasitic chemical reactions such as electrolyte and electrode decompositions. The issue is especially acute in aprotic Li–O2 batteries, where organic electrolytes and reactive O2 species are mixed. In addition to heterogeneous catalysts, we also discuss the roles played by homogeneous catalysts as redox mediators, which are effective to promote redox reactions that are critical to energy storage applications.
Quantification of lean body mass and fat mass can provide important insight into epidemiological research. However, there is no consensus on generalisable anthropometric prediction equations to validly estimate body composition. We aimed to develop and validate practical anthropometric prediction equations for lean body mass, fat mass and percent fat in adults (men, n 7531; women, n 6534) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2006. Using a prediction sample, we predicted each of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-measured lean body mass, fat mass and percent fat based on different combinations of anthropometric measures. The proposed equations were validated using a validation sample and obesity-related biomarkers. The practical equation including age, race, height, weight and waist circumference had high predictive ability for lean body mass (men: R2=0·91, standard error of estimate (SEE)=2·6 kg; women: R2=0·85, SEE=2·4 kg) and fat mass (men: R2=0·90, SEE=2·6 kg; women: R2=0·93, SEE=2·4 kg). Waist circumference was a strong predictor in men only. Addition of other circumference and skinfold measures slightly improved the prediction model. For percent fat, R2 were generally lower but the trend in variation explained was similar. Our validation tests showed robust and consistent results with no evidence of substantial bias. Additional validation using biomarkers demonstrated comparable abilities to predict obesity-related biomarkers between direct DXA measurements and predicted scores. Moreover, predicted fat mass and percent fat had significantly stronger associations with obesity-related biomarkers than BMI did. Our findings suggest the potential application of the proposed equations in various epidemiological settings.
Understanding film initiation and growth mechanisms at the atomic level is crucial to obtain high-quality nonpolar ZnO films. Using the advanced reactive force field-based molecular dynamics method, we theoretically studied the effect of substrate temperature (350–950 K) on the quality, layer develop mechanism and defect formation of ZnO films. Investigation of the energy, radial distribution function, layer coverage, sputtering and injecting phenomena indicated that the present films grown at 500–600 K possessed the optimal quality. Further investigation of the growth condition, instant film profiles, interfacial microstructure evolutions and layered snapshots revealed that, addition of atoms on newly formed localized films can induce some partially bonded or extruded atoms out of the film plane. Further adherence of depositing atoms to these unstable or extruded atoms induces the initiation and growth of a new layer.
To explore the 3-tiered treatment model for medical treatment after an earthquake.
Methods
Based on the practices of the national emergency medical rescue services in the Lushan earthquake zone, the 3-tiered treatment classification approach was retrospectively reviewed.
Results
Medical rescue teams assembled and reported quickly to the disaster areas after the earthquake. The number of injured people had reached 25,176 as of April 30; of these, 18,611 people were treated as outpatients, 6565 were hospitalized, and 977 were seriously or severely injured.
Conclusions
The 3-tiered treatment model was the main approach used by rescue services after the Lushan earthquake. Primary and secondary treatments were of the highest importance and formed the basis of the Lushan model of earthquake rescue and treatment. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018; 12: 301–304)
To determine dynamic changes in clinical characteristics by examining an outbreak of adenovirus infection that occurred from December 20, 2012, to February 25, 2013, in Tianjin, China.
Methods
Active surveillance for febrile respiratory illnesses was conducted, and medical records of patients were collected. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and sequencing were used for pathogen identification and viral genome study, respectively. Student’s t-test was used to compare the mean values of normally distributed continuous variables. Mann-Whitney U or Kruskal-Wallis tests were used if continuous variables were not normally distributed. Pearson’s chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test was used to compare categorical variables.
Results
The outbreak was sourced from the index case diagnosed as the common cold on December 20, 2012; a total of 856 cases were reported in the following 66 days. The pathogen was identified as human adenovirus (HAdV) 55. The symptoms manifested differently in severe and mild cases. Routine blood examinations, liver function indexes, and heart function indexes showed different dynamic patterns over time in hospitalized patients.
Conclusions
Clinical characteristics and laboratory examinations may reveal unique patterns over the course of HAdV-55 infection. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:464–469)
Bipolar disorder is a highly heritable polygenic disorder. Recent
enrichment analyses suggest that there may be true risk variants for
bipolar disorder in the expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) in the
brain.
Aims
We sought to assess the impact of eQTL variants on bipolar disorder risk
by combining data from both bipolar disorder genome-wide association
studies (GWAS) and brain eQTL.
Method
To detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that influence
expression levels of genes associated with bipolar disorder, we jointly
analysed data from a bipolar disorder GWAS (7481 cases and 9250 controls)
and a genome-wide brain (cortical) eQTL (193 healthy controls) using a
Bayesian statistical method, with independent follow-up replications. The
identified risk SNP was then further tested for association with
hippocampal volume (n = 5775) and cognitive performance
(n = 342) among healthy individuals.
Results
Integrative analysis revealed a significant association between a brain
eQTL rs6088662 on chromosome 20q11.22 and bipolar disorder (log Bayes
factor = 5.48; bipolar disorder P =
5.85×10–5). Follow-up studies across multiple independent
samples confirmed the association of the risk SNP (rs6088662) with gene
expression and bipolar disorder susceptibility (P =
3.54×10–8). Further exploratory analysis revealed that
rs6088662 is also associated with hippocampal volume and cognitive
performance in healthy individuals.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that 20q11.22 is likely a risk region for bipolar
disorder; they also highlight the informative value of integrating
functional annotation of genetic variants for gene expression in
advancing our understanding of the biological basis underlying complex
disorders, such as bipolar disorder.
Perovskite based photovoltaics have recently emerged as the forerunner in the next generation photovoltaic technology because of the rapid increase of power conversion efficiency (PCE). However, it is well recognized that the exposure to moisture, heat and light causes the degradation of perovskite [1] (especially for methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) which is the most commonly used perovskite material). It makes stability a main issue for the commercialization of perovskite based photovoltaics. Hence, an advanced encapsulation method is one of the keys to improve the stability. Here we present a comparison study between different encapsulation methods. Perovskite based photovoltaics devices were encapsulated using UV epoxy resin, with or without the addition of desiccant and the deposition of SiO2 layer. By minimizing the ingress of moisture and oxygen, devices with storage in ambient air under one sun continuous illumination could retain 94 % of the initial performance (PCE around 13%) after two days.