Acanthocephalans of the order Polymorphida mainly parasitic in birds and mammals, are of veterinary, medical and economic importance. However, the evolutionary relationships of its 3 families (Centrorhynchidae, Polymorphidae and Plagiorhynchidae) remain under debate. Additionally, some species of Polymorphida (i.e. Bolbosoma spp. and Corynosoma spp.) are recognized as zoonotic parasites, associated with human acanthocephaliasis, but the mitochondrial genomes for representatives of Bolbosoma and Corynosoma have not been reported so far. In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genomes B. nipponicum and C. villosum (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae) are reported for the first time, which are 14 296 and 14 241 bp in length, respectively, and both contain 36 genes [including 12 PCGs, 22 tRNA genes and 2 rRNA genes] and 2 non-coding regions (NCR1 and NCR2). The gene arrangement of some tRNAs in the mitogenomes of B. nipponicum and C. villosum differs from that found in all other acanthocephalans, except Polymorphus minutus. Phylogenetic results based on concatenated amino acid (AA) sequences of the 12 protein-coding genes (PCGs) strongly supported that the family Polymorphidae is a sister to the Centrorhynchidae rather than the Plagiorhynchidae, and also confirmed the sister relationship of the genera Bolbosoma and Corynosoma in the Polymorphidae based on the mitogenomic data for the first time. Our present findings further clarified the phylogenetic relationships of the 3 families Plagiorhynchidae, Centrorhynchidae and Polymorphidae, enriched the mitogenome data of the phylum Acanthocephala (especially the order Polymorphida), and provided the resource of genetic data for diagnosing these 2 pathogenic parasites of human acanthocephaliasis.

We study an optimal reinsurance problem for a diffusion model, in which the drift of the claim follows an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. The aim of the insurer is to maximize the expected exponential utility of its terminal wealth. We consider two cases: full information and partial information. Full information occurs when the insurer directly observes the drift; partial information occurs when the insurer observes only its claims. By applying stochastic control and by solving the corresponding Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equations, we find the value function and the optimal reinsurance strategy under both full and partial information. We determine a relationship between the value function and reinsurance strategy under full information with the value function and reinsurance strategy under partial information.

Using data from seven microworld experiments (N = 841), we investigated how participants reacted to simulated disasters with different risk profiles in a microworld. Our central focus was to investigate how the scale of a disaster affected the choices and response times of these reactions. We find that one-off large-scale disasters prompted stronger reactions to move away from the affected region than recurrent small-scale adverse events, despite the overall risk of a disaster remaining constant across both types of events. A subset of participants are persistent risk-takers who repeatedly put themselves in harm’s way, despite having all the experience and information required to avoid a disaster. Furthermore, while near-misses prompted a small degree of precautionary movement to reduce one’s subsequent risk exposure, directly experiencing the costs of the disaster substantially increased the desire to move away from the affected region. Together, the results point to ways in which laboratory risk-taking tasks can be used to inform the kinds of communication and interventions that seek to mitigate people’s exposure to risk.

We construct a new numerical measure of earnings announcement surprises, standardized unexpected earnings call text (SUE.txt), that does not explicitly incorporate the reported earnings value. SUE.txt generates a text-based post-earnings-announcement drift (PEAD.txt) larger than the classic PEAD. The magnitude of PEAD.txt is considerable even in recent years when the classic PEAD is close to 0. We explore our text-based empirical model to show that the calls’ news content is about details behind the earnings number and the fundamentals of the firm.

We report the experimental results of the commissioning phase in the 10 PW laser beamline of the Shanghai Superintense Ultrafast Laser Facility (SULF). The peak power reaches 2.4 PW on target without the last amplifying during the experiment. The laser energy of 72 ± 9 J is directed to a focal spot of approximately 6 μm diameter (full width at half maximum) in 30 fs pulse duration, yielding a focused peak intensity around 2.0 × 1021 W/cm2. The first laser-proton acceleration experiment is performed using plain copper and plastic targets. High-energy proton beams with maximum cut-off energy up to 62.5 MeV are achieved using copper foils at the optimum target thickness of 4 μm via target normal sheath acceleration. For plastic targets of tens of nanometers thick, the proton cut-off energy is approximately 20 MeV, showing ring-like or filamented density distributions. These experimental results reflect the capabilities of the SULF-10 PW beamline, for example, both ultrahigh intensity and relatively good beam contrast. Further optimization for these key parameters is underway, where peak laser intensities of 1022–1023 W/cm2 are anticipated to support various experiments on extreme field physics.

We analyze the discounted probability of exponential Parisian ruin for the so-called scaled classical Cramér–Lundberg risk model. As in Cohen and Young (2020), we use the comparison method from differential equations to prove that the discounted probability of exponential Parisian ruin for the scaled classical risk model converges to the corresponding discounted probability for its diffusion approximation, and we derive the rate of convergence.

We study the optimal investment strategy to minimize the probability of lifetime ruin under a general mortality hazard rate. We explore the error between the minimum probability of lifetime ruin and the achieved probability of lifetime ruin if one follows a simple investment strategy inspired by earlier work in this area. We also include numerical examples to illustrate the estimation. We show that the nearly optimal probability of lifetime ruin under the simplified investment strategy is quite close to the original minimum probability of lifetime ruin under reasonable parameter values.

We report on experimental observation of non-laminar proton acceleration modulated by a strong magnetic field in laser irradiating micrometer aluminum targets. The results illustrate the coexistence of ring-like and filamentation structures. We implement the knife edge method into the radiochromic film detector to map the accelerated beams, measuring a source size of 30–110 μm for protons of more than 5 MeV. The diagnosis reveals that the ring-like profile originates from low-energy protons far off the axis whereas the filamentation is from the near-axis high-energy protons, exhibiting non-laminar features. Particle-in-cell simulations reproduced the experimental results, showing that the short-term magnetic turbulence via Weibel instability and the long-term quasi-static annular magnetic field by the streaming electric current account for the measured beam profile. Our work provides direct mapping of laser-driven proton sources in the space-energy domain and reveals the non-laminar beam evolution at featured time scales.

In order to maximize the utility of future studies of trilobite ontogeny, we propose a set of standard practices that relate to the collection, nomenclature, description, depiction, and interpretation of ontogenetic series inferred from articulated specimens belonging to individual species. In some cases, these suggestions may also apply to ontogenetic studies of other fossilized taxa.

We formulate a general question regarding the size of the iterated Galois groups associated with an algebraic dynamical system and then we discuss some special cases of our question. Our main result answers this question for certain split polynomial maps whose coordinates are unicritical polynomials.

This paper summarizes a multi-state, multi-year study assessing the potential for local agriculture in northern New England. While largely rural, this region's agricultural sector differs greatly from the rest of the United States, and demand for locally produced food has been increasing. To assess this unique economic landscape, researchers and Cooperative Extension at the Universities of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont investigated four key areas: (1) local food capacities, (2) constraints to agricultural expansion, (3) consumer preferences for local and organic produce, and (4) the role of intermediaries as alternative local food outlets. The project included input from local farmers, Extension members, restaurants, and the general public. We present the four research areas in a sequential, overlapping fashion. The timing of our research was such that each step in the process informed the next and can be used as a template for assessing a region's potential for local agricultural production.

We determine the optimal robust strategy of an individual who seeks to maximize the (penalized) probability of reaching a bequest goal when she is uncertain about the drift of the risky asset and her hazard rate of mortality. We assume the individual can invest in a Black–Scholes market. We solve two optimization problems with ambiguity. The first is to maximize the penalized probability of reaching a bequest goal without life insurance in the market. In the second problem, in addition to investing in the financial market, the individual is allowed to purchase term life insurance to help her reach her bequest goal. As the individual becomes more ambiguity averse concerning the drift of the risky asset, she becomes more conservative with her investment strategy. Also, as she becomes more ambiguity averse about her hazard rate of mortality, numerical work indicates she is more likely to buy life insurance when the ambiguity towards the return of the risky asset is not too large.

A 230Th/U-dated stalagmite from Hulu Cave was analyzed for δ18O, δ13C, and trace elements. A ~10-yr-resolution δ18O record, spanning 51.7–42.6 ka, revealed Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events 14 to 11. A similar rapid transition and synchronous timing of the onset of DO 12 is evident between the Greenland and Hulu Cave records, which suggests a common forcing mechanism of DO cycles in the North Atlantic and monsoonal region of Asia. Centennial-scale monsoonal oscillations in the cave δ18O record are indicative of hydroclimatic instability during interstadials. After removing the signals of remote moisture sources, the proportion of moisture from nearby sources is found to be higher during stadials than during interstadials. To explain this, we propose that the movement of the westerly jet is an important control on the balance of nearby and distant moisture sources in East Asia. In addition, the records of δ13C and trace element ratios, which are proxies of local environmental changes, resemble the δ18O record on the scale of DO cycles, as well as on even shorter timescales. This suggests that hydrological processes and biological activity at the cave site respond sensitively to the monsoonal changes.