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Objective: Birth weight is a good predictor of fetal intrauterine growth and long‐term health, and several studies have evaluated the relationship between metabolites and birth weight. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of cord blood metabolomics and lipidomics with birth weight, using a two‐stage discovery and validation approach. Methods: Firstly, a pseudotargeted metabolomics approach was applied to detect metabolites in 504 cord blood samples in the discovery set enrolled from the Wuhan Healthy Baby Cohort, China. Metabolome‐wide association scan analysis and pathway enrichment were applied to identify metabolites and metabolic pathways that were significantly associated with birth weight adjusted for gestational age Z‐score (BW Z‐score). Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association of metabolites in the most significantly associated pathways with small‐for‐gestational age (SGA) at delivery and low birth weight (LBW). Subsequently, 350 cord blood samples in a validation cohort were subjected to targeted analysis to validate the metabolites identified by screening in the discovery cohort. Results: In the discovery set, of 2566 metabolites detected, 2418 metabolites were retained for subsequent analysis after data preprocessing. Of these, 513 metabolites were significantly associated with BW Z‐score (P‐value adjusted for false discovery rate (PFDR) < 0.05), of which 298 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG)‐annotated metabolites were included in the pathway analysis. The primary bile acid biosynthesis pathway was the most relevant metabolic pathway associated with BW Z‐score. Elevated cord plasma primary bile acids were associated with lower BW Z‐score and higher risk of SGA or LBW in the discovery and validation cohorts. In the validation set, a 2‐fold increase in taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA) and in taurocholic acid (TCA) was associated with a decrease in BW Z‐score (estimated β coefficient, −0.10 (95% CI, −0.20 to 0.00) and −0.18 (95% CI, −0.31 to −0.04), respectively), after adjusting for covariates. In addition, a 2‐fold increase in cord plasma TCDCA and of cord plasma TCA was associated with an increased risk of SGA (adjusted odds ratio (OR), 1.52 (95% CI, 1.00–2.30) and 1.77 (95% CI, 1.05–2.98), respectively). The adjusted OR for LBW, for a 2‐fold increase in TCDCA and TCA concentration, were 2.39 (95% CI, 1.00–5.71) and 3.21 (95% CI, 0.96–10.74), respectively. Conclusions: These results indicate a significant association of elevated primary bile acids, particularly TCDCA and TCA, in cord blood with lower BW Z‐score, as well as increased risk of SGA and LBW. Abnormalities of primary bile acid metabolism may play an important role in restricted fetal development. © 2024 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is carried out to investigate the anisotropic hardening behavior of MS1180 steel through experiment and analytical modeling. Dogbone and hydraulic bulging specimens were machined to test the mechanical behavior of MS1180 steel plate under different loading directions and stress states. The loading process was recorded by the three‐dimensional digital image correction system. The result uncovers that the strength under equi‐biaxial tension is larger than that under uniaxial tension. Mechanical behavior under different loading directions presents the obvious difference related to the plastic strain. Hardening behavior under uniaxial tension and equi‐biaxial tension is characterized by the Swift‐Voce and polynomial equations, respectively. Three yield functions are adopted to describe the anisotropic behavior, including Yld2000‐2d, S‐Y2009, and CQN‐Chen. A convexity analysis method based on geometric definition is used to determine the convex region of the CQN‐Chen yield surface under large strain. By comparing the yield surfaces of the three yield functions under different plastic strain, the CQN‐Chen yield function possesses a more flexible and reasonable characterization ability than the Yld2000‐2d and S‐Y2009 yield functions. The anisotropic hardening behavior of MS1180 steel plate is modeled with an error of less than 0.03 by the CQN‐Chen yield function, showing high prediction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermoelectric material (TEM) is a promising candidate for power generation and cooler. Temperatures of the heat source and the cooling device usually vary with time. This article analyzes the axial vibration and strength failure of the temperature-dependent TEM subjected to time-varying thermal loadings. Temperature applying at the hot side of the TEM contains an average part and a time-dependent perturbation part. Numerical solutions of the axial force, the displacement and electric power output of the vibrating thermoelectric material are given. Based on the criterion of the maximum stress, the critical average temperature of strength failure of the thermoelectric material is presented. It is found that a bigger damping ratio results in a smaller value of the maximum displacement and axial force. The axial force is approximately proportional to the thermal loading. The axial force increases from zero to a constant with the contact stiffness of between TEMs and the boundary. The critical average temperature decreases with the contact stiffness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs a data-driven demand purchasing confidence rule-based model based on the theory of evidential reasoning to address the problem of purchasing decision bias in which the decision maker anchors the prior demand. First, we apply a synthetic algorithm to reason about the confidence structure distribution of the purchasing decision and then iteratively optimize the purchasing quantity according to the confidence structure distribution to minimize the cost loss function. Finally, we choose the average cost loss and service level value as the evaluation indexes to explore the purchasing confidence rule model. The simulation shows that compared with the expected purchasing decision based on the stochastic cumulative distribution function, the decision based on the confidence structure distribution can reduce the purchasing decision bias, manifested in the lower mean cost loss and a higher mean value of service level. Sensitivity analyses of the number of rules, product shelf life, and critical values show that the purchasing confidence rule base is highly adaptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CILRT is an important work in the overhaul of nuclear power plants. VOCs from paints and cleaners used in the containment during the overhaul will migrate inside the containment, and the numerous rooms and compartments inside the containment make the air flow impeded, and the VOCs may be enriched to bring combustion risk. The complete fire risk analysis method includes volatilization kinetics of chemicals, mixture explosion limits, and numerical simulation of VOCs diffusion and migration. The volatilization rate at the lowest room temperature of 20°C is used as a conservative input, the complement of CAITA realistic model is used as the flow domain, and the geometry is appropriately simplified, and the steady ventilation process, the internal flow and the laws of diffusion and agglomeration of 12 kinds of VOCs gases in the 9-h pressure-holding process are investigated by Computational Fluid Dynamics. The simulation results of steady ventilation show that the VOCs gases are almost uniformly carried by the air to all spaces inside the containment, and the explosion risk is low. The concentration field of the steady ventilation process was taken as the initial boundary condition and unsteady state simulation of the 9-h holding pressure process was performed. The results show that the gas flow inside the containment basically stops after 3456 s of pressure holding. With the extension of time, the VOCs gases accumulate at the bottoms of the three lower layers of the containment under the effect of laminar diffusion and gravitational settling, where the total concentration of the mixed gases reaches the highest at the bottom of the lowest layer. The total concentration of the VOCs gas mixture was below the lower explosion limit throughout the 9-h pressure-holding process, and the explosion risk was low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In fluid mechanics research, data gathered from measurements and simulations may be challenging to interpret due to complexities such as transience, non-linearity, and high dimensionality. Velocity data from the airflow through an internal combustion engine often exhibit such properties; nevertheless, accurate characterizations of these airflows are required in order to correctly predict and control the subsequent combustion and emission processes in pursuit of net zero targets. The temporal mean is a common way of representing an ensemble of realizations of velocity fields, but the averaging process can artificially diminish the magnitudes of the resultant vectors. Accurate representation of these vector magnitudes is of particular importance, as the velocity magnitudes in the intake airflow are thought to be primary drivers of the subsequent variation in an engine flow, which influences emission formation and overall efficiency. As an alternative to the ensemble mean, this work proposes the application of a dimensionality reduction method known as the sparsity-promoting dynamic mode decomposition (SPDMD), which can extract core structures from an ensemble of velocity fields while retaining more realistic vector magnitudes. This is demonstrated for the first time with large-eddy simulation (LES) velocity data and compared to a corresponding set of experimental particle image velocimetry (PIV) data. The SPDMD 0 Hz modes are shown to be more representative of the velocity magnitudes present in both datasets. This facilitates more accurate quantification of the differences in vector magnitudes between simulations and experiments, and more reliable identification of which LES snapshots are closer to the PIV ensemble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acquisition of high-quality deep images of planetary nebulae (PNe) has allowed the detection of a wealth of small-scale features, which highlight the complexity of the formation history and physical processes shaping PNe. Here we present the discovery of three groups of clumps embedded within the nebular shell of the evolved PN NGC 3587, the Owl Nebula, that had escaped previous detections. The analysis of multi-wavelength GEMINI GMOS, NOT ALFOSC, Aristarchos Andor optical, Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope WIRCam, and Spitzer IRAC and MIPS infrared images indicates that these clumps are formed by material denser and colder than the surrounding nebula, with a notable content of molecular H2, but negligible or null amounts of dust. The presence of H2-rich pockets embedded within the ionized shell of this evolved PN is suggestive of the survival of high-density condensations of material created at the onset of the PN stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet light emitting diodes (DUV-LEDs) with thin p-GaN capping layer have been one of the most promising configurations, thanks to their excellent light extraction potential, which are, however, generally accompanied by insufficient hole supply. In this work, multi-graded p-AlGaN layers are adopted as an integrated p-type region, in which the electron blocking layer (EBL) is taken off to promote the carrier transport. The experimental results show that both the operation voltage and light output power of the DUV-LEDs are improved compared to the traditional ones, leading to a remarkable increase (by 114%) in their wall-plug efficiency. Further analysis confirms that the integrated p-type region serving as the hole supply layer helps holes to avoid the barrier between the p-GaN and integrated p-type region during their transport, and the absence of the EBL further eliminates part of the obstacles for hole drifting, giving rise to an enhanced hole concentration in quantum wells. Meanwhile, thanks to the modulation of the negative polarization induced bulk charges for conduction band, which is introduced within the integrated p-type region, the electron leakage is effectively suppressed even without the EBL, thus improving the device performance dramatically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 2022, an extremely low‐density solar wind stream encountered first the Earth and then Mars, shortly after the radial alignment of the two planets (i.e., Mars opposition). As the low‐density stream passed Mars, the properties of the Mars‐solar wind interaction changed dramatically in response to the low solar wind Alfvénic Mach number and dynamic pressure. The Martian magnetosphere and its boundaries expanded by thousands of kilometers, extending outside of the nominal average bow shock location. The low upstream Mach number resulted in a low ratio of plasma to magnetic field pressure in the magnetosheath, allowing the formation of a very high but stable ion temperature anisotropy, together with a very low level of electromagnetic instabilities. Meanwhile, the decrease in solar wind dynamic pressure caused the Martian upper ionosphere at the terminator to transition from a magnetized state to an unmagnetized state. This event provides an opportunity to study a unique end‐member state of the Mars‐solar wind interaction. Plain Language Summary: The solar wind consists of a supersonic flow of hot ionized gas (plasma) from the Sun that flows outward through the solar system. The solar wind interacts with planetary atmospheres and magnetic fields, which form shielded regions known as magnetospheres. The characteristics of the solar wind, including its density and speed, vary over a wide range. The shape, extent, and physical characteristics of planetary magnetospheres in turn respond to these changes in the solar wind. In this work, we study the response of the Martian magnetosphere to an extremely low‐density solar wind stream. During the passage of this stream, the Martian magnetosphere expanded by thousands of kilometers, and its physical characteristics changed dramatically. This event reveals a unique outlier state for the Mars‐solar wind interaction. Key Points: An extremely low‐density solar wind stream encountered the Earth and Mars just after Mars opposition in December 2022The Martian magnetosheath developed very unusual properties, with a low level of plasma instabilities and a high ion anisotropyThe Martian magnetosphere and its boundaries expanded by thousands of km, extending outside of the location of the nominal bow shock [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The colour of a star is a critical feature to reflect its physical property such as the temperature. The colour index is usually obtained via absolute photometry, which is demanding for weather conditions and instruments. In this work, we present an astrometric method to measure the catalogue-matched colour index of an object based on the effect of differential colour refraction (DCR). Specifically, we can observe an object using only one filter or alternately using two different filters. Through the difference of the DCR effect compared with reference stars, the catalogue-matched colour index of an object can be conveniently derived. Hence, we can perform DCR calibration and obtain its accurate and precise positions even if observed with Null filter during a large range of zenith distances, by which the limiting magnitude and observational efficiency of the telescope can be significantly improved. This method takes advantage of the DCR effect and builds a link between astrometry and photometry. In practice, we measure the colour indices and positions of Himalia (the sixth satellite of Jupiter) using 857 CCD frames over 8 nights by two telescopes. Totally, the mean colour index BP − RP (Gaia photometric system) of Himalia is 0.750 ± 0.004 mag. Through the rotational phased colour index analysis, we find two places with their colour indices exceeding the mean ± 3σ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The release of Gaia catalogue is revolutionary to the astronomy of Solar system objects. After some effects such as atmospheric refraction and CCD geometric distortion have been taken into account, the astrometric precision for ground-based telescopes can reach the level of tens of milli-arcseconds (mas). If an object approaches a reference star in a small relative angular distance (less than 100 arcsec), which is called close approach event in this work, the relative positional precision between the object and reference star will be further improved since the systematic effects of atmospheric turbulence and local telescope optics can be reduced. To obtain the precise position of a main-belt asteroid in an close approach event, a second-order angular velocity model with time is supposed in the sky plane. By fitting the relationship between the relative angular distance and observed time, we can derive the time of maximum approximation and calculate the corresponding position of the asteroid. In practice, five nights' CCD observations including 15 close approach events of main-belt asteroid (702) Alauda are taken for testing by the 1 m telescope at Yunnan Observatory, China. Compared with conventional solutions, our results show that the positional precision significantly improves, which reaches better than 4 mas, and 1 mas in the best case when referenced for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) ephemeris in both right ascension and declination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have numerically investigated the transmission of an antisymmetric Lamb wave through a line of silicon pillars erected onto a homogeneous silicon plate when the frequency is tuned to a resonant frequency of the pillars. For either a bending mode or a compressional mode, the resonators emit in the plate a wave 180° out-of-phase with the exciting Lamb wave, resulting in dips in the transmission spectrum. We show that transmission at resonance can be actively controlled by applying an external force, either tangential (bending eigenmode) or axial (compressional eigenmode), on top of the pillars. The transmission coefficient can be precisely controlled by finely tuning either the phase or the amplitude of the external force. For specific dimensions of the structure, both resonant modes arise at the same frequency. This geometry has the advantage of offering an additional degree of freedom for the direction of the external force but is less favorable from an energy point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers a manufacturing supply chain comprising a single risk-neutral manufacturer and a single risk-averse retailer. Among them, the manufacturer can produce traditional or green products and has sufficient funds to produce traditional products but lacks green processing costs. When the manufacturer produces green products, it can solve its financial difficulties through bank loans or internal financing from the retailer. This study examines the manufacturing supply chain financing strategy under capital constraints and risk aversion and draws the following conclusions: the manufacturer's wholesale price is the largest and smallest under the bank loan financing and internal financing modes, respectively; the retailer's retail price is the largest and smallest under the bank loan financing and traditional product production modes, respectively. The green input levels between the two financing modes directly depend on the bank loan interest rate and risk aversion. The optimal decisions of the manufacturer and retailer are to sell green products and choose internal financing, while selling traditional products is the worst decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent cosmological analyses rely on the ability to accurately sample from high-dimensional posterior distributions. A variety of algorithms have been applied in the field, but justification of the particular sampler choice and settings is often lacking. Here, we investigate three such samplers to motivate and validate the algorithm and settings used for the Dark Energy Survey (DES) analyses of the first 3 yr (Y3) of data from combined measurements of weak lensing and galaxy clustering. We employ the full DES Year 1 likelihood alongside a much faster approximate likelihood, which enables us to assess the outcomes from each sampler choice and demonstrate the robustness of our full results. We find that the ellipsoidal nested sampling algorithm multinest reports inconsistent estimates of the Bayesian evidence and somewhat narrower parameter credible intervals than the sliced nested sampling implemented in polychord. We compare the findings from multinest and polychord with parameter inference from the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm, finding good agreement. We determine that polychord provides a good balance of speed and robustness for posterior and evidence estimation , and recommend different settings for testing purposes and final chains for analyses with DES Y3 data. Our methodology can readily be reproduced to obtain suitable sampler settings for future surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As engineered electromagnetic covers based on (space-) time modulated metamaterials and metasurfaces, Doppler cloaks are able to compensate the Doppler effect induced by the motion of a scatterer, making it appear as if it were at rest to a detecting radar system. Perfect Doppler compensation can be theoretically always achieved for any relative velocity and motion direction of the cloaked scatterer with respect to the detecting system. However, the motion can be still detected from the cross section variation of the Doppler cloaked scatterer, especially under oblique incidence illumination. The challenge is, therefore, to have a proper Doppler compensation and maintain the amount of scattered energy toward the detection system as much constant as possible with respect to the illumination angle. In this Letter, we propose the design of self-adaptive retro-reflective planar Doppler cloak composed of a pair of space-time modulated metasurfaces: the first metasurface focuses the incident field in a specific location on the second metasurface, which is designed for enabling retro-reflection and Doppler frequency shift compensation. Here, the self-adaptive Doppler cloak is applied to a metallic planar reflector, moving toward its normal direction, and illuminated by an oblique plane wave. We demonstrate that the proposed Doppler cloak can perform frequency conversion and simultaneously maintain the radar cross section of the reflector as much stable as possible within an angular range of about 60° centered at the normal direction. The self-adaptive Doppler cloak may enhance the undetectability of cloaked moving objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to research risk factors of hearing loss among neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit. Method: Hearing screening tests were performed on 572 neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit. Those who failed screening tests were referred for diagnostic tests. Results: The pass rates for automated auditory brainstem response, distortion product otoacoustic emission and acoustic impedance tests at first hearing screening were 69.93 per cent, 70.02 per cent and 92.92 per cent for 1144 ears. Failure in the first screening correlated with preterm birth, very low birth weight, revised advanced maternal age, neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia and Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Appearance, Respiration score less than 8. Thirty cases failed in diagnostic hearing tests for brainstem auditory evoked potentials, 28 failed in otoacoustic emissions and 33 failed in acoustic impedance, which correlated with preterm birth, very low birth weight, twins, advanced maternal age and revised advanced maternal age. Conclusion: Abnormalities in the hearing levels of most neonates who needed hearing retests were completely or partially reversible. Preterm birth, very low birth weight, twins and advanced maternal age are potential risk factors for hearing impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We perform a cosmic shear analysis in harmonic space using the first year of data collected by the Dark Energy Survey (DES-Y1). We measure the cosmic weak lensing shear power spectra using the metacalibration catalogue and perform a likelihood analysis within the framework of CosmoSIS. We set scale cuts based on baryonic effects contamination and model redshift and shear calibration uncertainties as well as intrinsic alignments. We adopt as fiducial covariance matrix an analytical computation accounting for the mask geometry in the Gaussian term, including non-Gaussian contributions. A suite of 1200 lognormal simulations is used to validate the harmonic space pipeline and the covariance matrix. We perform a series of stress tests to gauge the robustness of the harmonic space analysis. Finally, we use the DES-Y1 pipeline in configuration space to perform a similar likelihood analysis and compare both results, demonstrating their compatibility in estimating the cosmological parameters S 8, σ8, and Ωm. We use the DES-Y1 metacalibration shape catalogue, with photometric redshifts estimates in the range of 0.2−1.3, divided in four tomographic bins finding σ8(Ωm/0.3)0.5 = 0.766 ± 0.033 at 68 per cent CL. The methods implemented and validated in this paper will allow us to perform a consistent harmonic space analysis in the upcoming DES data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical simulations are performed to study the mechanism of deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) in a pre-/main-chamber combustion system with a stoichiometric ethylene–oxygen mixture. A Godunov algorithm, fifth-order in space, and third-order in time, is used to solve the fully compressible Navier–Stokes equations on a dynamically adapting mesh. A single-step, calibrated chemical diffusive model described by Arrhenius kinetics is used for energy release and conservation between the fuel and the product. The two-dimensional simulation shows that a laminar flame grows in the pre-chamber and then develops into a jet flame as it passes through the orifice. A strong shock forms immediately ahead of the flame, reflecting off the walls and interacting with the flame front. The shock–flame interactions are crucial for the development of flame instabilities, which trigger the subsequent flame development. The DDT arises due to a shock-focusing mechanism, where multiple shocks collide at the flame front. A chemical explosive mode analysis (CEMA) criterion is developed to study the DDT ignition mode. Preliminary one-dimensional computations for a laminar propagating flame, a fast flame deflagration, and a Chapman–Jouguet detonation are conducted to demonstrate the validity of CEMA on the chemical-diffusive model, as well as to determine the proper conditioning value for CEMA diagnostic. The two-dimensional analysis with CEMA indicates that the DDT initiated by the shock-focusing mechanism can form a strong thermal expansion region at the flame front that features large positive eigenvalues for the chemical explosive mode and dominance of the local autoignition mode. Thus, the CEMA criterion proposed in this study provides a robust diagnostic for identifying autoignition-supported DDT, of which the emergence of excessive local autoignition mode is found to be a precursor. The effect of grid size, initial temperature, and orifice size are then evaluated, and results show that although the close-chamber DDT is highly stochastic, the detonation initiation mechanism remains robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present cosmological constraints from the analysis of angular power spectra of cosmic shear maps based on data from the first three years of observations by the Dark Energy Survey (DES Y3). Our measurements are based on the pseudo- C ℓ method and complement the analysis of the two-point correlation functions in real space, as the two estimators are known to compress and select Gaussian information in different ways, due to scale cuts. They may also be differently affected by systematic effects and theoretical uncertainties, making this analysis an important cross-check. Using the same fiducial Lambda cold dark matter model as in the DES Y3 real-space analysis, we find |${S_8 \equiv \sigma _8 \sqrt{\Omega _{\rm m}/0.3} = 0.793^{+0.038}_{-0.025}}$|⁠ , which further improves to S 8 = 0.784 ± 0.026 when including shear ratios. This result is within expected statistical fluctuations from the real-space constraint, and in agreement with DES Y3 analyses of non-Gaussian statistics, but favours a slightly higher value of S 8, which reduces the tension with the Planck 2018 constraints from 2.3σ in the real space analysis to 1.5σ here. We explore less conservative intrinsic alignments models than the one adopted in our fiducial analysis, finding no clear preference for a more complex model. We also include small scales, using an increased Fourier mode cut-off up to |$k_{\rm max}={5}\, {h}\, {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$|⁠ , which allows to constrain baryonic feedback while leaving cosmological constraints essentially unchanged. Finally, we present an approximate reconstruction of the linear matter power spectrum at present time, found to be about 20 per cent lower than predicted by Planck 2018, as reflected by the lower S 8 value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The propagation characteristics of shear-horizontal waves in the half-space of n-type piezoelectric semiconductor under initial stresses are studied. The phase velocity in the transcendental equation is obtained based on the three-dimensional theory of a piezoelectric semiconductor. The effects of different boundary conditions, initial carrier density, and initial stresses on the phase velocity and attenuation of shear-horizontal waves are analyzed. The results show that the effect of small initial stresses on the dispersion is negligible, and the wave velocity decreases sharply with increasing initial stresses when it is over a certain value. In particular, the initial stress has little effect on the imaginary part of the wave velocity, and the attenuation will be amplified when the initial stress is large enough. These analytical solutions will be valuable in the design of piezoelectric semiconductor devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underground Nuclear Astrophysics Experiment in China (JUNA) takes the advantage of the ultra-low background in Jinping underground lab. High current mA level 400 KV accelerator with an ECR source, BGO and neutron detectors were commissioned. JUNA studies directly a number of nuclear reactions important to hydrostatic stellar evolution at their relevant stellar energies. In the first quarter of 2021, JUNA performed the direct measurements of 25 Mg (p , γ) 26 Al , 19 F (p , α) 16 O , 13 C (α , n) 16 O and 12 C( α , γ ) 16 O near the Gamow window. The experimental results reflect the potential of JUNA with higher statistics, precision and sensitivity of the data. The preliminary results of JUNA experiment and future plan are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordination mechanism design is an important issue in agricultural supply chain. This study investigates agricultural supply chain coordination contracts in the presence of output uncertainty. It considers a two-level supply chain comprising a farmer and a retailer, where the farmer faces capital constraints and shows stockout-averse (SA), waste-averse (WA), or stockout- and waste-averse (SW) preferences. The results show that the retailer order, production input, and supply chain expected utility in the decentralized decision frame-work are lower than those realized under the centralized decision model; hence, the wholesale price contract cannot coordinate the supply chain. Nevertheless, the designed coordination contract mechanism coordinates the supply chain efficiently and realizes a flexible distribution of benefits between the farmer and the retailer. Furthermore, when the revenue-sharing coefficient meets specific conditions, both the farmer and the retailer achieve a win-win situation. Finally, we verify the coordination contract design using numerical simulations and analyze the effects of SA and WA preferences on decision-making and the supply chain expected utility. This study provides theoretical guidance for the coordination mechanism design of agricultural supply chain with capital constraints and behavioral preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Martian interaction with the solar wind leads to the formation of a bow shock upstream of the planet. The shock dynamics appear complex, due to the combined influence of external and internal drivers. The extreme ultraviolet fluxes and magnetosonic Mach number are known major drivers of the shock location, while the influence of other possible drivers is less constrained or unknown such as crustal magnetic fields, solar wind dynamic pressure, or the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) intensity, and orientation. In this study, we compare the influence of the main drivers of the Martian shock location, based on several methods and published datasets from Mars Express (MEX) and Mars Atmosphere Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) missions. We include here the influence of the crustal fields, extreme ultraviolet fluxes, solar wind dynamic pressure, as well as (for MAVEN, thanks to magnetic field measurements) magnetosonic Mach number and Interplanetary Magnetic Field parameters (intensity and orientation angles). The bias due to the cross‐correlations among the possible drivers is investigated with a partial correlations analysis. Several model selection methods (Akaike Information Criterion and Least Absolute Shrinkage Selection Operator regression) are also used to rank the relative importance of the physical parameters. We conclude that the major drivers of the shock location are extreme ultraviolet fluxes and magnetosonic Mach number, while crustal fields and solar wind dynamic pressure are secondary drivers at a similar level. The IMF orientation also plays a significant role, with larger distances for perpendicular shocks rather than parallel shocks. Plain Language Summary: The Mars Express (MEX) and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) observations underlined the complex interaction between the solar wind plasma flowing out from the Sun and the Martian environment. The supersonic flow creates a bow shock (and several other plasma boundaries) upstream of the planet before it is deflected around the conductive ionized atmosphere of the planet that acts as an obstacle to the flow. Understanding the dynamics of the plasma boundaries that structure the interaction is of crucial importance to better understand the evolution of the Martian environment. In this study, we investigate in detail the complex influence of external and internal drivers of the Martian bow shock, including solar extreme ultraviolet fluxes, solar wind dynamic pressure, magnetosonic Mach number, crustal magnetic fields locked in the martian crust, as well as the Interplanetary Magnetic Field intensity and orientation. We use innovative methods to disentangle the influence of the various drivers that are correlated to each other. Key Points: The relative importance of the drivers of the Martian shock location is studied according to the AIC and LASSO model selection methodsThe Mach number and EUV fluxes are the primary drivers of the shock location, crustal fields, and solar wind pressure are secondary driversThe angle between the shock normal and the Interplanetary Magnetic Field appears as a significant driver of the shock location [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous missions underlined the complex influence of the crustal magnetic fields on the Martian environment, including the plasma boundaries. Their influence on the bow shock is however poorly constrained, with most studies showing North/South differences attributed to the crustal fields, with various conclusions from little to strong variabilities. We analyze for the first time in detail the influence of crustal fields on the Martian shock location based on a multi‐mission analysis (MAVEN and MEX). We introduce the angular distance to the strongest crustal field region in the southern hemisphere that induces the largest influence (but not unique, with a minimum pressure threshold analyzed). Its impact is at large scale (>40–60° around), is modulated by the local time of the strongest source region (with no influence beyond terminator), and maximizes when the Interplanetary Magnetic field (IMF) is stable during the preceding hours. We introduce a technique, that is, partial correlations, to provide a coherent picture for both MAVEN/MEX due to existing cross correlations with Extreme UltraViolet (EUV). A composite parameter is proposed, that represents the combined influence of EUV, magnetosonic mach number (two major drivers) and crustal fields, the latter having an impact of hundreds of km. The influence of crustal fields on the shock appears seasonal and correlated with the Total Electronic Content, revealing a large scale coupling between the crustal fields, the ionosphere and the shock. The crustal field influence on the shock is thus significant and complex, with a coupling to both the ionosphere below and the IMF above. Plain Language Summary: The Mars Express (MEX) and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) observations underlined the complex interaction between the solar wind plasma flowing out from the Sun and the martian environment. The supersonic flow creates a bow shock upstream of the planet, before it is deflected around the conductive ionized atmosphere of the planet that acts as an obstacle to the flow. Contrary to Earth, Mars lost its intrinsic global dynamo magnetic field that could protect efficiently the atmosphere from the incident solar wind sputtering, thus eroding the atmosphere with time. However, the planet possesses remnant crustal magnetic fields locked up in its crust, in particular in the southern hemisphere, that are known to play a major role in the martian interaction with the incident solar wind. We investigate here the influence of these crustal fields on the martian bow shock location, and show they are a significant driver according to MAVEN and MEX observations, despite being less important than the solar Extreme UltraViolet fluxes or magnetosonic mach number of the solar wind. We also show that that this influence varies with season, revealing a strong coupling between the crustal fields, the ionosphere and the bow shock location. Key Points: The influence of crustal magnetic fields on the Martian shock is significant based on the first multi‐mission studyThe strongest crustal field region has a major influence in a large angular range, when close to noon and when the interplanetary magnetic field is stableThe crustal field influence varies with season, showing a coupling between crustal fields, the ionosphere and the shock [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we present the galaxy clustering measurements of the two DES lens galaxy samples: a magnitude-limited sample optimized for the measurement of cosmological parameters, maglim , and a sample of luminous red galaxies selected with the redmagic algorithm. maglim / redmagic sample contains over 10 million/2.5 million galaxies and is divided into six/five photometric redshift bins spanning the range z ∈ [0.20, 1.05]/ z ∈ [0.15, 0.90]. Both samples cover 4143 |$\deg ^2$| over which we perform our analysis blind, measuring the angular correlation function with an S/N ∼ 63 for both samples. In a companion paper, these measurements of galaxy clustering are combined with the correlation functions of cosmic shear and galaxy–galaxy lensing of each sample to place cosmological constraints with a 3 × 2pt analysis. We conduct a thorough study of the mitigation of systematic effects caused by the spatially varying survey properties and we correct the measurements to remove artificial clustering signals. We employ several decontamination methods with different configurations to ensure the robustness of our corrections and to determine the systematic uncertainty that needs to be considered for the final cosmology analyses. We validate our fiducial methodology using lognormal mocks, showing that our decontamination procedure induces biases no greater than 0.5 σ in the (Ωm, b) plane, where b is the galaxy bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to understand the drinking water quality state in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 2014 to 2018 and to derive information that will provide a basis for improving the drinking water quality in the region. Monitoring data for drinking water from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for 2014 to 2018 were analyzed and the results were compared with GB 5749-2006, the Standard Test Method for Drinking Water, and GB 5749-2006, the Drinking Water Quality Standards. Data for a total of 30,613 water samples were assessed. Of the data for the microbiological index, sensory trait and general chemical index, and toxicological index, 89, 80, and 69% were qualified, respectively. For the toxicological index, the fluoride and nitrate nitrogen data were the least compliant. The water quality in all the cities was generally very suitable for drinking. However, there were marked differences in the qualified rates of drinking water in different areas and the qualified rates of the data for the three indexes were lower in rural areas than in urban areas. Given the varied issues with the drinking water quality, the relevant departments of League cities should implement appropriate and effective treatment measures to improve the drinking water quality and ensure it is safe for residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The direct current potential drop (DCPD) method is an important method for monitoring crack initiation and propagation in specimens. During fatigue crack growth monitoring, the load causes the potential drop (PD) signal to change and produces periodic fluctuations independent of crack growth, thereby affecting the measurement accuracy and resolution. Objective: This study proposes a novel calibration method to quantitatively evaluate and correct the measurement error due to the change in the PD signal caused by the load during fatigue crack growth monitoring. Methods: Tensile fatigue tests and DCPD monitoring tests were conducted to measure the PD signal fluctuation owing to the cyclic load before and after specimen cracking. Electrical–structural finite element analyses were used to simulate the test process, and a calibration function considering the influence of the load was obtained. The influence of the load on the measurement accuracy and resolution was quantitatively evaluated using the model and experimental data. Results: The cyclic load caused the PD signal to deviate from the calibration curve when the deformation of the specimen was not considered; the PD signal exhibited periodic fluctuations as a result. Moreover, for a certain range of fatigue loads, the corresponding PD signal increased as the crack grew. Conclusions: The proposed calibration method can correct the measurement error due to cyclic load, thereby further improving the measurement accuracy and resolution, and providing a basis for high-precision crack growth measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrete aurora at Mars, characterized by their small spatial scale and tendency to form near strong crustal magnetic fields, are emissions produced by particle precipitation into the Martian upper atmosphere. Since 2014, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN's (MAVEN's) Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) has obtained a large collection of UV discrete aurora observations during its routine periapsis nightside limb scans. Initial analysis of these observations has shown that, near the strongest crustal magnetic fields in the southern hemisphere, the IUVS discrete aurora detection frequency is highly sensitive to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle. However, the role of other solar wind properties in controlling the discrete aurora detection frequency has not yet been determined. In this work, we use the IUVS discrete aurora observations, along with MAVEN observations of the upstream solar wind, to determine how the discrete aurora detection frequency varies with solar wind dynamic pressure, IMF strength, and IMF cone angle. We find that, outside of the strong crustal field region (SCFR) in the southern hemisphere, the aurora detection frequency is relatively insensitive to the IMF orientation, but significantly increases with solar wind dynamic pressure, and moderately increases with IMF strength. Interestingly however, although high solar wind dynamic pressures cause more aurora to form, they have little impact on the brightness of the auroral emissions. Alternatively, inside the SCFR, the detection frequency is only moderately dependent on the solar wind dynamic pressure, and is much more sensitive to the IMF clock and cone angles. In the SCFR, aurora are unlikely to occur when the IMF points near the radial or anti‐radial directions when the cone angle (arccos(Bx/|B|)) is less than 30° or between 120° and 150°. Together, these results provide the first comprehensive characterization of how upstream solar wind conditions affect the formation of discrete aurora at Mars. Key Points: Outside the strong crustal field region, high solar wind pressures increase the aurora detection frequency but not the emission brightnessIMF orientation affects the aurora detection frequency more prominently near strong crustal fieldsIn the strong crustal field region, aurora are rare when the IMF points near the radial or anti‐radial directions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After performing the morpho-kinematic analysis of the planetary nebula (PN) PC 22, we now present its nebular and stellar analysis. The plasma investigation relies on the novel use of a Monte Carlo analysis associated with the pyneb code for the uncertainty propagation. The innermost region of the nebula shows electronic temperatures T e ≈ 10 800 K using [N  ii ] and ≈13 000 K using [O  iii ] and electronic densities n e ≈ 600 cm−3. We also used for the first time a machine learning algorithm to calculate ionization correction factors (ICFs) specifically adapted to PC 22. This has allowed us to have pioneer ICFs for (S+ + S++)/O++, Cl++/O++, and Ar3+ + Ar4+, as well as a possible new determination for the total abundance of neon. The study of the stellar spectrum revealed the presence of broad emission lines consistent with a Wolf–Rayet-type [WR] classification and more precisely a [WO1] subtype based on different qualitative and quantitative criteria. This classification is also coherent with the high stellar temperature derived from the reproduction of the ionization state of the gas with the Mexican Million Models data base (3MdB) and the best-fitting model obtained with the NLTE model atmosphere code PoWR. PC 22 is therefore a new addition to the [WO1]-subtype PNe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim To systematically evaluate the associations between glycemic control and short- to long-term outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Design and methods A multi-center prospective cohort study including 574 COVID-19 patients with T2D was conducted in Wuhan, China. All patients were followed-up 1 year after hospital discharge using a uniformed questionnaire including self-reported symptoms, and the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test items. Results Of the 574 patients, 443 (77.2%) had well-controlled blood glucose. Glycemic control was significantly associated with decreased risk of death [odds ratio (OR) 0.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10–0.57], intensive care unit admission (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.10–0.49), invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.08–0.72), disease progression (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.11–0.55), and composite outcome (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.14–0.49). The top five long-term sequelae include fatigue (31.5%), sweating (21.2%), chest tightness (15.1%), anxiety (12.2%), myalgia (10.6%) and short breath (6.4%). Glycemic control was associated with decreased risk of respiratory sequelae (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.18–0.99; P  = 0.048). Conclusions Glycemic control was significantly associated with short-term outcomes in COVID-19 patients with T2D and showed a significant association with long-term respiratory sequelae. The management and control of blood glucose has a positive impact on prognosis of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe and test the fiducial covariance matrix model for the combined two-point function analysis of the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 (DES-Y3) data set. Using a variety of new ansatzes for covariance modelling and testing, we validate the assumptions and approximations of this model. These include the assumption of Gaussian likelihood, the trispectrum contribution to the covariance, the impact of evaluating the model at a wrong set of parameters, the impact of masking and survey geometry, deviations from Poissonian shot noise, galaxy weighting schemes, and other sub-dominant effects. We find that our covariance model is robust and that its approximations have little impact on goodness of fit and parameter estimation. The largest impact on best-fitting figure-of-merit arises from the so-called f sky approximation for dealing with finite survey area, which on average increases the χ2 between maximum posterior model and measurement by |$3.7{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| (Δχ2 ≈ 18.9). Standard methods to go beyond this approximation fail for DES-Y3, but we derive an approximate scheme to deal with these features. For parameter estimation, our ignorance of the exact parameters at which to evaluate our covariance model causes the dominant effect. We find that it increases the scatter of maximum posterior values for Ωm and σ8 by about |$3{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| and for the dark energy equation-of-state parameter by about |$5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$|⁠. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To reveal the consistency and discrepancy in the gut microbial structure and function in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients from different regions. Methods and Results: Gut microbes, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence factors genes (VFGs) were analysed using metagenome data from three cohorts. The abundance of Escherichia coli extensively increased in IBD patients, whereas Subdoligranulum unclassified decreased dramatically in IBD patients from three countries. Escherichia coli showed a positive correlation with multiple ARGs and VFGs in cohorts from China and the United States, including multidrug‐related resistance genes and Capsule and LOS‐related virulence factors genes. Escherichia coli biofilm synthesis pathways significantly enriched in IBD patients from three different regions. Notably, Subdoligranulum unclassified and Eubacterium hallii were negatively related to ARGs and VFGs. Conclusions: Consistent changes of microbiome structure and function were observed in IBD patients from three different regions. As pathogenic bacteria, E. coli may accelerate IBD progression through encapsulation in biofilms by upregulating antibiotic resistance in Crohn's disease patients. Subdoligranulum unclassified and E. hallii may be beneficial for IBD patients and could serve as potential probiotics for IBD treatment. Significance and Impact of the Study: This work dispels worries about the regional differences in gut microbial changes in IBD patients and provides useful guidance for more rational microbiome‐based therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We perform an analysis in harmonic space of the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Data (DES-Y1) galaxy clustering photometric data using products obtained for the real-space analysis. We test our pipeline with a suite of lognormal simulations, which are used to validate scale cuts in harmonic space as well as to provide a covariance matrix that takes into account the DES-Y1 mask. We then apply this pipeline to DES-Y1 data taking into account survey property maps derived for the real-space analysis. We compare with real-space DES-Y1 results obtained from a similar pipeline. We show that the harmonic space analysis we develop yields results that are compatible with the real-space analysis for the bias parameters. This verification paves the way to performing a harmonic space analysis for the upcoming DES-Y3 data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spin ordering magnetic structures of orthorhombic YMnO3 subjected to uniaxial strain have been investigated using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. On applying compressive uniaxial strain of -0.8% along the b orientation, the spin ordering magnetic structure is predicted to change from E-type to A-type antiferromagnetic orderings. The structure analysis also reveals that the uniaxial strain has a dramatic influence on the Mn-O bond lengths and Mn-O-Mn bond angles, allowing the gradual suppression of the alternation of the long and short Mn-O-Mn bonds in the ab plane. These changes present very interesting possibilities for engineering the spin ordering along with ferroelectric property in orthorhombic YMnO3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of hydrogen in metals are a pressing issue causing severe economic losses due to material deterioration by hydrogen embrittlement. A crucial understanding of the interactions of hydrogen with different microstructure features can be reached by nanoindentation due to the small volumes probed. Even more, in situ testing while charging the sample with hydrogen prevents the formation of concentration gradients due to hydrogen desorption. Two custom electrochemical cells for in situ testing were built in-house to charge the sample with hydrogen during nanoindentation: "front-side" charging with the sample and the indenter tip immersed into the electrolyte, and "back-side" charging where the analyzed region is never in contact with the solution. During front-side charging, surface degradation often occurs which also negatively influences analyses after hydrogen charging. The back-side charging approach proposed in this work is a promising technique for studying in situ the effects of hydrogen in alloys under mechanical loads, while completely excluding the influence of the electrolyte on the nanoindented surface. Hydrogen diffusion from the charged back-side toward the testing surface is here demonstrated by Kelvin probe measurements in ferritic FeCr alloys, used as a case study due to the high mobility of hydrogen in the bcc lattice. During nanoindentation, a reduction on the shear stress necessary for dislocations nucleation due to hydrogen was observed using both setups; however, the quantitative data differs and a contradictory behavior was found in hardness measurements. Finally, some guidelines for the use of both approaches and a summary of their advantages and disadvantages are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the contact characteristics of Ti/Al/Ni/Au on plasma etched n-AlGaN has been attempted by an active pretreatment, which can provide Si and N atoms to occupy the possible metal and N vacancies. It is found that the contacts on both the as-grown and plasma-etched + pretreatment n-Al0.5Ga0.5N present truly Ohmic in nature, whereas the contacts on plasma-etched samples without pretreatment still remain rectifying. Surface atomic concentration analysis indicates that the plasma etching induced N or metal vacancies mostly act as acceptor-like states, leading to a severe compensation. Fortunately, these states can be effectively removed by the presently proposed pretreatment, and thus the Fermi level is raised up toward the conduction band edge, ensuring the formation of Ohmic contacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought has become more frequent in the recent era due to climate change, which is responsible for reducing the global cereal production. In the present study, two naked oat cultivars; Dingyou7 (Dy7) and Yanmai (Ym) with contrasting drought tolerance were compared for their yield and growth adaptation under different watering schemes at two different stages of plant growth. The plants were grown in a completely randomized design (CRD) under a) well-watered (WW), b) water stressed (WS) conditions; an early ephemeral, c) terminal drought, d) and different field water capacities (FC) of 80%-90%, 60%, 40%, and 20% respectively. The root length (RL), leaf area (LA), leaf number (LN), flower number (FN) and grain yield in two growing seasons in spring to summer and mid-summer to autumn 2018- were measured for all the water treatments at Yuzhong County experiment station, Lanzhou University Gansu, China. The terminal drought and reduced FC were more detrimental to the grain yield as compared with the early ephemeral drought and higher FC as the terminal drought caused 42% and 48% whereas the early ephemeral drought caused 28% and 44% reduction in grain yield of the Dy7 and Ym respectively. All the growth parameters except RL had significant impact (p > 0.05) on the grain yield. This study shows the efficiency of the cultivar Dy7 under drought stress. The fewer number of leaves in the latest cultivar appeared as an important crop adaptation under drought stress to optimize yield. This feature holds potential for improvement of cereal crops yield under drought stress through genetic crop breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent cosmic shear studies have reported discrepancies of up to 1σ on the parameter |${S_{8}=\sigma _{8}\sqrt{{\Omega _{\rm m}}/0.3}}$| between the analysis of shear power spectra and two-point correlation functions, derived from the same shear catalogues. It is not a priori clear whether the measured discrepancies are consistent with statistical fluctuations. In this paper, we investigate this issue in the context of the forthcoming analyses from the third year data of the Dark Energy Survey (DES Y3). We analyse DES Y3 mock catalogues from Gaussian simulations with a fast and accurate importance sampling pipeline. We show that the methodology for determining matching scale cuts in harmonic and real space is the key factor that contributes to the scatter between constraints derived from the two statistics. We compare the published scales cuts of the KiDS, Subaru-HSC, and DES surveys, and find that the correlation coefficients of posterior means range from over 80 per cent for our proposed cuts, down to 10 per cent for cuts used in the literature. We then study the interaction between scale cuts and systematic uncertainties arising from multiple sources: non-linear power spectrum, baryonic feedback, intrinsic alignments, uncertainties in the point spread function, and redshift distributions. We find that, given DES Y3 characteristics and proposed cuts, these uncertainties affect the two statistics similarly; the differential biases are below a third of the statistical uncertainty, with the largest biases arising from intrinsic alignment and baryonic feedback. While this work is aimed at DES Y3, the tools developed can be applied to Stage-IV surveys where statistical errors will be much smaller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID‐19 is a new pneumonia. It has been hypothesized that tobacco smoking history may increase severity of this disease in the patients once infected by the underlying coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2 because smoking and COVID‐19 both cause lung damage. However, this hypothesis has not been tested. Objective: Current study was designed to focus on smoking history in patients with COVID‐19 and test this hypothesis that tobacco smoking history increases risk for severe COVID‐19 by damaging the lungs. Methods and results: This was a single‐site, retrospective case series study of clinical associations, between epidemiological findings and clinical manifestations, radiographical or laboratory results. In our well‐characterized cohort of 954 patients including 56 with tobacco smoking history, smoking history increased the risk for severe COVID‐19 with an odds ratio (OR) of 5.5 (95% CI: 3.1–9.9; P = 7.3 × 10−8). Meta‐analysis of ten cohorts for 2891 patients together obtained an OR of 2.5 (95% CI: 1.9–3.3; P < 0.00001). Semi‐quantitative analysis of lung images for each of five lobes revealed a significant difference in neither lung damage at first examination nor dynamics of the lung damage at different time‐points of examinations between the smoking and nonsmoking groups. No significant differences were found either in laboratory results including D‐dimer and C‐reactive protein levels except different covariances for density of the immune cells lymphocyte (P = 3.8 × 10−64) and neutrophil (P = 3.9 × 10−46). Conclusion: Tobacco smoking history increases the risk for great severity of COVID‐19 but this risk is achieved unlikely by affecting the lungs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jets (fast collimated outflows) are claimed to be the main shaping agent of the most asymmetric planetary nebulae (PNs), as they impinge on the circumstellar material at late stages of the asymptotic giant branch phase. The first jet detected in a PN was that of NGC 2392, yet there is no available image because of its low surface brightness contrast with the bright nebular emission. Here we take advantage of the tomographic capabilities of Gran Telescopio de Canarias Multi-Espectrógrafo en GTC de Alta Resolución para Astronomía high-dispersion integral field spectroscopic observations of the jet in NGC 2392 to gain unprecedented details of its morphology and kinematics. The jet of NGC 2392 is found to emanate from the central star, break through the walls of the inner shell of this iconic PN and extend outside the nebula's outermost regions with an S-shaped morphology suggestive of precession. At odds with the fossil jets found in mature PNs, the jet in NGC 2392 is currently being collimated and launched. The high nebular excitation of NGC 2392, which implies an He++/He ionization fraction too high to be attributed to the known effective temperature of the star, has been proposed in the past to hint at the presence of a hot white dwarf companion. In conjunction with the hard X-ray emission from the central star, the present-day jet collimation would support the presence of such a double-degenerate system where one component undergoes accretion from a remnant circumbinary disk of the common envelope phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Anti‐citrullinated protein/peptide antibodies (ACPA) play important roles in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ACPA‐positive (ACPA+) and ACPA‐negative (ACPA−) RA were suggested to be different disease subsets, with distinct differences in genetic variation and clinical outcomes. The aims of the present study were to compare gene expression profiles in ACPA+ and ACPA− RA, and to identify novel candidate gene signatures that might serve as therapeutic targets. Comprehensive transcriptome analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from ACPA+ and ACPA− RA patients and healthy controls was performed via RNA sequencing. A validation cohort was used to further investigate differentially expressed genes via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Spearman's correlation test was used to evaluate the correlation of differentially expressed genes and the clinical and laboratory data of the patients. The role of differentially expressed genes in osteoclastogenesis was further investigated. Expression of C‐X‐C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CXCL2) was significantly increased in ACPA+ RA than in ACPA− RA, which was validated in PBMCs and serum. CXCL2 promoted the migration of CD14+ monocytes and increased osteoclastogenesis in RA patients. RAW264.7 macrophages were used to investigate specific mechanisms, and the results suggested that CXCL2 stimulated osteoclastogenesis via extracellular receptor kinase (ERK) mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa B pathways. In conclusion, CXCL2 was highly expressed in ACPA+ RA than in ACPA− RA. CXCL2 promoted osteoclastogenesis and was related to bone erosion in RA, which suggests that the blockade of CXCL2 might be a novel strategy for the treatment of RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carrier velocity modulation by asymmetrical concave quantum barriers to improve the performance of AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet light emitting diodes has been investigated. The concave structure is realized by inserting a low Al composition AlGaN layer in the barrier, and thus forming a concave region on energy band. The measured device performance shows a significant improvement under 0–250 mA operation current, with the maximum external quantum efficiency and light output power of 1.02% and 8.0 mW, which are more than double (2.32 and 2.35 times) of that for the conventional one, respectively. Simulation confirms that the concave quantum barriers make it possible for electrons to be scattered, which reduce the electron energy before being injected into quantum wells, and thus the capability of quantum wells to capture electrons is enhanced. Meanwhile, the vertical transport of holes within the active region is also enhanced because the asymmetrical setting of the concave layer in the quantum barriers helps holes accelerate under the polarization field, and then get more energy to overcome the barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]