Search

This article examines the practices of investigative journalism in China in changing times. It does so by focusing on the case study of Southern Metropolitan Daily (SMD), a well-known newspaper in China which built its name on investigative journalism. The aim is to understand how the changing social conditions have shaped investigative journalism and transformed the role performance of investigative journalists. Drawing on data from multiple sources, including archival research, in-depth interviews, and news content analysis, the study found that under a trio of pressures: technological disruption, economic downturn and most importantly tightened political control, the media have been repositioning and reorienting themselves in relation to power. Investigative journalism, although it still retains the name, has shifted to trumpeting the value of constructiveness rather than criticism. This study contributes to the ongoing debates on journalistic role performance by showing how the watchdog and facilitator roles are combined in the practice of Chinese investigative journalists in changing times. It reaffirms the complex cooccurrence of journalistic roles and adds insights into the possibility of roles overlapping, not only across different dimensions but within the same dimension of power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Available polarization-difference imaging techniques face serious challenges in imaging speed and application range. To address these issues, this paper proposes an underwater dynamic polarization-difference imaging method with greater applicability. First, the intensity distribution of backscattered light is estimated via the Stokes vector. Afterward, the differential operation between the total intensity of light and the amplified estimation result of backscattered light makes clear imaging immediately accessible. Regardless of the movement states and polarization characteristics of the target, experimental results consistently demonstrate that the backscattered light can be eliminated to a great extent, and imaging quality and applicability are significantly enhanced. Meanwhile, the proposed method is immune to unexpected factors such as uneven illumination and has good stability. More importantly, there are also apparent advantages in terms of imaging time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photobiomodulation therapy, as an emerging treatment modality, has been widely used in dentistry. However, reports on blue light therapy for oral cancer are scarce. This study investigated the effects of 457 and 475 nm LED irradiation on SCC‐25 cells and explored the potential mechanisms underlying the impact of blue light. Both wavelengths were found to inhibit cell viability, induce oxidative stress, and cause cell cycle arrest without leading to cell death. Notably, the inhibitory effect of 457 nm blue light on cell proliferation was more sustained. Transcriptome sequencing was performed to explore the underlying mechanisms, revealing that blue light induced endoplasmic reticulum stress in SCC‐25 cells, with 457 nm light showing a more pronounced effect. Moreover, 457 nm blue light upregulated the expression of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway, indicating potential therapeutic prospects for the combined use of blue light and pharmacological agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light exposure has been proven to have a significant impact on human health. As a result, researchers are increasingly exploring its potential benefits and drawbacks. With advancements in understanding light and the manufacturing of light sources, modern health lighting has become widely utilized in daily life and plays a critical role in the prevention and treatment of various illnesses. The use of light in healthcare is a global trend, with many countries actively promoting the development and application of relevant scientific research and medical technology. This field has gained worldwide attention and support from scientists and doctors alike. In this review, we examine the application of lighting in human health and recent breakthroughs in light exposure related to pathology, therapeutic strategies, molecular changes, and more. Finally, we also discuss potential future developments and areas of application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how Aspergillus oryzae responds to light is critical for developing efficient light regulation strategies in the brewing and waste treatment industries. Although continuous light is known to restrict A. oryzae, little is known about A. oryzae's sensitivity to light with photoperiod. In this study, we used pulse wave modulation (PWM) to generate nine pulsed blue light (PBL) treatments with varying peak light intensities and frequencies. The effect of PBL on A. oryzae was then compared to that of continuous blue light (CBL). Our findings showed that A. oryzae GDMCC 3.31 mycelium developed faster and produced more conidia under PBL with specific peak intensities and frequencies than under CBL treatment when the light dose and average light intensity were held constant. The colony diameter and conidia count under the two PBL treatments (PL-20_40%_1 Hz and PL-400_20%_10 kHz) were 1.13 and 1.22 times greater than under the CBL treatments, respectively. This different response may be mainly attributed to A. oryzae's adaptation to the light–dark cycles in nature. Furthermore, an interactive effect was found between peak light intensity and frequency. This work includes pulsed wave modulation as a new factor that influences the A. oryzae photoresponse and recommends it in the development of light regulation methods for fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probing elemental and molecular structural information with a high spatial resolution is a key bottleneck in determining unknown minerals in the fields of geology and space exploration. An untraditional confocal-controlled Raman-LIBS hybrid method with high spatial resolution and anti-drift properties has been developed to overcome this challenge. The method is the first to combine Rayleigh/reflected light, LIBS signal, and Raman spectrum to simultaneously measure geometrical topography and elemental and molecular structural information. The hybrid system utilizes real-time focus tracking the performance of Rayleigh/reflected light to achieve accurate spectral measurements. The axial-focusing resolution and lateral resolution for morphological imaging are improved to ∼15 nm and 600 nm, which improves the anti-drift capability and minimizes the laser ablation size, thereby achieving a high transverse resolution of ∼9 μm, and a high axial resolution of ∼10 μm. As a proof of concept, high-resolution topological and hybrid spectral maps of the Northwest Africa 13323 meteorite have been measured. The fusion of the LIBS and Raman data provides a detailed three-dimensional map of the elementary and compositional distributions of the meteorite. Further analysis of the D and G bands in the Raman map reveals structural information reflecting the thermal metamorphism of the meteorite. The proposed Raman-LIBS hybrid microscope provides valuable information for composition and structure analysis, and it is a powerful tool for studying unknown minerals in the fields of geology and space exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoscale laser arrays are attractive for their potential applications in highly integrated nanodevices, which are always obtained by nanowire arrays with complicated fabrication techniques. Here, a quite different nanolaser array is successfully realized based on a highly ordered core–shell CdS branched nanostructure with implanted Sn nanoparticles in junctions that split the individual multichannel nanostructures to various microcavities with effective light confinement and oscillation, thus to achieve a multipoint nanolaser array. Under the excitation of an ultraviolet laser, the strong band‐edge emission can be well reflected between Sn nanoparticles at junctions and effectively scattered into branch segments due to Sn nanoparticles existence in junctions, furthermore oscillating in various microcavities along trunks or branches to form multipoint lasing from Fabry‐Pérot (F‐P) mode with a quality factor up to 990 and the low threshold at around 3.78 MW cm−2. The corresponding fluorescent microscope images further demonstrate the formation of multipoint F‐P lasing at various segments. The theoretical simulation indicates that implanted Sn nanoparticles work as hot point to enhance the confinement of light around the Sn centers. The existence of surface plasmon from the Sn metal particles is further confirmed by the polarization dependent photoluminescence measurement. The results provide a new way to realize nanolaser arrays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-coke, as a kind of special coal resource with a relatively high concentration of carbon and low volatility, plays an important role in the coal chemical industry and in creating clean cities. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been proved to be an effective way to conduct online analysis of coal products. However, the lower volatility of semi-coke makes it hard to press into a slice to obtain a smooth surface for uniform laser-irradiation. Therefore, it is necessary to find an effective way to realize high-accuracy LIBS detection for semi-coke applications. Herein, two feasible methods of sample preparation are attempted, one easy way involves directly painting semi-coke powder onto tape that is suitable for online fast monitoring, and the other more complicated way is to mix a binder into the semi-coke powder so that uniform and tight coal slices are obtained, to improve the repeatability of the measurements. Moreover, a totally new algorithm, a support vector machine (SVM) combined with partial least square (PLS) regression (SVM-PLS), was utilized to establish an effective prediction model to give a high predictive accuracy. The coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP), and average relative error (ARE) are 0.944, 0.90%, and 0.80%, respectively. In comparison with the results from the traditional PLS model, SVM residual correction greatly improves the quality of the calibration curve and the RMSEP and ARE values are reduced to 0.17%, thus improving the prediction accuracy, which is much better than the basic PLS regression. Meanwhile, the prediction error from the binder mixed semi-coke slice is significantly reduced compared to that of the directly painted samples on tape. The maximum relative errors (MREs) are 2.71% and 5.19%, and the average RSD values of the characteristic peaks are 12.1% and 16.2%, respectively, indicating that the easy way of painting a sample on tape has some prediction uncertainties. Finally, in a three-day random test, the average RMSEP was found to be 1.89% and the average ARE was 1.74%, which also proves that the binder additive can effectively reduce the matrix effect and enhance the stability of the spectrum for semi-coke measurements. The results indicate that appropriate LIBS analysis on semi-coke is a feasible and promising approach for online predictions using this kind of coal sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]