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Traditional discharge monitoring usually relies on measuring flow velocity and cross-section area with various velocimeters or remote-sensing approaches. However, the topography of mountain streams in remote sites largely hinders the applicability of velocity–area methods. Here, we present a method to continuously monitor mountain stream discharge using a low-cost commercial camera and deep learning algorithm. A procedure of automated image categorization and discharge classification was developed to extract information on flow patterns and volumes from high-frequency red–green–blue (RGB) images with deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The method was tested at a small, steep, natural stream reach in southern China. Reference discharge data were acquired from a V-shaped weir and ultrasonic flowmeter installed a few meters downstream of the camera system. Results show that the discharge-relevant stream features implicitly embedded in RGB information can be effectively recognized and retrieved by CNN to achieve satisfactory performance in discharge measurement. Coupling between CNNs and traditional machine learning models (e.g., support vector machine and random forest) can potentially synthesize individual models' diverse merits and improve generalization performance. Besides, proper image pre-processing and categorization are critical for enhancing the robustness and applicability of the method under environmental disturbances (e.g., weather and vegetation on river banks). Our study highlights the usefulness of deep learning in analyzing complex flow images and tracking flow changes over time, which provides a reliable and flexible alternative apparatus for continuous discharge monitoring of rocky mountain streams.

We apply a local ensemble transform Kalman smoother (LETKS) in combination with the global aerosol–climate model ECHAM–HAM to estimate aerosol emissions from POLDER-3/PARASOL (POLarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances) observations for the year 2006. We assimilate aerosol optical depth at 550 mnm (AOD550), the Ångström exponent at 550 and 865 nm (AE550–865), and single-scattering albedo at 550 nm (SSA550) in order to improve modeled aerosol mass, size and absorption simultaneously. The new global aerosol emissions increase to 1419 Tg yr−1 (+28 %) for dust, 1850 Tg yr−1 (+75 %) for sea salt, 215 Tg yr−1 (+143 %) for organic aerosol and 13.3 Tg yr−1 (+75 %) for black carbon, while the sulfur dioxide emissions increase to 198 Tg yr−1 (+42 %) and the total deposition of sulfates to 293 Tg yr−1 (+39 %). Organic and black carbon emissions are much higher than their prior values from bottom-up inventories, with a stronger increase in biomass burning sources (+193 % and +90 %) than in anthropogenic sources (115 % and 70 %). The evaluation of the experiments with POLDER (assimilated) and AERONET as well as MODIS Dark Target (independent) observations shows a clear improvement compared with the ECHAM–HAM control run. Specifically based on AERONET, the global mean error in AOD550 improves from −0.094 to −0.006, while absorption aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (AAOD550) improves from −0.009 to −0.004 after the assimilation. A smaller improvement is also observed in the AE550–865 mean absolute error (from 0.428 to 0.393), with a considerably higher improvement over isolated island sites at the ocean. The new dust emissions are closer to the ensemble median of AEROCOM I, AEROCOM III and CMIP5 as well as some of the previous assimilation studies. The new sea salt emissions have become closer to the reported emissions from previous studies. Indications of a missing fraction of coarse dust and sea salt particles are discussed. The biomass burning changes (based on POLDER) can be used as alternative biomass burning scaling factors for the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) inventory distinctively estimated for organic carbon (2.93) and black carbon (1.90) instead of the recommended scaling of 3.4 (Kaiser et al., 2012). The estimated emissions are highly sensitive to the relative humidity due to aerosol water uptake, especially in the case of sulfates. We found that ECHAM–HAM, like most of the global climate models (GCMs) that participated in AEROCOM and CMIP6, overestimated the relative humidity compared with ERA5 and as a result the water uptake by aerosols, assuming the kappa values are not underestimated. If we use the ERA5 relative humidity, sulfate emissions must be further increased, as modeled sulfate AOD is lowered. Specifically, over East Asia, the lower AOD can be attributed to the underestimated precipitation and the lack of simulated nitrates in the model.

As an interdisciplinary integration of GIS theory and network technology, Web GIS is of great significance for the comprehensive development of students’ GIS capability. Therefore, this paper targets undergraduate GIS education and presents a novel approach to designing a scalable Web GIS microservices framework, which consists of three essential components: scalable Web GIS microservices using RESTful APIs, scalable geographic data source provider using PostGIS, and scalable Web mapping and symbolization using JavaScript. In the GIS practice, students are expected to utilize Python, PostGIS, and JavaScript programming languages to develop RESTful microservice APIs, access geographic data, and perform mapping and symbolization using Web browser. Furthermore, they are encouraged to adjust the workload of GIS spatial analysis and algorithms based on the needs of the development environment, and implement different GIS applications. Ultimately, by guiding students to use this framework and participate in GIS practice, the aim of improving their GIS capability is achieved. The experimental results show that through the design and practice of the scalable Web GIS microservices framework, the relevant contents of Web GIS, GIS Software Development, GIS Principle, GIS Algorithm, and GeoDatabase courses are integrated. Students participate in GIS practice in various forms, such as open experiments, innovation projects, and professional competitions, which enhance their GIS capability at the undergraduate level and achieve favorable results.

Global models are widely used to simulate biomass burning aerosol (BBA). Exhaustive evaluations on model representation of aerosol distributions and properties are fundamental to assess health and climate impacts of BBA. Here we conducted a comprehensive comparison of Aerosol Comparisons between Observations and Models (AeroCom) project model simulations with satellite observations. A total of 59 runs by 18 models from three AeroCom Phase-III experiments (i.e., biomass burning emissions, CTRL16, and CTRL19) and 14 satellite products of aerosols were used in the study. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm was investigated during the fire season over three key fire regions reflecting different fire dynamics (i.e., deforestation-dominated Amazon, Southern Hemisphere Africa where savannas are the key source of emissions, and boreal forest burning in boreal North America). The 14 satellite products were first evaluated against AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) observations, with large uncertainties found. But these uncertainties had small impacts on the model evaluation that was dominated by modeling bias. Through a comparison with Polarization and Directionality of the Earth’s Reflectances measurements with the Generalized Retrieval of Aerosol and Surface Properties algorithm (POLDER-GRASP), we found that the modeled AOD values were biased by −93 % to 152 %, with most models showing significant underestimations even for the state-of-the-art aerosol modeling techniques (i.e., CTRL19). By scaling up BBA emissions, the negative biases in modeled AOD were significantly mitigated, although it yielded only negligible improvements in the correlation between models and observations, and the spatial and temporal variations in AOD biases did not change much. For models in CTRL16 and CTRL19, the large diversity in modeled AOD was in almost equal measures caused by diversity in emissions, lifetime, and the mass extinction coefficient (MEC). We found that in the AeroCom ensemble, BBA lifetime correlated significantly with particle deposition (as expected) and in turn correlated strongly with precipitation. Additional analysis based on Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aerosol profiles suggested that the altitude of the aerosol layer in the current models was generally too low, which also contributed to the bias in modeled lifetime. Modeled MECs exhibited significant correlations with the Ångström exponent (AE, an indicator of particle size). Comparisons with the POLDER-GRASP-observed AE suggested that the models tended to overestimate the AE (underestimated particle size), indicating a possible underestimation of MECs in models. The hygroscopic growth in most models generally agreed with observations and might not explain the overall underestimation of modeled AOD. Our results imply that current global models contain biases in important aerosol processes for BBA (e.g., emissions, removal, and optical properties) that remain to be addressed in future research.

Robust engineering of non-Hermitian light-matter coupling will be crucial for future optical device design. Here the authors present a photonic system that operates on an exceptional surface, demonstrating chiral and degenerate absorption with super-Lorentzian lineshape.

With the development of big data technology, traditional monitoring methods for the scope of marine pollution can no longer meet the current needs of accuracy and timeliness. In light of the outstanding topic, this study proposed to use big data technology to monitor the scope of marine pollution. The intelligent digital remote sensing technology was used for multi-dimensional monitoring of ocean water quality and completed the calculation of data collected by water quality sensors through the improved big data comparative analysis method. Finally, the scope of pollution monitoring was realized. The results verified that the proposed monitoring method could achieve high-precision and time-sensitive monitoring of the range of marine pollutants, and could identify the basic information of pollutants.

7Be and 210Pb air concentration and depositional flux data provide key information on the origins and movements of air masses, as well as atmospheric deposition processes and residence time of aerosols. After their deposition onto the Earth's surface, they are utilized for tracing soil redistribution processes on land, particle dynamics in aquatic systems, and mixing processes in open ocean. Here we present a global dataset of air concentration and depositional flux measurements of atmospheric 7Be and 210Pb made by a large number of global research communities. Data were collected from published papers between 1955 and early 2020. It includes the annual surface air concentration data of 7Be from 367 sites and 210Pb from 270 sites, the annual depositional flux data of 7Be from 279 sites and 210Pb from 602 sites. When available, appropriate metadata have also been summarized, including geographic location, sampling date, methodology, annual precipitation, and references. The dataset is archived at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4785136 (Zhang et al., 2021) and is freely available for the scientific community. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the scope and nature of this dataset and its potential utility as baseline data for future research.

We investigate spontaneous emission from a quantum emitter located within the mode volume of a microring resonator that features chiral exceptional points. We show that this configuration offers enough degrees of freedom to exhibit a full control to either enhance or suppress the emission process. Particularly, we demonstrate that the Purcell factor can be enhanced by a factor of two beyond its value in an identical microring operating at a diabolic point. Our conclusions, which are derived using a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian formalism, are confirmed by employing full-wave simulations of realistic photonic structures and materials. Our results offer a straightforward route to improve the performance of single photon sources using current photonics technology without the need for building optical resonators with ultrahigh quality factors or nanoscale volumes.

Light trapping and radiation process from linear reciprocal photonic resonators is one of the fundamental processes in optical science and engineering. Recently, the concept of coherent virtual absorption (CVA) of light was introduced and investigated for planar and cylindrical optical structures. The key feature of CVA is that by engineering the time dependence of the excitation waveform, one can temporarily store all the input energy in the optical structure without any leakage. Here we further explore this concept in integrated photonic setups made of microring resonators. By using coupled-mode theory, we derive an analytical expression for CVA in this platform. This in turn allows us to make the connection with the notion of coherent perfect absorption as well as extending our analysis to active resonators (having optical gain). We provide physical insight into this process by using a simple model made of cascaded beam splitters. Importantly, we confirm our results using a full-wave analysis of realistic material systems. Finally, we discuss the limitation on the CVA process due to waveform mismatch and nonlinear effects.

Murine experimental stem cell transplantations require the accurate discrimination and quantification of donor cells from host cells. A Y-chromosome-specific, quantitative real-time PCR (kinetic PCR) protocol for blood-derived DNA was developed. The assay sensitivity was extremely high with accurate detection of only 10 pg (six copies of Y target DNA) in a variable background of female DNA background ranging from 2.5 to 50 ng. The dynamic range of the assay provided accurate results ranging from 2.2 × 10−2% to 100% of male DNA in female background. The kinetic PCR assay can be used in all mouse strains, and a sample size as low as 2.5 ng total DNA is sufficient for analysis. Therefore, kinetic PCR allows engraftment kinetic studies on repeated blood draws of individual animals with no need for sacrifice. Compared to conventional PCR, the assay is much simplified, as neither the accurate adjustment of sample DNA concentration nor a post-reaction analysis procedure is required. The procedure is simple, free of radioactivity, and permits a throughput of 500–600 reactions per day.

Reasonably fabricating ordered structures of ionic polymers is very important for the development of novel functional materials. By combining the ions and liquid cry stalline polymer, we successfully designed and synthesized a series of novel combined main-chain/side-chain ionic liquid crystalline polymer (MCSC-ILCPs) containing imidazolium groups and different counter-anions, poly (2,5-bis{[6-(4-butoxy-4!-imidazolium biphenyl)hexyl]oxycarbonyl}styrene salts) poly(BImBHCS-X) with the following types of counter-anions (Br", BF4", PF6" and TFSI"). Combined technologies confirmed the chemical structures of the monomers and polymers with imidazolium cation and different counter-anions. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized light microscopy (PLM) and one- and two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction (1D and 2D WAXD) results illustrated that the LC structures and the transitions of ordered structures depended on the nature of the counter-anion employed. The polymers with Br" and BF4" counter-anions exhibited smectic A (SmA) LC behavior below the isotropic temperature. The another one, poly(BImBHCS-TFSI) with the large volume of the TFSI" anion destroyed the packing of the LC ordered structure resulting in an amorphous structure. The photophysical properties of the polymers prepared can be adjusted by tuning the ionic interaction of the polymers by switching the counter-anion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoralen plus ultraviolet A radiation (PUVA) therapy is a very important clinical treatment of skin diseases such as vitiligo and psoriasis, but associated with an increased risk of skin photodamage, especially photoaging. In this work, optical coherence tomography (OCT), a novel non-invasive imaging technology, was introduced to investigate in vivo the photodamage induced by PUVA qualitatively and quantitatively. Balb/c mouse dorsal skin was treated with 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP), and then exposed to UVA radiation. OCT images of the tissues were obtained by an OCT system with a 1310 nm central wavelength. Skin thickness and the attenuation coefficient were extracted from the OCT images to analyze the degree of injury to mouse skin. The results demonstrated that PUVA-treated skin showed an increase in skin thickness, and a reduction of attenuation coefficient in the OCT signal compared with the control groups. The data also showed good correlation with the results observed in histological sections using hematoxylin and eosin staining. In conclusion, OCT is a promising tool for photobiological studies aimed at assessing the effect of PUVA therapy in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beta-induced Alfvén eigenmodes (BAEs) during strong tearing modes are investigated on the EAST tokamak systematically, and the relation between the BAE frequencies and plasma parameters such as electron density ne, ion temperature Ti, the profile of safety factor q(ρ) or the intensity of Ḃθ (the width of the magnetic island w) is given in detail during the injection of the power of lower hybrid wave (LHW) (or is also accompanied by the injection of ion cyclotron resonance frequency) comprehensively. All the conditions show that the values of BAE frequencies fBAE α (Te + 7/4Ti)1/2 are in agreement with the generalized fishbone-like dispersion relation, and the activities of the BAEs have a strong interaction with the process of magnetic reconnection. The BAEs are formed during the injection of the power of LHW, and disappear immediately when the power of LHW is turned off on the EAST tokamak. The LHW plasmas or the runaway discharge in Ohmic plasmas can increase the population of fast electrons, which plays a role in the activities of BAEs and a possible excitation mechanism for the BAEs during the strong tearing mode activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the EAST tokamak, asymmetrical ring-like runaway electron beams with energy more than 30MeV and pitch angle about 0.1 were investigated. Those runaway beams carried about 46% of the plasma current and located around the q = 2 rational surface when m/n = 1/1 and m/n = 2/1 MHD modes existed in the plasma. Those runaway beams changed from a hollow to a filled structure during the slow oscillations in the discharge about every 0.2 s, which correlated with a large step-like jump in electron cyclotron emission (ECE) signals, a big spike-like perturbation in Mirnov signals and a large decrease in runaway energy. Between those slow oscillations with large magnitude, fast oscillations with small magnitude also existed about every 0.02 s, which correlated with a small step-like jump in ECE signals, a small spike-like perturbation in Mirnov signals, but no clear decrease in runaway energy and changes in the runaway beam structure. Resonant interactions occurred between runaway electrons and magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, which gave rise to fast pitch angle scattering processes of those resonant runaway electrons, and hence increased the synchrotron radiation. Theoretical calculations of the resonant interaction were given based on a test particle description. Synchrotron radiation of those resonant runaway electrons was increased by about 60% until the end of the resonant interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first plasma discharges were successfully achieved on the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) in 2006. The sawteeth behaviours were observed by means of soft x-ray diagnostics and ECE signals in the EAST. The displacement and radius of the q = 1 surface was studied and compared with the result of equilibrium calculation. The density sawtooth oscillation was also observed by the HCN laser interferometer diagnostics. The structure of the EAST operational region was studied in detail. Plasma performance was obviously improved by the boronization and wall conditioning. It was observed that lower qa and a wider stable operating region is extended by the GDC boronization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many diabetic individuals develop anosmia but the mechanism(s) causing the dysfunction in the olfactory system is (are) unknown. Glial fibrillary acidic protein expression is reduced in diabetic retinopathy and is also reduced, with unknown consequences, in other brain regions of diabetic rats. We used immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting from untreated control and streptozotocin-induced type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetic rats to investigate main olfactory epithelial mitotic rate and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression in the lamina propria of the sensory epithelium and in the olfactory bulb. Numbers of bromodeoxyuridine-positive cells were significantly lower in the diabetic sensory epithelium compared to non-diabetic controls. Immunohistochemical observations suggested a qualitative difference in glial fibrillary acidic protein expression in both regions examined especially in the olfactory bulb external plexiform layer and the lamina propria. Immunoblot analysis confirmed that the diabetic olfactory bulb and lamina propria expressed less glial fibrillary acidic protein compared to the non-diabetic control group. The lower expression levels in the olfactory bulb external plexiform layer suggested by immunohistochemistry do not reflect a change in the number of astrocytes since the numbers of S100B(+) cells were not different between the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutron emission spectroscopy (NES) measurement aimed at providing the information on fast ions induced by auxiliary heating systems at Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), with a liquid scintillation detector is described. It is the first time that the NES diagnostics are employed to probe fast ions induced by neutral beam injection (NBI) at EAST. The time trace of the fusion neutrons, obtained by the liquid scintillation detector, was consistent with the result measured by a standard 235U fission chamber under NBI heating scenario, which verifies the performance of the detector. NUBEAM code is used to determine the fast deuteron velocity distribution using the parametrized plasma profiles as input. The pulse height spectrum of the fusion neutrons was successfully reproduced by combining the simulation of the neutron energy spectrum and the calculation of the detector response functions. The experimental data are also interpreted from a view of weight functions, which illustrate the velocity-space sensitivity of the liquid scintillation detector with a radial line of sight. The results demonstrate the capability of the liquid scintillation detector to contribute to studies on fast-ion physics at EAST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, three-dimensional digital image correlation methods using a single colour camera have been reported. In this study, we propose a simplified system by employing a dichroic filter (DF) to replace the beam splitter and colour filters. The DF can be used to combine two views from different perspectives reflected by two planar mirrors and eliminate their interference. A 3CCD colour camera is then used to capture two different views simultaneously via its blue and red channels. Moreover, the measurement accuracy of the proposed method is higher since the effect of refraction is reduced. Experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. It is shown that the interference between the blue and red views is insignificant. In addition, the measurement accuracy of the proposed method is validated on the rigid body displacement. The experimental results demonstrate that the measurement accuracy of the proposed method is higher compared with the reported methods using a single colour camera. Finally, the proposed method is employed to measure the in- and out-of-plane displacements of a loaded plastic board. The re-projection errors of the proposed method are smaller than those of the reported methods using a single colour camera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of non-Hermitian parametric amplification was recently proposed as a means to achieve an efficient energy conversion throughout the process of nonlinear three wave mixing in the absence of phase matching. Here we investigate this effect in a waveguide coupler arrangement whose characteristics are tailored to introduce passive PT symmetry only for the idler component. By means of analytical solutions and numerical analysis, we demonstrate the utility of these novel schemes and obtain the optimal design conditions for these devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnostics application of fusion reaction measurements on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) has been proved by fusion neutrons during deuterium plasma discharges. In lower hybrid current drive plasmas, fusion neutrons are dominant mainly due to a sufficiently low loop voltage, which suppresses the photo-neutrons caused by runaway electrons. For fixed plasma current and lower hybrid wave (LHW) power, the fusion neutron flux depends on ion density as n_{\rm i}^{(2.27\pm 0.1)} , stronger than a power of two, caused by an increased ion temperature, which is due to an increased electron and ion energy exchange by more frequent collisions at higher ion densities. The fusion neutron flux depends on I_{\rm P}^{(4.37\pm 0.18)} , at fixed LHW power and main ion density, which is mainly due to ion temperature affected by ohmic power and energy confinement time. Finally, the unchanged fusion neutron flux with LHW power indicates little variation in the main ion temperature, which is consistent with direct ion temperature measurements. This is explained by the fact that an increased energy transfer to ions by collisions is almost compensated for by less frequent collisions and decreased energy confinement time at higher LHW powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The vesicular stomatitis virus matrix protein (VSVMP) has been receiving attention as an anticancer agent because of its ability of inducing apoptosis. Materials and methods: Nude mice bearing A2780s and A2780cp ovarian tumors were treated twice weekly with i.v. administration of 50 μg VSVMP/250 μg liposome complex, 50 μg empty plasmid/250 μg liposome complex, 0.9% NaCl solution or weekly with i.p. administration of cisplatin (5 mg/kg) for 3 weeks. Tumor volume and survival time were observed. TUNEL assay and CD34 vessel staining were conducted in tumor tissue. Antiangiogenesis in vivo were determined by sponge assay. Antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing activities of VSVMP in vitro were tested on MS1murine endothelial cells and four human ovarian cancer cell lines: A2780s, A2780cp, HO8910 and COC1. Results: Administration of VSVMP resulted in significant inhibition (87%–98% maximum inhibition relative to controls) in the growth of A2780s and A2780cp tumor xenografts, and prolonged the survival of the treated mice. Complete tumor regression happened in VSVMP-treated mice in both tumor models. These antitumor responses were associated with marked increases in tumor apoptosis and reductions in intratumoral microvessel density. Conclusions: Our data indicate that VSVMP may provide an effective approach to inhibit both cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant human ovarian cancer growth with minimal side-effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The compact neutron emission spectrometer (CNES) having a tangential sightline was installed to observe a significant Doppler shift of the neutron energy due to the high-energy tangential neutral beam (NB) injections in the Large Helical Device (LHD) for understanding of the energy distribution of fast-ion. The CNES is based on a 1-inch diameter and 1-inch height EJ301 liquid scintillator coupled with a conventional 1-inch photomultiplier tube. The histogram of the integrated pulse signal (Q total) during different NBs heating phases measured by the CNES shows that the edge of Q total changes depending on NB directions. Using the simple derivative unfolding technique, the neutron energy spectra were unfolded from the measured Q total histogram. Peaks of the neutron energy shift to 2.0 MeV, 2.42 MeV, and 3.0 MeV according to the injection direction of NBs. The obtained neutron energy is almost consistent with the virgin deuterium-deuterium neutron energy evaluated by the simple two-body kinematics considering the sightline of CNES, NB injection angle, and NB injection energy.

Abstract A middle-sensitivity scintillating fiber detector (hereafter middle Sci-Fi detector) that works at a deuterium-tritium neutron flux of ~105-107 cm−2s−1 was utilized to measure secondary deuterium-tritium neutron emission rates with high temporal resolution at a total neutron emission rate of 1013 to 1015 n/s, where strong magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities were observed in the large helical device deuterium plasma experiments. The gain and angular characteristics of the middle Sci-Fi detector were evaluated in an accelerator-based deuterium-tritium neutron source in the intense 14 MeV neutron source facility at Osaka University. Observation of 1 MeV triton transport due to MHD instability was performed by a middle Sci-Fi detector whose deuterium-tritium neutron counting rate was approximately 20 times higher than that of the conventional Sci-Fi detector. Fusion-born triton transport due to energetic-particle-driven MHD instability was observed using the middle Sci-Fi detector due to its high detection efficiency and high discrimination ability of deuterium-tritium neutrons from the sea of deuterium-deuterium neutrons.

Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequencies (ICRF) heating and Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) can have synergy due to the acceleration of NBI beam ions by ICRF wave fields at their harmonics. To understand the influence of ICRF-NBI synergy on fast ion distribution and plasma performance, dedicated experiments and TRANSP simulations have been carried out on EAST. The simulation results are consistent with the experimental results. They show that the ICRF-NBI synergy not only accelerates the NBI beam ions with energy lower than 80 keV to energy larger than 300 keV, but also generates fusion neutrons with energy larger than 3 MeV. Moreover, ICRF-NBI synergy improves the plasma performance by increasing the poloidal beta, plasma stored energy, core ion temperature, total neutron yield and kinetic pressure. In a typical H-mode plasma with 1.0 MW NBI and 1.5 MW ICRF power, it was observed that ICRF-NBI synergy increases the poloidal beta, plasma stored energy, core ion temperature and neutron yield by ∼35%, 33%, 22% and 80%, respectively. Various parameter scans show that the ICRF-NBI synergetic effects can be enhanced by decreasing the minority ion concentration or the distance between the harmonic resonance and magnetic axis, or by increasing the ICRF heating power or NBI beam energy. Consequently, this leads to a generation of fast ions with higher energy. For instance, the maximum energy of the fast ion tail increases from 300 to 600 keV as n(H) decreases from 5% to 0.1%.

We present the discovery and timing results of four pulsars discovered in a pilot survey at intermediate Galactic latitudes with the Five-hundred Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST). Among these pulsars, two belong to the category of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) with spin periods of less than 20 ms. The other two fall under the classification of “mildly recycled” pulsars, with massive white dwarfs as companions. Remarkably, this small survey, covering an area of 4.7 deg ^2 , led to the discovery of four recycled pulsars. Such success underscores the immense potential of future surveys at intermediate Galactic latitudes. In order to assess the potential yield of MSPs, we conducted population simulations and found that both FAST and Parkes new phased array feed surveys, focusing on intermediate Galactic latitudes, have the capacity to uncover several hundred new MSPs.

Abstract An experimental study on the multiphase flow of heavy oil gas lift was conducted on 18.25 m high vertical tube. Based on the experimental results and the wellbore heat transfer mechanism, a coupling model of wellbore pressure–temperature gradients was presented for the gas lift with light oil injected from the annulus. Moreover, the solution of coupling annulus flow with tubing flow was also established through cyclic iteration. Experimental results showed that gas injection enables heavy oil and light oil to mix rapidly and completely. Evaluation of pressure drop models shows that the error of the Ansari model is approximately 12.12%, by comparison it is the least. A novel method of gas lift assisted with light oil from the annulus was proposed to solve the actual situation wherein heavy oil cannot be easily lifted from the wellbore at Tuyuke Block in Tuha Oilfield. An instance design based on the sensitivity analysis of the gas injection rate and diluting rate was also completed. The instance design shows that the productivity of heavy oil well can be significantly improved using gas lift and blending diluting oil technology. In order to verify the feasibility and effect of gas lift assisted with light oil in heavy oil well, a pilot test was implemented in Tahe Oilfield, Xinjiang, China. The results of pilot test show clearly that the daily production rate increased from 11.6 to 38 t/day, and the ratio of light oil with heavy oil decreased from 11:1 to 4:1. From the above, gas injection can significantly reduce the usage of light oil needed, and gas lift assisted with light oil injected from the bottom hole can significantly enhance the productivity of heavy oil wells.

The effect of long-term exposure to tributyltin (TBT) on energy metabolism and adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) enzymatic system in freshwater teleost was investigated. The impact on the parameters of energy metabolism (the content of glucose (Glu) and lactate (LA), and the activities of hexokinase (HK), pyruvate kinase (PK), and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)) in the muscle tissue, as well as on the ATP enzymatic system (ATP content, Total-ATPase, Na+-K+-ATPase, and Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase) in the gill tissue of common carp was evaluated. Fish were exposed to sublethal concentrations of TBT (75, 0.75, and 7.5 µg/l) for 60 days. Based on the results, long-term exposure to TBT could lead to obvious ATP enzymatic system responses, including the decreased ATP content and Na+-K+-ATPase activity, and the increased activities of Total-ATPase and Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase. Moreover, the parameters of energy metabolism in muscle were also regulated, such as induced indices of the levels of Glu and LA, and the activities of HK and PK, and inhibited indices of LDH activity. Shortly, the measured physiological responses in fish could provide useful information to better understand the mechanisms of TBT-induced bio-toxicity, and could be used as potential biomarkers for monitoring the TBT pollution in the field.

Persistent incidents of food fraud in China have resulted in low levels of consumer trust in the authenticity and safety of food that is domestically produced. We examined the relationship between the concerns of Chinese consumers regarding food fraud, and the role that demonstrating authenticity may play in relieving those concerns.A two-stage mixed method design research design was adopted. First, qualitative research (focus groups n = 7) was conducted in three Chinese cities, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu to explore concerns held by Chinese consumers in relation to food fraud. A subsequent quantitative survey (n = 850) tested hypotheses derived from the qualitative research and theoretical literature regarding the relationship between attitudinal measures (including risk perceptions, social trust, and perceptions of benefit associated with demonstrating authenticity), and behavioral intention to purchase "authentic" European products using structural equation modelling.Chinese consumers perceive food fraud to be a hazard that represents a food safety risk. Food hazard concern was identified to be geographically influenced. Consumers in Chengdu (tier 2 city) possessed higher levels of hazard concern compared to consumers in Beijing and Guangzhou (tier 1). Structural trust (i.e. trust in actors and the governance of the food supply chain) was not a significant predictor of attitude and intention to purchase authenticated food products. Consumers were shown to have developed 'risk-relieving' strategies to compensate for the lack of trust in Chinese food and the dissonance experienced as a consequence of food fraud. Indexical and iconic authenticity cues provided by food manufacturers and regulators were important elements of product evaluations, although geographical differences in their perceived importance were observed.Targeted communication of authenticity assurance measures, including; regulations; enforcement; product testing; and actions taken by industry may improve Chinese consumer trust in the domestic food supply chain and reduce consumer concerns regarding the food safety risks associated with food fraud. To support product differentiation and retain prestige, European food manufactures operating within the Chinese market should recognise regional disparities in consumer risk perceptions regarding food fraud and the importance of personal risk mitigation strategies adopted by Chinese consumers to support the identification of authentic products.