Search

Objective: To translate, cross-culturally adapt and test the reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the Infertility Self-Efficacy scale. Methods: The Infertility Self-Efficacy (ISE) scale was translated into Chinese using forward and backward translations, expert consultation, cognitive interviews and a pilot study. To test the scale's reliability and validity, 515 infertile women in two hospitals were recruited to evaluate the Chinese version of the scale. Content validity was assessed by means of expert consultation. Exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0 and Amos 24.0. Reliability tests of the scale included Cronbach's alpha coefficient, split-half reliability and test-retest reliability. Results: The Chinese version of the ISE scale contains 16 items and one dimension. Content validity of the scale was 0.96. Results of exploratory factor analysis suggested that the one factor model was suitable for the scale, and factor loading of all items was greater than 0.4. Model fitting parameters of confirmatory factor analysis of the ISE scale were χ2/df = 2.710, Root Mean Square Error Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.079, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = 0.042, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.953, and Tucker–Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.939. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the Chinese ISE was 0.980; split-half coefficient was 0.972 and retest reliability was 0.848 (P

Background/Aim: To assess the efficacy and safety of simethicone with or without N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as premedications before gastroscopy. Materials and Methods: We searched EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane library and Web of Science database for randomized clinical controlled trials regarding simethicone ± NAC as oral drinking agents before gastroscopy. Statistical software RevMan5.3 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Ten randomized clinical trials that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were further pooled into a meta-analysis, which included 5,750 patients. The rate of positive findings in simethicone plus NAC group was higher than that in water group (risk ratio [RR] =1.31, 95%CI: 1.12–1.53, P = 0.0006) with high level of evidence. There was no significant difference on the rate of positive findings when comparing simethicone with simethicone plus NAC (RR = 1.02, 95%CI: 0.90–1.16, P = 0.71) and with water (RR = 1.13, 95%CI: 0.82–1.55, P = 0.46), respectively. Simethicone plus NAC showed better total mucosal visibility score than simethicone alone (MD = −0.14 (−0.25, −0.03), P = 0.01) without obvious heterogeneity. Both simethicone plus NAC and simethicone alone offer more benefit than water. The procedure time in simethicone group was shorter than that in water group (MD = −1.23 (−1.51, −0.96), P < 0.00001). Regarding adverse events, there was no significant difference in simethicone and water group (RR = 0.45, 95%CI: 0.2–1.0, P = 0.05, I2 = 0%). Conclusions: As premedication of gastroscopy, simethicone plus NAC offers more benefit on positive findings and total mucosal visibility score.

Spodoptera frugiperda is a newly introduced insect in China. The symbiotic bacteria of this pest are involved in their host adaptation to survive in this new environment. We isolated two enteric bacteria of S. frugiperda, Staphylococcus sciuri and Enterobacter cloacae, from the gut of the fourth instar larvae to identify their functions. The biological effects of S. sciuri and E. cloacae on S. frugiperda were studied by adding different concentrations of the bacteria into artificial food, or adding the bacteria into different foods. The survival rate and larval body weight of S. frugiperda larvae (days 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18) exposed to different concentrations (1.0 × 106 colony-forming units [cfu]/cm3 or 1.0 × 107 cfu/cm3) of S. sciuri or E. cloacae significantly decreased compared with the control. There were no significant differences in the pupation rate, eclosion rate, or developmental duration of S. frugiperda fed 1.0 × 106 cfu/cm3 and 1.0 × 107 cfu/cm3 S. sciuri, compared with control S. frugiperda. However, the pupation and eclosion rates of S. frugiperda exposed to E. cloacae at 1.0 × 106 cfu/cm3 and 1.0 × 107 cfu/cm3 significantly decreased, and the developmental duration was significantly prolonged (8.75% and 13.85% increase); these changes were more apparent upon exposure to E. cloacae at 1.0 × 107 cfu/cm3. However, the body weights of larvae with enteric bacteria were significantly higher than the weights of larvae in the axenic group when all tested insects were supplied with artificial food lacking yeast, particularly S. sciuri (P < 0.001). The results confirmed that the enteric bacteria S. sciuri and E. cloacae were not conducive to the growth and development of S. frugiperda in high concentrations; however, they had positive effects when the insects were fed poor-quality food. These results provide a reference for studying insect invasion, host adaptation, and outbreak mechanisms; they also provide theoretical support for effective biological control of S. frugiperda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate high-fidelity multiple beam splitting in Hermitian and non-Hermitian (NH) symmetric coupled waveguides (WGs) with one input and 2  N output WG channels. In Hermitian systems, we realize adiabatically light splitting in resonant case based on the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage and arbitrary proportion from the middle WG to outer WGs in propagation coefficients mismatch case using shortcuts to adiabaticity (STA) technique. In NH systems with even WGs being dissipative, the compact and robust beam splitting can be achieved by eliminating the non-adiabatic coupling via the NH STA method. We further verify the feasibility of our theoretical predictions by means of the beam propagation method. The suggested multiple beam splitters open new opportunities for the realization of on-chip high-bandwidth photonics with high fidelity in short distances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage allows robust transfer between two ends of a three-state quantum system and has been employed to transfer weakly bound Feshbach molecules into their deeply bound rovibrational ground state. However, the efficient transfer remains to be explored. Here we propose a possible alternative route, based on a recently developed non-Hermitian shortcut to adiabaticity method. It is able to realize single-step transfer efficiencies up to 100% even in the presence of a decaying excited level, surpassing all the previous methods. We also prove that our scheme is robust against the external field parameter fluctuations and is expected to be applicable for abundant molecular species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum batteries are energy storage or extraction devices in a quantum system. Here, we present a closed-loop quantum battery by utilizing a circularly coupled three-state quantum system, and investigate its charging dynamics. The charging performance is greatly improved due to the existence of the third field in the system to form a closed-contour interaction. Through appropriately selecting the third control field, the maximum average power can be increased, even far beyond the ideal maximum power value of non-closed-loop three-level quantum battery. We study the effect of the global driving-field phase on the charging process and find that both the maximum extractable work ("ergotropy") and the charging power vary periodically under different control fields, with a period of. Possible experimental implementation in nitrogen-vacancy spin is discussed as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the Demkov–Kunike transition in a nonlinear two-level system. We find that nonlinearity can dramatically affect the transition dynamics. We show the asymmetry of transition probability in different initial modes. For the weak interaction, the transition probability could be quickly stabilized at 100% in the initial state ψ1 and could be optionally obtained from zero to 100% over a very wide range of external parameters in the initial state ψ2. For the strong interaction, the quantum transition of the two states could be completely blocked. In the adiabatic case, for different initial modes we analyze the asymmetry of transition probability by the eigenenergy level structure of the system. We also show the influence of static detuning on transition probability. Possible applications of our theory to actual physical systems are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study coherent control of a spin-orbit-coupled single atom in a double-well potential. The manipulation is achieved by applying an additional periodic driven magnetic field gradient to generate the spin-dependent force. Therefore, the strength of the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) can be continuously tuned by adjusting the driving amplitude. The atom may occupy two possible spin states which are coupled by varying fields. We show that the SOC allows controlling the interwell tunneling of the atom with or without spin-flipping and may lead to complete suppression of the tunneling at specific values of the coupling strength. By selecting the driving parameters, we propose a switchlike scheme for controlling the interwell tunneling and spin-flipping of the atom in a double-well potential. Graphical abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We investigate the Landau–Zener transition (LZT) of a two-level system with two types of nonlinearity: particle interaction and nonlinear time-dependent energy sweep, both numerically and analytically. Due to the interplay between these two types of nonlinearity, many interesting phenomena in different parameter regions occur, including breakdown of adiabaticity, fade-out of interference phenomenon, and asymmetry of transition probability. The potential experimental observation of transition dynamics in this system is suggested. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• An ultracold atom-molecule conversion model in a closed-loop three-level system is proposed. • The atom-molecule conversion dynamics in the system is investigated. • The distribution of population can be achieved with arbitrary proportion on excited molecular • state and ground molecular state by adjusting pulse amplitudes of the external fields properly. • The effects of time delay, pulse width and global phase on the conversion process are discussed. The production of ultracold molecules is one of the most exciting topics in the field of ultracold physics, which has important theoretical values and broad application prospects. We propose an ultracold atom-molecule conversion model in a closed-loop three-level system based on three available transitions, in which the population dynamics depends on three coupling fields and global phase. We investigate the atom-molecule conversion dynamics in the closed-loop three-level system. We show the distribution of population on excited molecular state and ground molecular state with arbitrary proportion can be achieved by adjusting pulse amplitudes of the external fields properly. We also explore the effects of time delay, pulse width and global phase on the conversion process. The results show that, by tuning these parameters, the stable atom-molecule conversion with arbitrary proportion can be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate an accurate control of quantum transition dynamics in a nonlinear two-level system with interparticle interaction. We design an external field pulse train to manipulate a quantum system from an initial state to a desired final state via adjusting the durations of each field pulse. We obtain the analytic expressions for the durations of each field pulse, which depend on the interparticle interactions, the coupling strength, the amplitude of the external field, and the desired transition probability value of the final state. We show the transition probability can be controlled accurately to any desired value, including the arbitrary superposition state and complete population transfer. With the aid of phase space approach and energy conservation law, an theoretical interpretation of such control technique is given. We also discuss the superiority of the control technique by calculating the infidelity of control process. • The accurate control of quantum transition dynamics in a nonlinear two-level system with interparticle interaction is investigated. • The external field pulse train is designed to manipulate a quantum system from an initial state to a desired final state (including the arbitrary superposition state and complete population transfer). • The analytic expressions of the durations of each field pulse are obtained. • The physical mechanism and the superiority of the control scheme are discussed with the help of the phase portraits of Hamiltonian and the infidelity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the tunneling dynamics of the Fermi gases in an optical lattice in the Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) regime. The three critical scattering lengths and the system energies are found in different cases of Josephson oscillation (JO), oscillating-phase-type self-trapping (OPTST), running-phase-type self-trapping (RPTST), and self-trapping (ST). It is found that the s-wave scattering lengths have a crucial role on the tunneling dynamics. By adjusting the scattering length in the adiabatic condition, the transition probability changes with the adiabatic periodicity and a rectangular periodic pattern emerges. The periodicity of the rectangular wave depends on the system parameters such as the periodicity of the adjustable parameter, the s-wave scattering length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We extend the complexity entropy causality plane (CECP) to propose a multi-scale complexity entropy causality plane (MS-CECP) and further use the proposed method to discriminate the deterministic characteristics of different oil-in-water flows. We first take several typical time series for example to investigate the characteristic of the MS-CECP and find that the MS-CECP not only describes the continuous loss of dynamical structure with the increase of scale, but also reflects the determinacy of the system. Then we calculate the MS-CECP for the conductance fluctuating signals measured from oil—water two-phase flow loop test facility. The results indicate that the MS-CECP could be an intrinsic measure for indicating oil-in-water two-phase flow structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-scale weighted complexity entropy causality plane (MS-WCECP) is proposed for characterizing the physical structure of complex system. Firstly we use the method to investigate typical nonlinear time series. Compared with the multi-scale complexity entropy causality plane (MS-CECP), the MS-WCECP can not only uncover the dynamic information loss of complex system with the increase of scale, but also can characterize the complexity of nonlinear dynamic system. In particular, the algorithm of MS-WCECP performs strong anti-noise ability. Then we calculate the MS-WCECP for the conductance fluctuating signals measured from vertical upward gas–liquid two-phase flow experiments in a small diameter pipe, the results demonstrate that the MS-WCECP is a useful approach for exploring the stability and complexity in gas–liquid two-phase flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]