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Nonadiabatic holonomic gates provide a promising way to realize high-fidelity quantum gates because of their robustness and high-speed implementation. Compared with quantum computation that consists of many nonadiabatic holonomic one-qubit and two-qubit gates, the nonadiabatic holonomic multiqubit gate, which can reduce the number of quantum gates, is more efficient to construct simpler and faster complicated quantum computation. We propose the simplest scheme to realize nonadiabatic holonomic three-qubit controlled gates. On the one hand, the parameters we set to realize the three-qubit controlled gates are all time independent, which makes it easy to control and operate the quantum systems. On the other hand, our scheme avoids the combination of the elementary gates and realizes the three-qubit controlled gates only by one-shot implementation.

Recently metastable β titanium alloys has attracted much attention due to their important application in biomaterials. In this study, the defects and mechanical properties of bcc disordered β Ti-alloys are investigated theoretically by first-principles method. The elastic moduli, generalized stacking fault energies, twinnability in β Ti-V alloys were surveyed by calculations with virtual crystal approximation. The results show that the structural stability and generalized stacking fault energy decrease with reducing valence electron number (e/a) in the β Titanium alloys. Both twinning formation energies and twinning migration energies decrease with reducing electron valance numbers, which suggests that the energy barrier for twinning formation deceases with lower structural stability. The twins in the metastable Ti-25 at.%V alloy can form near the crack tip or triggered by the high local stress during the nucleation. As the twin is thickened, the required local stress is also greatly reduced and it can grow away from the crack tip for metastable titanium alloys. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that twins are more easily observed in Ti-V alloys with relatively low electron concentrations, which confirms the theoretical conclusion that the lower the electron concentration, the easier the twin formation.

In recent years, men who have sex with men (MSM) constitute a major group of HIV transmission in China. High primary drug-resistance (PDR) rate in MSM also represents a serious challenge for the Chinese antiretroviral therapy (ART) program. To assess the efficiency of ART in controlling HIV/AIDS infection among MSM, we developed a compartmental model for the annually reported HIV/AIDS MSM from 2007 to 2019 in the Zhejiang Province of China. R0 was 2.3946 (95% CI (2.2961–2.4881)). We predict that 90% of diagnosed HIV/AIDS individuals will have received treatment till 2020, while the proportion of the diagnosed remains as low as 40%. Even when the proportion of the diagnosed reaches 90%, R0 is still larger than the level of AIDS epidemic elimination. ART can effectively control the spread of HIV, even in the presence of drug resistance. The 90-90-90 strategy alone may not eliminate the HIV epidemic in Chinese MSM. Behavioural and biologic interventions are the most effective interventions to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic among MSM.

Background Primary malignancies arising in the external auditory canal (EAC) are rare and usually are treated surgically. We review techniques to reconstruct the EAC following ablative surgery, and introduce a rarely utilized tragal skin flap which has particular advantages for reconstruction of limited anterior EAC defects. Methods The terms “tragal flap”, “external auditory canal”, “preauricular tragal flap”, “reconstructive techniques” were searched on PubMed and Google Scholar. Results Our review identified one description of a tragal flap to reconstruct the EAC following resection of a malignancy. We add an additional case of a preauricular tragal flap to reconstruct the anterior EAC following resection of a recurrent basal cell carcinoma located in the EAC that led to a circumferential defect. Conclusion There are several surgical techniques that can be utilized to reconstruct the EAC. We describe a novel tragal flap used to reconstruct the anterior EAC following resection of a recurrent tumor.

Background Pharyngoesophageal stenosis (PES) is a serious complication that substantially impacts functional outcomes and quality of life (QOL) for up to a third of head and neck cancer patients who undergo radiotherapy. Dysphagia is often multifactorial in nature and is a devastating complication of treatment that impacts patients' QOL, general health and overall wellbeing. The authors detail the clinical presentation, risk factors, imaging characteristics, preventive measures, and multimodality treatment options for PES. Methods The authors present a comprehensive management algorithm for PES, including treatment by dilation, stenting, spray cryotherapy and dilation, and reconstructive treatment options utilizing different pedicled and free flaps. Results The authors advocate for a thorough assessment of the extent and degree of pharyngoesophageal involvement of PES to determine the optimal management strategy. Conclusions The development of post treatment dysphagia requires appropriate imaging and biopsy, when indicated, to rule out the presence of persistent/recurrent cancer. Multidisciplinary management by a team of physicians well-versed in the range of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions available for PES is critical to its successful management.

HIV molecular network is a recently reported method for studying the transmission characteristics of HIV-infected people. Countries have used this method to conduct a large number of researches on transmission relations, transmission hotspots and epidemic surveillance for the purpose of providing evidence for precise AIDS intervention and control. At present, there are three major methods for constructing molecular networks in the world, i.e. genetic distance method based on pairwise alignment, phylogenetic node support method, and joint parameter method based on the two methods. This paper reviews the progress of the three methods for constructing HIV molecular network to study the transmission characteristics of HIV-infected patients, in order to provide data support for the prevention and control of HIV. Since the emergence of the molecular network method, Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Sichuan and other provinces in China have reported relevant research results using molecular network analysis, which provided scientific data for further precise AIDS prevention and control. Recent international studies have also predicted that molecular network based transmission cluster detection is expected to become a new method to stop AIDS epidemic.HIV分子网络是近期被广泛报道的一种研究HIV感染者传播特征的方法，各国利用此方法在传播关系、传播热点、疫情监控等方面进行了大量的研究，有望为实现精确干预和防控提供依据。目前国际上主要报道有3种构建分子网络的方法：基于两两比对基因距离法、基于系统进化树节点校验值法、基于两者联合参数法。本文综述3种构建HIV分子网络方法研究HIV感染者传播特征的相关进展，以期为应用于指导防控HIV提供数据支撑。自分子网络方法出现以来，我国北京市、上海市、浙江省、四川省等陆续报道了应用分子网络方法分析的相关研究结果，为进一步开展精准防控提供了科学数据。近期国际上相关研究也预测基于分子网络的传播簇检测有望成为终结艾滋病流行的一种新方法。.

Using proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1, collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and 2018, a new narrow charmonium state, the X(3842) resonance, is observed in the decay modes$$ \mathrm{X}(3842)\to {D}^0{\overline{D}}^0 $$X3842→D0D¯0and X(3842) →D+D−. The mass and the natural width of this state are measured to be$$ \begin{array}{l}{m}_{X(3842)}=3842.71\pm 0.16\pm 0.12\ MeV/{c}^2,\hfill \\ {}{\varGamma}_{X(3842)}=2.79\pm 0.51\pm 0.35\ MeV,\hfill \end{array} $$mX3842=3842.71±0.16±0.12MeV/c2,ΓX3842=2.79±0.51±0.35MeV,where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The observed mass and narrow natural width suggest the interpretation of the new state as the unobserved (spin-3ψ313D3) charmonium state.In addition, prompt hadroproduction of theψ(3770) andχ2(3930) states is observed for the first time, and the parameters of these states are measured to be$$ \begin{array}{l}{m}_{\psi (3770)}=3778.1\pm 0.7\pm 0.6\ MeV/{c}^2,\hfill \\ {}{m}_{\chi_2(3930)}=3921.9\pm 0.6\pm 0.2\ MeV/{c}^2,\hfill \\ {}{\varGamma}_{\chi_2(3930)}=36.6 \pm 1.9 \pm 0.9\ MeV,\hfill \end{array} $$mψ3770=3778.1±0.7±0.6MeV/c2,mχ23930=3921.9±0.6±0.2MeV/c2,Γχ23930=36.6±1.9±0.9MeV,where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.

A search for the Ξ cc + + $$ {\Xi}_{cc}^{++} $$ baryon through the Ξ cc + + $$ {\Xi}_{cc}^{++} $$ → D + pK − π + decay is performed with a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.7 fb −1 recorded by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No significant signal is observed in the mass range from the kinematic threshold of the decay to 3800 MeV/c 2. An upper limit is set on the ratio of branching fractions ℛ = ℬ Ξ cc + + → D + pK − π + ℬ Ξ cc + + → Λ c + K − π + π + $$ \mathrm{\mathcal{R}}=\frac{\mathrm{\mathcal{B}}\left({\Xi}_{cc}^{++}\to {D}^{+}{pK}^{-}{\pi}^{+}\right)}{\mathrm{\mathcal{B}}\left({\Xi}_{cc}^{++}\to {\Lambda}_c^{+}{K}^{-}{\pi}^{+}{\pi}^{+}\right)} $$ with ℛ < 1.7 (2.1) × 10 −2 at the 90% (95%) confidence level at the known mass of the Ξ cc + + $$ {\Xi}_{cc}^{++} $$ state.

To explore the correlation of the lymphotoxin alpha (LTα) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) gene polymorphisms with childhood asthma.A total of 102 asthma children (observation group) and 80 healthy children (control group) were enrolled. The information was collected via questionnaires and the polymorphisms of LTα rs2844484 and NQO1 rs2917666 were examined with the TaqMan-MGB probe.Observation group had higher constituent ratios of contact with animal furs, personal history of infection, personal history of allergy, familial infection history and familial allergic history than those of control group (p0.05). However, there were no differences in age, sex, passive smoking, purchase of new furniture and mask wearing between the two groups (p0.05). The frequency of LTα rs2844484 genotype AA was significantly higher than that of genotype AG and GG (p0.01), and NQO1 rs2917666 genotype CC showed notably higher frequency than that of genotype CG and GG (p0.05). The frequency of LTα rs2844484 A allele was significantly higher than that of G allele (p0.01), while NQO1 rs2917666 C allele had remarkably higher frequency than G allele (p0.05). The comparisons of the recessive and additive modes revealed differences between the two groups (p0.05). However, we did not observe significant difference in dominant mode between the two groups (p0.05).The risk factors for childhood asthma include the contact with animal furs, personal history of infection, personal history of allergy, familial infection history and familial allergic history. Polymorphisms of LTα and NQO1 genes are correlated with childhood asthma.

Direct radiometric comparison-based change detection methods have been widely used for detecting land cover change areas. However, the traditional methods are usually developed by using a single change index, which may cause omission or commission of land cover change. To address this challenge, we propose a change difference map fusion-based land cover change detection approach. First, operators of change vector analysis (CVA) and spectral gradient difference (SGD) are used for constructing change difference map, respectively. Second, image product weighted fusion method is introduced to construct a comprehensive change difference map. Finally, the expectation maximization algorithm and Bayesian rule with minimum error rate are applied to get the change/unchanged area. Experimental results of Landsat5 TM in 2010 and Landsat8 OLI in 2015 in two test areas are conducted. The experimental results show that accuracy of the proposed method is superior to the traditional change detection methods.

The impacts of thiamin and pyridoxine along with YAN on alcoholic fermentation and hydrogen sulphide production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae were studied. Using a synthetic grape juice medium, three fermentation trials were conducted; (i) 2 × 3 factorial design with thiamin (0, 0·2, or 0·5 mg l

冠状动脉旁路移植术动脉桥的临床效果优于大隐静脉，而多支动脉桥具有围手术期安全、心脏再血管化低、远期生存率好等优点，已成为冠状动脉旁路移植术的主要趋势，但我国使用率低。本文对一些亟需解决的临床热点问题进行探讨，以期促进多支动脉桥推广应用。.

Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii (Mast.) Makino, known as Chinese lantern, belonging to Solanaceae, is cultivated for its fruits of medicinal value in East Asia (4). Since July 2010, a powdery mildew has been continuously observed on this plant in Shenyang City in northeastern China. More than 90% of the plants in a garden were affected. Symptoms first appeared as circular to irregular white patches, which progressed to abundant mycelial growth on both sides of leaves and young stems. In the middle of August, chasmothecia were formed abundantly, especially on the lower leaf surface. Voucher specimens were deposited in the herbarium of Qingdao Agricultural University (HMQAU10014, 12047, and 12144). Conidiophores produced 2 to 5 conidia in chains with a sinuate outline, followed by 2 to 3 cells. Foot-cells of conidiophores were straight and 46 to 65 × 9 to 11 μm. Conidia were ellipsoid to barrel-shaped, 26 to 32 × 13 to 15.5 μm, lacked distinct fibrosin bodies, and produced germ tubes on the subterminal position. Chasmothecia were amphigenous, also cauligenous, 100 to 140 μm across, and contained 10 to 25 asci. Appendages were mycelioid, 0.5 to 4 times as long as the chasmothecial diameter, and 1- to 3-septate. Asci were short-stalked, 45 to 64 × 26 to 34 μm, and contained two ascospores of 18 to 25 × 12.5 to 15 μm. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA was amplified (3) and sequenced. The resulting 600-bp sequence was deposited in GenBank (Accession No. KC488260). A GenBank BLAST search of complete ITS sequence showed 100% identity with that of Golovinomyces orontii on P. alkekengi var. franchetii (AB077647 ex Japan) and >99% similarity with those of G. magnicellulatus on Phlox paniculata (AB077621 ex Japan, AF011303 ex the United States, and GU945756 and GU945757 ex Korea). G. orontii is currently confined to the Golovinomyces isolates on Cichorioideae (1). On the basis of the morphological characteristics and ITS sequence data, the fungus was identified as G. magnicellulatus var. magnicellulatus (U. Braun) V.P. Heluta (1). It was already noted that Golovinomyces isolates on Physalis and Phlox are phylogenetically close each other (3). A pathogenicity test was conducted by gently pressing a diseased leaf onto leaves of five healthy Chinese lanterns. Five non-inoculated plants served as controls. Inoculated plants developed symptoms after 8 days, whereas the control plants remained symptomless. The fungus present on the inoculated plants was morphologically identical to that originally observed on diseased plants, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Powdery mildews of Chinese lantern associated with Golovinomyces species have been known in Korea and Japan (2). A Korean material of Golovinomyces sp. on P. alkekengi var. franchetii was identified as G. magnicellulatus var. magnicellulatus based on morphological characteristics and 100% ITS sequence identity with a Chinese isolate (Shin, unpublished data). To our knowledge, this is the first report of powdery mildew caused by G. magnicellulatus var. magnicellulatus on Chinese lantern in China. References: (1) U. Braun and R. T. A. Cook. Taxonomic Manual of the Erysiphales (Powdery Mildews), CBS Biodiversity Series No.11. CBS, Utrecht, 2012. (2) D. F. Farr and A. Y. Rossman. Fungal Databases. Syst. Mycol. Microbiol. Lab., Online publication, ARS, USDA, retrieved March 22, 2013. (3) S. Matsuda and S. Takamatsu. Mol. Phylogen. Evol. 27:314, 2003. (4) Y. Zheng et al. Phytochem. Anal. 23:337, 2012.

Amauroderma s.lat. has been defined mainly by the morphological features of non-truncate and double-walled basidiospores with a distinctly ornamented endospore wall. In this work, taxonomic and phylogenetic studies on species of Amauroderma s.lat. are carried out by morphological examination together with ultrastructural observations, and molecular phylogenetic analyses of multiple loci including the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS), the large subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (nLSU), the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB1) and the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2), the translation elongation factor 1-α gene (TEF) and the β-tubulin gene (TUB). The results demonstrate that species of Ganodermataceae formed ten clades. Species previously placed in Amauroderma s.lat. are divided into four clades: Amauroderma s.str., Foraminispora, Furtadoa and a new genus Sanguinoderma. The classification of Amauroderma s.lat. is thus revised, six new species are described and illustrated, and eight new combinations are proposed. SEM micrographs of basidiospores of Foraminispora and Sanguinoderma are provided, and the importance of SEM in delimitation of taxa in this study is briefly discussed. Keys to species of Amauroderma s.str., Foraminispora, Furtadoa, and Sanguinoderma are also provided.

Using first-principles supercell calculation, we studied the magnetism-induced effect in Ni-rich NiAl alloys with X=Mn/Cr/Fe/Co additions. The critical stress to activate dislocations was estimated and it decreases with X additions in magnetic Ni(Al,X) alloys. The magnetic additions reduce the {110} generalized stacking fault energies (γGSF) but increase the {110} γGSF of Ni(Al,X) compared to Ni-rich NiAl alloys. Magnetism plays a clear role in the brittleness of these alloys and shows linear relationships with several material properties.

The present research envisages the investigation of the optimized semi-solid process parameters of the Al-5Zn-3Mg-2Cu alloy. The effects of remelting temperature and holding time on the microstructure and mechanical properties of modified Al-5Zn-3Mg-2Cu alloy were studied by the recrystallization and partial remelting (RAP) process. The results reveal that with an increase in the semi-solid holding temperature, there was an increase in the average grain size of the Al-5Zn-3Mg-2Cu alloy, but when the temperature was increased to 635°C, the grain roundness decreased owing to the grain coalescence and growth. After holding at 635°C for 32 min, the grains were partially transformed into dendrites. Further, with the prolongation of the holding time, the grain size of alloy gradually grew and the roundness increased, and after holding 32 min at 625°C, the grain roundness began to decrease. The optimum semi-solid process parameters were: 615°C × 32 min and 625°C × 16 min. The Al-5Zn-3Mg-2Cu alloy parts were prepared by thixoforming process. Under the conditions of 615°C × 32 min and 625°C × 16 min, the parts were formed completely and the surface of the parts was smooth and clean. Under the condition of holding 32 min at 615°C, the tensile strength and elongation at the break of the parts correspondingly reached 576 MPa and 9.5% respectively, while they reached 589 MPa and 11%, respectively under the condition of holding 16 min at 625°C.

Nonadiabatic holonomic quantum computation has received increasing attention due to its robustness against control errors as well as high-speed realization. Several schemes of its implementation have been put forward based on various physical systems, each of which has some particular merits. In this paper, we put forward an alternative scheme of nonadiabatic holonomic quantum computation, in which a universal set of quantum gates is realized based on Rydberg superatoms. A Rydberg superatom is a mesoscopic atomic ensemble that allows for only a single Rydberg excitation shared by many atoms within a blockade radius and can be used to generate the collective states to encode the qubits. In our scheme, the qubit is encoded into two collective ground states of Rydberg superatoms and the interaction between two long-range Rydberg superatoms is mediated by a microwave cavity with the aid of two additional collective Rydberg states. Different from the previous schemes, which are based on the systems in the microscope scale, the present scheme is based on atomic ensembles in the mesoscopic scale. Besides the common merits of nonadiabatic holonomic quantum computation such as the robustness and the speediness, the Rydberg-superatom-based scheme has the following particular merits: the long coherence time of Rydberg states and the operability of the mesoscopic systems.

ABSTRACT: Soft soils may pose many challenges to construction of roadway embankments, such as low bearing capacity, excessive settlement, and slope instability. A combined method involving the use of deep mixed (DM) columns and prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) was proposed to reinforce the soft soils. In the application of the combined method, the DM column is usually shorter than the PVD. To obtain an analytical solution of the composite foundation with short DM columns and long PVDs, the drainage system was converted into a cylindrical drain wall with equivalent properties, and only the radial drainage was considered. An axi-symmetric unit cell was established and the solution of average degree of consolidation was derived. The analytical solution was verified by comparisons with the results computed by three-dimensional finite element analyses. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the influence of diameter of DM column, moduli of DM column and soft soil, permeability of DM column, soft soil and smear zone, and improvement depth of DM column on the soil consolidation and some recommendations were proposed for its practical application. Based on the proposed solution a design chart was developed which can be used to easily obtain the degree of consolidation for soft soil improved by the combined method. The proposed design method was applied to a case history of an embankment on soft soil with short DM columns and long PVDs. Good agreement was found between the predicted average degree of consolidation and the field data.

The coarsening and hardening behaviors of Cu-rich precipitates in Super304H austenitic steel aged at 923 K, 973 K, and 1023 K (650 °C, 700 °C, and 750 °C), respectively, have been investigated through measuring the particle size by transmission electron microscopy and microhardness. The results showed the Cu-rich precipitates have a cubic-to-cubic crystallographic relationship and coherent interface with the austenitic matrix during long-time aging, and that the coarsening behavior of the Cu-rich particles can be predicted with the help of the Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner theory. The activation energy for coarsening of the Cu-rich precipitates was evaluated to be 212 ± 3 kJ/mol. The coarsening of Cu-rich precipitates is controlled mainly by the volume diffusion of copper atoms in the austenitic matrix. The contributions to the maximum microhardness occurring at different aging temperatures from precipitation strengthening range from about 17 to 25 pct. The strengthening of the Cu-rich precipitates arises mainly from the coherency strain and partially from stacking-fault strengthening.

SiC/Gr/Al composites with the graphite particle size of 1, 6 and 20 μm were fabricated by squeeze casting technology and the effects of graphite particles on machinability were investigated. Results show that with increasing size of graphite particles, the tool wear has very little change, but the cutting force decrease noticeably. Compared to SiC/Al composite, the cutting forces increase steadily with increasing the cutting speed during machining SiC/Gr/Al composite, the tool life is prolonged 42 and 59%, respectively, at speed of 20 and 30 m min− 1 when machining SiC/Gr(6 μm)/Al composite. It is a result of the solid lubrication of graphite particle preventing for growth of adhesive wear.

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) accounts for less than 2% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas. We identified 107 cases diagnosed with SMZL between 1985 and 2012 from the British Columbia Cancer Agency Centre for Lymphoid Cancer and Lymphoma Pathology Databases. Patient characteristics were: median age 67 years (range 30-88), male 40%, stage IV 98%, splenomegaly 93%, bone marrow involvement 96%, peripheral blood involvement 87%. As initial treatment, 52 underwent splenectomy (10 with chemotherapy), 38 chemotherapy alone (21 chemoimmunotherapy containing rituximab, 1 rituximab alone), two antivirals for hepatitis C, and 15 were only observed. The 10-year overall survival for first-line splenectomy versus chemotherapy was 61% and 42%, respectively [Hazard Ratio (HR) 0·48, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·26-0·88, P = 0·017]. The 10-year failure-free survival (FFS) after first-line splenectomy vs chemotherapy was 39% and 14%, respectively (HR 0·48, 95% CI 0·28-0·80, P = 0·004). Among the 38 patients who received first-line chemotherapy, FFS was similar between those receiving rituximab (n = 22) and those who did not (n = 16) (HR 0·64, 95% CI 0·31-1·34, P = 0·238). Fifteen patients transformed to aggressive lymphoma with median time to transformation of 3·5 years (range 6 months to 12 years) and the 10-year transformation rate was 18%. In conclusion, splenectomy remains a reasonable treatment for patients with SMZL.

Background: This study aimed to assess and compare the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in older people who lived with different living mode, including staying at home with spouse or child, staying at home alone and staying in nursing home. Methods: Data were collected by cross-sectional survey in 2013. The sample included 95 elderly people who were staying at home with spouse or child, 43 elderly people at home alone and 93 elderly people in nursing home. Results: The three groups were similar according to gender, education and existence of chronic disease. The univariate analysis showed that physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores of HRQOL were lower in those living in nursing home than those living in their own homes. The scores of PCS and MCS for the old elderly people (over 75 years old) were lower compared to the young elderly people (60-74 years old). The scores of PCS and MCS for elderly people who had part or incapacity of self-care ability were lower compared to complete self-care ability. There was a positive correlation between the number of weekly physical exercise and PCS and MCS. The main influential factors for PCS were physical exercise, age and self-care ability, physical exercise also affected MCS based on multiple linear regression analysis. Conclusion: These data suggest that PCS and MCS are not lower in elderly assisted living in nursing home compared to staying at home by multiple statistical analyses. HRQOL may be affected by physical exercise.

The partitioning and transmutation strategy has increasingly attracted interest for the safe treatment and disposal of high level liquid waste, in which the partitioning of high level liquid waste is one of the critical technical issues. An improved total partitioning process, including a tri-alkylphosphine oxide process for the removal of actinides, a crown ether strontium extraction process for the removal of strontium, and a calixcrown ether cesium extraction process for the removal of cesium, has been developed to treat Chinese high level liquid waste. A test system containing 72-stage 10-mm-diam annular centrifugal contactors, a remote sampling system, a rotor speed acquisition-monitoring system, a feeding system, and a video camera-surveillance system was successfully developed to carry out the hot test for verifying the improved total partitioning process. The test system has been successfully used in a 160 hour hot test using genuine high level liquid waste. During the hot test, the test system was stable, which demonstrated it was reliable for the hot test of the high level liquid waste partitioning.

Here, a novel carrier fabricated by the interaction of negatively charged heparin and positively charged PEI and Ca2+ was investigated to deliver AIB1 siRNA into breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. Ca2+/PEI/heparin nanoparticles were prepared by simply mixing heparin, PEI and CaCl2 aqueous solution. Heparin in the Ca2+/PEI/heparin nanoparticles (40.9% heparin, w/w) decreased the cytotoxicity of PEI. According to the MTT assay, Ca2+/PEI/heparin NPs are superior to commercial Lipofectamine 2000 considering the safety. The Ca2+/PEI/heparin NPs are able to deliver siAIB1 into breast cancer cells as effectively as Lipofectamine 2000 both in vitro and in vivo. The in vivo experiment also indicated that the NF-κB/BCL-2 signal pathway might be the downstream signal pathway of AIB1 in regulating breast cancer proliferation and progression.

Atmospheric ammonia in animal housing is reported to have adverse effects on livestock performance and animal health. Previous experiments have found that 75 ppm ammonia reduced the production performance and altered body fat distribution quality of broilers. In this study, we examined the body fat distribution, serum metabolites and lipid metabolism gene expression of broiler exposed to ammonia. A total of 400 chickens were randomly allocated to four groups with four replicates and received ammonia treatments at 0, 25, 50 and 75 ppm, respectively, for 3 weeks. The average daily feed intake and weight gain were decreased when broiler was exposed to ammonia concentration exceeding 50 ppm (p < .05). The increased abdominal fat and reduced thickness of subcutaneous adipose were found in broilers of 75 ppm group (p < .05). When ammonia exceeded 50 ppm, the content of fat in breast muscle of broiler was increased, and when ammonia was higher than 25 ppm, the fat in liver was increased (p < .05). It showed that the fat content in liver was a sensitive index for broilers exposed to ammonia. Furthermore, ammonia exposure had no significant effect on total cholesterol and triglyceride in serum, but significantly increased the relative mRNA expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (p = .046) and malic enzyme in liver (p = .038), which indicated that ammonia exposure may increase the de novo fat synthesis in liver. In addition, ammonia increased the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p = .02) and activity of hepatic lipase in serum (p < .001), which indicated that ammonia exposure may improve the transportation of cholesterol to liver. To conclude, our results indicated that ammonia exposure might increase the de novo fat synthesis in liver and increased the transportation of cholesterol to liver. In addition, the concentration of ammonia in poultry house should be limited lower than 25 ppm based on the variation of hepatic fat content.

Nonadiabatic holonomic quantum computation has robust feature in suppressing control errors because of its holonomic feature. However, this kind of robust feature is challenged since the usual way of realizing nonadiabatic holonomic gates introduces errors due to systematic errors in the control parameters. To resolve this problem, we here propose a composite scheme to realize nonadiabatic holonomic gates. Our scheme can suppress systematic errors while preserving holonomic robustness. It is particularly useful when the evolution period is shorter than the coherence time. We further show that our composite scheme can be protected by decoherence-free subspaces. In this case, the strengthened robust feature of our composite gates and the coherence stabilization virtue of decoherence-free subspaces are combined., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure

Ceramic membranes are also known as inorganic ceramic membranes, which is formed by developing a layer or multilayer of ceramic materials upon the prefabricated base matrix. The major materials include alumina (Al2O3), zirconia (ZrO), titanium oxide (TiO2), silicon oxide (SiO2), etc. The configurations of the ceramic membrane include plate, tube, and multichannel ones. Figs. 14.1 and 14.2 show the multichannel ceramics schematics and pictures.

The objective of this study was to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and the annual estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline in a rural lean Chinese cohort.A total of 2696 subjects with an eGFR ⩾ 60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) were followed up for 7 years. Our primary outcome was annual eGFR decline, calculated as (eGFR at baseline-eGFR at revisit)/years of follow-up.During the 7-year follow-up, the mean (s.d.) of annual eGFR decline was 1.7 (1.9) ml/min per 1.73 m(2) per year. Compared with subjects with normal weight (BMI 19-22.9 kg/m(2)), overweight subjects (BMI 23-26.9 kg/m(2)) had a more rapid annual eGFR decline (β, 0.33; 95% confidence interval (0.18-0.47) ml/min per 1.73 m(2) per year), whereas no significant difference was found when comparing the underweight (19 kg/m(2)) and the obese (⩾ 27 kg/m(2)) groups with the normal-weight group. Moreover, in the 19- to 26.9-kg/m(2) range, BMI was positively linearly associated with annual eGFR decline (β2, 0.09 (0.05 to 0.12) ml/min per 1.73 m(2) per year, P0.001), whereas in the19 (β1, -0.21(-0.45-0.02), P = 0.073; β2 versus β1: P = 0.009) and ⩾ 27 kg/m(2) (β3, -0.24 (-0.48-0.00), P=0.053; β3 versus β2: P=0.010) range a negative but statistically insignificant trend of association was detected.Our results suggested a nonlinear S-shaped association between BMI and annual eGFR decline among Chinese adults with normal renal function.