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A photodissociation experiment of (R)-3-bromocamphor was carried out by the hexapole orientation technique by (2 + 1) REMPI detection at about 234 nm. The atomic bromine products in excited state (...

Soil aridification and desertification are particularly prominent in China's karst areas, severely limiting crop yields and vegetation restoration. Therefore, it is very important to identify naturally drought-tolerant plant species.

One Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile bacterial strain, 3-7T, was isolated from symptomatic canker bark tissue of Populus × euramericana. 16S rRNA gene sequence data revealed that the novel isolate shared highest similarity with Sphingomonas panacis DCY99T (98.8 %), and β-galactosidase, arginine dihydrolase and β-glucosidase. The major fatty acids were C16 : 0, C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c. The polar lipids of the novel isolate included diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, sphingoglycolipid, glycolipid, two uncharacterized phospholipids and two uncharacterized lipids. The respiratory quinones detected in isolate 3-7T were Q-10 (96.9 %) and Q-9 (3.1 %). The DNA G+C content was 65.1 mol%. Based on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, the isolate represents a novel species within the genus Sphingomonas , for which the name Sphingomonas populi is proposed. The type strain is 3-7T (=CFCC 11561T=LMG 30138T).

This paper uses the ratio of 52‐week high to low prices to construct a self‐financing portfolio strategy, which buys stocks with a low range ratio and sells stocks with a high range ratio according to the behavioral perspective. The results indicate that the profits from this range strategy are substantial and outperform those of 52‐week high and conventional momentum strategies. Moreover, the incremental effect of the range strategy on 52‐week high momentum is significantly positive, while the 52‐week high strategy diminishes this strategy's profitability. Overall, the range measure is better than conventional measures at predicting future returns.

Most prior studies of the subjective visual vertical (SVV) focus on inaccuracy of subjects' SVV responses with the head in an upright position. Here we investigated SVV imprecision during lateral head tilt in patients with chronic dizziness compared to healthy controls. Forty-five dizzy patients and 45 healthy controls underwent SVV testing wearing virtual reality (VR) goggles, sitting upright (0°) and during head tilt in the roll plane (± 30°). Ten trials were completed in each of three static head positions. The SVV inaccuracy and SVV imprecision were analyzed and compared between groups, along with systematic errors during head tilt, i.e., A-effect and E-effect (E-effect is a typical SVV response during head tilts of ± 30°). The SVV imprecision was found to be affected by head position (upright/right head tilt/left head tilt, p 0.001) and underlying dizziness (dizzy patients/healthy controls, p = 0.005). The SVV imprecision during left head tilt was greater in dizzy patients compared to healthy controls (p = 0.04). With right head tilt, there was a trend towards greater SVV imprecision in dizzy patients (p = 0.08). Dizzy patients were more likely to have bilateral (6.7%) or unilateral (22.2%) A-effect during lateral head tilt than healthy controls (bilateral (0%) or unilateral (6.7%) A-effect, p 0.01). Greater SVV imprecision in chronically dizzy patients during head tilts may be attributable to increased noise of vestibular sensory afferents or disturbances of multisensory integration. Our findings suggest that SVV imprecision may be a useful clinical parameter of underlying dizziness measurable with bedside SVV testing in VR.

This paper applies the context-dependent total-factor energy efficiency (CD-TFEE) to determine the multi-layer disaggregate energy efficiency frontiers of twenty administrative regions in Taiwan for the year of 2016. The CD-TFEE overcomes the shortcoming of conventional TFEE index that TFEE is not able to find the “closest target” for each inefficient region in the short run. Furthermore, the CD-TFEE scores here deal with four types of energy inputs (electricity for production, electricity for household and non-household lighting, diesel sales, and gasoline sales), illustrating that multi-layer TFEE frontiers for each energy input in the case of Taiwan can be computed. Empirical results indicate that there are three levels of TFEE frontiers for electricity for production and four levels for other types of energy inputs. In addition, New Taipei City, Taipei City, Keelung City, and Penghu County are at the top level of TFEE frontier for all four energy inputs. This paper also demonstrates that the CD-TFEE procedure generates results different from the CD-DEA introduced by Seiford and Zhu (2003).

Identifying dangerous causes of dizziness is a challenging task for neurologists, as it requires interpretation of subtle bedside exam findings, which become even more subtle with time. Nystagmus can be instrumental in differentiating peripheral from central vestibular disorders. Conventional teaching is that peripheral vestibular nystagmus is accentuated by removal of visual fixation. We sought to systematically test the hypothesis that, in some cases, vertical nystagmus due to central vestibular disorders may also be easier to identify when fixation is removed.To identify patients with vertical nystagmus, we retrospectively reviewed clinical, MRI, and VNG data of consecutive patients undergoing VNG in our vestibular clinic over a 9-month period. We analyzed clinical features, bedside neuro-otological examination, MRI results, and VNG findings in fixation as well as those with fixation removed.Two hundred and fourteen charts were reviewed. Twenty-six patients had vertical nystagmus with fixation removed on VNG. Only three (11.5%) of these patients had vertical nystagmus apparent with fixation (and only two had nystagmus observed clearly at the bedside with the unaided eye). Thirteen (50%) of the patients had posterior fossa lesions on MRI and eight of the rest (30.8%) were diagnosed with central vestibular disorders. Of the 13 patients with MRI-confirmed lesions, 3 patients (23.1%) had no neurological signs or conventional bedside oculomotor signs; in these cases, vertical nystagmus without fixation was the only sign of a central lesion.Our findings go against conventional teaching and show that removing fixation can uncover subtle vertical nystagmus due to central vestibular disease, particularly from focal or chronic lesions.

Both single-laser and two-laser experiments were conducted to look into the ion-imaging of Br*(2P1/2) and Br(2P3/2) photo-fragmented from 1-bromo-2-methylbutane in the range 232-240 nm via a detection scheme of (2+1) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. The angular analysis of these photofragment distributions yields the anisotropy parameter beta = 1.88 +/- 0.06 for the Br* excited state which arises from a parallel transition, while beta = 0.63 +/- 0.09 for the Br ground state indicates the contribution from both a perpendicular transition and a non-adiabatic transition. When a hexapole coupled with an orienting field was implemented, the parent molecules are spatially oriented to yield an orientation efficiency || of 0.15. Besides the chi angle between the recoil velocity v and the transition dipole moment mu, orienting molecules allows for the evaluation of the angle alpha between v and the permanent molecular dipole moment d. The angular analysis of Br* photofragment distribution yields chi to be 11.5 degrees and alpha in the range from 160 degrees to 180 degrees with weak dependency. In the two-laser experiments, the angular anisotropy of Br photofragment distribution was found to be smaller (0.38 +/- 0.10) when the photolysis wavelength was red-shifted to 240 nm, suggesting the increasing contributions from perpendicular transitions., Comment: 36 pages, 7 figures

Objectives Isolated dizziness is a challenging stroke presentation in the emergency department, but little is known about this problem in other clinical settings. We sought to compare stroke hospitalizations after treat-and-release clinic visits for purportedly “benign dizziness” between general and specialty care settings. Methods This was a population-based retrospective cohort study from a national database. We included clinic patients with a first incident treat-and-release visit diagnosis of non-specific dizziness/vertigo or a peripheral vestibular disorder (ICD-9-CM 780.4 or 386.x [not 386.2]). We compared general care (internal medicine, family medicine) vs. specialty care (neurology, otolaryngology) providers. We used propensity scores to control for baseline stroke risk differences unrelated to dizziness diagnosis. We measured excess (observed>expected) stroke hospitalizations in the first 30 d (i.e., missed strokes associated with an adverse event). Results We analyzed 144,355 patients discharged with “benign dizziness” (n=117,117 diagnosed in general care; n=27,238 in specialty care). After propensity score matching, patients in both groups were at higher risk of stroke in the first 30 d (rate difference per 10,000 treat-and-release visits for “benign dizziness” 24.9 [95% CI 18.6–31.2] in general care and 10.6 [95% CI 6.3–14.9] in specialty care). Short-term stroke risk was higher in general care than specialty care (relative risk, RR 2.2, 95% CI 1.5–3.2) while the long-term risk was not significantly different (RR 1.3, 95% CI 0.9–1.9), indicating higher misdiagnosis-related harms among dizzy patients who initially presented to generalists after adequate propensity matching. Conclusions Missed stroke-related harms in general care were roughly twice that in specialty care. Solutions are needed to address this care gap.

Quantification of halogen-bonding abilities is described for a series of benzimidazolium-, imidazolium- and bis(imidazolium) halogen-bond donors (XBDs) using 31P NMR spectroscopy. The measured Δδ(31P) values correlate with calculated activation free energy ΔG‡ and catalytic activity for a Friedel-Crafts indole addition. This rapid method also serves as a sensitive indicator for Bronsted acid impurities.

Since total factor productivity growth plays an essential role in China&rsquo, s economic growth, the source of this growth has been a critical issue over the past decades. Hence, this paper applies an input slack-based productivity (ISP) index to investigate the contributors (i.e., labor and capital inputs) to China&rsquo, s total factor productivity growth. The ISP index, combining the features of the directional distance function and Luenberger productivity index, can calculate the productivity change of each input factor under the total factor framework. According to the decomposition analyses, we find that China is confronting a dual challenge in total factor productivity growth: first, capital productivity growth exhibits a remarkable slowdown after the mid-1990s, second, although labor productivity continually expands, the relative labor efficiency among provinces has deteriorated since the 2000s. The results imply that the government should not only advocate upgrading industrial structure, but also consider balanced regional development policies for China&rsquo, s sustainable growth.

This study investigates the causal information flow between 45 major daily spot returns and their corresponding futures in developing, emerging, and commodity indices through a novel nonparametric wavelet Granger causality test (NWGC) that is capable of detecting causality patterns in various time scales without any stationarity assumption or multivariate autoregressive modeling requirement. We provide new evidence for a complex causality pattern phenomenon. First, there may not be just one dichotomous answer about the Granger causality test for each market data in a time domain, as markets exhibit different causal information flows for different time scales. Second, each market may show distinct causality patterns compared to other markets.

This study aims to examine how the social networks of top management affect the recovery of their companies when facing a financial crisis. We mainly use the logit and Cox regression models to investigate whether social networks help overcome the financial distress and shorten the crisis duration. The empirical findings suggest that companies with characteristics of low degree centrality of the chairman’s bank networks and high closeness centrality of the general manager’s general networks and bank networks are more likely to overcome financial distress and get back to normal status. Furthermore, for companies with characteristics of low degree centrality of the chairman’s personal general networks, low closeness centrality of the financial executive’s personal general networks, and high degree centrality of the financial executive’s personal bank networks, it was easier to shorten the crisis duration. The practical implication is that companies need to prioritize quality over quantity in order to survive or shorten the crisis. All company top managers should not look only at the size of the company but consider how the social network is configured.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile bacterial strain, shQ-4T, was isolated from a pear tree in Henan Province, China. The strain grew at 10–41 °C, at pH 4.0–8.0 and in the presence of 1–3 % (w/v) NaCl. It shared highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (96.66 %) with Herbaspirillum chlorophenolicum CPW301T. The phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain shQ-4T formed a distinct branch next to reference species in the genus Herbaspirillum . The profile of major polar lipids of strain shQ-4T contained phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and an unidentified aminophospholipid (APL). The major respiratory quinone was Q-8. The major fatty acids of this strain were C16 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω6c/C16 : 1ω7c), C17 : 0 cyclo and C18 : 0. Strain shQ-4T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Herbaspirillum , with the proposed name Herbaspirillum piri sp. nov. The type strain is shQ-4T (=CFCC 14641T=KCTC 52804T).

Two-dimensional ferromagnetic semiconductors hold great promise for next-generation spintronic applications. However, candidates with high Curie temperature (Tc) are still lacking. Using the first-principles calculations, the PtBr3 monolayer is found to exhibit ferromagnetic order above the room temperature. The formation of PtBr3/WSe2 van der Waals heterostructures can increase the Tc to ∼ 410 K by additional super-exchange path of Pt-Se-Pt. The spin-exchange interactions for this path is as strong as ∼ 22 meV, which is superior to most other magnetic system. The out-of-plane compression further boosts the Tc to ∼ 636 K. The interlayer magnetic coupling is highly tunable depending on the stacking alignment, which closes or weakens some super-exchange channels. In addition, the interlayer interaction leads to a phase transition from half-metal to semiconductor, which greatly promotes its potential in spintronic applications. The strong stacking dependent feature is feasible to manipulate the magnetic orders by external strain or mechanical motion.

MoS2 presents an attractive performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic environment. However, its worse catalytic performance in neutral and alkaline media is problematic for practical application. Herein, stable MoS2/Ni2V3O8 nanosheets are synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method, which exhibit enhanced HER activities in all pH solutions as opposed to the pristine MoS2 and Ni2V3O8. The overpotentials are 48, 52, and 68 mV at 10 mA cm−2 with small Tafel slopes of 46, 54, and 55 mV dec−1 in alkaline, acidic and neutral media, respectively, which are competitive to that of Pt/C. The superior HER activity is due to the defective lattices, suitable interface band alignment, as well as the synergistic effect between MoS2 and Ni2V3O8. First-principles calculations show that the electronic coupling at the interface results in enhanced electronic conductivity, optimal hydrogen adsorption and water dissociation free energies. This work demonstrates that rational design of unique MoS2-based heterostructures can effectively improve their HER activities, which holds great potential for practical applications in pH-universal overall water splitting.

Two Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, non-motile, bacterial strains were isolated from symptomatic bark tissue of Populus × euramericana canker. The isolates were able to grow between 10 and 37 °C, at pH 6–10 and with 0–4 % (w/v) NaCl, with optimal growth at 28–30 °C, pH 7.0–8.0 and with 2 % (w/v) NaCl The strains were found to be oxidase and catalase positive. The menaquinone of strain 26D10-3-4T was MK-7 and the peptidoglycan type A3α based on l-Lys-Gly3-?Ala. The polar lipid profiles of strain 26D10-3-4T showed diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, two unidentified phospholipids and three unidentified glycolipids, and the major fatty acids found were anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0. The DNA G+C content was 38.2 mol%. The two novel isolates shared the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Salinicoccus qingdaonensis ZXM223T (95.0 %). Based on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, these two strains represent a novel species of a new genus of the family Staphylococca ceae ; the name Corticicoccus populi gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the type species is 26D10-3-4T (=CFCC 12725T=KCTC 33575T). An additional strain of the species is 9-4-1.

A 65-year-old woman with right-sided Meniere disease experienced one of her usual and frequent acute vertigo attacks during eye movement recording (video 1). The attacks were associated with right-sided tinnitus, hearing loss, and vomiting. She initially demonstrated right-beating nystagmus, but after 2 minutes, the nystagmus gradually reversed and became left-beating (video 1). During the reversal, downbeat nystagmus was present temporarily. The left-beating nystagmus then persisted for 2 hours.

The pathophysiology of acute, vertical spontaneous eye movements following pontine hemorrhage is not well understood. Here, we present and discuss the video-oculography findings of a patient with acute pontine hemorrhage who developed vertical pendular oscillation and ocular bobbing while comatose. The amplitudes, peak velocities, frequency distribution, and phase planes (velocity versus position) of the eye movements were analyzed. The vertical pendular oscillation was rhythmic with a peak frequency of 1.7 Hz, but amplitudes (mean 1.9°, range 0.2-8.2°) and peak velocities (mean 20.6°/s; range 5.9-60.6°/sec) fluctuated. Overall, their peak velocities were asymmetric, faster with downward than upward. Higher peak velocities were seen with larger amplitudes (downward phase r = 0.95, p < 0.001; upward phase r = 0.91, p < 0.001) and with movements beginning at eye positions lower in the orbit (downward phase r = - 0.64, p < 0.001; upward phase r = - 0.86, p < 0.001). Interspersed were typical ocular bobbing waveforms with a fast (peak velocity 128.8°/s), large-amplitude (17.5°) downward movement, sometimes followed by a flat interphase interval (0.5 s) when the eye was nearly stationary, and then a slow return to mid-position with a decaying velocity waveform. To account for the presence and co-existence of pendular oscillations and bobbing, we present and discuss three hypothetical models, not necessarily mutually exclusive: (1) oscillations originating in the inferior olives due to disruption of the central tegmental tract(s); (2) unstable neural integrator function due to pontine cell group damage involving neurons involved in gaze-holding; (3) low-frequency saccadic intrusions following omnipause neuron damage.

Tian-Tian Wu,* Jun Cai,* Yuan-Hu Tian, Jian-Fei Chen, Zhi-Lei Cheng, Chang-Sheng Pu, Wen-Zai Shi, Xiao-Peng Suo, Xian-Jia Wu, Xiao-Wei Dou, Ke-Ming Zhang Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Peking University International Hospital, Beijing 102206, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ke-Ming ZhangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Peking University International Hospital, No 1 Shengmingyuan Road, Zhongguancun Life Science Park, Changping District, Beijing 102206, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail kemingzhang2019@163.comBackground: Metal regulatory transcription factor 2 (MTF2) has been previously reported as a protein binding to the metal response element of the mouse metallothionein promoter, which is involved in chromosome inactivation and pluripotency. However, the function of MTF2 in tumor formation and progression has not yet been completely elucidated.Methods: The expression of MTF2 and clinicopathological characteristics were evaluated by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue microarray of 240 specimens. The role of MTF2 on HCC progression was determined using MTT, crystal violet, and transwell assays. Tumor growth was monitored in a xenograft model, and intrahepatic metastasis models were established.Results: The expression of MTF2 was increased in HCC and strongly associated with the clinical characteristics and prognosis. Forced expression of MTF2 in HCC cells significantly promoted cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro. In contrast, downregulation of MTF2 inhibited cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro. Moreover, knock down of MTF2 suppressed tumorigenesis and intrahepatic metastasis of HCC cells in vivo. Mechanistically, MTF2 overexpression may promote growth and epithelial-mesenchymal transition processes of HCC cells by facilitating Snail transcription.Conclusion: MTF2 promotes the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells by regulating Snail transcription, providing a potential therapeutic candidate for patients with HCC.Keywords: MTF2, progression, hepatocellular carcinoma, EMT, Snail &nbsp

Background Amongst the most challenging diagnostic dilemmas managing patients with vestibular symptoms (i.e. vertigo, nausea, imbalance) is differentiating dangerous central vestibular disorders from benign causes. Migraine has long been recognized as one of the most common causes of vestibular symptoms, but the clinical hallmarks of vestibular migraine are notoriously inconsistent and thus the diagnosis is difficult to confirm. Here we conducted a prospective study investigating the sensitivity and specificity of combining standard vestibular and neurological examinations to determine how well central vestibular disorders (CVD) were distinguishable from vestibular migraine (VM). Method Twenty-seven symptomatic patients diagnosed with CVD and 36 symptomatic patients with VM underwent brain imaging and clinical assessments including; 1) SVV bucket test, 2) ABCD2, 3) headache/vertigo history, 4) presence of focal neurological signs, 5) nystagmus, and 6) clinical head impulse testing. Results Mean absolute SVV deviations measured by bucket testing in CVD and VM were 4.8 ± 4.1° and 0.7 ± 1.0°, respectively. The abnormal rate of SVV deviations (> 2.3°) in CVD was significantly higher than VM (p

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile bacterial strain, 7Y-4T, was isolated from bark tissue of Populus × euramericana. The isolate was able to grow between 10 and 37 °C, with optimal growth occurring at 28-30 °C. Strain 7Y-4T was positive for oxidase and catalase activities, but did not reduce nitrite from nitrate. Positive reactions were observed for the activities of β-galactosidase, urease and β-glucosidase, but negative reactions for the activities of gelatinase and the production of indole, acetoin and H2S. Citrate was not utilized. The major fatty acids of strain 7Y-4T are iso-C15 : 0 (28.6 %), C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c (31.8 %) and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH (23.3 %).The major polar lipids of the novel isolate include phosphatidylethanolamine, three unknown phospholipids (PL1-3) and six unknown lipids (L1-6), and the predominant menaquinone is MK-7. The DNA G+C content is 41.7 mol%. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the novel isolate shared the greatest sequence similarity with Sphingobacterium hotanense XH4T (93.50 %). On the basis of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, strain 7Y-4T represents a novel species of the genus Sphingobacterium, for which the name Sphingobacterium populi is proposed. The type strain is 7Y-4T (=CFCC 11742T=KCTC 42247T).

Sophora davidii Franch. is a multipurpose shrub with significant economic and ecological importance in karst mountainous regions of southeastern China. These mountainous ecosystems are associated with altitudinal gradients that can lead to major morphological and genetic differences in the species. We examined the morphological and genetic variation of this species at six sites with different altitudes (600 m–1950 m asl). Significant morphological variations (p

Sophora davidii is a popular ecological and feeding plant, but it also is a potential medicinal plant. Its root has high levels of lupin alkaloids, which make a kind of valued matrine-type alkaloids as one of the best alternatives to pentazocine. Very limited agronomic information exists regarding the cultivation of S . davidii as a medicinal and industrial crop. The objective of this study was to investigate seed germination and emergence of S. davidii in response to temperature, osmotic potential, salinity and depth of seed burial. The effect of temperature, osmotic potential and salinity on seed germination were examined at different temperatures (5–40 °C), while using different polyethylene glycol (PEG)-6000 (0–−1.0 MPa) and different CaCl 2 (0–200 mM) solutions. Seedling emergence was also examined for seeds sown at different depths (0–9 cm). Temperature affected germination rates of S. davidii ; maximum germination (30.67%) was reached at 25 days a constant temperature of 20 °C. Maximum germination rates were obtained under low osmotic potential (0–−0.4 MPa) and low salinity concentrations (20–50 mM CaCl 2 ); increasing osmotic potential or salinity progressively inhibited seed germination. Deep burial significantly decreased seedling emergence rates, seedlings emerged well at depths of 0–3 cm, but no seedlings emerged from seeds buried at depths of ≥9 cm. As a general recommendation to growers S. davidii should be seeded no deeper than 3-cm depth, and the suitable environmental conditions (temperatures of 20–30 °C, water stress of 0–−0.4 MPa and salt stress of 20–50 mM CaCl 2 ) may be encountered.

Remarkable gene expression changes and responsive DEGs were found in poplar upon pathogen attack and provide important clues to the molecular mechanism of defense responses in plants and gene functional studies of trees. The disease Lonsdalea canker affects the growth and productivity of poplar (Populus spp.), often resulting in death of poplar trees. To obtain expression profiles of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for the response of poplar to pathogens, transcriptomic sequencing was performed using bark from 2-year-old P. × euramericana Guinier trees inoculated (IN) or mock-inoculated (KK) with Lonsdalea quercina. In total, 7,558,430 and 7,149,345 clean reads were generated in the KK and IN libraries, respectively. Gene expression profiles identified a total of 7098 DEGs, among which there were nearly twice as many down-regulated (4635) as up-regulated (2463) genes post-inoculation. Expression was further validated and dynamic responses analyzed by qRT-PCR. These DEGs were predominantly related to the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, plant hormone signal transduction, regulation of autophagy, and ABC transport upon L. quercina infection. In addition, DEGs involved in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway, and JA and SA-mediated signal transduction pathways might play important roles in the L. quercina infection response in P. × euramericana. The pathogen-responsive DEGs identified in this investigation provide important clues to the molecular mechanism of defense responses in plants and gene functional studies of trees.

We sketch the life and scientific legacy of Prof. Richard K. (Kounai) Chang (张国鼐), 1940–2020, the Henry Ford II Professor of Applied Physics, Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at Yale University. We briefly outline his research from linear and non-linear optics; light interactions with solids and liquids in various surface, micro-shapes and nano-structures; optical effects and processes in microresonators; and later to laser spectroscopic characterization of sprays, combustion, and environmental pollutants. Prof. Chang has many colleagues, collaborators, students, and friends among the JQSRT community.

The exciton-phonon coupling plays an important role in the optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials. In the preparation of 2D TMDC films, there are often different degrees of intrinsic defects, which have significant impacts on their optical and electrical properties. Here, we have investigated the effect of intrinsic defects on resonant Raman spectroscopy (RRS) in WS2. In a modified chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, flower-like (with three petaloids) WS2 bilayers (FLO-B) and trilayers (FLO-T) can be produced in S-rich condition. It was found that the LA(M), E12g, A1g Raman modes and excitons of flower-like WS2 exhibit abnormal behaviors due to the rich defects in the flower-like WS2 flakes. The population of XD gets increased and the shift of its binding energy is ~30 meV larger than that of A0 for the defective flower-like WS2, which leads to greatly enhanced exciton-phonon interaction. Under low-frequency RRS, the appearance of petal morphology greatly enhances the scattering intensity and activate the SM32 phonon mode, normally not seen for backscattering. The appearance of this defect-assisted phonon mode is also related to the increase of scattering cross-section and exciton Bohr radius. Our work reveals the feasibility of shape-controlled exciton-phonon interactions in defective WS2 films and improves our understanding of the light-matter interaction principles in this material.

We isolated five novel bacterial strains from symptomatic bark tissue of Populus × euramericana canker that were Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, aerobic oxidase-negative and catalase-positive. Growth occurred at 10–41 °C and at pH 5.0–7.0, with optimum growth at 30 °C and pH 7.0. Additionally, growth occurred in conditions of 0–5 % (w/v) salinity, but not above 7 % NaCl. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of the novel strains shared the highest similarity with Sinorhodobacter ferrireducens SgZ-3T (97.1 %). The average nucleotide identity values between the novel strains and two type strains (S.inorhodobacter ferrireducens CCTCC AB2012026T and ‘ S inorhodobacter hungdaonensis’ CGMCC 1.12963T) were 78.4–78.9 %, which were lower than the proposed species boundary cut-off (95–96 %). The main polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, an unidentified lipid and phosphatidylcholine. The main respiratory quinone was Q-10, and major fatty acids were C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω6c. Based on data from a polyphasic taxonomy study, the novel strains represent a novel species of the genus Sinorhodobacter , for which the name Sinorhodobacter populi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is sk2b1T (=CFCC 14580T=KCTC 52802T).

This study aimed at examining Taiwanese elementary school teachers’ attitudes toward the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of flipped classrooms from five factors: teacher–student interaction, parent–teacher communication, teaching effectiveness, student’s self-management, and management flexibility. The study results revealed that (1) teachers expressed positive attitudes overall toward flipped classrooms, (2) teachers agreed on the benefits of flipped classrooms regarding teacher–student interaction; (3) teachers expressed skepticism regarding the effects of this teaching method on parent–student communication. Suggestions for promoting flipped classroom strategies in elementary schools were subsequently proposed.

When evaluating patients with dizziness, knowledge of basic vestibular physiology and bedside examination techniques is critical to reach the correct diagnosis. During the vestibular examination, the clinician should look for signs of static and dynamic vestibular imbalance in the semicircular canal and otolith function. Here we outline the key components of the clinical vestibular examination considering recent technical advances in video-oculography and mobile devices such as tablet computers. Using these portable technologies, the vestibular examination can be quantified at the bedside to improve diagnostic accuracy and clinical management. In this process, a careful and thorough clinical evaluation of all subtypes of eye movements, stance, and gait is critical because of the close anatomic and physiologic connections among vestibular, postural, and ocular motor functions.