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Childhood trauma is a risk factor for schizophrenia that affects brain functions associated with higher cognitive processes, including social cognition. Alterations in Theory-of-Mind (ToM), or mentalizing skills, are a hallmark feature of schizophrenia, and are also evident in individuals exposed to childhood trauma. However, the impact of childhood trauma exposure on brain function during social cognition in schizophrenia remains unclear. We thus examined the association between childhood trauma and brain function during the performance of a ToM task in 47 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. All participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing an established visual-cartoon affective ToM task. Whole-brain multiple regression analysis was performed on ToM-related brain activation, with CTQ total score as regressor of interest, while accounting for the effects of age, sex, diagnosis, symptom severity, behavioural performance, intelligence and medications levels. First, using a small-volume correction approach within a mask made of key regions for ToM [including bilateral temporo-parietal junctions (TPJ), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus], total CTQ scores were positively associated with activation of the PCC/precuneus. Second, exploratory analyses for the rest of the brain (i.e., ROIs masked-out), revealed a positive association between trauma exposure and activation of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), and a negative association with activation of the anterior section of the TPJ. These results suggest that childhood trauma exposure may, at least partially, contribute to functional alterations of brain regions essential for effective mental state inference in schizophrenia.

In order to restrain the geometric dispersion effect of the stress-wave propagation on conventional split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB), the modified striker bar in Hopkinson bar-loaded test system is selected. Both the experiments and the simulation using ANSYS/LS-DYNA finite element method (FEM) were performed to investigate the modified effect. After verifying the effectiveness of the used program, six modified geometries of the striker bar were simulated. The optimization results in the simulation were further compared with that of the experiment. It was found that the geometric dispersion effect of the incident pulse under the same loading condition can be restrained effectively by modifying the striker bar. Moreover, the experimental incident pulse has a good agreement with that of the numerical simulation curves. By investigating various cases, several typical incident pulses can be obtained through different modified striker bars, and these modified approaches are simple and easy to be achieved.

The internal crack propagation, the failure mode and ultimate load bearing capacity of the steel-concrete-steel composite beam under the four-point-bend loading is investigated by the numerical simulation. The results of load - displacement curve and failure mode are in good agreement with experiment. In order to study the failure mechanism, the composite beam has been modeled, which part interface interaction between steel and concrete is considered. The results indicate that there are two failure modes: (a) When the strength of the interface is lower than that of the concrete, failure happens at the interface of steel and concrete; (b) When the strength of the interface is higher than that of the concrete, the failure modes is cohesion failure, i.e., and concrete are stripped because of the shear cracks at concrete edge.

The interface slip will appear between the steel plates and concrete while the steel–concrete–steel composite beam under loading. It may influence the mechanical properties of the composite beam. In this paper, through theoretical analysis of the steel–concrete–steel composite beam, differential equation of interface slip is established at first. By simulating the real boundary, the formulas of interface slip are calculated under uniform and arbitrary concentrated load. Then, the axial force, the sectional curvature, and deformation of composite beams are obtained. In order to validate the reliability of the theoretical analysis, the deformation of 18 samples is calculated by using the deformation formulas of steel–concrete–steel composite beam. The results are in good agreement with the experimental consequences. Through an example, the mechanical properties of composite beams (axial force, sectional curvature, and deformation) are analyzed under interfacial slip. With the decreasing of interfacial slip, axial force of upper plate increases, and sectional curvature and deflection decrease. For lower steel plate, the interfacial slip has smaller effect.

© 2018, The Author(s). The formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is a complex process that plays important roles in growth and development, tissue and organ regeneration, as well as numerous pathological conditions. Angiogenesis undergoes multiple discrete steps that can be individually evaluated and quantified by a large number of bioassays. These independent assessments hold advantages but also have limitations. This article describes in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro bioassays that are available for the evaluation of angiogenesis and highlights critical aspects that are relevant for their execution and proper interpretation. As such, this collaborative work is the first edition of consensus guidelines on angiogenesis bioassays to serve for current and future reference.

Understanding large-scale interacting quantum matter requires dealing with the huge number of quanta that are produced by scattering even a few particles against a complex quantum object. Prominent examples are found from high energy cosmic ray showers to the optical or electrical driving of degenerate Fermi gases. We tackle this challenge in the context of many-body quantum optics, as motivated by the recent developments of circuit quantum electrodynamics at ultrastrong coupling. The issue of particle production is addressed quantitatively with a simple yet powerful concept rooted in the quantum superposition principle. This key idea is illustrated by the study of multi-photon emission from a single two-level artificial atom coupled to a high impedance waveguide. We find surprisingly that the off-resonant inelastic emission lineshape is dominated by broadband particle production, due to the large phase space associated with contributions that do not conserve the number of excitations. Such frequency conversion processes produce striking signatures in time correlation measurements, which can be tested experimentally in quantum waveguides. These ideas open new directions for the simulation of a variety of physical systems, from polaron dynamics in solids to complex superconducting quantum architectures., 19 pages, 12 figures. New algorithm presented in v3

Maximally entangled two-qubit states (Bell states) are of central importance in quantum technologies. We show that heralded generation of a maximally entangled state of two intrinsically open qubits can be realized in a one-dimensional (1d) system through strong coherent driving and continuous monitoring. In contrast to the natural idea that dissipation leads to decoherence and so destroys quantum effects, continuous measurement and strong interference in our 1d system generate a pure state with perfect quantum correlation between the two open qubits. Though the steady state is a trivial product state which has zero coherence or concurrence, we show that, with carefully tuned parameters, a Bell state can be generated in the system's quantum jump trajectories, heralded by a reflected photon. Surprisingly, this maximally entangled state survives the strong coherent state input---a classical state that overwhelms the system. This simple method to generate maximally entangled states using classical coherent light and photon detection may, since our qubits are in a 1d continuum, find application as a building block of quantum networks., Comment: 6+4 pages; Published version. Typos corrected. More contents added (single detector case, suppression of effective qubit-qubit interaction, brief discussion of detuned parameters)

We obtain photon statistics by using a quantum jump approach tailored to a system in which one or two qubits are coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide. Photons confined in the waveguide have strong interference effects, which are shown to play a vital role in quantum jumps and photon statistics. For a single qubit, for instance, bunching of transmitted photons is heralded by a jump that increases the qubit population. We show that the distribution and correlations of waiting times offer a clearer and more precise characterization of photon bunching and antibunching. Further, the waiting times can be used to characterize complex correlations of photons which are hidden in $g^{(2)}(\tau)$, such as a mixture of bunching and antibunching., Comment: Expanded, published version. Clarifications of the key steps added. 9 pages

The North American pink heelsplitter (Potamilus alatus) differs from most freshwater mussels in China by the ability to secrete an ephemeral byssus during its juvenile stage. In the present study, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate this ephemeral byssal structure, and amino acid composition was analyzed and compared with that of other species. The results revealed that the byssus consists of a long byssal thread and a few adhesive plaques which are randomly set up along the thread and assembled by petioles. There is a thin but distinctive cuticle with a continuous homogeneous matrix surrounding the byssal thread. Structural variation occurred when the byssal thread was differentially stretched. Four-stranded helical primary fasciculi, which form a stable rope-like structure, become evident after removal of the cuticle. The primary fasciculi consist of bundles of hundreds of parallel secondary fasciculi, each measuring about 5 μm in diameter. All evidence indicates that the byssus of the pink heelsplitter has a significantly different macrostructure and microstructure than the permanent byssus of the marine mussel Mytilus. Byssogenesis ceases when juveniles exceed 30 mm in length, although it varies greatly even among juveniles of similar size. Byssus formation is influenced by substrate type. The unique characteristics of the byssus have important advantages for survival, transition, and aggregation during the early life history. This study not only provides first insight into the structure of the ephemeral byssus and its relationship to freshwater mussel development and growth, but also suggests possibilities for the synthesis of novel biopolymer materials particularly useful in freshwater ecosystems.

The US egg industry is exploring alternative housing systems for laying hens. However, limited published research related to cage-free aviary systems and enriched colony cages exists related to production, egg quality, and hen nutrition. The laying hen's nutritional requirements and resulting productivity are well established with the conventional cage system, but diminutive research is available in regards to alternative housing systems. The restrictions exist with limited availability of alternative housing systems in research settings and the considerable expense for increased bird numbers in a replicate due to alternative housing system design. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the impact of nutrient and energy intake on production and egg quality parameters from laying hens housed at a commercial facility. Lohmann LSL laying hens were housed in three systems: enriched colony cage, cage-free aviary, and conventional cage at a single commercial facility. Daily production records were collected along with dietary changes during 15 production periods (28-d each). Eggs were analyzed for shell strength, shell thickness, Haugh unit, vitelline membrane properties, and egg solids each period. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) coupled with a principal components analysis (PCA) approach was utilized to assess the impact of nutritional changes on production parameters and monitored egg quality factors. The traits of hen-day production and mortality had a response only in the PCA 2 direction. This finds that as house temperature and Met intake increases, there is an inflection point at which hen-day egg production is negatively effected. Dietary changes more directly influenced shell parameters, vitelline membrane parameters, and egg total solids as opposed to laying hen housing system. Therefore, further research needs to be conducted in controlled research settings on laying hen nutrient and energy intake in the alternative housing systems and resulting impact on egg quality measures.

An unusual long-lived intense relativistic electron enhancement event from July to August 2004 is examined using data from Fengyun-1, POES, GOES, ACE, the Cluster Mission, and geomagnetic indices. During the initial 6days of this event, the observed fluxes in the outer zone enhanced continuously, and their maximum increased from 2.1x10(2)cm(-2)sr(-1)s(-1) to 3.5x10(4)cm(-2)sr(-1)s(-1), the region of enhanced fluxes extended from L=3.5-6.5 to L=2.5-6.5, and the flux peak location shifted inward from L4.2 to L3.3. During the following 7days, without any locational movement, the flux peak increased slowly and exceeded the prestorm fluxes by about 4 orders of magnitude. Subsequently, the decay rate of relativistic electrons is so slow that the peak remains over 10(4)cm(-2)sr(-1)s(-1) for about 30days. The drift resonance between ULF waves, which arose from high-speed solar wind and frequent impulses of solar wind dynamic pressure, and energetic electrons injected by substorms could be an important acceleration mechanism in this event. The local acceleration by whistler mode chorus could be another mechanism contributing to this enhancement. The plasmaspheric response to the interplanetary disturbances reveals that the enhanced outer zone is divided into two portions by the plasmapause. Accordingly, the slow loss rate in the plasmasphere due to hiss primarily contributed to the long-lived characteristic of this event. This event reveals that the outer zone population behaviors are dominated by the interplanetary variations together with the responses of geomagnetic field and plasmasphere to these variations.

International audience; The atomic structures of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) with varying calcium-to-silicon (C/S) ratios were constructed by the cCSH models of Pellenq et al., and the mechanical properties of C-S-H structures under tensile loading were investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) method. The results from the molecular dynamics simulations showed that the tensile strength was decreased significantly when the C/S ratio was greater than 1.0, compared to the case of C/S=1.0. The interaction between calcium atoms and oxygen atoms played an important role under loading, which made up the shortfall caused by the lack of SiO2, and the decrease of the strength of C-S-H in the case of C/Sandgt;1.0 became slow. The water molecules helped to cut off the interaction between calcium atoms and oxygen atoms at a certain deformation degree, which reduced the strength of C-S-H till to the failure mode. © 2017, Materials Review Magazine. All right reserved.