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We present the point-spread function (PSF) modeling for weak lensing shear measurement using the full six years of the Dark Energy Survey (DES Y6) data. We review the PSF estimation procedure using the PIFF (PSFs In the Full FOV) software package and describe the key improvements made to PIFF and modeling diagnostics since the DES year three (Y3) analysis: (i) use of external _Gaia_ and infrared photometry catalogs to ensure higher purity of the stellar sample used for model fitting, (ii) addition of color-dependent PSF modeling, the first for any weak lensing analysis, and (iii) inclusion of model diagnostics inspecting fourth-order moments, which can bias weak lensing measurements to a similar degree as second-order modeling errors. Through a comprehensive set of diagnostic tests, we demonstrate the improved accuracy of the Y6 models evident in significantly smaller systematic errors than those of the Y3 analysis, in which all $g$ band data were excluded due to insufficiently accurate PSF models. For the Y6 weak lensing analysis, we include $g$ band photometry data in addition to the $riz$ bands, providing a fourth band for photometric redshift estimation. Looking forward to the next generation of wide-field surveys, we describe several ongoing improvements to PIFF, which will be the default PSF modeling software for weak lensing analyses for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time.

Orychophragmus violaceus (OV) and chicory (Cichorium intybus L., CC) can be used as fresh or dry forage for animals. To determine whether OV and/or CC have beneficial effects on performance and egg quality, a total of 1212 28-wk-old Beijing You Chicken (BYC) laying hens with similar performance were randomly allocated to 4 groups with 3 replicate pens per group, and 101 birds per pen. The birds were fed a basal diet (control), the basal diet + OV (3.507 kg/d/pen), the basal diet + CC (2.525 kg/d/pen), and the basal diet + OV + CC (OVC, 1.7535 kg/d/pen OV + 1.2625 kg/d/pen CC) for 3 wks after one wk of adaptation. The results showed that egg-laying rate was not affected by OV, CC and OVC (p > 0.05), but weekly average egg mass was significantly increased by OV and CC (p

Spatial variations in survey properties due to selection effects generate substantial systematic errors in large-scale structure measurements in optical galaxy surveys on very large scales. On such scales, the statistical sensitivity of optical surveys is also limited by their finite sky coverage. By contrast, gravitational wave (GW) sources appear to be relatively free of these issues, provided the angular sensitivity of GW experiments can be accurately characterized. We quantify the expected cosmological information gain from combining the forecast LSST 3x2pt analysis (combination of three 2-point correlations of galaxy density and weak lensing shear fields) with the large-scale auto-correlation of GW sources from proposed next-generation GW experiments. We find that in $\Lambda$CDM and $w$CDM models, there is no significant improvement in cosmological constraints from combining GW with LSST 3x2pt over LSST alone, due to the large shot noise for the former; however, this combination does enable a $\sim6\%$ constraint on the linear galaxy bias of GW sources. More interestingly, the optical-GW data combination provides tight constraints on models with primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG), due to the predicted scale-dependent bias in PNG models on large scales. Assuming that the largest angular scales that LSST will probe are comparable to those in Stage III surveys ($\ell_{\rm min}\sim50$), the inclusion of next-generation GW measurements could improve constraints on the PNG parameter $f_{\rm NL}$ by up to a factor of $\simeq6.6$ compared to LSST alone, yielding $\sigma(f_{\rm NL})=8.5$. These results assume the expected capability of a network of Einstein Telescope-like GW observatories, with a detection rate of $10^6$ events/year. We investigate the sensitivity of our results to different assumptions about future GW detectors as well as different LSST analysis choices.

We present galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements using a sample of low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) drawn from the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 (Y3) data as lenses. LSBGs are diffuse galaxies with a surface brightness dimmer than the ambient night sky. These dark-matter-dominated objects are intriguing due to potentially unusual formation channels that lead to their diffuse stellar component. Given the faintness of LSBGs, using standard observational techniques to characterize their total masses proves challenging. Weak gravitational lensing, which is less sensitive to the stellar component of galaxies, could be a promising avenue to estimate the masses of LSBGs. Our LSBG sample consists of 23,790 galaxies separated into red and blue color types at $g-i\ge 0.60$ and $g-i< 0.60$, respectively. Combined with the DES Y3 shear catalog, we measure the tangential shear around these LSBGs and find signal-to-noise ratios of 6.67 for the red sample, 2.17 for the blue sample, and 5.30 for the full sample. We use the clustering redshifts method to obtain redshift distributions for the red and blue LSBG samples. Assuming all red LSBGs are satellites, we fit a simple model to the measurements and estimate the host halo mass of these LSBGs to be $\log(M_{\rm host}/M_{\odot}) = 12.98 ^{+0.10}_{-0.11}$. We place a 95% upper bound on the subhalo mass at $\log(M_{\rm sub}/M_{\odot})

We report the discovery and spectroscopic confirmation of an ultra-faint Milky Way satellite in the constellation of Leo. This system was discovered as a spatial overdensity of resolved stars observed with Dark Energy Camera (DECam) data from an early version of the third data release of the DECam Local Volume Exploration (or DELVE) survey. The low luminosity ( ${M}_{V}=-3.5{6}_{-0.37}^{+0.47}$ ; ${L}_{V}=230{0}_{-700}^{+1200}{L}_{\odot }$ ), large size ( ${R}_{1/2}=9{0}_{-30}^{+30}$ pc), and large heliocentric distance ( $D=11{1}_{-6}^{+9}$ kpc) are all consistent with the population of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (UFDs). Using Keck/DEIMOS observations of the system, we were able to spectroscopically confirm nine member stars, while measuring a tentative mass-to-light ratio of $70{0}_{-500}^{+1400}{M}_{\odot }/{L}_{\odot }$ and a nonzero metallicity dispersion of ${\sigma }_{[\mathrm{Fe}/{\rm{H}}]}=0.1{9}_{-0.11}^{+0.14}$ , further confirming Leo VI’s identity as a UFD. While the system has a highly elliptical shape, $\epsilon =0.5{4}_{-0.29}^{+0.19}$ , we do not find any conclusive evidence that it is tidally disrupting. Moreover, despite the apparent on-sky proximity of Leo VI to members of the proposed Crater-Leo infall group, its smaller heliocentric distance and inconsistent position in energy–angular momentum space make it unlikely that Leo VI is part of the proposed infall group.

In this paper, the critical threshold associated to the activating of strain hardening capacity with respect to typical Hadfield steel Mn13Cr2 was explored quantitatively utilizing a Separated Hopkinson Press Bar (SHPB). The strain hardening behavior of the Mn13Cr2 under dynamic load was investigated, systematically, and the strain hardening mechanisms involved in different plastic deformation conditions were illuminated. Results indicated the overall plastic deformation process under different dynamic loads could be divided into three stages, including the (LHS), the (HHS) as well as the parabolic hardening stage (PHS). The critical transformation strength (CTS) from LHS to the HHS showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing with the shock pressure increasing from 0.1 MPa to 0.8 MPa, and the maximum hardening effect with respect to the studied Mn13Cr2 steel could be activated at dynamic load threshold of 0.6 MPa with max CTS of ∼493.6 MPa. Dislocation-dominated strengthening mechanism and C–Mn atomic dipoles strengthening mechanism induced by dynamic strain aging were responsible for the excellent strain hardening capability when the impact load was increased above 0.6 MPa.

We present cosmological constraints from the sample of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered and measured during the full 5 yr of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) SN program. In contrast to most previous cosmological samples, in which SNe are classified based on their spectra, we classify the DES SNe using a machine learning algorithm applied to their light curves in four photometric bands. Spectroscopic redshifts are acquired from a dedicated follow-up survey of the host galaxies. After accounting for the likelihood of each SN being an SN Ia, we find 1635 DES SNe in the redshift range 0.10 < z < 1.13 that pass quality selection criteria sufficient to constrain cosmological parameters. This quintuples the number of high-quality z > 0.5 SNe compared to the previous leading compilation of Pantheon+ and results in the tightest cosmological constraints achieved by any SN data set to date. To derive cosmological constraints, we combine the DES SN data with a high-quality external low-redshift sample consisting of 194 SNe Ia spanning 0.025 < z < 0.10. Using SN data alone and including systematic uncertainties, we find Ω _M = 0.352 ± 0.017 in flat ΛCDM. SN data alone now require acceleration ( q _0 < 0 in ΛCDM) with over 5 σ confidence. We find $({{\rm{\Omega }}}_{{\rm{M}}},w)=({0.264}_{-0.096}^{+0.074},-{0.80}_{-0.16}^{+0.14})$ in flat w CDM. For flat w _0 w _a CDM, we find $({{\rm{\Omega }}}_{{\rm{M}}},{w}_{0},{w}_{a})=({0.495}_{-0.043}^{+0.033},-{0.36}_{-0.30}^{+0.36},-{8.8}_{-4.5}^{+3.7})$ , consistent with a constant equation of state to within ∼2 σ . Including Planck cosmic microwave background, Sloan Digital Sky Survey baryon acoustic oscillation, and DES 3 × 2pt data gives (Ω _M , w ) = (0.321 ± 0.007, −0.941 ± 0.026). In all cases, dark energy is consistent with a cosmological constant to within ∼2 σ . Systematic errors on cosmological parameters are subdominant compared to statistical errors; these results thus pave the way for future photometrically classified SN analyses.

Abstract CUPID will be a next generation experiment searching for the neutrinoless double $$\beta $$ β decay, whose discovery would establish the Majorana nature of the neutrino. Based on the experience achieved with the CUORE experiment, presently taking data at LNGS, CUPID aims to reach a background free environment by means of scintillating Li $$_{2}$$ 2 $$^{100}$$ 100 MoO $$_4$$ 4 crystals coupled to light detectors. Indeed, the simultaneous heat and light detection allows us to reject the dominant background of $$\alpha $$ α particles, as proven by the CUPID-0 and CUPID-Mo demonstrators. In this work we present the results of the first test of the CUPID baseline module. In particular, we propose a new optimized detector structure and light sensors design to enhance the engineering and the light collection, respectively. We characterized the heat detectors, achieving an energy resolution of (5.9 ± 0.2) keV FWHM at the Q-value of $$^{100}$$ 100 Mo (about 3034 keV). We studied the light collection of the baseline CUPID design with respect to an alternative configuration which features gravity-assisted light detectors’ mounting. In both cases we obtained an improvement in the light collection with respect to past measures and we validated the particle identification capability of the detector, which ensures an $$\alpha $$ α particle rejection higher than 99.9%, fully satisfying the requirements for CUPID.

Coastal erosion occurring all over the world is a disastrous coastal geological phenomenon. It can be caused by many natural factors such as wind and waves. Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the east coast of the United States at the end of October 2012 and caused severe damage to the economy and ecological environment. In this paper, we employ the ground-based LiDAR which has higher spatial resolution to observe the coastal change detection at Fire Island, New York where the place is severely affected. The research showed that sediment accumulation occurred away from the coast, up to 2.9 meters, erosion close to the coast, up to 9 meters. The total volume of the study area decreased by 78160.96 cubic meters. The coastline retreated by 32.86 meters on average. In addition, a website has been designed to record coastal erosion anytime and anywhere. We hope this study will help people better understand the impact of hurricanes on coastal erosion, enhance our awareness of environmental protection, and provide scientific information for further study.

In the wind tunnel test of trains, the scale size changes the Reynolds numbers of trains, which may affect the aerodynamic characteristics of the train. Based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), numerical models of train aerodynamics with five different scale sizes are established. The five different scale sizes are λ=1/1, 1/2, 1/8, 1/16 and 1/25, respectively, and the aerodynamic characteristics of trains running in the open-air operating condition and crosswind operating condition with different scale sizes are numerically simulated. The results show that the pressure drag coefficients and pressure lift coefficients of the train tend to decrease with the decrease of the scale size. In the open-air operating condition, compared with the full-size train, the pressure drag coefficient of the 1/25th scaled train is less by 14.4%, and the pressure lift coefficients of the head car, middle car and tail car change 16.1%, 46.6% and 12.3%, respectively. The scale size affects the velocity gradient near the train surface and the position of flow separation changes. The decrease of the scale size leads to the decrease of Reynolds numbers and the increase of viscous drag coefficient. When the scale size is 1/25, the viscous drag coefficient of the train is 0.186, which is 48.6% larger than the one of the full-size train. Compared with the open-air operating condition, the trend of the pressure drag coefficients and viscous drag coefficients is consistent except for the head car in crosswind operating condition when the scale size decreases. In the range of scale size λ between 1/1 and 1/25, the aerodynamic drag coefficient of the head car, middle car and tail car increase with the decrease of scale size, and the difference in the aerodynamic drag coefficient of the train is 12.9%. In addition, the train’s aerodynamic lift coefficient shows an increasing trend with the decrease of scale size.

Objective: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) happens when microbes, infections, organisms, and parasites change over the long run, becoming resistant to any drug, as well as making contaminations harder to treat and expanding the danger of the disease spreading, severity, and death. Because of medication obstruction and anti-infection agents, antimicrobial drugs become ineffectual, and diseases become progressively troublesome or difficult to treat. AMR keeps on representing a public health concern because of high mortality rate and expensive treatments. Food assumes a significant part in the transmission of commensal microorganisms yet in addition, food-borne microbes include zoonotic organic entities. The aim of this meta-analysis review is to report the predominance of antimicrobial resistance in food from animals and a few vegetables from India and to compare the data with countries like Switzerland and Taiwan. Material and Methods: To evaluate AMR pervasiveness in retail food a literature review survey of information distributed in the range of 2013 to 2020 was done. The research articles were identified through Google scholar, PubMed, and ResearchGate. The Keywords AMR, INDIA, food source like seafood, goat meat, chicken meat, pork, raw eggs, milk, and vegetables were used for the search. Results: Out of the 63 eligible studies, 10 articles (all articles from India) were included in this review. A total of 2,126 AMR tests were collected for various bacteria found in various food products. Nine distinct bacteria and resistance to about 13 different antimicrobial agents/drugs were identified. The sample sources, bacterial species, and their proportion are displayed in Tables 1. In these 9 distinct microorganisms, 1800 microorganism isolates of which 611 samples and 698 isolates were AMR positive. A middle AMR commonness of >50% was noticed for meat and fish with Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococci, Salmonella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Streptococci, Vibrio spp, and Shigella. Conclusions: AMR potential for Gram-negative foodborne bacteria was found in raw meat, milk, fish, and certain matured dairy products. To enable an expanded AMR hazard appraisal for customers, AMR genetics attributes are suggested to be better coordinated into regulated One Health AMR observation and alleviation systems.

ABSTRACT: This experiment aimed to study the effects of dietary calcium (Ca) and non-phytate phosphorus (NPP) levels on performance, serum biochemical indices, and lipid metabolism in Beijing You Chicken (BYC), a local chicken. A 3 × 3 factorial design was adopted, dietary Ca levels were 0.66, 0.71, and 0.76%, NPP levels were 0.25, 0.30, and 0.35%. A total of 648 ten-wk-old BYC growing pullets were randomly divided into 9 groups with 6 replicates per group, and 12 birds per replicate. Growth performance, serum biochemical indices, and lipid metabolism indicators from 10 to 16 wk were measured. The results showed as follows: 1) Dietary Ca and NPP alone did not affect growth performance, but the interaction of dietary Ca and NPP affected average feed intake (AFI) of growing pullets (P < 0.05). The AFI was the lowest for the group with 0.71% Ca and 0.25% NPP (3,550.0 g, P = 0.036). 2) Dietary Ca level significantly affected serum P content (P < 0.05); dietary NPP had an influence trend on serum Ca content (P= 0.054). Dietary NPP levels and the interaction of Ca and NPP significantly affected alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity. 3) Dietary Ca levels significantly affected TC content and HDL-C content (P < 0.05). Dietary NPP level significantly affected TG content (P < 0.05), the TG content in 0.25% and 0.30% NPP groups was significantly lower than that in 0.35% NPP group (P < 0.05). The interaction of dietary Ca and NPP significantly affected TG, TC and HDL-C contents (P < 0.05). TG, TC, and LDL-C levels were lower and HDL-C levels were the highest in the group with 0.66% Ca and 0.25% NPP. In summary, appropriate dietary Ca level can regulate serum TG, TC, and HDL-C content. Dietary Ca and NPP levels can be adjusted in pullet phase to avoid excessive obesity during the egg-laying period. This study recommended that dietary 0.66% Ca and 0.25% NPP benefit for the lipid metabolism of BYC growing pullets without affecting the performance.

ABSTRACT: The experiment aimed to study effects of dietary metabolizable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) levels alone and in interaction on performance, pectoral muscle composition and gut microbiota in native growing chickens. A total of 648 10-wks-old Beijing-You Chicken (BYC) female chickens were randomly allocated to 9 groups with 6 replicates per group and 12 chickens per replicate, and the chickens were fed with a 3 × 3 factorial diets (3 levels of dietary ME: 11.31 MJ/kg, 11.51 MJ/kg, 11.71 MJ/kg; and 3 levels of dietary CP: 14%, 15%, 16%). The results showed that dietary ME and CP levels didn't affect average feed intake (AFI), body weight gain, feed gain ratio (P > 0.05), but ME level significantly affected the AFI (P < 0.05); mortality rate of 11.31 MJ/kg group was the highest (P < 0.05). Dietary ME, CP levels, and the interaction significantly affected pectoral CP and crude fat (CF) content of the growing chickens (P < 0.01). Dietary CP level had opposite effects on pectoral CP and CF content (P < 0.01). The 16% CP increased the pectoral CF content, which may have a negative impact on meat flavor. Dietary ME level affected 11 types of pectoral free amino acids (FAA) contents, including aspartic acid, L-threonine (P < 0.05), also amino acid classification, for example, total amino acid (TAA) and essential amino acid (EAA) content (P < 0.05). The 11.51 MJ/kg group had the highest TAA, EAA, delicious amino acid (DAA) content and EAA percentage (P < 0.05), while 11.31 MJ/kg group had the lowest bitter amino acid (BAA) content and BAA percentage and the highest fresh and sweet amino acid (FSAA) percentage (P < 0.05). Dietary CP level significantly affected glutamine and tyrosine content (P < 0.05). The interaction of dietary ME and CP level affected C20:3n6 content, saturated fatty acid (SFA), and unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) percentage (P < 0.05). The CP level significantly affected SFA percentage (P < 0.05). The 16% CP level increased the diversity of gut microbiota, but at the same time increased the relative abundance of Proteobacteria (P < 0.05), which is a sign of microbiota disorder. The increase of dietary ME level resulted in a gradual decrease in the diversity and relative abundance of gut microbiota. In conclusion, the present study suggested that the medium dietary ME (11.51 MJ/kg) and low CP (14–15%) levels can be helpful for enhancing pectoral muscle composition, increase meat quality such as flavor and nutritional value, and benefit for gut microbiota in native growing chickens.

Ensuring the human right to water requires monitoring at national or subnational levels, but few comprehensive frameworks exist for industrialized contexts. This paper introduces a subnational-level framework – known as the California Human Right to Water Framework and Data Tool (CalHRTW) – developed by the authors at the California EPA's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. This paper has two objectives: (1) to present the theoretical foundations and methodology used to develop the first version of CalHRTW (CalHRTW 1.0) and (2) to showcase how results can be used. CalHRTW 1.0 measures three components of the human right to water: drinking water quality, accessibility and affordability for community water systems in California. Nine individual indicators grouped by component, and three indices that summarize component-level outcomes are used to quantify system-level results. CalHRTW allows users to: (1) summarize system-level conditions statewide and identify challenges, (2) explore social equity implications and (3) centralize information for planning. CalHRTW draws on approaches from existing international monitoring efforts and complements existing California efforts by being the first US effort to comprehensively and explicitly monitor the HRTW under one umbrella. This work offers other US states and countries a model to build monitoring efforts to realize the human right to water. HIGHLIGHTS CalHRTW is the first effort to comprehensively monitor the human right to water in California.; We develop a monitoring framework and tool track the human right to water in California.; Nine indicators and three component-level indices allow users to track water system-level conditions and screen for challenges, explore social equity implications and centralize information.; The approach and application offers a model for other subnational locales.;

Abstract The deep underground neutrino experiment (DUNE), a 40-kton underground liquid argon time projection chamber experiment, will be sensitive to the electron-neutrino flavor component of the burst of neutrinos expected from the next Galactic core-collapse supernova. Such an observation will bring unique insight into the astrophysics of core collapse as well as into the properties of neutrinos. The general capabilities of DUNE for neutrino detection in the relevant few- to few-tens-of-MeV neutrino energy range will be described. As an example, DUNE’s ability to constrain the $$\nu _e$$ ν e spectral parameters of the neutrino burst will be considered.

Abstract The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will be a powerful tool for a variety of physics topics. The high-intensity proton beams provide a large neutrino flux, sampled by a near detector system consisting of a combination of capable precision detectors, and by the massive far detector system located deep underground. This configuration sets up DUNE as a machine for discovery, as it enables opportunities not only to perform precision neutrino measurements that may uncover deviations from the present three-flavor mixing paradigm, but also to discover new particles and unveil new interactions and symmetries beyond those predicted in the Standard Model (SM). Of the many potential beyond the Standard Model (BSM) topics DUNE will probe, this paper presents a selection of studies quantifying DUNE’s sensitivities to sterile neutrino mixing, heavy neutral leptons, non-standard interactions, CPT symmetry violation, Lorentz invariance violation, neutrino trident production, dark matter from both beam induced and cosmogenic sources, baryon number violation, and other new physics topics that complement those at high-energy colliders and significantly extend the present reach.

Abstract The CUPID Collaboration is designing a tonne-scale, background-free detector to search for double beta decay with sufficient sensitivity to fully explore the parameter space corresponding to the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy scenario. One of the CUPID demonstrators, CUPID-Mo, has proved the potential of enriched Li $$_{2}$$ 2 $$^{100}$$ 100 MoO $$_4$$ 4 crystals as suitable detectors for neutrinoless double beta decay search. In this work, we characterised cubic crystals that, compared to the cylindrical crystals used by CUPID-Mo, are more appealing for the construction of tightly packed arrays. We measured an average energy resolution of ( $$6.7\pm 0.6$$ 6.7 ± 0.6 ) keV FWHM in the region of interest, approaching the CUPID target of 5 keV FWHM. We assessed the identification of $$\alpha $$ α particles with and without a reflecting foil that enhances the scintillation light collection efficiency, proving that the baseline design of CUPID already ensures a complete suppression of this $$\alpha $$ α -induced background contribution. We also used the collected data to validate a Monte Carlo simulation modelling the light collection efficiency, which will enable further optimisations of the detector.

Abstract The sensitivity of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) to neutrino oscillation is determined, based on a full simulation, reconstruction, and event selection of the far detector and a full simulation and parameterized analysis of the near detector. Detailed uncertainties due to the flux prediction, neutrino interaction model, and detector effects are included. DUNE will resolve the neutrino mass ordering to a precision of 5 $$\sigma $$ σ , for all $$\delta _{\mathrm{CP}}$$ δ CP values, after 2 years of running with the nominal detector design and beam configuration. It has the potential to observe charge-parity violation in the neutrino sector to a precision of 3 $$\sigma $$ σ (5 $$\sigma $$ σ ) after an exposure of 5 (10) years, for 50% of all $$\delta _{\mathrm{CP}}$$ δ CP values. It will also make precise measurements of other parameters governing long-baseline neutrino oscillation, and after an exposure of 15 years will achieve a similar sensitivity to $$\sin ^{2} 2\theta _{13}$$ sin 2 2 θ 13 to current reactor experiments.

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging is currently the mainstay of functional neuroimaging and has allowed researchers to identify intrinsic connectivity networks (aka functional networks) at different spatial scales. However, little is known about the temporal profiles of these networks and whether it is best to model them as continuous phenomena in both space and time or, rather, as a set of temporally discrete events. Both categories have been supported by series of studies with promising findings. However, a critical question is whether focusing only on time points presumed to contain isolated neural events and disregarding the rest of the data is missing important information, potentially leading to misleading conclusions. In this work, we argue that brain networks identified within the spontaneous blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal are not limited to temporally sparse burst moments and that these event present time points (EPTs) contain valuable but incomplete information about the underlying functional patterns.We focus on the default mode and show evidence that is consistent with its continuous presence in the BOLD signal, including during the event absent time points (EATs), i.e., time points that exhibit minimum activity and are the least likely to contain an event. Moreover, our findings suggest that EPTs may not contain all the available information about their corresponding networks. We observe distinct default mode connectivity patterns obtained from all time points (AllTPs), EPTs, and EATs. We show evidence of robust relationships with schizophrenia symptoms that are both common and unique to each of the sets of time points (AllTPs, EPTs, EATs), likely related to transient patterns of connectivity. Together, these findings indicate the importance of leveraging the full temporal data in functional studies, including those using event-detection approaches.

Adenosine deaminase (ADA)-deficient mice and healthy rhesus monkeys were studied to determine the impact of age at treatment, vector dosage, dosing schedule, repeat administration, biodistribution, and immunogenicity after systemic delivery of lentiviral vectors (LVs). In Ada−/− mice, neonatal treatment resulted in broad vector marking across all tissues analyzed, whereas adult treatment resulted in marking restricted to the liver, spleen, and bone marrow. Intravenous administration to infant rhesus monkeys also resulted in dose-dependent marking in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow. Using an ELISA to monitor anti-vector antibody development, Ada−/− neonatal mice did not produce an antibody response, whereas Ada−/− adult mice produced a strong antibody response to vector administration. In mice and monkeys with repeat administration of LV, a strong anti-vector antibody response was shown in response to the second LV administration, which resulted in LV inactivation. Three separate doses administered to immune competent mice resulted in acute toxicity. Pegylation of the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein (VSV-G)-enveloped LVs showed a less robust anti-vector response but did not prevent the inactivation of the second LV administration. These studies identify important factors to consider related to age and timing of administration when implementing systemic delivery of LVs as a potential therapeutic agent. Keywords: lentiviral vector, gene therapy, rhesus monkeys, in vivo, immune response, ADA-deficiency, ERT, repeat administration

The routine atomic resolution structure determination of single particles is expected to have profound implications for probing structure–function relationships in systems ranging from energy-storage materials to biological molecules. Extremely bright ultrashort-pulse X-ray sources – X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) – provide X-rays that can be used to probe ensembles of nearly identical nanoscale particles. When combined with coherent diffractive imaging, these objects can be imaged; however, as the resolution of the images approaches the atomic scale, the measured data are increasingly difficult to obtain and, during an X-ray pulse, the number of photons incident on the 2D detector is much smaller than the number of pixels. This latter concern, the signal `sparsity', materially impedes the application of the method. An experimental analog using a conventional X-ray source is demonstrated and yields signal levels comparable with those expected from single biomolecules illuminated by focused XFEL pulses. The analog experiment provides an invaluable cross check on the fidelity of the reconstructed data that is not available during XFEL experiments. Using these experimental data, it is established that a sparsity of order 1.3 × 10−3 photons per pixel per frame can be overcome, lending vital insight to the solution of the atomic resolution XFEL single-particle imaging problem by experimentally demonstrating 3D coherent diffractive imaging from photon-sparse random projections.

ABSTRACT: The paper aimed to study the effects of light regime during the incubation on hatching performance, body development and serum biochemical indexes in Beijing You Chicken (BYC). A total of 1,408 BYC eggs were randomly allocated into 4 groups: 24 h dark as the control (Inc24D); 3 light regimes were 8 h light and 16 h dark group (Inc8L:16D); 12 h light and 12 h dark group (Inc12L:12D); 16 h light and 8 h dark group (Inc16L:8D), respectively. There were 352 eggs in each group, 4 replicates each group and 1 tray each replicate, 88 eggs each tray. Light-emitting diode (LED) strips, white light with temperature of 4,500 to 5,000 K, 150 to 200 lx were set up. The results showed that light regimes had no significant effects on hatching rate of eggs, hatching rate of fertile eggs and healthy rate of chicks (P > 0.05), but the hatching rate of eggs was the lowest in the Inc24D group (87.22%), and the highest in the Inc12L:12D group (93.64%); Lighted incubation significantly affected the incidence of leg problems of 1-day-old chicks (P < 0.05). The incidence rate of leg problems was the highest in the Inc24D group (4.21%), and was decreased in Inc12L:12D and Inc16L:8D groups (P < 0.05). Femur length in the Inc12L:12D group was greater than that in the Inc24D and Inc16L:8D groups (P = 0.011), but there were no differences between Inc8L:16D group and other three groups (P > 0.05). The relative brain weight of 1-day-old chicks was higher in Inc24D and Inc16L:8D groups than in Inc8L:16D group (P = 0.052), but had no difference with Inc12L:12D group. Light regimes during incubation had no effects on serum total protein, albumen, globulin, and urea nitrogen content of 1-day-old chicks (P > 0.05), while the globulin content in Inc12L:12D group was numerically greater than in other three groups (P = 0.063). Lysozyme content in Inc12L:12D group was higher than that in the Inc24D and Inc8L:16D groups (P < 0.05), but had no difference with that in Inc16L:8D group. Light regime had no effect on serum total antioxidant capability (T-AOC) (P > 0.05), but significantly affected the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) (P < 0.05). The GSH-Px and T-SOD activities in the Inc12L:12D group were higher than those in the Inc24D and Inc8L:16D groups. The MDA content of Inc24D was the highest (9.67 nmol/mL) compared to the others, which was very close to the significant level (P = 0.056). In conclusion, 12 h light and 12 h dark incubation has the potential to improve the hatching performance of BYC eggs, benefit for the long bone development, improve some serum immune and antioxidant indexes, and reduce the leg problems in 1-day-old chicks.

The article presents contrastive linguo-culturological analysis of the unique Russian cultural concept NADEZHDA (HOPE) and the corresponding Chinese one. The purpose is to give complex description of content and structure features of verbal embodiment of the concept NADEZHDA in the aspect of Russian-Chinese language correlations. Design / methodology / approach include the following. The linguo-culturological approach is the base of the research methodology. The concrete method is the methodic of contrastive linguo-culturological analysis of conceptual content and language objectification of the concept. The material of the study is the data of basic Russian and Chinese dictionaries. Practical implications of the research are conditioned by possibility to use its results for teaching Russian as foreign language for Chinese graduate and post-graduate students. The results can be also used in the theory and practice of compiling the innovational dictionaries of concepts and linguo-cultural thesauri. Findings are that all the sense components of the Russian cultural concept the concept NADEZHDA are mainly presented in Chinese, but they are realized in different, diverged semantically and historically words. If the Russian concept NADEZHDA goes back to the idea of a stronghold, a support, the Chinese concept accents prospective semantics on the basis of spatial representations. Different cultural realities of Russian and Chinese worlds are expected to be reflected in language embodiment of compared concepts. Originality / value consists in that the analysis proves that the Russian concept NADEZHDA is connected with the other concepts VERA (FAITH) and SUD’BA (DESTINY) together with them expressing the key idea of the Russian language picture of the world about unpredictability of the universe, while the Chinese concept is corresponded with the idea of Middle Way and moderation, it is mainly oriented to the concept NORM.

We propose that repetitive chronic microtrauma, in susceptible individuals, is a significant causative factor in the development of acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM). This observational study documents a possible correlation between anatomical site of ALM and recognised high-pressure sites on the plantar foot. The pattern of distribution not only matches the gait analysis pattern, but the concentration of cases correlates with the zones of highest pressure. The surface area distribution also highlights a discrepancy between surface area affected and incidence of ALM for a purely direct causal link, suggesting another causative factor. This hypothesis is consistent with other known features of ALM, particularly age of onset in the sparing of glabrous skin, which is not subjected to repetitive shearing or direct pressure forces.

To achieve good water conservancy under the well-off society before 2020, the future water conservancy planning is undergoing in Yunnan Province. In this study, by analysing the research results of domestic relevant water evaluation index systems and combining this with the water conservancy construction key of Yunnan Province, an unique evaluation index system was proposed to evaluate the well-off water conservancy level of Yunnan Province. It is composed of three levels which are the target layer, criterion layer and index layer. And the criterion layer includes six systems, namely flood control and drought relief mitigation, reasonable allocation of water resources, highly effective water utilization, water source protection and river health security, water management and securing of water development. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to determine the weight of each index. According to the present situation of water development and the related water conservancy planning in Yunnan Province, the target value of each index and evaluation standards are put forward for Yunnan Province in 2020. The results show that the evaluation results are consistent with the actual condition of water development in Yunnan Province and can be used to examine the effects of well-off water conservancy planning.

Multi-Plant Heat Integration is an established approach for improving energy efficiency in industrial clusters. Current studies mostly focus on this topic under a simple assumption that all plants are operating at a same and single period. In reality, processing plants may operate at multiple periods in which the operating conditions of each plant vary with time. Process stream parameters such as mass flow rates, supply and target temperatures may change over a specified range. So it is particularly necessary to design multi-period heat exchanger networks to improve the systems’ flexibility. While multi-period operation problem has been considered in some researches of heat exchanger network synthesis within a single plant, it is usually ignored in Multi-Plant Heat Integration studies. In this work, we propose a new methodology for Multi-Plant Heat Integration considering multi-period operations. The methodology employs a novel representative superstructure to cover all possible networks for Multi-Plant Heat Integration wherein the maximum area of a heat exchanger is required to achieve heat exchanging services in all periods. The problem was formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem. Trade-offs among utility cost, capital cost of heat exchangers, piping cost and pumping cost were fully investigated. An industrial case is employed to illustrate the effectiveness of proposed model.

Multi-plants heat integration can be carried out either directly using process streams or indirectly using intermediate fluids. Due to the corresponding characteristics of the heat transfer, direct heat integration can accomplish more energy targets with less number of heat exchangers. While many design methodologies have been developed, most current studies mainly consider energy aspect and the distance factor are always ignored. Since the piping cost for long distance is a major proportion of the total capital cost, this article proposed a mathematical programming methodology for multi-plants heat integration with a centralized energy hub. In this way, streams from different plants can exchange heat in the hub and the piping cost can be largely reduced. Also, the capital governance can be simplified significantly and the networks are often easier to be operated and maintained. A literature example is illustrated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. Compared with the results of the conventional design, the energy hub approach is a more attractive choice for multi-plants heat integration.

Image registration is essential for geospatial information systems analysis, which usually involves integrating multitemporal and multispectral datasets from remote optical and radar sensors. An algorithm that deals with feature extraction, keypoint matching, outlier detection and image warping is experimented in this study. The methods currently available in the literature rely on techniques, such as the scale-invariant feature transform, between-edge cost minimization, normalized cross correlation, leasts-quares image matching, random sample consensus, iterated data snooping and thin-plate splines. Their basics are highlighted and encoded into a computer program. The test images are excerpts from digital files created by the multispectral SPOT-5 and Formosat-2 sensors, and by the panchromatic IKONOS and QuickBird sensors. Suburban areas, housing rooftops, the countryside and hilly plantations are studied. The co-registered images are displayed with block subimages in a criss-cross pattern. Besides the imagery, the registration accuracy is expressed by the root mean square error. Toward the end, this paper also includes a few opinions on issues that are believed to hinder a correct correspondence between diverse images.

Using a GC/FID/MS system, we analyzed the mixing ratio of 16 halocarbon species in more than 100 air samples collected in 2004 from the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of southern China. The results revealed that there are elevated mixing ratios for most of halocarbons, especially for HClC = CCl2 (trichloroethylene, TCE), CH2Cl2 (dichloromethane, DCM), CH3 Br (bromomethane), HCFC-22, CHCl3 (trichloromethane), CCl4 (tetrachloromethane), Cl2C = CCl2 (perchloroethylene, PCE), CH3CCl3 (methyl chloroform, MCF), and CFC-12. Comparisons were done with the data from TRACE-P and ALE/GAGE/AGAGE experiments, we found that the large variability in mixing ratios (relative standard deviation ranged from 9.31 % to 96.55 %) of the halocarbons suggested substantial local emissions from the PRD region in 2004. Correlations between the mixing ratio of each species and carbon monoxide (CO) was examined, and then the emission of each halocarbon was quantified based on scaling the optimized CO emission inventory with the slope of the regression line fitted to each species relative to CO. The calculated results revealed that mass of CH2Cl2 (7.0 Gg), CH3CCl3 (6.7 Gg), and Cl2C = CCl2 (2.3 Gg) accounted for about 62.9 % of total halocarbon emissions, it suggested a significant contribution from solvent use in the PRD region. Emissions of HCFC-22 (3.5 Gg), an alternative refrigerant to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), were about 2.3 times greater than those of CFC-12 (1.6 Gg). CFC-12 and HCFC-22 accounted for 21.5 % of total emissions of halocarbons, so that the refrigerant would be the second largest source of halocarbons. However, the ratio approach found only minor emissions of CFCs, such as CFC-11, and the emission of CFC-114 and CFC-113 were close to zero. Emissions of other anthropogenic halocarbons, such as CCl4, CHCl3, CH3Br, and CH3Cl, were also estimated. Where possible, the emissions estimated from the measured ratios were compared with results from source inventory techniques, we found that both approaches gave emissions at similar magnitude for most of the halocarbons, except CFC-11. The comparison suggested that the ratio method may be a useful tool for assessing regional halocarbon emissions, and emission uncertainty could be further reduced by incorporating both longer-term and higher-frequency observations, as well as improving the accuracy of the CO inventory.

Interplant Heat Integration using Heat Recovery Loop (HRL) is very different from intra-plant Heat Integration. As the heat sources and sinks are always separated in different regions, some additional factors should be focused on, i.e. capital cost of heat exchangers, installation cost of pumps and pipelines for long distance, and operation cost of pumping power and heat loss during the transportation. Based on economic criteria, this paper presents a stage-wise MINLP model for HRL designs considering the factors aforementioned. Unlike traditional heat exchanger networks (HENS), the flow rate of intermediate-fluid is considered as an important variable which results in a large complex, non-convex model. An efficient strategy is proposed for the problem by sequentially solving an MILP, an MINLP and a NLP. The distance plays a significant role in the design of HRL and it significantly affects the investment of pipelines. The optimum results show that the influence of pumps is relatively less. An industry case study is demonstrated to illustrate the efficiency of the strategy.

HRL (heat recovery loop) is an indirect method for transferring heat from one plant to another plant using intermediate-fluid circles. Inter-plant heat integration using HRL is a very special approach for energy conservation, as there are some additional factors should be considered, such as the capital cost of additional heat exchangers, pumps and pipelines for long distance, operation cost of pumping power and heat loss during the transportation. Moreover, when the number of plants involved in Heat Integration is large, the connection between plants have to be considered. These factors simultaneously determine the possibility and performance of Heat Integration. In this work, graphical targeting and mathematical programming is combined, a generalized MINLP model with economic objection is proposed to minimize the total annual costs (TAC) for Inter-Plant Heat Integration using HRL. As this work concentrates on heat recovery in low temperature range, hot water is selected as the heat transfer medium. The solved results can give the mass flow rate of intermediate-fluids, diameter of pipeline, temperatures of the heat transfer medium and the configuration of heat exchanger networks (HENs). An industry case study with three plants is used to demonstrate the model.

Total site heat integration provides more energy saving opportunities than conventional heat integration within single process. Some total site design methods including direct integration using process streams and indirect integration using intermediate-fluid circuit have been proposed during these years. In these works, it is found that direct heat integration can recover more heat, require less heat transfer area, but incur higher cost in pipeline compared with indirect heat integration. However, most research focused on total site heat integration with considering only indirect heat integration or direct heat integration, no methodology simultaneously considered both direct and indirect heat integration. Therefore, some optimal designs will be missed by using current total site integration methodologies for they do not fully utilize the features of indirect and direct heat integration. In this work, the situation that only applying direct heat integration, only applying indirect heat integration and applying both heat integration in total site heat integration are analyzed. The new idea allows the direct and indirect heat integration to be considered simultaneously. The application of the new methodology can bring a significant energy saving in total site.

Here, we describe the application of a RecA-based cloning technology to generate full-length cDNA libraries enriched for genes that are differentially expressed between tumor and normal tissue samples. First, we show that the RecA-based method can be used to enrich cDNA libraries for several target genes in a single reaction. Then, we demonstrate that this method can be extended to enrich a cDNA library for many full-length cDNA clones using fragments derived from a subtracted cDNA population. The results of these studies show that this RecA-mediated cloning technology can be used to convert subtracted cDNAs or a mixture of several cDNA fragments corresponding to differentially expressed genes into a full-length library in a single reaction. This procedure yields a population of expression-ready clones that can be used for further high-throughput functional screening.

The Ma bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro) covers 152,300 ha in Taiwan, roughly of 7.2 % the overall forest area. This study calculated the energy and mass balance of Ma bamboo as a feedstock for bioethanol production. Several processes included acidic steam explosion, alkaline steam explosion, bleached, unbleached kraft pulps, enzyme hydrolysis, and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) for fuel ethanol production from bamboo were studied through energy consumption and energy production. The energy analysis of the compacting fermented residue was also evaluated. Results show that the post-fermentation residues possessed high heating values. The net energy value of acidic steam explosion pulp, alkali steam explosion, kraft pulp, and bleached pulp is -1.75, 4.42, -2.71, and2.90 MJ/kg chip. The alkali steam explosion has highest net energy value and is equivalent to 50.22 MJ/kg ethanol. The net energy gains could be achieved for the processes with greater ethanol yields: acid steam explosion and fully bleached pulps. SSF could produce 220 ML/t of starting biomass of bioethanols from acidic steam explosion pulps and 148 ML/t of starting biomass of bioethanols from alkaline steam explosion pretreatment pulps annually.

Noninvasive positron emission tomography (PET) provides a potential method for in vivo tracking of radiolabeled cells. The goal of this study was to assess the potential toxicity of 64 Cu-pyruvaldehyde-bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) (PTSM) on rhesus monkey CD34 + hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells in vitro in preparation for developing imaging protocols posttransplantation. CD34 + hematopoietic cells were radiolabeled with 0 to 40 μCi/mL 64 Cu-PTSM and viability and colony formation were assessed. Rhesus monkey mesenchymal stem cells (rhMSCs) were placed in culture postradiolabeling for assessments of growth and differentiation toward adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic lineages. The results indicated that CD34 + cells radiolabeled with 20 μCi/mL and rhMSCs radiolabeled with 10 μCi/mL 64 Cu-PTSM did not result in adverse effects on growth or differentiation. Nonradioactive copper was also evaluated and showed that the presence of copper was not harmful to the cells. CD34 + cells and rhMSCs radiolabeled with the optimized concentrations of 20 and 10 μCi/mL, respectively, were also assessed using the microPET scanner. Studies showed that a minimum of 2.50 × 10 4 CD34 + cells (1.1 pCi/cell) and 6.25 × 10 3 rhMSCs (4.4 pCi/cell) could be detected. These studies indicate that CD34 + hematopoietic cells and rhMSCs can be safely radiolabeled with 64 Cu-PTSM without adverse cellular effects.