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Abstract Background Bacterial growth rate, commonly reported in terms of doubling time, is frequently determined by one of two techniques: either by measuring optical absorption of a growing culture or by taking samples at different times during their growth phase, diluting them, spreading them on agar plates, incubating them, and counting the colonies that form. Both techniques require measurements of multiple repeats, as well careful assessment of reproducibility and consistency. Existing literature using either technique gives a wide range of growth rate values for even the most extensively studied species of bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. This work aims to apply several methods to reliably determine the growth rate of a recently identified species of Enterobacteriaceae, called Enterobacter sp. SM3, and to compare that rate with that of a well-known wildtype E. coli strain KP437. Results We extend conventional optical density (OD) measurements to determine the growth rate of Enterobacter sp. SM3. To assess the reliability of this technique, we compare growth rates obtained by fitting the OD data to exponential growth, applying a relative density method, and measuring shifts in OD curves following set factors of dilution. The main source of error in applying the OD technique is due to the reliance on an exponential growth phase with a short span. With proper choice of parameter range, however, we show that these three methods yield consistent results. We also measured the SM3 division rate by counting colony-forming units (CFU) versus time, yielding results consistent with the OD measurements. In lysogeny broth at 37oC, SM3 divides every 21 ± 3 min, notably faster than the RP437 strain of E. coli, which divides every 29 ± 2 min. Conclusion The main conclusion of this report is that conventional optical density (OD) measurements and the colony-forming units (CFU) method can yield consistent values of bacterial growth rate. However, to ensure the reproducibility and reliability of the measured growth rate of each bacterial strain, different methods ought to be applied in close comparison. The effort of checking for consistency among multiple techniques, as we have done in this study, is necessary to avoid reporting variable values of doubling time for particular species or strains of bacteria, as seen in the literature.

A new long-term emission inventory called the Inversed Emission Inventory for Chinese Air Quality (CAQIEI) was developed in this study by assimilating surface observations from the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre (CNEMC) using an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) and the Nested Air Quality Prediction Modeling System. This inventory contains the constrained monthly emissions of NOx, SO2, CO, primary PM2.5, primary PM10, and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) in China from 2013 to 2020, with a horizontal resolution of 15 km × 15 km. This paper documents detailed descriptions of the assimilation system and the evaluation results for the emission inventory. The results suggest that CAQIEI can effectively reduce the biases in the a priori emission inventory, with the normalized mean biases ranging from −9.1 % to 9.5 % in the a posteriori simulation, which are significantly reduced from the biases in the a priori simulations (−45.6 % to 93.8 %). The calculated root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) (0.3 mg m−3 for CO and 9.4–21.1 µg m3 for other species, on the monthly scale) and correlation coefficients (0.76–0.94) were also improved from the a priori simulations, demonstrating good performance of the data assimilation system. Based on CAQIEI, we estimated China's total emissions (including both natural and anthropogenic emissions) of the six species in 2015 to be as follows: 25.2 Tg of NOx, 17.8 Tg of SO2, 465.4 Tg of CO, 15.0 Tg of PM2.5, 40.1 Tg of PM10, and 46.0 Tg of NMVOCs. From 2015 to 2020, the total emissions decreased by 54.1 % for SO2, 44.4 % for PM2.5, 33.6 % for PM10, 35.7 % for CO, and 15.1 % for NOx but increased by 21.0 % for NMVOCs. It is also estimated that the emission reductions were larger during 2018–2020 (from −26.6 % to −4.5 %) than during 2015–2017 (from −23.8 % to 27.6 %) for most of the species. In particular, the total Chinese NOx and NMVOC emissions were shown to increase during 2015–2017, especially over the Fenwei Plain area (FW), where the emissions of particulate matter (PM) also increased. The situation changed during 2018–2020, when the upward trends were contained and reversed to downward trends for the total emissions of both NOx and NMVOCs and the PM emissions over FW. This suggests that the emission control policies may be improved in the 2018–2020 action plan. We also compared CAQIEI with other air pollutant emission inventories in China, which verified our inversion results in terms of the total emissions of NOx, SO2, and NMVOCs and more importantly identified the potential uncertainties in current emission inventories. Firstly, CAQIEI suggested higher CO emissions in China, with CO emissions estimated by CAQIEI (426.8 Tg) being more than twice the amounts in previous inventories (120.7–237.7 Tg). Significantly higher emissions were also suggested over western and northeastern China for the other air pollutants. Secondly, CAQIEI suggested higher NMVOC emissions than previous emission inventories by about 30.4 %–81.4 % over the North China Plain (NCP) but suggested lower NMVOC emissions by about 27.6 %–0.0 % over southeastern China (SE). Thirdly, CAQIEI suggested lower emission reduction rates during 2015–2018 than previous emission inventories for most species, except for CO. In particular, China's NMVOC emissions were shown to have increased by 26.6 % from 2015 to 2018, especially over NCP (by 38.0 %), northeastern China (by 38.3 %), and central China (60.0 %). These results provide us with new insights into the complex variations in air pollutant emissions in China during two recent clean-air actions, which has the potential to improve our understanding of air pollutant emissions in China and their impacts on air quality. All of the datasets are available at https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.13151 (Kong et al., 2023a).

Graphics processing units (GPUs) are becoming a compelling acceleration strategy for geoscience numerical models due to their powerful computing performance. In this study, AMD's heterogeneous-compute interface for portability (HIP) was implemented to port the GPU acceleration version of the piecewise parabolic method (PPM) solver (GPU-HADVPPM) from NVIDIA GPUs to China's domestic GPU-like accelerators like GPU-HADVPPM4HIP. Further, it introduced the multi-level hybrid parallelism scheme to improve the total computational performance of the HIP version of the CAMx (Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions; CAMx-HIP) model on China's domestic heterogeneous cluster. The experimental results show that the acceleration effect of GPU-HADVPPM on the different GPU accelerators is more apparent when the computing scale is more extensive, and the maximum speedup of GPU-HADVPPM on the domestic GPU-like accelerator is 28.9×faster. The hybrid parallelism with a message passing interface (MPI) and HIP enables achieving up to a 17.2× speedup when configuring 32 CPU cores and GPU-like accelerators on the domestic heterogeneous cluster. The OpenMP technology is introduced further to reduce the computation time of the CAMx-HIP model by 1.9×. More importantly, by comparing the simulation results of GPU-HADVPPM on NVIDIA GPUs and domestic GPU-like accelerators, it is found that the simulation results of GPU-HADVPPM on domestic GPU-like accelerators have less difference than the NVIDIA GPUs. Furthermore, we also show that the data transfer efficiency between CPU and GPU has a meaningful essential impact on heterogeneous computing and point out that optimizing the data transfer efficiency between CPU and GPU is one of the critical directions to improve the computing efficiency of geoscience numerical models in heterogeneous clusters in the future.

Abstract The demand for high-performance electromechanical resonators is ever-growing across diverse applications, ranging from sensing and time-keeping to advanced communication devices. Among the electromechanical materials being explored, thin-film lithium niobate stands out due to its strong piezoelectric properties and low acoustic loss. However, in nearly all existing lithium niobate electromechanical devices, the configuration is such that the electrodes are in direct contact with the mechanical resonator. This configuration introduces an undesirable mass-loading effect, producing spurious modes and additional damping. Here, we present an electromechanical platform that mitigates this challenge by leveraging a flip-chip bonding technique to separate the electrodes from the mechanical resonator. By offloading the electrodes from the resonator, our approach yields a substantial increase in the quality factor of these resonators, paving the way for enhanced performance and reliability for their device applications.

Yes-associated protein (YAP) and a transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) genes are crucial for regulating the size of mammalian tissues and organs as well as for many biological processes such as bone formation, cell lineage determination, tissue regeneration, and cell proliferation. The purpose of this study was to characterize the YAP and TAZ gene polymorphisms in 266 Guanzhong Dairy Goats and 299 Shanbei White Cashmere Goats and to explore their potential relationship with growth characteristics such as body weight and body length. After genotyping and using PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing to find polymorphisms in the YAP and TAZ genes, five InDels loci were found in the goat YAP gene and three InDels loci in the TAZ gene. The findings of the association analysis demonstrated that the goats' body weight, height, cannon circumference, chest depth, chest breadth, and chest circumference were all substantially influenced by five InDels loci in the YAP gene (p). Goat body height, trunk breadth, trunk length, body length, and body weight were all substantially impacted by three InDels loci in the TAZ gene (p). In conclusion, eight InDels loci of goat YAP and TAZ were found in this study, and their impacts on goat phenotype were disclosed. These results might offer fresh avenues for boosting goat molecular breeding.

Abstract Functional impairments contribute to poor quality of life in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). We sought to (Objective I) define the main functional phenotypes in SSD, then (Objective II) identify key biopsychosocial correlates, emphasizing interpretable data-driven methods. Objective I was tested on independent samples: Dataset I (N = 282) and Dataset II (N = 317), with SSD participants who underwent assessment of multiple functioning areas. Participants were clustered based on functioning. Objective II was evaluated in Dataset I by identifying key features for classifying functional phenotype clusters from among 65 sociodemographic, psychological, clinical, cognitive, and brain volume measures. Findings were replicated across latent discriminant analyses (LDA) and one-vs.-rest binomial regularized regressions to identify key predictors. We identified three clusters of participants in each dataset, demonstrating replicable functional phenotypes: Cluster 1—poor functioning across domains; Cluster 2—impaired Role Functioning, but partially preserved Independent and Social Functioning; Cluster 3—good functioning across domains. Key correlates were Avolition, anhedonia, left hippocampal volume, and measures of emotional intelligence and subjective social experience. Avolition appeared more closely tied to role functioning, and anhedonia to independent and social functioning. Thus, we found three replicable functional phenotypes with evidence that recovery may not be uniform across domains. Avolition and anhedonia were both critical but played different roles for different functional domains. It may be important to identify critical functional areas for individual patients and target interventions accordingly.

Neuroblastoma is a pediatric cancer with significant clinical heterogeneity. Despite extensive efforts, it is still difficult to cure children with high-risk neuroblastoma. Immunotherapy is a promising approach to treat children with this devastating disease. We have previously reported that macrophages are important effector cells in high-risk neuroblastoma. In this perspective article, we discuss the potential function of the macrophage inhibitory receptor SIRPA in the homeostasis of tumor-associated macrophages in high-risk neuroblastoma. The ligand of SIRPA is CD47, known as a “don’t eat me” signal, which is highly expressed on cancer cells compared to normal cells. CD47 is expressed on both tumor and stroma cells, whereas SIRPA expression is restricted to macrophages in high-risk neuroblastoma tissues. Notably, high SIRPA expression is associated with better disease outcome. According to the current paradigm, the interaction between CD47 on tumor cells and SIRPA on macrophages leads to the inhibition of tumor phagocytosis. However, data from recent clinical trials have called into question the use of anti-CD47 antibodies for the treatment of adult and pediatric cancers. The restricted expression of SIRPA on macrophages in many tissues argues for targeting SIRPA on macrophages rather than CD47 in CD47/SIRPA blockade therapy. Based on the data available to date, we propose that disruption of the CD47-SIRPA interaction by anti-CD47 antibody would shift the macrophage polarization status from M1 to M2, which is inferred from the 1998 study by Timms et al. In contrast, the anti-SIRPA F(ab’)2 lacking Fc binds to SIRPA on the macrophage, mimics the CD47-SIRPA interaction, and thus maintains M1 polarization. Anti-SIRPA F(ab’)2 also prevents the binding of CD47 to SIRPA, thereby blocking the “don’t eat me” signal. The addition of tumor-opsonizing and macrophage-activating antibodies is expected to enhance active tumor phagocytosis.

LuTan-1 (LT-1) satellite constellation is used to conduct surface deformation monitoring. Following the successful launch of two satellites, we began to use the independently developed LandSAR software for differential interferometric data processing and application at the beginning of 2022. In this paper, we tested the LandSAR software by assessing the DInSAR and stacking modules. We used 21 LT-1 single look complex (SLC) images from December 2022 to May 2023 to conduct DInSAR and stacking processing of Datong City, Shanxi Province. DInSAR revealed more subsidence funnels and larger relative deformation values compared to stacking. We tested the DInSAR technology with different parameter combination. Results show that multi-looking factor is the most important to detect the deformation details because of the phase gradient limitation of DInSAR. Compared multi-looking ratios of 2×2 and 4×4, the subsiding funnels that were detected decreased from 60 to 47. After deep testing and assessment, we found that the linear model used by stacking affects the result severely, meaning that most of the subsidence of coal mines were not linear. Stacking only found 32 subsidence funnels which were active coal mines during our observation time. The test result show that LandSAR was compatible for DInSAR and stacking. And it is useful to observe linear and nonlinear deformation in the coal mine regions.

Collapse is one of the most destructive natural disaster, being sudden, frequent, and highly concealed, causing large-scale damage. On August 10, 2023, the slope of 108 national highway in Weinan, Shaanxi Province collapsed. The lower edge of the collapse slope body is the Luohe river, and the collapse body rushes into the river to form a barrier lake. Remote sensing technique can provide multiple dimensional information for disaster emergency and management. Lutan-1 SAR satellites are the first group L-band SAR constellation for multiple applications in China. Owing to the precise orbit control ability and high revisit characteristics for Lutan-1 SAR satellites, surface deformation monitoring with centimeter even millimeter accuracy may be achieved. Based on the multi-temporal pre-disaster and post-disaster Lutan-1 SAR data and high resolution optical data, the collapse information including the pre-disaster and post-disaster were extracted and analysed. From July 11 to 27, 2023, the pre-collapse deformation was obtained with the maximum value of 6 cm, and obvious deformation occurred before the collapse. Lutan-1 monitored results pre-collapse can provide certain information for disaster early identification. From July 27 to August 24, 2023, due to the serious incoherence caused by large deformation and ground changes, effective deformation information cannot be obtained based on the InSAR technique. In addition, the collapse information was clearly extracted by the high resolution optical data acquired pre-collapse and post collapse. After the collapse, significant deformation was extracted from August 24 to September 21 with the maximum value of 6 cm, indicating that obvious deformation still occurred over the collapse area. Through the analysis for the series results obtained by SAR and optical data, it is favourable for disaster emergency and management.

Objective Social interactions and experiences are increasingly occurring online, including for young adults with psychosis. Healthy social interactions and experiences are widely recognized as a critical component of social recovery, yet research thus far has focused predominantly on offline interactions with limited understanding of these interactions online. We developed the Social Media and Internet sociaL Engagement (SMILE) questionnaire to assess the type, frequency, and nature of online social interactions and experiences among young adults with early psychosis to better assess online social activity and ultimately support personalized interventions. Methods Participants ( N = 49) completed the SMILE questionnaire which asked about online platforms used, frequency of use, and if positive and negative experiences were more likely to happen online or offline. Participants completed additional self-report measures of victimization, positive psychotic symptoms, social functioning, and demographics. Exploratory factor analysis and correlations between identified factors and clinical measures of interest were completed. Results Exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors: positive engagement, victimization, and internalizing experiences. Most participants (6%–37%) experienced positive engagement offline. Victimization occurred equally online and offline (8%–27% and 4%–24%, respectively). Most participants (37%–51%) endorsed internalizing experiences as occurring equally offline and online, but approximately a third of participants reported internalizing experiences more frequently offline (20%–35%). Victimization was moderately (r = 0.34) correlated with overall online social experiences, suggesting more online time may increase the likelihood of victimization. Age was inversely related to the frequency of overall online social experiences. Conclusion Young adults with early psychosis experience positive and negative social experiences online and offline. New scales and measures to comprehensively assess the nature and function of online social interactions and experiences are needed.

The presence of exceptionally old ice and relative ease of access make Antarctic blue-ice areas (BIAs) attractive paleoclimate archives. However, only a handful of BIAs, mostly situated in West Antarctica and along the Transantarctic Mountains, have been investigated for this purpose. Here, we present the age of surface ice from the Grove Mountains BIA in Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica, determined by measuring 81Kr in the trapped air. Two samples yield an average age of 143-29+33 kyr. Together with the reported terrestrial age of a chondrite, we conclude that the Grove Mountains BIA holds considerable potential for paleoclimate studies.

Ice-penetrating radar (IPR) imaging is a valuable tool for observing the internal structure and bottom of ice sheets. Subglacial water bodies, also known as subglacial lakes, generally appear as distinct, bright, flat, and continuous reflections in IPR images. In this study, we use available IPR images from the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains to extract one-dimensional reflector waveform features of the ice–bedrock interface. We apply a deep-learning method to reduce the dimension of the reflector features. An unsupervised clustering method is then used to separate different types of reflector features, including a reflector type corresponding to subglacial lakes. The derived clustering labels are then used to detect features of subglacial lakes in IPR images. Using this method, we compare the new detections with a known-lakes inventory. The results indicate that this new method identified additional subglacial lakes that were not previously detected, and some previously known lakes are found to correspond to other reflector clusters. This method can offer automatic detections of subglacial lakes and provide new insight for subglacial studies.

Summary: Understanding the specific movements of bacteria isolated from human feces can serve as a novel diagnostic and therapeutic tool for inflammatory bowel disease. Here, we present a protocol for a microbial swarming assay and to isolate the bacteria responsible for swarming activity. We describe steps for identifying bacteria using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and whole-genome sequencing. We then detail procedures for validating findings by observing the same swarming phenotype upon reperforming the swarming assay.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to De et al.1 : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

Lu Tan-1 (LT-1) has finished the in-orbit test and will be delivered to the users in 2023. In this paper, we discussed the satellite characteristics including the satellite mission, the platform as well as the payload. The satellite constellation was designed following two main demands, i.e., digital elevation model (DEM) generation and deformation monitoring. Thus, we provided two kinds of productions. First was the DEM created using the images provided by helix bistatic formation. Second was the deformation products created using that of pursuit monostatic formation. The deformation products were finally classified into three different types given the processing technologies. They were deformation field provided by differential interferometric SAR (InSAR, DInSAR), deformation velocity field provided by stacking, and deformation time series provided by multi-temporal InSAR. DEM data were validated to be better than 5 m compared to ICESat. Deformation field, deformation velocity field, as well as deformation time series were validated to be better than 2.7 mm, 8.6 mm/yr and 3.7 mm, respectively.

Introduction Evidence regarding the link between insomnia and successful aging (SA) in the older generation remains scarce. Objectives The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship of insomnia with SA within a substantial sample of the community-dwelling Indian population. Methods Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), Wave 1, conducted during 2017-2018. Older participants aged 60 years and above who completed both the insomnia and SA surveys were included. Insomnia was determined by the presence of at least one of three symptoms: 1) difficulty in initiating sleep; 2) difficulty in maintaining sleep; or 3) early morning awakening, occurring 5 or more times per week. SA was assessed by five components: 1) absence of chronic diseases; 2) low probability of disability; 3) high cognitive functionality; 4) low probability of depression; and 5) active social engagement. The association between insomnia and SA was examined through survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression, with adjustments made for potential covariates. Subgroup analyses were carried out to evaluate interactions with age, sex, alcohol use, and smoking status. Results A total of 31362 participants met the eligibility criteria. The overall weighted prevalence was 9.91% for insomnia and 23.94% for SA. In fully adjusted models, insomnia exhibited a negative association with SA (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.63-0.78, see Table 1) and with each of SA’s components, except for the absence of chronic diseases (OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.85-1.04, see Table 1). Subgroup analyses, stratified by age, sex, alcohol use, or smoking status, did not reveal any significant interactions between insomnia and SA (p for interaction = 0.098, 0.873, 0.704, 0.095, respectively).Table 1. Relationship between insomnia and successful aging. Insomnia ORs (95% CIs) Unadjusted model Model 1 Model 2 No Reference Reference Reference Yes Successful aging 0.50 (0.45, 0.55) 0.54 (0.49, 0.60) 0.70 (0.63, 0.78) Absence of chronic diseases 0.66 (0.61, 0.71) 0.65 (0.60, 0.70) 0.94 (0.85, 1.04) † Low probability of disability 0.43 (0.40, 0.46) 0.45 (0.42, 0.49) 0.51 (0.47, 0.55) High cognitive functionality 0.66 (0.61, 0.72) 0.75 (0.68, 0.83) 0.78 (0.71, 0.87) Low probability of depression 0.33 (0.30, 0.36) 0.34 (0.31, 0.38) 0.38 (0.34, 0.42) Active social engagement 0.79 (0.73, 0.86) 0.87 (0.80, 0.95) 0.86 (0.78, 0.94) † p > 0.05; ORs, odds ratios; 95% CIs, 95% Confidence intervals. Model 1 adjusted for: age, sex, level of education, work status, marital status, place of residence, economic status, caste; Model 2 adjusted for: model 1 plus body mass index (BMI), alcohol use, smoking status. Conclusions Insomnia was negatively linked with SA within the older Indian population. Future prospective studies are warranted to validate these relationships, investigate underlying mechanisms, and enhance the understanding and promotion of SA. Disclosure of Interest None Declared

Abstract AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) structures offer superior electrical and material properties that make them ideal for the fabrication of high‐performance Ultraviolet photodetectors (UV PDs), especially using the metal‐semiconductor‐metal (MSM) configuration. However, the metal layout of the MSM design and crystal defects in multi‐stack HEMTs can reduce photocurrent and degrade device performance. Nano‐structuring of the AlGaN/GaN surface with different nanofeatures is a promising approach to improve light absorption efficiency and increase device response. In this work, AlGaN/GaN HEMT MSM UV photodetectors with enhanced performance parameters by engineering the surface with periodic nanohole arrays are demonstrated. Optical simulations are used to optimize the design of the nanoholes' periodicity and depth. Unpatterned and nanohole‐patterned devices with varying nanohole depths are fabricated, and their performance shows substantial enhancement with the incorporation of nanoholes. The device with 40 nm deep nanoholes and 230 nm array periodicity shows the highest performance in terms of photocurrent (0.15 mA), responsivity (1.4 × 105 A W−1), UV/visible rejection ratio (≈103), and specific detectivity (4.9 × 1014 Jones). These findings present a HEMT‐compatible strategy to enhance UV photodetector performance for power optoelectronic applications, highlighting that nanohole patterning is a promising prospect for advancements in UV photodetection technology.

The unsteady hypersonic flow under finite amplitude pulse entropy perturbation at different freestream temperatures was calculated by direct numerical simulation. The flow response characteristics under the perturbation of entropy waves in freestreaming are analyzed. The temperature effect of freestreaming is studied based on the sensitivity of the boundary layer caused by pulse entropy perturbation. The results show that the higher freestream temperature promotes the first growth of the above third-order modes after leaving the head region, and strongly inhibits the first attenuation. The influence of the freestream temperature on the evolution of the induced disturbance wave is more significant than that on the development of the main flow disturbance waves. Low freestream temperature can suppress the attenuation of the modes below the second order. As the disturbance wave evolves downstream, the frequency band of the finite frequency disturbance wave gradually narrows, and the frequency band narrows faster when the temperature of freestreaming is low than when the temperature of freestreaming is high.

The intelligent interpretation of land-use change has become a research frontier. Reasonably and effectively utilizing limited land resources and making scientific predictions to promote sustainable utilization of land resources is significant for establishing a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society. Remote sensing technology can efficiently complete multi-temporal and dynamic land-use change detection, especially using high-spatial resolution remote sensing images. However, the existing land-use change and prediction have not been combined. In addition, land-use change detection mainly relies on shallow feature design, resulting in low prediction accuracy and weak generalization performance. To solve the above problems, we proposed a CNN-based CA Markov model using multi-temporal GaoFen satellite remote sensing images for the change detection and prediction of land cover. Taking the city of Panzhihua in China as an example, the study constructed training sample data that includes a multi-temporal remote sensing training dataset from 2006, 2010, 2015, and 2021 using GaoFen satellite remote sensing images. Meanwhile, a multitemporal CNN land-use detection model was constructed to generate a land-use transfer matrix by training the dataset. Furthermore, the comprehensive driving factors were selected, including terrain factors (height and slope) and social factors (economic and population density). Then, the CA-Markov model was constructed to predict the land-use development trend in Panzhihua City after ten years. Compared with the traditional methods, experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model can improve the model's automatic interpretation ability and prediction accuracy with an increase of 24.6% in the FoM index and 4.37% in the Kappa coefficient.

With semiconductor technology gradually approaching its physical and thermal limits, graphics processing units (GPUs) are becoming an attractive solution for many scientific applications due to their high performance. This paper presents an application of GPU accelerators in an air quality model. We demonstrate an approach that runs a piecewise parabolic method (PPM) solver of horizontal advection (HADVPPM) for the air quality model CAMx on GPU clusters. Specifically, we first convert the HADVPPM to a new Compute Unified Device Architecture C (CUDA C) code to make it computable on the GPU (GPU-HADVPPM). Then, a series of optimization measures are taken, including reducing the CPU–GPU communication frequency, increasing the data size computation on the GPU, optimizing the GPU memory access, and using thread and block indices to improve the overall computing performance of the CAMx model coupled with GPU-HADVPPM (named the CAMx-CUDA model). Finally, a heterogeneous, hybrid programming paradigm is presented and utilized with GPU-HADVPPM on the GPU clusters with a message passing interface (MPI) and CUDA. The offline experimental results show that running GPU-HADVPPM on one NVIDIA Tesla K40m and an NVIDIA Tesla V100 GPU can achieve up to a 845.4× and 1113.6× acceleration. By implementing a series of optimization schemes, the CAMx-CUDA model results in a 29.0× and 128.4× improvement in computational efficiency by using a GPU accelerator card on a K40m and V100 cluster, respectively. In terms of the single-module computational efficiency of GPU-HADVPPM, it can achieve 1.3× and 18.8× speedup on an NVIDIA Tesla K40m GPU and NVIDIA Tesla V100 GPU, respectively. The multi-GPU acceleration algorithm enables a 4.5× speedup with eight CPU cores and eight GPU accelerators on a V100 cluster.

Sustainable use of croplands is facing a challenge to maintain organic carbon (C) in soil. Pyrolyzed coal or coal char (CC) is a porous C material produced from the pyrolysis of coal containing high organic C, large surface area, and low bulk density like biochar (BC). This study evaluates corn (Zea mays L.) grain yield and selected soil properties in soil amended with CC and BC at two rates (22 and 44 Mg ha−1) with farmyard manure (FM) (66 Mg ha−1) and without FM addition. This field experiment was performed in sandy loam soil at the University of Wyoming’s Sustainable Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SAREC), Lingle, WY, USA. Two years of field study results indicated CC and BC applied at 22 Mg ha−1 with FM resulted in significantly greater average corn grain yields (13.04–13.57 Mg ha−1) compared to the no char’s treatment (11.42 Mg ha−1). Soil organic matter (SOM) content was significantly greater in the higher application rates of CC and BC than in treatments without chars. Overall, soil nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K) were found significantly greater in CC and BC co-applied with FM treatments. Soil water-holding capacity (WHC) significantly improved in sandy loam soil (up to 27.6% more than the no-char treatment) at a greater concentration of char materials. This study suggests that char materials applied at a moderate rate (22 Mg ha−1) with FM can improve soil properties and crop yield.

The ISPRS Technical Commission I Midterm Symposium on "Intelligent Sensing and Remote Sensing Application" was held in Changsha, China, during May 13–17, 2024, aiming to provide a platform to share the latest researches, advanced technologies and application experience, to discuss the future development and to seek international cooperation in various forms. The Symposium has received 229 full paper and abstract s, among them 45 double-blind peer-reviewed full papers were published in ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information, and 165 papers accepted through abstract review were published in the International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. These papers are mostly dedicated to topics of the 8 TC I Working Groups, 3 Inter-commission Working Groups, including Satellite Missions and Constellations for Remote Sensing, Mobile Mapping Technology, Multispectral, Hyperspectral and Thermal Sensors, LiDAR, Laser Altimetry and Sensor Integration, Microwave and InSAR Technology for Earth Observation, Orientation, Calibration and Validation of Sensors, Data Quality and Benchmark of Sensors, Multi-sensor Modelling and Cross-modality Fusion, Robotics for Mapping and Machine Intelligence, Autonomous Sensing Systems and their Applications, Digital Construction: Reality Capture, Automated Inspection and Integration to BIM, Point Cloud Generation and Processing, Artificial Intelligence Technology Related to Sensor Systems, Multi-sensor Remote Sensing Applications.. These papers presented the latest trends of sensor systems. The full papers and abstracts were reviewed by the members of the Symposium Scientific Committee comprised of Working Group officers and invited experts. We would like to take this opportunity to express our great gratitude to the Scientific Committee, Local Organizing Committee, Sponsors, Exhibitors and all those who have contributed to this successful Symposium. We also want to express our thanks to the authors for their excellent papers and presentations. Tang Xinming, Antonio Maria Garcia Tommaselli, Zhang Tao, Xie JunfengISPRS Technical Commission I on Sensor SystemsMay 2024, Changsha, China

The unprecedented lockdown of human activities during the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced social life in China. However, understanding the impact of this unique event on the emissions of different species is still insufficient, prohibiting the proper assessment of the environmental impacts of COVID-19 restrictions. Here we developed a multi-air-pollutant inversion system to simultaneously estimate the emissions of NOx, SO2, CO, PM2.5 and PM10 in China during COVID-19 restrictions with high temporal (daily) and horizontal (15 km) resolutions. Subsequently, contributions of emission changes versus meteorological variations during the COVID-19 lockdown were separated and quantified. The results demonstrated that the inversion system effectively reproduced the actual emission variations in multi-air pollutants in China during different periods of COVID-19 lockdown, which indicate that the lockdown is largely a nationwide road traffic control measure with NOx emissions decreasing substantially by ∼40 %. However, emissions of other air pollutants were found to only decrease by ∼10 % because power generation and heavy industrial processes were not halted during lockdown, and residential activities may actually have increased due to the stay-at-home orders. Consequently, although obvious reductions of PM2.5 concentrations occurred over the North China Plain (NCP) during the lockdown period, the emission change only accounted for 8.6 % of PM2.5 reductions and even led to substantial increases in O3. The meteorological variation instead dominated the changes in PM2.5 concentrations over the NCP, which contributed 90 % of the PM2.5 reductions over most parts of the NCP region. Meanwhile, our results suggest that the local stagnant meteorological conditions, together with inefficient reductions of PM2.5 emissions, were the main drivers of the unexpected PM2.5 pollution in Beijing during the lockdown period. These results highlighted that traffic control as a separate pollution control measure has limited effects on the coordinated control of O3 and PM2.5 concentrations under current complex air pollution conditions in China. More comprehensive and balanced regulations for multiple precursors from different sectors are required to address O3 and PM2.5 pollution in China.

Abstract Frequency conversion of dissipative solitons associated with the generation of broadband optical frequency combs having a tooth spacing of hundreds of giga-hertz is a topical challenge holding the key to practical applications in precision spectroscopy and data processing. The work in this direction is underpinned by fundamental problems in nonlinear and quantum optics. Here, we present the dissipative two-colour bright-bright and dark-dark solitons in a quasi-phase-matched microresonator pumped for the second-harmonic generation in the near-infrared spectral range. We also found the breather states associated with the pulse front motion and collisions. The soliton regime is found to be typical in slightly phase-mismatched resonators, while the phase-matched ones reveal broader but incoherent spectra and higher-order harmonic generation. Soliton and breather effects reported here exist for the negative tilt of the resonance line, which is possible only via the dominant contribution of second-order nonlinearity.

Probing single rare earth ions is highly desirable for several quantum applications, but it is difficult due to low emission rates. Here, the authors demonstrate the detection and control of single Erbium ions emission using electro-optically active photonic crystal cavities patterned from thin-film lithium niobate.

A promising accelerator light source mechanism called steady-state microbunching (SSMB) is being actively studied. With the combination of strong coherent radiation from microbunching and high repetition rate of a storage ring, high-average-power narrow-band radiation can be anticipated from an SSMB storage ring, with wavelengths ranging from THz to soft X-ray. Such a novel light source could provide new opportunities for accelerator photon science like high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and industrial applications like extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. In this paper, a theoretical and numerical study of the average and statistical properties of coherent radiation from SSMB are presented. The results show that 1 kW average-power quasi-continuous-wave EUV radiation can be obtained from an SSMB ring provided that an average current of 1 A and a microbunch train with bunch length of 3 nm can be formed at the radiator which is assumed to be an undulator. Together with the narrow-band feature, the EUV photon flux can reach 6 × 1015 photons s−1 within a 0.1 meV energy bandwidth, which is three orders of magnitude higher than that in a conventional synchrotron source and is appealing for fundamental condensed matter physics and other research. In this theoretical investigation, we have generalized the definition and derivation of the transverse form factor of an electron beam which can quantify the impact of its transverse size on coherent radiation. In particular, it has been shown that the narrow-band feature of SSMB radiation is strongly correlated with the finite transverse electron beam size. Considering the pointlike nature of electrons and quantum nature of radiation, the coherent radiation fluctuates from microbunch to microbunch, or for a single microbunch from turn to turn. Some important results concerning the statistical properties of SSMB radiation are presented, with a brief discussion on its potential applications, for example the beam diagnostics. The presented work is of value for the development of SSMB to better serve potential synchrotron radiation users. In addition, this also sheds light on understanding the radiation characteristics of free-electron lasers, coherent harmonic generation, etc.

Hydrological simulations are a main method of quantifying the contribution rate (CR) of climate change (CC) and human activities (HAs) to watershed streamflow changes. However, the uncertainty of hydrological simulations is rarely considered in current research. To fill this research gap, based on the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, in this study, we propose a new framework to quantify the CR of CC and HAs based on the posterior histogram distribution of hydrological simulations. In our new quantitative framework, the uncertainty of hydrological simulations is first considered to quantify the impact of “equifinality for different parameters”, which is common in hydrological simulations. The Lancang River (LR) basin in China, which has been greatly affected by HAs in the past 2 decades, is then selected as the study area. The global gridded monthly sectoral water use data set (GMSWU), coupled with the dead capacity data of the large reservoirs within the LR basin and the Budyko hypothesis framework, is used to compare the calculation result of the novel framework. The results show that (1) the annual streamflow at Yunjinghong station in the Lancang River basin changed abruptly in 2005, which was mainly due to the construction of the Xiaowan hydropower station that started in October 2004. The annual streamflow and annual mean temperature time series from 1961 to 2015 in the LR basin showed significant decreasing and increasing trends at the α= 0.01 significance level, respectively. The annual precipitation showed an insignificant decreasing trend. (2) The results of quantitative analysis using the new framework showed that the reason for the decrease in the streamflow at Yunjinghong station was 42.6 % due to CC, and the remaining 57.4 % was due to HAs, such as the construction of hydropower stations within the study area. (3) The comparison with the other two methods showed that the CR of CC calculated by the Budyko framework and the GMSWU data was 37.2 % and 42.5 %, respectively, and the errors of the calculations of the new framework proposed in this study were within 5 %. Therefore, the newly proposed framework, which considers the uncertainty of hydrological simulations, can accurately quantify the CR of CC and HAs to streamflow changes. (4) The quantitative results calculated by using the simulation results with the largest Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE) indicated that CC was the dominant factor in streamflow reduction, which was in opposition to the calculation results of our new framework. In other words, our novel framework could effectively solve the calculation errors caused by the “equifinality for different parameters” of hydrological simulations. (5) The results of this case study also showed that the reduction in the streamflow in June and November was mainly caused by decreased precipitation and increased evapotranspiration, while the changes in the streamflow in other months were mainly due to HAs such as the regulation of the constructed reservoirs. In general, the novel quantitative framework that considers the uncertainty of hydrological simulations presented in this study has validated an efficient alternative for quantifying the CR of CC and HAs to streamflow changes.

Whistler-mode waves have been extensively observed and investigated in terrestrial space. In this study, we present the dynamic response of whistler-mode waves to different solar wind conditions in the dayside terrestrial space based on Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) data. Statistical results show that the occurrence rate, amplitudes, and corresponding electron temperature anisotropy of whistler-mode waves increase with P _sw in the dayside terrestrial space, which is attributed to the compression of magnetic fields in these magnetosheath and outer magnetosphere. Furthermore, whistler-mode waves under the southward interplanetary magnetic fields (IMFs) show a higher occurrence rate than that under the northward IMFs, mostly corresponding to T _e _⊥ / T _e _∥ > 1, and have a higher occurrence rate during quasi-radial IMFs. These results present that whistler-mode waves in these magnetosheath and outer magnetosphere are also modulated by the solar wind as clearly as the inner magnetosphere. This work advanced our understanding in the solar–terrestrial interaction.

Abstract Social cognitive impairments are core features of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and are associated with greater functional impairment and decreased quality of life. Metabolic disturbances have been related to greater impairment in general neurocognition, but their relationship to social cognition has not been previously reported. In this study, metabolic measures and social cognition were assessed in 245 participants with SSD and 165 healthy comparison subjects (HC), excluding those with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) > 6.5%. Tasks assessed emotion processing, theory of mind, and social perception. Functional connectivity within and between social cognitive networks was measured during a naturalistic social task. Among SSD, a significant inverse relationship was found between social cognition and cumulative metabolic burden (β = −0.38, p

Vegetation detection aims to find the area which should be attributed with the labels of vegetation on the captured images, such as forest, grass land etc., and nowadays it is a key research topic in the field of remote sensing information processing and application. Over the last few years, the deep learning method based on convolutional neural network (CNN) has become the mainstream method for vegetation detection. However, due to the peculiarities of the underlying encoding and decoding structures, it is common for some CNN methods to loss some boundary details of vegetation when employing high-resolution images with rich details and clear boundaries. In order to improve the boundary localization capability of vegetation, this paper proposes a hybrid solution, i.e., an MLP (MultiLayer Perceptron)-based high-resolution image adaptive superpixels vegetation detection method. Compared with the traditional watershed transform algorithm, this method adopts the two-step boundary marching criterion to generate superpixels with more adherent boundary and compact regularity which contains adaptive neighborhood information by design. Based on the generated superpixels with boundary detail information, this paper applies MLP for binary predictions, i.e., vegetation or non-vegetation. The experimental results show that our method has more precise vegetation boundary localization and higher accuracy compared with several state-of-the-art methods on the UAV image data set and ISPRS data set.

Using a new high-resolution air quality reanalysis dataset for China for five winters from December 2013 to February 2018, we examine the influence of large-scale circulation on daily PM2.5 variability through its direct effect on key regional meteorological variables over three major populated regions of China: Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the Pearl River Delta (PRD). In BTH, a shallow East Asian trough curbs northerly cold and dry air from the Siberian High, enhancing PM2.5 pollution levels. Weak southerly winds in eastern and southern China, associated with a weakened Siberian High, suppress horizontal dispersion, contributing to air pollution accumulation over YRD. In PRD, weak southerly winds and precipitation deficits over southern China are conducive to high PM2.5 pollution levels. To account for these dominant large-scale circulation–PM2.5 relationships, we propose three new circulation-based indices for predicting different levels of air pollution based on regional PM2.5 concentrations in each region: a 500 hPa geopotential height-based index for BTH, a sea level pressure-based index for YRD and an 850 hPa meridional wind-based index for PRD. These three indices can effectively distinguish clean days from heavily polluted days in these regions, assuming variation is solely due to meteorology. We also find that including the most important regional meteorological variable in each region improves the performance of the circulation-based indices in predicting daily PM2.5 concentrations on the regional scale. These results are beneficial to understanding and forecasting the occurrence of heavily polluted PM2.5 days in BTH, YRD and PRD from a large-scale perspective.

This paper proposed the method to generate triple epipolar images in tristereo imaging on the same orbit mode. It generated projection tie points based on double projection surface in object space, and designed conversion model from epipolar images to its corresponding original images on the basis of projection tie points and created the RPC of epipolar images. During stereo matching one stereo image pairs are used as the basic pair and proposed the rapid transformation model between the current matching points and the corresponding point on the third image, which accomplished the combination of epipolar stereo matching and object space geometric constraints. After left/right bidirectional matching and occlusion area checking, a third matching was implemented. The cost of occlusion area will use the smallest one among the three and these areas were revamped. SGM was used as the optimization strategy. Experiments in three typical areas using Pleiades and ZY-3 as data recourses show that the loss of precision is negligible in the proposed epipolar image generation method. The proposed matching method combines the best of both object geometric constraint method and isolate epipolar image pair method, and the computational efficiency significantly better than these two methods. Lastly, the precision of the proposed method is significantly better than these two methods in building area and weak texture area.

Introduction A need arose to divert patients with psychiatric complaints from the emergency department to alternative settings for psychiatric assessments to reduce footfall and to conduct consultations in a timely manner during COVID-19. Objectives We assessed the effectiveness of alternative referral pathway in reducing COVID-19 infection in our service, and its effect on service quality: response time and number of patients leaving before review. We evaluated the satisfaction of patients, General Practitioners (GPs) and mental health service (MHS) staff with the pathway. Methods All patients referred to the mental health service over a 2-month period following the introduction of the pathway were included. Findings were compared against the cohort referred for emergency assessment during the same period in 2019. Feedback surveys were distributed to patients, staff and GPs. χ ² and independent sample t-test were used to compare the variables. Results Over 2 months, 255 patients received an emergency assessment via the pathway, representing a 22.3% decrease in the volume of presentations from the same period in 2019. There were no COVID-19 cases among our patients or staff on the roster for assessing patients. In comparison to 2019, response times were improved (p

Introduction The Crisis Response Team (CRT) is an interprofessional collaboration between the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Mental Health Helpline (MHH) of the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). Supported by a multidisciplinary team comprising of the SPF, IMH psychiatrists, community psychiatric nurses and crisis counsellors, and community partners, this intervention aims to support suicidal individuals, depending on their risk severity, residing in the community. Objectives To present the CRT work process and to explore the characteristics and outcomes of suicide-related cases referred. Methods In this descriptive research study, a quantitative approach is adopted. An Excel file shared across the helpline counsellors is used to collate information of the referred cases. Data collected from October 2021 to August 2022 were evaluated using the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows v28.0. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the characteristics and outcomes of the cases. Results Figure 1 shows the CRT work process. To standardise the method of assessing both suicide ideation and behaviour, the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) is utilised. As compared to other suicide ideation and behaviour scales, the C-SSRS has demonstrated good convergent and divergent validity, high sensitivity and specificity for suicidal classifications, and moderate to strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s α: 0.73 - 0.95) (Posner et al. AJP 2011; 168(12) 1266-1277). A total of 3,386 suicide-related cases was referred. The age range of the suicide-related cases range from 8 – 97 years old (M = 36, SD = 17.33). Of these 3,386 cases, 627 cases were discharged back to their family members/employer/friend/partner and with follow-up check-in calls by the MHH counsellors, 416 cases were sent to the restructured hospitals for organic workup, 2,268 cases were brought back to IMH, 55 cases were discharged back to the SPF for further investigation, and 20 cases warranted CRT home visit activations. Figure 2 shows the total number of referred cases and outcome of these cases in each month. Image: Image 2: Conclusions The CRT intervention could mitigate suicide risk and pressure on the mental health system (i.e., reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital admissions), create greater mental health awareness, and facilitate individuals’ connection to mental healthcare services (i.e., in hospitals and/or in the community) as evidenced by the increasing number of cases referred, and increased collaboration with the various stakeholders, ensuring timely intervention and necessary follow-ups thereafter. Disclosure of Interest None Declared

Abstract We present a novel x-ray lithography based micromanufacturing methodology that offers scalable manufacturing of high precision optical components. It is accomplished through simultaneous usage of multiple stencil masks made moveable with respect to one another through custom made micromotion stages. The range of spectral flux reaching the sample surface at the LiMiNT micro/nanomanufacturing facility of Singapore Synchrotron Light Source (SSLS) is about 2 keV to 10 keV, offering substantial photon energy to carry out deep x-ray lithography. In this energy range, x-rays penetrate through resist materials with only little scattering. The highly collimated rectangular beam architecture of the x-ray source enables a full 4″ wafer scale fabrication. Precise control of dose deposited offers determined chain scission in the polymer to required depth enabling 1800 discrete gray levels in a chip of area 20 mm2 and with more than 2000 within our reach. Due to its parallel processing capability, our methodology serves as a promising candidate to fabricate micro/nano components of optical quality on a large scale to cater for industrial requirements. Usage of these fine components in analytical devices such as spectrometers and multispectral imagers transforms their architecture and shrinks their size to pocket dimension. It also reduces their complexity and increases affordability while also expanding their application areas. Consequently, equipment based on these devices is made available and affordable for consumers and businesses expanding the horizon of analytical applications. Mass manufacturing is especially vital when these devices are to be sold in large quantities especially as components for original equipment manufacturers (OEM), which has also been demonstrated through our work. Furthermore, we also substantially improve the quality of the micro-components fabricated, 3D architecture generated, throughput, capability and availability for industrial application. Manufacturing 1800 Gray levels or more through other competing techniques is either limited due to multiple process steps involved or due to unacceptably long time required owing to their pencil beam architecture. Our manufacturing technique presented here overcomes both these shortcomings in terms of the maximum number of gray levels that can be generated, and the time required to generate the same.

Many efforts have been devoted to quantifying the impact of intercontinental transport on global air quality by using global chemical transport models with horizontal resolutions of hundreds of kilometers in recent decades. In this study, a global online air quality source–receptor model (GNAQPMS-SM) is designed to effectively compute the contributions of various regions to ambient pollutant concentrations. The newly developed model is able to quantify source–receptor (S-R) relationships in one simulation without introducing errors by nonlinear chemistry. We calculate the surface and planetary boundary layer (PBL) S-R relationships in 19 regions over the whole globe for ozone (O3), black carbon (BC), and non-sea-salt sulfate (nss-sulfate) by conducting a high-resolution (0.5&deg &times 0.5&deg) simulation for the year 2018. The model exhibits a realistic capacity in reproducing the spatial distributions and seasonal variations of tropospheric O3, carbon monoxide, and aerosols at global and regional scales – Europe (EUR), North America (NAM), and East Asia (EA). The correlation coefficient (R) and normalized mean bias (NMB) for seasonal O3 at global background and urban–rural sites ranged from 0.49 to 0.87 and −2 % to 14.97 %, respectively. For aerosols, the R and NMB in EUR, NAM, and EA mostly exceed 0.6 and are within ±15 %. These statistical parameters based on this global simulation can match those of regional models in key regions. The simulated tropospheric nitrogen dioxide and aerosol optical depths are generally in agreement with satellite observations. The model overestimates ozone concentrations in the upper troposphere and stratosphere in the tropics, midlatitude, and polar regions of the Southern Hemisphere due to the use of a simplified stratospheric ozone scheme and/or biases in estimated stratosphere–troposphere exchange dynamics. We find that surface O3 can travel a long distance and contributes a non-negligible fraction to downwind regions. Non-local source transport explains approximately 35 %–60 % of surface O3 in EA, South Asia (SAS), EUR, and NAM. The O3 exported from EUR can also be transported across the Arctic Ocean to the North Pacific and contributes nearly 5 %–7.5 % to the North Pacific. BC is directly linked to local emissions, and each BC source region mainly contributes to itself and surrounding regions. For nss-sulfate, contributions of long-range transport account for 15 %–30 % within the PBL in EA, SAS, EUR, and NAM. Our estimated international transport of BC and nss-sulfate is lower than that from the Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (HTAP) assessment report in 2010, but most surface O3 results are within the range. This difference may be related to the different simulation years, emission inventories, vertical and horizontal resolutions, and S-R revealing methods. Additional emission sensitivity simulation shows a negative O3 response in receptor region EA in January from EA. The difference between two methods in estimated S-R relationships of nss-sulfate and O3 are mainly due to ignoring the nonlinearity of pollutants during chemical processes. The S-R relationship of aerosols within EA subcontinent is also assessed. The model that we developed creates a link between the scientific community and policymakers. Finally, the results are discussed in the context of future model development and analysis opportunities.

The uptake of Co(II) on graphene oxide (GO) by an adsorption process as a function of pH and ionic strength in the absence and presence of humic acid (HA) or fulvic acid (FA) was studied using batch technique. The results indicated that the uptake is strongly dependent on pH but independent of ionic strength. A stimulative effect of HA/FA on Co(II) uptake was found at pH < 7.0, whereas an inhibitory effect was observed at pH > 7.0. Kinetic studies suggest that Co(II) uptake on GO could be described more favorably by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The uptake isotherms can be described better by the Langmuir, Freundlich, and D-R models than by the linear model. The thermodynamic data calculated from the temperature-dependent uptake isotherms suggests that the uptake of Co(II) on GO is spontaneous and endothermic. Results of this work are of great importance for the environmental application of GO in the treatment of Co(II) from wastewater and indicated that GO is promising for the natural attenuation of Co(II) and related metal ions from aqueous solution.

Though octave soliton microcombs are attractive for on-chip metrology and optical clocks, limitations in existing materials lead to increased chip integration complexity. Here, the authors report access to octave soliton microcombs and self-referencing using aluminium nitride nanophotonic chips.

Based on source-specific saccharide tracers, the characteristics of biomass burning (BB) and biogenic emissions of saccharides were investigated in three rural sites at Lincang, which is 65 % covered with forest in the southwest border of China. The total saccharides accounted for 8.4 ± 2.7 % of organic carbon (OC) and 1.6 ± 0.6 % of PM2.5. The measured anhydrosugars accounted for 48.5 % of total saccharides, among which levoglucosan was the most dominant species. The high level of levoglucosan was both attributed to the local BB activities and biomass combustion smoke transported from the neighboring regions of Southeast Asia (Myanmar) and the northern Indian subcontinent. The measured mono- or disaccharides and sugar alcohols accounted for 24.9 ± 8.3 % and 26.6 ± 9.9 % of the total saccharides, respectively, and both proved to be mostly emitted by direct biogenic volatilization from plant material or surface soils rather than byproducts of polysaccharide breakdown during BB processes. Five sources of saccharides were resolved by non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) analysis, including BB, soil microbiota, plant senescence, airborne pollen, and plant detritus with contributions of 34.0 %, 16.0 %, 21.0 %, 23.7 %, and 5.3 %, respectively. The results provide information on the magnitude of levoglucosan and contributions of BB, as well as the characteristic of biogenic saccharides, at the remote sites of southwest China, which can be further applied to regional source apportionment models and global climate models.

Quantum transduction is an essential ingredient in scaling up distributed quantum architecture and is actively pursued based on various physical platforms. However, demonstrating a transducer with positive quantum capacity is still practically challenging. In this Letter, we discuss a new approach to relax the impedance matching condition to half impedance matching condition, achieved by introducing two-photon drive in the electro-optic transducer. We show the quantum transduction capacity can be enhanced and can be understood in a simple interference picture with the help of the Bloch-Messiah decomposition. The parameter regimes with positive quantum capacity is identified and compared with and without the drive, indicating that the parametric drive-induced enhancement is promising in demonstrating quantum state conversion and is expected to boost the performance of transduction with various physical platforms.

Originating from the stochastic nature of the photon emission process, the longitudinal coordinates of electrons diffuse even if the global phase slippage of a storage ring is zero, as we cannot zero all the local phase slippages simultaneously. This quantum diffusion is viewed as the most fundamental effect limiting the lowest bunch length realizable in an electron storage ring from single-particle dynamics perspective. Energy spread diverges when bunch length is pushed to the limit given by this diffusion. Here we report the first experimental evidence supporting the existence of this effect. The measurements confirm the breakdown of the classical formula of bunch length and energy spread in an electron storage ring with globally small and locally large phase slippage.

Coherent conversion between optical and microwave photonics is needed for future quantum applications. Here, the authors combine thin-film lithium niobate and superconductor platforms as a hybrid electro-optic system to achieve high-efficiency frequency conversion between microwave and optical modes.

Abstract Computerized natural language processing (NLP) allows for objective and sensitive detection of speech disturbance, a hallmark of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). We explored several methods for characterizing speech changes in SSD (n = 20) compared to healthy control (HC) participants (n = 11) and approached linguistic phenotyping on three levels: individual words, parts-of-speech (POS), and sentence-level coherence. NLP features were compared with a clinical gold standard, the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication (TLC). We utilized Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), a state-of-the-art embedding algorithm incorporating bidirectional context. Through the POS approach, we found that SSD used more pronouns but fewer adverbs, adjectives, and determiners (e.g., “the,” “a,”). Analysis of individual word usage was notable for more frequent use of first-person singular pronouns among individuals with SSD and first-person plural pronouns among HC. There was a striking increase in incomplete words among SSD. Sentence-level analysis using BERT reflected increased tangentiality among SSD with greater sentence embedding distances. The SSD sample had low speech disturbance on average and there was no difference in group means for TLC scores. However, NLP measures of language disturbance appear to be sensitive to these subclinical differences and showed greater ability to discriminate between HC and SSD than a model based on clinical ratings alone. These intriguing exploratory results from a small sample prompt further inquiry into NLP methods for characterizing language disturbance in SSD and suggest that NLP measures may yield clinically relevant and informative biomarkers.

BackgroundDigital technology, the internet, and social media are increasingly investigated as promising means for monitoring symptoms and delivering mental health treatment. These apps and interventions have demonstrated preliminary acceptability and feasibility, but previous reports suggest that access to technology may still be limited among individuals with psychotic disorders relative to the general population. ObjectiveWe evaluated and compared access to and use of technology and social media in young adults with psychotic disorders (PD), young adults with clinical risk for psychosis (CR), and psychosis-free youths (PF). MethodsParticipants were recruited through a coordinated specialty care clinic dedicated toward early psychosis as well as ongoing studies. We surveyed 21 PD, 23 CR, and 15 PF participants regarding access to technology and use of social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter. Statistical analyses were conducted in R. Categorical variables were compared among groups using Fisher exact test, continuous variables were compared using 1-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regressions were used to evaluate for covariates. ResultsAccess to technology and social media were similar among PD, CR, and PF participants. Individuals with PD, but not CR, were less likely to post at a weekly or higher frequency compared to PF individuals. We found that decreased active social media posting was unique to psychotic disorders and did not occur with other psychiatric diagnoses or demographic variables. Additionally, variation in age, sex, and White versus non-White race did not affect posting frequency. ConclusionsFor young people with psychosis spectrum disorders, there appears to be no “technology gap” limiting the implementation of digital and mobile health interventions. Active posting to social media was reduced for individuals with psychosis, which may be related to negative symptoms or impairment in social functioning.

ABSTRACT Many species of bacteria change their morphology and behavior under external stresses. In this study, we report transient elongation and swimming motility of a novel Enterobacter sp. strain, SM1_HS2B, in liquid broth under a standard growth condition. When growing in the Luria-Bertani medium, HS2B cells delay their cell division and elongate. Although transient over a few hours, the average cell length reaches over 10 times that of the stationary-state cells. The increase is also cumulative following repeated growth cycles stimulated by taking cells out of the exponential phase and adding them into fresh medium every 2 hours. The majority of the cells attain swimming motility during the exponential growth phase, and then they lose swimming motility over the course of several hours. Both daughter cells due to division of a long swimming cell retain the ability to swim. We confirm that the long HS2B cells swim with rigid-body rotation along their body axis. These findings based on microscopic observation following repeated cycles of growth establish HS2B as a prototype strain with sensitive dependence of size and motility on its physical and biochemical environment. IMPORTANCE Bacteria undergo morphological changes in order to cope with external stresses. Among the best-known examples are cell elongation and hyperflagellation in the context of swarming motility. The subject of this report, SM1_HS2B, is a hyperswarming strain of a newly identified species of enterobacteria, noted as Enterobacter sp. SM1. The key finding that SM1_HS2B transiently elongates to extreme length in fresh liquid medium offers new insights on regulation in bacterial growth and division. SM1_HS2B also manifests transient but vigorous swimming motility during the exponential phase of growth in liquid medium. These properties establish HS2B as a prototype strain with sensitive dependence of size and motility on its physical and biochemical environment. Such a dependence may be relevant to swarming behavior with a significant environmental or physiological outcome.

Mass movements such as debris flows and landslides differ in behaviour due to their material properties and internal forces. Models employ generalized multi-phase flow equations to adaptively describe these complex flow types. Such models commonly assume unstructured and fragmented flow, where internal cohesive strength is insignificant. In this work, existing work on two-phase mass movement equations are extended to include a full stress–strain relationship that allows for runout of (semi-)structured fluid–solid masses. The work provides both the three-dimensional equations and depth-averaged simplifications. The equations are implemented in a hybrid material point method (MPM), which allows for efficient simulation of stress–strain relationships on discrete smooth particles. Using this framework, the developed model is compared to several flume experiments of clay blocks impacting fixed obstacles. Here, both final deposit patterns and fractures compare well to simulations. Additionally, numerical tests are performed to showcase the range of dynamical behaviour produced by the model. Important processes such as fracturing, fragmentation and fluid release are captured by the model. While this provides an important step towards complete mass movement models, several new opportunities arise, such as application to fragmenting mass movements and block slides.

As one of the most common types of interference, pulse interference and its suppression methods have been widely studied, in which the blanking method consumes less hardware resources and it is more commonly used in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers. Previous studies used carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) as an indicator to evaluate the performance of the receiver after pulse suppression. However, CNR is not the most important parameter that should be measured. The main function of the GNSS receiver is to measure the distance between the satellite and the receiver. How the pulse interference with different periods and duty cycle affects the ranging performance of the navigation receiver after blanking has not been fully studied. This paper focuses on the influence of the blanking method on the code tracking performance. Through derivation and simulation, it can be found that the ranging accuracy of the delay locked loop may not be deteriorated sometimes when the blanking operation plays a role of narrow correlation and the frequency of the pulse interference is close to the pseudo code. However, the blanking algorithm will cause large code tracking deviation, which will seriously affect the ranging performance of the receiver.