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Nonlinear excitation of geodesic acoustic mode by reversed shear Alfvén eigenmodes in non-uniform plasmas
Machine Learning for Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy
Y. Wang, N. Chen, T. Wang, S. Wei, Z. Qiu
Journal: Journal of Plasma Physics / Volume 88 / Issue 6 / December 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 November 2022, 895880601
Effects of plasma non-uniformities and kinetic dispersiveness on the spontaneous excitation of geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) by reversed shear Alfvén eigenmode (RSAE) are investigated numerically. It is found that, due to the turning points induced by the shear Alfvén continuum structure, the nonlinear excitation of GAM is a quasiexponentially growing absolute instability. As the radial dependence of GAM frequency and pump RSAE mode structure are accounted for, the radially inward propagating GAM is preferentially excited, leading to core localized thermal plasma heating by GAM collisionless damping. Our work, thus, suggests that GAM excitation plays a crucial role in not only RSAE nonlinear saturation, but also anomalous fuel ion heating in future reactors.
Polymer-coated urea application can increase both grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency in japonica-indica hybrid rice
R. Xu, S. Chen, C.M. Xu, Y.H. Liu, X.F. Zhang, D. Y. Wang, G. Chu
Journal: The Journal of Agricultural Science , First View
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 November 2022, pp. 1-9
We investigated whether the one-time application of polymer-coated urea (PCU) before transplanting could simultaneously improve the grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of japonica-indica hybrid rice (JIHR) through a field experiment. The local high-yield JIHR cultivar Chunyou-927 was field grown during the rice-growing seasons in 2019 and 2020. The experiment consisted of three treatments: no nitrogen application (0N), application of conventional urea (CU), and the one-time application of PCU. Grain yield was 1.0–1.3 t/ha higher, and agronomic NUE (kg grain yield increase per kg N applied) was 5.2–5.9 kg/kg higher, respectively, under the PCU treatment compared with the CU treatment across the two study years. When compared with the CU treatment, the PCU treatment could (1) improve root morphological trait, (2) reduce redundant vegetative growth during the early growth period, (3) increase matter production during the mid and late growth period, and (4) increase plant activity during the grain-filling period. Overall, our findings indicate that one-time PCU application before transplanting of the JIHR cultivar holds great promise for increasing grain yield and NUE.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health during pregnancy: The CONCEPTION study – Phase I
A. Berard, A. Lacasse, Y.-H. Gomez, J. Gorgui, S. Côté, S. King, V. Tchuente, F. Muanda, Y. Lumu, I. Boucoiran, A.-M. Nuyt, C. Quach, E. Ferreira, P. Kaul, B. Winquist, K. O'Donnell, S. Eltonsy, D. Château, J.-P. Zhao, G. Hanley, T. Oberlander, B. Kassai, S. Mainbourg, S. Bernatsky, É. Vinet, A. Brodeur-Doucet, J. Demers, P. Richebé, V. Zaphiratos, C. Wang, X. Wang
Journal: European Psychiatry / Volume 65 / Issue S1 / June 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 September 2022, pp. S209-S210
Mental health regional differences during pregnancy through the COVID-19 pandemic is understudied.
We aimed to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health during pregnancy.
A cohort study with a web-based recruitment strategy and electronic data collection was initiated in 06/2020. Although Canadian women, >18 years were primarily targeted, pregnant women worldwide were eligible. The current analysis includes data on women enrolled 06/2020-11/2020. Self-reported data included mental health measures (Edinburgh Perinatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Generalized Anxiety Disorders (GAD-7)), stress. We compared maternal mental health stratifying on country/continents of residence, and identified determinants of mental health using multivariable regression models.
Of 2,109 pregnant women recruited, 1,932 were from Canada, 48 the United States (US), 73 Europe, 35 Africa, and 21 Asia/Oceania. Mean depressive symptom scores were lower in Canada (EPDS 8.2, SD 5.2) compared to the US (EPDS 10.5, SD 4.8) and Europe (EPDS 10.4, SD 6.5) (p<0.05), regardless of being infected or not. Maternal anxiety, stress, decreased income and access to health care due to the pandemic were increasing maternal depression. The prevalence of severe anxiety was similar across country/continents. Maternal depression, stress, and earlier recruitment during the pandemic (June/July) were associated with increased maternal anxiety.
In this first international study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, CONCEPTION has shown significant country/continent-specific variations in depressive symptoms during pregnancy, whereas severe anxiety was similar regardless of place of residence. Strategies are needed to reduce COVID-19's mental health burden in pregnancy.
No significant relationships.
Prediction and copy number variation identification of ZNF146 gene related to growth traits in Chinese cattle
X. T. Ding, X. Liu, X. M. Li, Y. F. Wen, J. W. Xu, W. J. Liu, Z. M. Li, Z. J. Zhang, Y. N. Chai, H. L. Wang, B. W. Cheng, S. H. Liu, B. Hou, Y. J. Huang, J. G. Li, L. J. Li, G. J. Yang, Z. F. Qi, F. Y. Chen, Q. T. Shi, E. Y. Wang, C. Z. Lei, H. Chen, B. R. Ru, Y. Z. Huang
Journal: The Journal of Agricultural Science / Volume 160 / Issue 5 / October 2022
The great demographic pressure brings tremendous volume of beef demand. The key to solve this problem is the growth and development of Chinese cattle. In order to find molecular markers conducive to the growth and development of Chinese cattle, sequencing was used to determine the position of copy number variations (CNVs), bioinformatics analysis was used to predict the function of ZNF146 gene, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used for CNV genotyping and one-way analysis of variance was used for association analysis. The results showed that there exists CNV in Chr 18: 47225201-47229600 (5.0.1 version) of ZNF146 gene through the early sequencing results in the laboratory and predicted ZNF146 gene was expressed in liver, skeletal muscle and breast cells, and was amplified or overexpressed in pancreatic cancer, which promoted the development of tumour through bioinformatics. Therefore, it is predicted that ZNF146 gene affects the proliferation of muscle cells, and then affects the growth and development of cattle. Furthermore, CNV genotyping of ZNF146 gene was three types (deletion type, normal type and duplication type) by Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR). The association analysis results showed that ZNF146-CNV was significantly correlated with rump length of Qinchuan cattle, hucklebone width of Jiaxian red cattle and heart girth of Yunling cattle. From the above results, ZNF146-CNV had a significant effect on growth traits, which provided an important candidate molecular marker for growth and development of Chinese cattle.
Acceleration of 60 MeV proton beams in the commissioning experiment of the SULF-10 PW laser
On the Cover of HPL
A. X. Li, C. Y. Qin, H. Zhang, S. Li, L. L. Fan, Q. S. Wang, T. J. Xu, N. W. Wang, L. H. Yu, Y. Xu, Y. Q. Liu, C. Wang, X. L. Wang, Z. X. Zhang, X. Y. Liu, P. L. Bai, Z. B. Gan, X. B. Zhang, X. B. Wang, C. Fan, Y. J. Sun, Y. H. Tang, B. Yao, X. Y. Liang, Y. X. Leng, B. F. Shen, L. L. Ji, R. X. Li, Z. Z. Xu
Journal: High Power Laser Science and Engineering / Volume 10 / 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 August 2022, e26
We report the experimental results of the commissioning phase in the 10 PW laser beamline of the Shanghai Superintense Ultrafast Laser Facility (SULF). The peak power reaches 2.4 PW on target without the last amplifying during the experiment. The laser energy of 72 ± 9 J is directed to a focal spot of approximately 6 μm diameter (full width at half maximum) in 30 fs pulse duration, yielding a focused peak intensity around 2.0 × 1021 W/cm2. The first laser-proton acceleration experiment is performed using plain copper and plastic targets. High-energy proton beams with maximum cut-off energy up to 62.5 MeV are achieved using copper foils at the optimum target thickness of 4 μm via target normal sheath acceleration. For plastic targets of tens of nanometers thick, the proton cut-off energy is approximately 20 MeV, showing ring-like or filamented density distributions. These experimental results reflect the capabilities of the SULF-10 PW beamline, for example, both ultrahigh intensity and relatively good beam contrast. Further optimization for these key parameters is underway, where peak laser intensities of 1022–1023 W/cm2 are anticipated to support various experiments on extreme field physics.
Anterior cingulate glutamate levels associate with functional activation and connectivity during sensory integration in schizophrenia: a multimodal 1H-MRS and fMRI study
Xin-lu Cai, Cheng-cheng Pu, Shu-zhe Zhou, Yi Wang, Jia Huang, Simon S. Y. Lui, Arne Møller, Eric F. C. Cheung, Kristoffer H. Madsen, Rong Xue, Xin Yu, Raymond C. K. Chan
Journal: Psychological Medicine , First View
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2022, pp. 1-11
Glutamatergic dysfunction has been implicated in sensory integration deficits in schizophrenia, yet how glutamatergic function contributes to behavioural impairments and neural activities of sensory integration remains unknown.
Fifty schizophrenia patients and 43 healthy controls completed behavioural assessments for sensory integration and underwent magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for measuring the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) glutamate levels. The correlation between glutamate levels and behavioural sensory integration deficits was examined in each group. A subsample of 20 pairs of patients and controls further completed an audiovisual sensory integration functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task. Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) activation and task-dependent functional connectivity (FC) were assessed based on fMRI data. Full factorial analyses were performed to examine the Group-by-Glutamate Level interaction effects on fMRI measurements (group differences in correlation between glutamate levels and fMRI measurements) and the correlation between glutamate levels and fMRI measurements within each group.
We found that schizophrenia patients exhibited impaired sensory integration which was positively correlated with ACC glutamate levels. Multimodal analyses showed significantly Group-by-Glutamate Level interaction effects on BOLD activation as well as task-dependent FC in a 'cortico-subcortical-cortical' network (including medial frontal gyrus, precuneus, ACC, middle cingulate gyrus, thalamus and caudate) with positive correlations in patients and negative in controls.
Our findings indicate that ACC glutamate influences neural activities in a large-scale network during sensory integration, but the effects have opposite directionality between schizophrenia patients and healthy people. This implicates the crucial role of glutamatergic system in sensory integration processing in schizophrenia.
Cooperative guidance for active defence based on line-of-sight constraint under a low-speed ratio
S. Liu, Y. Wang, Y. Li, B. Yan, T. Zhang
Journal: The Aeronautical Journal , First View
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 June 2022, pp. 1-19
In this study, an active defence cooperative guidance (ADCG) law that enables cheap and low-speed airborne defence missiles with low manoeuverability to accurately intercept fast and expensive attack missiles with high manoeuverability was designed to enhance the capability of aircraft for active defence. This guidance law relies on the line-of-sight (LOS) guidance method, and it realises active defence by adjusting the geometric LOS relationship involving an attack missile, a defence missile and an aircraft. We use a nonlinear integral sliding surface and an improved second-order sliding mode reaching law to design the guidance law. This can not only reduce the chattering phenomenon in the guidance command, but it can also ensure that the system can reach the sliding surface from any initial position in a finite time. Simulations were carried out to verify the proposed law using four cases: different manoeuvering modes of the aircraft, different speed ratios of the attack and defence missiles, different reaching laws applied to the ADCG law and a robustness analysis. The results show that the proposed guidance law can enable a defence missile to intercept an attack missile by simultaneously using information about the relative motions of the attack missile and the aircraft. It is also highly robust in the presence of errors and noise.
Opposition control of turbulent spots
Y.X. Wang, K.-S. Choi, M. Gaster, C. Atkin, V. Borodulin, Y. Kachanov
Journal: Journal of Fluid Mechanics / Volume 943 / 25 July 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 June 2022, A3
Opposition control of artificially initiated turbulent spots in a laminar boundary layer was carried out in a low-turbulence wind tunnel with the aim to delay transition to turbulence by modifying the turbulent structure within the turbulent spots. The timing and duration of control, which was carried out using wall-normal jets from a spanwise slot, were pre-determined based on the baseline measurements of the transitional boundary layer. The results indicated that the high-speed region of the turbulent spots was cancelled by opposition control, which was replaced by a carpet of low-speed fluid. The application of the variable-interval time-averaging technique on the velocity fluctuation signals demonstrated a reduction in both the burst duration and intensity within the turbulent spots, but the burst frequency was increased.
Effects of nitrogen application rates on the spatio-temporal variation of leaf SPAD readings on the maize canopy
Y. Y. Li, B. Ming, P. P. Fan, Y. Liu, K. R. Wang, P. Hou, S. K. Li, R. Z. Xie
Journal: The Journal of Agricultural Science / Volume 160 / Issue 1-2 / February 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 March 2022, pp. 32-44
The spatio-temporal variation of leaf chlorophyll content is an important crop phenotypic trait that is of great significance for evaluating crop productivity. This study used a soil-plant analysis development (SPAD) chlorophyll meter for non-destructive monitoring of leaf chlorophyll dynamics to characterize the patterns of spatio-temporal variation in the nutritional status of maize (Zea mays L.) leaves under three nitrogen treatments in two cultivars. The results showed that nitrogen levels could affect the maximum leaf SPAD reading (SPADmax) and the duration of high SPAD reading. A rational model was used to measure the changes in SPAD readings over time in single leaves. This model was suitable for predicting the dynamics of the nutrient status for each leaf position under different nitrogen treatments, and model parameter values were position dependent. SPADmax at each leaf decreased with the reduction of nitrogen supply. Leaves at different positions in both cultivars responded differently to higher nitrogen rates. Lower leaves (8th–10th positions) were more sensitive than the other leaves in response to nitrogen. Monitoring the SPAD reading dynamic of lower leaves could accurately characterize and assess the nitrogen supply in plants. The lower leaves in nitrogen-deficient plants had a shorter duration of high SPAD readings compared to nitrogen-sufficient plants; this physiological mechanism should be studied further. In summary, the spatio-temporal variation of plant nitrogen status in maize was analysed to determine critical leaf positions for potentially assisting in the identification of appropriate agronomic management practices, such as the adjustment of nitrogen rates in late fertilization.
Clinical analysis of relapsing polychondritis with airway involvement
S-Y Zhai, R-Y Guo, C Zhang, C-M Zhang, H-Y Yin, B-Q Wang, S-X Wen
Journal: The Journal of Laryngology & Otology / Volume 137 / Issue 1 / January 2023
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 February 2022, pp. 96-100
To identify the clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of relapsing polychondritis patients with airway involvement.
Twenty-eight patients with relapsing polychondritis, hospitalised in the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University between April 2011 and April 2021, were retrospectively analysed.
Fifty per cent of relapsing polychondritis patients with airway involvement had a lower risk of ear and ocular involvement. Relapsing polychondritis patients with airway involvement had a longer time-to-diagnosis (p < 0.001), a poorer outcome following glucocorticoid combined with immunosuppressant treatment (p = 0.004), and a higher recurrence rate than those without airway involvement (p = 0.004). The rates of positive findings on chest computed tomography and bronchoscopy in relapsing polychondritis patients with airway involvement were 88.9 per cent and 85.7 per cent, respectively. Laryngoscopy analysis showed that 66.7 per cent of relapsing polychondritis patients had varying degrees of mucosal lesions.
For relapsing polychondritis patients with airway involvement, drug treatment should be combined with local airway management.
Molecular signalling involved in upper airway remodelling is enhanced in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea
C-C Lin, Y-P Wang, C-H Chiu, Y-K Sun, M-W Lin, I-S Tzeng
Journal: The Journal of Laryngology & Otology / Volume 136 / Issue 11 / November 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2022, pp. 1096-1104
This study aimed to elucidate whether molecular signalling involved in upper airway remodelling is enhanced in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.
Twenty patients with mild obstructive sleep apnoea (control group) and 40 patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea (obstructive sleep apnoea group) who desired uvulopalatopharyngoplasty were recruited for the study. After uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, surgical specimens of the uvula were subjected to haematoxylin and eosin, Masson's trichrome and immunohistochemical staining. Western blot and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction were used to evaluate the protein and messenger RNA expressions.
The obstructive sleep apnoea group showed more severe inflammation, increased collagen deposition and higher immunohistochemical staining intensity for TGF-ß and MMP-9 as well as higher protein and messenger RNA expression of MMP-9, VEGF, TGF-ß, p38 MAPK, SMAD 2/3, AKT and JNK in the uvula than control group.
Patients with obstructive sleep apnoea demonstrated more severe inflammation, increased airway remodelling, and increased protein and messenger RNA expression of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokines in the uvula than control participants.
The variability of maize kernel drying: sowing date, harvest scenario and year
Z. F. Huang, L. Y. Hou, J. Xue, K. R. Wang, R. Z. Xie, P. Hou, B. Ming, S. K. Li
Journal: The Journal of Agricultural Science / Volume 159 / Issue 7-8 / September 2021
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 December 2021, pp. 535-543
The extent of the reduction of maize (Zea mays L.) kernel moisture content through drying is closely related to field temperature (or accumulated temperature; AT) following maturation. In 2017 and 2018, we selected eight maize hybrids that are widely planted in Northeastern China to construct kernel drying prediction models for each hybrid based on kernel drying dynamics. In the traditional harvest scenario using the optimal sowing date (OSD), maize kernels underwent drying from 4th September to 5th October, with variation coefficients of 1.0–1.9. However, with a latest sowing date (LSD), drying occurred from 14th September to 31st October, with variation coefficients of 1.3–3.0. In the changed harvest scenario, the drying time of maize sown on the OSD condition was from 12th September to 9th November with variation coefficients of 1.3–3.0, while maize sown on the LSD had drying dates of 26th September to 28th October with variation coefficients of 1.5–3.6. In the future harvest scenario, the Fengken 139 (FK139) and Jingnongke 728 (JNK728) hybrids finished drying on 20th October and 8th November, respectively, when sown on the OSD and had variation coefficients of 2.7–2.8. Therefore, the maize kernel drying time was gradually delayed and was associated with an increased demand for AT ⩾ 0°C late in the growing season. Furthermore, we observed variation among different growing seasons likely due to differences in weather patterns, and that sowing dates impact variations in drying times to a greater extent than harvest scenarios.
Simultaneous bilateral transcutaneous bone conduction device implantation: sound localisation and speech perception in children with bilateral conductive hearing loss
P Chen, L Yang, J Yang, D Wang, Y Li, C Zhao, Y Liu, M Gao, J Zhu, S Li, S Zhao
Journal: The Journal of Laryngology & Otology / Volume 136 / Issue 10 / October 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2021, pp. 939-946
Print publication: October 2022
This study investigated the audiometric and sound localisation results in patients with conductive hearing loss after bilateral Bonebridge implantation.
Eight patients with congenital microtia and atresia supplied with bilateral Bonebridge devices were enrolled in this study. Hearing tests and sound localisation were tested under unaided, unilateral and bilateral aided conditions.
Mean functional gain was higher with a bilateral fitting than with a unilateral fitting, especially at 1.0–4.0 kHz (p < 0.05, both). The improvement in speech reception threshold in noise with a bilateral fitting was a 2.3 dB higher signal-to-noise ratio compared with unilateral fitting (p < 0.05). Bilateral fitting had better sound localisation than unilateral fitting (p <0.001). Four participants who attended follow up showed improved sound localisation ability after one year.
Patients demonstrated better hearing threshold, speech reception thresholds in noise and directional hearing with bilateral Bonebridge devices than with a unilateral Bonebridge device. Sound localisation ability with bilateral Bonebridge devices can be improved through long-term training.
Music as social bonding: A cross-cultural perspective
Ivan Yifan Zou, William S.-Y. Wang
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences / Volume 44 / 2021
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 September 2021, e95
We extend Savage et al.'s music and social bonding hypothesis by examining it in the context of Chinese music. First, top-down functions such as music as political instrument should receive more attention. Second, solo performance can serve as important cues for social identity. Third, a right match between the tones in lyrics and music contributes also to social bonding.
Cardiac responses in paediatric Pompe disease in the ADVANCE patient cohort
Barry J. Byrne, Steven D. Colan, Priya S. Kishnani, Meredith C. Foster, Susan E. Sparks, James B. Gibson, Kristina An Haack, David W. Stockton, Loren D. M. Peña, Si Houn Hahn, Judith Johnson, Pranoot X. Tanpaiboon, Nancy D. Leslie, David Kronn, Richard E. Hillman, Raymond Y. Wang
Journal: Cardiology in the Young / Volume 32 / Issue 3 / March 2022
Pompe disease results from lysosomal acid α-glucosidase deficiency, which leads to cardiomyopathy in all infantile-onset and occasional late-onset patients. Cardiac assessment is important for its diagnosis and management. This article presents unpublished cardiac findings, concomitant medications, and cardiac efficacy and safety outcomes from the ADVANCE study; trajectories of patients with abnormal left ventricular mass z score at enrolment; and post hoc analyses of on-treatment left ventricular mass and systolic blood pressure z scores by disease phenotype, GAA genotype, and "fraction of life" (defined as the fraction of life on pre-study 160 L production-scale alglucosidase alfa). ADVANCE evaluated 52 weeks' treatment with 4000 L production-scale alglucosidase alfa in ≥1-year-old United States of America patients with Pompe disease previously receiving 160 L production-scale alglucosidase alfa. M-mode echocardiography and 12-lead electrocardiography were performed at enrolment and Week 52. Sixty-seven patients had complete left ventricular mass z scores, decreasing at Week 52 (infantile-onset patients, change −0.8 ± 1.83; 95% confidence interval −1.3 to −0.2; all patients, change −0.5 ± 1.71; 95% confidence interval −1.0 to −0.1). Patients with "fraction of life" <0.79 had left ventricular mass z score decreasing (enrolment: +0.1 ± 3.0; Week 52: −1.1 ± 2.0); those with "fraction of life" ≥0.79 remained stable (enrolment: −0.9 ± 1.5; Week 52: −0.9 ± 1.4). Systolic blood pressure z scores were stable from enrolment to Week 52, and no cohort developed systemic hypertension. Eight patients had Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome. Cardiac hypertrophy and dysrhythmia in ADVANCE patients at or before enrolment were typical of Pompe disease. Four-thousand L alglucosidase alfa therapy maintained fractional shortening, left ventricular posterior and septal end-diastolic thicknesses, and improved left ventricular mass z score.
Trial registry: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01526785 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01526785.
Social Media Statement: Post hoc analyses of the ADVANCE study cohort of 113 children support ongoing cardiac monitoring and concomitant management of children with Pompe disease on long-term alglucosidase alfa to functionally improve cardiomyopathy and/or dysrhythmia.
Direct acceleration of an annular attosecond electron slice driven by near-infrared Laguerre–Gaussian laser
C. Jiang, W. P. Wang, S. Weber, H. Dong, Y. X. Leng, R. X. Li, Z. Z. Xu
Journal: High Power Laser Science and Engineering / Volume 9 / 2021
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 May 2021, e44
A new near-infrared direct acceleration mechanism driven by Laguerre–Gaussian laser is proposed to stably accelerate and concentrate electron slice both in longitudinal and transversal directions in vacuum. Three-dimensional simulations show that a 2-μm circularly polarized ${\mathrm{LG}}_p^l$ (p = 0, l = 1, σz = −1) laser can directly manipulate attosecond electron slices in additional dimensions (angular directions) and give them annular structures and angular momentums. These annular vortex attosecond electron slices are expected to have some novel applications such as in the collimation of antiprotons in conventional linear accelerators, edge-enhancement electron imaging, structured X-ray generation, and analysis and manipulation of nanomaterials.
Early development of artificially initiated turbulent spots
Y. X. Wang, K.-S. Choi, M. Gaster, C. Atkin, V. Borodulin, Y. Kachanov
Journal: Journal of Fluid Mechanics / Volume 916 / 10 June 2021
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 April 2021, A1
An experimental investigation was carried out in a low-turbulence wind tunnel to study the early development of artificially initiated turbulent spots in a laminar boundary layer over a flat plate. The reproducibility of the experiments allowed us to observe fine structural details that have not been observed previously. Initial velocity disturbances quickly developed into hairpin-like structures that multiplied downstream, which increased the width, length and height of the incipient turbulent spots. Only those disturbances that were greater than a threshold value developed into turbulent spots while the others decayed. The rate of development was also affected by the duration of the initial disturbances. We found that the behaviour of turbulence generation within a turbulent spot is similar to the burst events in the turbulent boundary layer, where ejection events are followed by sweep events.
Multi-agent cooperative multi-model adaptive guidance law
S.B. Wang, S.C. Wang, Z.G. Liu, S. Zhang, Y. Guo
Journal: The Aeronautical Journal / Volume 125 / Issue 1288 / June 2021
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 March 2021, pp. 1103-1129
A multi-agent engagement scenario is considered in which a high-value aircraft launches two defenders to intercept two homing missiles aimed at the aircraft. Under the assumption that all aircrafts have first-order linear dynamic characteristics, a combined multiple-mode adaptive estimation (MMAE) and a two-way cooperative optimal guidance law are proposed for the target–defenders team. Considering the full cooperation of the target and both the two defenders, the two-way cooperative strategies provide the analytical expressions for their optimal control input, enabling the target–defenders team to intercept the missiles with minimal control effort. To successfully intercept the missiles, MMAE is used to identify the guidance laws adopted by the missiles and estimate their states. The simulation results show that the target cooperating with the defenders to perform lure manoeuvres for the missiles can improve the guidance performance of the defenders as well as reduce the control effort of the defenders for intercepting the missiles.
The impact of COVID-19 on subthreshold depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study
Y. H. Liao, B. F. Fan, H. M. Zhang, L. Guo, Y. Lee, W. X. Wang, W. Y. Li, M. Q. Gong, L. M. W. Lui, L. J. Li, C. Y. Lu, R. S. McIntyre
Journal: Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences / Volume 30 / 2021
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2021, e20
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents an unprecedented threat to mental health. Herein, we assessed the impact of COVID-19 on subthreshold depressive symptoms and identified potential mitigating factors.
Participants were from Depression Cohort in China (ChiCTR registry number 1900022145). Adults (n = 1722) with subthreshold depressive symptoms were enrolled between March and October 2019 in a 6-month, community-based interventional study that aimed to prevent clinical depression using psychoeducation. A total of 1506 participants completed the study in Shenzhen, China: 726 participants, who completed the study between March 2019 and January 2020 (i.e. before COVID-19), comprised the 'wave 1' group; 780 participants, who were enrolled before COVID-19 and completed the 6-month endpoint assessment during COVID-19, comprised 'wave 2'. Symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia were assessed at baseline and endpoint (i.e. 6-month follow-up) using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), respectively. Measures of resilience and regular exercise were assessed at baseline. We compared the mental health outcomes between wave 1 and wave 2 groups. We additionally investigated how mental health outcomes changed across disparate stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, i.e. peak (7–13 February), post-peak (14–27 February), remission plateau (28 February−present).
COVID-19 increased the risk for three mental outcomes: (1) depression (odds ratio [OR] = 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04–1.62); (2) anxiety (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.16–1.88) and (3) insomnia (OR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.07–1.77). The highest proportion of probable depression and anxiety was observed post-peak, with 52.9% and 41.4%, respectively. Greater baseline resilience scores had a protective effect on the three main outcomes (depression: OR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.19–0.37; anxiety: OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.14–0.33 and insomnia: OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.11–0.28). Furthermore, regular physical activity mitigated the risk for depression (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.79–0.99).
The COVID-19 pandemic exerted a highly significant and negative impact on symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia. Mental health outcomes fluctuated as a function of the duration of the pandemic and were alleviated to some extent with the observed decline in community-based transmission. Augmenting resiliency and regular exercise provide an opportunity to mitigate the risk for mental health symptoms during this severe public health crisis.
Alcohol, coffee and tea intake and the risk of cognitive deficits: a dose–response meta-analysis
L. S. Ran, W. H. Liu, Y. Y. Fang, S. B. Xu, J. Li, X. Luo, D. J. Pan, M. H. Wang, W. Wang
Lifestyle interventions are an important and viable approach for preventing cognitive deficits. However, the results of studies on alcohol, coffee and tea consumption in relation to cognitive decline have been divergent, likely due to confounds from dose–response effects. This meta-analysis aimed to find the dose–response relationship between alcohol, coffee or tea consumption and cognitive deficits.
Prospective cohort studies or nested case-control studies in a cohort investigating the risk factors of cognitive deficits were searched in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane and Web of Science up to 4th June 2020. Two authors searched the databases and extracted the data independently. We also assessed the quality of the studies with the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Stata 15.0 software was used to perform model estimation and plot the linear or nonlinear dose–response relationship graphs.
The search identified 29 prospective studies from America, Japan, China and some European countries. The dose–response relationships showed that compared to non-drinkers, low consumption (<11 g/day) of alcohol could reduce the risk of cognitive deficits or only dementias, but there was no significant effect of heavier drinking (>11 g/day). Low consumption of coffee reduced the risk of any cognitive deficit (<2.8 cups/day) or dementia (<2.3 cups/day). Green tea consumption was a significant protective factor for cognitive health (relative risk, 0.94; 95% confidence intervals, 0.92–0.97), with one cup of tea per day brings a 6% reduction in risk of cognitive deficits.
Light consumption of alcohol (<11 g/day) and coffee (<2.8 cups/day) was associated with reduced risk of cognitive deficits. Cognitive benefits of green tea consumption increased with the daily consumption.