Coseismic deformation and fault slip distribution of the 2023 M_(W)7.8 and M_(W)7.6 earthquakes in Türkiye

On February 6,2023,a devastating earthquake with a moment magnitude of M_(W)7.8 struck the town of Pazarcik in south-central Türkiye,followed by another powerful earthquake with a moment magnitude of M_(W)7.6 that struck the nearby city of Elbistan 9 h later.To study the characteristics of surface deformation caused by this event and the influence of fault rupture,this study calculated the static coseismic deformation of 56 stations and dynamic displacement waveforms of 15 stations using data from the Turkish national fixed global navigation satellite system(GNSS)network.A maximum static coseismic displacement of 0.38 m for the M_(W)7.8 Kahramanmaras earthquake was observed at station ANTE,36 km from the epicenter,and a maximum dynamic coseismic displacement of 4.4 m for the M_(W)7.6 Elbistan earthquake was observed at station EKZ1,5 km from the epicenter.The rupture-slip distributions of the two earthquakes were inverted using GNSS coseismic deformation as a constraint.The results showed that the Kahramanmaras earthquake rupture segment was distinct and exposed on the ground,resulting in significant rupture slip along the Amanos and Pazarcik fault segments of the East Anatolian Fault.The maximum slip in the Pazarcik fault segment was 10.7 m,and rupture occurred at depths of 0–15 km.In the Cardak fault region,the Elbistan earthquake caused significant ruptures at depths of 0–12 km,with the largest amount of slip reaching 11.6 m.The Coulomb stress change caused by the Kahramanmaras earthquake rupture along the Cardak fault segment was approximately 2 bars,and the area of increased Coulomb stress corresponded to the subsequent rupture region of the M_(W)7.6 earthquake.Thus,it is likely that the M_(W)7.8 earthquake triggered or promoted the M_(W)7.6 earthquake.Based on the cumulative stress impact of the M_(W)7.8 and M_(W)7.6 events,the southwestern segment of the East Anatolian Fault,specifically the Amanos fault segment,experienced a Coulomb rupture stress change exceeding 2 bars,warranting further attention to assess its future seismic hazard risk.

Effects of Melatonin on Spermatozoa Activity and Associated Mechanisms in Heat-Stressed Rats

In animals,heat stress(HS)disrupts spermatogenesis,reducing sperm quality and,in severe cases,potentially inducing the loss of male reproductive function.Melatonin confers significant resistance to oxidative stress and apoptosis;however,its specific effects on rat spermatocytes and the mechanism underlying its anti-HS effects remain inadequately explored.Therefore,this study aimed to analyze the effects of melatonin at different concentrations on sperm cell activity in heat-stressed rats.Modeling heat stress injury,sperm viability and density assay,sperm plasma membrane integrity analysis,and oxidative stress assay of testicular tissue were conducted.The results revealed that HS caused sperm cell injury.However,the intraperitoneal injection of melatonin effectively improved spermatozoa quality,and a dose of 1 mM significantly alleviated the HS-induced damage.Moreover,HS increased the levels of oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum(ES)stress in rat testicular tissues,inducing germ cell apoptosis and pathological changes.Similarly,melatonin treatment improved sperm cell viability and density,inhibited germ cell apoptosis,and reduced oxidative and ES stress levels.Overall,melatonin effectively reduced the adverse effects of HS on rat sperm cells,and an intraperitoneal injection of 1 mM(0.6966 mg)melatonin facilitated the normal production of spermatozoa.Notably,its mechanism may involve reduced ES and oxidative stress levels in testicular tissues,increased expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2,and inhibition of germ cell apoptosis.

NiO/TiO_(2)异质结构纳米管阵列膜对不锈钢的光生阴极保护及其储能性能

本工作通过修饰TiO_(2)制备半导体复合膜,提高其光吸收和光电化学性能,以期应用于光生阴极保护。先采用阳极氧化法在Ti表面制备TiO_(2)纳米管阵列膜,再应用水热处理法在膜表面沉积NiO纳米颗粒,形成具有异质结构纳米管复合膜。利用扫描电子显微镜、X-射线衍射、X-射线光电子能谱、紫外-可见吸收光谱、光致发光谱和光电化学技术对制备的纳米膜进行表征。结果表明,与纯TiO_(2)纳米管膜比较,NiO/TiO_(2)纳米管复合膜的光吸收扩展到可见光区。白光照射下,其在0.5 mol·L^(−1) KOH和1 mol·L^(−1) CH3OH混合液中的光电流密度达到176μA·cm^(−2),是纯TiO_(2)纳米管膜的2倍。复合膜具有良好的光生阴极保护作用,与0.5 mol·L^(−1) NaCl溶液中的403不锈钢耦连后,可使其电极电位下降440 mV,在光照2.5 h再转为暗态后,因具有电荷储存能力还可继续提供约15.5 h的阴极保护效应。

Active tectonic deformation around the Tarim Basin inferred from dense GPS measurements

The surrounding area of the Tarim Basin is featured by active tectonic deformation and intense seismic activity.The study of the crustal deformation characteristics of this area will help revealing the role of the Tarim Basin in the crustal evolution.In order to accurately obtain the deformation characteristics of this area,we firstly obtained the highly detailed and accurate three-dimensional(3D)crustal deformation velocities of the Tarim Basin and its surrounding areas through high-precision processing of existing Global Positioning System(GPS)data.Thereafter,the slip rate and strain rate fields of the main faults in the region were calculated based on the updated velocity results.The strain rate of the Altyn Tagh fault is dominated by shear strain and the strike slip rate is 8-10 mm/yr.The strain rate between the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin is dominated by extrusion strain,and the extrusion rate is 4-6 mm/yr.In addition to the large shear strain,there is also a certain tensile strain in the Tibetan Plateau.Geodetic results show that the main driving force for the deformation of the Tien Shan is the northward thrust of the Tarim Basin.The relative movement mode between the Tarim Basin and Tibetan Plateau mainly comprises the strike slip movement along the strike direction of the Altyn Tagh fault,with a small extrusion deformation.Therefore,the Tarim Basin has little influence on the northesouth shortening deformation of the Tibetan Plateau.

Multiplicity of solutions to geophysical inversion reflected by rupture slip distribution of the 2015 Nepal earthquake

The equivalence of geophysical fields, the finiteness of measurements and the measurement errors make the result of geophysical inversion non-unique. For example, the measurements and inversion method used, the priori rupture model determined and the slip distribution smoothing factor selected will have significant influences on the earthquake rupture slip distribution. Using different data and methods, different authors have given different rupture slip distribution models of the 2015 Mw7.9 Nepal earth- quake, with the maximum slip ranging from 3.0 m to 6.8 m. In this paper, geometry parameters of the single rectangular fault model in elastic half-space were inferred constraining with the Global Posi- tioning System （GPS） and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar （InSAR） coseismic deformations and bounding the slip with approximate average value; and then, the single rectangular fault was divided into multiple sub-faults, and the final slip smoothing factor, the final slip distribution and the maximum slip were determined with the misfit-roughness tradeoff curve, the cross-validation sum of squares （CVSS） and the third-party observation data or indexes being comprehensively taken into account. The results show that, the rupture of the Nepal earthquake extended by over 100 km east by south. The maximum slip of the earthquake was about 6.5-6.7 m, and most of the slip is confined at depths of 8 -20 kin, consistent with the depth distribution of aftershocks. The method for reducing the multiplicity of solutions to rupture slip distribution in this paper was ever used in inversion of rupture slip distri- bution for the 2008 Wenchuan and 2013 Lushan earthquakes, and the third-party measurement - surface dislocation has very large effect on reducing the multiplicity of solutions to inversion of the Wenchuan earthquake. Other priori information or indicators, such as fault strike, dip, earthquake magnitude, seismic activity, Coulomb stress, and seismic period, can be used for beneficial validation of and comparison with inversion results.

Prediction of risk of cardiovascular events in patients with mild to moderate coronary artery lesions using naive Bayesian networks

Background This prospective study integrated multiple clinical indexes and inflammatory markers associated with coronary atherosclerotic vulnerable plaque to establish a risk prediction model that can evaluate a patient with certain risk factors for the likelihood of the occurrence of a coronary heart disease event within one year. Methods This study enrolled in 2686 patients with mild to moderate coronary artery lesions. Eighty-five indexes were recorded, included baseline clinical data, laboratory studies, and procedural characteristics. During the 1-year follow-up, 233 events occurred, five patients died, four patients suffered a nonfatal myocardial infarction, four patients underwent revascularization, and 220 patients were readmitted for angina pectoris. The Risk Estimation Model and the Simplified Model were conducted using Bayesian networks and compared with the Single Factor Models. Results The area under the curve was 0.88 for the Bayesian Model and 0.85 for the Simplified Model, while the Single Factor Model had a maximum area under the curve of 0.65. Conclusion The new models can be used to assess the short-term risk of individual coronary heart disease events and may assist in guiding preventive care.

Growth differentiation factor-15 is a prognostic marker in patients with intermediate coronary artery disease

Background Growth differentiation factor-15(GDF-15)is involved in multiple processes that are associated with coronary artery disease(CAD).However,little is known about the association between GDF-15 and the future ischemic events in patients with intermediate CAD.This study was conducted to investigate whether plasma GDF-15 constituted risk biomarkers for future cardiovascular events in patients with intermediate CAD.Methods A prospective study was performed based on 541 patients with intermediate CAD(20%–70%).GDF-15 of each patient was determined in a blinded manner.The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac event(MACE),which was defined as a composite of all-cause death,nonfatal myocardial infarction,revascularization and readmission due to angina pectoris.Results After a median follow-up of 64 months,504 patients(93.2%)completed the follow-up.Overall,the combined endpoint of MACE appeared in 134 patients(26.6%)in the overall population:26 patients died,11 patients suffered a nonfatal myocardial infarction,51 patients underwent revascularization,and 46 patients were readmitted for angina pectoris.The plasma levels of GDF-15(median:1172.02 vs.965.25 pg/m L,P=0.014)were higher in patients with ischemic events than those without events.After adjusting for traditional risk factors,higher GDF-15 levels were significantly associated with higher incidence of the composite endpoint of MACE(HR=1.244,95%CI:1.048–1.478,Quartile 4 vs.Quartile 1,P=0.013).Conclusions The higher level of GDF-15 was an independent predictor of long-term adverse cardiovascular events in patients with intermediate CAD.

Measuring ground deformations caused by 2015 Mw7.8 Nepal earthquake using high-rate GPS data

The April 25, 2015 Mw7.8 Nepal earthquake was successfully recorded by Crustal Movement Observation Network of China （CMONOC） and Nepal Geodetic Array （NGA）. We processed the high-rate GPS data （1 Hz and 5 Hz） by using relative kinematic positioning and derived dynamic ground motions caused by this large earthquake. The dynamic displacements time series clearly indicated the displacement amplitude of each station was related to the rupture directivity. The stations which located in the di- rection of rupture propagation had larger displacement amplitudes than others. Also dynamic ground displacement exceeding 5 cm was detected by the GPS station that was 2000 km away from the epicenter. Permanent coseismic displacements were resolved from the near-field high-rate GPS stations with wavelet decomposition-reconstruction method and P-wave arrivals were also detected with S transform method. The results of this study can be used for earthquake rupture process and Earthquake Early Warning studies.

Container Introspection: Using External Management Containers to Monitor Containers in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing plays an important role in today’s Internet environment,which meets the requirements of scalability,security and reliability by using virtualization technologies.Container technology is one of the two mainstream virtualization solutions.Its lightweight,high deployment efficiency make container technology widely used in large-scale cloud computing.While container technology has created huge benefits for cloud service providers and tenants,it cannot meet the requirements of security monitoring and management from a tenant perspective.Currently,tenants can only run their security monitors in the target container,but it is not secure because the attacker is able to detect and compromise the security monitor.In this paper,a secure external monitoring approach is proposed to monitor target containers in another management container.The management container is transparent for target containers,but it can obtain the executing information of target containers,providing a secure monitoring environment.Security monitors running inside management containers are secure for the cloud host,since the management containers are not privileged.We implement the transparent external management containers by performing the one-way isolation of processes and files.For process one-way isolation,we leverage Linux namespace technology to let management container become the parent of target containers.By mounting the file system of target container to that of the management container,file system one-way isolation is achieved.Compared with the existing host-based monitoring approach,our approach is more secure and suitable in the cloud environment.

Study on three independent parameters of focal mechanism solution

In this paper, the relationships of the plunges and azimuths of T and P axes versus the strikes, dips, and rakes of two seismic nodal planes were derived to provide ref- erence for earthquake researchers. The independence of the plunges and azimuths of T, B, and P axes in focal mech- anism solution was discussed, and it was concluded that three parameters, i.e., the azimuths of T, B and P axes, are completely independent. The focal mechanism solution representation based on Euler rotation was introduced, using three Euler angles in place of the plunges and azi- muths of T, B, and P axes, and three focal mechanism solution representations were briefly compared and ana- lyzed in respect of accuracy on the basis of the assumption of rounding; it was concluded that the Euler angle repre- sentation has better accuracy, compared with the azimuth representation and the traditional representation with T, B, and P axes.

Microstructural evolution and oxidation inα/βtitanium alloy under fretting fatigue loading

Coupling effects of fretting wear and cyclic stress could result in significant fatigue strength degradation,thus potentially causing unanticipated catastrophic fractures.The underlying mechanism of microstructural evolutions caused by fretting wear is ambiguous,which obstructs the understanding of fretting fatigue issues,and is unable to guarantee the reliability of structures for long-term operation.Here,fretting wear studies were performed to understand the microstructural evolution and oxidation behavior of anα/βtitanium alloy up to 108 cycles.Contact surface degradation is mainly caused by surface oxidation and the generation of wear debris during fretting wear within the slip zone.The grain size in the topmost nanostructured layer could be refined to~40 nm.The grain refinement process involves the initial grain rotation,the formation of low angle grain boundary(LAGB;2°–5°),the in-situ increments of the misorientation angle,and the final subdivision,which have been unraveled to feature the evolution in dislocation morphologies from slip lines to tangles and arrays.The formation of hetero microstructures regarding the nonequilibrium high angle grain boundary(HAGB)and dislocation arrays gives rise to more oxygen diffusion pathways in the topmost nanostructured layer,thus resulting in the formation of cracking interface to separate the oxidation zone and the adjoining nanostructured domain driven by tribological fatigue stress.Eventually,it facilitates surface degradation and the formation of catastrophic fractures.

Analysis of Alkaline Foam to Water Temperature Model

Factors affecting bath water temperature model include the shape and size of a bath, people’s gesture, volume, individual temperature adaptation as well as body movement in the bath. In addition, the bathroom space, ambient temperature and bath materials will also affect changes of the water temperature to a certain extent. In this paper, the cooling function and linear regression method are used and the MATLAB software is also used to simulate the model of water temperature, alkaline bath foams that obtained can accelerate changes in water temperature.

Elucidating ligand effects in rhodium(Ⅲ)-catalyzed arene-alkene coupling reactions

Rhodium(Ⅲ)-catalyzed C-H couplings of arenes with alkenes are among the most powerful methods for C-C bond formation.For these transformations,subtle manipulation of ancillary ligands can lead to dramatic changes in reactivity and selectivity.However,detailed mechanistic studies concerning the ligand effects are rare.In this study,we investigated the origin of ligand-controlled product-selectivity in rhodium(Ⅲ)-catalyzed C-H couplings of arenes with alkenes,using a series of well-defined[CpXRhⅢ]complexes that feature electronically or sterically distinct Cp^(X)(Cp(η^(5)-C_(5)H_(5)),Cp^(CF3)(η^(5)-C_(5)Me_(4)CF_(3))and Cp^(∗)(η^(5)-C_(5)Me_(5)))ligands.A combination of experimental and theoretical investigations showed that(i)rhodium hydride species containing the electron rich Cp^(∗)ligand can undergo reinsertion of the alkene,thereby allowing rhodium-walking,(ii)rhodium hydride species involving the electron-deficient Cp or Cp^(CF3) ligands prefer reductive elimination rather than alkene insertion.These findings offer valuable insights on future rational catalyst design for selective arene-alkene cross coupling reactions.

Evaluating Tislelizumab, Lenvatinib, and FOLFOX4-HAIC as a Conversion Therapy for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background and aims:Conversion therapy downstages tumors and renders patients with unresectable hepatocel-lular carcinoma(HCC)eligible for radical resection.This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tislelizumab plus lenvatinib and hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy with oxaliplatin,fluorouracil,and leuco-vorin(FOLFOX4-HAIC)as a first-line conversion therapy.Methods:Clinical data from HCC patients who were treated with the triple therapy between April 2021 and April 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.The primary outcome included objective response rate(ORR),disease control rate(DCR),conversion resection rate(CRR),and treatment-related adverse events(TRAEs).Results:A total of 18 patients completed conversion therapy assessment,which ended on March 27,2023.The patients had a median age of 55.5(37–72)years,and 94.4%were male.According to mRECIST,tumor shrinkage was observed in all patients,with an ORR of 94.4%(17/18),a DCR of 94.4%(17/18),and a median time to response of 1.4(0.7–3.0)months.Successful conversion was observed in 61.1%(11/18)of patients(mRECIST).The CRR and pathological complete response were 38.9%(7/18)and 57.1%(4/7),respectively.The median progression-free survival(PFS)was 17.8 months,while median overall survival was not reached.The 6-and 9-month PFS rates were 83.3%and 66.7%,respectively.The most common TRAE(16/18 patients,88.9%)was an increase in aspartate aminotransferase levels.Conclusion:Tislelizumab combined with lenvatinib and FOLFOX4-HAIC achieved a high conversion rate and acceptable toxicity in patients with unresectable HCC,suggesting that this combination may represent a new conversion strategy for this population.

Identification of positive cofactor 4 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker associated with immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background and aims:Human positive cofactor 4(PC4)is associated with the development and therapeutic resistance of several malignancies.However,the role of PC4 in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)remains obscure.Methods:The expression status of PC4 was explored in Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets.Subsequently,the prognostic and diagnostic significance of PC4 in HCC patients was analyzed.Functional enrichment analyses were conducted to explore biological functions and potential mechanisms.The CIBERSORT algorithm was used for immune infiltration analysis.The risk signature was constructed by LASSO-Cox regression and was validated with the International Cancer Genome Consortium dataset.Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to verify the expression levels of all genes.Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion analysis evaluated immunotherapy response.Finally,using online databases,PC4-related competing endogenous RNA networks were constructed.Results:PC4 levels were significantly upregulated in HCC and positively correlated with the pathological grade and clinical stage.The PC4-high expression group showed worse prognosis.In addition,PC4 could distinguish between tumor and normal tissues with an area under the curve of 0.965.The PC4 level was associated with immune checkpoints and immune cell infiltration.In the training and validation sets,the eight-gene risk signature strongly correlated with HCC patient prognosis.Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion analysis showed that patients in both the PC4-low and low-risk groups were more likely to benefit from immunotherapy.Finally,an lncRNA/microRNA-101-3p/PC4 network was constructed.Conclusion:We confirmed PC4 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in HCC patients.We also developed and validated an eight-gene risk signature,which will help in clinical decision-making.The competing endogenous RNA network could help explore the regulatory mechanisms of PC4 in HCC.

COM-negative binomial distribution： modeling overdispersion and ultrahigh zero-inflated count data

We focus on the COM-type negative binomial distribution with three parameters, which belongs to COM-type （a, b, 0） class distributions and family of equilibrium distributions of arbitrary birth-death process. Besides, we show abundant distributional properties such as overdispersion and underdispersion, log-concavity, log-convexity （infinite divisibility）, pseudo compound Poisson, stochastic ordering, and asymptotic approximation. Some characterizations including sum of equicorrelated geometrically distributed random variables, conditional distribution, limit distribution of COM-negative hypergeometric distribution, and Stein＇s identity are given for theoretical properties. COM- negative binomial distribution was applied to overdispersion and ultrahigh zeroinflated data sets. With the aid of ratio regression, we employ maximum likelihood method to estimate the parameters and the goodness-of-fit are evaluated by the discrete Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.

Summaries of three keynote lectures at the SAE–2018

Three keynote lectures are presented at the conference of Small Area Estimation and OtherTopics of Current Interest in Surveys, Official Statistics and General Statistics (SAE 2018), an international conference held between June 16 and 18 at East China Normal University, Shanghai,China. The speakers of these lectures are world famous statistics professors, James O. Berger,J. N. K. Rao and Malay Ghosh. The lectures mainly review the previous studies and present thepioneering results covering Bayesian statistics, small area estimation, shrinkage priors, etc.

Interview with Professor Danny Pfeffermann

An interview with Professor Danny Pfeffermann is conducted during the conference of SmallArea Estimation 2018 (SAE 2018), an international conference held between June 16 and 18at East China Normal University, Shanghai, China. SAE 2018 is also a celebration of ProfessorPfeffermann’s 75th birthday. Our interview consists of eight questions, which focus on Professor Pfeffermann’s personal education background, research motivations, contributions to thedevelopment of statistics, opinions on big data and data science, and his future plan. Professor Pfeffemann used interesting examples to express his opinions on the future development ofstatistics.