Seasonal and interannual variability of water mass sources of Indonesian throughflow in the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea

So far, large uncertainties of the Indonesian throughflow(ITF) reside in the eastern Indonesian seas, such as the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea. In this study, the water sources of the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea are diagnosed at seasonal and interannual timescales and at different vertical layers, using the state-of-the-art simulations of the Ocean General Circulation Model(OGCM) for Earth Simulator(OFES). Asian monsoon leaves clear seasonal footprints on the eastern Indonesian seas. Consequently, the subsurface waters(around 24.5σ_θ and at ～150 m) in both the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea stem from the South Pacific(SP) during winter monsoon, but during summer monsoon the Maluku Sea is from the North Pacific(NP), and the Halmahera Sea is a mixture of waters originating from the NP and the SP. The monsoon impact decreases with depth, so that in the Maluku Sea, the intermediate water(around 26.8σ_θ and at ～480 m) is always from the northern Banda Sea and the Halmahera Sea water is mainly from the SP in winter and the Banda Sea in summer. The deep waters(around27.2σ_θ and at ～1 040 m) in both seas are from the SP, with weak seasonal variability. At the interannual timescale,the subsurface water in the Maluku Sea originates from the NP/SP during El Ni?o/La Ni?a, while the subsurface water in the Halmahera Sea always originates from the SP. Similar to the seasonal variability, the intermediate water in Maluku Sea mainly comes from the Banda Sea and the Halmahera Sea always originates from the SP. The deep waters in both seas are from the SP. Our findings are helpful for drawing a comprehensive picture of the water properties in the Indonesian seas and will contribute to a better understanding of the ocean-atmosphere interaction over the maritime continent.

Effects of proper drilling control to reduce respirable dust during roof bolting operations

Dust generated from bolt hole drilling in roof bolting operation could have high quartz content. As a dust control measure, vacuum drilling is employed on most of the roof bolters in US underground mines. However, fine rock partic- ulates from drilling could escape from the dust collection system and become airborne under some circumstances causing the roof bolter operators expose to quartz-rich respirable dust. A previous research shows that drilling can be controlled through properly selected penetration and rotational rates to reduce the specific energy of drilling. Less specific energy means less energy is wasted on generating noise, heat and over-breakage of rock. It implies that proper control of drilling has a great potential to generate significantly less fine rock dust during drilling. The drilling experiments have been conducted to study the effect of controlling drilling on reducing respirable dust. The preliminary results show that the size distributions of respirable dust were different when controlling drilling in different bite depths. This paper presents the findings from laboratory experimental studies.

Unusual coastal ocean cooling in the northern South China Sea by a katabatic cold jet associated with Typhoon Mujigea(2015)

This study deals with a unusual cooling event after Typhoon Mujigea passed over the northern South China Sea(SCS) in October 2015. We analyze the satellite sea surface temperature(SST) time series from October 3 to 18,2015 and find that the cooling process in the coastal ocean had two different stages. The first stage occurred immediately after typhoon passage on October 3, and reached a maximum SST drop of –2℃ on October 7 as the usual cold wake after typhoon. The second stage or the unusual extended cooling event occurred after 7d of the typhoon passage, and lasted for 5d from October 10 to 15. The maximum SST cooling was –4℃ and occurred after 12d of typhoon passage. The mechanism analysis results indicate that after landing and moving northwestward to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau(YGP), Typhoon Mujigea(2015) met the westerly wind front on October 5. The lowpressure and positive-vorticity disturbances to the front triggered meridional air flow and low-pressure trough,thus induced a katabatic cold jet downward from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP) passing through the YGP to the northwestern SCS. The second cooling reached the maximum SST drop 4d later after the maximum air temperature drop of –9℃ on October 11. The simultaneous air temperature and SST observations at three coastal stations reveal that it is this katabatic cold jet intrusion to lead the unusual SST cooling event.

Uterine artery embolization in association with methotrexate infusion for the treatment of tubal ectopic pregnancy

Objective To investigate the safety, feasibility, and effectiveness of uterine artery embolization in association with methotrexate(MTX) infusion for the treatment of tubal ectopic pregnancy. Methods Fifty-one patients with tubal ectopic pregnancy were referred for interventional management. All patients received super-selective arteriography of the uterine artery, were infused with 50–100 mg methotrexate(MTX) through a catheter, and underwent embolization of the uterine artery with a gel-foam pledge. Clinical presentation, findings of physical examination, β-HCG values, and the size of the ectopic mass were documented for comparison. The concentration of MTX in blood was evaluated at 0.5, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours after the procedure. Results Forty-seven out of the 51 patients had clinical resolution of their tubal pregnancy(92.2%). The average time for the β-HCG value to decrease and come back to normal was 9.16 ± 2.54 days(mean +/-SD). MTX levels in peripheral blood could not be detected for patients who received 50 or 75 mg MTX at 36 hours after the procedure, while the MTX level was 0.01 μmol/L at 48 hours after the procedure for patients who received 100 mg. Out of the 4 cases whose ectopic mass size was ≥5 cm, 3 failed to respond to the treatment; however, those whose ectopic mass size was ≤5 cm responded positively to the treatment, regardless of the β-HCG concentration and abdominal bleeding, except for 1 patient who had to undergo laparoscopy for severe abdominal pain and who showed a reduction in her β-HCG level. Conclusion Uterine artery embolization in association with methotrexate infusion is safe and effective in the treatment of tubal ectopic pregnancy, especially for those women with mild to moderate bleeding, or for those at risk of a major hemorrhage. The selection criterion of mass size >5 cm should, therefore, be carefully considered.

From VIB‑to VB‑Group Transition Metal Disulfides:Structure Engineering Modulation for Superior Electromagnetic Wave Absorption

The laminated transition metal disulfides(TMDs),which are well known as typical two-dimensional(2D)semiconductive materials,possess a unique layered structure,leading to their wide-spread applications in various fields,such as catalysis,energy storage,sensing,etc.In recent years,a lot of research work on TMDs based functional materials in the fields of electromagnetic wave absorption(EMA)has been carried out.Therefore,it is of great significance to elaborate the influence of TMDs on EMA in time to speed up the application.In this review,recent advances in the development of electromagnetic wave(EMW)absorbers based on TMDs,ranging from the VIB group to the VB group are summarized.Their compositions,microstructures,electronic properties,and synthesis methods are presented in detail.Particularly,the modulation of structure engineering from the aspects of heterostructures,defects,morphologies and phases are systematically summarized,focusing on optimizing impedance matching and increasing dielectric and magnetic losses in the EMA materials with tunable EMW absorption performance.Milestones as well as the challenges are also identified to guide the design of new TMDs based dielectric EMA materials with high performance.

A case study of continental shelf waves in the northwestern South China Sea induced by winter storms in 2021

This study aims to investigate characteristics of continental shelf wave(CSW)on the northwestern continental shelf of the South China Sea(SCS)induced by winter storms in 2021.Mooring and cruise observations,tidal gauge data at stations Hong Kong,Zhapo and Qinglan and sea surface wind data from January 1 to February 28,2021 are used to examine the relationship between along-shelf wind and sea level fluctuation.Two events of CSWs driven by the along-shelf sea surface wind are detected from wavelet spectra of tidal gauge data.The signals are triply peaked at periods of 56 h,94 h and 180 h,propagating along the coast with phase speed ranging from 6.9 m/s to18.9 m/s.The dispersion relation shows their property of the Kelvin mode of CSW.We develop a simple method to estimate amplitude of sea surface fluctuation by along-shelf wind.The results are comparable with the observation data,suggesting it is effective.The mode 2 CSWs fits very well with the mooring current velocity data.The results from rare current help to understand wave-current interaction in the northwestern SCS.

Elucidation of potential relationship between endogenous proteases and key flavor substances in dry-cured pork coppa

Dry-cured meat products are considerably popular around the world due to unique flavor.Proteolysis is one of the enzymatic reactions from which flavor substances are derived,which is affected by endogenous proteases.The purpose aimed to reveal the potential relationship between endogenous proteases and key flavor substances in dry-cured pork coppa in this paper.The dynamic changes of endogenous proteases activity,free amino acids,and volatiles during dry-cured pork coppa processing were characterized.The results showed that 5 kinds of free amino acids,Glu,Lys,Val,Ala,and Leu,were identified as significant contributors to taste.Meanwhile,key volatiles,such as hexanal,nonanal,octanal,benzaldehyde,3-methyl butanoic acid,2-methyl propanoic acid,and ethyl octanoate,greatly contributed to the flavor characteristics of dry-cured pork coppa.Further partial correlation analysis was performed to better elucidate the relationship among parameters.The results revealed that close relationship between endogenous proteases and key substances.RAP not only significantly affected the accumulation of key active-amino acids,but also affected the accumulation of ethyl octanoate,2,3-pentanedione,and 2,3-octanedione by regulating the accumulation of octanoic acid and Leu.In addition,cathepsin B and D,DPP II,DPP IV and RAP notably affected accumulation of hexanal.

Spin transport characteristics modulated by the GeBi interlayer in Y_(3)Fe_(5)O_(12)/GeBi/Pt heterostructures

For the past few years,germanium-based semiconductor spintronics has attracted considerable interest due to its potential for integration into mainstream semiconductor technology.The main challenges in the development of modern semiconductor spintronics are the generation,detection,and manipulation of spin currents.Here,the transport characteristics of a spin current generated by spin pumping through a GeBi semiconductor barrier in Y_(3)Fe_(5)O_(12)/GeBi/Pt heterostructures were investigated systematically.The effective spin-mixing conductance and inverse spin Hall voltage to quantitatively describe the spin transport characteristics were extracted.The spin-injection efficiency in the Y_(3)Fe_(5)O_(12)/GeBi/Pt heterostructures is comparable to that of the Y_(3)Fe_(5)O_(12)/Pt bilayer,and the inverse spin Hall voltage exponential decays with the increase in the barrier thickness.Furthermore,the band gap of the GeBi layer was tuned by changing the Bi content.The spin-injection efficiency at the YIG/semiconductor interface and the spin transportation within the semiconductor barrier are related to the band gap of the GeBi layer.Our results may be used as guidelines for the fabrication of efficient spin transmission structures and may lead to further studies on the impacts of different kinds of barrier materials.

Role playing learning for socially concomitant mobile robot navigation

In this study, the authors present the role playing learning scheme for a mobile robot to navigate socially with its human companion in populated environments. Neural networks （NNs） are constructed to parameterise a stochastic policy that directly maps sensory data collected by the robot to its velocity outputs, while respecting a set of social norms. An efficient simulative learning environment is built with maps and pedestrians trajectories collected from a number of real-world crowd data sets. In each learning iteration, a robot equipped with the NN policy is created virtually in the learning environment to play itself as a companied pedestrian and navigate towards a goal in a socially concomitant manner. Thus, this process is called role playing learning, which is formulated under a reinforcement learning framework. The NN policy is optimised end-to-end using trust region policy optimisation, with consideration of the imperfectness of robot＇s sensor measurements. Simulative and experimental results are provided to demonstrate the efficacy and superiority of the proposed method.

中老年骨质疏松症患者生活质量及其影响因素调查分析

目的目的本研究旨在调查分析中老年骨质疏松症(OP)患者的生活质量及其影响因素。方法方法选取2023年6月至2023年12月在宁夏医科大学附属医院进行骨密度检查的中老年人100名,剔除问卷质量不合格者后,最终纳入96名作为调查对象。根据骨密度值,将研究对象分为骨量正常组(T值≥-1.0,32例)、骨量减少组(-2.5<T值<-1.0,37例)和OP组(T值≤-2.5,27例)。采用SF-36量表评估各组患者的生活质量,并记录其基本人口学特征、生活习惯、既往病史及药物使用情况。结果结果骨质疏松症患者在生理功能、身体疼痛、总体健康感知等方面的SF-36评分显著低于骨量正常组和骨量减少组。多因素回归分析显示,年龄、性别、体重指数(BMI)、吸烟和饮酒习惯、体育活动频率以及维生素D摄入量是影响中老年骨质疏松症患者生活质量的重要因素。具体而言,年长、女性、BMI较低、吸烟饮酒习惯较差、体育活动较少及维生素D摄入不足的患者生活质量较低。结论结论维生素D摄入不足与中老年骨质疏松症患者生活质量的多个维度显著相关,提示补充维生素D可能有助于改善此类患者的生活质量。本研究为进一步提升中老年骨质疏松症患者的生活质量提供了潜在的干预策略。

Interleukin-1β is a potential therapeutic target for periodontitis: a narrative review

Interleukin(IL)-1β, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, was elevated and participates in periodontitis. Not only the link between IL-1β and periodontitis was proved by clinical evidence, but also the increased IL-1β triggers a series of inflammatory reactions and promotes bone resorption. Currently, IL-1β blockage has been therapeutic strategies for autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, gout and type II diabetes mellitus. It is speculated that IL-1β be a potential therapeutic target for periodontitis. The review focuses on the production, mechanism, present treatments and future potential strategies for IL-1β in periodontitis.

A case study of a Kuroshio main path cut-off event and impacts on the South China Sea in fall-winter 2013–2014

This study examines a Kuroshio main path(KMP) cut-off event east of Taiwan Island occurred in fall-winter2013–2014 and its impacts on the South China Sea(SCS) by analyzing satellite altimetry and mooring observations. Satellite altimeter sea level anomaly(SLA) images reveal a complete process that a huge cyclonic eddy(CE) from the Pacific collided with the Kuroshio and the western boundary from 15 October 2013 to 15 January 2014. Mooring observations evidenced that the Kuroshio upper ocean volume transport was cut off more than 82% from 17×106 m^3/s in September to 3×106 m^3/s in November 2013. The KMP cut-off event caused the Kuroshio branching and intruding into the SCS and strengthened the eddy kinetic energy in the northern SCS west of the Luzon Strait. Using the total momentum as a dynamic criterion to determine the role of eddy collision with the Kuroshio reasonably explains the KMP cut-off event.

Statistical analysis of mesoscale eddy propagation velocity in the South China Sea deep basin

Using mesoscale eddy trajectory product derived from satellite altimetry data from 1993 to 2017,this study analyzes the statistical characteristics of spatiotemporal distribution of mesoscale eddy propagation velocities(C)in the South China Sea(SCS)deep basin with depths>1000 m.Climatologically,the zonal propagation velocities(cx)are westwards in the whole basin,and the meridional velocities(cy)are southwards in the northwestern basin,and northwards in the southeastern basin.The variation of cy with longitude is consistent with that of the background meridional currents with correlation coefficient R2 of 0.96,while the variation of cx is related both to the background zonal currents andβeffect.The propagation velocities characterize significant seasonality with the minimum magnitude occurring in summer and the maximum in winter for cx and C.Interannually,larger values of cx and cy mostly occurred in La Ni?a years in the negative phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO).Mesoscale eddies move fast at the beginning and end of their life span,i.e.,at their growth and dissipation periods,and slowly during their stable"midlife"period.This trend is negatively correlated with the rotating tangential velocity with R2 of–0.93.Eddies with extreme propagation velocities are defined,which are slower(faster)than 1.5 cm/s(15.4 cm/s)and take 1.5%(1.9%)of the total eddies.The extremely slow-moving(fastmoving)eddies tend to appear in the middle(on the edge)of the basin,and mostly occur in summer(winter).The mechanism analysis reveals that the spatiotemporal distributions of the propagation velocities of mesoscale eddies in the SCS are modulated by the basin-scale background circulation.

Tidal currents in the coastal waters east of Hainan Island in winter

Using the 25-h continuing hydrographic observations at three successive stations in February 2012 and the mooring time series of current observations from January to March 2015,the tidal currents and tidal energy fluxes in the coastal waters east of Hainan Island in the northwestern South China Sea were analyzed.The diurnal and semidiurnal(using K_(1) and M_(2) as proxies,respectively)tidal currents and associated isopycnal undulations were derived with harmonic analysis.Results show that the velocities of the diurnal and semidiurnal tides derived from the 25-h observations are comparable to those from the mooring series.The semi-major axes of the tidal ellipses were O(4-7 cm/s)for barotropic tides and O(2-4 cm/s)for baroclinic tides.The directions were in NE-SW at deeper stations to N-S at the shallowest station for the diurnal tide and from NW-SE to NE-SW for the semidiurnal tide.Both the diurnal and semidiurnal isopycnal fl uctuations reached O(5 m),O(8 m),and O(10 m)at the cross-shelf stations(H03,H04,and H05)from 35 m,45 m,to 55 m,respectively,showing insignifi cant vertical variation,and the barotropic signals were predominate.The baroclinic diurnal tide showed fi rst-mode structures at H03-05,as does the semidiurnal tide at H03.The semidiurnal tide at H04 and H05 exhibited higher-mode structures.The time series of both the alongshore and cross-shore components reveal the vertically propagation features of the baroclinic tidal phase and energy.The calculated horizontal energy fl uxes of the diurnal and semidiurnal internal tides decreased from O(0.1 W/m)at H05 to O(0.01 W/m)at H03,implying a propagation and dissipation of energy from off shore to inshore.

Evaluation of fiber optic methane sensor using a smoke chamber

This report presents the results of experiments to evaluate a prototype fiber optic methane monitor exposed to smoke using a smoke chamber to simulate atmospheric conditions in an underground coal mine after a fire or explosion. The experiments were conducted using test fires of different combustible sources commonly found in mines —douglas-fir wood, SBR belt, and Pittsburgh seam coal. The experiments were designed to assess the response of the fiber optic methane sensor to different contaminants,different contaminant levels and different contaminant durations produced from the test fires. Since the prototype methane monitor detects methane by measuring absorption at a specific wavelength, optical power at the absorption wavelength(1650 nm) was measured as a function of smoke concentration and duration. The other sensor response parameter-methane response times-were measured between smoke tests to assess the impact of soot accumulation on the sensor. Results indicate that the sensor screen effectively prevented smoke from obscuring the optical beam within the sensor head, with minimal impact on the system optical power budget. Methane response times increased with smoke exposure duration, attributed to soot loading on the protective screen.

Experimental determination of the Young’s modulus of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes with single chirality

One-dimensional carbon nanotube(CNT)exhibits excellent mechanical properties and is considered to be an ideal candidate material for the space elevator.However,subtle changes in its chirality strongly affect its physical and chemical properties,including mechanical properties(such as Young's modulus,YM).Theoretical studies reveal that the YMs of perfect single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs)are in the order of TPa and related to their structures.Nevertheless,due to the lack of SWCNTs samples with well-defined structures and the difficulties in mechanical tests on individual SWCNTs,the theoretical correlations between YM and structure of SWCNTs have not been verified and are still in debate,which directly influences the practical utilization of the excellent mechanical properties of SWCNTs.In this work,we have developed an experimental method to measure the YM of an individual micrometer-scale suspended CNT by atomic force microscopy.A distinct regularity is found between the YM and chirality(i.e.,chiral angle and diameter)of SWCNT in the experiment for the first time.By comparing the YMs of SWCNTs with similar diameters and different chiral angles,it manifests that the SWCNT with a near zigzag configuration has a larger YM.This finding suggests that the effect of SWCNT’s structures on the YMs cannot be ignored.The developed method of measuring YMs of SWCNTs will be valuable for further experimental research on the inherent physical and chemical properties of SWCNTs.

Discussion on the Embodiment of the National Style in the Thorn Birds

In literary creation, the formation of style is a sign for if the creation of a writer is mature, which is an intensive reflection to the unique creative personality of the writer. There are many kinds of writer＇ s creation styles, among which the national style is a very prominent level, which can very excellently reflect the cultural characteristics of a nation. The Thorn Birds, which was created by Australian author Lynn McCullough, has the characteristics of a very strong national style. In the works, the national style of Australia is very well reflected from the depiction of the natural environment, the composition way of the novel, and the shape of character image.

A Recombinant Rabies Virus Expressing Fms-like Tyrosine Kinase 3 Ligand(Flt3L) Induces Enhanced Immunogenicity in Mice

Rabies is a zoonotic disease that still causes 59,000 human deaths each year,and rabies vaccine is the most effective way to control the disease.Our previous studies suggested that the maturation of DC plays an important role in enhancing the immunogenicity of rabies vaccine.Flt3L has been reported to own the ability to accelerate the DC maturation,therefore,in this study,a recombinant rabies virus expressing mouse Flt3L,designated as LBNSE-Flt3L,was constructed,and its immunogenicity was characterized.It was found that LBNSE-FU3L could enhance the maturation of DC both in vitro and in vivo,and significantly more TFH cells and Germinal Center B(GC B)cells were generated in mice immunized with LBNSE-FU3L than those immunized with the parent virus LBNSE.Consequently,expressing of Flt3L could elevate the level of virus-neutralizing antibodies(VNA)in immunized mice which provides a better protection from a lethal rabies virus challenge.Taken together,our study extends the potential of Flt3L as a good adjuvant to develop novel rabies vaccine by enhancing the VNA production through activating the DC—Tfh^GC B axis in immunized mice.

Lithium extraction from salt lakes with different hydrochemical types in the Tibet Plateau

The demand for lithium resources is increasing sharply with the rapid development of electric vehicles.It is of great economic significance to expand the geological resources of lithium and improve the utilization rate of lithium-containing salt lakes.In this paper,the hydrochemical types of the lithium-containing salt lakes in the Tibet Plateau were classified according to a large amount of hydrochemical data obtained from a recent investigation on the Tibet Plateau.In addition,the lithium extraction methods used in the salt lakes within each hydrochemical type area were analyzed and summarized,which provided a reference for the selection of lithium extraction processes in the same hydrochemical type of lithium-containing salt lakes in the future.The binding energies of Li(l)and anions in salt lakes with different hydrochemical types were calculated by density functional theory,which provides the theoretical basis for selecting the best lithium extraction technology in different salt lakes.We emphasize that the process with the combined characteristics of high efficiency,economy and environmental protection should be selected according to the hydrochemical type of different salt lakes.In the future,different salt lakes should focus on direct lithium extraction technology from the original brine.

Peptide therapeutics and assemblies for cancer immunotherapy

Immunotherapy has been considered as one of the most promising strategies for protection against cancer cells due to the tremendous advantages arising from host immune defense.However,establishing versatile strategies with high biosafety and the capability for efficient modulation of immune responses remains challenging.The structural features resembling native proteins of peptides bestow their great potential to address these challenges via either directly eliciting immune responses or improving the efficacy of therapeutics.This review summarizes the progress of cancer immunotherapy achieved based on the strategies utilizing short peptides as therapeutic agents or peptide assemblies as delivery scaffolds,beyond long sequences like proteins and polypeptides.Starting from a brief introduction of cancer immunotherapy,we outline the peptide sequences in terms of their specific functions including immune checkpoint blockades,vaccine antigens and adjuvants.We particularly highlight peptide-based nanomaterials as scaffolds for targeting delivery or co-delivery of multiple therapeutics to enhance immunogenicity.The extraordinary therapeutic efficacy of the limited examples covered here demonstrates the great potency of the peptide-based strategies in modulating immune responses,thus potentially facilitating the clinical translation of cancer immunotherapy in the future.