Investigation of ionospheric TEC changes related to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake based on statistic analysis and signal detection

Ionospheric TEC （total electron content） time series are derived from GPS measurements at 13 stations around the epicenter of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Defining anomaly bounds for a sliding window by quartile and 2-standard deviation of TEC values, this paper analyzed the characteristics of ionospheric changes before and after the destructive event. The Neyman-Pearson signal detection method is employed to compute the probabilities of TEC abnormalities. Result shows that one week before the Wenchuan earthquake, ionospheric TEC over the epicenter and its vicinities displays obvious abnormal disturbances, most of which are positive anomalies. The largest TEC abnormal changes appeared on May 9, three days prior to the seismic event. Signal detection shows that the largest possibility ofTEC abnormity on May 9 is 50.74%, indicating that ionospheric abnormities three days before the main shock are likely related to the preparation process of the Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake.

Hollow and Hierarchical CuCo-LDH Nanocatalyst for Boosting Sulfur Electrochemistry in Li-S Batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries(LSBs)are promising candidates for next-generation high-efficiency energy storage,yet their practical implementation is seriously impeded by the parasitic shuttle effect and sluggish reaction kinetics.Herein,we develop a unique Cu,Co layered double hydroxide(CuCo-LDH)with a hollow and hierarchical structure as an advanced electrocatalyst to tackle these challenges.Combining the compositional,architectural,and chemical advantages,the as-developed CuCo-LDH enables facile charge transfer,fully exposed active interfaces,and strong interactions with polysulfides via metal-sulfur bonding.When employed in the functional separator,a reliable polysulfide barrier can be established against the shuttling behavior,while the excellent catalytic activity realizes fast and efficient sulfur electrochemistry.As a result,the CuCo-LDH-based LSBs achieve a well-restrained capacity decay of 0.049%per cycle over 500 cycles together with a good rate capability up to 5 C.Moreover,a favorable areal capacity of 4.39 mAh cm^(-2) and decent cyclability are still attainable even under a high sulfur loading of 4.2 mg cm^(-2) and a low E/S ratio of 6 ml g^(−1).This work affords a feasible and instructive pathway toward advanced sulfur electrocatalysts as well as high-performance LSBs.

Boosting interfacial S-scheme charge transfer and photocatalytic H_(2)-production activity of 1D/2D WO_(3)/g-C_(3)N_(4)heterojunction by molecular benzene-rings integration

A novel benzene-ring engineered 1D/2D WO_(3)/g-C_(3)N_(4)S-scheme photocatalyst(BCNW)was rationally de-signed and successfully synthesized by the electrostatic self-assembly method.Experimental and Density Functional Theory results reveal that the integration of molecular benzene-ring in the framework of g-C_(3)N_(4)can not only narrow its bandgap and accelerate charge separation by forming a mid-state at the top of its valence band but more importantly open up a new additional bridge for speeding up the interfacial S-scheme charge transfer in BCNW.Benefitting from those multiple positive effects of benzene-ring inte-gration,as expected,BCNW S-scheme photocatalysts show superior photocatalytic H_(2)-production activity and reach 2971μmol h^(-1)g^(-1)under visible-light illumination,which is 3.35 times WO_(3)/g-C_(3)N_(4)S-scheme photocatalyst without benzene-ring integration.This work supplies an innovative strategy for the design of a high-efficiency S-scheme photocatalytic system by constructing a facile and additional molecular charge transfer channel at the interface.

Clinical implications of the concentration of alveolar nitric oxide in non-small cell lung cancer

To the Editor:Lung cancer,one of the most common types of tumor,is also the leading cause of cancer death,accounting for an estimated 1.8 million deaths worldwide.Early recognition of lung cancer is critical.It has been established that nitric oxide and its byproducts play a role in pathophysiological processes of lung cancer,such as tumor immunity,inflammation,and lung tumor progression.[1]Exhaled nitric oxide(eNO)concentrations can be measured by non-invasive devices.The alveolar concentration of nitric oxide(CaNO)has been proposed as a marker of distal airway inflammation,but its value in nonsmall cell lung cancer(NSCLC)is unknown.

A 0.82 μVrms ultralow 1/f noise bandgap reference for a MEMS gyroscope

High-precision microelectromechanical system(MEMS)gyroscopes are significant in many applications.Bias instability(BI)is an important parameter that indicates the performance of a MEMS gyroscope and is affected by the 1/f noise of the MEMS resonator and readout circuit.Since the bandgap reference(BGR)is an important block in the readout circuit,reducing its 1/f noise is key to improving a gyroscope's Bl.In a traditional BGR,the error amplifer is applied to provide a virtual short-circuit point,but it introduces the main low-frequency noise sources.This paper proposes an ultralow 1/f noise BGR by removing the error amplifer and applying an optimized circuit topology.In addition,a simplified but accurate noise model of the proposed BGR is obtained to optimize the BGR's output noise performance.To verify this design,the proposed BGR has been implemented in a 180 nm CMOS process with a chip area of 545×423μm.The experimental results show that the BGR's output integrated noise from 0.1 to 10 Hz is 0.82μV and the thermal noise is 35 nV/√Hz.Furthermore,bias stability tests of the MEMS gyroscope fabricated in our laboratory with the proposed BGR and some commercial BGRs are carried out.Statistical results show that reducing the BGR's 1/f noisecannearly linearly improvethegyroscope's Bl.

Clinical deep remission and related factors in a large cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Background:Clinical remission is the treatment target in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).This study aimed to investigate clinical remission and related factors in a large cohort of patients with RA.Methods:This study composed of 342 patients with RA.Data were collected by face-to-face interview of 1049 patients with RA who visited the Department of Rheumatology of three teaching hospitals from September 2015 to May 2016.The patients with RA were clinically assessed by rheumatologists and a four-page questionnaire was completed on site.Subsequently,patients fulfilled remission criteria were further analyzed.The practicability of different definitions of remission of RA was rated by a panel of rheumatologists.Sustained intensive disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) treatment was defined as a combination treatment with two or more DMARDs for at least 6 months.Results:In this cohort of 342 patients with RA,the proportions of patients achieving remission were 38.0%,29.5%,24.9%,21.1%,19.0%,18.1%,and 17.0%,based on criteria of disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) using CRP (DAS28-CRP),DAS28 using ESR (DAS28-ESR),routine assessment of patient index data 3 (RAPID-3),Boolean,simplified disease activity index (SDAI),clinical disease activity index,and the newly described clinical deep remission (CliDR),respectively.Boolean and CliDR are the best in practicability scored by rheumatologists (7.5 and 8.0,respectively).Compared with the non-sustained intensive group,sustained intensive treatment with DMARDs yielded higher remission rates of 25.6%,23.8%,and 21.3% in patients with RA based on Boolean (χ^2=3.937,P=0.047),SDAI (χ^2=4.666,P=0.031),and CliDR criteria (χ^2=4.297,P=0.038).The most commonly prescribed conventional synthesized DMARDs (csDMARDs) in patients with RA was leflunomide,followed by methotrexate,and hydroxychloroquine.Compared with the non-remission group,patients achieving remission had a longer median duration of DMARDs (45.0 [22.8–72.3] months,Z=-2.295,P=0.022).Conclusions:The findings in this study indicated that clinical deep remission is achievable in patients with RA.Sustained intensive DMARD treatment is needed to achieve a better outcome in RA.

Bilayered HA/CS/PEGDA hydrogel with good biocompatibility and self-healing property for potential application in osteochondral defect repair

The fabrication of osteochondral tissue engineering scaffolds comprised of different layers is a big challenge. Herein, bilayers comprised of double network hydrogels with or without nano hydroxyapatite （HAp） were developed by exploiting the radical reaction of poly（ethylene glycol） diacrylate （PEGDA） and the Schiff-base reaction of N-carboxyethyl chitosan （CEC） and oxidized hyaluronic acid sodium （OHA） for osteochondral tissue engineering. The bilayered osteochondral scaffold was successfully fabricated based on the superior self-healing property of both hydrogels and evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, macroscopic observation and mechanical measurements. In addition, the hydrogels exhibited good biocompatibility as demonstrated by the in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo implantation tests. The results indicated that the bilayered hydrogel had great potential for application in osteochondral tissue engineering.

How does map use differ in virtual reality and desktop-based environments?

Maps based on virtual reality(VR)are evolving and are being increasingly used in the field of geography.However,the advantages of VR based on the map use processes of users over desktop-based environments(DEs)are not fully understood.In this study,an experiment was conducted in which 120 participants performed map use tasks using maps and globes in VR and DE.The participants’eye movements and questionnaires were collected to compare the map use performance differences.We analyzed the general metrics,information searching and processing metrics of participants(e.g.response time,RT;average fixation duration,AFD;average saccade duration,ASD;saccade frequency,SF,etc.)using maps and globes in different environments.We found that the participants using VR processed information more efficiently(AFDDE=233.34 ms,AFDVR=173.09 ms),and the participants using DE had both a significantly shorter response time(RT_(DE)=88.68 s,RT_(VR)=124.05 s)and a shorter visual search time(ASD_(DE)=60.78 ms,ASD_(VR)=112.13 ms;SF_(DE)=6.30,SF_(VR)=2.07).We also found similarities in accuracy,satisfaction and readability.These results are helpful for designing VR maps that can adapt to human cognition and reflect the advantages of VR.

Prevention of nosocomial COVID-19 infections in otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery

Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has rapidly evolved into a pandemic,causing a global public health crisis.Many frontline healthcare workers providing ear,nose and throat services have been reported to contract COVID-19 at work.Early during the COVID-19 outbreak,several medical professionals in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery were in-fected in Wuhan,China.A series of measures were then taken immediately,which successfully halted the spread of the disease.Here we would like to share the lessons we have learned,and our experience to protect our health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.