A fast-multi-pole accelerated method of fundamental solutions for 2-D broadband scattering of SH waves in an infinite half space

The traditional method of fundamental solution (T-MFS) is known as an effective method for solving the scattering of elastic waves, but the T-MFS is inefficient in solving large-scale or broadband frequency problems. Therefore, in order to improve the performance in efficiency and memory requirement for treating practical complex 2-D broadband scattering problems, a new algorithm of fast multi-pole accelerated method of fundamental solution (FM-MFS) is proposed. Taking the 2-D scattering of SH waves around irregular scatterers in an elastic half-space as an example, the implementation steps are presented in detail. Based on the accuracy and efficiency verification, the FM-MFS is applied to solve the broadband frequency scattering of plane SH waves around group cavities, inclusions, a V-shaped canyon and a semi-elliptical hill. It shows that, compared with T-MFS, the FM-MFS has great advantages in reducing the consumed CPU time and memory for 2-D broadband scattering. Besides, the FM-MFS has excellent adaptability both for broad-frequency and complex-shaped scattering problems

SARS-CoV-2 bivalent mRNA vaccine with broad protection against variants of concern

IntroductionThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant has rapidly spread around the globe. With a substantial number of mutations in its Spike protein, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is prone to immune evasion and led to the reduced efficacy of approved vaccines. Thus, emerging variants have brought new challenges to the prevention of COVID-19 and updated vaccines are urgently needed to provide better protection against the Omicron variant or other highly mutated variants.Materials and methodsHere, we developed a novel bivalent mRNA vaccine, RBMRNA-405, comprising a 1:1 mix of mRNAs encoding both Delta-derived and Omicron-derived Spike proteins. We evaluated the immunogenicity of RBMRNA-405 in BALB/c mice and compared the antibody response and prophylactic efficacy induced by monovalent Delta or Omicron-specific vaccine with the bivalent RBMRNA-405 vaccine in the SARSCoV-2 variant challenge.ResultsResults showed that the RBMRNA-405 vaccine could generate broader neutralizing antibody responses against both Wuhan-Hu-1 and other SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Delta, Omicron, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. RBMRNA-405 efficiently blocked infectious viral replication and lung injury in both Omicron- and Delta-challenged K18-ACE2 mice.ConclusionOur data suggest that RBMRNA-405 is a promising bivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccine with broad-spectrum efficacy for further clinical development

Spatio-temporal divergence in the responses of Finland's boreal forests to climate variables

Spring greening in boreal forest ecosystems has been widely linked to increasing temperature, but few studies have attempted to unravel the relative effects of climate variables such as maximum temperature (TMX), minimum temperature (TMN), mean temperature (TMP), precipitation (PRE) and radiation (RAD) on vegetation growth at different stages of growing season. However, clarifying these effects is fundamental to better understand the relationship between vegetation and climate change. This study investigated spatio-temporal divergence in the responses of Finland's boreal forests to climate variables using the plant phenology index (PPI) calculated based on the latest Collection V006 MODIS BRDF-corrected surface reflectance products (MCD43C4) from 2002 to 2018, and identified the dominant climate variables controlling vegetation change during the growing season (May-September) on a monthly basis. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to quantify the response of PPI to climate variables and distinguish the separate impacts of different variables. The study results show the dominant effects of temperature on the PPI in May and June, with TMX, TMN and TMP being the most important explanatory variables for the variation of PPI depending on the location, respectively. Meanwhile, drought had an unexpectedly positive impact on vegetation in few areas. More than 50 % of the variation of PPI could be explained by climate variables for 68.5 % of the entire forest area in May and 87.7 % in June, respectively. During July to September, the PPI variance explained by climate and corresponding spatial extent rapidly decreased. Nevertheless, the RAD was found be the most important explanatory variable to July PPI in some areas. In contrast, the PPI in August and September was insensitive to climate in almost all of the regions studied. Our study gives useful insights on quantifying and identifying the relative importance of climate variables to boreal forest, which can be used to predict the possible response of forest under future warming.Peer reviewe

Reprogramming Halomonas for industrial production of chemicals

Abstract Halomonas spp. are able to grow under a high salt concentration at alkali pH, they are able to resist contamination by other microbes. Development of Halomonas spp. as platform production strains for the next-generation industrial biotechnology (NGIB) is intensively studied. Among Halomonas spp., Halomonas bluephagenesis is the best studied one with available engineering tools and methods to reprogram it for production of various polyhydroxyalkanoates, proteins, and chemicals. Due to its contamination resistance, H. bluephagenesis can be grown under open and continuous processes not just in the labs but also in at least 1000 L fermentor scale. It is expected that NGIB based on Halomonas spp. be able to engineer for production of increasing number of products in a competitive manner.</jats:p

The integration of urban and rural medical insurance to reduce the rural medical burden in China: a case study of a county in Baoji City

Abstract Background In 2003, the Chinese government launched the New Rural Cooperative medical System(NRCMS) for its rural population. In 2007, the Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance Scheme(URBMS) was inaugurated, which aimed to cover all urban residents who are out of the labor market. However, the accessibility and fairness of the healthcare service have hindered the progress of universal healthcare. At the beginning of 2010, the Integration of Urban and Rural Medical Insurance Scheme(IURMIS) was implemented to bridge the gap in medical care between urban and rural areas. The main objective of this study is to determine the extent to which the IURMIS has been successful. Methods The statistical software packages SPSS 19.0 and STATA 12.0 were used for all analyses, and P < 0.05 was set as the required level of significance. Data were collected from outpatients from 2009 (July to December, n = 20,459) through 2011 (n = 65,258 in 2010, n = 59,036 in 2011) and from inpatients in 2011 (n = 3662). Due to the enormous amount of data and the short time span, most of our analysis was descriptive. However, regression discontinuity (RD) and the chi-squared (χ2) test were used to compare the ratios of medical expenses before and after the IURMIS. Results In the RD analysis, there was a downward trend in the mean medical expense (Coef. = − 0.66, P < 0.001), and rural outpatients flowed to township hospitals and village clinics after the implementation of the IURMIS (Coef. = − 0.45, P < 0.001). However, compensation expenses showed an upward trend (Coef. = 11.59, P < 0.001). In the analysis of inpatient expenses, the average expenses (CNY 2067) and hospitalization days (10.0) for all the hospitals were less than those in the Chinese Fourth National Health Services Survey (CNY 3412 and 10.3, respectively). Conclusions Rural residents’ healthcare options and quality were improved and medical expenses were significantly reduced after implementation of the scheme. These results provide an evidence-based reference for improving the integration of the urban and rural medical security systems throughout China