Anomalous orbital expansion of low-mass X-ray binary 2A 1822-371: the existence of a circumbinary disk?

The source 2A 1822-371 is an eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) consisting of a neutron star (NS) and a $\sim0.5~M_{\odot}$ donor star in an orbit of 5.57 hr. Based on timing of the eclipse arrival times, this source was found to be experiencing a rapid orbital expansion with an orbital-period derivative as $\dot{P}_{\rm orb}=(1.51\pm0.05)\times10^{-10}~\rm s\, s^{-1}$, implying that the mass-transfer rate should be higher than at least three times the Eddington accretion rate. The standard magnetic braking (MB) model cannot produce such a high mass-transfer rate. The modified MB model derived by Van \& Ivanova (2019) can produce a high mass-transfer rate, resulting in a high $\dot{P}_{\rm orb}$. This work proposes an alternative model to account for the anomalously high mass-transfer rate and $\dot{P}_{\rm orb}$ of 2A 1822-371. During the mass transfer, a tiny fraction of the transferred material is thought to form a circumbinary (CB) disk around the LMXB, which can efficiently extract orbital angular momentum from the system by the interaction between the CB disk and the binary. We use the MESA code to model the formation and evolution of 2A 1822-371 for different CB-disk masses. When the CB-disk mass is $2.3\times10^{-8}~ M_{\odot}$, the simulation can reproduce the observed donor-star mass, orbital period, and orbital-period derivative. Such a CB disk can accelerate the evolution of the binary and produce a high mass transfer rate of $1.9\times10^{-7}~ M_\odot\,\rm yr^{-1}$, driving the binary to evolve toward a wide-orbit system. Therefore, we propose that CB disks may be responsible for the rapid orbital changes observed in some LMXBs.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics in pres

Quantum Simulation of Bound-State-Enhanced Quantum Metrology

Quantum metrology explores quantum effects to improve the measurement accuracy of some physical quantities beyond the classical limit. However, due to the interaction between the system and the environment, the decoherence can significantly reduce the accuracy of the measurement. Many methods have been proposed to restore the accuracy of the measurement in the long-time limit. Recently, it has been found that the bound state can assist the error-free measurement and recover the $t^{-1}$ scaling [K. Bai, Z. Peng, H. G. Luo, and J. H. An, Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 040402 (2019)]. Here, by using $N$-qubits, we propose a method to simulate the open quantum dynamics of the hybrid system including one atom and coupled resonators. We find that the error of the measurement can vanish as the time increases due to the existence of the bound state. By both analytical and numerical simulations, we prove the $t^{-1}$ scaling of the measurement error can be recovered when there is a bound state in the hybrid system. Interestingly, we observe that there are perfect oscillations which can be used for the evaluation of the atomic transition frequency. For a finite-$N$, the duration of the perfect oscillations doubles as one more qubit is involved.Comment: 9 pages,9 figure

A strange star scenario for the formation of isolated millisecond pulsars

According to the recycling model, neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries were spun up to millisecond pulsars (MSPs), which indicates that all MSPs in the Galactic plane ought to be harbored in binaries. However, about $20\%$ Galactic field MSPs are found to be solitary. To interpret this problem, we assume that the accreting neutron star in binaries may collapse and become a strange star when it reaches some critical mass limit. Mass loss and a weak kick induced by asymmetric collapse during the phase transition (PT) from neutron star to strange star can result in isolated MSPs. In this work, we use a population-synthesis code to examine the PT model. The simulated results show that a kick velocity of $\sim60~{\rm km~s}^{-1}$ can produce $\sim6\times10^3$ isolated MSPs and birth rate of $\sim6.6\times10^{-7} {\rm ~yr}^{-1}$ in the Galaxy, which is approximately in agreement with predictions from observations. For the purpose of comparisons with future observation, we also give the mass distributions of radio and X-ray binary MSPs, along with the delay time distribution.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, accepted to publish on A&

Protective effects of 17β-estradiol on high glucose-induced RPE cells

AIM: To discuss the protective effects and possible mechanisms of 17β-estradiol on human retinal pigment epithelial(RPE)cells induced by high glucose. METHODS: RPE cells were cultured and divided into four groups according to randomized controlled method: blank control group: the cells were treated with 5.5mmol/L routine glucose medium for processing; high glucose group: cells were treated with 100mmol/L glucose for 12h; 17β-estradiol low concentration group: after treated with 10 μmol/L 17β-estradiol, cells were treated with 100mmol/L glucose for 12h; 17β-estradiol high concentration group: after treated with 100 μmol/L 17β-estradiol, cells were treated with 100mmol/L glucose for 12h. Cell viability were tested by MTT colorimetric detection. Cells apoptosis were detected by Hochest33258 staining. Intracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS)level were detected by H2DCFDA staining. Expression of CAT, SOD and MDA were tested by colorimetric detection. RESULTS: RPE cell activity decreased with the concentration of glucose increased; 17β-estradiol inhibited high glucose-induced cell viability decrease in RPE cells, decreased the apoptosis rate of RPE cells and intracellular ROS generation; besides, 17β-estradiol significantly increased the expression of CAT, SOD and decreased the expression of MDA in RPE cells. CONCLUSION: The 17β-estradiol effectively inhibited high glucose -induced RPE cells damage, which provide reliable experimental basis for the treatment of injuries in RPE cells

Impacts of Antibiotic Residues in the Environment on Bacterial Resistance and Human Health in Eastern China: An Interdisciplinary Mixed-Methods Study Protocol

Antibiotic resistance is a global health challenge that threatens human and animal lives, especially among low-income and vulnerable populations in less-developed countries. Its multi-factorial nature requires integrated studies on antibiotics and resistant bacteria in humans, animals, and the environment. To achieve a comprehensive understanding of the situation and management of antibiotic use and environmental transmission, this paper describes a study protocol to document human exposure to antibiotics from major direct and indirect sources, and its potential health outcomes. Our mixed-methods approach addresses both microbiological and pathogen genomics, and epidemiological, geospatial, anthropological, and sociological aspects. Implemented in two rural residential areas in two provinces in Eastern China, linked sub-studies assess antibiotic exposure in population cohorts through household surveys, medicine diaries, and biological sampling; identify the types and frequencies of antibiotic resistance genes in humans and food-stock animals; quantify the presence of antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistance genes in the aquatic environment, including wastewater; investigate the drivers and behaviours associated with human and livestock antibiotic use; and analyse the national and local policy context, to propose strategies and systematic measurements for optimising and monitoring antibiotic use. As a multidisciplinary collaboration between institutions in the UK and China, this study will provide an in-depth understanding of the influencing factors and allow comprehensive awareness of the complexity of AMR and antibiotic use in rural Eastern China

Global trends and frontiers in research on exercise training for heart failure: a bibliometric analysis from 2002 to 2022

BackgroundHeart failure is a common cardiovascular disease that imposes a heavy clinical and economic burden worldwide. Previous research and guidelines have supported exercise training as a safe, effective, and cost-efficient treatment to intervene in heart failure. The aim of this study was to analyze the global published literature in the field of exercise training for heart failure from 2002 to 2022, and to identify hot spots and frontiers within this research field.MethodsBibliometric information on literature on the topic of exercise training for heart failure published between 2002 and 2022 was searched and collected in the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace 6.1.R6 (Basic) and VOSviewer (1.6.18) were applied to perform bibliometric and knowledge mapping visualization analyses.ResultsA total of 2017 documents were retrieved, with an upward-stable trend in the field of exercise training for heart failure. The US authors were in the first place with 667 documents (33.07%), followed by Brazilian authors (248, 12.30%) and Italian authors (182, 9.02%). The Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil was the institution with the highest number of publications (130, 6.45%). The top 5 active authors were all from the USA, with Christopher Michael O'Connor and William Erle Kraus publishing the most documents (51, 2.53%). The International Journal of Cardiology (83, 4.12%) and the Journal of Applied Physiology (78, 3.87%) were the two most popular journals, while Cardiac Cardiovascular Systems (983, 48.74%) and Physiology (299, 14.82%) were the two most popular categories. Based on the results of keyword co-occurrence network and co-cited reference network, the hot spots and frontiers of research in the field of exercise training for heart failure were high-intensity interval training, behaviour therapy, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and systematic reviews.ConclusionThe field of exercise training for heart failure has experienced two decades of steady and rapid development, and the findings of this bibliometric analysis provide ideas and references for relevant stakeholders such as subsequent researchers for further exploration