Influence of Styrene-Acrylic Ester Dispersion on the Early Hydration of Cement

Early hydration of cement in the presence of styrene-acrylic ester (SAE) dispersion was investigated, and the hydration heat, hydration degree, and hydrates were analyzed using isothermal calorimeter, XRD, and ESEM. The results show that SAE dispersion prolongs the induction period, postpones and shortens the accelerating period, and inhibits the decelerating and stable periods of cement hydration. The hydration heat and hydration degree of cement in the presence of SAE dispersion are less than those of the control. SAE dispersion inhibits the formation of C4AH13 and thus AFt, and more SAE dispersion brings stronger influence, but it enhances the stability of AFt. AFt generation during the early hydration period is controlled gradually by the reaction of C4AH13 generation with increasing SAE dispersion, but this is controlled by the reaction of C4AH13 consumption for the control paste. Besides, SAE dispersion retards and inhibits the formation of CH and C-S-H and also changes their morphology

Characteristics of Pollen from Transgenic Lines of Apple Carrying the Exogenous CpTI Gene

AbstractIt is fundamental for gene transformation and ecosystem hazard evaluation to study the pollen characteristics of transgenic plants. In this research, the characteristics of pollen from 7- or 8-year-old transgenic apple plants carrying an exogenous CpTI gene were analyzed. The results showed that there was no significant difference in terms of size, morphology, or exine ornamentation between the pollen of the transgenic plants and the non-transgenic control. However, the transgenic plants had more abnormal pollen grains. Of the 13 transgenic lines tested, 12 had a significantly lower amount of pollen and six exhibited a significantly lower germination rate when cultured in vitro. The pollen viability of three transgenic lines was determined, with two showing significantly lower viability than the control. The transgenic Gala apple pollen grains germinated normally via controlled pollination on Fuji apple stigmas. However, the pollen tubes extended relatively slowly during the middle and late development stages, and another 8h were needed to reach the ovules compared with the control. The gibberellic acid concentration in transgenic Gala apple flowers was lower than in the non-transgenic control during all development stages tested. The abscisic acid concentration in the transgenic flowers was lower during the pink stage, and higher during the ball and fully open stages. Microscopic observation of the anther structure showed no difference. The tapetum of the pollen sac wall in transgenic plants decomposed late and affected pollen grain development, which could be one of the reasons for the lower number of pollen grains and poor viability in the transgenic plants

Few-femtosecond Electron Beam with THz-frequency Wakefield-driven Compression

We propose and demonstrate a novel method to produce few-femtosecond electron beam with relatively low timing jitter. In this method a relativistic electron beam is compressed from about 150 fs (rms) to about 7 fs (rms, upper limit) with the wakefield at THz frequency produced by a leading drive beam in a dielectric tube. By imprinting the energy chirp in a passive way, we demonstrate through laser-driven THz streaking technique that no additional timing jitter with respect to an external laser is introduced in this bunch compression process, a prominent advantage over the conventional method using radio-frequency bunchers. We expect that this passive bunching technique may enable new opportunities in many ultrashort-beam based advanced applications such as ultrafast electron diffraction and plasma wakefield acceleration.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Excess Deaths of Gastrointestinal, Liver, and Pancreatic Diseases During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

Objectives: To evaluate excess deaths of gastrointestinal, liver, and pancreatic diseases in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: We retrieved weekly death counts from National Vital Statistics System and fitted them with a quasi-Poisson regression model. Cause-specific excess deaths were calculated by the difference between observed and expected deaths with adjustment for temporal trend and seasonality. Demographic disparities and temporal-spatial patterns were evaluated for different diseases.Results: From March 2020 to September 2022, the increased mortality (measured by excess risks) for Clostridium difficile colitis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and acute pancreatitis were 35.9%; 24.8%; and 20.6% higher than the expected. For alcoholic liver disease, fibrosis/cirrhosis, and hepatic failure, the excess risks were 1.4–2.8 times higher among younger inhabitants than older inhabitants. The excess deaths of selected diseases were persistently observed across multiple epidemic waves with fluctuating trends for gastrointestinal hemorrhage and fibrosis/cirrhosis and an increasing trend for C. difficile colitis.Conclusion: The persistently observed excess deaths of digestive diseases highlights the importance for healthcare authorities to develop sustainable strategies in response to the long-term circulating of SARS-CoV-2 in the community

Understanding longevity in Hong Kong: a comparative study with long-living, high-income countries

Background Since 2013, Hong Kong has sustained the world’s highest life expectancy at birth—a key indicator of population health. The reasons behind this achievement remain poorly understood but are of great relevance to both rapidly developing and high-income regions. Here, we aim to compare factors behind Hong Kong’s survival advantage over long-living, high-income countries. Methods Life expectancy data from 1960–2020 were obtained for 18 high-income countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development from the Human Mortality Database and for Hong Kong from Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department. Causes of death data from 1950–2016 were obtained from WHO’s Mortality Database. We used truncated cross-sectional average length of life (TCAL) to identify the contributions to survival differences based on 263 million deaths overall. As smoking is the leading cause of premature death, we also compared smoking-attributable mortality between Hong Kong and the high-income countries. Findings From 1979–2016, Hong Kong accumulated a substantial survival advantage over high-income countries, with a difference of 1·86 years (95% CI 1·83–1·89) for males and 2·50 years (2·47–2·53) for females. As mortality from infectious diseases declined, the main contributors to Hong Kong’s survival advantage were lower mortality from cardiovascular diseases for both males (TCAL difference 1·22 years, 95% CI 1·21–1·23) and females (1·19 years, 1·18–1·21), cancer for females (0·47 years, 0·45–0·48), and transport accidents for males (0·27 years, 0·27–0·28). Among high-income populations, Hong Kong recorded the lowest cardiovascular mortality and one of the lowest cancer mortalities in women. These findings were underpinned by the lowest absolute smoking-attributable mortality in high-income regions (39·7 per 100 000 in 2016, 95% CI 34·4–45·0). Reduced smoking-attributable mortality contributed to 50·5% (0·94 years, 0·93–0·95) of Hong Kong’s survival advantage over males in high-income countries and 34·8% (0·87 years, 0·87–0·88) of it in females. Interpretation Hong Kong’s leading longevity is the result of fewer diseases of poverty while suppressing the diseases of affluence. A unique combination of economic prosperity and low levels of smoking with development contributed to this achievement. As such, it offers a framework that could be replicated through deliberate policies in developing and developed populations globally.VC-R acknowledges support from the ARC (ARC DP210100401)

Evidence for lunar tide effects in Earth’s plasmasphere

Tides are universal and affect spatially distributed systems, ranging from planetary to galactic scales. In the Earth–Moon system, effects caused by lunar tides were reported in the Earth’s crust, oceans, neutral gas-dominated atmosphere (including the ionosphere) and near-ground geomagnetic field. However, whether a lunar tide effect exists in the plasma-dominated regions has not been explored yet. Here we show evidence of a lunar tide-induced signal in the plasmasphere, the inner region of the magnetosphere, which is filled with cold plasma. We obtain these results by analysing variations in the plasmasphere’s boundary location over the past four decades from multisatellite observations. The signal possesses distinct diurnal (and monthly) periodicities, which are different from the semidiurnal (and semimonthly) variations dominant in the previously observed lunar tide effects in other regions. These results demonstrate the importance of lunar tidal effects in plasma-dominated regions, influencing understanding of the coupling between the Moon, atmosphere and magnetosphere system through gravity and electromagnetic forces. Furthermore, these findings may have implications for tidal interactions in other two-body celestial systems

Application of Modern Intelligent Algorithms in Retrosynthesis Prediction

In recent years, with the rapid advance of computer science, various modern intelligent algorithms have successively emerged. Transformer, based on multi-head attention mechanism, is one of the most favored AI models among in this century. The introduction of these algorithms leads to dramatic progress in retrosynthesis prediction. Unlike conventional retrosynthesis prediction models, retrosynthesis prediction based on intelligent algorithms can automatically extract chemistry knowledge from chemical reaction datasets to predict retrosynthesis routes. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of retrosynthesis prediction based on modern intelligent algorithms, particularly artificial intelligence algorithm. After introducing the related deep learning model, the existing chemical reaction datasets and molecular representations are presented. Subsequently, the current state-of-the art of AI-assisted retrosynthesis prediction models in recent years is discussed, including template-based models, template-free models, and semi-template-based models. Additionally, we conclude by comparing retrosynthesis prediction models across different categorizations. Finally, several challenges and limitations of these current methods are summarized, with a view to promising directions for future research