A Modified Radial Basis Function Method for Predicting Debris Flow Mean Velocity

This study focused on a model for predicting debris flow mean velocity. A total of 50 debris flow events were investigated in the Jiangjia gully. A modified radial basis function (MRBF) neural network was developed for predicting the debris flow mean velocity in the Jiangjia gully. A three-dimensional total error surface was used for establishing the predicting model. A back propagation (BP) neural network and the modified Manning formula (MMF) were used as benchmarks. Finally, the sensitivity degrees of five variables that influence debris flow velocity were analyzed. The results show that the mean error and the relative mean error of the 10 testing samples were only 0.31 m/s and 5.92%, respectively. This proves that the MRBF method performed very well in predicting debris flow mean velocity. Gradient of channel and unstable layer thickness have a greater impact on debris flow mean velocity than the other three influencing variables. This proves that the proposed MRBF neural network is reliable in predicting debris flow mean velocity

Synthesizing a Fractional v=2/3 State from Particle and Hole States

Topological edge-reconstruction occurs in hole-conjugate states of the fractional quantum Hall effect. The frequently studied polarized state of filling factor v=2/3 was originally proposed to harbor two counter-propagating edge modes: a downstream v=1 and an upstream v=1/3. However, charge equilibration between these two modes always led to an observed downstream v=2/3 charge mode accompanied by an upstream neutral mode (preventing an observation of the original proposal). Here, we present a new approach to synthetize the v=2/3 edge mode from its basic counter-propagating charged constituents, allowing a controlled equilibration between the two counter-propagating charge modes. This novel platform is based on a carefully designed double-quantum-well, which hosts two populated electronic sub-bands (lower and upper), with corresponding filling factors, vl & vu. By separating the 2D plane to two gated intersecting halves, each with different fillings, counter-propagating chiral modes can be formed along the intersection line. Equilibration between these modes can be controlled with the top gates' voltage and the magnetic field. Our measurements of the two-terminal conductance G2T and the presence of a neutral mode allowed following the transition from the non-equilibrated charged modes, manifested by G2T=(4/3)e2/h, to the fully equilibrated modes, with a downstream charge mode with G2T=(2/3)e2/h accompanied by an upstream neutral mode.Comment: 16 pages,4 figure

Whole Genome Association Study in a Homogenous Population in Shandong Peninsula of China Reveals JARID2 as a Susceptibility Gene for Schizophrenia

DNA pooling can provide an economic and efficient way to detect susceptibility loci to complex diseases. We carried out a genome screen with 400 microsatellite markers spaced at approximately 10 cm in two DNA pools consisting of 119 schizophrenia (SZ) patients and 119 controls recruited from a homogenous population in the Chang Le area of the Shandong peninsula of China. Association of D6S289, a dinucleotide repeat polymorphism in the JARID2 gene with SZ, was found and confirmed by individual genotyping (X2 = 17.89; P = .047). In order to refine the signal, we genotyped 14 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering JARID2 and the neighboring gene, DNTBP1, in an extended sample of 309 cases and 309 controls from Shandong peninsula (including the samples from the pools). However, rs2235258 and rs9654600 in JARID2 showed association in allelic, genotypic and haplotypic tests with SZ patients from Chang Le area. This was not replicates in the extended sample, we conclude that JARID2 could be a susceptibility gene for SZ

Mortality and Attrition Rates within the First Year of Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation among People Living with HIV in Guangxi, China: An Observational Cohort Study

Objective. To assess the mortality and attrition rates within the first year of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) in rural Guangxi, China. Design. Observational cohort study. Setting. The core treatment indicators and data were collected with standard and essential procedures as per the Free ART Manual guidelines across all the rural health care centers of Guangxi. Participants. 58,115 PLHIV who were under ART were included in the study. Interventions. The data collected included sociodemographic characteristics that consist of age, sex, marital status, route of HIV transmission, CD4 cell count before ART, initial ART regimen, level of ART site, and year of ART initiation. Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures. Mortality and attrition rate following ART initiation. Results. The average mortality rate was 5.94 deaths, and 17.52 attritions per 100 person-years within the first year of ART initiation among PLHIV. The mortality rate was higher among intravenous drug users (Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) 1.27, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.14-1.43), prefecture as a level of ART site (AHR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02-1.28), and county as the level of ART site (AHR 2.12, 95% CI 1.90-2.37). Attrition was higher among intravenous drug users (AHR 1.87, 95% CI 1.75-2.00), the first-line ART containing AZT (AHR 1.09, 95% CI 1.03-1.16), and first-line ART containing LVP/r (AHR 1.34, 95% CI 1.23-1.46). Conclusion. The mortality and attrition rates were both at the highest level in the first year of post-ART; continued improvement in the quality of HIV treatment and care is needed

Genotype–Phenotype Analysis of RPGR Variations: Reporting of 62 Chinese Families and a Literature Review

PurposeRPGR is the most common cause of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (RP), of which female carriers are also frequently affected. The aim of the current study was to explore the RPGR variation spectrum and associated phenotype based on the data from our lab and previous studies.MethodsVariants in RPGR were selected from exome sequencing data of 7,092 probands with different eye conditions. The probands and their available family members underwent comprehensive ocular examinations. Similar data were collected from previous reports through searches in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Systematic analyses of genotypes, phenotypes and their correlations were performed.ResultsA total of 46 likely pathogenic variants, including nine missense and one in-frame variants in RCC1-like domain and 36 truncation variants, in RPGR were detected in 62 unrelated families in our in-house cohort. In addition, a total of 585 variants, including 491 (83.9%) truncation variants, were identified from the literature. Systematic analysis of variants from our in-house dataset, literature, and gnomAD suggested that most of the pathogenic variants of RPGR were truncation variants while pathogenic missense and in-frame variants were enriched in the RCC1-like domain. Phenotypic variations were present between males and female carriers, including more severe refractive error but better best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in female carriers than those in males. The male patients showed a significant reduction of BCVA with increase of age and males with exon1-14 variants presented a better BCVA than those with ORF15 variants. For female carriers, the BCVA also showed significant reduction with increase of age, but BCVA in females with exon1-14 variants was not significant difference compared with those with ORF15 variants.ConclusionMost pathogenic variants of RPGR are truncations. Missense and in-frame variants located outside of the RCC1-like domain might be benign and the pathogenicity criteria for these variants should be considered with greater caution. The BCVA and refractive error are different between males and female carriers. Increase of age and location of variants in ORF15 contribute to the reduction of BCVA in males. These results are valuable for understanding genotypes and phenotypes of RPGR

A humification-based method toward refining Holocene radiocarbon chronologies: Wetland records from southeastern China

Holocene paleoclimate reconstructions and comparisons largely rely on accurate age-depth modeling. However, uncertainties in chronology, such as those caused by sparse radiocarbon dates, will hamper inter-core comparisons and correlations, and might result in misleading “cause and consequence” conclusions. This study aimed to find a solution to increase the comparability and minimize the uncertainty of wetland chronology as much as possible. Sediment cores were recovered and radiocarbon dated from the Lianhuachi wetland located in Southeastern China. Humification degree and loss-on-ignition (LOI) were determined using colorimetric and combustion methods respectively. Our data were compared with previously published datasets obtained in the same wetland. The results show that independent humification profiles from the Lianhuachi wetland displayed high similarities. This high similarity between the humification profiles allowed us to transfer radiocarbon ages from one core to another using sequence slotting correlation. Applying the humification-based chronology refinement method to all sediment cores resulted in an improvement in the correlation coefficients between the same but independently measured proxy sequences from the wetland, which suggests both the inter- and intra-core comparability was improved. Because determining peat humification degree is easy, inexpensive, and time-saving, we suggest that humification can serve as a tool that can be used to correlate different cores and to transfer published radiocarbon ages within the same wetland (peatland) or in a comparable geological setting, to establish a more robust chronology of these comparable cores. The degree of peat humification can thus serve as a relative dating technique to refine the chronology of wetland (including peatland) records