Insight-HXMT observations of Swift J0243.6+6124 during its 2017-2018 outburst

The recently discovered neutron star transient Swift J0243.6+6124 has been monitored by {\it the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope} ({\it Insight-\rm HXMT). Based on the obtained data, we investigate the broadband spectrum of the source throughout the outburst. We estimate the broadband flux of the source and search for possible cyclotron line in the broadband spectrum. No evidence of line-like features is, however, found up to $\rm 150~keV$. In the absence of any cyclotron line in its energy spectrum, we estimate the magnetic field of the source based on the observed spin evolution of the neutron star by applying two accretion torque models. In both cases, we get consistent results with $B\rm \sim 10^{13}~G$, $D\rm \sim 6~kpc$ and peak luminosity of $\rm >10^{39}~erg~s^{-1}$ which makes the source the first Galactic ultraluminous X-ray source hosting a neutron star.Comment: publishe

Overview to the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight-HXMT) Satellite

As China's first X-ray astronomical satellite, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), which was dubbed as Insight-HXMT after the launch on June 15, 2017, is a wide-band (1-250 keV) slat-collimator-based X-ray astronomy satellite with the capability of all-sky monitoring in 0.2-3 MeV. It was designed to perform pointing, scanning and gamma-ray burst (GRB) observations and, based on the Direct Demodulation Method (DDM), the image of the scanned sky region can be reconstructed. Here we give an overview of the mission and its progresses, including payload, core sciences, ground calibration/facility, ground segment, data archive, software, in-orbit performance, calibration, background model, observations and some preliminary results.Comment: 29 pages, 40 figures, 6 tables, to appear in Sci. China-Phys. Mech. Astron. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1910.0443

Residential locations and residential moves between the city centre and suburb in Beijing, China

This paper investigated the residential locations and residential moves of people with different levels of economic capital and cultural capital between the city centre and suburb in Beijing. This sheds light on the nature and meaning of these two spaces, as well as the processes of suburbanization and urban redevelopment. It was found that people with both high economic and cultural capital were the most likely to live in the city centre in 2020 and to have moved but remained in the city centre during 2010–2020, compared to the other three socioeconomic groups. This group had both the affordability and cultural inclination to stay in the city centre. In comparison, those who could also afford to live in the city centre but with low cultural capital were more likely to have moved from the city centre to the suburb, while those with low affordability but high cultural capital were more likely to have moved from the suburb to the city centre. These contrasts imply a spatial orientation towards the city centre of cultural capital and an orientation towards the suburb of economic capital. People with low economic and low cultural capital were in general more mobile in comparison

Parent- or self-reliance? Understanding young homeowners’ housing quality in Beijing from an intergenerational and dynamic perspective

Parental support increasingly influences young people’s housing outcomes. Using OLS models, this study examines the relative effects of parental and own socioeconomic status and political resources on young homeowners’ housing quality and their temporal dynamics in Beijing, China. We find that the market transition theory has explanatory power for both generations. However, the socioeconomic status of parents outweighs that of young homeowners in influencing their multifaceted housing qualities. These housing qualities are also positively associated with parents’, but negatively with the young homeowners’ political resources. This indicates power persistence theory does not stand for the younger generation, but parental political advantages derived from the socialist system are remanent in shaping contemporary youth’s housing stratification. The more recent the acquisition of homeownership by young adult children, the stronger the positive influence of parental attributes, but the weaker the influence of the younger generation’s own attributes. This demonstrates the intergenerational reproduction of housing stratification and socio-spatial inequality becomes more pronounced as housing affordability declines

Residential locations and residential moves between the city centre and suburb in Beijing, China

This paper investigated the residential locations and residential moves of people with different levels of economic capital and cultural capital between the city centre and suburb in Beijing. This sheds light on the nature and meaning of these two spaces, as well as the processes of suburbanization and urban redevelopment. It was found that people with both high economic and cultural capital were the most likely to live in the city centre in 2020 and to have moved but remained in the city centre during 2010–2020, compared to the other three socioeconomic groups. This group had both the affordability and cultural inclination to stay in the city centre. In comparison, those who could also afford to live in the city centre but with low cultural capital were more likely to have moved from the city centre to the suburb, while those with low affordability but high cultural capital were more likely to have moved from the suburb to the city centre. These contrasts imply a spatial orientation towards the city centre of cultural capital and an orientation towards the suburb of economic capital. People with low economic and low cultural capital were in general more mobile in comparison

Age-period-cohort analysis and projection of cancer mortality in Hong Kong, 1998–2030

Objectives To explore the relationship between immigration groups and cancer mortality, this study aimed to explore age, period, birth cohort effects and effects across genders and immigration groups on mortality rates of lung, pancreatic, colon, liver, prostate and stomach cancers and their projections.Design, setting, and participants Death registry data in Hong Kong between 1998 and 2021, which were stratified by age, sex and immigration status. Immigration status was classified into three groups: locals born in Hong Kong, long-stay immigrants and short-stay immigrants.Methods Age-period-cohort (APC) analysis was used to examine age, period, and birth cohort effects for genders and immigration groups from 1998 to 2021. Bayesian APC models were applied to predict the mortality rates from 2022 to 2030.Results Short-stay immigrants revealed pronounced fluctuations of mortality rates by age and of relative risks by cohort and period effects for six types of cancers than those of long-stay immigrants and locals. Immigrants for each type of cancer and gender will be at a higher mortality risk than locals. After 2021, decreasing trends (p<0.05) or plateau (p>0.05) of forecasting mortality rates of cancers occur for all immigration groups, except for increasing trends for short-stay male immigrants with colon cancer (p<0.05, Avg+0.30 deaths/100 000 per annum from 15.47 to 18.50 deaths/100 000) and long-stay male immigrants with pancreatic cancer (p<0.05, Avg+0.72 deaths/100 000 per annum from 16.30 to 23.49 deaths/100 000).Conclusions Findings underscore the effect of gender and immigration status in Hong Kong on mortality risks of cancers that immigrants for each type of cancer and gender will be at a higher mortality risk than locals

Twice evasions of Omicron variants explain the temporal patterns in six Asian and Oceanic countries

Abstract Background The ongoing coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged and caused multiple pandemic waves in the following six countries: India, Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Some of the countries have been much less studied in this devastating pandemic. This study aims to assess the impact of the Omicron variant in these six countries and estimate the infection fatality rate (IFR) and the reproduction number $${R}_{0}$$ R 0 in these six South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania countries. Methods We propose a Susceptible-Vaccinated-Exposed-Infectious-Hospitalized-Death-Recovered model with a time-varying transmission rate $$\beta (t)$$ β ( t ) to fit the multiple waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and to estimate the IFR and $${R}_{0}(t)$$ R 0 ( t ) in the aforementioned six countries. The level of immune evasion and the intrinsic transmissibility advantage of the Omicron variant are also considered in this model. Results We fit our model to the reported deaths well. We estimate the IFR (in the range of 0.016 to 0.136%) and the reproduction number $${R}_{0}(t)$$ R 0 ( t ) (in the range of 0 to 9) in the six countries. Multiple pandemic waves in each country were observed in our simulation results. Conclusions The invasion of the Omicron variant caused the new pandemic waves in the six countries. The higher $${R}_{0}(t)$$ R 0 ( t ) suggests the intrinsic transmissibility advantage of the Omicron variant. Our model simulation forecast implies that the Omicron pandemic wave may be mitigated due to the increasing immunized population and vaccine coverage