Dynamics of McMullen maps

In this article, we develop the Yoccoz puzzle technique to study a family of rational maps termed McMullen maps. We show that the boundary of the immediate basin of infinity is always a Jordan curve if it is connected. This gives a positive answer to a question of Devaney. Higher regularity of this boundary is obtained in almost all cases. We show that the boundary is a quasi-circle if it contains neither a parabolic point nor a recurrent critical point. For the whole Julia set, we show that the McMullen maps have locally connected Julia sets except in some special cases.Comment: Complex dynamics, 51 pages, 13 figure

Identification of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker of Ph-3 gene for late blight resistance in tomato

Late blight is a highly destructive disease of tomato worldwide. Host resistance is the most effective method for disease control. The application of molecular markers is an efficient way to identify host resistance for breeding programs. In this study, bulked segregant analysis (BSA) was used to search for random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers linked to the late blight resistance gene Ph-3, using an F2 population (147 individuals) derived from a cross of tomato lines CLN2037 (resistant) and T2-03 (susceptible). Two hundred and thirty decamer primers with arbitrary sequences were chosen for polymerase chain reaction amplification. One RAPD marker CCPB272-03740 (primer sequence GGTCGATCTG) was found to be tightly linked to the resistance gene Ph-3 and was located 5.8 cm from the resistance gene. Marker CCPB272-03740 is the first marker of gene Ph-3 based on PCR reaction.Key words: Tomato, late blight, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker, gene Ph-3

Development and test of a spring-finger roller-type hot pepper picking header

In order to improve picking efficiency, performance and reduce harvesting costs, this study developed a spring-finger roller type hot pepper picking header. The picking header was mainly composed of a roller, spring-fingers, a steel frame, an upper cover plate, and transmission parts. According to the mechanical characteristics of the hot pepper, the picking structure model of hot pepper was developed based on SolidWorks. The movement law of the picking spring-finger was analyzed based on the working principle to select appropriate motion parameters of main factors. A prototype of hot pepper picking header was developed based on these selected parameters, and field experiments were carried out to study main factors affecting the harvesting effect. The rotation speed of the roller and the travel speed of picking machine were monitored by setting sensors. The test results were analyzed and optimized based on Central Composite Design (CCD) by using Design Expert. The orthogonal test results showed that: when roller rotation speed was 215.00 r⋅min−1, and travel speed was 3.59 km⋅h−1, the hot pepper picking header had the best harvest effect. The picking rate was 98.47%, and the breakage rate was 3.87%. The field experiment proved that the spring-finger roller type hot pepper picking header had a good picking effect

Secular trend of the leading causes of death in China from 2003 to 2013

Background: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and secular trends of the leading causes of death in China.Methods: Data on the leading causes of death was collected from the Statistical Yearbook of China. Data for 11 years, from 2003 to 2013, was analyzed by regression analysis and chi-square test.Results: The top 3 causes of death from 2009 to 2013 were cancer, cerebrovascular disease, and cardiopathy, with the role of cardiopathy increasing over time (P<0.01). The proportion of deaths related to cardio-cerebrovascular diseases in urban and rural areas increased to 41.9% and 44.8%, respectively, in 2013, and was significantly higher than that for cancer, 25.5% and 22.4% (both P<0.01). Injury and poisoning in urban or rural areas represented the fifth leading cause of death. In 2006, endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases were the sixth main cause of death, with 3.3% in urban areas. The role of genito-urinary,respiratory, and digestive system diseases in urban areas and genito-urinary system diseases in rural areas decreased during this period (all P<0.05).Conclusion: Cancer, cerebrovascular disease, and cardiopathy accounted for more than 67% of all deaths from 2007 to 2013 in China, and significantly increased in proportion from 2003 to 2013.Keywords: Causes of death; China; cancer; cardiovascular diseas

Electromyogram (EMG) Removal by Adding Sources of EMG (ERASE) -- A novel ICA-based algorithm for removing myoelectric artifacts from EEG -- Part 2

Extraction of the movement-related high-gamma (80 - 160 Hz) in electroencephalogram (EEG) from traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients who have had hemicraniectomies, remains challenging due to a confounding bandwidth overlap with surface electromyogram (EMG) artifacts related to facial and head movements. In part 1, we described an augmented independent component analysis (ICA) approach for removal of EMG artifacts from EEG, and referred to as EMG Reduction by Adding Sources of EMG (ERASE). Here, we tested ERASE on EEG recorded from six TBI patients with hemicraniectomies while they performed a thumb flexion task. ERASE removed a mean of 52 +/- 12% (mean +/- S.E.M) (maximum 73%) of EMG artifacts. In contrast, conventional ICA removed a mean of 27 +/- 19\% (mean +/- S.E.M) of EMG artifacts from EEG. In particular, high-gamma synchronization was significantly improved in the contralateral hand motor cortex area within the hemicraniectomy site after ERASE was applied. We computed fractal dimension (FD) of EEG high-gamma on each channel. We found relative FD of high-gamma over hemicraniectomy after applying ERASE were strongly correlated to the amplitude of finger flexion force. Results showed that significant correlation coefficients across the electrodes related to thumb flexion averaged 0.76, while the coefficients across the homologous electrodes in non-hemicraniectomy areas were nearly 0. Across all subjects, an average of 83% of electrodes significantly correlated with force was located in the hemicraniectomy areas after applying ERASE. After conventional ICA, only 19% of electrodes with significant correlations were located in the hemicraniectomy. These results indicated that the new approach isolated electrophysiological features during finger motor activation while selectively removing confounding EMG artifacts