Municipal Government Use of Social Media: An Analysis of Three Chinese Cities

To investigate the use of information dissemination and public communication by Chinese municipal governments, we analyzed the social media use of three large cities with relatively mature social media development: Shanghai, Nanjing and Chengdu. We collected 4,429 government posts and users’ likes, shares and comments from Weibo accounts of each city’s information office. Government posts were coded into 7 types and 16 topics. We used cross-tabulation, correlation analysis and multivariate linear regression to analyze government posts, user responses and their inter-relationships. Chengdu has issued the most posts, while Nanjing has received the highest average user response to posts and exhibited the best signs of success in communication between the government and citizens

Path and Ridge Regression Analysis of Seed Yield and Seed Yield Components of Russian Wildrye (Psathyrostachys juncea Nevski) under Field Conditions

The correlations among seed yield components, and their direct and indirect effects on the seed yield (Z) of Russina wildrye (Psathyrostachys juncea Nevski) were investigated. The seed yield components: fertile tillers m-2 (Y1), spikelets per fertile tillers (Y2), florets per spikelet- (Y3), seed numbers per spikelet (Y4) and seed weight (Y5) were counted and the Z were determined in field experiments from 2003 to 2006 via big sample size. Y1 was the most important seed yield component describing the Z and Y2 was the least. The total direct effects of the Y1, Y3 and Y5 to the Z were positive while Y4 and Y2 were weakly negative. The total effects (directs plus indirects) of the components were positively contributed to the Z by path analyses. The seed yield components Y1, Y2, Y4 and Y5 were significantly (P<0.001) correlated with the Z for 4 years totally, while in the individual years, Y2 were not significant correlated with Y3, Y4 and Y5 by Peason correlation analyses in the five components in the plant seed production. Therefore, selection for high seed yield through direct selection for large Y1, Y2 and Y3 would be effective for breeding programs in grasses. Furthermore, it is the most important that, via ridge regression, a steady algorithm model between Z and the five yield components was founded, which can be closely estimated the seed yield via the components

A Tunable Constant-Absolute-Bandwidth Bandpass Filter with Switchable Ability

This paper presents a tunable bandpass filter (BPF) with constant absolute bandwidth (CABW) and switchable properties. The BPF is performed by using a tri-mode cross-shape resonator (CSR) loaded with varactors. The CABW and switchable ability are achieved by adjusting the resonant frequencies. Meanwhile, the two transmission zeros (TZs) produced by center-loaded stubs strengthen the skirt selectivity in the on-state and the isolation in the off-state. For demonstration, a tri-pole switchable BPF with three control voltages is implemented and verified, and the control mechanism is simple. In the on-state, it exhibits a 120 MHz, 3 dB CABW with the measured insertion loss (IL) of 2.2&ndash;2.5 dB in the tuning range of 0.816&ndash;1.188 GHz. In the off-state, the measured isolation is better than 27 dB

A Tunable Constant-Absolute-Bandwidth Bandpass Filter with Switchable Ability

This paper presents a tunable bandpass filter (BPF) with constant absolute bandwidth (CABW) and switchable properties. The BPF is performed by using a tri-mode cross-shape resonator (CSR) loaded with varactors. The CABW and switchable ability are achieved by adjusting the resonant frequencies. Meanwhile, the two transmission zeros (TZs) produced by center-loaded stubs strengthen the skirt selectivity in the on-state and the isolation in the off-state. For demonstration, a tri-pole switchable BPF with three control voltages is implemented and verified, and the control mechanism is simple. In the on-state, it exhibits a 120 MHz, 3 dB CABW with the measured insertion loss (IL) of 2.2–2.5 dB in the tuning range of 0.816–1.188 GHz. In the off-state, the measured isolation is better than 27 dB

Broad protective immune responses elicited by bacterium-like particle-based intranasal pneumococcal particle vaccine displaying PspA2 and PspA4 fragments

Streptococcus pneumoniae is an infectious pathogen mainly infecting host bodies through the respiratory system. An effective pneumococcal vaccine would be targeted to the mucosa and provide not only protection against invasive infection but also against colonization in the respiratory system. In the present work, we applied bacterium-like particles (BLPs) as an adjuvant for the development of a PspA mucosal vaccine, in which the PspA protein was displayed on the surface of BLPs. Intranasal immunization with the PspA-BLP pneumococcal vaccine, comprised of PspA2 from pneumococcal family 1 and PspA4 from pneumococcal family 2, not only induced a high level of serum IgG antibodies but also a high level of mucosal SIgA antibodies. Analysis of binding of serum antibodies to intact bacteria showed a broad coverage of binding to pneumococcal strains expressing PspA from clade 1 to 5. Immunization with the PspA-BLP vaccine conferred protection against fatal intranasal challenge with both PspA family 1 and family 2 pneumococcal strains regardless of serotype. Therefore, the PspA-BLP pneumococcal vaccine was demonstrated to be a promising strategy for mucosal immunization to enhance both systemic and mucosal immune responses

Comparative study on the role of PAM and PANA on the property of fresh cement paste

Both polyacrylamide (PAM) and sodium polyacrylate (PANA) are polypropylene based polymer, however it is still uncertain whether there are some differences between their roles on the property of fresh cement paste. Thus this work aimed to compare the property of fresh cement pastes with them, such as shear viscosity, fluidity, bleeding and water evaporation loss ratio. Meanwhile, the ultraviolet visible spectra, infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetry were carried out to explore the mechanisms that are responsible for these differences. The experimental results indicate that as compared with PANA, PAM increases the shear viscosity and reduces the fluidity of cement paste more significantly. However, PANA more significantly reduces bleeding and water evaporation loss ratio. These differences are in conjunction with their different behaviors in the fresh cement paste, such as promotion in the cement hydration at early age and reaction with cement hydration product

Clinical Progression and Outcome of Hospitalized Patients Infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Shanghai, China

Background: Studies on the Omicron variant infection have generally been restricted to descriptions of its initial clinical and epidemiological characteristics. We investigated the timeline-related progression and clinical outcome in hospitalized individuals with the Omicron variant. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single-centered study including 226 laboratory-confirmed cases with the Omicron variant between 6 April and 11 May 2022 in Shanghai, China. The final date of follow-up was 30 May 2022. Results: Among 226 enrolled patients, the median age was 52 years, and 118 (52.2%) were female. The duration from onset of symptoms to hospitalization was 3 days (interquartile range (IQR): 2–4 days) for symptomatic patients. Cough occurred in 168 patients (74.3%). The median interval to negative reverse-transcriptase PCR tests of nasopharynx swab was 10 days ((IQR): 8–13 days). No radiographic progressions were found in 196 patients on the 7th day after onset of symptoms. The median duration of fever in all participants was 5 days (IQR: 4–6 days). The median PCR conversion time of Paxlovid-treated patients was 8 days (IQR: 7–10 days) compared with that of a traditional Chinese herb medicine lianhuaqingwen (10 days, IQR: 8–13 days) (p = 0.00056). Booster vaccination can significantly decrease the severity of Omicron infection when compared with unvaccinated patients (p = 0.009). In multivariate logistic analysis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (OR = 1.05) was independently related to the severity of the infection. Conclusions: The majority of clinical symptoms of Omicron infection were not severe. Early and aggressive administration of Paxlovid can significantly reduce the PCR conversion time. Booster vaccination should also be highly recommended in the population over 14 years old

Enabling direct-growth route for highly efficient ethanol upgrading to long-chain alcohols in aqueous phase

Abstract Upgrading ethanol to long-chain alcohols (LAS, C6+OH) offers an attractive and sustainable approach to carbon neutrality. Yet it remains a grand challenge to achieve efficient carbon chain propagation, particularly with noble metal-free catalysts in aqueous phase, toward LAS production. Here we report an unconventional but effective strategy for designing highly efficient catalysts for ethanol upgrading to LAS, in which Ni catalytic sites are controllably exposed on surface through sulfur modification. The optimal catalyst exhibits the performance well exceeding previous reports, achieving ultrahigh LAS selectivity (15.2% C6OH and 59.0% C8+OH) at nearly complete ethanol conversion (99.1%). Our in situ characterizations, together with theoretical simulation, reveal that the selectively exposed Ni sites which offer strong adsorption for aldehydes but are inert for side reactions can effectively stabilize and enrich aldehyde intermediates, dramatically improving direct-growth probability toward LAS production. This work opens a new paradigm for designing high-performance non-noble metal catalysts for upgrading aqueous EtOH to LAS