A comment on "Ab initio calculations of pressure-dependence of high-order elastic constants using finite deformations approach" by I. Mosyagin, A.V. Lugovskoy, O.M. Krasilnikov, Yu.Kh. Vekilov, S.I. Simak and I.A. Abrikosov

Recently, I. Mosyagin, A.V. Lugovskoy, O.M. Krasilnikov, Yu.Kh. Vekilov, S.I. Simak and I.A. Abrikosov in the paper: "Ab initio calculations of pressure-dependence of high-order elastic constants using finite deformations approach"[Computer Physics Communications 220 (2017) 2030] presented a description of a technique for ab initio calculations of the pressure dependence of second- and third-order elastic constants. Unfortunately, the work contains serious and fundamental flaws in the field of finite-deformation solid mechanics.Comment: 3 pages, 0 figure

Application of interpolation methodology with dynamical constraint to the suspended particulate matter in the Liaodong Bay

IntroductionSuspended Particulate Matter (SPM) influences the primary production and the distributions of pollutants in the ocean. Besides, the regulation mechanisms of SPM in the Liaodong Bay were complicated.MethodTo analyze the distributions and influencing factors of SPM, based on the adjoint assimilation method, an interpolation method with dynamical constraint was established in the Liaodong Bay.ResultIn two ideal experiments, the cost function, Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Normalized Mean Error (NME) all had reduced by more than 90%, which proved the accuracy of the interpolation method. Based on conventional observations of SPM, the distributions of dynamically constrained, Kriging and radial basis function (RBF) interpolations in March, May, August and October of 2015 were obtained.DiscussionThe cross-validation was carried out to compare the dynamically constrained interpolation and the unconstrained interpolations. Among seven unconstrained interpolation methods, the averaged MAE of RBF interpolation was the lowest, which was 10.976 mg/L. The averaged MAE of dynamically constrained interpolation was 7.703 mg/L, reduced by 29.8% compared with the RBF interpolation. It was indicated that RBF interpolation was the most accurate among the seven unconstrained interpolations and dynamically constrained interpolation was more accurate than unconstrained interpolations at the observation stations. The distributions of dynamically constrained and RBF interpolations were compared with Korean Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) satellite-derived distributions of SPM concentrations in the Liaodong Bay. Fully considering the influences of the hydrodynamic processes, the dynamically constrained interpolation provided distributions more consistent with the satellite-derived distributions. However, due to the lack of observations in some areas and ignoring the influences of currents, some high values of SPM concentration were not captured by the distributions of RBF interpolation. Moreover, in accordance with the results of dynamically constrained interpolation, it was found that the SPM concentrations in the bay were affected by the SPM discharge from the Liao River Basin

Detecting and pyramiding target QTL for plant- and grain-related traits via chromosomal segment substitution line of rice

IntroductionPlant height and grain length are important agronomic traits in rice, exhibiting a strong effect on plant architecture and grain quality of rice varieties.MethodsMethods: A novel rice chromosomal segment substitution line (CSSL), i.e., CSSL-Z1357, with significantly increased plant height (PH) and grain length (GL) was identified from CSSLs constructed by using Nipponbare as a receptor and a restorer line Xihui 18 as a donor. Seven agronomic traits of PH, PL, GL, GW, GPP, SPP, and TGW were phenotyped, and REML implemented in HPMIXED of SAS were used to detect the QTL for these traits. Secondary CSSLs were screened out via marker-assisted selection (MAS) to estimate the additive and epistatic effects of detected QTLs, evaluating the potential utilization of pyramiding the target QTLs for yield and quality improvement of rice varieties.Results and DiscussionResults and Discussion: CSSL-Z1357 carried nine segments from Xihui 18 with an average segment length of 4.13 Mb. The results show that the long grain of CSSL-Z1357 was caused by the increased number of surface cells and the length of the inner glume. Thirteen quantitative trait loci were identified via the F2 population of Nipponbare/CSSL-Z1357, including three each for GL (qGL-3, qGL-6, and qGL-7) and PH (qPH-1, qPH-7, and qPH-12I), among which qGL-3 increased GL by 0.23 mm with synergistic allele from CSSL-Z1357. Additionally, three single (S1 to S3), two double (D1, D2), and one triple segment (T1) substitution lines were developed in F3 via MAS. Results show that pyramiding the segments from Chr.3 (qGL-3 and qPH-3), Chr.6 (qGL-6 and qPH-6), and Chr.7 (Null and qPH-7) tended to result in better phenotype of increased GL and PH and decreased grain width, providing a potential basis for enhancing grain yield and quality in rice breeding

Gut microbiota and risk of lower respiratory tract infections: a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study

IntroductionObservational studies have reported the association between gut microbiota and the risk of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). However, whether the association reflects a causal relationship remains obscure.MethodsA bidirectional twosample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted by assessing genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for gut microbiota taxa and five common LRTIs. MR methods including inverse-variance-weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode, and weighted mode were used to analyze the causality. Gene pleiotropy was tested using MR-Egger regression and MR-PRESSO methods. Cochran’s Q test was used to check for heterogeneity. Leave-one-out analysis was used to assess the stability of effect sizes. Detected significant associations were validated by using an independent LRTI GWAS summary statistics dataset. An optional MR method of causal analysis using summary effect estimates (CAUSE) was further performed as a validation to avoid potential false-positive results.ResultsAccording to the MR-Egger estimates in forward MR analysis, a causal effect of gut Blautia on increased odds of bronchiectasis and pneumonia was suggested. MR-Egger regression pleiotropy intercept methods detected no significant horizontal pleiotropy between the instrumental variables of these associations. MR-PRESSO global test examined no potential horizontal pleiotropy. Cochran’s Q test showed that no heterogeneity biased the results. The leave-one-out sensitivity analyses suggested robust causality results. These associations with consistent effect direction were successfully replicated in IVW analysis by using the validation GWAS dataset. However, these evidence of causality did not survive after applying strict Bonferroni correction or CAUSE analysis. The reverse MR analysis failed to achieve consistent results in the effect of LRTIs on gut microbiota through comprehensive discovery and validation processes.DiscussionThis study established no strong causality between genetically predicted gut microbiome and the risk of lower respiratory tract infections. However, specific subtypes of microbial genera, such as Blautia, were identified as potential influencers and require further investigation, particularly at the species or strain levels

Influences of Global Warming on the Larval Survival and Transport of Snow Crab (<i>Chionoecetes opilio</i>) in the Sea of Japan

The snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) sustains an important bottom trawling fishery in the Sea of Japan. Its response to global warming is attracting the attention of the public. Using a transport and survival model for crab larvae in the Sea of Japan, we examined the spatial-temporal variations of crab spawning and larval settlement in the past (mid-20th century), present (early 21st century), and future (mid- and late 21st century) under the low and high radiative forcing scenarios. It was found that the variations in spawning differed between the regions south of and north of 41.5&#176; N, on both seasonal and long-term scales. Larval settlement in the Sea of Japan was projected to increase in the future, which is mainly attributed to a reduction in mortality due to the low water temperature. Moreover, the aggregating location of the settled megalopae will likely shift northward, with increasing settlement off Hokkaido Island. With additional sensitivity experiments, we confirmed that the change in water temperature has a stronger impact on larval settlement than that in the current field. The change in water temperature controlled both the amount and distribution of crab larval settlement, while a change in current field only affected the distribution to some extent

Preliminary Exploration of the Reactor Configuration for Hydroformylation of 1-Dodecene Catalyzed by Water Soluble Rhodium Complex

Hydroformylation of 1-dodecene was studied in a biphasic system using water-soluble rhodium complex RhCl(CO)(TPPTS)(2) as catalyst in the presence of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide as surfactant to enhance the reaction rate. Efforts were devoted to improve the performance of hydroformylation by exploring reactor configuration which enhanced the mixing, dispersion and interphase mass transfer. Experiments were carried out in a 0.5 L autoclave at the total pressure of 1.1 MPa and temperature from 363 K to 373 K. Several surface aeration configurations were tested, and higher hydroformylation rate with higher normal/branched aldehyde ratio produced were achieved. The experiences suggest that improved reactor configuration by taking reaction engineering measures is beneficial to better process economy in alkene hydroformylation

The effect of text-based math task on dynamic stability control during stair descent (ID: BM-D-20-00079R3)

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Stair descent imposes a significant challenge for dynamic stability among young adults. The effect of a concurrent text-based math task on dynamic stability control remains unclear during stair descent when considering the influence of gait velocity. Twenty-six participants performed three successful stair descent trials under TEXTING or NO-TEXTING conditions at their preferred speed. Synchronous kinematics and kinetics were collected by an eight-camera Vicon infrared motion capture system and two force platforms. Repeated measures analysis of covariance and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to analyze the differences between the two different task conditions with gait velocity as a covariate. The outcomes indicated that under TEXTING condition, sagittal margin of stability increased at right-foot-landing; step cadence, double-support percentage, sagittal and frontal joint moment decreased; and sagittal and frontal joint angles were also modified. It is concluded that concurrent TEXTING impaired sagittal and frontal stability control during stair descent despite slowing down the step cadence. Knee and ankle joint adjustment strategies were mainly adopted in response to stability control in the sagittal plane with the interference of TEXTING, whereas the hip joint adjustment strategy was adopted in the frontal plane. In conclusion, texting behaviors on mobile phones should be minimized during stair descent