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X-ray bursts are among the brightest stellar objects frequently observed in the sky by space-based telescopes. A type-I X-ray burst is understood as a violent thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a neutron star, accreting matter from a companion star in a binary system. The bursts are powered by a nuclear reaction sequence known as the rapid proton capture process (rp process), which involves hundreds of exotic neutron-deficient nuclides. At so-called waiting-point nuclides, the process stalls until a slower β+ decay enables a bypass. One of the handful of rp process waiting-point nuclides is 64Ge, which plays a decisive role in matter flow and therefore the produced X-ray flux. Here we report precision measurements of the masses of 63Ge, 64,65As and 66,67Se—the relevant nuclear masses around the waiting-point 64Ge—and use them as inputs for X-ray burst model calculations. We obtain the X-ray burst light curve to constrain the neutron-star compactness, and suggest that the distance to the X-ray burster GS 1826–24 needs to be increased by about 6.5% to match astronomical observations. The nucleosynthesis results affect the thermal structure of accreting neutron stars, which will subsequently modify the calculations of associated observables.Rapid proton capture nucleosynthesis stalls at waiting-point nuclides, including 64Ge. Precision mass measurements in the vicinity of this nuclide influence state-of-the-art calculations of X-ray bursts from accreting neutron stars.

Isochronous mass spectrometry based on heavy-ion storage rings is a powerful tool for direct mass measurements of very short-lived nuclei. Owing to the nature of in-flight separation of high-energy reaction products, many ion species with different mass-to-charge ratios (m/q) can be transmitted to and stored in the ring in one shot. However, high mass resolving power can be achieved only for a limited range of ion species with velocities well matching the isochronous condition of the ring. The knowledge of velocities of each stored ions is required to overcome this restriction. For this purpose, two time-of-flight (TOF) detectors were installed 18 m apart in one straight section of the cooler-storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou. The time sequences measured by the two TOF detectors for each stored ion were used for the precision determination of its velocity. A relative precision of the velocity is achieved to the level of10−5for individual ions. The betatron oscillations of the ion motion in the ring were clearly identified in the data and were taken into account in the analysis. The presented technique can be used for measurements of machine tunes and their dependence on particle momenta.

In this study, we investigated crop yield and various chemical and microbiological properties in rhizosphere of wheat, maize, and faba bean grown in the field solely and intercropped (wheat/faba bean, wheat/maize, and maize/faba bean) in the second and third year after establishment of the cropping systems. In both years, intercropping increased crop yield, changed N and P availability, and affected the microbiological properties in rhizosphere of the three species compared to sole cropping. Generally, intercropping increased microbial biomass C, N, and P availability, whereas it reduced microbial biomass N in rhizosphere of wheat. The rhizosphere bacterial community composition was studied by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rRNA. In the third year of different cropping systems, intercropping significantly changed bacterial community composition in rhizosphere compared with sole cropping, and the effects were most pronounced in the wheat/faba bean intercropping system. The effects were less pronounced in the second year. The results show that intercropping has significant effects on microbiological and chemical properties in the rhizosphere, which may contribute to the yield enhancement by intercropping.

As educational concept incorporates the computer science into the management methods, the innovative Learning Management Systems (LMS) have been extensively applied. This research is intended to ascertain the functional requirements derived in the course of LMS development by conducting the quantitative research of Canvas application (one of the representative LMSs) amidst the student users at the University of Colorado Denver. In light of the assessment of rationality and effectiveness towards current Canvas function settings, the findings reveal the predominant using purposes which include the integrated informational function, social networking function and customized learning function; and the study further indicate the practical recommendations in terms of the corresponding demands. The obtained results are supposed to be instrumental for the optimization and upgrade direction of LMS based on the purposes of improving learning motivation, learning efficiency, and learning outcomes.

Cereal/cereal and cereal/legume intercropping systems are popular in the north, northwest, and southwest of China and often result in yield increases compared to monocropping. Rhizosphere interactions may play a significant role in the yield increases, particularly with respect to nutrient availability. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of intercropping on N availability and community composition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in the rhizosphere of wheat, maize, and faba bean at different growth stages. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) based on 16S rRNA genes was used to analyze the community composition of bacterial ammonia oxidizers belonging to β-proteobacteria. The results showed that intercropping with faba bean significantly increased nitrate concentrations in the rhizosphere of wheat and maize at the second sampling time (20 June) compared to monocropping or intercropping between maize and wheat. Intercropping significantly affected the community composition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in the rhizosphere compared to monocropping, and the effects were most pronounced in the maize/faba bean and wheat/maize intercropping systems when faba bean and wheat were at anthesis and maize was in seedling stage. In wheat/faba bean intercropping, the effects of intercropping on community composition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria were less pronounced at the seedling stage of the two species but were significant at anthesis.

A novel isochronous mass spectrometry, termed as B ρ -defined IMS, has been established at the experimental cooler-storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou. Its potential has been studied through high precision mass measurements of 58 Ni projectile fragments. Two time-of-flight detectors were installed in one of the straight sections of CSRe, thus enabling simultaneous measurements of the velocity and the revolution time of each stored short-lived ion. This allows for calculating the magnetic rigidity B ρ and the orbit length C of each ion. The accurate B ρ ( C ) function has been constructed, which is a universal calibration curve used to deduce the masses of the stored nuclides. The sensitivity to single stored ions, fast measurement time, and background-free characteristics of the method are ideally suited to address nuclides with very short lifetimes and smallest production yields. In the limiting case of just a single particle, the achieved mass resolving power allows one to determine its mass-over-charge ratio m / q with a remarkable precision of merely ∼ 5  keV. Masses of T z = - 3 / 2 fp -shell nuclides are re-determined with high accuracy, and the validity of the isospin multiplet mass equation is tested up to the heaviest isospin quartet with A = 55 . The new masses are also used to investigate the mirror symmetry of empirical residual proton-neutron interactions.

Fuzheng-Huayu (FZHY) tablet was formulated based on Chinese medicine theory in treating liver fibrosis. A clinical trial has indicated that FZHY can against hepatitis B-caused liver cirrhosis (HBC), but the underlying mechanism of FZHY efficacy is unclear. Here, we report that miRNA expression levels are remarkably changed when FZHY formula was used in HBC patient’s treatment as a paradigm of trials. Then, we functionally characterize the significant impact of potential kernel miRNAs by miRNA-target network analysis. Enrichment analysis show that the FZHY formula dramatically effecting the molecular regulated module in HBC. Thus, we infer that FZHY plays a critical function in HBC treatment process and directly regulated many important pathways, including but not limited to cell cycle, p53 signaling pathway, and TGF-β signaling pathway, suggesting a new strategy for investigating the molecular mechanism of FZHY treatment.

A novel isochronous mass spectrometry, termed as$$B\\rho $$B ρ -defined IMS, has been established at the experimental cooler-storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou. Its potential has been studied through high precision mass measurements of$$^{58}$$58 Ni projectile fragments. Two time-of-flight detectors were installed in one of the straight sections of CSRe, thus enabling simultaneous measurements of the velocity and the revolution time of each stored short-lived ion. This allows for calculating the magnetic rigidity$$B\\rho $$B ρ and the orbit length C of each ion. The accurate$$B\\rho (C)$$B ρ ( C ) function has been constructed, which is a universal calibration curve used to deduce the masses of the stored nuclides. The sensitivity to single stored ions, fast measurement time, and background-free characteristics of the method are ideally suited to address nuclides with very short lifetimes and smallest production yields. In the limiting case of just a single particle, the achieved mass resolving power allows one to determine its mass-over-charge ratio m / q with a remarkable precision of merely$$\\sim 5$$∼ 5  keV. Masses of$$T_z=-3/2$$T z = - 3 / 2 fp -shell nuclides are re-determined with high accuracy, and the validity of the isospin multiplet mass equation is tested up to the heaviest isospin quartet with$$A=55$$A = 55 . The new masses are also used to investigate the mirror symmetry of empirical residual proton-neutron interactions.

•Plasma metabolic profiles of PCRC patients were perturbed. Increased levels of terephthalic acid may indicate higher risk of relapse.•Creatinine and aminomalonic acid alternation may involve in the formation of Dampness and heat syndrome, while d-tryptophan may associate with Spleen deficiency syndrome and d-galactose and 1, 2, 3-propanetricarboxylic acid may relate to Liver and kidney Yin deficiency syndrome. As numbers of patients in each TCM syndrome are small, further study is needed to verify those results. This study aims to investigate the metabolic profiles of postoperative colorectal cancer (PCRC) patients with different traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes and to discuss the metabolic mechanism under PCRC progression and TCM syndrome classification. Fifty healthy controls (HC) and 70 PCRC patients, including 10 Dampness and heat syndrome (DHS), 33 Spleen deficiency syndrome (SDS), 19 Liver and kidney Yin deficiency syndrome (LKYDS) and 8 with non-TCM syndrome (NS) were enrolled. Plasma metabolic profiles were detected by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminate analysis (PLS-DA). Furthermore, pathway enrichment was analyzed based on KEGG and DAVID databases and metabolic network was constructed via metaboanalyst and cytoscape. The top-3 metabolites with higher abundance in PCRC compared with HC were terephthalic acid (165.417-fold), ornithine (24.484-fold) and aminomalonic acid (21.346-fold). And the cholesterol (0.588-fold) level was decreased in PCRC. l-Alanine, 1, 2-ethanediamine, urea, glycerol, glycine, aminomalonic acid, creatinine and palmitic acid were specifically altered in the DHS, while d-tryptophan was exclusively changed in SDS, and l-proline, 1, 2, 3-propanetricarboxylic acid, d-galactose and 2-indolecarboxylic acids in LKYDS. The plasma metabolic profiles were perturbed in PCRC patients. Increased levels of terephthalic acid might indicate high risk of relapse and elevated ornithine may contribute to the post-operational recovery or may raise the susceptibility to PCRC recurrence. The metabolic profiles of DHS, SDS, LKYDS and NS were almost separately clustered, indicating the possibility of explaining TCM syndromes classification using metabolomics. Furthermore, creatinine and aminomalonic acid alternation might correlate with the formation of DHS, while d-tryptophan may associate with SDS and d-galactose and 1, 2, 3-propanetricarboxylic acid may relate to LKYDS. As numbers of patients in each TCM syndrome are small, further study is needed to verify those results.

Aim. To evaluate and predict the therapeutic efficacy of Fuzheng-Huayu tablet (FZHY) based traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation or TCM symptoms on chronic hepatitis B caused cirrhosis (HBC). Methods. The trial was designed according to CONSORT statement. It was a multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trail. Several clinical parameters, Child-Pugh classification and TCM symptoms were detected and evaluated. The FZHY efficacy was predicted by an established Bayes forecasting method following the Bayes classification model. Results. The levels of HA and TCM syndrome score in FZHY group were significantly decreased (P<0.05) compared to placebo group, respectively. The efficacy of FZHY on TCM syndrome score in HBC patients with some TCM syndromes was better. In TCM syndrome score evaluation, there were 53 effective and 22 invalid in FZHY group. TCM symptoms predicted FZHY efficacy on HBC were close to Child-Pugh score prediction. Conclusion. FZHY decreases the levels of HA and TCM syndrome scores, improves the life quality of HBC patients. Moreover, there were different therapeutic efficacies among different TCM syndromes, indicating that accurate TCM syndrome differentiation might guide the better TCM treatment. Furthermore, the FZHY efficacy was able to predict by Bayes forecasting method through the alteration of TCM symptoms.