Wide Dispersion Research Articles

Identical metamorphic record in distinct petrochemical systems: Case study of microscopically interlayered garnet amphibolite and metapelite from the Danba dome, SW China

It is known that different metamorphic rocks may have different abilities in recording metamorphic processes. Here, we report microscopically interlayered garnet amphibolite and metapelite layers in a rock from the Danba dome in eastern Tibetan Plateau, SW China. Both rock types exhibit similar garnet zoning patterns, biotite and plagioclase compositions, as well as peak P-T conditions (7.3–8.0 kbar / 700–725 °C for metapelite and 7.1–8.4 kbar / 690–710 °C for garnet amphibolite, respectively), indicating a global thermodynamic equilibrium state and the same metamorphic record of the two distinct layers. However, medium-sized garnet exhibits homogeneous core compositions and biotite preserves lower Ti and Fe# [= Fe2+ / (Fe2+ + Mg)] at the lithological interface, possibly indicating more intense chemical homogenization at the metamorphic peak and retrograde modification at the interface caused by the possible presence of vast fluid. Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) UPb dating of metamorphic zircon show a wide dispersion of ages (c. 200–155 Ma), overlapping previous age data reported for this region. These results indicate that differences in petrochemical compositions may not lead to significant distortion in the metamorphic records, including garnet zoning patterns and peak P-T conditions. This further suggests that metamorphic rocks originating from diverse protoliths, which exhibit varying peak P-T conditions within the same locality, could either be a result of the tectonic juxtaposition of distinct tectonic slices or the influence of varying fluid conditions.

Schools and the transmission of Sars-Cov-2: Evidence from Italy

This paper studies the effect on the spread of Sars-Cov-2 in Italy of schools’ re-openings and closures. Exploiting different re-opening dates across regions after the summer break of 2020, I show that early-opening regions experienced more cases in the 40 days following school re-openings compared with late-opening ones. However, there is great uncertainty around the estimates, and this suggests a wide dispersion in the effects of school re-openings on Sars-Cov-2 transmission. I also study the effect of school closures in Campania, one of the biggest regions in Southern Italy. Using a synthetic control approach, I show that school closures are associated with lower numbers of cases relative to the counterfactual group, particularly in younger age groups. In contrast, I find no significant effects on older age groups, which are more likely to require hospitalization. Finally, by exploiting survey data, I provide descriptive evidence on the increased incidence rate among teachers and students relative to the general population, following school re-openings.

Work Ability Index: Psychometric Testing in Aeronautical Industry Workers

BackgroundThe Work Ability Index (WAI) is an instrument that measures work ability. The wide dispersion of the WAI internationally has led to its adaptation for use in different countries. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the WAI. MethodsA methodological design was used over an opportunistic sample of 233 workers in the aeronautical industry in Spain. Reliability was evaluated through internal consistency. Factorial validity, known groups, and convergent validity were tested. ResultsThe Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlation indicated an adequate internal consistency. The confirmatory factor analysis, performed to evaluate the factorial validity, found adequate fit indices for a two-factor solution with a high correlation between the factors. Factor 1, “Subjectively estimated work ability and resources”, was composed of 3 subscales and factor 2, “Ill-health-related”, of 2 subscales. Subscales 4 and 6 had loading in both factors. Workers under 45 years of age obtained higher significant scores than older ones. Convergent validity was also evidenced since WAI was highly correlated with self-assessment of health status. ConclusionsThe Spanish version of the WAI has shown evidence of reliability and validity in this study, supporting its use in individual and collective health surveillance by occupational health professionals. The factorial solution that was found has previously been reported in another international context. However, further research is needed to resolve the discrepancies detected in the role of some subscales between other national and international studies.

Thermal histories reveal spatiotemporal distribution and population overlapping of Sepioteuthis lessoniana

Abstract Thermal histories describe ambient temperature experienced by cephalopod species from birth to death, reflecting their habitats and distributions. Thermal histories were reconstructed by analyzing ontogenetic oxygen isotopes (δ18O values) in statoliths of adult Sepioteuthis lessoniana collected from northeastern and southwestern Taiwan between 2017 and 2019. The probabilities of occurrence associated with thermal histories in the two populations were modeled using a spatial interpolation approach, ordinary kriging method. The northeastern population exhibited larger ontogenetic variations in experienced temperature (ranging from 9.1 to 10.4°C) than did the southwestern population (ranging from 4.3°C to 6.8°C). The two geographical populations exhibited distinct ontogenetic movement patterns and distribution. The southwestern population demonstrated wide dispersal influenced by seasonal wind directions and tended to remain in 20°C isotherm areas around the Penghu Islands for maturing and spawning. At the seasonal cohort level, the northeastern population exhibited a southward shift during the 2-year study period as a result of the El Niño event. The distribution of the two geographical populations overlapped in the adult stage primarily in the northern Taiwan Strait, supporting an assumption of population connection in Taiwan. This study revealed the thermal histories of S. lessoniana, providing insights into the field observation of distribution patterns and the progress in relating population dynamics to environmental variability, which are essential for the sustainable management of squid fisheries.

Seismic safety of RC piers with parameter uncertainties: Assessing dimensionless response using Bayesian linear regression

Both maximum and residual deformations are essential for seismic safety during and following strong earthquakes, especially in the near field. These parameters are often calculated per unidirectional analysis, albeit bidirectional analysis may be carried out for important systems with the availability of growing computational power. However, a pressing challenge in earthquake engineering that continues to exist in the face of several uncertainties is to represent these response statistics – essentially with wide dispersion - in an expressive and effective format. The present paper aims to represent the maximum and residual deformation to unidirectional and bidirectional shaking in a rational format, even when uncertainties in ground motion and structural characteristics are prevalent. To this end, a bridge pier with uncertain material parameters is subjected to a wide range of stochastically simulated near-field motions with forward-directive signature, and the responses are computed to unidirectional and bidirectional shaking. In an attempt to develop predictive models, the responses are regressed first in terms ofprimary parameterscharacterizing structural material and ground motions. Next, by standard principles of mechanics, the response is recast in a dimensionless and orientationally consistent format in terms ofderived parameters. This reduces the number of independent variables yet connotes a sound basis of mechanics. The predictive model in terms of derived dimensionless parameters is further extended in the Bayesian framework to improve the predictive model in a probabilistic sense.

Hole injection control of electron blocking layer for broad recombination zone and low-efficiency roll-off in phosphorescent organic light emitting device

Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) require several organic layers, including carrier injection layers, charge transport layers, and light-emitting layers (EML). Recently, many panel companies have been using layers with a dual function of charge transport and blocking to simplify the layer structure. At the same time, efficient charge injection into the EML is required to improve the device characteristics. In particular, the hole injection properties are important in devices using phosphorescent emitters because it is a major factor in forming the broad recombination zone. This study reports the factors influencing the device performances using three OLEDs with different electron-blocking layers (EBL). By adjusting the EBL’s energy levels, it is possible to form a broad recombination zone and reduce hole accumulation and polaron-induced stress at the interface. In addition, the wide dispersion of exciton formation reduces the overcrowding of exciton which induces exciton quenching and relieves an efficiency roll-off at high luminance. Consequently, the external quantum efficiency of N-([1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl)-N-(9,9-dimethyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-11,11-dimethyl-11H-benzo[b]fluoren-3-amine with a relatively deep HOMO level is increased by more than 2% with a relaxed roll-off of 7% at 3000 cd/m2 and a device lifetime is increased fivefold compared to those of N-([1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)-N-(9,9-dimethyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-11,11-dimethyl-11H-benzo[b]fluoren-2-amine with a relatively shallow HOMO level.

Markups and Fixed Costs in Generic and Off-Patent Pharmaceutical Markets

Abstract Wide dispersion is seen in pharmaceutical prices across countries with comparable quality standards. Under monopoly, off-patent and generic drug prices are at least four times higher in the United States than in comparable English-speaking high-income countries. With five or more competitors, off-patent drug prices are similar or lower. Our analysis shows that differential U.S. markups are largely driven by the market power of drug suppliers and are not due to wholesale intermediaries or pharmacies. Furthermore, we show that the traditional mechanism of reducing market power—free entry—is limited because implied entry costs are substantially higher in the United States.

Diagnostic accuracy of handheld single-lead electrocardiographic devices to detect atrial fibrillation: an examination using more than 30,000 rhythm traces in a randomised control trial

Abstract Background Early atrial fibrillation (AF) diagnosis offers an opportunity to initiate management to reduce stroke risk. Hand-held single-lead electrocardiograph (ECG) devices are widely available, yet there is little data on the implementation of AF screening using the devices in high-AF-risk communities and examining the accuracy of the devices over time. Such data may provide insights into the possibility of using artificial intelligence to scale up screening. Purpose To examine the accuracy of AliveCor ECG devices’ automated interpretation against clinicians’ diagnoses and explore the characteristics of the ECGs of older community-dwelling people in a real-world setting. Methods This is an analysis of ECGs received from people aged ≥75 years participating in an implementation trial of a community AF screening program over 12 months. Clinicians reviewed all ECGs transmitted to a central portal. Clinicians’ interpretations were taken as diagnostically accurate. Participants and their general practitioners (GPs) were notified of AF. The devices’ automatic ECG interpretations, including the participants’ pulse rates automatically recorded by the devices, were extracted from the central portal and analysed using R v3.6.0. Results 200 participants were enrolled. From May 2021 to Feb 2023, 30,040 ECGs were received; of these traces, clinicians confirmed AF in 479 traces and no AF in 29,561 traces. The devices’ automatic algorithm had a sensitivity of 91.4 % (i.e., detected AF in 438 of these 479 traces) and specificity of 96.6% (no AF: 28,546 / 29,561 traces). In total, the devices’ automated interpretation identified 1,453 ECGs with "Possible AF", of which clinicians confirmed 911 (62.7%) were in sinus rhythm and 438 (30.1%) had AF (Table 1). Breaking down the statistics for various rhythms and comparing the devices’ automatic algorithms with the clinicians’ diagnoses, discrepancies were found in 5296 ECG traces (Kappa = 0.33). Of these, 4277 (80.8%) were interpreted by the device automated algorithm as "Unreadable" (interferences), "Unclassified" (the device was unable to determine a result), and "Too short" (< 30 seconds of recording). Excluding the 3799 "Unclassified’ traces, the level of agreement between the ECG devices and clinicians improved (Kappa 0.63). The device automatically reported "Unclassified" and "Possible AF" rhythm traces had wide dispersion of the participants’ pulse rates (Figure 1). Conclusions The ECG devices had high sensitivity to detect AF but a low level of agreement in differentiating various rhythms. The characteristics of the longitudinal ECG rhythm traces, including the participants’ pulse rates over time coupled with the clinicians’ diagnoses of this large dataset, could be used to improve the devices’ automated algorithm and inform artificial intelligence strategies for large-scale community AF screening programs.Table 1Figure 1

Abstract 17857: Demographic Disparities and Survival Outcomes in Primary Cardiac Tumors

Introduction: Secondary cardiac tumors are not uncommon as they are seen in almost 14% of patients with multiple distant metastases, the most common primaries being lung, breast, and hematological malignancies. Whereas, primary cardiac tumors are rare, and only about 10-25% of these are primary malignant cardiac tumors (PMCT). With this study, we aim to analyze the demographic disparities and the determinants of survival in this infrequent group of cardiac neoplasms. Methods: We obtained data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, 17 registries, Nov 2022 sub (2000-2020) for PMCT. A total of 713 samples were obtained after excluding patients with unknown age, race, and survival. Cox proportional hazard regression was used for multivariate survival analysis. Results: The mean age at diagnosis of PMCT was 55.13 ± 20.47 years, with the standard deviation reflecting a wide range and dispersion. Males accounted for 51.75% of the patients. Racial demographics showed a predominance of White (61%), followed by Hispanic (18.65%), Asian/pacific islander (10.09%), and Black (9.67%) populations. The most predominant types were sarcomas (62.27%) and lymphomas (27.48 %), with the rest 10.23% including tumors like mesothelioma and adenocarcinoma among others. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate overall survival (OS) at 1, 3 and 5 years to be 50.8%, 26.6% and 18% respectively. Cox regression demonstrated statistically significant differences in survival only with age and histopathology. Older patients [HR 1.008 (1.004-1.012)] had worse OS. Compared to sarcomas, lymphomas [HR 0.45 (0.36-0.55)] had better OS, while the group comprising the other 10.23% of PMCTs [HR 1.52 (1.17-1.96)] had worse OS. No statistically significant differences in survival were noted between males and females, and also between different racial groups. Conclusions: Despite being rare malignancies, PMCTs continue to have a poor prognosis. Though sex and ethnicity do not influence survival, older patients with sarcomas and other rare PMCTs have poorer outcomes. Further investigations aimed at improving survival in these at-risk groups are warranted. This information will also aid providers in advanced care planning.

Identification and Functional Analysis of the Phosphatidylethanolamine-Binding Protein (PEBP) Gene Family in Liriodendron Hybrids

The plant phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) gene family plays important roles in regulating flowering time and vegetative growth. Compared with its parents, Liriodendron hybrids (Liriodendron chinense (Hemsl.) Sarg. × L. tulipifera L.), have obvious heterosis in terms of higher seed germination, fast growth, bright flower colors, and long growth seasons. However, the genome-wide identification and functional analysis of PEBP genes that contribute to the heterosis of Liriodendron hybrids have not been studied. In this study, we characterized four members of expressed LhPEBP genes in Liriodendron hybrids and divided them into three subfamilies based on their phylogenetic relationships: FT-like (LhFT), TFL1-like (LhTFL1), and MFT-like (LhMFT1 and LhMFT2). A functional analysis of Arabidopsis showed that the overexpression of LhFT significantly promoted flowering, and the LhTFL1 gene induced a wide dispersion of the flowering timing. LhMFTs function differently, with LhMFT2 suppressing flowering, while LhMFT1 accelerates it and had a stronger promoting effect on the early stage of seed germination. Additionally, the seed germination of the LhMFT lines was relatively less influenced by ABA, while the transgenic LhFT and LhTFL1 lines were sensitive to both ABA and GA3. These results provide valuable insights into the functions of LhPEBP genes in flowering and seed germination.

Microbiota plasticity in tilapia gut revealed by meta-analysis evaluating the effect of probiotics, prebiotics, and biofloc.

Tilapia species are among the most cultivated fish worldwide due to their biological advantages but face several challenges, including environmental impact and disease outbreaks. Feed additives, such as probiotics, prebiotics, and other microorganisms, have emerged as strategies to protect against pathogens and promote immune system activation and other host responses, with consequent reductions in antibiotic use. Because these additives also influence tilapia's gut microbiota and positively affect the tilapia culture, we assume it is a flexible annex organ capable of being subject to significant modifications without affecting the biological performance of the host. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of probiotics and other additives ingested by tilapia on its gut microbiota through a meta-analysis of several bioprojects studying the tilapia gut microbiota exposed to feed additives (probiotic, prebiotic, biofloc). A total of 221 tilapia gut microbiota samples from 14 bioprojects were evaluated. Alpha and beta diversity metrics showed no differentiation patterns in relation to the control group, either comparing additives as a group or individually. Results also revealed a control group with a wide dispersion pattern even when these fish did not receive additives. After concatenating the information, the tilapia gut core microbiota was represented by four enriched phyla including Proteobacteria (31%), Fusobacteria (23%), Actinobacteria (19%), and Firmicutes (16%), and seven minor phyla Planctomycetes (1%), Chlamydiae (1%), Chloroflexi (1%), Cyanobacteria (1%), Spirochaetes (1%), Deinococcus Thermus (1%), and Verrucomicrobia (1%). Finally, results suggest that the tilapia gut microbiota is a dynamic microbial community that can plastically respond to feed additives exposure with the potential to influence its taxonomic profile allowing a considerable optimal range of variation, probably guaranteeing its physiological function under different circumstances.

A comprehensive study on the infectivity of $Galba truncatula$ (O.F. Müller, 1774), an intermediate host of Fasciola sp. reported in Diyarbakır hospitals

This study aims to comprehensively investigate the trematode infection in $Galba truncatula$(O. F. Müller, 1774) a widely distributed intermediate host in the Dicle River, following the previously reporting of Fascioliasis cases in Diyarbakır hospitals. While previous literature has documented the presence of $F. hepatica$ and $F. gigantica$ in individuals treated in Diyarbakır hospitals, the origin of the trematodes remains unspecified. In this study, G. truncatula samples were collected from three densely populated areas along the Dicle River, specifically Hevsel Gardens, and subjected to histopathological examination to determine the parasite's infectivity. The analysis revealed that the snails were not infected with trematodes; however, the presence of the host and its wide dispersion in the Dicle River pose a significant risk of disease in the future. Hevsel Gardens, a location where sewage and wastewater from the northern suburbs of Diyarbakır converge with the river, is extensively used for activities that involve direct contact with G. $truncatula$. These activities include vegetable cultivation, fishing, farming, husbandry, and swimming, and pose an escalating risk of potential contagion. The study acknowledges the undetermined source of the parasite but highlights its preliminary nature, emphasizing the urgency of proactive measures. The findings will enhance our understanding of the health risks linked to G. $truncatula$ and underscore the significance of implementing effective control measures in a timely manner.

An Overview of FAST Real-time Fast Radio Burst Searching System

In this paper, we report a real-time Fast Radio Burst (FRB) searching system that has been successfully implemented with the 19 beam receiver of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). The relatively small field of view of FAST makes the search for new FRBs challenging, but its high sensitivity significantly improves the accuracy of FRB localization and enables the detection of high-precision neutral hydrogen absorption lines generated by FRBs. Our goal is to develop an FRB searching system capable of real-time detection of FRBs that allows high-time resolution spectro-temporal studies among the repeated bursts, as well as detailed investigations of these bursts and exploration of FRB progenitor models. The data from each beam of the 19-beam receiver are fed into a high-performance computing node server, which performs real-time searches for pulses with a wide dispersion measure (DM) range of 20–10,000 pc cm−3 with step efficiency of 25% in real time. Then, the head node server aggregates all the candidate signals from each beam within a given time, determining their authenticity based on various criteria, including arrival time, pulse width, signal-to-noise ratio and coincidence patterns among the 19 beams. Within the 1.05–1.45 GHz operating bandwidth of the FAST 19 beam receiver, the system achieves a frequency resolution of 122.07 kHz and a time resolution of 270.336 μs. Subsequently, our team detected a series of bursts with a DM of 566 on 2019 August 30 confirming them as FRB 121102. The FRB searching system enables the 19-beam receiver of FAST to detect repeated/one-off pulses/bursts in real time.

Towards automated long-term acoustic monitoring of endangered river dolphins: a case study in the Brazilian Amazon floodplains

Using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) and convolutional neural networks (CNN), we monitored the movements of the two endangered Amazon River dolphin species, the boto (Inia geoffrensis) and the tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) from main rivers to floodplain habitats (várzea) in the Mamirauá Reserve (Amazonas, Brazil). We detected dolphin presence in four main areas based on the classification of their echolocation clicks. Using the same method, we automatically detected boat passages to estimate a possible interaction between boat and dolphin presence. Performance of the CNN classifier was high with an average precision of 0.95 and 0.92 for echolocation clicks and boats, respectively. Peaks of acoustic activity were detected synchronously at the river entrance and channel, corresponding to dolphins seasonally entering the várzea. Additionally, the river dolphins were regularly detected inside the flooded forest, suggesting a wide dispersion of their populations inside this large area, traditionally understudied and particularly important for boto females and calves. Boats overlapped with dolphin presence 9% of the time. PAM and recent advances in classification methods bring a new insight of the river dolphins’ use of várzea habitats, which will contribute to conservation strategies of these species.

High-power two-color Kerr frequency comb generation on the gallium phosphide-on-insulator platform at SWIR and MIR spectra

Optical frequency combs (OFCs) covering multiple spectral windows are of great interest as broadband coherent light sources. Pushing into high powers for traditional single OFCs as well as nonlinear frequency translated OFCs led to the narrowing of their bandwidths. Here, we present a hybrid integrated solution on the gallium phosphide-on-insulator (GaP-OI) platform to generate high-power two-color Kerr frequency combs at both the short-wave infrared (SWIR) and the mid-infrared (MIR) spectra. The design consists of a GaP-OI resonator with a partially etched gap for frequency comb generation at the two colors and a modal phase-matched strip waveguide for a second-harmonic generation (SHG). The resonator has a 3.25 µm wide anomalous dispersion window, which is enabled by mode hybridization and higher-order modes waveguide dispersion. The pump light at 1550 nm wavelength is frequency doubled from the 3100 nm wavelength light source, with a normalized SHG conversion efficiency of 793%W−1cm−2. We also propose the ring-bus coupler design to efficiently deliver optical power into the resonator while suppressing the leakage out of the resonator. The simulated two-color combs show a bandwidth of 87 nm above the −30dBm power level at the SWIR spectrum and a bandwidth of 749 nm above the same power level at the MIR spectrum. Our proposed two-color OFC generation scheme levitates the ceiling in terms of high power and broad bandwidth simultaneously on a single platform, paving the way toward monolithic solutions to integrated broadband coherent sources.

The innovation challenge in Spain: A Delphi study

Public funding for information and communication technology (ICT) innovation in Spain appears to be slow, bureaucratic, highly restrictive, and not agile. Therefore, the innovation process is negatively affected. These restrictions could be attributed to inadequate trust from public funders toward executors and ontological problems regarding the definitions of ICT innovation (i.e., the I+D+i formula), affecting all Quadruple Helix stakeholders. In this study, a Delphi study was proposed to reach a consensus among 81 experts (i.e., innovation managers, public funders, and consultants) to validate this hypothesis. The study included 41 statements and 59 questions organized into the following five objectives: (1) concept of innovation, (2) public funding and its restrictions, (3) theoretical model of innovation, (4) public funders’ trust and executors’ freedom, (5) assessment of capabilities and maturity for innovation. The experts discussed, evaluated, and reached a consensus, after two rounds, on 52 of the 59 questions. The results revealed wide dispersion of the proposed ICT innovation questions. They demonstrated that the innovation management ecosystem in Spain’s ICT context is immature and the I+D+i formula did not represent the innovation process. The study reached a consensus on requirements for an Agile Innovation Funding Framework (AIFF) oriented toward obtaining an improved competitive advantage for ICT products or services based on trust, transparency, inspection, and adaptation principles. The results revealed that a joint framework involving public funders and executors based on organizational capability and maturity positively affects the innovation process. The capabilities of the executors should be standardized and measured, and public funders must move from supervisors to mentors to acquire new capabilities. Furthermore, innovation regulation and the various types of calls for proposals should be analyzed globally to change their fiscal and controlling nature restricting innovation.

Physical and chemical characterization of the Pomici di Avellino ashes (3.9 ka) from Somma-Vesuvius volcano for future health hazard assessment

Volcanic ashes can threaten the human respiratory system through inhalation. In this study we investigated the physical and chemical characteristics of volcanic ashes from the Pomici di Avellino (PdA) eruption, an Early Bronze Age (ca. 3.9 ka) Plinian event from Somma-Vesuvius volcano, southern Italy, whose wide dispersal affected most of the Italian peninsula. In particular, we analysed particle size, shape, composition, and surface reactivity of samples from both proximal and distal locations. Our results indicate that some tephra layers north of Rome have a phonolitic composition and match that of PdA eruption; they reach grain-sizes <2 μm (∼13.5%), thus having the potential to enter the deep respiratory system. Furthermore, the reactivity in free radical generation makes these products potentially able to cause oxidative stress within cells. While commonly no volcanic hazard assessment is made in areas far from active volcanoes, this study highlights that fine ashes from future similar large eruptions, producing high amount of highly fragmented material, can pose a health hazard even in remote, non-volcanic areas, hundreds of km away from the vent, suggesting that further studies on ash toxicity (e.g., in vitro toxicity studies) are required.

A Promising Needle-Free Pyro-Drive Jet Injector for Augmentation of Immunity by Intradermal Injection as a Physical Adjuvant.

Current worldwide mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 by intramuscular injection using a needled syringe has greatly protected numerous people from COVID-19. An intramuscular injection is generally well tolerated, safer and easier to perform on a large scale, whereas the skin has the benefit of the presence of numerous immune cells, such as professional antigen-presenting dendritic cells. Therefore, intradermal injection is considered superior to intramuscular injection for the induction of protective immunity, but more proficiency is required for the injection. To improve these issues, several different types of more versatile jet injectors have been developed to deliver DNAs, proteins or drugs by high jet velocity through the skin without a needle. Among them, a new needle-free pyro-drive jet injector has a unique characteristic that utilizes gunpower as a mechanical driving force, in particular, bi-phasic pyrotechnics to provoke high jet velocity and consequently the wide dispersion of the injected DNA solution in the skin. A significant amount of evidence has revealed that it is highly effective as a vaccinating tool to induce potent protective cellular and humoral immunity against cancers and infectious diseases. This is presumably explained by the fact that shear stress generated by the high jet velocity facilitates the uptake of DNA in the cells and, consequently, its protein expression. The shear stress also possibly elicits danger signals which, together with the plasmid DNA, subsequently induces the activation of innate immunity including dendritic cell maturation, leading to the establishment of adaptive immunity. This review summarizes the recent advances in needle-free jet injectors to augment the cellular and humoral immunity by intradermal injection and the possible mechanism of action.

Duluth Complex FC1 Apatite and Zircon: Reference Materials for (U‐Th)/He Dating?

The accuracy and validation of geo‐ and thermochronological dating hinges on the availability of well‐characterised age reference materials. The Mesoproterozoic gabbroic anorthosite FC1 from the Duluth Complex, Minnesota is a reference material for zircon U‐Pb and a suggested reference material for apatite fission‐track dating. We evaluate FC1 as (U‐Th)/He reference material, and determine its apatite U‐Pb, and zircon and apatite (U‐Th)/He age. Our dating results constrain the thermal history of FC1, showing that fast cooling occurred between ~ 1099 and 1040 Ma from ≥ 600 °C to ~ 200 °C. The zircon (U‐Th)/He data from air‐abraded grains give a robust isochron age of 1037 ± 25 Ma (2s) without overdispersion. The within‐grain homogeneity of U and Th, the availability of FC1 zircon, and the absence of radiation‐damage effects on the (U‐Th)/He age support its use as reference material. Unabraded zircon grains give lower and more dispersed ages, highlighting the usefulness of air abrasion to control for α‐ejection in (U‐Th)/He dating. Our apatite (U‐Th‐Sm)/He single‐grain ages vary between 180 and 300 Ma. Their wide dispersion argues against the use of FC1 apatite as (U‐Th‐Sm)/He reference material and makes the interpretation of their low‐temperature thermal history complicated.

Multidimensional spatial monitoring of open pit mine dust dispersion by unmanned aerial vehicle

Dust pollution is one of the most severe environmental issues in open pit mines, hindering green mining development. Open pit mine dust has characteristics of multiple dust-generating points, is irregular, influenced by climatic conditions, and has a high degree of distribution with a wide dispersion range in three dimensions. Consequently, evaluating the quantity of dust dispersion and controlling environmental pollution are crucial for supporting green mining. In this paper, dust monitoring above the open pit mine was carried out with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on board. The dust distribution patterns above the open pit mine were studied in different vertical and horizontal directions at different heights. The results show that the temperature changes less in the morning and more at noon in winter. At the same time, the isothermal layer becomes thinner and thinner as the temperature rises, which makes it easy for dust to spread. The horizontal dust is mainly concentrated at 1300 and 1550 elevations. The dust concentration is polarized at 1350–1450 elevation. The most serious exceedance is at 1400 elevation, with TSP (the concentration of total suspended particulate), PM10 (particulates with aerodynamic diameter < 10 μm), and PM2.5 (particulates with aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 μm) accounting for 188.8%, 139.5%, and 113.8%, respectively. The height is 1350–1450 elevation. Dust monitoring technology carried out by UAV can be applied to the study of dust distribution in the mining field, and the research results can provide reference for other open pit mines. It can also provide a basis for law enforcement part to carry out law enforcement, which has expanded and wide practical application value.