Responses of runoff and sediment yield to slope length and gravel content of Lou soil engineering accumulation slope in Guanzhong region, Northwest China.

With the economic development, a large number of engineering accumulation bodies with Lou soil as the main soil type were produced in Guanzhong area, Northwest China. We examined the characteristics of runoff and sediment yield of Lou soil accumulation bodies with earth (gravel content 0%) and earth-rock (gravel content 30%) under different rainfall intensities (1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 mm·min-1) and different slope lengths (3, 5, 6.5, 12 m) by the simulating rainfall method. The results showed that runoff rate was relatively stable when rainfall intensity was 1.0-1.5 mm·min-1, while runoff rate fluctuated obviously when rainfall intensity was 2.0-2.5 mm·min-1. The average runoff rate varied significantly across different rainfall intensities on the same slopes, and the difference of average runoff rate of the two slopes was significantly increased with rainfall intensity. Under the same rainfall intensity, the difference in runoff rate between the slope lengths of the earth-rock slope was more obvious than that of the earth slope. When the slope length was 3-6.5 m, flow velocity increased rapidly at first and then increased slowly or tended to be stable. When the slope length was 12 m, flow velocity increased significantly. In general, with the increases of rainfall intensity, inhibition effect of gravel on the average flow velocity was enhanced. When rainfall intensity was 2.5 mm·min-1, the maximum reduction in the average flow velocity of earth-rock slope was 61.5% lower than that of earth slope. When rainfall intensity was less than 2.0 mm·min-1, sediment yield rate showed a trend of gradual decline or stable change, while that under the other rainfall intensities showed a trend of rapid decline and then fluctuated sharply. The greater the rainfall intensity, the more obvious the fluctuation. There was a significant positive correlation between the average sediment yield rate and runoff parameters, with the runoff rate showing the best fitting effect. Among the factors, slope length had the highest contribution to runoff velocity and rainfall erosion, which was 51.8% and 35.5%, respectively. This study can provide scientific basis for soil and water erosion control of engineering accumulation in Lou soil areas.

A multifunctional fluorescent probe based on Schiff base with AIE and ESIPT characteristics for effective detections of Pb2+, Ag+ and Fe3.

In this work, three Schiff-based fluorescent probes with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and excited intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) characters were synthesized by grafting 2-aminobenzothiazole group onto 4-substituted salicylaldehydes. More important, a rare tri-responsive fluorescent probe (SN-Cl) was developed by purposeful variation of substituents in the molecule. It could selectively identify Pb2+, Ag+ and Fe3+ in different solvent systems or with the help of masking agent and show complete fluorescence enhancement without interference of other ions. Meanwhile, the other two probes (SN-ON and SN-N) could only recognize Pb2+ in DMSO/Tris-HCl buffer (3: 7, v/v, pH = 7.4). According to Job's plot, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and NMR analysis, coordination between SN-Cl and Pb2+/Ag+/Fe3+ was determined. The LOD values for three ions were as low as 0.059 µM, 0.012 µM and 8.92 µM, respectively. Ideally, SN-Cl showed satisfactory performance in real water samples detection and test paper experiments for three ions. Also, SN-Cl could be used as an excellent imaging agent for Fe3+ in HeLa cells. Therefore, SN-Cl has the ability to be a "single fluorescent probe for three targets".

Fame through surprise: How fame-seeking mass shooters diversify their attacks.

Mass shootings are becoming more frequent in the United States, as we routinely learn from the media about attempts that have been prevented or tragedies that destroyed entire communities. To date, there has been limited understanding of the modus operandi of mass shooters, especially those who seek fame through their attacks. Here, we explore whether the attacks of these fame-seeking mass shooters were more surprising than those of others and clarify the link between fame and surprise in mass shootings. We assembled a dataset of 189 mass shootings from 1966 to 2021, integrating data from multiple sources. We categorized the incidents in terms of the targeted population and shooting location. We measured "surprisal" (often known as "Shannon information content") with respect to these features, and we scored fame from Wikipedia traffic data-a commonly used metric of fame. Surprisal was significantly higher for fame-seeking mass shooters than non-fame-seeking ones. We also registered a significant positive correlation between fame and surprisal controlling for the number of casualties and injured victims. Not only do we uncover a link between fame-seeking behavior and surprise in the attacks but also we demonstrate an association between the fame of a mass shooting and its surprise.

Urban Determinants of COVID-19 Spread: a Comparative Study across Three Cities in New York State.

The ongoing pandemic is laying bare dramatic differences in the spread of COVID-19 across seemingly similar urban environments. Identifying the urban determinants that underlie these differences is an open research question, which can contribute to more epidemiologically resilient cities, optimized testing and detection strategies, and effective immunization efforts. Here, we perform a computational analysis of COVID-19 spread in three cities of similar size in New York State (Colonie, New Rochelle, and Utica) aiming to isolate urban determinants of infections and deaths. We develop detailed digital representations of the cities and simulate COVID-19 spread using a complex agent-based model, taking into account differences in spatial layout, mobility, demographics, and occupational structure of the population. By critically comparing pandemic outcomes across the three cities under equivalent initial conditions, we provide compelling evidence in favor of the central role of hospitals. Specifically, with highly efficacious testing and detection, the number and capacity of hospitals, as well as the extent of vaccination of hospital employees are key determinants of COVID-19 spread. The modulating role of these determinants is reduced at lower efficacy of testing and detection, so that the pandemic outcome becomes equivalent across the three cities.

Effects of excess sugars and lipids on the growth and development of Caenorhabditis elegans.

BACKGROUND: Excessive intake of carbohydrates and fats causes over-nutrition, leading to a variety of diseases and complications. Here, we characterized the effects of different types of sugar and lipids on the growth and development of Caenorhabditis elegans. METHODS: We measured the lifespan, reproductive capacity, and length of nematodes after sugars and lipids treatment alone and co-treatment of sugars and lipids. Furthermore, we studied the mechanisms underlying the damage caused by high-sucrose and high-stearic acid on C.elegans by using transcriptome sequencing technology. RESULTS: The results showed that a certain concentration of sugar and lipid promoted the growth and development of nematodes. However, excessive sugars and lipids shortened the lifespan and length of nematodes and destroyed their reproductive capacity. Based on the results of the orthogonal test, we selected 400 mmol/L sucrose and 500 µg/mL stearic acid to model a high-sugar and high-lipid diet for C. elegans. CONCLUSION: High-sugar and high-lipid intake altered the expression of genes involved in biofilm synthesis, genes that catalyze the synthesis and degradation of endogenous substances, and genes involved in innate immunity, resulting in physiological damage. Furthermore, we explored the protective effect of resveratrol on high-sugar and high-lipid damage to nematodes. Resveratrol plays a role in repairing by participating in the metabolism of foreign substances and reducing cellular oxidative stress.