We report the first observation of concentric traveling ionospheric disturbances (CTIDs) triggered by the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 17 January 2016. The rocket‐triggered ionospheric disturbances show shock acoustic wave signature in the time rate change (time derivative) of total electron content (TEC), followed by CTIDs in the 8–15 min band‐pass filtering of TEC. The CTIDs propagated northward with phase velocity of 241–617 m/s and reached distances more than 1000 km away from the source on the rocket trajectory. The wave characteristics of CTIDs with periods of 10.5–12.7 min and wavelength ~ 200–400 km agree well with the gravity wave dispersion relation. The optimal wave source searching and gravity wave ray tracing technique suggested that the CTIDs have multiple sources which are originated from ~38–120 km altitude before and after the ignition of the second‐stage rocket, ~200 s after the rocket was launched.

A quantitative, real-time, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, combining the high sensitivity of nested PCR with time-saving real-time instrumentation, was developed for large-scale screening for severe acute coronavirus (SARS) coronavirus. Forty-six clinical specimens were analyzed by this method, and results were compared with those obtained by conventional, single-round, real-time reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) performed in parallel. Of the 17 positive results, 2 identified by our method were not detected by single-round, real-time RT-PCR, which suggests that real-time nested PCR has the potential for increased sensitivity, leading to earlier detection of SARS.

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between cognitive impairment and brain perfusion using arterial spin labelling (ASL) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing PD. Methods ESRD patients undergoing PD were recruited. Laboratory screening, neuropsychological tests and ASL magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were conducted prior to and after 6 months of PD. Age- and sex-matched normal subjects without ESRD served as the control group. Comparisons of regional CBF between ESRD patients before or after undergoing PD and normal controls were performed. Correlations between biochemical, neuropsychological and CBF data were also conducted to evaluate the relationships. Results ESRD patients showed poor performance in many of the neuropsychological tests; PD improved cognition in some domains. Pre-PD patients had higher mean CBF than post-PD patients and normal controls, but no significant difference was found between the normal controls and post-PD patients. Negative correlations were observed pre-PD (regional CBF in left hippocampus vs. perseverative responses, r = -0.662, p = 0.014), post-PD (mean CBF vs. haemoglobin level, r = -0.766, p = 0.002), and before and after PD (change in CBF in the left putamen vs. change in haematocrit percentage, r = -0.808, p = 0.001). Conclusion Before PD, ESRD patients had increased cerebral perfusion that was related to poorer executive function, especially in the left hippocampus. Post-PD patients performed better in some cognitive test domains than pre-PD patients. The degree of anaemia, i.e., haemoglobin level or haematocrit percentage, might predict cognitive impairment in PD patients. Key Points • In this study, ESRD patients before PD had cerebral hyperperfusion that was related to poorer executive function. • Post-PD patients performed better in some cognitive test domains than pre-PD patients did. • The degree of anaemia might predict cognitive impairment in PD patients. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00330-018-5675-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundLocal corticosteroid injections are commonly used to improve the short-term symptomatic severity and the functional status of the hands affected by carpal tunnel syndrome. We conducted a systematic review and Bayesian network-meta-analysis to compare the clinical effectiveness of local corticosteroid injections using different injection approaches.MethodsElectronic literature in Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and other sources were searched to identify clinical studies comparing different injection approaches with each other or placebo for carpal tunnel syndrome. Two review authors conducted selection of studies, data extraction, and assessment of risk of bias independently. Random-effects models were used to conduct the pairwise meta-analysis and the Bayesian network meta-analysis.ResultsOverall, 10 studies with 633 patients were included in the systematic review. Among the injection approaches, local corticosteroid injections using the ultrasound-guided in-plane injection (Ulnar-I) approach was the best treatment strategy for clinical response (median OR versus placebo 128.30, 95 % CrI 9.76 to 2299.00), change in symptom severity scale (median MD versus placebo −1.16, 95 % CrI −1.95 to −0.38) , and change in functional status scale (median MD versus placebo −0.74, 95 % CrI −2.00 to 0.52) at short-term follow-up period in the network meta-analysis. Local corticosteroid injections using other injection approaches were better than placebo for clinical response (for the PI approach, median OR versus placebo 8.85, 95 % CrI 3.00 to 33.15; for the DI approach, median OR versus placebo 7.00, 95 % CrI 0.53 to 118.80) , change in symptom severity scale (for the Ulnar-O approach, median MD versus placebo −0.78, 95 % CrI −1.43 to −0.16; for the PI approach, median MD versus placebo −0.58, 95 % CrI −0.95 to −0.22), and change in functional status scale (for the Ulnar-O approach, median MD versus placebo −0.63, 95 % CrI −1.67 to 0.43; for the PI approach, median MD versus placebo −0.46, 95 % CrI −1.11 to 0.21) at short-term follow-up period. The quality of studies is good.ConclusionsAccording to our analyses, the ultrasound-guided in-plane injection (Ulnar-I) approach was the most effective treatment among the injection approaches for carpal tunnel syndrome.

InGaN/GaN-based solar cells with vertical-conduction feature on silicon substrates were fabricated by wafer bonding technique. The vertical solar cells with a metal reflector sandwiched between the GaN-based epitaxial layers and the Si substrate could increase the effective thickness of the absorption layer. Given that the thermally resistive sapphire substrates were replaced by the Si substrate with high thermal conductivity, the solar cells did not show degradation in power conversion efficiency (PCE) even when the solar concentrations were increased to 300 suns. The open circuit voltage increased from 1.90 V to 2.15 V and the fill factor increased from 0.55 to 0.58 when the concentrations were increased from 1 sun to 300 suns. With the 300-sun illumination, the PCE was enhanced by approximately 33% compared with the 1-sun illumination.

As the prediction of construction firm failure is of great importance for owners, contractors, investors, banks, insurance firms, and creditors, previous studies have developed several models for predicting the probability of construction firm default based on financial ratio analysis. However, to be applied, these models require a considerable quantity of data, including normally distributed data, and the models cannot tolerate too many changing factors. Furthermore, most of the approaches produce sample selection biases. To avoid these disadvantages, this study is the first to integrate the grey system theory with all available firm‐year samples during the sample period to provide a new method for predicting the probability of construction firm default. This method not only offers an improved rate of prediction accuracy, but it also offers simpler and clearer procedures as a reference for examining firm default probability and ranks all financial ratios in terms of their level of importance. The research collects and analyzes the financial reports of 92 construction firms in the United States. The proposed model includes only eight ranked variables (financial ratios), and it achieves an 84.8% level of accuracy for predicting construction firm default probability. As a result, practitioners may directly use the model as a means of quickly and conveniently examining their firm default probability with the simple procedures.

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