The southern Great Xing’an Range (SGXR), located in the eastern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), is one of the most economically important Cu–Mo–Fe–Sn–Pb–Zn–Ag metallogenic provinces in China. The newly discovered Panjiaduan Cu–Pb–Zn deposit (9.3 Mt; at 1.36% Cu, 2.90% Pb, 3.80% Zn and 38.12 g/t Ag), located in the SE segment of the SGXR, is primarily hosted in fracture zones in volcanic rocks and granodiorite of the Manitu Formation. Four paragenetic stages of metallic mineralization are identified: (I) quartz-pyrite-arsenopyrite; (II) quartz-polymetallic sulphide; (III) quartz-galena-sphalerite-argentite; and (IV) quartz-calcite-minor sulphide. The hydrothermal quartz contains three types of primary fluid inclusion (FIs): vapour-rich two-phase liquid-vapour (LV-type), liquid-rich two-phase liquid-vapour (VL-type) and three-phase liquid-vapour-solid FIs (SL-type). Stages I and II contain all types with homogenization temperatures (Th) of 324–386 °C and 276–334 °C as well as salinities of 0.7–38.0 wt% and 0.9–34.7 wt%, respectively, whereas stage III is composed of VL- and LV-type FIs with Th of 210–269 °C and salinities of 0.5–7.2 wt%. Only VL-type FIs occur in stage IV, with Th of 139–185 °C and salinities of 1.6–4.2 wt%. The δ18OH2O and δD values vary from −15.7 to 2.6‰ and −132.7 to −110.2‰, respectively, indicating predominant meteoric water with an initial magmatic source. The He–Ar isotopic compositions of the pyrite inclusions from the Panjiaduan Cu–Pb–Zn veins suggest that fluids were derived from the crust.

Spectral observations with high temporal and frequency resolution are of great significance for studying the fine structures of solar radio bursts. In addition, it is helpful to understand the physical processes of solar eruptions. In this paper, we present the design of a system to observe solar radio bursts with high temporal and frequency resolutions at frequencies of 25–110 MHz. To reduce the impact of analog devices and improve the system flexibility, we employ various digital signal processing methods to achieve the function of analog devices, such as polarisation synthesis and beamforming. The resourceful field programmable gate array is used to process radio signals. The system has a frequency resolution of $\sim$ 30 kHz and a temporal resolution of up to 0.2 ms. The left/right circular polarisation signals can be simultaneously observed. At present, the system has been installed at Chashan Solar Observatory operated by the Institute of Space Science, Shandong University. The system is running well, multiple bursts have been observed, and relevant data have been obtained.

Mechanistic studies have suggested that antioxidants have beneficial effects on age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study aimed to investigate the association between the types and sources of dietary vitamin and carotenoid intakes and AMD risk in China. A matched case-control study of 260 patients who were clinically diagnosed with AMD and 260 matched controls was performed. The participants were interviewed for dietary information and potential confounders, and comprehensive ophthalmic examinations were performed. Conditional logistic models were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) across the categories of specific vitamins and carotenoids and their main sources. When comparing the extreme quartiles, the ORs(95% CI) were 0.30 (0.10, 0.88) for lutein and 0.28 (0.11, 0.74) for β-cryptoxanthin. The associations between AMD and other dietary vitamin and carotenoid intakes were generally weaker and non-significant. Higher intakes of spinach and egg, which are important sources of lutein, were associated with a reduced odds of AMD, with an OR comparing the highest and lowest categories of spinach being 0.42 (95%CI: 0.20, 0.88) and that comparing the highest and lowest categories of the egg being 0.52 (95% CI: 0.27, 0.98). Participants who were in the highest category of both egg intake and spinach intake had a much greater reduced odds of having AMD (OR: 0.23; 95%CI: 0.08, 0.71) than those in the lowest category of egg intake and spinach intake. In conclusion, a higher intake of lutein and lutein-rich foods was associated with a significantly decreased odds of AMD. These findings provide further evidence of the benefits of lutein and lutein-rich foods in the prevention of AMD.

Maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) is an important determinant of infant birth weight, and having adequate total GWG has been widely recommended. However, the association of timing of GWG with birth weight remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate this association, especially among women with adequate total GWG. In a prospective cohort study, pregnant women’s weight was routinely measured during pregnancy, and their GWG was calculated for the ten intervals: the first 13, 14–18, 19–23, 24–28, 29–30, 31–32, 33–34, 35–36, 37–38 and 39–40 weeks. Birth weight was measured, and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and large-for-gestational-age were assessed. Generalized linear and Poisson models were used to evaluate the associations of GWG with birth weight and its outcomes after multivariate adjustment, respectively. Of the 5049 women, increased GWG in the first 30 weeks was associated with increased birth weight for male infants, and increased GWG in the first 28 weeks was associated with increased birth weight for females. Among 1713 women with adequate total GWG, increased GWG percent between 14 and 23 weeks was associated with increased birth weight. Moreover, inadequate GWG between 14 and 23 weeks, compared with the adequate GWG, was associated with an increased risk of SGA (43 (13·7 %) v. 42 (7·2 %); relative risk 1·83, 95 % CI 1·21, 2·76). Timing of GWG may influence infant birth weight differentially, and women with inadequate GWG between 14 and 23 weeks may be at higher risk of delivering SGA infants, despite having adequate total GWG.

Temporal constraints on the closure of the eastern segment of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean along the northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC) remain unclear. As a part of the NCC, the sedimentation and tectonic evolution of the Late Palaeozoic Ordos Basin were closely related to the opening and closing of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean. We use petrology, quantitative mineralogical analysis, U–Pb geochronology and trace element signatures of detrital zircons of the Lower Shihezi Formation from two sections in the eastern north Ordos Basin and two sections in the western north Ordos Basin to reconstruct the sedimentary provenance and tectonic background of the northern Ordos Basin. The results show that the sediments of the western sections were mainly derived from the Yinshan orogenic belt and Alxa block, and that those in the eastern sections only came from the Yinshan orogenic belt. The trace element ratios in detrital zircons from the Late Palaeozoic sandstones indicate that the source areas were mainly subduction-related continental arcs, closely related to the continued subduction of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean in the Late Palaeozoic. Since the main Late Palaeozoic magmatic periods vary on the east and west sides of the northern margin of the Ordos Basin, two main collisions related to Palaeo-Asian Ocean closure are recorded. The collision on the west side occurred significantly earlier than that in the east. This study implies that the Palaeo-Asian Ocean began to subduct beneath the NCC in the Carboniferous and gradually closed from west to east thereafter.

In this paper, we derive the optimal cyclical design of a target benefit (TB) pension plan that balances the sustainability and the benefit stability using the optimal control approach. The optimal design possesses a linear risk sharing structure with cyclical parameters. We observe that the optimal design should be pro-cyclical in the usual circumstances, but counter-cyclical when the pension plan is severely in deficit. We compare the TB plans with the defined benefit plans and conclude that a more aggressive investment strategy should be adopted for the TB plans. In the end, we provide a cautionary note on the optimal control approach in the study of the TB plans.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of substituting rice straw with citrus pulp (CRP), sweet potato peels (SPP) and vines (SPV) on fermentation quality and in vitro digestibility when ensiled with or without wet brewers' grains (WBG). Seven treatments were set as follows: (i) rice straw only (control); (ii) 800 g rice straw/kg + 200 g CRP/kg (RC); (iii) 720 g rice straw/kg + 180 g CRP/kg + 100 g WBG/kg (RC+); (iv) 800 g rice straw/kg + 200 g SPP/kg (RP); (v) 720 g rice straw + 180 g SPP/kg + 100 g WBG/kg (RP+); (vi) 800 g rice straw/kg + 200 g SPV/kg (RV); (vii) 720 g rice straw/kg + 180 g SPV/kg + 100 g WBG/kg (RV+). After ensiling for 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days, silos were opened for fermentation profile, aerobic stability and in vitro parameter analyses. All substitution types improved fermentation quality, characterized by significantly lower pH and NH3-N content, higher lactic acid content and V-scores. WBG application promoted hetero-fermentation and significantly increased DM losses, acetic acid and ethanol contents. After 60 days of ensiling, the NDF, ADF and cellulose contents in mixed silages significantly decreased compared to control. During aerobic exposure, WBG application significantly prolonged aerobic stability. SPV substitution significantly improved in vitro digestibility of dry matter, NDF and ADF. In conclusion, the SPP substitution combined with WBG application was recommended as a result of the optimal balance of fermentation quality, aerobic stability and in vitro digestibility.

Business process management (BPM) has been the main driver behind company optimization and operational efficiency. However, the digitization era we live in necessitates that organizations be agile and adaptable. Delivering unprecedented rates of automation-fueled agility is necessary to be a part of this digital revolution. On the other hand, BPM automation cannot be done only by concentrating on procedure space and traditional planning methodologies. With the introduction of BPM, where the deployment of BPM with cloud computing has undergone enormous development lately, cloud computing has been considered a particularly active topic of study. Cloud computing points to the provision of dependable computing environments based on improved infrastructure availability and service quality without imposing a significant cost load. This research aims to discover the relationship between technical factors, financial factors, environmental factors, security of the cloud-based information systems, and the agile development of industrial BPM (IBPM). The present study aims to fill this gap and show how partial least squares structural equation modeling (SEM) can be employed in this field. Importance–performance map analysis (IPMA) evaluated the importance and performance of factors in the SEM. IPMA enables the identification of factors with relatively low performance but relatively high importance in shaping dependent variables. The empirical findings showed that four key factors (technical, financial, environmental, and security) positively influence the agile development of IBPM.