The parasite Fasciola hepatica is an important zoonotic parasite. The development of an animal model of F. hepatica's life cycle is critical for studying the biological characteristics of the parasite in snails and mammals. Eggs of F. hepatica of bovine origin were cultured, and metacercariae were obtained after infection of Galba pervia snails. The life cycle system of F. hepatica was initiated in 2 different animals by orally infecting rabbits, SD rats and Kunming mice with the metacercariae. The animals' survival after infection, parasite migration in the animals and pathological damage to the liver were observed. We discovered that rabbits died due to acute suppurative hepatitis 60–69 days after infection, and eggs were found in the feces on day 63 of infection. The liver of SD rats showed punctate lesions on day 3 of infection, and further changes occurred as the infection progressed. However, liver repair was observed at week 9. SD rats survived for more than a year after infection and continued the F. hepatica life cycle. The liver lesions in Kunming mice after infection were similar but more severe than those in SD rats. Death was observed on the 31st post-infection day. We discovered that while rabbits, SD rats and Kunming mice can all be used as animal models of F. hepatica, SD rats are more suitable experimental animals in terms of tolerance and pathological response.

Chronic inflammation exerts pleiotropic effects in the aetiology and progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Glucosamine is widely used in many countries and may have anti-inflammatory properties. We aimed to prospectively evaluate the association of regular glucosamine use with incident COPD risk and explore whether such association could be modified by smoking in the UK Biobank cohort, which recruited more than half a million participants aged 40–69 years from across the UK between 2006 and 2010. Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for potential confounding factors were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) as well as 95 % CI for the risk of incident COPD. During a median follow-up of 8·96 years (interquartile range 8·29–9·53 years), 9016 new-onset events of COPD were documented. We found that the regular use of glucosamine was associated with a significantly lower risk of incident COPD with multivariable adjusted HR of 0·80 (95 % CI, 0·75, 0·85; P < 0·001). When subgroup analyses were performed by smoking status, the adjusted HR for the association of regular glucosamine use with incident COPD were 0·84 (0·73, 0·96), 0·84 (0·77, 0·92) and 0·71 (0·62, 0·80) among never smokers, former smokers and current smokers, respectively. No significant interaction was observed between glucosamine use and smoking status (Pfor interaction = 0·078). Incident COPD could be reduced by 14 % to 84 % through a combination of regular glucosamine use and smoking cessation.

Potential secondary influences on titanium distribution should be evaluated when using ash beds as volcanic source indicators and for correlation purposes. In this study, well-correlated altered ash beds in Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB) successions of various facies in South China were investigated to better understand their use in source discrimination and stratigraphic correlation. The ash beds deposited in lacustrine and paludal facies contain significantly more Ti relative to deposits in marine facies. Neoformed anatase grains nanometres to micrometres in size are associated closely with clay minerals, whereas detrital anatase was observed in the remnants of altered ash beds of terrestrial facies. Extraction of the clay fraction of altered ash beds may exclude significantly detrital accessory minerals such as anatase and rutile added during sediment reworking, and the concentrations of immobile elements in the clay fraction may therefore be used to interpret more effectively their source igneous rocks.

Northeastern China is a region of high tick abundance, multiple tick-borne pathogens and likely human infections. The spectrum of diseases caused by tick-borne pathogens has not been objectively evaluated in this region for clinical management and for comparison with other regions globally where tick-transmitted diseases are common. Based on clinical symptoms, PCR, indirect immunofluorescent assay and (or) blood smear, we identified and described tick-borne diseases from patients with recent tick bite seen at Mudanjiang Forestry Central Hospital. From May 2010 to September 2011, 42% (75/180) of patients were diagnosed with a specific tick-borne disease, including Lyme borreliosis, tick-borne encephalitis, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, human babesiosis and spotted fever group rickettsiosis. When we compared clinical and laboratory features to identify factors that might discriminate tick-transmitted infections from those lacking that evidence, we revealed that erythema migrans and neurological manifestations were statistically significantly differently presented between those with and without documented aetiologies (P < 0.001, P = 0.003). Twelve patients (6.7%, 12/180) were co-infected with two tick-borne pathogens. We demonstrated the poor ability of clinicians to identify the specific tick-borne disease. In addition, it is necessary to develop specific laboratory assays for optimal diagnosis of tick-borne diseases.

In the Venus capture period, it is difficult for celestial autonomous navigation to satisfy the requirement of high precision. To improve autonomous navigation performance, a Direction, Distance and Velocity (DDV) measurements deeply integrated navigation method is proposed. The “deeply” integrated navigation reflects the fact that the direction and velocity measurements suppress the Doppler effects in the pulsar signals. In the pulsar observation period, the direction and velocity measurements are utilised to compensate for Doppler effects in the pulsar signals. By these means, the residual effects can be ignored. When the direction, distance or velocity measurements are obtained, they are fused to improve the navigation performance. Simulation results demonstrate that the DDV measurements deeply integrated navigation filter converges very well, and provides highly accurate position estimation without a high quality requirement on navigation sensors.

Anti-organic fouling performance of titanium dioxide (TiO2) can be enhanced by extending its light absorption and photocatalytic capability from ultra-violet to the visible range through hydrogenation. In this work, we aim at studying the impact of hydrogenation on the performance of both electron beam-deposited TiO2 thin films and hydrothermally grown TiO2 nanostructures on titanium substrates. Hydrogenation of these TiO2-deposited titanium substrates (TiO2/Ti) are achieved in relatively low-temperature low-pressure chemical vapor deposition chamber without any noble diatomic hydrogen dissociation catalyst, such as platinum. Our study shows that these hydrogenated TiO2/Ti have better light absorption ability and the titanium substrate itself serves as the active catalyst for hydrogen dissociation and diffusion. By applying hydrogenation to the TiO2 nanostructures, we can enhance photocatalytic performance by 50% through methylene blue degradation experiments. We have also evaluated the effect of hydrogenation on carrier density and mobility in TiO2/Ti. We recommend the hydrogenation of hydrothermally grown TiO2 nanostructure on titanium substrates for scalable photocatalytic applications.

Mean curvature-based image registration model firstly proposed by Chumchob-Chen-Brito (2011) offered a better regularizer technique for both smooth and nonsmooth deformation fields. However, it is extremely challenging to solve efficiently this model and the existing methods are slow or become efficient only with strong assumptions on the smoothing parameter β. In this paper, we take a different solution approach. Firstly, we discretize the joint energy functional, following an idea of relaxed fixed point is implemented and combine with Gauss-Newton scheme with Armijo's Linear Search for solving the discretized mean curvature model and further to combine with a multilevel method to achieve fast convergence. Numerical experiments not only confirm that our proposed method is efficient and stable, but also it can give more satisfying registration results according to image quality.

TiO2 nanofibers (TNFs) with different anatase/rutile phase ratios were fabricated using electrospinning technique followed by the annealing at different temperatures. The effect of annealing temperatures on their morphology, structural, and optical properties and photocatalytic activity was investigated. The photocatalytic performance of TNFs was evaluated by degradation of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solution under the irradiation of simulated solar light. Annealing temperature significantly influenced photocatalytic degradation of MO due to the incorporation of rutile phase which suppresses recombination of photoactivated electron and hole pairs. Turnover frequency (TOF) of MO degradation was introduced to describe the intrinsic activity of TNFs. TNFs acquired best anatase/rutile phase ratio (A/R = 83/17) when annealed at 650 °C, resulting in highest TOF value 2394 h−1, two times higher as compared to P25 with similar anatase/rutile phase ratio (A/R = 85/15). Appropriate crystalline structure could be the reason for good photocatalytic activity as well as intrinsic activity of TNFs.

Ice algae have successfully adapted to the extreme environmental conditions in the Antarctic, however the underlying mechanisms involved in the regulation and response of thylakoid membranes and chloroplast to low-temperature stress are still not well understood. In this study, changes in pigment concentrations, lipids, fatty acids and pigment protein complexes in thylakoid membranes and chloroplast after exposure to low temperature conditions were investigated using the Antarctic ice algae Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L. Results showed that the chloroplasts of Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L are distributed throughout the cell except in the nuclear region in the form of thylakoid lamellas which exists in the gap between organelles and the starch granules. Also, the structure of mitochondria has no obvious change after cold stress. Concentrations of Chl a, Chl b, monogalactosyl diacylglycerol, digalactosyl diacylglycerol and fatty acids were also observed to exhibit changes with temperature, suggesting possible adaptations to cold environments. The light harvesting complex, lutein and β-carotene played an important role for adaptation of ICE-L, and increasing of monogalactosyl diacylglycerol and digalactosyl diacylglycerol improved the overall degree of unsaturation of thylakoid membranes, thereby maintaining liquidity of thylakoid membranes. The pigments, lipids, fatty acids and pigment-protein complexes maintained the stability of the thylakoid membranes and the normal physiological function of Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L.

Two new Primulina species with yellow flowers, Primulina versicolor F.Wen, B.Pan & B.M.Wang and P. alutacea F.Wen, B.Pan & B.M.Wang (Gesneriaceae), from Guangdong, China are described and illustrated.

The selection of young stellar objects (YSOs) based on excess emission in the infrared is easily contaminated by post-main-sequence stars and various types of emission line stars with similar properties. We define in this paper stringent criteria for an efficient selection and classification of stellar sources with infrared excess emission based on combined Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) and AKARI colors.

In order to understand the star formation process under the influence of H ii regions, we have carried out extensive investigations to well selected star-forming regions which all have been profoundly affected by existing massive O type stars. On the basis of multi-wavelength data from mid-infrared to millimeter collected using Spitzer, Herschel, and ground based radio telescopes, the physical status of interstellar medium and star formation in these regions have been revealed. In a relatively large infrared dust bubble, active star formation is undergoing and the shell is still expanding. Signs of compressed gas and triggered star formation have been tentatively detected in a relatively small bubble. The dense cores in the Rosette Molecular Complex detected at 1.1 mm using SMA have been speculated to have a likely triggered origin according to their spatial distribution. Although some observational results have been obtained, more efforts are necessary to reach trustworthy conclusions.

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated inconsistent associations between tea consumption and mortality of all cancers, CVD and all causes. To obtain quantitative overall estimates, we conducted a dose–response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. A literature search in PubMed and Embase up to April 2015 was conducted for all relevant papers published. Random-effects models were used to calculate pooled relative risks (RR) with 95 % CI. In eighteen prospective studies, there were 12 221, 11 306 and 55 528 deaths from all cancers, CVD and all causes, respectively. For all cancer mortality, the summary RR for the highest v. lowest category of green tea and black tea consumption were 1·06 (95 % CI 0·98, 1·15) and 0·79 (95 % CI 0·65, 0·97), respectively. For CVD mortality, the summary RR for the highest v. lowest category of green tea and black tea consumption were 0·67 (95 % CI 0·46, 0·96) and 0·88 (95 % CI 0·77, 1·01), respectively. For all-cause mortality, the summary RR for the highest v. lowest category of green tea and black tea consumption were 0·80 (95 % CI 0·68, 0·93) and 0·90 (95 % CI 0·83, 0·98), respectively. The dose–response analysis indicated that one cup per d increment of green tea consumption was associated with 5 % lower risk of CVD mortality and with 4 % lower risk of all-cause mortality. Green tea consumption was significantly inversely associated with CVD and all-cause mortality, whereas black tea consumption was significantly inversely associated with all cancer and all-cause mortality.

Few studies have explored the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Evidence from non-Western areas is particularly lacking. In the present study, we aimed to examine the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of GDM in a Chinese population. A total of 3063 pregnant Chinese women from an ongoing prospective cohort study were included. Data on dietary intake were collected using a FFQ at 24–27 weeks of gestation. GDM was diagnosed using a 75 g, 2 h oral glucose tolerance test. Dietary patterns were determined by principal components factor analysis. A log-binomial regression model was used to examine the associations between dietary pattern and the risk of GDM. The analysis identified four dietary patterns: vegetable pattern; protein-rich pattern; prudent pattern; sweets and seafood pattern. Multivariate analysis showed that the highest tertile of the vegetable pattern was associated with a decreased risk of GDM (relative risk (RR) 0·79, 95 % CI 0·64, 0·97), compared with the lowest tertile, whereas the highest tertile of the sweets and seafood pattern was associated with an increased risk of GDM (RR 1·23, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·49). No significant association was found for either the protein-rich or the prudent pattern. The protective effect of a high vegetable pattern score was more evident among women who had a family history of diabetes (P for interaction = 0·022). These findings suggest that the vegetable pattern was associated with a decreased risk of GDM, while the sweets and seafood pattern was associated with an increased risk of GDM. These findings may be useful in dietary counselling during pregnancy.

To eliminate the impact of the Doppler effects caused by the motion of the Mars explorer, a novel X-ray pulsar navigation method based on a closed-loop filter is proposed. In the pulsar signal observation period, the Doppler velocity predicted by the orbit dynamic model and the prior information is utilised to compensate the X-ray photon time-of-arrival (TOA). However, because of the error in prior information, there is a bias caused by the Doppler compensation in the pulse time-of-arrival. The pulse TOA bias and the Mars explorer's state estimation error are correlated, which results in the decline of the Kalman filter performance. To deal with this problem, we build the TOA measurement model with respect to the state estimation error, and utilise the closed-loop extended Kalman filter (EKF) as the navigation filter, where the predicted state error is adopted as the state estimation. The simulation results demonstrate the feasibility, real-timeliness and effectiveness of the proposed navigation method. The navigation method based on the closed-loop EKF using the measurement model with the Doppler effects is more accurate than the traditional one.