In order to gain a better understanding of clay and Fe (oxyhydr)oxide minerals formed during pedogenesis of basalts in tropical monsoonal Hainan (southern China), a basalt-derived lateritic soil at Nanyang, Hainan, was investigated comprehensively. The results show that the lateritic regolith consists uniformly of kaolinite and Fe (oxyhydr)oxide minerals, with trace gibbsite only in the AE horizon. Abundant dioctahedral smectite in the basalt bedrock formed due to primary hydrothermal alteration, and transformed to kaolinite rapidly in the highly weathering saprolite horizon. The ‘crystallinity’ of kaolinite is notably low and its Hinckley index fluctuates along the soil profile, resulting from intense ferrolysis due to fluctuations between wet/dry climate conditions. From the base to the top of the profile, maghemite shows a decreasing trend, whereas magnetite, hematite, and goethite exhibit a slightly increasing trend, indicating that maghemite formed as an initial product of basalt weathering. Formation of Fe (oxyhydr)oxide species in basalt-derived soil is mainly controlled by local environmental conditions such as soil moisture, redox, and acidic conditions; thus, iron mineral-based paleoclimatic proxies could not be used for subtropical to tropical soils. The highly weathered saprolite has a similar δ56Fe value (+0.06‰) to that (+0.07‰) of the parent rock, while the AE to middle E horizons have greater δ56Fe values of +0.12‰ to +0.19‰. Fe isotopic signatures correlate positively with the Fe mass transfer coefficient (R2=0.77, n=6, ρ<0.05), indicating repetitive weathering and relative accumulation of isotopically heavier Fe in the upper soil horizons, which occurred by reductive dissolution of organic matter under oxic conditions, as reflected by the greater U/Th.

Deep learning (DL) has been widely used in bearing fault diagnosis. In particular, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) improve diagnosis accuracy by extracting excellent fault features. However, CNN lacks an explicit learning mechanism to distinguish between different fault characteristics in the input signal to the diagnosis results. This article presents a new end-to-end depth framework called multi-head self-attention convolution neural network (MSA-CNN) for bearing fault diagnosis. Firstly, we adopt a data pre-processing method that directly converts one-dimensional (1D) original signals into two-dimensional (2D) grayscale images, which is simple to implement and preserves the complete information of the original signal. Secondly, multi-head self-attention (MSA) is first constructed to aggregate the global information and adaptively assign weights to the input signal's features. Thirdly, the CNN with small-scale kernels extracted detailed local features. Finally, the learned high-level representations are fed into the full connect (FC) layer for fault diagnosis. The performance of the MSA-CNN is validated on different datasets. The results show that the proposed MSA-CNN can significantly improve fault diagnosis accuracy compared with the other state-of-the-art methods and has excellent noise immunity performance.

This paper retrospectively analysed the prevalence of macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MRMP) in some parts of China. Between January 2013 and December 2019, we collected 4,145 respiratory samples, including pharyngeal swabs and alveolar lavage fluid. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in Beijing, the highest resistance rate was 100% in Shanghai, and Gansu was the lowest with 20%. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in 2013, and the highest MRMP was 97.4% in 2019; the PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae for adults in Beijing was 17.9% and the MRMP was 10.48%. Among the children diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), the PCR-positive and macrolide-resistant rates of M. pneumoniae were both higher in the severe ones. A2063G in domain V of 23S rRNA was the major macrolide-resistant mutation, accounting for more than 90%. The MIC values of all MRMP to erythromycin and azithromycin were ≥ 64 μg/ml, and the MICs of tetracycline and levofloxacin were ≤ 0.5 μg/ml and ≤ 1 μg/ml, respectively. The macrolide resistance varied in different regions and years. Among inpatients, the macrolide-resistant rate was higher in severe pneumonia. A2063G was the common mutation, and we found no resistance to tetracycline and levofloxacin.

The classification of internet gaming disorder (IGD) as a mental condition for further study in 2013 marked the emerging recognition of potential mental health issues associated with internet and gaming addiction. The COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid growth of gaming technology have combined to increase internet gaming, resulting in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, poor sleep quality and psychological distress. Identifying the complex interplay between internet problem use, sleep disorders and psychological distress is crucial. However, it remains unclear how physical activity and self-compassion could improve sleep quality when individuals experience IGD symptoms. The current study, therefore, examined the relationships between IGD, sleep quality, self-compassion, physical activity and psychological distress using a path analysis approach. The study, targeting young adults (N = 283), found that physical activity played a significant role in connecting the variables and supporting the overall fit of the model. The results suggest that interventions targeting individuals with IGD should focus on promoting physical activity participation and developing self-compassion. Future research should continue to investigate the effectiveness of clinical interventions that incorporate self-compassion and physical activity counseling for individuals with IGD.

In this paper, we study the singular boundary value problem

$$ \begin{align*} \begin{cases} \Delta_\infty^h u=\lambda f(x,u,Du) \quad &\mathrm{in}\; \Omega, \\ u>0\quad &\mathrm{in}\; \Omega,\\ u=0 \quad &\mathrm{on} \;\partial\Omega, \end{cases} \end{align*} $$

where $\lambda>0$ is a parameter, $h>1$ and $\Delta _\infty ^h u=|Du|^{h-3} \langle D^2uDu,Du \rangle $ is the highly degenerate and h-homogeneous operator related to the infinity Laplacian. The nonlinear term $f(x,t,p):\Omega \times (0,\infty )\times \mathbb {R}^{n}\rightarrow \mathbb {R}$ is a continuous function and may exhibit singularity at $t\rightarrow 0^{+}$. We establish the comparison principle by the double variables method for the general equation $\Delta _\infty ^h u=F(x,u,Du)$ under some conditions on the term $F(x,t,p)$. Then, we establish the existence of viscosity solutions to the singular boundary value problem in a bounded domain based on Perron’s method and the comparison principle. Finally, we obtain the existence result in the entire Euclidean space by the approximation procedure. In this procedure, we also establish the local Lipschitz continuity of the viscosity solution.

We investigate how directors’ positions within board interlocking networks influence their monitoring behaviors from a social network perspective. We argue that the effectiveness of directors’ monitoring of a firm's management depends on their ability to overcome the information barrier and their motivation to develop a public reputation in the directorship market. We further contend that network centrality can supplement directors’ existing information set and facilitate reputation spillover, leading to an increase in the extent of their dissent on boards. We analyze the unique individual-director-level data of Chinese firms and find that directors occupying positions of greater centrality in the board interlock network are more likely to dissent. We then examine the underlying mechanisms of information and reputation through two moderators: firm transparency and media mention of a director. We also find that the effect of network centrality on dissent is weaker for independent directors. Our study advances the corporate governance literature by examining the micro-foundations of board monitoring and providing a social network perspective.

Seven accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dates (7260±106∼7607±95 BP averaged 7444±103 BP) on a giant oyster shell, collected from an ancient shore of the Taipei Basin, are similar to the LSC (liquid scintillation counting) 14C age (7260±46 BP) of a grass sample inside the shell. The calibrated 14C ages of the C. gigas by Marine20 are 7490±240∼7805±230 cal BP (average 7660±96 cal BP), generally agreed with the calibrated LSC 14C ages of the grass and the oyster shell. Combined with other 14C ages of shoreline samples in the Taipei Basin, it is evident that sea level rose from 8600 to 7600 cal BP and reached a stand higher than modern sea level. During this marine transgression, the sedimentation rate along the shoreline was very high because 14C dating was not able to detect age differences for 4–5 m thick sediment sequences. Sixty-nine analyses of δ18O and δ13C from the oldest part of the shell exhibit clear seasonal cycles, with a 4-year period of growth in the 5.5-cm section. According to the δ18O values, the ancient oyster grew in a warmer-than-present shoreline environment, suggesting that the current absence of the giant oyster in Taiwan is not due to warming conditions.

Few studies have evaluated the joint effect of trace elements on spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB). This study aimed to examine the relationships between the individual or mixed maternal serum concentrations of Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, Sr and Mo during pregnancy, and risk of SPTB. Inductively coupled plasma MS was employed to determine maternal serum concentrations of the six trace elements in 192 cases with SPTB and 282 controls with full-term delivery. Multivariate logistic regression, weighted quantile sum regression (WQSR) and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used to evaluate the individual and joint effects of trace elements on SPTB. The median concentrations of Sr and Mo were significantly higher in controls than in SPTB group (P < 0·05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, compared with the lowest quartile levels of individual trace elements, the third- and fourth-quartile Sr or Mo concentrations were significantly associated with reduced risk of SPTB with adjusted OR (aOR) of 0·432 (95 CI < 0·05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, compared with the lowest quartile levels of individual trace elements, the third- and fourth-quartile Sr or Mo concentrations were significantly associated with reduced risk of SPTB with adjusted aOR of 0·432 (95 % CI 0·247, 0·756), 0·386 (95 % CI 0·213, 0·701), 0·512 (95 % CI 0·297, 0·883) and 0·559 (95 % CI 0·321, 0·972), respectively. WQSR revealed the inverse combined effect of the trace elements mixture on SPTB (aOR = 0·368, 95 % CI 0·228, 0·593). BKMR analysis confirmed the overall mixture of the trace elements was inversely associated with the risk of SPTB, and the independent effect of Sr and Mo was significant. Our findings suggest that the risk of SPTB decreased with concentrations of the six trace elements, with Sr and Mo being the major contributors.

Primary aldosteronism is the most common form of secondary hypertension, and aldosteronoma makes up a significant proportion of primary aldosteronism cases. Aldosteronoma is also called aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA). Although there have been many studies about APA, the pathogenesis of this disease is not yet fully understood. In this study, we aimed to find out the difference of gene expression patterns between APA and nonfunctional adrenocortical adenoma (NFAA) using a weighted gene coexpression network (WGCNA) and differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis; only the genes that meet the corresponding standards of both methods were defined as real hub genes and then used for further analysis. Twenty-nine real hub genes were found out, most of which were enriched in the phospholipid metabolic process. WISP2, S100A10, SSTR5-AS1, SLC29A1, APOC1, and SLITRK4 are six real hub genes with the same gene expression pattern between the combined and validation datasets, three of which indirectly or directly participate in lipid metabolism including WISP2, S100A10, and APOC1. According to the gene expression pattern of DEGs, we speculated five candidate drugs with potential therapeutic value for APA, one of which is cycloheximide, an inhibitor for phospholipid biosynthesis. All the evidence suggests that phospholipid metabolism may be an important pathophysiological mechanism for APA. Our study provides a new perspective regarding the pathophysiological mechanism of APA and offers some small molecules that may possibly be effective drugs against APA.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic musculoskeletal disease affecting approximately 500 million people worldwide. Globally, OA is one of the most common and leading causes of disability. Several genetic factors are involved in OA, including inherited genes, genetic susceptibility, and genetic predisposition. As the pathogenesis of OA is unknown, there are almost no effective treatments available to prevent the onset or progression of the disease. In recent years, many researchers focused on bioinformatics analysis to explore new biomarkers for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of human diseases. In this work, we obtain the traditional RNA sequencing data of OA patients from the GEO database. By performing the differentially expressed analysis, we successfully obtain the genes that are closely associated with the OA. In addition, the Venn diagram was applied to evaluate the genes that are involved in OA and immune-related genes. The protein-protein interaction analysis was further conducted to explore the hub genes. The single-cell RNA sequencing analysis was used to evaluate the expression distribution of the MMP, VEGFA, SPI1, and IRF8 in synovial tissues of patients with osteoarthritis. Finally, the GSVA enrichment analysis discovered the potential pathways involved in OA patients. Our analysis provides a new direction for the exploration of the process of OA patients. In addition, VEGFA may be considered a promising biomarker in OA.

The role of Mn oxide in the abiotic formation of humic substances has been well demonstrated. However, information on the effect of crystal structure and surface-chemical characteristics of Mn oxide on this process is limited. In the present study, hexagonal and triclinic birnessites, synthesized in acidic and alkali media, were used to study the influence of the crystal-structure properties of birnessites on the oxidative polymerization of hydroquinone and to elucidate the catalytic mechanism of birnessites in the abiotic formation of humic-like polymers in hydroquinone-birnessite systems. The intermediate and final products formed in solution and solid-residue phases were identified by UV/Visible spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectrometry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, solid-phase microextraction-gaschromatography-mas ss pectrometry, ion chromatography, and ultrafiltration. The degree of oxidative polymerization of hydroquinone wasenhanced with increase in the interlayer hydrated H+, the average oxidation state (AOS), and the specific surface area of birnessites. The nature of the functional groups of the humic-like polymers formed was, however, almost identical when hydroquinone was catalyzed by hexagonal and triclinic birnessites with similar AOS of Mn. The results indicated that crystal structure and surface-chemistry characteristics have significant influence on the oxidative activity of birnessites and the degree of polymerization of hydroquinone, but have little effect on the abiotic formation mechanism of humic-like polymers. The proposed oxidative polymerization pathway for hydroquinone isthat, asit approachesthe birnessite, it formsp recursor surface complexes. Asa strong oxidant, birnessite accepts an electron from hydroquinone, which is oxidized to 1,4-benzoquinone. The coupling, cleavage, polymerization, and decarboxylation reactionsaccompany the generation of 1,4-benzoquinone, lead to the release of CO2 and carboxylic acid fragments, the generation of rhodochrosite, and the ultimate formation of humic-like polymers. These findings are of fundamental significance in understanding the catalytic role of birnessite and the mechanism for the abiotic formation of humic substances in nature.

Gray-black kaolinitic claystones of industrial value are abundant in Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian coal-bearing strata of the Datong Coalfield of northern China. The main types are tonsteins and cryptocrystalline kaolinitic claystones, distinguished by the thinness and greater crystallinity of kaolinite in the former and by the presence of detrital illite and authigenic pyrite in the latter. In order to determine the formation history of these two types of kaolinitic claystone, the petrological, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of borehole samples from the Upper Carboniferous Taiyuan Formation which comprises siliciclastics and coal seams deposited in a coastal environment, were analyzed. In addition to kaolinite, the claystones contain subordinate illite, quartz, pyrite, anatase, feldspar, siderite, and calcite. The tonsteins and cryptocrystalline kaolinitic claystones have different sources, as shown by petrographic data, elemental ratios, and chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns. The volcanic origin of the tonsteins is revealed by an abundance of volcanic quartz and vitric fragments as well as Al2O3/TiO2, Zr/Hf, and Nb/Ta ratios consistent with a felsic igneous source. Their REE fraction was derived from feldspars or micas of the parent rocks, and the fraction decreased with alteration of these minerals to kaolinite. The sedimentary origin of the cryptocrystalline kaolinitic claystones is revealed by an abundance of detrital quartz and illite grains derived from either granite or sedimentary upper crust, and by the total REE contents (ΣREE) and (La/Yb)N values which are consistent with granitic material. Their depositional environment was in a transitional (coastal) setting (as shown by intermediate Sr/Ba ratios) hosting an open acidic hydrologic system (as shown by high chemical index of alteration (CIA) values indicative of intensive chemical weathering) that was suboxic to anoxic (as shown by high U/Th ratios and trace-metal enrichment factors). The present chemistry of these claystones was thus controlled by a combination of parent rock type and diagenetic alteration.

This study aimed to investigate the structural and metabolic changes in cumulus cells of underweight women and their effects on oocyte maturation and fertilization. The cytoplasmic ultrastructure was analyzed by electron microscopy, mitochondrial membrane potential by immunofluorescence, and mitochondrial DNA copy number by relative quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The expression of various proteins including the oxidative stress-derived product 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) and autophagy and apoptosis markers such as Vps34, Atg-5, Beclin 1, Lc3-I, II, Bax, and Bcl-2 was assessed and compared between groups. Oocyte maturation and fertilization rates were lower in underweight women (P < 0.05), who presented with cumulus cells showing abnormal mitochondrial morphology and increased cell autophagy. Compared with the mitochondrial DNA copies of the control group, those of the underweight group increased but not significantly. The mitochondrial membrane potential was similar between the groups (P = 0.8). Vps34, Atg-5, Lc3-II, Bax, and Bcl-2 expression and 4-HNE levels were higher in the underweight group compared with the control group (P < 0.01); however, the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio was lower in the underweight group compared with the control group (P = 0.031). Additionally, Beclin 1 protein levels were higher in the underweight group compared with the control group but without statistical significance. In conclusion, malnutrition and other conditions in underweight women may adversely affect ovulation, and the development, and fertilization of oocytes resulting from changes to the intracellular structure of cumulus cells and metabolic processes. These changes may lead to reduced fertility or unsatisfactory reproduction outcomes in women.

We investigated experimentally the settling behaviour of vertically aligned spherical particles within various quiescent media at different release frequencies. The particles had a diameter of $d = 4$ mm and density of $\rho _s = 2200$ kg m$^{-3}$, and were released near the free surface of water, ethanol, a G60 water–glycerine mixture (60 % glycerine by weight) and oil media at frequencies of $f_P = 4$, 6 and 8 Hz, thereby allowing study of Galileo numbers, $Ga \in [16, 976]$. Particle tracking velocimetry quantified the motion of nearly 800 particles in a 600 mm high tank, and particle image velocimetry examined flow patterns around the particles. Results revealed that the centre of mass of the particle trajectories exhibited preferential in-plane motions, with significant lateral dispersion and large $Ga$ in water and ethanol, and nearly vertical paths with low $Ga$ in the G60 mixture and oil media. Varying degrees of particle separation resulted in higher terminal velocities than for a single particle. Hence, particle drag decreased in all cases, with the oil medium showing the highest drag reduction under the closest particle separation, reaching up to nearly 70 % of that for the single particle. The vertical and lateral pair dispersions, $R^2_z$ and $R^2_L$, exhibited ballistic scaling, with dependences on the initial separation, $r_0$, and the type of medium. With large $Ga$, $R^2_z$ displayed a ballistic regime followed by a slower rate, whereas with small $Ga$, $R^2_z$ maintained a consistent ballistic regime throughout settling. Finally, normalized $R^2_z$ demonstrated distinct scaling (exponent 2/3 and 1) dependent on the normalized initial separation and $Ga$.

The aims of this study were to examine the spillover effects of violent attacks, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) exposure, and their interactions on health professionals’ mental health, and the role of organizational support in their relationships in China. A two-phase survey data (n = 10,901) before and after the first outbreak of COVID-19 was integrated with regional macro data on the number of lawsuit cases of violent attacks and COVID-19 cases. Three studies were designed to isolate the general spillover impact of violent attacks on the mental health of health professionals, how COVID-19 affects the mental health of health professionals, and whether organizational support moderates the relationship between violent attacks and mental health through econometric regressions. Violent attacks and COVID-19 are negatively associated with the mental health of health professionals, and the outbreak of COVID-19 adversely deteriorates the spillover effects of violent attacks. Physicians, not nurses, are the most affected group. Better perceived support from hospitals can significantly mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19, violent attacks, and their interactions on the mental health of health professionals. COVID-19 deteriorates the adverse effects of violent attacks on the mental health of health professionals, while better organizational support is helpful to mitigate these effects.

REAP-2 is an interactive dose-response curve estimation tool for Robust and Efficient Assessment of drug Potency. It provides user-friendly dose-response curve estimation for in vitro studies and conducts statistical testing for model comparisons with a redesigned user interface. We also make a major update of the underlying estimation method with penalized beta regression, which demonstrates great reliability and accuracy in dose estimation and uncertainty quantification. In this note, we describe the method and implementation of REAP-2 with a highlight on potency estimation and drug comparison.

A set of vertices in a graph is a Hamiltonian subset if it induces a subgraph containing a Hamiltonian cycle. Kim, Liu, Sharifzadeh, and Staden proved that for large $d$, among all graphs with minimum degree $d$, $K_{d+1}$ minimises the number of Hamiltonian subsets. We prove a near optimal lower bound that takes also the order and the structure of a graph into account. For many natural graph classes, it provides a much better bound than the extremal one ($\approx 2^{d+1}$). Among others, our bound implies that an $n$-vertex $C_4$-free graph with minimum degree $d$ contains at least $n2^{d^{2-o(1)}}$ Hamiltonian subsets.