The production and industrial use of asbestos cement and other asbestos-containing materials have been restricted in most countries because of the potential detrimental effects on human health and the environment. Chrysotile is the most common form of asbestos and investigations into how to recycle this serpentine phyllosilicate mineral have attracted extensive attention. Chrysotile asbestos tailings can be transformed thermally, at high temperature, by in situ carbothermal reduction (CR). The CR method aims to maximize use of the chrysotile available and uses high temperatures and carbon to change the mineral form and structure of the chrysotile asbestos tailings. When chrysotile asbestos is employed as the raw material and coke (carbon) powder is used as the reducing agent for CR transformation, stable, high-temperature composites consisting of forsterite, stishovite, and silicon carbide are formed. Forsterite (Mg2SiO4) was the most abundant crystalline phase formed in samples heat treated below 1500ºC. At 1600ºC, forsterite was exhausted through decomposition and β-SiC formed by reduction of stishovite. A larger proportion of β-SiC was generated as the carbon content was increased. This research revealed that both temperature and carbon addition play key roles in the transformation of chrysotile asbestos tailings.

The clinical significance and potential targets of miR-150-5p have not been elucidated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The pooled analysis based on 539 NPC samples and 75 non-NPC nasopharyngeal samples demonstrated that the expression of miR-150-5p was down-regulated in NPC, with the area under the curve being 0.89 and the standardized mean difference being −0.66. Subsequently, we further screened the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of 14 datasets, including 312 NPC samples and 70 non-NPC nasopharyngeal samples. After the DEGs were narrowed down with the predicted targets from the miRWalk database, 1316 prospective target genes of miR-150-5p were identified. The enrichment analysis suggested that “pathways in cancer” was the most significant pathway. Finally, six hub genes of “pathways in cancer”, including EGFR, TP53, HRAS, CCND1, CDH1, and FGF2, were screened out through the STRING database. In conclusion, the down-regulation of miR-150-5p modulates the tumorigenesis and progression of NPC.

Background. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most prevalent malignant tumor of the lung cancer, for which the molecular mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we identified novel biomarkers associated with the pathogenesis of NSCLC aiming to provide new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for NSCLC by bioinformatics analysis. Methods. From the Gene Expression Omnibus database, GSE118370 and GSE10072 microarray datasets were obtained. Identifying the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between lung adenocarcinoma and normal samples was done. By using bioinformatics tools, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, modules were analyzed, and enrichment analyses were performed. The expression and prognostic values of 14 hub genes were validated by the GEPIA database, and the correlation between hub genes and survival in lung adenocarcinoma was assessed by UALCAN, cBioPortal, String and Cytoscape, and Timer tools. Results. We found three genes (PIK3R1, SPP1, and PECAM1) that have a clear correlation with OS in the lung adenocarcinoma patient. It has been found that lung adenocarcinoma exhibits high expression of SPP1 and that this has been associated with poor prognosis, while low expression of PECAM1 and PIK3R1 is associated with poor prognosis (P < 0.05). We also found that the expression of SPP1 was associated with miR-146a-5p, while the high expression of miR-146a-5p was related to good prognosis (P < 0.05). On the contrary, the lower miR-21-5p on upstream of PIK3R1 is associated with a higher surviving rate in cancer patients (P < 0.05). Finally, we found that the immune checkpoint genes CD274(PD-L1) and PDCD1LG2(PD-1) were also related to SPP1 in lung adenocarcinoma. Conclusions. The results indicated that SPP1 is a cancer promoter (oncogene), while PECAM1 and PIK3R1 are cancer suppressor genes. These genes take part in the regulation of biological activities in lung adenocarcinoma, which provides a basis for improving detection and immunotherapeutic targets for lung adenocarcinoma.

This paper is devoted to the study of the propagation dynamics of a mutualistic model of mistletoes and birds with nonlocal dispersal. By applying the theory of asymptotic speeds of spread and travelling waves for monotone semiflows, we establish the existence of the asymptotic spreading speed $c^*$, the existence of travelling wavefronts with the wave speed $c\ge c^*$ and the nonexistence of travelling wavefronts with $c\lt c^*$. It turns out that the spreading speed coincides with the minimal wave speed of travelling wavefronts. Moreover, some lower and upper bound estimates of the spreading speed $c^*$ are provided.

The global transition towards diets high in calories has contributed to 2.1 billion people becoming overweight, or obese, which damages male reproduction and harms offspring. Recently, more and more studies have shown that paternal exposure to stress closely affects the health of offspring in an intergenerational and transgenerational way. SET Domain Containing 2 (SETD2), a key epigenetic gene, is highly conserved among species, is a crucial methyltransferase for converting histone 3 lysine 36 dimethylation (H3K36me2) into histone 3 lysine 36 trimethylation (H3K36me3), and plays an important regulator in the response to stress. In this study, we compared patterns of SETD2 expression and the H3K36me3 pattern in pre-implantation embryos derived from normal or obese mice induced by high diet. The results showed that SETD2 mRNA was significantly higher in the high-fat diet (HFD) group than the control diet (CD) group at the 2-cell, 4-cell, 8-cell, and 16-cell stages, and at the morula and blastocyst stages. The relative levels of H3K36me3 in the HFD group at the 2-cell, 4-cell, 8-cell, 16-cell, morula stage, and blastocyst stage were significantly higher than in the CD group. These results indicated that dietary changes in parental generation (F0) male mice fed a HFD were traceable in SETD2/H3K36me3 in embryos, and that a paternal high-fat diet brings about adverse effects for offspring that might be related to SETD2/H3K36me3, which throws new light on the effect of paternal obesity on offspring from an epigenetic perspective.

This study aimed to investigate the optimal frozen embryo transfer (FET) strategy for recurrent implantation failure (RIF) patients with three consecutive failed cleaved embryo implantations and no blastocyst preservation. This retrospective analysis was divided into three groups based on the FET strategy: thawed day 3 embryo transfer (D3 FET group); and extended culture of frozen–thawed day 3 embryos to day 5 blastocysts transfer (D3–D5 FET group); thawed blastocyst transfer (D5 FET group). Transplant cycle data were compared between the three groups. In total, 43.8% of vitrified–thawed cleavage embryos developed into blastocysts. Analysis of the three transplantation strategies showed that, compared with the D3 FET group, D3–D5 had a significantly better hCG-positivity rate and live-birth rate (P < 0.05). Pregnancy outcomes in the D3–D5 FET group and D5 FET group were similar regarding hCG-positivity rate, implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, and live-birth rate. Our findings propose two potentially valuable transfer strategies for patients experiencing repeated implantation failures. The D3–D5 FET approach presents a greater potential for selecting promising embryos in cases without blastocyst preservation; however, this strategy does entail the risk of cycle cancellation. Conversely, in instances where blastocyst preservation is an option, prioritizing consideration of the D5 FET strategy is recommended.

We test the signaling view of corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement using two complementary quasi-natural experiments that impose exogenous negative pressure on stock prices. Firms under such adverse price pressure increase CSR activities compared to otherwise similar firms. This effect concentrates among firms with stronger signaling incentives, namely, those facing greater information asymmetry, more product market competition, higher shareholder litigation risk, and higher stock price crash risk. Firms under the exogenous negative price pressure mainly improve CSR strengths, including costly environmental investments. We also find that CSR engagement attracts socially responsible investors and lowers the cost of capital for signaling firms.

High-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) contribute to dough elasticity and bread baking quality in wheat. In this study, wheat varieties were classified based on their HMW-GS composition into three groups: 1Dx5 (5 + 10, Gaoyou 8901, Xinmai 28, Xinmai 19, Xinmai 26 and Jinbaoyin), 1Dx2 (2 + 12, Zhoumai 24, Xinmai 9 and Yumai) and 1Dx4 (4 + 12, Aikang 58). Sequence analysis showed that 1Dx-GY8901, 1Dx-XM28, 1Dx-XM19 and 1Dx-XM26 were similar to the 1Dx5 gene and clustered on the same branch, while 1Dx-AK58, 1Dx-ZM24, 1Dx-JBY, 1Dx-YM, 1Dx-XM9 and 1Dx-JBY were more similar to the 1Dx2 gene and clustered on the same branch with 1Dx.2.2. There was a mutation of Ser to Cys at position S2, for an extra Cys in the repeat regions of 1Dx-XM19, 1Dx-XM26, 1Dx-XM28 and 1Dx-GY8901. The wheat HMW-GS genes exhibited similar percentages of α-helix, extended strand, β-turn and random coil structure, with ranges of 13.33–13.59, 4.77–5.78, 7.08–9.18 and 72.3–73.94%, respectively. Sequence conservation and the composition of HMW-GS subunits were also analysed for a series of strong gluten wheat varieties, Xinmai 9 (1, 7 + 8, 2 + 12), Xinmai 19 (1, 7 + 9, 5 + 10), Xinmai 26 (1, 7 + 8, 5 + 10) and Xinmai 28 (1, 7 + 9, 5 + 10). The results of this work should facilitate future breeding efforts and provide the theoretical basis for wheat quality improvement.

The accurate prediction of turbulent mixing induced by Rayleigh–Taylor (R–T), Richtmyer–Meshkov (R–M) and Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) instabilities is very important in understanding natural phenomena and improving engineering applications. In applications, the prediction of mixing with the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equation remains the most widely used method. The RANS method involves two aspects, i.e. physical modelling and model coefficients. Generally, the latter is determined empirically; thus, there is a lack of universality. In this paper, inspired by the well-known Reynolds decomposition, we propose a methodology to determine the model coefficients with the following three steps: (i) preset a set of analytical RANS solutions by fully using the knowledge of mixing evolutions; (ii) simplify the differential RANS equations to algebraic equations by imposing the preset solutions to RANS equations; (iii) solve the algebraic equations approximately to give the values of the entire model coefficients. The specific application of this methodology in the widely used K–L mixing model shows that, using the same set of model coefficients determined from the current methodology, the K–L model successfully predicts the mixing evolutions in terms of different physical quantities (e.g. temporal scalings and spatial profiles), density ratios and problems (e.g. R–T, R–M, K–H and reshocked R–M mixings). It is possible to extend this methodology to other turbulence models characterised with self-similar evolutions, such as K-$\epsilon$ mixing models.

Most skarns are found near the pluton or in lithologies containing at least some limestone. However, recent research has shown that neither a pluton nor limestone is necessarily required to form a skarn deposit. The newly discovered Bagenheigeqier Pb–Zn skarn deposit is located in NE China. The skarn and Pb–Zn orebodies occur in volcanic lithologies of the Baiyin’gaolao Formation and are controlled by NE–SW-trending faults. The nearest pluton is a granite porphyry, at a distance of 20–250 m from the orebodies. Five paragenetic stages at Bagenheigeqier are recognized: (I) skarn; (II) oxide; (III) early sulphide; (IV) late sulphide; and (V) late quartz–calcite. The fluid inclusions from stages II to V homogenized at temperatures of 402–452, 360–408, 274–319 and 167–212°C, respectively. The hydrogen and oxygen isotope compositions (δ18OH2O, –12.4‰ to +9.3‰; δDH2O, –156.5‰ to –99.1‰) indicate that the ore-fluids were primarily of magmatic origin, with the proportion of meteoric water increasing during the progression of ore formation. Sulphur isotope values (δ34SVCDT, 1.4–5.5‰), lead isotope values (206Pb/204Pb, 18.184–18.717; 207Pb/204Pb, 15.520–15.875; 208Pb/204Pb, 37.991–38.379) and the initial 187Os/188Os ratios of the pyrite (0.307 ± 0.06) suggest that the ore metals were derived from the granite porphyry and Baiyin’gaolao Formation. Re–Os dating of pyrite intergrown with galena and sphalerite yielded a well-constrained isochron age of 151.2 ± 4.7 Ma, which is coeval with the laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry zircon U–Pb age of 154 ± 1 Ma for the granite porphyry. The deposit was therefore formed during Late Jurassic time.

The Chinese Solar and Geophysical Data (CSGD) was first issued at the Beijing Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences (now the headquarter of the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences) in 1971, when China’s satellite-industry was booming. CSGD covers the observational data (observations of the sunspots, solar flares, solar radio bursts, ionospheric storm and geomagnetic storm) from a couple of domestic observatories and the forecast data. The compiler of CSGD still keeps the data exchange with other institutes worldwide. The type of the dataset includes texts, tables, figures and so on. Up to now, we have electronized all the historic archives, making them easily accessible to people who are interested in them.

The objective of the present paper was to review the consumption status of meat and dairy products among Chinese residents. The research topics included production, consumption and health implications of dairy and meat, and the data sources included reports of national surveys, research papers and data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. The average intake of meat, especially pork, has continued to increase in China. Pork intake increased from 37·1 g/d in 1992 to 64·3 g/d in 2012. There was a much higher margin in rural regions; pork intake of rural residents increased from 25·0 g/d in 1992 to 59·9 g/d in 2012, which resulted in a narrowed gap between urban and rural areas. Although the average intake of dairy products increased from 14·9 g/d in 1992 to 24·7 g/d in 2012, the overall level was still lower. There was a significant difference of dairy consumption between urban and rural residents. The gap of per capita consumption of milk between urban and rural households was 3·5 kg/year in 1990, reached the maximum of 16·9 kg/year in 2003, then decreased to 8·7 kg/year in 2012. In conclusion, the finding of this review sheds light on some problems with food consumption patterns in China. Effective strategies need to be adopted in order to change the consumption patterns. The consumption of milk and replacing pork with poultry or fish or other health foods should be encouraged.

We analyzed birth order differences in means and variances of height and body mass index (BMI) in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins from infancy to old age. The data were derived from the international CODATwins database. The total number of height and BMI measures from 0.5 to 79.5 years of age was 397,466. As expected, first-born twins had greater birth weight than second-born twins. With respect to height, first-born twins were slightly taller than second-born twins in childhood. After adjusting the results for birth weight, the birth order differences decreased and were no longer statistically significant. First-born twins had greater BMI than the second-born twins over childhood and adolescence. After adjusting the results for birth weight, birth order was still associated with BMI until 12 years of age. No interaction effect between birth order and zygosity was found. Only limited evidence was found that birth order influenced variances of height or BMI. The results were similar among boys and girls and also in MZ and DZ twins. Overall, the differences in height and BMI between first- and second-born twins were modest even in early childhood, while adjustment for birth weight reduced the birth order differences but did not remove them for BMI.

Beyond the traditional phase conversion or biphase mixing hybrid, we developed the dilute magnesium-doped wollastonite inks and three-dimensional (3D) printing approaches to fabricate the ultrahigh strength bioceramic porous scaffolds. The mechanical strength (>120 MPa) of the porous bioceramics was an order of magnitude higher than the pure wollastonite and other stoichiometric Ca–Mg silicate porous bioceramics. This abnormal but expected improvement in strength in bioceramic scaffolds is equivalent or even superior to the mechanical requirement in load-bearing bone defects. The breakthrough is totally unexpected, and it quickly opens the door for the 3D printing bioceramics manufacture and large-area segmental bone defect repair applications.

A trend toward greater body size in dizygotic (DZ) than in monozygotic (MZ) twins has been suggested by some but not all studies, and this difference may also vary by age. We analyzed zygosity differences in mean values and variances of height and body mass index (BMI) among male and female twins from infancy to old age. Data were derived from an international database of 54 twin cohorts participating in the COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins), and included 842,951 height and BMI measurements from twins aged 1 to 102 years. The results showed that DZ twins were consistently taller than MZ twins, with differences of up to 2.0 cm in childhood and adolescence and up to 0.9 cm in adulthood. Similarly, a greater mean BMI of up to 0.3 kg/m2 in childhood and adolescence and up to 0.2 kg/m2 in adulthood was observed in DZ twins, although the pattern was less consistent. DZ twins presented up to 1.7% greater height and 1.9% greater BMI than MZ twins; these percentage differences were largest in middle and late childhood and decreased with age in both sexes. The variance of height was similar in MZ and DZ twins at most ages. In contrast, the variance of BMI was significantly higher in DZ than in MZ twins, particularly in childhood. In conclusion, DZ twins were generally taller and had greater BMI than MZ twins, but the differences decreased with age in both sexes.

For over 100 years, the genetics of human anthropometric traits has attracted scientific interest. In particular, height and body mass index (BMI, calculated as kg/m2) have been under intensive genetic research. However, it is still largely unknown whether and how heritability estimates vary between human populations. Opportunities to address this question have increased recently because of the establishment of many new twin cohorts and the increasing accumulation of data in established twin cohorts. We started a new research project to analyze systematically (1) the variation of heritability estimates of height, BMI and their trajectories over the life course between birth cohorts, ethnicities and countries, and (2) to study the effects of birth-related factors, education and smoking on these anthropometric traits and whether these effects vary between twin cohorts. We identified 67 twin projects, including both monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins, using various sources. We asked for individual level data on height and weight including repeated measurements, birth related traits, background variables, education and smoking. By the end of 2014, 48 projects participated. Together, we have 893,458 height and weight measures (52% females) from 434,723 twin individuals, including 201,192 complete twin pairs (40% monozygotic, 40% same-sex dizygotic and 20% opposite-sex dizygotic) representing 22 countries. This project demonstrates that large-scale international twin studies are feasible and can promote the use of existing data for novel research purposes.

Organ shortage is a severe challenge worldwide. Three-dimensional (3D) printing, a rapidly developing engineering and materials science tool, holds considerable promise in generating implantable organ scaffolds that may reduce or eliminate organ shortage. However, translation of 3D printing into clinical therapies has been astonishingly slow and certainly has not matched the pace of technology development. This review outlines challenges and opportunities for the application of 3D printing in tissue and organ regeneration, with emphasis on in vivo applications of 3D-printed scaffolds. Three-dimensional-printed scaffolds for the regeneration of complex tissues and organs, including bone, cartilage, tooth, and skin, serve as prototypes for 3D printing of other tissues and organs such as the liver, kidney, or heart. The aspiration to reduce or eliminate organ shortage appears to hinge on the translation of 3D bioprinting technologies into preclinical studies and clinical trials. The remaining challenges of cell survival, directed differentiation, angiogenesis, and metabolic exchange are far from trial and need to be addressed. Three-dimensional-printed materials will remain a biomaterials and engineering showcase unless applications in preclinical and clinical models are realized. In balance, 3D printing holds considerable promise in regenerative medicine as a unique approach to address organ shortage.

China's accession to the WTO in 2001 is widely accepted as a landmark event for the multilateral trade system and for the country. The large-scale WTO-plus commitments have nevertheless received unceasing criticism and discussion. This article is concerned with the resulting policy implications for the Chinese initiative to become a global producer of large civil aircraft at the next stage of development. A real-life case study is expected to provide robust evidence for inquiring whether China and emerging economies alike can smoothly advance up the global value chain while honouring their WTO obligations in good faith. The article confirms the widespread opinion that there are vast legal uncertainties ahead for China throughout this journey, and for that reason, a rigorous market-orientation effort is needed to strengthen its ability to compete in the commercial aviation sector.