A new species of Moniliformis, M. tupaia n. sp. is described using integrated morphological methods (light and scanning electron microscopy) and molecular techniques (sequencing and analysing the nuclear 18S, ITS, 28S regions and mitochondrial cox1 and cox2 genes), based on specimens collected from the intestine of the northern tree shrew Tupaia belangeri chinensis Anderson (Scandentia: Tupaiidae) in China. Phylogenetic analyses show that M. tupaia n. sp. is a sister to M. moniliformis in the genus Moniliformis, and also challenge the systematic status of Nephridiacanthus major. Moniliformis tupaia n. sp. represents the third Moniliformis species reported from China.

Fast neutron absorption spectroscopy is widely used in the study of nuclear structure and element analysis. However, due to the traditional neutron source pulse duration being of the order of nanoseconds, it is difficult to obtain a high-resolution absorption spectrum. Thus, we present a method of ultrahigh energy-resolution absorption spectroscopy via a high repetition rate, picosecond duration pulsed neutron source driven by a terawatt laser. The technology of single neutron count is used, which results in easily distinguishing the width of approximately 20 keV at 2 MeV and an asymmetric shape of the neutron absorption peak. The absorption spectroscopy based on a laser neutron source has one order of magnitude higher energy-resolution power than the state-of-the-art traditional neutron sources, which could be of benefit for precisely measuring nuclear structure data.

Hepatitis E virus infection is a major cause of acute hepatitis, typically self-limiting but occasionally leading to liver failure. Understanding disease progression factors could inform prevention strategies. This study aimed to analyse the characteristics of a large cohort of hospitalised hepatitis E patients in Tianjin, China, and explore factors influencing their progression to liver failure. A total of 1279 hospitalised patients with hepatitis E were included in this cross-sectional study in Tianjin, China. Student's t-test and the Mann–Whitney U-test were used for comparisons. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association. Among these 1279 patients, 107 (8.4%) developed liver failure. Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.150–2.887, p = 0.011), liver cirrhosis (95% [CI] 2.229–7.224, p < 0.001), and hepatitis B (95% [CI] 1.159–4.512, p = 0.017) were more likely to progress to liver failure. Hepatitis E patients with comorbid DM, liver cirrhosis, or hepatitis B virus co-infection have higher risks of developing liver failure. Hepatitis E vaccination may be recommended for these vulnerable patients to curb disease severity.

Improving existing products plays a vital role in enhancing customer satisfaction and coping with changes in the market. Analyzing user experience (UX) to find the deficiencies of existing products and establishing improved schemes is the key to UX-driven product improvement, especially at the conceptual design stage. Although some tools used in conceptual design, such as requirements analysis and knowledge reasoning, have advanced recently, they lack targeted goals and sufficient efficiency in identifying insufficient product attributes and improving existing functions and structures. The challenge lies in considering the influence imposed on design activities by the original product features (including attributes, functions, and structure). In this study, a knowledge-enabled approach and framework that integrates the conceptual design process, online reviews for UX, and knowledge is proposed to support product improvement. Specifically, a decision-making algorithm based on UX analysis is proposed to identify to-be-improved product attributes. Then, through optimizing the previous knowledge application model from knowledge requirement transformation, knowledge modeling, and knowledge reasoning, a smart knowledge reasoning model is established to push knowledge for functional solving of the to-be-improved attributes. A knowledge configuration method is used to modify product features to generate an improved scheme. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach, a case study of improving an agricultural sprayer is conducted. Through discussion, this study can help to regulate design activities for product improvement, enhance data and knowledge application, and promote divergent thinking during scheme modification.

The relationship between magmatism and gold mineralization has been a topic of interest in understanding the formation of ore deposits. The Baizhangzi gold deposit, located in the northern margin of the North China Craton, is hosted by the Baizhangzi granite (BZG) and provides a case to evaluate the relation between granite and gold mineralization in Late Triassic. In this study, we present petrography, bulk geochemistry, zircon U-Pb isotope and trace elements data, as well as major elements of biotite and plagioclase for the BZG to evaluate the petrogenesis and link with gold mineralization. The BZG comprises biotite monzogranite, biotite-bearing monzogranite and monzogranite (BZGs). Zircon U-Pb geochronology shows that all the granitoids of BZGs were coeval with a formation age of 232 Ma. The granitoids, with high SiO2, Al2O3 and Sr, while low Y and Yb, show adakitic affinity. They are enriched in LILFs (e.g., Rb, Ba, Th, U and Sr) and LREEs, while depletion in HFSEs (e.g., Nb, Ta, P and Ti). The geochemical and mineral chemical data suggest that the granitoids have experienced the fractional crystallization of biotite + plagioclase + K- feldspar + apatite. Crystallization temperature is estimated as ca. 700°C, and pressure is between 0.71 kbar and 1.60 kbar. The monzogranite shows higher values of logfO2, △FMQ and △NNO than the biotite-bearing monzogranite, ranging from −19.76 to −11.71, −4.93 to +3.67 and −5.48 to +3.11, respectively. The fractional crystallization, together with high fO2, K-metasomatism and low evolution degree, provided favourable conditions for gold mineralization.

Breast cancer is a high-risk disease with a high mortality rate among women. Chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of breast cancer. However, chemotherapy eventually results in tumours that are resistant to drugs. In recent years, many studies have revealed that the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signalling is crucial for the emergence and growth of breast tumours as well as the development of drug resistance. Additionally, drugs that target this pathway can reverse drug resistance in breast cancer therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine has the properties of multi-target and tenderness. Therefore, integrating traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine into chemotherapy provides a new strategy for reversing the drug resistance of breast tumours. This paper mainly reviews the possible mechanism of Wnt/β-catenin in promoting the process of breast tumour drug resistance, and the progress of alkaloids extracted from traditional Chinese medicine in the targeting of this pathway in order to reverse the drug resistance of breast cancer.

Direct numerical simulations are performed to investigate the wake transitions of the flow normal to a circular rotating disk. The diameter-thickness aspect ratio of the disk is $\chi =50$. The Reynolds number of the free stream is defined as $Re_s=U_\infty D/\nu$, with incoming flow velocity $U_\infty$, disk diameter $D$, and kinematic viscosity of the fluid $\nu$. The rotational motion of the disk is described by the Reynolds number of rotation $Re_r=\varOmega Re_s$, with non-dimensional rotation rate $\varOmega =\frac {1}{2}\omega D/U_\infty$, where $\omega$ is the angular rotation speed of the disk. Extensive numerical simulations are performed in the parameter space $50 \leqslant Re_s \leqslant 250$ and $0 \leqslant Re_r \leqslant 250$, in which six flow regimes are identified as follows: the axisymmetric state, the low-speed steady rotation (LSR) state, the high-speed steady rotation (HSR) state, the low-speed unsteady rotation (LUR) state, the rotational vortex shedding state, and the chaotic state. Although plane symmetry exists in the wake when the disk is stationary, a small rotation will immediately destroy its symmetry. However, the vortex shedding frequencies and wake patterns of the stationary disk are inherited by the unsteady rotating cases at low $Re_r$. A flow rotation rate jump is observed at $Re_s\approx 125$. The LUR state is intermediate between the LSR and HSR states. Due to the rotational motion, the wake of the disk enters the steady rotation state earlier at large $Re_r$, and is delayed into the vortex shedding state in the whole range of $Re_r$. In the steady rotation states (LSR and HSR), the steady flow rotation rate is linearly correlated with the disk rotation rate. It is found that the rotation of the disk can restrain the vortex shedding. The chaotic state can be regularized by the medium rotation speed of the disk.

This study evaluated the association between inflammatory diets as measured by the Dietary Inflammatory index (DII), inflammation biomarkers and the development of preeclampsia among the Chinese population. We followed the reporting guidelines of the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology statement for observational studies. A total of 466 preeclampsia cases aged over 18 years were recruited between March 2016 and June 2019, and 466 healthy controls were 1:1 ratio matched by age (±3 years), week of gestation (±1 week) and gestational diabetes mellitus. The energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) was computed based on dietary intake assessed using a seventy-nine item semiquantitative FFQ. Inflammatory biomarkers were analysed by ELISA kits. The mean E-DII scores were −0·65 ± 1·58 for cases and −1·19 ± 1·47 for controls (P value < 0·001). E-DII scores positively correlated with interferon-γ (r s = 0·194, P value = 0·001) and IL-4 (r s = 0·135, P value = 0·021). After multivariable adjustment, E-DII scores were positively related to preeclampsia risk (P trend < 0·001). The highest tertile of E-DII was 2·18 times the lowest tertiles (95 % CI = 1·52, 3·13). The odds of preeclampsia increased by 30 % (95 % CI = 18 %, 43 %, P value < 0·001) for each E-DII score increase. The preeclampsia risk was positively associated with IL-2 (OR = 1·07, 95 % CI = 1·03, 1·11), IL-4 (OR = 1·26, 95 % CI = 1·03, 1·54) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) (OR = 1·17, 95 % CI = 1·06, 1·29). Therefore, proinflammatory diets, corresponding to higher IL-2, IL-4 and TGF-β levels, were associated with increased preeclampsia risk.

A novel wide 3-dB axial ratio (AR) circularly polarized 2 × 2 array antenna is proposed in this paper. The spindle-shaped coupling cavity with tilted waveguide is capable of generating circular polarization waves from incident linear waves, which improves the AR bandwidth (ARBW) of the antenna. With this structure, a similar amplitude of the two orthogonal transmitted wave components and a stable phase difference of nearly 90° can be generated. The circularly polarized antenna proposed herein has been fabricated. According to the measurement results, the operating bandwidth from 5.32 to 6.13 GHz is <−10 dB. In addition, the measured ARBW, which is below 3 dB, can cover the range of 5.41–6.02 GHz. The maximum gain of the antenna can attain 15.65 dBi, and the efficiency is better than 80%.

A mathematical model of variable inclination continuous transverse stub (VICTS) antenna for low sidelobe design is proposed in this paper. VICTS antenna is an antenna with continuous transverse stubs on the parallel-plate waveguide and additional branches attached to the transverse stubs to generate radiation. The antenna using this technique has high aperture efficiency and keeps a significant solution for high-gain antenna. However, the sidelobe level (SLL) of this antenna is relatively high and increases continuously as the pitch angle decreases. This paper presents a fast calculation model for the SLL of VICTS antennas using leaky-wave theory and antenna array theory. The full-wave simulation results and model calculation results are in good agreement, so this model can be used for SLL suppression of VICTS antennas in different frequency bands. By controlling the aperture field distribution to be tapered, the SLL is suppressed to − 23.7 dB using this mathematical model.

The East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) is one of the most dynamic components of the global climate system. Although poorly understood, knowledge of long-term spatial differences in EAWM variability during the glacial–interglacial cycles is important for understanding the dynamic processes of the EAWM. We reconstructed the spatiotemporal characteristics of the EAWM since the last glacial maximum (LGM) using a comparison of proxy records and long-term transient simulations. A loess grain-size record from northern China (a sensitive EAWM proxy) and the sea surface temperature gradient of an EAWM index in sediments of the southern South China Sea were compared. The data–model comparison indicates pronounced spatial differences in EAWM evolution, with a weakened EAWM since the LGM in northern China but a strengthened EAWM from the LGM to the early Holocene, followed by a weakening trend, in southern China. The model results suggest that variations in the EAWM in northern China were driven mainly by changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, whereas orbital insolation and ice sheets were important drivers in southern China. We propose that the relative importance of insolation, ice sheets, and atmospheric CO2 for EAWM evolution varied spatially within East Asia.

Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) is an important target for discovering new herbicides that interfere with the synthesis of porphyrin. To discover new PPO inhibitors with improved biological activity, a series of new diphenyl ethers containing tetrahydrophthalimide were designed and synthesized. Among them, J6.1 (IC50 = 4.7 nM) and J6.3 (IC50 = 30.0 nM) show higher maize (Zea mays L.) PPO inhibitory activity than the commercial herbicides oxyfluorfen (IC50 = 117.9 nM) and flumioxazin (IC50 = 157.1 nM). The greenhouse herbicidal activity of J6.3 is comparable to that of oxyfluorfen, and it is greater than that of flumioxazin. Even at a dose of 300 g ai ha−1, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) show greater tolerance to J6.3, suggesting that J6.3 could be used for further development of new herbicide candidates in those fields. In addition, molecular docking has been used to further study the mechanism of action of J6.3. The results show that the introduction of a nitro group and tetrahydrophthalimide into the diphenyl ether structure is beneficial to biological activity.

We report on a high-power Ho:YAG single-crystal fiber (SCF) laser inband pumped by a high-brightness Tm-fiber laser at 1908 nm. The Ho:YAG SCF grown by the micro-pulling-down technique exhibits a propagation loss of $0.05\pm 0.005~\text{cm}^{-1}$ at $2.09~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$. A continuous-wave output power of 35.2 W is achieved with a slope efficiency of 42.7%, which is to the best of our knowledge the highest power ever reported from an SCF-based laser in the 2 $\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ spectral range.

Our present genetic data of Acanthocephala, especially the mitochondrial (mt) genomes, remains very limited. In the present study, the nearly complete mt genome sequences of Sphaerirostris lanceoides (Petrochenko, 1949) was sequenced and determined for the first time based on specimens collected from the Indian pond heron Ardeola grayii (Sykes) (Ciconiiformes: Ardeidae) in Pakistan. The mt genome of S. lanceoides is 13 478 bp in size and contains 36 genes, including 12 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs) and two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs). Moreover, in order to clarify the phylogenetic relationship of the genera Centrorhynchus and Sphaerirostris, and to test the systematic position of S. lanceoides in the Centrorhynchidae, the phylogenetic analyses were performed using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods, based on concatenated nucleotide sequences of 12 PCGs, rRNAs and tRNAs. The phylogenetic results further confirmed the monophyly of the order Polymorphida and the paraphyly of the order Echinorhynchida in the class Palaeacanthocephala. Our results also challenged the validity of the genus Sphaerirostris (Polymorphida: Centrorhynchidae) and showed a sister relationship between S. lanceoides and S. picae (Rudolphi, 1819).