This study investigated the effects of Porphyra yezoensis enzyme degradation extract (PYEDE) on the brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases due to oxidative stress. We used in vitro antioxidant systems to verify the antioxidant potential of PYEDE. The results indicated that PYEDE alleviated weight loss and organ atrophy, reduced the levels of lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation, and elevated glutathione (GSH) content in the serum and brains of the D-gal-induced aging model mice. PYEDE also renewed the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and total anti-oxidant capability (T-AOC) activities, downregulated the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity and nitric oxide (NO) levels, normalized the hippocampal neurons, and modulated multiple neurotransmitter systems by inhibiting the activities of acetylcholinesterase (AchE) and monoamine oxidase (MAO) in the upregulation of acetylcholine (Ach), dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) levels. Overall, PYEDE is a promising supplement for the alleviation of oxidative stress and age-associated brain diseases.

Radiocarbon (14C) has become a unique and powerful tracer in source apportionment of atmospheric carbonaceous particles. In this study, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit (APEC) held in Beijing in 2014 was used as a demonstration to research the source apportionment of atmosphere PM2.5. We used a 200 kV single stage accelerator mass spectrometer recently completed at China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE). The PM2.5 samples related to above case were collected, and the characteristics of radiocarbon in organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in samples were analyzed using the AMS. The results show that the Before-APEC pollution emission mode is different from the During-APEC and After-APEC pollution emission modes. For Before-APEC, During-APEC and After-APEC, the average values of fossil carbon fraction of OC are 0.463, 0.431 and 0.615, respectively, and those of EC are 0.644, 0.561 and 0.687. The fossil source contributions of traffic activities using fossil fuels to OC and EC are 15.8 % and 21.9 %, respectively. The fossil source contributions of industrial activities to OC and EC are 38.0 % and 8.2 %, respectively. It is about 7–10 days that is needed to take to regenerate the PM2.5 pollution caused by human activities.

Many components in diet have regulated oxidative stress, inflammatory reaction and even balance oestrogen levels. Because these factors are closely associated with depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women, it is considered that dietary factors are able to prevent and control depressive symptoms. On the other hand, a dietary pattern that considers the correlations and synergies between foods and nutrients is expected to have a greater impact on disease risk. The aim of the present study is to evaluate whether dietary patterns are associated with depressive symptoms in Chinese postmenopausal women. A cross-sectional study of 2051 postmenopausal women (mean age: 58·8 (sd 7·4) years) was conducted in Tianjin, China. Dietary consumption was assessed by a valid self-administered FFQ. Principal component analysis was used to derive three major dietary patterns: ‘healthy’, ‘sweets’ and ‘traditional Tianjin’ from eighty-eight food items. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and cut-off point of 48 indicating serious depressive symptoms. The association between quartile of dietary patterns and depressive symptoms was assessed using multiple logistic regression analysis. The multivariable-adjusted OR of having depressive symptoms for increasing quartile of dietary patterns were as follows: healthy, 1·00, 0·79 (95 % CI 0·49, 1·28), 0·62 (95 % CI 0·37, 1·04) and 0·57 (95 % CI 0·33, 0·97); sweets, 1·00, 0·75 (95 % CI 0·42, 1·3), 1·08 (95 % CI 0·64, 1·81) and 1·66 (95 % CI 1·03, 2·71); and traditional Tianjin, 1·00, 1·02 (95 % CI 0·58, 1·79), 0·96 (95 % CI 0·54, 1·71) and 2·53 (95 % CI 1·58, 4·16), respectively. The present study demonstrated that a healthy dietary pattern was inversely associated with depressive symptoms. On the contrary, greater adherence to sweets and traditional Tianjin dietary patterns was associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium (PQQ·Na2) supplementation on the reproductive performance and intestinal barrier functions of gestating and lactating female Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats and their offspring. Dietary supplementation with PQQ·Na2 increased the number of implanted embryos per litter during gestation and lactation at GD 20 and increased the number of viable fetuses per litter, and the weight of uterine horns with fetuses increased at 1 d of newborn. The mRNA expression levels of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx2), superoxide dismutase (SOD1), solute carrier family 2 member 1 (Slc2a1) and solute carrier family 2 member 3 (Slc2a3) in the placenta were increased with dietary PQQ·Na2 supplementation. Dietary supplementation with PQQ·Na2 in gestating and lactating rats increased the CAT, SOD and GPx activities of the jejunal mucosa of weaned rats on PD 21. Dietary supplementation with PQQ·Na2 in female rats affected the expression of tight junction proteins (claudin, zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin) in the jejunal mucosa of their offspring by increasing the expression of ZO-1 mRNA in the expression of ZO-1 and claudin mRNA in the jejunal mucosa of weaned rats on PD 21. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with PQQ·Na2 in gestating and lactating female rats had positive effects on their reproductive performance and on the intestinal barrier of weaned rats.

In this paper, a novel method for autonomous navigation for an extra-terrestrial body landing mission is proposed. Based on state-of-the-art crater detection and matching algorithms, a crater edge-based navigation method is formulated, in which solar illumination direction is adopted as a complementary optical cue to aid crater edge-based navigation when only one crater is available. To improve the pose estimation accuracy, a distributed Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is developed to encapsulate the crater edge-based estimation approach. Finally, the effectiveness of proposed approach is validated by Monte Carlo simulations using a specifically designed planetary landing simulation toolbox.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a major worldwide public-health problem, but less data are available on the long-term trends of HAIs and antimicrobial use in Eastern China. This study describes the prevalence and long-term trends of HAIs and antimicrobial use in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Hefei, Anhui, China from 2010 to 2017 based on annual point-prevalence surveys. A total of 12 505 inpatients were included; 600 HAIs were recorded in 533 patients, with an overall prevalence of 4.26% and a frequency of 4.80%. No evidence was found for an increasing or decreasing trend in prevalence of HAI over 8 years (trend χ2 = 2.15, P = 0.143). However, significant differences in prevalence of HAI were evident between the surveys (χ2 = 21.14, P < 0.001). The intensive care unit had the highest frequency of HAIs (24.36%) and respiratory tract infections accounted for 62.50% of all cases; Escherichia coli was the most common pathogen (16.67%). A 44.13% prevalence of antimicrobial use with a gradually decreasing trend over time was recorded. More attention should be paid to potential high-risk clinical departments and HAI types with further enhancement of rational antimicrobial use.

Applying radiocarbon (14C) dating using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to the skeleton of a mammoth and the associated plant remains have been dated. The fossil of Zhalai Nur mammoth was dated to 43,500 +1000/–900 14C yr BP. The results of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, which show that a fluvially deposited gravel layer, from that the mammoth fossils were excavated, formed between 51,300±2100 and 26,600±1200 yr BP, place the new AMS 14C dates in a well-developed chronological framework. Through this study, it can be summarized that, firstly, using suitable sample material, it is possible to obtain reliable AMS 14C results, even when the ages of the target materials approach the upper limits of the method. Second, it reveals that a depositional hiatus exists during the Late Pleistocene, between ca. 26,000 yr BP and ca. 13,000 yr BP. Finally, large rivers and widely distributed areas of alluvial-fluvial deposits existed in this present-day desert area between ca. 51,000 and 26,000 yr BP. These results may shed new light on the study of the Mammuthus-Colelodonta-Bubalus fauna, the most important and fully developed fauna during the Late Pleistocene in northeastern China. They also deepen our understanding about the eco-environments of the region.

Two phases of diabase-sill-forming magmatism are recorded within the Badu anticline where magmas were emplaced into upper Palaeozoic carbonates and clastic rocks of the Youjiang fold-and-thrust belt in the SW South China Block, China. Zircons from these diabase units yield weighted mean U–Pb ages of 249.2±2.0 Ma and 187.1±3.3 Ma, and magmatic oxygen fugacity values from ‒20 to ‒6 (average of ‒12, equating to FMQ +5) and ‒20 to ‒10 (average of ‒15, equating to FMQ +2), respectively. These data indicate that the sills were emplaced during Early Triassic and Early Jurassic times. The discovery of c. 250 Ma mafic magmatism in this area was probably related to post-flood-basalt extension associated with the Emeishan mantle plume or rollback of the subducting Palaeo-Tethys slab. The c. 190 Ma diabase sills indicate that the southwestern South China Block records Early Jurassic mafic magmatism and lithospheric extension that was likely associated with a transition from post-collisional to within-plate tectonic regimes. The emplacement of diabase intrusions at depth may have driven hydrothermal systems, enabling the mobilization of elements from sedimentary rocks and causing the formation of a giant epigenetic metallogenic domain. The results indicate that high-oxygen-fugacity materials within basement rocks caused crustal contamination of the magmas, contributing to the wide range of oxygen fugacity conditions recorded by the Au-bearing Badu diabase. In addition, data from inherited xenocrystic zircons within the Badu diabase and detrital zircons from basement rocks suggest that the Neoproterozoic Jiangshao suture extends to the south of the Badu anticline.