Digitaria ciliaris var. chrysoblephara (Fig. & De Not.) R.R. Stewart is an annual xeromorphic weed that severely infests direct-seeded rice fields in China. Herbicide resistance is emerging in D. ciliaris var. chrysoblephara owing to extensive and recurrent use of the acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase)-inhibiting herbicide metamifop. In this study, a total of 53 D. ciliaris var. chrysoblephara populations randomly sampled from direct-seeded rice fields across Jiangsu Province were investigated for metamifop resistance and potential resistance-endowing mutations. Single-dose assays revealed that 17 (32.1%) populations evolved resistance to metamifop and 5 (9.4%) populations were in the process of developing resistance. The resistance index (RI) of metamifop-resistant populations ranged from 2.7 to 32.1. Amino acid substitutions (Ile-1781-Leu, Trp-2027-Cys/Ser, and Ile-2041-Asn) in ACCase genes were detected in resistant D. ciliaris var. chrysoblephara plants and caused various cross-resistance patterns to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides. All of four resistant populations (YC07, YZ09, SQ03, and HA06), with different ACCase mutations, exhibited cross-resistance to the aryloxyphenoxypropionate (APP) herbicides cyhalofop-butyl (RI values: 10.0 to 19.9), fenoxaprop-P-ethyl (RI values: 53.7 to 132.8), and haloxyfop-P-methyl (RI values: 6.2 to 62.6), and the phenylpyrazoline (DEN) pinoxaden (RI values: 2.3 to 5.4), but responded differently to the cyclohexanedione (CHD) herbicides clethodim and sethoxydim. It is noteworthy that four postemergence herbicides used for rice cropping, including bispyribac-sodium, pyraclonil, quinclorac, and anilofos, showed poor control effect against D. ciliaris var. chrysoblephara, suggesting few alternations for managing this weed in rice fields except ACCase inhibitors. In conclusion, this work demonstrated that the D. ciliaris var. chrysoblephara had developed resistance to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides in rice cultivation of China, and target-site amino acid substitutions in ACCase were primarily responsible for metamifop resistance.

Plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) is gaining interest in thin films for laser applications, and post-annealing treatments are often used to improve thin film properties. However, research to improve thin film properties is often based on an expensive and time-consuming trial-and-error process. In this study, PEALD-HfO2 thin film samples were deposited and treated under different annealing atmospheres and temperatures. The samples were characterized in terms of their refractive indices, layer thicknesses and O/Hf ratios. The collected data were split into training and validation sets and fed to multiple back-propagation neural networks with different hidden layers to determine the best way to construct the process–performance relationship. The results showed that the three-hidden-layer back-propagation neural network (THL-BPNN) achieved stable and accurate fitting. For the refractive index, layer thickness and O/Hf ratio, the THL-BPNN model achieved accuracy values of 0.99, 0.94 and 0.94, respectively, on the training set and 0.99, 0.91 and 0.90, respectively, on the validation set. The THL-BPNN model was further used to predict the laser-induced damage threshold of PEALD-HfO2 thin films and the properties of the PEALD-SiO2 thin films, both showing high accuracy. This study not only provides quantitative guidance for the improvement of thin film properties but also proposes a general model that can be applied to predict the properties of different types of laser thin films, saving experimental costs for process optimization.

Hydrophobicity, swellability, and dispersion are important properties for organo-montmorillonites (OMnt) and have yet to be fully characterized for all OMnt configurations. The purpose of the present work was to examine the preparation of OMnt from the reaction of Ca2+-montmorillonite (Ca2+-Mnt) with a high concentration of surfactant and to reveal the relevant properties of hydrophobicity and dispersion of the resultant OMnt. A series of OMnt samples were prepared using a small amount of water and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) with a concentration more than the CTAB critical micelle concentration (CMC). The relationship between OMnt microstructure and the hydrophobicity and swellability properties was investigated in detail. The resulting OMnt samples were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetry (TG-DTG), water contact angle tests, swelling indices, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The addition of CTAB and water in the OMnt preparation affected the OMnt microstructure and properties. An increase in CTAB concentration led to a more ordered arrangement of cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA+) cations in the interlayer space of the OMnt and a large amount of CTA+ cations on the outer surfaces of the OMnt. The swelling indices and the water contact angles of OMnt samples depended on the distribution of the CTAB surfactant on OMnt and the orientation of the surfactant hydrophilic groups on the inner and on the outer surfaces of OMnt. A maximum swelling index of 39 mL/g in xylene was achieved with an average water contact angle of 62.0° ± 2.0° when the amount of CTAB added was 2 times the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of Mnt and the lowest water to dry Mnt mass ratio was 3 during the preparation of OMnt samples. The platelets of OMnt aggregated together in xylene by electrostatic attraction and by hydrophobic interactions.

Hydroxymetal-clay complexes, which contain reactive surface hydroxyl groups, have a strong affinity for both heavy-metal cations and oxyanions and hence can serve as efficient sorbents for ionic contaminants. The co-sorptive behavior of heavy-metal cations and oxyanions on the surface of hydroxymetal-clay complexes is not well understood, however. The objective of the present investigation was to help bridge that gap by determining the feasibility of co-sorbing Cd cations and phosphate from aqueous solution to a hydroxyiron-montmorillonite complex (HyFe-mont). A montmorillonite-rich clay from Inner Mongolia, China, was the starting material. The results showed that Cd and phosphate could be sorbed, simultaneously and synergistically, to HyFe-mont without a change in solution pH. Similarly, when phosphate was sorbed before Cd, the sorption capacities were comparable to those obtained in the simultaneous sorption experiment, and the solution pH did not change.When Cd was pre-sorbed, however, the subsequent sorption of both Cd and phosphate decreased as did solution pH. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated that the binding energies of P2p, Cd3/2, and Cd5/2 were of similar magnitude for both the simultaneous sorption system and the phosphate pre-sorbed system. In addition, the single Cd and Cd pre-sorbed systems had similar Cd3/2 and Cd5/2 binding energies. The combined sorption and XPS results suggested that sorbed phosphate and Cd formed P-bridged ternary complexes on the HyFe-mont surface, contributing to the synergistic uptake of the contaminants in the simultaneous sorption system.

Background. Oxidative stress is an important cause of liver disease and atherosclerosis. Natural substances with antioxidant activity are good drugs for treating liver disease and atherosclerosis. Trichosanthes kirilowii Peel Polysaccharide (TKPP) can remove DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radicals and hydroxyl free radicals in vitro, which shows antioxidant activity. Therefore, it is speculated that it can protect human hepatoma cell line (HepG2) and umbilical artery smooth muscle cell (HUASMC) against oxidative damage by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Methods. Oxidative damage cell models of HepG2 and HUASMC were induced by H2O2. HepG2 and HUASMC were divided into blank group, H2O2 injury group, TKPP treatment group, and glutathione (GSH) positive control group. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to detect cell viability. The level of total GSH and the amount of Nitric oxide (NO) secreted by cells were detected by specific kits. The gene and protein expressions of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western Blot. Results. In these two kinds of cells, compared with the control group, the survival rate, total GSH level, and NO secretion, CAT and SOD gene and protein expressions were significantly decreased in the H2O2 damaged group. In the TKPP treatment group, the cell survival rate was significantly elevated with the increase of the polysaccharide concentration, and the total GSH level, NO secretion, CAT and SOD gene expression, and protein expression levels were also significantly increased. Conclusion. TKPP can improve the activities of HepG2 and HUASMC cells damaged by H2O2 and protect the cellular antioxidant system.

Background. Heart failure (HF) is defined as the inability of the heart’s systolic and diastolic function to properly discharge blood flow from the veins to the heart. The goal of our research is to look into the possible mechanism that causes HF. Methods. The GSE5406 database was used for screening the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network were applied to analyze DEGs. Besides, cell counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) was conducted to observe the knockdown effect of hub genes on cell proliferation. Results. Finally, 377 upregulated and 461 downregulated DEGs came out, enriched in the extracellular matrix organization and gap junction. According to GSEA results, Hoft cd4 positive alpha beta memory t cell bcg vaccine age 18–45 yo id 7 dy top 100 deg ex vivo up, Sobolev t cell pandemrix age 18–64 yo 7 dy dn, and so on were significantly related to gene set GSE5406. 7 hub genes, such as COL1A1, UBB, COL3A1, HSP90AA1, MYC, STAT3 and MAPK1, were selected from PPI networks. CCK-8 indicated silencing of STAT3 promoted the proliferation of H9C2 cells and silencing of UBB inhibited the proliferation of H9C2 cells. Conclusion. Our analysis reveals that COL1A1, UBB, COL3A1, HSP90AA1, MYC, STAT3, and MAPK1 might promote the progression of HF and become the biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment of HF.

Straightplasma channels are widely used to guide relativistic intense laser pulses over several Rayleigh lengths for laser wakefield acceleration. Recently, a curved plasma channel with gradually varied curvature was suggested to guide a fresh intense laser pulse and merge it into a straight channel for staged wakefield acceleration [Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 154801 (2018)]. In this work, we report the generation of such a curved plasma channel from a discharged capillary. Both longitudinal and transverse density distributions of the plasma inside the channel were diagnosed by analyzing the discharging spectroscopy. Effects of the gas-filling mode, back pressure and discharging voltage on the plasma density distribution inside the specially designed capillary are studied. Experiments show that a longitudinally uniform and transversely parabolic plasma channel with a maximum channel depth of 47.5 μm and length of 3 cm can be produced, which is temporally stable enough for laser guiding. Using such a plasma channel, a laser pulse with duration of 30 fs has been successfully guided along the channel with the propagation direction bent by 10.4°.

Previous studies have reported inconsistent associations between low-carbohydrate diets (LCD) and plasma lipid profile. Also, there is little evidence on the role of the quality and food sources of macronutrients in LCD in cardiometabolic health. We investigated the cross-sectional associations between LCD and plasma cardiometabolic risk markers in a nationwide representative sample of the US population. Diet was measured through two 24-h recalls. Overall, healthy (emphasising unsaturated fat, plant protein and less low-quality carbohydrates) and unhealthy (emphasising saturated fat, animal protein and less high-quality carbohydrate) LCD scores were developed according to the percentage of energy as total and subtypes of carbohydrate, protein and fat. Linear regression was used to estimate the percentage difference of plasma marker concentrations by LCD scores. A total of 34 785 participants aged 18–85 years were included. After adjusting for covariates including BMI, healthy LCD was associated with lower levels of insulin, homoeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and TAG, and higher levels of HDL-cholesterol, with the percentage differences (comparing extreme quartile of LCD score) of −5·91, −6·16, −9·13, −9·71 and 7·60 (all P trend < 0·001), respectively. Conversely, unhealthy LCD was associated with higher levels of insulin, HOMA-IR, CRP and LDL-cholesterol (all P trend < 0·001). Our results suggest that healthy LCD may have positive, whereas unhealthy LCD may have negative impacts on CRP and metabolic and lipid profiles. These findings underscore the need to carefully consider the quality and subtypes of macronutrients in future LCD studies.

Pregnancy is a complex biological process. The establishment and maintenance of foetal–maternal interface are pivotal events. Decidual immune cells and inflammatory cytokines play indispensable roles in the foetal–maternal interface. The disfunction of decidual immune cells leads to adverse pregnancy outcome. Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, a common inflammatory cytokine, has critical roles in different stages of normal pregnancy process. However, the relationship between the disorder of TNF-α and adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preeclampsia (PE), intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), spontaneous abortion (SA), preterm birth and so on, is still indefinite. In this review, we thoroughly reviewed the effect of TNF-α disorder on pathological conditions. Moreover, we summarized the reports about the adverse pregnancy outcomes (PE, IUGR, SA and preterm birth) of using anti-TNF-α drugs (infliximab, etanercept and adalimumab, certolizumab and golimumab) currently in the clinical studies. Overall, IUGR, SA and preterm birth are the most common adverse pregnancy outcomes of anti-TNF-α drugs. Our review may provide insight for the immunological treatment of pregnancy-related complication, and help practitioners make informed decisions based on the current evidences.

A short-term 2-week (2w) and long-term 8-week (8w) feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of low-starch (LS) and high-starch (HS) diets on the growth performance, metabolism and liver health of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Two isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets containing two levels of starch (LS, 9·06 %; HS, 13·56 %) were fed to largemouth bass. The results indicated that HS diet had no significant effects on specific growth rate during 2w, whereas significantly lowered specific growth rate at 8w. HS diet significantly increased hepatic glycolysis and gluconeogenesis at postprandial 24 h in 2w. The hepatosomatic index, plasma alkaline phosphatase, total bile acid (TBA) levels, and hepatic glycogen, TAG, total cholesterol, TBA, and NEFA contents were significantly increased in the HS group at 2w. Moreover, HS diet up-regulated fatty acid and TAG synthesis-related genes and down-regulated TAG hydrolysis and β-oxidation-related genes. Therefore, the glucolipid metabolism disorders resulted in metabolic liver disease induced by HS diet at 2w. However, the up-regulation of bile acid synthesis, inflammation and energy metabolism-related genes in 2w indicated that largemouth bass was still in a state of ‘self-repair’ response. Interestingly, all the metabolic parameters were returned to homoeostasis, with up-regulation of intestinal glucose uptake and transport-related genes, even hepatic histopathological analysis showed no obvious abnormality in the HS group in 8w. In conclusion, HS feed induced short-term acute metabolic disorder, but long-term metabolic adaptation to HS diet was related to repairing metabolism disorders via improving inflammatory responses, bile acid synthesis and energy metabolism. These results strongly indicated that the largemouth bass owned certain adaptability to HS diet.

Technology that develops rapidly has profoundly affected the business field and reshaped some behaviours of corporations, and the discussion on startup risk-taking behaviour in the new era is still insufficient. Based on social network theory and social capital theory, this article studies how social networks and entrepreneurial ecosystems support startup risk-taking behaviour. This article cuts into this issue through the perspective of coopetition. Based on 737 responses, this article employs regression and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to explore the relationships between networks, ecosystem coopetition, and risk-taking behaviour. Results indicate that networks and coopetition may stimulate startup risk-taking behaviour, and coopetition may weaken the impacts of networks. There are replacement effects between different characteristics of networks, and there are several configurations, which may lead to high-level risk-taking. This article may help us understand startup risk-taking behaviour in the digital era and the positive impacts of ecosystems.

The findings regarding the associations between red meat, fish and poultry consumption, and the metabolic syndrome (Mets) have been inconclusive, and evidence from Chinese populations is scarce. A cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the associations between red meat, fish and poultry consumption, and the prevalence of the Mets and its components among the residents of Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, China. A total of 4424 participants were eligible for the analysis. A logistic regression model was used to estimate the OR and 95 % CI for the prevalence of the Mets and its components according to red meat, fish and poultry consumption. In addition, the data of our cross-sectional study were meta-analysed under a random effects model along with those of published observational studies to generate the summary relative risks (RR) of the associations between the highest v. lowest categories of red meat, fish and poultry consumption and the Mets and its components. In the cross-sectional study, the multivariable-adjusted OR for the highest v. lowest quartiles of consumption was 1·23 (95 % CI 1·02, 1·48) for red meat, 0·83 (95 % CI 0·72, 0·97) for fish and 0·93 (95 % CI 0·74, 1·18) for poultry. In the meta-analysis, the pooled RR for the highest v. lowest categories of consumption was 1·20 (95 % CI 1·06, 1·35) for red meat, 0·88 (95 % CI 0·81, 0·96) for fish and 0·97 (95 % CI 0·85, 1·10) for poultry. The findings of both cross-sectional studies and meta-analyses indicated that the association between fish consumption and the Mets may be partly driven by the inverse association of fish consumption with elevated TAG and reduced HDL-cholesterol and, to a lesser extent, fasting plasma glucose. No clear pattern of associations was observed between red meat or poultry consumption and the components of the Mets. The current findings add weight to the evidence that the Mets may be positively associated with red meat consumption, inversely associated with fish consumption and neutrally associated with poultry consumption.

Echinococcus shiquicus is currently limited to the Qinghai–Tibet plateau, a large mountainous region in China. Although the zoonotic potential remains unknown, progress is being made on the distribution and intermediate host range. In this study, we report E. shiquicus within Gansu and Qinghai provinces in regions located not only around the central areas but also the southeast edge of the plateau and describe their genetic relationship with previous isolates from the plateau. From 1879 plateau pikas examined, 2.39% (95% CI 1.79–3.18) were infected with E. shiquicus. The highest prevalence of 10.26% (4.06–23.58) was recorded in Makehe town, Qinghai province. Overall the prevalence was marginally higher in Qinghai (2.5%, CI 1.82–3.43) than in Gansu (2%, CI 1.02–3.89). The cox1 and nad1 genes demonstrated high and low haplotype and nucleotide diversities, respectively. The median-joining network constructed by the cox1–nad1 gene sequences demonstrated a star-like configuration with a median vector (unsampled haplotype) occupying the centre of the network. No peculiar distinction or common haplotype was observed in isolates originating from the different provinces. The presence of E. shiquicus in regions of the southeast and northeast edges of the Qinghai–Tibet plateau and high genetic variation warrants more investigation into the haplotype distribution and genetic polymorphism by exploring more informative DNA regions of the mitochondrial genome to provide epidemiologically useful insight into the population structure of E. shiquicus across the plateau and its axis.

Teenagers are important carriers of Neisseria meningitidis, which is a leading cause of invasive meningococcal disease. In China, the carriage rate and risk factors among teenagers are unclear. The present study presents a retrospective analysis of epidemiological data for N. meningitidis carriage from 2013 to 2017 in Suizhou city, China. The carriage rates were 3.26%, 2.22%, 3.33%, 3.53% and 9.88% for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. From 2014 to 2017, the carriage rate in the 15- to 19-year-old age group (teenagers) was the highest and significantly higher than that in remain age groups. Subsequently, a larger scale survey (December 2017) for carriage rate and relative risk factors (population density, time spent in the classroom, gender and antibiotics use) were investigated on the teenagers (15- to 19-year-old age) at the same school. The carriage rate was still high at 33.48% (223/663) and varied greatly from 6.56% to 52.94% in a different class. Population density of the classroom was found to be a significant risk factor for carriage, and 1.4 persons/m2 is recommended as the maximum classroom density. Further, higher male gender ratio and more time spent in the classroom were also significantly associated with higher carriage. Finally, antibiotic use was associated with a significantly lower carriage rate. All the results imply that attention should be paid to the teenagers and various measures can be taken to reduce the N. meningitidis carriage, to prevent and control the outbreak of IMD.