The early to middle Permian brachiopods from the Tengchong Block in western Yunnan, southwestern China, play important roles in biostratigraphic correlation and paleogeographic inferences of tectonic units on eastern peri-Gondwana. However, detailed taxonomic studies of these brachiopods have been limited. In this paper, we provide the systematic description of three Permian brachiopod assemblages from the Shanmutang section in the northern Tengchong Block, which in ascending order include the Elivina-Etherilosia Assemblage from the top of the Kongshuhe Formation, and the Spiriferella-Spiriferellina Assemblage and the Waagenites-Costiferina Assemblage from the base and lower part, respectively, of the overlying Dadongchang Formation. Based on the biostratigraphic assessment of the brachiopod taxa as well as the age constraints from the associated fusulinid assemblages, the age of the Elivina-Etherilosia Assemblage is considered to be most likely late Sakmarian to early Artinskian, the Spiriferella-Spiriferellina Assemblage probably late Artinskian, and the Waagenites-Costiferina Assemblage late Roadian to early Wordian. A transition from cool-water faunas with Gondwanan affinities to mixed warm-temperate (transitional) faunas with Cathaysian elements is evident for the Artinskian and through the Guadalupian. The climatic transition inferred from the faunal evidence is interpreted to have resulted from the combined effect of Gondwana deglaciation and the northward drift of the peri-Gondwanan blocks (including the Tengchong Block) during the Cisuralian and Guadalupian.

Background. Cysteine and Glycine Rich Protein 1 (CSRP1) belongs to the cysteine-rich protein family, which contains a unique double-zinc finger motif and is important for development and cellular differentiation. Abnormal expression of CSRP1 was reported within several malignancies such as prostate cancer and acute myeloid leukemia. Here, we explored function of CSRP1 within colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) for the first time. Methods. The mRNA levels of CSRP1 in COADs were obtained from TCGA datasets. CSRP1 protein expressions in COADs were tested via immunohistochemistry staining. Patients’ prognosis was evaluated using both univariate analysis and multivariate analysis. Two human COAD originated cancer cell lines, Caco-2, and HT-29, were used for cellular experiments including shRNA knockdown, proliferation assay, and migration assay. In vivo model was established using nude mice xenografts to further validate the role of CSRP1 in COAD progression. Results. The mRNA levels of CSRP1 are elevated in COAD specimens from patients with more advanced tumor stages and higher Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) levels. In addition, higher CSRP1 mRNA level indicates worse COAD prognosis. Consistently, higher CSRP1 protein expression is correlated with worse overall survival according to both univariate and multivariate analysis, indicating that CSRP1 is a new COAD prognostic factor. Furthermore, COAD cells transfected with CSRP1-shRNAs exhibit attenuated proliferation and migration capacities. Finally, growth of xenografts originated from CSRP1-knockdown cells is inhibited comparing to the control ones. Conclusions. Expression of CSRP1 is positively correlated with COAD progression, which can promote tumor growth and migration. Higher CSRP1 can is a novel independent prognostic factor of COAD.

A wideband tunable balanced phase shifter is achieved by utilizing varactor-loaded coupled lines (VLCLs)-embedded multistage branch-line structure. The tunable phase shift with low in-band phase deviation is attributed to the regulation in phase shift of the VLCLs and the horizontal microstrip lines in series. The wideband differential-mode (DM) impedance matching and common-mode (CM) suppression are due to multiple DM transmission poles and CM transmission zeros, which are brought about by the cascade of VLCLs and a microstrip line with short-circuited stubs in the DM-equivalent circuit and open-circuited stubs in the CM-equivalent circuit, respectively. Compared with the state-of-the-art tunable balanced phase shifters, the proposed design not only has the advantages of wide operating bandwidth (BW) with low in-band phase deviation but also has low insertion loss and easily fabricated structure. Theoretical analysis and design procedure were conducted, resulting in a prototype covering the frequency of 1.8 GHz. This prototype offers a tunable phase shift capability ranging from 0° to 90°. The prototype exhibits an operating BW of 45%, with a maximum phase deviation of ±6°. It also achieves a 10 dB DM return loss and CM suppression, while maintaining a maximum insertion loss of 2.5 dB.

Instrument delivery is critical part in vascular intervention surgery. Due to the soft-body structure of instruments, the relationship between manipulation commands and instrument motion is non-linear, making instrument delivery challenging and time-consuming. Reinforcement learning has the potential to learn manipulation skills and automate instrument delivery with enhanced success rates and reduced workload of physicians. However, due to the sample inefficiency when using high-dimensional images, existing reinforcement learning algorithms are limited on realistic vascular robotic systems. To alleviate this problem, this paper proposes discrete soft actor-critic with auto-encoder (DSAC-AE) that augments SAC-discrete with an auxiliary reconstruction task. The algorithm is applied with distributed sample collection and parameter update in a robot-assisted preclinical environment. Experimental results indicate that guidewire delivery can be automatically implemented after 50k sampling steps in less than 15 h, demonstrating the proposed algorithm has the great potential to learn manipulation skill for vascular robotic systems.

The existence of Bolgiano–Obukhov (BO) scaling in Rayleigh–Bénard convection (RBC) has long been speculated. However, due to the inhomogeneity and anisotropy of the flow, and the lack of clear scale separation, no conclusive evidence has been found. To avoid these non-ideal factors, we construct an idealized isotropic convection system by introducing an additional horizontal buoyancy field to RBC in a doubly periodic domain. We focus on the two-dimensional case so that its upscale kinetic energy flux can enable a long inertial range for detecting the BO scaling. Through direct numerical simulations of this system, we justify the existence of BO scaling using second- and third-order structure functions, which are in good agreement with our theoretically obtained scaling relations from the Kármán–Howarth–Monin equations. These theoretical and numerical results provide direct support for the conjecture that the existence of the BO scaling in RBC is associated with the inverse kinetic energy cascade. For higher-order structure functions, we found strong intermittent effects in the buoyancy field, but not in the velocity. By comparing the present system with the canonical anisotropic RBC in a periodic domain, the effects of anisotropy on the scaling properties are elucidated.

We present the asymptotic transitions from microscopic to macroscopic physics, their computational challenges and the asymptotic-preserving (AP) strategies to compute multiscale physical problems efficiently. Specifically, we will first study the asymptotic transition from quantum to classical mechanics, from classical mechanics to kinetic theory, and then from kinetic theory to hydrodynamics. We then review some representative AP schemes that mimic these asymptotic transitions at the discrete level, and hence can be used crossing scales and, in particular, capture the macroscopic behaviour without resolving the microscopic physical scale numerically.

Thermal convection of fluid is a more efficient way than diffusion to carry heat from hot sources to cold places. Here, we experimentally study the Rayleigh–Bénard convection of aqueous glycerol solution in a cubic cell with suspensions of rod-like particles made of polydimethylsiloxane. The particles are inertial due to their large thermal expansion coefficient and finite sizes. The thermal expansion coefficient of the particles is three times larger than that of the background fluid. This contrast makes the suspended particles lighter than the local fluid in hot regions and heavier in cold regions. The heat transport is enhanced at relatively large Rayleigh number ($\textit {Ra}$) but reduced at small $\textit {Ra}$. We demonstrate that the increase of Nusselt number arises from the particle–boundary layer interactions: the particles act as ‘active’ mixers of the flow and temperature fields across the boundary layers.

To understand the characteristics and influencing factors related to cluster infections in Jiangsu Province, China, we investigated case reports to explore transmission dynamics and influencing factors of scales of cluster infection. The effectiveness of interventions was assessed by changes in the time-dependent reproductive number (Rt). From 25th January to 29th February, Jiangsu Province reported a total of 134 clusters involving 617 cases. Household clusters accounted for 79.85% of the total. The time interval from onset to report of index cases was 8 days, which was longer than that of secondary cases (4 days) (χ2 = 22.763, P < 0.001) and had a relationship with the number of secondary cases (the correlation coefficient (r) = 0.193, P = 0.040). The average interval from onset to report was different between family cluster cases (4 days) and community cluster cases (7 days) (χ2 = 28.072, P < 0.001). The average time interval from onset to isolation of patients with secondary infection (5 days) was longer than that of patients without secondary infection (3 days) (F = 9.761, P = 0.002). Asymptomatic patients and non-familial clusters had impacts on the size of the clusters. The average reduction in the Rt value in family clusters (26.00%, 0.26 ± 0.22) was lower than that in other clusters (37.00%, 0.37 ± 0.26) (F = 4.400, P = 0.039). Early detection of asymptomatic patients and early reports of non-family clusters can effectively weaken cluster infections.

The clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 were analysed to determine the factors influencing the prognosis and virus shedding time to facilitate early detection of disease progression. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationships among prognosis, clinical characteristics and laboratory indexes. The predictive value of this model was assessed with receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, calibration and internal validation. The viral shedding duration was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and the prognostic factors were analysed by univariate log-rank analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model. A retrospective study was carried out with patients with COVID-19 in Tianjin, China. A total of 185 patients were included, 27 (14.59%) of whom were severely ill at the time of discharge and three (1.6%) of whom died. Our findings demonstrate that patients with an advanced age, diabetes, a low PaO2/FiO2 value and delayed treatment should be carefully monitored for disease progression to reduce the incidence of severe disease. Hypoproteinaemia and the fever duration warrant special attention. Timely interventions in symptomatic patients and a time from symptom onset to treatment <4 days can shorten the duration of viral shedding.

As city residents eat out more frequently, it is unknown that if iodised salt is still required in home cooking. We analysed the relationship of household salt and eating out on urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in pregnant women. A household condiment weighing method was implemented to collect salt data for a week. A household salt sample was collected. A urine sample was taken at the end of the week. Totally, 4640 participants were investigated. The median UIC was 139·1 μg/l in pregnant women and 148·7, 140·0 and 122·9 μg/l in the first, second and third trimesters. Median UIC in the third trimester was lower than in the other trimesters (P < 0·001). The usage rates of iodised (an iodine content ≥ 5·0 mg/kg) and qualified-iodised (an iodine content ≥ 21·0 mg/kg) salt were 73·9 and 59·3 %. The median UIC in the qualified-iodised salt group was higher than in the non-iodised group (P = 0·037). The median UIC in the non-iodised group who did not eat out was lower than in qualified-salt groups who both did and did not eat out (P = 0·007, <0·001). The proportion of qualified-iodised salt used in home cooking is low, but foods eaten out have universal salt iodisation according to the national compulsory policy. Household iodised salt did not play a decisive role in the iodine status of pregnant women. Pregnant women in their third trimester who are not eating out and using non-iodised salt at home require extra iodine.

Dolostones are widely developed in the middle Permian rocks of East Yunnan, China, mainly in the shoal-facies Maokou Formation. The previously reported dolostone formation mechanisms cannot explain the distribution and geochemical characteristics of these dolostones, in particular their strontium, magnesium and oxygen isotope signatures. To help predict the distribution of dolostone reservoirs and reduce the exploration risk and cost, this study proposes a new model of dolomitization: open thermal convection dolomitization. In this new dolomitization model, Mg2+ in dolomitizing fluids originates mostly from seawater, with a minor component coming from deep hydrothermal fluids. Elevated heat flux (in this case due to the nearby Emei mantle plume) causes spatial temperature variations in the fluid along the circulation flow pathways, resulting in fast and pervasive dolomitization of limestone. The proposed model not only explains the characteristics and distribution of dolostones in the study area but also serves as a reference for predicting the distribution of dolostones in other areas subjected to thermal convection.

The present study evaluated the effects of dietary Zn level on growth performance, serum and hepatopancreas metabolites, expression of genes involved in lipid and energy metabolism, and the signalling pathway of dietary Zn-induced lipolysis. Five isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets were formulated to contain different Zn levels: 46·4 (basal diet), 77·2, 87·0, 117·1 and 136·8 mg/kg, respectively. The results indicated that shrimp fed the diet containing Zn at 117·1 mg/kg had higher weight gain and specific growth rate, and the lowest feed intake and feed conversion rate, than shrimp fed the other diets. The deposition rate of Zn in whole body significantly decreased with increasing dietary Zn level. Dietary Zn prevented the accumulation of free radicals and improved antioxidant activities by increasing Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase and reducing malondialdehyde in hepatopancreas. Dietary Zn supplementation enhanced lipase activity and adiponectin, which could promote TAG breakdown and fatty acid oxidation and lead to reduced lipid in hepatopancreas. The mRNA expressions of ob-rb, adipor, camkkβ, ampk, cd36, mcd and cpt1 involved in Zn-induced lipid catabolism were up-regulated, and the expressions of srebp, acc, fas and scd1 were down-regulated. The mRNA levels of SLC39 family genes (zip3, zip9, zip11 and zip14) in hepatopancreas were up-regulated with increasing dietary Zn level. The results demonstrated that dietary Zn level could significantly affect growth performance, tissue deposition of Zn, lipid metabolites and expression of genes involved in lipogenesis and lipolysis in Litopenaeus vannamei.