The association between milk consumption and metabolic syndrome remains inconclusive, and the data from Chinese populations are scarce. We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the association between milk consumption and metabolic syndrome and its components among the residents of Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, China. A total of 5149 participants were included in the final analysis. A logistic regression model was applied to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components according to milk consumption. In addition, the results of our study were further meta-analyzed with other published observational studies to quantify the association between the highest versus lowest categories of milk consumption and metabolic syndrome and its components. There was no significant difference in the odds of having metabolic syndrome between milk consumers and non-milk consumers (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.73, 1.01). However, milk consumers had lower odds of having elevated waist circumference (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.67, 0.92), elevated triglyceride (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.70, 0.99), and elevated blood pressure (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.73, 0.99). When the results were pooled together with other published studies, higher milk consumption was inversely associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome (relative risk 0.80, 95% CI 0.72, 0.88) and its components (except elevated fasting blood glucose); however, these results should be treated with caution as high heterogeneity observed. In summary, the currently available evidence from observational studies suggests that higher milk consumption may be inversely associated with metabolic syndrome.

A multilevel nonvolatile memory based on an amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide thin-film transistor is successfully demonstrated by using an atomic layer–deposited ZnO film as a charge trapping layer. The memory device shows a much higher erasing efficiency at a negative bias, i.e., after erasing at −13 V for 1 μs, the threshold voltage shift is as large as −7.4 V. In the case of 13 V/1 μs programming (P) and −12 V/1 μs erasing (E), the device demonstrates an ON/OFF readout drain current (IDS) ratio of ∼103 after 105 s, and a large and stable ON/OFF IDS ratio of ∼106 till 104 of P/E cycles. Furthermore, multilevel memory characteristics are also demonstrated on the device, showing an IDS ratio of >102 for 4 different states. Additionally, the device also successfully demonstrates typical synaptic behaviors, such as excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic current with different memory times at different memory states.

Cinnamomum chago is a woody species of the family Lauraceae endemic to Yunnan province, China, previously known from only one location, and categorized as a Plant Species with Extremely Small Population. We surveyed to determine the distribution and population size of C. chago, characterize its habitat, identify any threats, assess its conservation status, and provide guidelines for its management and conservation. During 2014–2017 we found only 64 mature C. chago, in five locations. These small, fragmented populations occur along Lancang River in Dali Prefecture at altitudes of 2,200–2,400 m. The species' extent of occurrence is c. 923 km2, with an area of occupancy of c. 60 km2. The habitat of the species has been degraded by expansion of pastoral activities and deforestation. We recommend categorization of C. chago as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, prevention of the collection of seeds and wood of the species, protection and monitoring, and ex situ propagation for future reintroductions.

The dipeptide dl-methionyl-dl-methionine (Met-Met) has extremely low water solubility and better absorption than other methionine sources (such as dl-methionine and l-methionine) available in the market. Therefore, six diets (D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6) containing 0, 0·07, 0·15, 0·21, 0·28 and 0·38 % Met-Met were formulated to investigate the effects of Met-Met in juvenile Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (17 g initial body weight). The results indicated that percentage weight gain and specific growth rate of fish fed with D2 and D3 diets were higher than those fed with D1, D4–D6 diets. The levels of total essential amino acid in whole body of fish fed with D3 and D4 diets were significantly higher than those fed the D1 diet. Superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde content have no significant difference in fish fed the diet with or without Met-Met supplementation. Majority of reads derived from the fish intestine belonged to members of Fusobacteria, followed by Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. Diversity of intestinal microbiota and total antioxidant capacity in fish fed with D3 diet was significantly higher than that of other groups. Based on the growth results, the authors conclude that the optimal level of Met is 0·61 % Met with the addition of 0·15 % Met-Met for grower-phase O. niloticus.

Immunomodulation by molecules from Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis) has been widely reported. Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) is a major immune-modulator of the family of detoxification enzymes. Dendritic cells (DCs) are an important target for the regulation of the immune response by T. spiralis. In this study, the recombinant GST of T. spiralis (rTs-GST) was expressed and purified. rTs-GST induced low CD40 expression and moderate CD80, CD86 and MHC-II expressions and inhibited the increase of CD40, CD80 and CD86 on DCs induced by LPS. We showed that rTs-GST decreased the LPS-induced elevated level of pro-inflammatory cytokines of DCs and enhanced the level of regulatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-β. Furthermore, co-culture of DCs and CD4+ T cells demonstrated that rTs-GST-treated DCs suppressed the proliferation of OVA-specific CD4+ T cells and increased the population of regulatory T cells (Tregs). rTs-GST-treated DCs induced a higher level of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β, but inhibited the level of IFN-γ. This indicates that rTs-GST-pulsed DCs induce both Th2-type responses and Tregs. These findings contribute to the current understanding of the immunomodulation of Ts-GST on cellular response and immunomodulation of T. spiralis.

The influence of the nozzle aspect ratio ( $AR=1$ , 2 and 4), stroke length ( $L_{0}=1.85$ , 3.7 and 5.55) and Reynolds number ( $Re=79$ , 158, 316 and 632) on the behaviour of elliptic synthetic jets is studied experimentally. Laser-induced fluorescence and two-dimensional and stereoscopic particle image velocimetry are used to analyse the vortex dynamics and evolution mechanism. It is found that the fluid elements around the major axis of an elliptic vortex ring move downstream faster and tend to approach the centreline, while the fluid elements around the minor axis move downstream at a slower speed and away from the centreline, thereby resulting in the occurrence of the well-known axis-switching phenomenon for elliptic synthetic jets. During this process, a pair of arc-like vortices forms ahead of the primary vortex ring, and they are constituted by streamwise vortices in the leg part and spanwise vortices in the head part; two pairs of streamwise vortices form from the inside of the primary vortex ring and develop in the tails. The streamwise vortices are pushed away progressively from the centreline by the synthetic jet vortex rings that are formed during the subsequent periods. These additional vortical structures for non-circular synthetic jets show regular and periodic characteristics, which are quite different from the previous findings for non-circular jets. Their mutual interaction with the vortex ring causes significant changes in the topology of elliptic synthetic jets, which further results in the variation of the statistical characteristics. Increasing the aspect ratio, stroke length and Reynolds number will make the evolution of the synthetic jet become more unstable and complex. In addition, the entrainment rate of an elliptical synthetic jet is larger than that of a circular synthetic jet and it increases with the nozzle aspect ratio ( $AR\leqslant 4$ ) and Reynolds number. It is indicated that the formation of streamwise vortices could enhance the entrainment rate. This finding provides substantial evidence for the potential application of elliptic synthetic jets for effective flow control.

Studies show that the gain from China's remarkable growth of the past 35 years has not been evenly shared, especially through the intergenerational transmission of income. To address this concern, we use data from China Health and Nutrition Survey and find the intergenerational income elasticity to be 0.466 in 2011, which suggests that sons’ incomes are affected by their fathers’ economic statuses to a large extent. A cross-country comparison indicates that the degree of generational income mobility in China is lower than that in many developed nations. Meanwhile, by investigating possible transmission channels, we find that the fathers’ investments in the sons’ education and occupation play substantial roles in intergenerational transmission of income. The results not only demonstrate the trends in intergenerational income mobility in China, but also identify the most likely transmission channels, which is of great importance to improving social equality.

To investigate the protein-sparing effect of α-lipoic acid (LA), experimental fish (initial body weight: 18·99 (sd 1·82) g) were fed on a 0, 600 or 1200 mg/kg α-LA diet for 56 d, and hepatocytes were treated with 20 μm compound C, the inhibitor of AMP kinase α (AMPKα), treated for 30 min before α-LA treatment for 24 h. LA significantly decreased lipid content of the whole body and other tissues (P<0·05), and it also promoted protein deposition in vivo (P<0·05). Further, dietary LA significantly decreased the TAG content of serum and increased the NEFA content of serum (P<0·05); however, there were no significant differences among all groups in the hepatopancreas and muscle (P>0·05). Consistent with results from the experiment in vitro, LA activated phosphorylation of AMPKα and notably increased the protein content of adipose TAG lipase in intraperitoneal fat, hepatopancreas and muscle in vivo (P<0·05). Meanwhile, LA significantly up-regulated the mRNA expression of genes involved in fatty acid β-oxidation in the same three areas, and LA also obviously down-regulated the mRNA expression of genes involved in amino acid catabolism in muscle (P<0·05). Besides, it was observed that LA significantly activated the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in muscle of experimental fish (P<0·05). LA could promote lipolysis and fatty acid β-oxidation via increasing energy supply from lipid catabolism, and then, it could economise on the protein from energy production to increase protein deposition in grass carp. Besides, LA might directly promote protein synthesis through activating the mTOR pathway.

In this paper, zircon U–Pb geochronology, major and trace elements, and Sr–Nd isotope geochemistry of the Baiyanghe dolerites in northern West Junggar of NW China are presented. The U–Pb dating of zircons from the dolerites yielded ages of 272.2±4 Ma and 276.7±6.2 Ma, which indicate the emplacement times. The dolerites are characterized by minor variations in SiO2 (46.89 to 49.07 wt%), high contents of Al2O3 (13.60 to 13.92 wt%) and total Fe2O3 (11.14 to 11.70 wt%), and low contents of MgO (2.67 to 3.64 wt%) and total alkalis (Na2O+K2O, 5.1 to 5.97 wt%, K2O/Na2O = 0.37–0.94), which indicate affinities to metaluminous tholeiite basalt. The REE pattern ((La/Sm)N = 2.25–2.34, (La/Yb)N = 7.42–8.36), V–Ti/1000 and 50*Zr–Ti/50–Sm discrimination diagrams show that these rocks are OIB-type. The high contents of Zr and Ti indicate a within-plate tectonic setting, and samples plot in the ‘plume source’ field shown on the Dy/Yb(N) versus Ce/Yb(N) diagram. The positive εNd(t) values (+7.09 to +7.48), high initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.70442 to 0.70682) and depletions of Nb and Ta elements in the samples can be explained by the involvement of subducted sediments. In summary, it is possible that the Baiyanghe dolerites were derived from an OIB-like mantle source and associated with a mantle plume tectonic setting. Therefore, our samples provide the youngest evidence for the existence of a mantle plume, which may provide new insights into the Late Palaeozoic tectonic setting of West Junggar.

Accurate prediction of the flow around multi-element airfoil is a prerequisite for improving aerodynamic performance, but its complex flow features impose high demands on turbulence modeling. In this work, delayed detached-eddy-simulation (DDES) and zonal detached-eddy-simulation (ZDES) was applied to simulate the flow past a three-element airfoil. To investigate the effects of numerical dissipation of spatial schemes, the third-order MUSCL and the fifth-order interpolation based on modified Roe scheme were implemented. From the comparisons between the calculations and the available experimental result, third-order MUSCL-Roe can provide satisfactory mean velocity profiles, but the excessive dissipation suppresses the velocity fluctuations level and eliminates the small-scale structures; DDES cannot reproduce the separation near the trailing edge of the flap which lead to the discrepancy in mean pressure coefficients, while ZDES result has better tally with the experiment.

Melt-SHS (self-propagating high-temperature synthesis), based on the SHS process and oxide reaction method, was used for preparation of TiB2/Al composites. The mass ratio of two reactants, Ti powder/TiO2, in initial powder mixture was varied from 0:1 to 1:0. The results showed that the 5 wt% TiB2/Al composites could be successfully produced by a reaction of aluminum powder, TiO2, and B2O3 in Al melt at 950 °C, while the reaction rate was slow. The addition of titanium powder helps to reduce the content of Al2O3 and destroy the coating structure of Al2O3 covered TiB2 particles, which leads to the acceleration of reaction process and improvement of particle concentration. A significant improvement was that TiB2 particles were dispersively distributed when the mass ratio of Ti powder/TiO2 was 2:3. As a result, the 5 wt% TiB2/Al composites fabricated by melt-SHS process with modified reactants ratio showed excellent tensile properties with the ultimate tensile strength as high as 114.24 MPa. Besides, the composite also showed superior ductility.

Surface texture was prepared on the ASTM1045 steel substrate before spraying. Three texturing patterns (groove pattern, square pattern, and hexagon pattern) were acquired by laser processing to investigate the influence of texturing patterns on the adhesion strength of sprayed coatings. The Ni60 coatings were prepared on the textured surface by atmosphere plasma spraying technology. Scanning electron microscopy and laser 3D microscope were used to characterize the morphology of texturing. The adhesion strength between coating and substrate was examined by the tensile test. Image pro plus software was used to calculate the contact area ratio of the textured substrate. The results show that the texturing processed substrates by laser radiation present plain area between two dimples and the protrusion around texturing, and the contact area between coating and substrate is increased. The adhesion strength of coatings with a groove pattern, a square pattern, and a hexagon pattern is 58, 33, and 47 MPa, respectively. The adhesion strength of sprayed coatings varies with the change of the texturing pattern, and it does not only depend on the contact area ratio but also on the texturing density and the texturing microstructure.

Climate change has greatly affected agricultural production, and will lead to further changes in cropping system, varietal type and cultivation techniques for each region. The potential effects of climate change on rice production in Fujian Province, China, were explored in the current study with CERES-Rice model and climate-change scenarios, based on the self-adaptation of rice production. The results indicated that simulated yields of early rice in the double-rice region in south-eastern Fujian under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B increased by 15·9, 18·0 and 19·2%, respectively, and correspondingly those of late rice increased by 9·2, 7·4 and 7·4% when self-adaptation adjustment was considered, compared to scenarios without that consideration. In the double-rice region in north-western Fujian, simulated yields of early rice increased by 21·2, 20·5 and 18·9% and those of late rice by 14·7, 14·8 and 7·2% under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B, respectively, when self-adaptation was considered, compared to without consideration. Similar results were obtained for the single-rice region in the mountain areas of north-western Fujian, correspondingly increasing by 4·9, 5·0 and 2·9% when self-adaptation was considered compared to when it was not. In this single-rice region, double rice might be grown in the future at the Changting site under scenarios A1 and B2. When the self-adaptation adjustment was considered, the simulated overall output of rice crops in Fujian under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B increased by 5·9, 5·2 and 5·1%, respectively. Thus, more optimistic results were obtained when the self-adaptation ability of rice production was considered.

We propose a stochastic Galerkin method using sparse wavelet bases for the Boltzmann equation with multi-dimensional random inputs. Themethod uses locally supported piecewise polynomials as an orthonormal basis of the random space. By a sparse approach, only a moderate number of basis functions is required to achieve good accuracy in multi-dimensional random spaces. We discover a sparse structure of a set of basis-related coefficients, which allows us to accelerate the computation of the collision operator. Regularity of the solution of the Boltzmann equation in the random space and an accuracy result of the stochastic Galerkin method are proved in multi-dimensional cases. The efficiency of the method is illustrated by numerical examples with uncertainties from the initial data, boundary data and collision kernel.

A Lagrangian surface hopping algorithm is implemented to study the two dimensional massless Dirac equation for Graphene with an electrostatic potential, in the semiclassical regime. In this problem, the crossing of the energy levels of the system at Dirac points requires a particular treatment in the algorithm in order to describe the quantum transition—characterized by the Landau-Zener probability— between different energy levels. We first derive the Landau-Zener probability for the underlying problem, then incorporate it into the surface hopping algorithm. We also show that different asymptotic models for this problem derived in [O. Morandi, F. Schurrer, J. Phys. A:Math. Theor. 44 (2011) 265301]may give different transition probabilities. We conduct numerical experiments to compare the solutions to the Dirac equation, the surface hopping algorithm, and the asymptotic models of [O. Morandi, F. Schurrer, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 44 (2011) 265301].

The early Cambrian Period was a key interval in Earth history with regard to changes in both ocean chemistry and animal evolution. Although increasing ocean ventilation has been widely assumed to have played a key role in the rapid appearance, diversification and spatial colonization of early animals, this relationship is in fact not firmly established. Here, we report a high-resolution Fe-C-S-Al-Ti geochemical study of the lower Cambrian Wangjiaping section from an outer-shelf setting of the Yangtze Sea of South China. Iron speciation data document a redox transition from dominantly euxinic to ferruginous conditions during Cambrian Age 3 (c. 521–514 Ma). Interpretation of coexisting pyrite sulphur isotope (δ34Spy) records from Wangjiaping reveals relatively high marine sulphate availability at Wangjiaping. Furthermore, Wangjiaping section shows lower δ34Spy (‒2.1±5.3‰) and lower TOC (2.4±1.1%) values but higher positive correlation (R 2 = 0.66, p < 0.01) between TOC and Fepy/FeHR relative to deeper sections reported previously, suggesting that euxinia developed at Wangjiaping in response to increasing marine productivity and organic matter-sinking fluxes. Our reconstructed redox conditions and fossils at Wangjiaping in comparison with previously well-studied strata in the inner-shelf Xiaotan and Shatan sections suggest that planktonic and benthic planktonic trilobites with bioturbation appeared in the oxic water columns, whereas only planktonic trilobites without bioturbation occurred within the anoxic (even euxinic) water columns during Cambrian Age 3. This finding indicates that spatial heterogeneity of redox conditions in the shelves had an important effect on early animal distribution in the Yangtze Block.

New samples of fusulinids collected in the Tengchong Block, western Yunnan, China, are systematically studied and presented here. The fusulinid fauna from the Xishancun section in the Shanmutang area is dominated by Chusenella and Nankinella, whereas that from the Shuangheyan area is composed mainly of Chusenella and Schwagerina. Both faunas are dated as Roadian–Capitanian (middle Permian). These new findings are integrated with fusulinid taxa reported earlier from the block to demonstrate the taxonomic features and paleogeographic significance of Permian fusulinids. The low generic diversity through early and middle Permian and the paucity of middle Permian neoschwagerinids and verbeekinids in the block confirm its Gondwana-affinity attributes. Moreover, the Permian fusulinids of the Tengchong Block are depauperate; i.e., consisting of a limited number of species with abundant individuals. This particular feature commonly suggests an inhospitable environment, and carbonates of varied facies containing these faunas in the Tengchong Block suggest a facies-independent factor as the reason, most likely the relatively low temperature of seawater.