The hot deformation behavior of Ti–6Al–4V alloy with starting fully lamellar microstructure was investigated by conducting isothermal hot compression tests at the temperature of 700–1000 °C and strain rate of 0.001–10 s−1. The deformation activation energy is calculated to be 342 kJ/mol at temperatures from 750 to 850 °C, whereas the higher apparent activation energy of 610 kJ/mol is obtained at a high temperature regime of 900–1000 °C. The relationship between the dynamic softening behavior and deformation parameters was analyzed by power dissipation efficiency η, which shows an increasing trend as the deformation temperature increases and strain rate decreases, respectively. Processing maps were constructed. The instability flow is dominated by the presence of adiabatic shear bands, and the dynamic softening is mainly caused by a combination effect of dynamic recrystallization and dynamic recovery. Moreover, straining is found to have a positive effect on lowering the phase transformation temperature.

To investigate the impact of viral and bacterial co-infection in hospitalised children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (RMPP). Retrospective analysis of 396 children with RMPP in our hospital admitted between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2016 was performed. Nasal aspirate samples were collected for pathogen detection and clinical data were collected. We analysed clinical characteristics, lung imaging characteristics and pathogenic species among these children. Of the 396 RMPP cases, 107 (27.02%) had co-infection with other pathogen, with Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Staphylococcus aureus being the most common bacteria of infection and human bocavirus (HBoV), human rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus being the most common viruses of infection. Children with co-infection were younger than that with single infection (P = 0.010). Children with both virus and bacteria co-infection had been the youngest (P = 0.040). Children with co-infection had a longer fever process, higher leukocyte count, higher C-reactive protein compared with single infection (P < 0.05). Children with co-infection had a higher percentage of pnemothorax and diffuse large area of inflammation in chest X-ray manifestation compared with children with single infection (P < 0.05). S. pneumonia and HBoV was the leading cause of co-infection in RMPP. Co-infections led to more disease severity in children with RMPP compared with single infections.

Phase-field methods with a degenerate mobility have been widely used to simulate surface diffusion motion. However, apart from the motion induced by surface diffusion, adverse effects such as shrinkage, coarsening and false merging have been observed in the results obtained from the current phase-field methods, which largely affect the accuracy and numerical stability of these methods. In this paper, a flux-corrected phase-field method is proposed to improve the performance of phase-field methods for simulating surface diffusion. The three effects were numerically studied for the proposed method and compared with those observed in the two existing methods, the original phase-field method and the profile-corrected phase-field method. Results show that compared to the original phase-field method, the shrinkage effect in the profile-corrected phase-field method has been significantly reduced. However, coarsening and false merging effects still present and can be significant in some cases. The flux-corrected phase field performs the best in terms of eliminating the shrinkage and coarsening effects. The false merging effect still exists when the diffuse regions of different interfaces overlap with each other. But it has been much reduced as compared to that in the other two methods.

The identification and localization of organic binders in artworks are big challenges in archaeology and conservation science. Immunological techniques, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM) have the potential to become powerful tools for the analysis of organic materials in ancient samples. In this study, ELISA and IFM techniques were combined to identify chicken ovalbumin, glue from several mammalian species, bovine milk, and fish glue in ancient Chinese painting samples. As binders, egg ovalbumin was found in two painting samples and animal glue was found in three samples, which were dated from the 4th to 8th centuries. The results clearly demonstrate that ELISA and IFM can be used to validate results from ancient samples.

The near-cosmopolitan genus Clytia is abundantly found in coastal waters, but difficulties of identification in this genus make nearly all species records of medusae suspect. Complex life histories, ambiguous taxonomic characters, and phenotypic plasticity pose serious problems for accurate species-level identifications and future revisions of Clytia species. In the present study, morphological investigations and molecular analyses of Clytia specimens from the coastal waters of the East China Sea revealed Clytia gulangensis sp. nov. as a new species. DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene supported the new species as a separate species within Clytia, and phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial 16S rDNA and nuclear 18S rDNA further confirmed this new species to be a distinct lineage. Moreover, detailed observation of medusae and polyps of this species showed sufficient morphological differences from other Clytia species for a diagnosis. Our results indicated that life cycle and DNA-based studies should be a standard approach in future biodiversity investigations of Clytia species.

The genus Clytia is distributed worldwide, but most accepted species in this genus have been examined either only at the hydroid or medusa stage. The challenge in identifying Clytia species reflects their complex life cycles and phenotypic plasticity. In this study, molecular and morphological investigations of Clytia specimens from the coastal waters of China revealed an as yet unreported species, designated C. xiamenensis sp. nov., that was considered as conspecific to two nearly cosmopolitan species, C. hemisphaerica and C. gracilis. DNA barcoding based on partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (16S) confirmed the highly distinct lineage of C. xiamenensis sp. nov. These results were corroborated by the detailed observations of its mature medusae and its colonies, which showed that C. xiamenensis sp. nov. was morphologically distinct from other species of Clytia. Thus, based on our findings, the nearly cosmopolitan distribution attributed to some species of Clytia might rather be due to the misidentification, and it is necessary to elucidate their whole life cycle in order to establish the systematic validity of all species within the genus Clytia.

There were 2,541 nature reserves accounting for c. 15% of China's land territory by 2009. As nature reserves hold the majority of the country's wildlife they play a fundamental role in protecting the country's biodiversity. National policies relevant to nature reserves have had a positive effect on biodiversity although these policies are now facing increasing challenges. We reviewed the development of relevant policy and legislation and identify and assess challenges, using a questionnaire survey and personal interviews. The main challenges identified and assessed included lack of harmonization between government departments, between nature reserves and other protected area designations, and between nature reserves and local communities. In addition, recent transfers of responsibilities between government entities, potential impacts of forest tenure reforms, and issues surrounding natural resource use and ecotourism were identified. These obstacles could undermine the achievements of biodiversity conservation in China if they are not addressed soon. Given these findings, we make recommendations to guide future policy formulation in relation to nature reserve management and development.

Background: Though multiple policies have been implemented, the cigarette control in China is still facing a great challenge. At the same time, alcohol drinking has increasingly become a public health problem. Considering cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking often co-occur, a few studies tested the covariance of these phenotypes. However, the genetic and environmental correlation between them among Chinese population has not been determined. The main aim of this study is to fill this gap. Methods: From the Chinese National Twin Registry, we obtained the data on cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking behaviors. The ordinal bivariate genetic analysis was performed to fit the categorical variables. After identifying the best decomposition among the Cholesky, common, and independent pathway model, we established the most parsimonious submodel. Results: The correlation between current tobacco and alcohol use could be explained by Cholesky model. The shared environmental variances for both phenotypes were dropped to construct the most parsimonious submodel. Furthermore, the most parsimonious submodel showed a moderate correlation (0.32, 95%CI = 0.17 – 0.46) between the genetic components and a negligible non-shared environmental correlation. Conclusion: As the first bivariate genetic analysis on current tobacco smoking and current alcohol drinking in China, this study suggested a common genetic vulnerability to tobacco and alcohol use in male twins. Further studies should be carried out to track the pertinent genes that are related to the comorbidity of smoking and drinking in Chinese population. Another urgent need is to recognize the behavior-specific environmental risk factors.

Investigations of Zelunglung and Midui Glaciers in southeast Tibet, China, indicate that they have some characteristics of surge-type glaciers. There have been two extraordinary movements of Zelunglung Glacier, one in 1950 and one in 1968. A collapse of the terminus area took place in 1984. Midui Glacier experienced extraordinary movements about 55 years ago and also in 1988. During these events, the glacier termini reached moraines formed during neoglaciation and the Little Ice Age. The advances of the two glaciers are not related to climate variation. The glaciers caused serious disasters with loss of life and property, and disruption of transportation corridors.