Modal global linear stability analysis of thermal convection is performed with the linearized lattice Boltzmann method (LLBM). The onset of Rayleigh–Bénard convection in rectangular cavities with conducting and adiabatic sidewalls and the instability of two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) natural convection in cavities are studied. The method of linearizing the local equilibrium probability distribution function that was first proposed by Pérez et al. (Theor. Comp. Fluid Dyn., vol. 31, 2017, pp. 643–664) is extended to solve the coupled linear Navier–Stokes equations together with the linear energy equation in this work. A multiscale analysis is also performed to recover the macroscopic linear Navier–Stokes equations from the discrete lattice Boltzmann equations for both the single and multiple relaxation time models. The present LLBM is implemented in the framework of the Palabos library. It is validated by calculating the linear critical value of 2-D natural convection that the LLBM with the multiple relaxation time model has an error less than 1 % compared with the spectral method. The instability mechanism of the flow is explained by kinetic energy transfer analysis. It is shown that the buoyancy mechanism and inertial mechanism tend to stabilize the Hopf bifurcation of the 2-D natural convection at Pr < 0.08 and Pr > 1, respectively. For 3-D natural convection, subcritical bifurcation of the Hopf type is found for low-Prandtl-number fluids (Pr < 0.1).

To evaluate the dynamic changes of antibody levels in different groups after inoculation with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. The 1493 subjects who were tested for IgM and IgG against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at Qionglai Medical Center Hospital from June to October in 2021 were accepted for analyses of geometric mean titre (GMT) of IgG and IgM. The overall GMT of IgM and IgG in the population of Qionglai reached at a peak value at 1.497 (+3.810, −3.810) S/CO and 4.048 (+2.059, −2.059) S/CO in the second week, and then gradually decreased to 0.114 (+2.707, −2.707) and 1.885 (+1.506, −1.506) S/CO in the 11th–25th weeks, respectively. IgG was positive within 1 day, after that GMT increased continuously and peaked on the 13th day. There was a significant difference between male and female groups for titre of IgM during the prior 2 weeks and among three age groups for titre of IgG during the 2nd–3rd week after vaccination. The GMT level of IgG in the population vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine remained at a high level within 25 weeks and peaked on the 13th day, indicating that IgG could exist for a longer period and exhibiting positive SARS-CoV-2- defending effect.

In this paper, we study the existence and concentration behaviour of multi-peak standing waves for a singularly perturbed Davey–Stewartson system, which arises in the theory of shallow water waves. For this purpose, we first give a sharp threshold of the existence of ground-state solutions to the related limiting problem. Next, combining the penalization method and the regularity theory of elliptic equations, we construct a family of positive solutions concentrating around any prescribed finite set of local minima, possibly degenerate, of the potential. A feature of this analysis is that we do not need any uniqueness or non-degeneracy conditions for the limiting equation. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first study dealing with the study of concentrating solutions for Davey–Stewartson systems. We emphasize that with respect to the classical Schrödinger equation, the presence of a singular integral operator in the Davey–Stewartson system forces the implementation of new ideas to obtain the existence of multi-peak solutions.

The conventional product of exponentials $\left(\rm POE\right)$ -based methods dissatisfy the parametric minimality for the kinematic calibration of serial robots due to overlooking the magnitude and pitch constraints. Thus, the minimal kinematic model is presented to solve this problem, which can be developed further. This paper puts forward an improved algorithm for the minimal parameter calibration. An actual kinematic model with the minimal parameters $\left(\rm MP\right)$ is constructed according to the geometric properties of actual joint twists in the auxiliary frames established on the basis of the nominal joint axes. Then, the initial pose error is defined in the tool coordinate frame, which is expressed as the exponential map of the twist, and all twist descriptions are unified, so as to give a unified kinematic model in mathematics. By differentiating the kinematic model, a minimal error model is derived in explicit form. Subsequently, we propose a novel parameter identification method, which identifies the orientation error and position error parameters separately by the iterative least-squares method and updates the MP uniformly. Finally, the simulations and experiments on the different serial robots are conducted to verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The simulation results show our calibration algorithm outperforms the existing ones in the accuracy aspect, and the experiment result shows that the absolute pose accuracy of the UR5 industrial robot is upgraded about 9 times under a statistics sense after the calibration.

The study was conducted to determine the effects of three dietary Se sources, such as sodium-selenite (S-S), seleno-yeast (S-Y) and seleno-methionine (S-M), on Se concentration, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and TXNRD activities, and mRNA expression of fifteen representative selenoproteins, and protein expression of four endoplasmic reticulum-resided selenoproteins in a wide range of tissues of yellow catfish. Compared with S-S and S-M groups, dietary S-Y significantly decreased growth performance and feed utilisation of yellow catfish. Dietary Se sources significantly influenced Se contents in the spleen, dorsal muscle and the kidney, GPX activities in spleen, kidney, intestine, muscle and mesenteric fat, and TXNRD activities in the heart, intestine and mesenteric fat. Among ten tested tissues, dietary Se sources influenced mRNA expression of GPX4 and SELENOK in three tissues; GPX3, SELENOS and TXNRD2 in four tissues; SELENOF, SELENON and DIO2 in five tissues; SELENOM, GPX1/2 and TXNRD3 in six tissues; SELENOW in seven tissue and SELENOP and SELENOT in eight tissues. Based on these observations above, S-S and S-M seem to be suitable Se sources for improving growth performance and feed utilisation of yellow catfish. Dietary Se sources differentially influence the expression of selenoproteins in various tissues of yellow catfish. For the first time, we determined the expression of selenoproteins in fish in responses to dietary Se sources, which contributes to a better understanding of the functions and regulatory mechanisms of selenoporteins.

In present study, we explored the effects and the underlying mechanisms of phospholipase C (PLC) mediating glucose-induced changes in intestinal glucose transport and lipid metabolism by using U-73122 (a PLC inhibitor). We found that glucose incubation activated the PLC signal and U-73122 pre-incubation alleviated the glucose-induced increase in plcb2, plce1 and plcg1 mRNA expression. Meanwhile, U-73122 pre-treatment blunted the glucose-induced increase in sodium/glucose co-transporters 1/2 mRNA and protein expressions. U-73122 pre-treatment alleviated the glucose-induced increase in TAG content, BODIPY 493/503 fluorescence intensity, lipogenic enzymes (glucose 6-phospate dehydrogenase (G6PD), 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD), malic enzyme and fatty acid synthase (FAS)) activity and the mRNA expressions of lipogenic genes and related transcription factors (6pgd, g6pd, fas, acca, srebp1 and carbohydrate response element-binding protein (chrebp)) in intestinal epithelial cells of yellow catfish. Further research found that U-73122 pre-incubation mitigated the glucose-induced increase in the ChREBP protein expression and the acetylation level of ChREBP in HEK293T cells. Taken together, these data demonstrated that the PLC played a major role in the glucose-induced changes of glucose transport and lipid metabolism and provide a new perspective for revealing the molecular mechanism of glucose-induced changes of intestinal glucose absorption, lipid deposition and metabolism.

Outbreaks of norovirus-associated gastroenteritis have been reported in schools in recent decades in China. For early warning and response to infectious disease outbreaks, the Shanghai Infectious Diseases Bud Event Surveillance System (IDBESS) was established in 2016. Bud event is a term used for the early sign of a potential infectious disease outbreak in public settings when the first few cases appear. This study aimed to describe the epidemiological characteristics of Norovirus-associated gastroenteritis bud events from June 2016 to December 2017 and to understand factors influencing the severity of events. Data were extracted from the IDBESS, supplemented by field investigations and school absence surveillance. In total, 189 bud events of Norovirus-associated gastroenteritis were reported in schools and kindergartens, affecting 3827 individuals and 52.38% happened in primary schools. The attack rate of Norovirus-associated gastroenteritis was 3.82% on average in students in the affected schools. In each event, case numbers varied between 5 and 148, with a median of 16. The duration of bud events lasted for 2 days on average. School absence happened in 47.93% (1797/3749) of affected students and the average duration of absence was 3.07 days. It was found that a longer delay before reporting was associated with a longer-lasting duration of bud event (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.65, 3.07). In conclusion, ascribed to the sensitive threshold for alerting and the timely field investigation, the surveillance of bud events of Norovirus-associated gastroenteritis is effective in the control of Norovirus infection among preschool children and students in Shanghai.

B vitamins (including folate, vitamin B2, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12) and methionine are essential for methylation reactions, nucleotide synthesis, DNA stability and DNA repair. However, epidemiological evidence among Chinese populations is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate B vitamins and methionine in relation to colorectal cancer risk in a Chinese population. A case–control study was conducted from July 2010 to April 2019. A total of 2502 patients with colorectal cancer were recruited along with 2538 age- (5-year interval) and sex-matched controls. Dietary data were collected using a validated FFQ. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess OR and 95 % CI. The intake of folate, vitamin B2, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 was inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk. The multivariable OR for the highest quartile v. the lowest quartile were 0·62 (95 % CI 0·51, 0·74; Ptrend < 0·001) for folate, 0·46 (95 % CI 0·38, 0·55; Ptrend < 0·001) for vitamin B2, 0·55 (95 % CI 0·46, 0·76; Ptrend < 0·001) for vitamin B6 and 0·72 (95 % CI 0·60, 0·86; Ptrend < 0·001) for vitamin B12. No statistically significant association was found between methionine intake and colorectal cancer risk. Stratified analysis by sex showed that the inverse associations between vitamin B12 and methionine intake and colorectal cancer risk were found only among women. This study indicated that higher intake of folate, vitamin B2, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 was associated with decreased risk of colorectal cancer in a Chinese population.

The effects of dietary vitamin D, Ca and dairy products intakes on colorectal cancer risk remain controversial. The present study investigated the association between these dietary intakes and the risk of colorectal cancer in Guangdong, China. From July 2010 to December 2018, 2380 patients with colorectal cancer and 2389 sex- and age-matched controls were recruited. Dietary intake data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a validated FFQ. Unconditional multivariable logistic regression models were used to calculate the OR and 95 % CI after adjusting for various confounders. Higher dietary vitamin D and Ca intakes were associated with 43 and 52 % reductions in colorectal cancer risk, with OR of 0·57 (95 % CI 0·46, 0·70) and 0·48 (95 % CI 0·39, 0·61), respectively, for the highest quartile (v. the lowest quartile) intakes. A statistically significant inverse association was observed between total dairy product intake and colorectal cancer risk, with an adjusted OR of 0·32 (95 % CI 0·27, 0·39) for the highest v. the lowest tertile. Subjects who drank milk had a 48 % lower risk of colorectal cancer than those who did not (OR 0·52, 95 % CI 0·45, 0·59). The inverse associations of dietary vitamin D, Ca, total dairy products and milk intakes with the risk of colorectal cancer were independent of sex and cancer site. Our study supports the protective effects of high dietary vitamin D, Ca and dairy products intakes against colorectal cancer in a Chinese population.

Synaptotagmin 1 (Syt1) is an abundant and important presynaptic vesicle protein that binds Ca2+ for the regulation of synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Our previous study reported its localization and function on spindle assembly in mouse oocyte meiotic maturation. The present study was designed to investigate the function of Syt1 during mouse oocyte activation and subsequent cortical granule exocytosis (CGE) using confocal microscopy, morpholinol-based knockdown and time-lapse live cell imaging. By employing live cell imaging, we first studied the dynamic process of CGE and calculated the time interval between [Ca2+]i rise and CGE after oocyte activation. We further showed that Syt1 was co-localized to cortical granules (CGs) at the oocyte cortex. After oocyte activation with SrCl2, the Syt1 distribution pattern was altered significantly, similar to the changes seen for the CGs. Knockdown of Syt1 inhibited [Ca2+]i oscillations, disrupted the F-actin distribution pattern and delayed the time of cortical reaction. In summary, as a synaptic vesicle protein and calcium sensor for exocytosis, Syt1 acts as an essential regulator in mouse oocyte activation events including the generation of Ca2+ signals and CGE.

Disturbances in lipid metabolism are at the core of several health issues facing modern society, including fatty liver and obesity. The sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP-1) is one important transcription factor regulating lipid metabolism, but the relevant mechanism still remains unknown. The present study determined the transcriptional regulation of SREBP-1 and its target genes (including acetyl-CoA carboxylase α (accα), fatty acid synthase (fas) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (scd1)) in a freshwater teleost, grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella. We cloned and characterised the 1988 bp, 2043 bp, 1632 bp and 1889 bp sequences of srebp-1, accα, scd1 and fas promoters, respectively. A cluster of putative binding sites of transcription factors, such as specific protein, yin yang 1, nuclear factor Y, sterol response elements (SRE) and enhancer box (E-box) element, were predicted on their promoter regions. Overexpression of nSREBP-1 reduced srebp-1 promoter activity, increased scd1 and fas promoter activity but did not influence accα promoter activity. The site-mutation and electrophoretic mobility shift assay analysis indicated that srebp-1, fas and scd1 promoters, but not accα promoter, possessed SRE. In Ctenopharyngodon idella kidney (CIK) cells of grass carp, nSREBP-1 overexpression significantly reduced srebp-1 mRNA expression and up-regulated miR-29 mRNA expression. The 3′UTR of srebp-1 possessed the potential miR-29 binding site and miR-29 up-regulated the luciferase activity of srebp-1 3′UTR and srebp-1 mRNA expression, implying a self-activating loop of SREBP-1 and miR-29 in grass carp. Based on the above-mentioned results, we found two novel transcriptional mechanisms for SREBP-1 in grass carp: (1) the auto-regulation sited on the SREBP-1 promoter regions was suppressive and (2) there was a self-activating loop of SREBP-1 and miR-29.

Siliceous-sulphate rock coatings were observed at Zhenzhu Spring, an acid sulphate hot spring in the Tengchong volcanic field, China. These rock coatings are mainly formed of gypsum and amorphous silica. Some alum-(K), voltaite, α-quartz and muscovite were also found. Four different laminae are developed in the rock coatings: gypsum layer, tight siliceous layer, tabular siliceous layer and siliceous debris layer. The gypsum layer is located at the top of the rock coatings, while other siliceous layers appear below the gypsum layer. Geochemical modelling of the fluids was performed to identify the mechanisms responsible for the formation of gypsum and amorphous silica. The results indicated that the occurrence of gypsum is related to the acid-fog deposition and amorphous silica mainly originates from spring water. Fog deposition provided the rock coatings with abundant SO42− and Ca, and the subsequent complete evaporation of the condensed fluids produced gypsum. Seasonal climate change (especially variation in rainfall) determines the fluctuations of capillary action and dissolution. Rainfall events in the wet season led to periods of non-precipitating gypsum and promoted the capillary rise of the spring water. Slightly diluted capillary water (a small amount of rainwater) covered the rock coatings, formed a tight siliceous layer on the rock-coating surface and/or filled the pores among the gypsum crystals forming many tabular siliceous aggregates. Heavy rainfall (high dilution), however, resulted in non-precipitating amorphous silica and accelerated the gypsum dissolution, leaving tabular pores around tabular siliceous aggregates and forming a tabular siliceous layer.

The Zhenzhu Spring, located in the Tengchong volcanic field, Yunnan, China, is an acid hot spring with high SO42− concentrations and intense acid aerosol generation. In order to understand the formation mechanism of sulfate minerals at the Zhenzhu Spring and provide a better insight into the sulfur isotope geochemistry of the associated Rehai hydrothermal system, we investigated the spring water hydrochemistry, mineralogy and major-element geochemistry of sulfate minerals at the Zhenzhu Spring together with the sulfur-oxygen isotope geochemistry of sulfur-containing materials at the Rehai geothermal field and compared the isotope results with those in other steam-heated environments. Subaerial minerals include a wide variety of sulfate minerals (gypsum, alunogen, pickeringite, tamarugite, magnesiovoltaite and a minor Mg–S–O phase) and amorphous SiO2. The δ34S values of the subaerial sulfate minerals at the Zhenzhu Spring varied subtly from –0.33 to 1.88‰ and were almost consistent with the δ34S values of local H2S (–2.6 to 0.6‰) and dissolved SO42− (–0.2 to 5.8‰), while the δ18O values (–8.94 to 20.1‰) were between that of the spring waters (–10.19 to –6.7‰) and atmospheric O2 (~23.88‰). The results suggest that most of the sulfate minerals are derived from the oxidation of H2S, similar to many sulfate minerals from modern steam-heated environments. However, the rapid environmental change (different ratio of atmospheric and water oxygen) at the Zhenzhu Spring accounts for the large variation of δ18O. The formation of subaerial sulfate minerals around the Zhenzhu Spring is related to acid aerosols (vapour and acid water droplets). The intense activity of spring water around vents supply the aerosol with H2SO4 (H2S oxidation and acid water droplets formed by bubble bursting) and few cations. Deposition of the acid sulfate aerosol forms the acid condensate, which attacks the underlying rocks and releases many cations and anions to form subaerial sulfate minerals at the Zhenzhu Spring.

In the paper, we provide an effective criterion for the Lipschitz equivalence of two-branch Cantor sets and three-branch Cantor sets by studying the irreducibility of polynomials. We also find that any two Cantor sets are Lipschitz equivalent if and only if their contraction vectors are equivalent provided one of the contraction vectors is homogeneous.

In this work, the reduction mechanism of potassium chromate (K2CrO4) was investigated via in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. During the hydrogen reduction of K2CrO4, the formation of K3CrO4, KCrO2, and KxCrO2 were detected for the first time. The study discovered that K2CrO4 was firstly reduced to K3CrO4 and an amorphous Cr(III) intermediate product at low temperature (400–500 °C). Moreover, the K3CrO4 was the only crystalline material at this stage. As the temperature increased, a stabilized amorphous CrOOH was formed. At a high temperature (550–700 °C), KCrO2 was generated. Interestingly, a portion of KCrO2 was spontaneously decomposed during the hydrogen reduction, accompanying by the formation of K0.7CrO2. Finally, the results clearly illustrated the reduction mechanism of K2CrO4: K2CrO4 → K3CrO4 → amorphous intermediate → KCrO2.

Excavation of the Han Dynasty chambered tomb at Laoguanshan in Chengdu, south-west China, has provided the earliest known evidence of pattern loom technology. Four model looms, along with accompanying artefacts and figurines relating to the weaving process, give insight into the technique of jin silk production. The discovery is hugely significant as it provides the first direct evidence of pattern-weave textile production in ancient China. Jin silk, made using this method, was both valuable and widely distributed, and the design of the machine influenced the invention of later looms and the spread of technology throughout Eurasia and Europe, representing great technological accomplishment for the second century BC.