Resistant starch (RS) has received increased attention due to its potential health benefits. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of dietary corn RS on immunological characteristics of broilers. A total of 320 broiler chicks were randomly allocated to five dietary treatments: normal corn–soyabean (NC) diet group, corn starch diet group, 4 %, 8 % and 12 % RS diet groups. This trial lasted for 42 d. The relative weights of spleen, thymus and bursa, the concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) and IL-4 in plasma at 21 d of age, as well as the activities of total nitric oxide synthase (TNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in plasma at 21 and 42 d of age showed positive linear responses (P < 0·05) to the increasing dietary RS level. Meanwhile, compared with the birds from the NC group at 21 d of age, birds fed 4 % RS, 8 % RS and 12 % RS diets exhibited higher (P < 0·05) relative weight of bursa and concentrations of NO and interferon-γ in plasma. Birds fed 4 % RS and 8 % RS diets showed higher (P < 0·05) number of IgA-producing cells in the jejunum. While compared with birds from the NC group at 42 d of age, birds fed 12 % RS diet showed higher (P < 0·05) relative weight of spleen and activities of TNOS and iNOS in plasma. These findings suggested that dietary corn RS supplementation can improve immune function in broilers.

Traditionally, the strata of the Luonie Valley, Dechang County, SW Sichuan, China, are considered to contain a suite of felsic volcanic rocks (the Huili Group) that erupted after c. 1050 Ma. However, we report here new age constraints, elemental and Lu–Hf isotope geochemistry for a different suite of older basaltic agglomerate lava, basaltic tuff lava and basalt from the same area, which we name the Luonie Formation. New dating results show that the basaltic volcanic suite of the upper part of the Luonie Formation formed at 1126.1 ± 9.9 Ma, significantly earlier than deposition of the Huili Group, but comparable in age to the 1142 ± 16 Ma Laowushan Formation in central Yunnan Province. Granite intrusion into the Luonie Formation dated 1050.7 ± 12.7 Ma provides crucial supporting evidence for this earlier depositional age. We also report a maximum sedimentary age of c. 1158 Ma for the underlying arkose, implying stratigraphic conformity with the basaltic volcanic rock suite.

The ϵHf(t) values of the basaltic volcanic rocks are mainly positive, indicating that the rocks are mainly derived from the depleted mantle and slightly stained by crustal materials. The characteristics of P*, Nb* and Zr* anomalies also support this view. The distribution patterns of trace and rare earth elements indicate that the basaltic volcanic rocks formed in an extensional setting. The Zr/4–Y–2Nb and Th–Nb/16–Zr/117 discrimination diagrams also provide evidence for this understanding. Lithofacies analysis shows that basaltic volcanic wrocks with the characteristics of both continental and marine facies should be formed in a littoral–neritic environment. We propose here that the evidence is consistent with a phase of continental extension that preceded the convergence of the SW Yangtze Block to form part of Rodinia.

The present study aimed to explore the association between healthy lifestyle pattern and childhood early onset of puberty. Based on a cohort study in Xiamen of China, a total of 1294 children was followed for three and a half years. Children’s lifestyles, including dietary behaviour, physical activity, sleep duration, smoking and drinking behaviour and sedentary behaviour, were collected by questionnaires. Healthy lifestyle pattern was determined mainly according to the recommendations by the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese school-age children and Canadian Guidelines for children and youth. The pubertal development was assessed by clinical examination according to Tanner stages. The association between pre-pubertal lifestyle and early onset of puberty was estimated using linear regression and log-binomial regression. We found that children who adhered to a healthy lifestyle had a 0·36-year delay of the age of puberty onset (coef = 0·36, 95 % CI (0·08, 0·65)) and 53 % lower risk of early onset of puberty (risk ratio = 0·47, 95 % CI (0·27, 0·80)), compared with those who had a poor lifestyle. However, the beneficial effect of favourable lifestyles on the early onset of puberty was found only in boys with normal weight. Boys who adhered to active physical activity and low sedentary behaviour had a relatively delayed age of puberty onset (coef = 0·49, 95 % CI (0·26, 0·72)). This is the first time to find that healthy lifestyle pattern was associated with a substantially lower risk of early onset of puberty, especially in boys with normal weight. Advocating an integrated healthy lifestyle is essential for the development of children.

The coffee white stem borer, Xylotrechus quadripes Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is a major destructive pest of Coffea arabica L. (Gentianales: Rubiaceae), widely planted in many Asian countries, including China. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is a common method for quantitative analysis of gene transcription levels. To obtain accurate and reliable qRT-PCR results, it is necessary to select suitable reference genes to different experimental conditions for normalizing the target gene expression. However, the stability of the expression of reference genes in X. quadripes has rarely been studied. In this study, the expression stability of nine candidate reference genes were investigated under biotic and abiotic conditions for use in qRT-PCR's normalization. By integrating the results of four algorithms of NormFinder, BestKeeper, geNorm, and RefFinder, the optimal reference gene combinations in different experimental conditions were performed as follows: RPL10a and EIF3D were the optimal reference genes for developmental stage samples, EIF4E, RPL10a, and RPS27a for tissue samples, V-ATP and EF1α for the sex samples, EIF3D and V-ATP for temperature treatment, RPS27a and RPL10a for insecticide stress, and RPL10a, RPS27a, and EF1α for all the samples. This study will help to obtain the stable internal reference genes under biotic and abiotic conditions and lay the foundation for in-depth functional research of target genes or genomics on olfactory molecular mechanisms, temperature adaptability, and insecticide resistance in X. quadripes.

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.

Carbon nanotube foams (CNFs) have been successfully used as near-critical-density targets in the laser-driven acceleration of high-energy ions and electrons. Here we report the recent advances in the fabrication technique of such targets. With the further developed floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) method, large-area ($>25\kern0.5em {\mathrm{cm}}^2$) and highly uniform CNFs are successfully deposited on nanometer-thin metal or plastic foils as double-layer targets. The density and thickness of the CNF can be controlled in the range of $1{-}13\kern0.5em \mathrm{mg}/{\mathrm{cm}}^3$ and $10{-}200\kern0.5em \mu \mathrm{m}$, respectively, by varying the synthesis parameters. The dependence of the target properties on the synthesis parameters and the details of the target characterization methods are presented for the first time.

Based on the public data from the health departments of Tianjin and Shenzhen, we conducted a comparative analysis of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic situation between these 2 cities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of public data in epidemic prevention and control of COVID-19, providing a scientific advice for the subsequent mitigation and containment of COVID-19 prevalence.

Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) is an important target for discovering new herbicides that interfere with the synthesis of porphyrin. To discover new PPO inhibitors with improved biological activity, a series of new diphenyl ethers containing tetrahydrophthalimide were designed and synthesized. Among them, J6.1 (IC50 = 4.7 nM) and J6.3 (IC50 = 30.0 nM) show higher maize (Zea mays L.) PPO inhibitory activity than the commercial herbicides oxyfluorfen (IC50 = 117.9 nM) and flumioxazin (IC50 = 157.1 nM). The greenhouse herbicidal activity of J6.3 is comparable to that of oxyfluorfen, and it is greater than that of flumioxazin. Even at a dose of 300 g ai ha−1, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) show greater tolerance to J6.3, suggesting that J6.3 could be used for further development of new herbicide candidates in those fields. In addition, molecular docking has been used to further study the mechanism of action of J6.3. The results show that the introduction of a nitro group and tetrahydrophthalimide into the diphenyl ether structure is beneficial to biological activity.

Since the first report of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, the outbreak of the disease has been continuously evolving. Until March 17, 2020, 185, 178 cases had been confirmed, including 81,134 cases in China and 104,044 cases outside of China. In this comment, we report the unexpected beneficial effect of a deployable rapid-assembly shelter hospital on the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. We describe the shelter hospital maintenance, treatment mode and primary treatment methods, which will provide a valuable experience in dealing with public health emergencies, such as COVID-19, for other countries and areas.

The COVID-19 outbreak is ongoing in China. Here, Boltzmann function-based analyses reveal the potential total numbers of COVID-19 deaths: 3,260 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3187–3394) in China; 110 (95% CI, 109–112) in Hubei Province; 3,174 (95% CI, 3095–3270) outside Hubei; 2,550 (95% CI, 2494–2621) in Wuhan City; and 617 (95% CI, 607–632) outside Wuhan.

This article presents a brief review of our case studies of data-driven Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) for intelligently discovering advanced structural metal materials, including light-weight materials (Ti, Mg, and Al alloys), refractory high-entropy alloys, and superalloys. The basic bonding in terms of topology and electronic structures is recommended to be considered as the building blocks/units constructing the microstructures of advanced materials. It is highlighted that the bonding charge density could not only provide an atomic and electronic insight into the physical nature of chemical bond of materials but also reveal the fundamental strengthening/embrittlement mechanisms and the local phase transformations of planar defects, paving a path in accelerating the development of advanced metal materials via interfacial engineering. Perspectives on the knowledge-based modeling/simulations, machine-learning knowledge base, platform, and next-generation workforce for sustainable ecosystem of ICME are highlighted, thus to call for more duty on the developments of advanced structural metal materials and enhancement of research productivity and collaboration.

In recent years, there have been a significant influenza activity and emerging influenza strains in China, resulting in an increasing number of influenza virus infections and leading to public health concerns. The aims of this study were to identify the epidemiological and aetiological characteristics of influenza and establish seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models for forecasting the percentage of visits for influenza-like illness (ILI%) in urban and rural areas of Shenyang. Influenza surveillance data were obtained for ILI cases and influenza virus positivity from 18 sentinel hospitals. The SARIMA models were constructed to predict ILI% for January–December 2019. During 2010–2018, the influenza activity was higher in urban than in rural areas. The age distribution of ILI cases showed the highest rate in young children aged 0–4 years. Seasonal A/H3N2, influenza B virus and pandemic A/H1N1 continuously co-circulated in winter and spring seasons. In addition, the SARIMA (0, 1, 0) (0, 1, 2)12 model for the urban area and the SARIMA (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 0)12 model for the rural area were appropriate for predicting influenza incidence. Our findings suggested that there were regional and seasonal distinctions of ILI activity in Shenyang. A co-epidemic pattern of influenza strains was evident in terms of seasonal influenza activity. Young children were more susceptible to influenza virus infection than adults. These results provide a reference for future influenza prevention and control strategies in the study area.

Iodine intake and excretion vary widely; however, these variations remain a large source of geometric uncertainty. The present study aims to analyse variations in iodine intake and excretion and provide implications for sampling in studies of individuals or populations. Twenty-four healthy women volunteers were recruited for a 12-d sampling period during the 4-week experiment. The duplicate-portion technique was used to measure iodine intake, while 24-h urine was collected to estimate iodine excretion. The mean intra-individual variations in iodine intake, 24-h UIE (24-h urinary iodine excretion) and 24-h UIC (24-h urinary iodine concentration) were 63, 48 and 55 %, respectively, while the inter-individual variations for these parameters were 14, 24 and 32 %, respectively. For 95 % confidence, approximately 500 diet samples or 24-h urine samples should be taken from an individual to estimate their iodine intake or iodine status at a precision range of ±5%. Obtaining a precision range of ±5% in a population would require twenty-five diet samples or 150 24-h urine samples. The intra-individual variations in iodine intake and excretion were higher than the inter-individual variations, which indicates the need for more samples in a study on individual participants.

Spray-painting equipments are important for the automatic spraying of long conical objects such as rocket fairing. This paper proposes a spray-painting equipment that consists of a feed worktable, a gantry frame and two serial–parallel mechanisms and investigates the optimal design of PRR–PRR parallel manipulator in serial–parallel mechanisms. Based on the kinematic model of the parallel manipulator, the conditioning performance, workspace and accuracy performance indices are defined. The dynamic model is derived using virtual work principle and dynamic evaluation index is defined. The conditioning performance, workspace, accuracy performance and dynamic performance are involved in multi-objective optimization design to determine the optimal geometrical parameters of the parallel manipulator. Furthermore, the geometrical parameters of the gantry frame are optimized. An example is given to show how to determine these parameters by taking a long object with conical surface as painted object.

Paediatric Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) is a major cause of community-acquired pneumonia in China. Data on epidemiology of paediatric MPP from China are little known. This study retrospectively collected data from June 2006 to June 2016 in Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University of North China and aims to explore the epidemiological features of paediatric MPP and severe MPP (SMPP) in North China during the past 10 years. A total of 27 498 paediatric patients with pneumonia were enrolled. Among them, 37.5% of paediatric patients had MPP. In this area, an epidemic took place every 2–3 years at the peak, and the positive rate of MPP increased during these peak years over time. The peak age of MPP was between the ages of 6 and 10 years, accounting for 75.2%, significantly more compared with other age groups (χ2 = 1384.1, P < 0.0001). The epidemics peaked in September, October and November (χ2 = 904.9, P < 0.0001). Additionally, 13.0% of MPP paediatric patients were SMPP, but over time, the rate of SMPP increased, reaching 42.6% in 2016. The mean age of paediatric patients with SMPP (6.7 ± 3.0 years old) was younger than that of patients with non-SMPP (7.4 ± 3.2 years old) (t = 3.60, P = 0.0001). The prevalence of MPP and SMPP is common in China, especially in children from 6 to 10 years old. Paediatric patients with SMPP tend to be younger than those with non-SMPP. MPP outbreaks occur every 2–3 years in North China. September, October and November are the peak months, unlike in South China. Understanding the epidemiological characteristics of paediatric MPP can contribute to timely treatment and diagnosis, and may improve the prognosis of children with SMPP.

In this work, carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-templated binuclear metallophthalocyanines (MTAPcCF3)2C (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) assemblies (MTAPcCF3)2C–COOH–CNTs are designed and obtained. Whereafter, the structure and morphology of target products are analyzed by many means such as infrared, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The electrocatalytic performances of lithium-thionyl chloride battery catalyzed by (MTAPcCF3)2C–COOH–CNTs were carried out. The result shows that all catalysts can improve the battery performance including the discharge time and the initial voltage. The catalytic performance of (MTAPcCF3)2C–COOH–CNTs is ordered following the central metal: Mn > Fe > Ni > Co > Cu > Zn. The cell capacity catalyzed by optimal catalyst (MnTAPcCF3)2C–COOH–CNTs can expand to 28.08 mAˑh, with increase by 142.07%, and the (MnTAPcCF3)2C–COOH–CNTs can extend the discharge time to 551.6 s. Besides, the reaction mechanism is presented on the basis of cyclic voltammetry measurements.