To investigate the association between the Metabolic Score for Visceral Fat (METS-VF) and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and compare the predictive value of the METS-VF for T2DM incidence with other obesity indices in Chinese people. A total of 12 237 non-T2DM participants aged over 18 years from the Rural Chinese Cohort Study of 2007–2008 were included at baseline and followed up during 2013–2014. The cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI for the association between baseline METS-VF and T2DM risk. Restricted cubic splines were used to model the association between METS-VF and T2DM risk. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis was used to evaluate the ability of METS-VF to predict T2DM incidence. During a median follow-up of 6·01 (95 % CI 5·09, 6·06) years, 837 cases developed T2DM. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the adjusted HR for the highest v. lowest METS-VF quartile was 5·97 (95 % CI 4·28, 8·32), with a per 1-sd increase in METS-VF positively associated with T2DM risk. Positive associations were also found in the sensitivity and subgroup analyses, respectively. A significant nonlinear dose–response association was observed between METS-VF and T2DM risk for all participants (Pnonlinearity = 0·0347). Finally, the AUC value of METS-VF for predicting T2DM was largest among six indices. The METS-VF may be a reliable and applicable predictor of T2DM incidence in Chinese people regardless of sex, age or BMI.

The effect of vitamin D (VD) on the risk of preeclampsia (PE) is uncertain. Few of previous studies focused on the relationship between dietary VD intake and PE risk. Therefore, we conducted this 1:1 matched case–control study to explore the association of dietary VD intake and serum VD concentrations with PE risk in Chinese pregnant women. A total of 440 pairs of participants were recruited during March 2016 to June 2019. Dietary information was obtained using a seventy-eight-item semi-quantitative FFQ. Serum concentrations of 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 were measured by liquid chromatography–tandem MS. Multivariate conditional logistic regression was used to estimate OR and 95 % CI. Restricted cubic splines (RCS) were plotted to evaluate the dose–response relationship of dietary VD intake and serum VD concentrations with PE risk. Compared with the lowest quartile, the OR of the highest quartile were 0·45 (95 % CI 0·29, 0·71, Ptrend = 0·001) for VD dietary intake and 0·26 (95 % CI 0·11, 0·60, Ptrend = 0·003) for serum levels after adjusting for confounders. In addition, the RCS analysis suggested a reverse J-shaped relationship between dietary VD intake and PE risk (P-nonlinearity = 0·02). A similar association was also found between serum concentrations of total 25(OH)D and PE risk (P-nonlinearity = 0·02). In conclusion, this study provides evidence that higher dietary intake and serum levels of VD are associated with the lower risk of PE in Chinese pregnant women.

The South China Block is one of the largest continental blocks located on the East Asian continent. The early Palaeozoic Wuyi–Yunkai orogen of the South China Block (known as the Caledonian orogen in Europe) is a major orogenic belt in East Asia and represents the first episode of extensive crustal reworking since Neoproterozoic time. Although this orogen is key to deciphering the formation and evolution of the South China Block, details about the orogen remain poorly defined. The Songshutang and Wushitou ultramafic–mafic units in southern Jiangxi Province, South China, have 206Pb–238U ages of c. 437 Ma, suggesting a Silurian formation age. All the Songshutang and Wushitou ultramafic–mafic rocks show relatively flat chondrite-normalized rare earth element patterns, depletions in Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf and Ti, and low ϵNd(t) values from −9.12 to −5.49 with negative zircon ϵHf(t) values from −10.84 to −2.58, resembling a typical arc magma affinity. Geochemical and isotopic data indicate that the newly identified ultramafic–mafic rocks, along with the reported Silurian mafic rocks in South China, possibly originated from the similar partial melting of an ancient subducted slab, fluid/sediment and metasomatized lithospheric mantle with varying degrees of fractional crystallization. In conjunction with other records of magmatism and metamorphism in South China, a late-orogenic extensional event led to the melting of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle in Silurian time and generated ultramafic–mafic rocks with a limited distribution along the Wuyi–Yunkai orogen and widespread late-orogenic granitic plutons in the South China Block.

The hurdiid radiodont Cambroraster is characterized by a prominent horseshoe-shaped head carapace, which bears conspicuous posterolateral spinous processes and covers half of the body length, and a pair of frontal appendages possessing rake-like endites. Here we report the discovery of characteristic central and lateral elements as well as a possible appendage endite for Cambroraster from the Cambrian Wuliuan Mantou Formation of North China. This discovery suggests that Cambroraster had dispersed over a wide biogeographic range and expands the geographic range of Hurdiidae. The increasing discoveries of exceptionally preserved fossils in the Upper Shale Member of the Mantou Formation indicate that this horizon is a promising Burgess Shale–type Lagerstätte.

The aim of the paper is to introduce and investigate a dynamical system which consists of a variational–hemivariational inequality of hyperbolic type combined with a non-linear evolution equation. Such a dynamical system arises in studies of complicated contact problems in mechanics. Existence, uniqueness and regularity of a global solution to the system are established. The approach is based on a new semi-discrete approximation with an application of a surjectivity result for a pseudomonotone perturbation of a maximal monotone operator. A new dynamic viscoelastic frictional contact model with adhesion is studied as an application, in which the contact boundary condition is described by a generalised normal damped response condition with unilateral constraint and a multivalued frictional contact law.

The arthropod Sidneyia Walcott, 1911 is a remarkable animal of the Burgess Shale biota (Cambrian Miaolingian, Wuliuan; British Columbia, Canada), which has not been confidently reported from other Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten. Here we report the discovery of Sidneyia cf. inexpectans from the Wuliuan Mantou Formation of North China, which substantially expands the known palaeogeographical distribution of this genus. Our discovery suggests that Sidneyia had much greater dispersal ability than hitherto thought. It also confirms the presence of exceptionally preserved fossils in the Wuliuan Mantou Formation, one of the rare Burgess Shale-type deposits of North China.

Non-spicular sponges constitute >8% of the extant sponge biodiversity at the species level, yet their evolutionary history is poorly known due to a sparse fossil record. The genus Vauxia, previously only known from middle Cambrian (Miaolingian, Wuliuan) Lagerstätten, was regarded as the earliest fossil record of non-spicular demosponges. Here we describe the first vauxiid sponge, Vauxia leioia new species, from the early Cambrian Chengjiang Biota (Series 2, Stage 3). This sponge exhibits a double-layered fibrous skeleton: the mesh and fiber thickness of the endosomal layer are irregular while the dermal layer, which directly connects with the endosomal skeleton without intermediate supporting fibers, is regular in both aspects. Measurements using scanning electron microscope and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the endosomal fibers are composed of carbonaceous material, but are tomographically indiscernible from the host rock, while the dermal fibers are preserved as impressions without obvious accumulation of carbonaceous material. Although the original composition of the dermal skeleton is now hard to establish, we cannot rule out that it was siliceous. The morphological characters of V. leioia n. sp. represent an intermediate state between other Vauxia species and the recently established vauxiid genus Angulosuspongia. However, more data are required to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationship among these taxa.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/0ebb91b8-5dad-420f-bb2c-dc203d37bebd

Underground Nuclear Astrophysics in China (JUNA) will take the advantage of the ultra-low background in Jinping underground lab. High current accelerator with an ECR source and detectors were commissioned. JUNA plans to study directly a number of nuclear reactions important to hydrostatic stellar evolution at their relevant stellar energies. At the first period, JUNA aims at the direct measurements of 25Mg(p,γ)26 Al, 19F(p,α) 16 O, 13C(α, n) 16O and 12C(α,γ) 16O near the Gamow window. The current progress of JUNA will be given.

Familial monozygotic (MZ) twinning reports are rare around the world, and we report a four-generation pedigree with seven recorded pairs of female MZ twins. Whole-genome sequencing of seven family members was performed to explore the featured genetic factors in MZ twins. For variations specific to MZ twins, five novel variants were observed in the X chromosome. These candidates were used to explain the seemingly X-linked dominant inheritance pattern, and only one variant was exonic, located at the 5′UTR region of ZCCHC12 (chrX: 117958597, G > A). Besides, consistent mitochondrial DNA composition in the maternal linage precluded roles of mitochondria for this trait. In this pedigree, autosomes also contain diverse variations specific to MZ twins. Pathway analysis revealed a significant enrichment of genes carrying novel SNVs in the epithelial adherens junction-signaling pathway (p = .011), contributed by FGFR1, TUBB6, and MYH7B. Meanwhile, TBC1D22A, TRIOBP, and TUBB6, also carrying similar SNVs, were involved in the GTPase family-mediated signal pathway. Furthermore, gene-set enrichment analysis for 533 genes covered by copy number variations specific to MZ twins illustrated that the tight junction-signaling pathway was significantly enriched (p < .001). Therefore, the novel changes in the X chromosome and the provided candidate variants across autosomes may be responsible for MZ twinning, giving clues to increase our understanding about the underlying mechanism.

The radiodontans, including anomalocaridids and their allies, are enigmatic stem-group euarthropods and are the most ancient apex giant predators known from the fossil record. Most studies on their feeding behaviors have emphasized their diverse and abundant raptorial frontal appendages, while the oral cone surrounding the mouth opening in these animals has attracted less attention. At present, three oral cone morphotypes are known, from Anomalocaris Whiteaves, 1892, Peytoia Walcott, 1911, and Hurdia Walcott, 1912, respectively. In this paper, we report on a novel form of radiodontan oral cone from the Guanshan Lagerstätte (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) in the Wulongqing Formation, eastern Yunnan, South China. This oral cone is unique in combining features seen in Peytoia/Hurdia and Anomalocaris. It possesses a Peytoia/Hurdia-type ‘tetraradial’ configuration comprising a 32-plate outer ring that consists of four perpendicularly arranged large plates and 28 small plates, in addition to furrowed folds and scale-like nodes on plate surfaces otherwise seen only in Anomalocaris. As an intermediate morphotype, the Guanshan oral cone improves our understanding of the occurrence and morphological disparity of radiodontan oral cones, illuminates future investigations on potentially variable radiodontan feeding mechanisms, and reveals possible evolutionary transformations of these peculiar feeding structures. The resolution of current radiodontan phylogeny would be potentially improved by new knowledge on other body parts apart from frontal appendages in future studies.

Appendage anatomy contributes crucial data for understanding the evolution and ecology of Euarthropoda. The Palaeozoic trilobites show a great diversity of exoskeletons in the fossil record. However, soft parts, especially appendages, have only been discovered from a few trilobite species. Here we report extraordinarily preserved appendages in the trilobite species Hongshiyanaspis yiliangensis Zhang & Lin in Zhang et al. 1980 (Redlichiida, Metadoxididae) from a single mudstone layer of the Xiazhuang fossil assemblage within the Hongjingshao Formation (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 3) near Kunming, Yunnan, SW China. The appendages exhibit the common architecture revealed by other trilobites and artiopods by consisting of a pair of uniramous antennae followed by a series of paired homonomous biramous limbs. The antennae in holaspid individuals comprise up to 27 spinous podomeres and their ontogeny occurs by lengthening of the podomeres. The post-antennal biramous limbs are similar to those in other polymerid trilobites and artiopods by having a single-segmented protopodite and an endopodite comprising seven segments, but possess a unique wide tripartite exopodite with long setae. Sophisticated appendage anatomy, including the body–limb junction, fine setae, putative muscle bundles and duct-type tissues, are also revealed. Appendages of trilobites, artiopods and other upper stem-group euarthropods are compared and summarized. The H. yiliangensis appendages highlight the high morphological disparity of exopodites and the conservativeness of endopodites in trilobites and artiopods. This morphological pattern, together with similar body patterning seen in crustaceans but not in chelicerates, supports the mandibulate affinities of trilobites and at least some artiopods.

The ultimate goal of poultry hatching is to increase the hatching rate and to produce healthy hatched birds. In the incubation process, temperature is the most important factor for the egg hatching rate, the growth performance and offspring phenotype. This not only affects the early development of the offspring, but also has a continued influence on the physical characteristics of the birds, such as final body weight and meat quality. This article reviews the importance of incubation temperature on offspring phenotype, sex differentiation, organism immunity and the development of muscle fibre in poultry.

In this paper, the recent studies of laboratory astrophysics with strong magnetic fields in China have been reviewed. On the Shenguang-II laser facility of the National Laboratory on High-Power Lasers and Physics, a laser-driven strong magnetic field up to 200 T has been achieved. The experiment was performed to model the interaction of solar wind with dayside magnetosphere. Also the low beta plasma magnetic reconnection (MR) has been studied. Theoretically, the model has been developed to deal with the atomic structures and processes in strong magnetic field. Also the study of shock wave generation in the magnetized counter-streaming plasmas is introduced.

The relationship between climate, crop growth and crop yield is complicated. This study aimed to determine the ratio of CO2–C emission to grain yield, the field treatments were initiated in 2003, but the measurements for this analysis were collected during the summer maize-growing seasons of 2011 and 2012 in the North China Plain. The experiment showed that conventional tillage with straw application significantly increased grain yield and the ratio of CO2–C emission to grain yield of summer maize. The mean soil CO2–C emission rate with no tillage was significantly lower than that when conventional tillage was used; however, straw application significantly increased the soil CO2–C emission rate, irrespective of whether tillage was performed or not. This was mainly because straw application changed the soil total porosity and organic carbon content. In conclusion, the results of this study support the hypothesis that the ratio of CO2–C emission to grain yield in the North China Plain can be increased by straw application, whereas no tillage decreases this ratio.

A new arthropod, Haifengella corona new genus new species is described from the early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte (Series 2, Stage 3), Yunnan Province, southwest China. It is readily assignable to helmetiida based on gross morphology of the tergum. The new helmetiid is unique in having the marginal spines extending over one-third of the total body width. The weakly sclerotized tergum consists of six thoracic tergites with edge-to-edge tergite articulations. The sub-trapezoidal cephalic shield has a pair of long spines projecting from each posterolateral corner. A prehypostomal sclerite (anterior sclerite) recesses in the anterior margin of the cephalic shield, and a pair of bulges that are close to the prehypostomal sclerite in the cephalic shield are presumed to be the position of ventral eyes. Each of the thoracic tergites exhibits a pair of long spines projecting from the posterolateral corners. The semicircular pygidium carries one terminal spine and two pairs of lateral spines.

The robust spines and sclerites of the early to middle Cambrian ‘mollusc’ Wiwaxia are ubiquitous in suitably preserved deposits, but are strikingly absent from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte (Cambrian Stage 3, Yunnan Province, SW China). Here we provide the first record of Wiwaxia sclerites from this rich deposit, extending the record of the genus to the earliest Cambrian Series 2. This reinforces the cosmopolitan distribution of this iconic Cambrian lophotrochozoan and demonstrates the strong faunal continuity that unites distant Cambrian Lagerstätten.

Suction casting (SC) and centrifugal casting (CC) are two common special casting processes. The influences of SC and CC on the microstructural development of Cu–10Al–4Fe–4Ni aluminum bronzes were investigated with continuous cooling method. The results indicate that α, β′, KII, and KIII phases are observed in the quasicast microstructure via the SC process with the precipitation sequence of KII → α → KIII. Additionally, KI and KIV are observed in the quasicast microstructure via the CC process with the precipitation sequence of α + KⅠ → KII → KIV → KIII. Phase initial precipitation temperatures of the CC process are higher than that of the SC process, especially for α phase. As the quenching temperature decreases, the hardness of both alloys shows a rapid decline trend and finally reaches a steady state. It is found that the eutectoid decomposition (β → α + KIII) barely affects the hardness of the alloys.

Five tropical multi-purpose tree species (MPTS), Enterolobium cyclocarpum, Moringa oleifera, Millettia griffoniana, Pterocarpus santalinoides and Treculia Africana, and one exotic species (Leucaena leucocephala), which acted as the control, planted in a randomized complete block design, were selected to evaluate the potentials as feed supplements for herds in dry seasons of south-western Nigeria. Samples of the MPTS leaves were collected in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, weighed, dried and milled for estimation of biomass production, chemical analysis and measurement of in vitro gas production. Results showed significant differences (P < 0·001) in the biomass production of the MPTS. E. cyclocarpum consistently recorded the highest biomass production, height and collar diameter throughout the experimental period. There were also differences (P ⩽ 0·001) in dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE) and ash contents of the MPTS across species and years after planting. M. oleifera recorded the highest CP content of 240 g/kg DM. Interactions were observed between species and year for neutral detergent fibre (NDFom), acid detergent fibre (ADFom) and lignin contents of the MPTS. M. griffoniana and M. oleifera had lower tannin contents, whereas E. cyclocarpum, P. santalinoides, T. africana and L. leucocephala had higher tannin contents. The values reported for mineral contents showed that their levels in the MPTS were adequate for ruminants and there were no differences in the contents of most minerals. In vitro gas production results showed that the potential gas production ‘b’ was highest in M. griffoniana and lowest in P. santalinoides and there were species and year interactions (P ⩽ 0·001) for volatile fatty acid profiles of the supernatant after 96 h incubation. The estimated organic matter digestibility (OMD) and metabolizable energy (ME) of the MPTS were generally high. The high biomass production, CP and low fibre contents, as well as in vitro fermentation characteristics found for the MPTS evaluated in the current study suggest that these are better alternatives in comparison with L. leucocephala. It can be concluded that the MPTS evaluated have potential as sources of feed supplements for ruminants in dry seasons, especially in south western Nigeria.