Double-cone ignition [Zhang et al., Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 378, 20200015 (2020)] was proposed recently as a novel path for direct-drive inertial confinement fusion using high-power lasers. In this scheme, plasma jets with both high density and high velocity are required for collisions. Here we report preliminary experimental results obtained at the Shenguang-II upgrade laser facility, employing a CHCl shell in a gold cone irradiated with a two-ramp laser pulse. The CHCl shell was pre-compressed by the first laser ramp to a density of 3.75 g/cm3 along the isentropic path. Subsequently, the target was further compressed and accelerated by the second laser ramp in the cone. According to the simulations, the plasma jet reached a density of up to 15 g/cm3, while measurements indicated a velocity of 126.8 ± 17.1 km/s. The good agreements between experimental data and simulations are documented.

The carbonate-hosted Pb–Zn deposits in the Sichuan–Yunnan–Guizhou (SYG) triangle region are important Indosinian deposits in South China. The Tianbaoshan deposit is a typical large Pb–Zn deposit in the SYG area and occurs as pipe-like type, hosted by Sinian dolostone. It contains ∼26 Mt Zn–Pb ore (7.76–10.09 % Zn, 1.28–1.50 % Pb and 93.6 g t−1 Ag) and >0.1 Mt Cu ore (2.55 % Cu). In this study, the detailed mineral textures, mineral chemical and sulphur isotopic compositions of the various sulphides have been analysed to constrain the abnormal enrichment mechanism and mineralization relationship. Four mineralization stages have been recognized: Stage 1, minor early pyrite (Py1) with relics and infill of intergranular dolomite or quartz grains; Stage 2, Cu mineralization with coarse-grained, elliptical crystal chalcopyrite (Cp1); (3) Stage 3, Zn mineralization with dark fine-grained sphalerite (Sph1) and light coarse-grained sphalerite (Sph2); and (4) Stage 4, as represented by a quartz–calcite assemblage with galena, minor pyrite (Py2) and chalcopyrite (Cp2). The petrography of the sulphide minerals (Py1, Cp1, Sph1 and Sph2) demonstrates a mutual inclusion relationship. The nature of this relationship from core to rim and their similar sulphur isotope values (5.5–8.3 ‰) indicates a single sulphur source, suggesting that the different mineralization types are the result of different stages of a continuous hydrothermal system. Sphalerite geothermometer study suggests that sphalerite in the Tianbaoshan deposit formed in a low-temperature (<200 °C) hydrothermal system. The low concentrations of Mn and In, low In/Ge ratios and high Fe/Cd ratios in the sphalerite are consistent with those of Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits, but different from those of magmatism-related deposits (e.g. epithermal, skarn and VMS deposits). The positive δ34S values for Py1 (5.1–7.9 ‰), Cp1 (5.1–7.2 ‰), Sph1 (4.7–7.4 ‰), Sph2 (3.9–8.7 ‰), Py2 (4.4–9.3 ‰) and Cp2 (5.0–6.8 ‰) indicate a sulphur source from thermochemical reduction of coeval seawater sulphate. Widely developed dissolved textures (caverns and breccias) with massive sulphide infillings and deformed host rock remnants suggest that replacement of host dolostones by ore fluids was volumetrically significant and the ore formed nearly simultaneously with the cavities. The Tianbaoshan deposit is a typical MVT deposit, which resulted from mixing of a H2S-rich fluid and a metal-rich fluid, with thermochemical sulphate reduction occurring before ore precipitation rather than during ore precipitation.

The southeastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) records the assembly process between several micro-continental blocks and the North China Craton (NCC), with the consumption of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO), but whether the S-wards subduction of the PAO beneath the northern NCC was ongoing during Carboniferous–Permian time is still being debated. A key issue to resolve this controversy is whether the Carboniferous magmatism in the northern NCC was continental arc magmatism. The Alxa Block is the western segment of the northern NCC and contiguous to the southeastern CAOB, and their Carboniferous–Permian magmatism could have occurred in similar tectonic settings. In this contribution, new zircon U–Pb ages, elemental geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotopic analyses are presented for three early Carboniferous granitic plutons in the southwestern Alxa Block. Two newly identified aluminous A-type granites, an alkali-feldspar granite (331.6 ± 1.6 Ma) and a monzogranite (331.8 ± 1.7 Ma), exhibit juvenile and radiogenic Sr–Nd isotopic features, respectively. Although a granodiorite (326.2 ± 6.6 Ma) is characterized by high Sr/Y ratios (97.4–139.9), which is generally treated as an adikitic feature, this sample has highly radiogenic Sr–Nd isotopes and displays significantly higher K2O/Na2O ratios than typical adakites. These three granites were probably derived from the partial melting of Precambrian continental crustal sources heated by upwelling asthenosphere in lithospheric extensional setting. Regionally, both the Alxa Block and the southeastern CAOB are characterized by the formation of early Carboniferous extension-related magmatic rocks but lack coeval sedimentary deposits, suggesting a uniform lithospheric extensional setting rather than a simple continental arc.

Novel NiMoO4-integrated electrode materials were successfully prepared by solvothermal method using Na2MoO4·2H2O and NiSO4·6H2O as main raw materials, water, and ethanol as solvents. The morphology, phase, and structure of the as-prepared materials were characterized by SEM, XRD, Raman, and FT-IR. The electrochemical properties of the materials in supercapacitors were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, constant current charge–discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. The effects of volume ratio of water to ethanol (W/E) in solvent on the properties of the product were studied. The results show that the pure phase monoclinic crystal NiMoO4 product can be obtained when the W/E is 2:1. The diameter and length are 0.1–0.3 µm and approximately 3 µm, respectively. As an active material for supercapacitor, the NiMoO4 nanorods material delivered a discharge specific capacitance of 672, 498, and 396 F/g at a current density of 4, 7, and 10 A/g, respectively. The discharge specific capacitance slightly decreased from 815 to 588 F/g with a retention of 72% after 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A/g. With these superior capacitance properties, the novel NiMoO4 integrated electrode materials could be considered as promising material for supercapacitors.

M3:2 high-speed steel (HSS) billets with or without Nb addition were prepared by spray deposition. The effects of Nb and post-thermal-mechanical processing (decomposition treatment and hot forging), as well as heat treatment, on the microstructure and properties of M3:2 HSS were investigated. The microstructure of the as-deposited M3:2 HSS consisted of equiaxed grains with a mean size of approximately 25 μm and discontinuous plate-like M2C and irregular MC carbides distributed along grain boundaries. 0.5% Nb addition can refine the M2C plates and spheroidize MC carbides. With 2% Nb addition, the refined grains with a mean size of approximately 12 μm and continuous net of M6C and a uniform distribution of NbC carbides were obtained. The decomposition of metastable M2C carbides can be accelerated with 0.5% Nb addition due to the refined size and lower thermodynamic stability of M2C plates. With the increased degree of decomposition of M2C carbide, the M6C and MC carbides became refined and more uniformly distributed after optimal thermal-mechanical processing and heat treatment, which leads to a significant increase in bend strength and toughness.

The first-principles plane-wave pseudopotential method is used to study the electronic and chemical structures of pyrite (FeS2) and arsenopyrite (FeAsS). The results indicate that an antibonding interaction occurs between Fe and As atoms in arsenopyrite. This interaction results in the Fe atom being repelled towards the S atom to stabilize antibonding orbitals, causing a larger S–Fe–S angle in arsenopyrite than in pyrite and a distortion in the arsenopyrite structure. In arsenopyrite, Fe–Fe distances are alternately long and short. The low spin density of the Fe d electrons supports this configuration in arsenopyrite. However, electron density calculations indicate that there is negligible electron density present between Fe atoms. This result indicates that cation-anion interactions are dominant in arsenopyrite. The pyrite Fe 3d orbital is split below the Fermi level, whereas the arsenopyrite Fe 3d orbital is not split, which can be attributed to the stronger interatomic bonding effects between Fe and S atoms in pyrite compared to arsenopyrite. It is found that the d-p orbital interactions between Fe and S atoms lead to bonding-antibonding splitting in both pyrite and arsenopyrite. However, the bonding effects between pyrite Fe and S atoms are stronger than in arsenopyrite. In arsenopyrite, the bonding interaction between the As 4p and Fe 3d orbitals is very weak, while the antibonding effect is very strong. The p-p orbital interaction is the dominant effect in As–S bonding. Frontier orbital calculations indicate that the Fermi levels of pyrite and arsenopyrite are notably close to each other, resulting in similar electrochemical activities. Orbital coefficient results show that the pyrite Fe 3d and S 3p orbitals are the active orbitals in the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), respectively. In the case of arsenopyrite, Fe 3d orbitals are very active in both the HOMO and LUMO. Moreover, the activity of the As 4p in the HOMO is greater than S 3p, whereas the opposite situation occurs in the LUMO. Based on these results, As atoms could be one of the active sites for the oxidation of arsenopyrite. In addition, separation of arsenopyrite and pyrite could be achieved by utilizing the difference in chemical reactivities of iron in the two minerals.

Synthesis of non-uniform circular antenna arrays using a hybrid invasive weed optimization is introduced in this paper. The excitation weights and positions of array elements are optimized to reduce the peak side lobe level (PSLL) of the radiation pattern. The method proposed in this paper can effectively constrain the number of the array elements, size of the array, and the angular spacing of the adjacent element simultaneously. The radiation pattern has the constraint of a fixed major lobe beamwidth. Synthesis results of three different circular antenna arrays are given. The results show the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed synthesis method in non-uniform circular antenna arrays.

Research was conducted to establish a method to investigate the resistance level of flixweed to tribenuron-methyl and the evolved biochemical resistance mechanism. Four resistant biotypes were collected from wheat fields in Mazhuangcun, Jiacun, Dishangcun, and Bafangcun in the Hebei province of China where tribenuron-methyl had been continuously used for more than 10 yr. Two susceptible biotypes were collected from wheat fields where tribenuron-methyl was never applied. Different biotypes were assessed by petri-dish bioassay, whole-plant bioassay, and acetolactate synthase (ALS) assay. Comparisons of data indicated a similarity between methods and that experiments demonstrated that petri-dish bioassay was a feasible method to identify flixweed resistant to tribenuron-methyl. Data indicated differences among the flixweed biotypes when assessed by the petri-dish bioassay, whole-plant bioassay, or ALS enzyme assay, and a close association was obtained for the three bioassay methods. ALS resistance varied by biotypes with Mazhuangcun > Jiacun > Dishangcun > Bafangcun. Target-site enzyme assay data indicated that the resistant biotype's enhanced ALS activity was the biochemical mechanism that induced flixweed's evolved resistance to tribenuron-methyl. The concentrations of tribenuron-methyl causing 50% inhibition of ALS activity of the four resistant biotypes were 1,359, 513, 184, and 164 nM; in the susceptible biotypes these concentrations were 64 and 65 nM. Resistance indexes were 21, 8, 3, and 3 for Mazhuangcun, Jiacun, Dishangcun, and Bafangcun biotypes, respectively.

The microstructural evolution of spray-formed high speed steel during hot deformation was investigated as well as the effects of spray forming parameters on the porosity formation. Four distinct zones are identified in the as-deposited material, and interstitial porosity is present in the bottom and peripheral zones, while gas-related porosity is mainly found in the central zone. It can keep the porosity at a minimum value by using the optimum parameters, e.g., the average porosity of central zone is 3.7% for a superheat of 170 °C and a gas-to-metal flow rate of 0.7. During hot deformation at 1150 °C, the amount of porosity can be obviously decreased by increasing the height reduction which also plays a key role in breaking up eutectic carbides. The critical height reduction for the breakdown of the eutectic carbides is 50%, the dominant mechanism being mechanical fragmentation.

Few studies have explored the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Evidence from non-Western areas is particularly lacking. In the present study, we aimed to examine the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of GDM in a Chinese population. A total of 3063 pregnant Chinese women from an ongoing prospective cohort study were included. Data on dietary intake were collected using a FFQ at 24–27 weeks of gestation. GDM was diagnosed using a 75 g, 2 h oral glucose tolerance test. Dietary patterns were determined by principal components factor analysis. A log-binomial regression model was used to examine the associations between dietary pattern and the risk of GDM. The analysis identified four dietary patterns: vegetable pattern; protein-rich pattern; prudent pattern; sweets and seafood pattern. Multivariate analysis showed that the highest tertile of the vegetable pattern was associated with a decreased risk of GDM (relative risk (RR) 0·79, 95 % CI 0·64, 0·97), compared with the lowest tertile, whereas the highest tertile of the sweets and seafood pattern was associated with an increased risk of GDM (RR 1·23, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·49). No significant association was found for either the protein-rich or the prudent pattern. The protective effect of a high vegetable pattern score was more evident among women who had a family history of diabetes (P for interaction = 0·022). These findings suggest that the vegetable pattern was associated with a decreased risk of GDM, while the sweets and seafood pattern was associated with an increased risk of GDM. These findings may be useful in dietary counselling during pregnancy.

Yang L, Ruan L-M, Ye H-H, Cui H-B, Mu Q-T, Lou Y-R, Ji Y-X, Li W-Z, Sun D-H, Chen X-B. Depression is associated with lower circulating endothelial progenitor cells and increased inflammatory markers.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that depression status in subjects without cardiovascular diseases (CVD) or diabetes is associated with depletion of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and impaired endothelial function.

Method: Thirty depressive persons with the first episode of depression (case group) diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) and 30 healthy people (control group) were investigated. The depression status was estimated using Hamilton Rating Scale of Depression from which the criteria of depression are determined to be >21 score. EPCs labeled with CD34-ECD, CD133-phycoerythrin and kinase insert domain receptor (KDR)-fluorescein isothiocyanate antibodies were counted by flow cytometry in the peripheral blood of patients and control subjects. Mononuclear cells that were positive for CD34/KDR, CD133/KDR and CD34/CD133/KDR within the lymphocyte population were characterised as different phenotypes of EPCs.

Results: There were no significant differences in baseline clinical characteristics between patients and healthy individuals (all p > 0.05). However, patients with depression had significantly lower levels of circulating CD34+CD133+KDR+ EPCs (132.20 ± 17.27 vs. 225.93 ± 9.88, p = 0.000) and endothelial colony-forming units (26.40 ± 3.79 vs. 36.60 ± 2.88, p = 0.000) than that of healthy subjects. Furthermore, CD34+CD133+KDR+ EPCs had a negative correlation with tumour necrosis factor-α (Spearman's ρ = 0.433, p = 0.000) and interleukin-6 (Spearman's ρ = 0.441, p = 0.032).

Conclusion: Our result shows that depression was associated with lower levels of circulating EPCs, which may contribute to the development of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis.

Gold–silver (Au–Ag) bimetal dispersed SiO2 composite films were fabricated via a chemical solution approach combining sol–gel with a spin-coating process, and they were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra. TEM image indicated that Ag and/or Au nanoparticles (NPs) had a spherical structure with large size distributions. The XPS results demonstrated that the presence of both Ag and Au NPs in the composite film is in each metal state. The optical absorption spectra of the composite film further confirmed the formation of nanosized Au and Ag particles, given by the two surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peaks. Unlike other Au–Ag composite films, these two SPR peaks had almost the same intensity, which is rarely obtained by a chemical approach. Compared to optical absorption spectra calculated by the modified Mie theory, the location and intensity of SPR peaks had a little difference, which could be attributed to large size distributions of Ag and Au bimetal NPs in the composite film along with the experimental process. In addition, the intensity of both SPR peaks was content-related.

Ag nanoparticles dispersed SiO2 composite films were successfully prepared by a sol–gel method. The structural transition, formation, and optical property along with relevant band gap of Ag/SiO2 thin films during the annealing process were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry–differential thermal analysis, x-ray diffraction, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, while the microstructure of thin films was revealed by transmission electron microscopy. The results indicate that the Ag spherical particles with the diameter of 10–20 nm were formed by breaking Si–O–Ag bonds above 200 °C and dispersed in the SiO2 matrix. The optical absorption property of Ag/SiO2 nanofilm in the visible range is enhanced, and the band gap (Eg) is widened with raising annealing temperatures, which is promising for the potential applications in nonlinear optical and related fields.

West Nile virus (WNV) infection is an emerging zoonosis that threatens global public health. In this study, a total of 95 bird serum samples from 14 species and 341 horse serum samples were collected from 2008 to 2010 in Shanghai, China. All serum samples were screened initially for WNV-reactive antibodies using a competitive ELISA. The positive samples detected by ELISA were further confirmed using a plaque-reduction neutralization test (PRNT) for WNV and its most closely related flaviviruses in the area to avoid false positives due to cross-reactivity. Five (5·3%) of the bird serum samples and none (0·0%) of the horse serum samples tested positive for WNV antibodies. The findings strongly suggest that some of the birds, specifically the resident birds in China, had been exposed to WNV.

A facile method to control the morphology of FeNi3 nanoparticles by solution reduction reaction is presented. The spherical to platelet FeNi3 particles were obtained by changing pH from 11.5 to12.5 with 0.16 mol/L of hydrazine under ultrasound irradiation, with the ratio of Fe2+ to Ni2+ as 1:3. The amount of hydrazine had little influence on the morphology of the particles. The saturation magnetization (Ms) and coercive force (Hc) of the platelet particles were 59 emu/g and 120 Oe, respectively. The real part μ′ of the permeability of the platelet particles was about 2.43–2.71 and was frequency-independent in the range of 0.1–1.0 GHz. The imaginary part (μ′′) of the particles showed increase from 0.04 to 2.14 within the same frequency range.

Fusion of nucleoli or nucleolus precursor bodies (NPBs) has been observed during somatic cell interphase and pronuclear development of human zygotes; however, the underlying mechanism is unknown. NPB fusion and its regulation by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and maturation-promoting factor (MPF) were studied in activated mouse oocytes. Small NPBs appeared about 4 h after ethanol activation, and took about 1.5 h to fuse into a large NPB, which persisted for about 10 h before disappearance. Analysis of the temporal windows for kinase action indicated that a high MAPK activity during the first 2 h and a low MPF activity during the first 3–4 h after activation were essential for subsequent NPB fusion. A preactivation decline in MAPK activity was associated with decreased NPB fusion following activation of aged oocytes. While MAPK inactivation by regulator U0126 prevented NPB fusion in oocytes activated by ethanol or 5 min Sr2+ treatments, it had no effect on oocytes fertilized or activated by 6 h Sr2+ treatment. In most cases, while rates of pronuclear formation did not differ, rates of NPB fusion differed significantly between different treatments. Our results suggest that: (i) the MAPK and MPF activities at the initial stage of activation regulate NPB fusion after pronuclear formation; (ii) pronuclear assembly and NPB fusion are two separable events that might be controlled by different mechanisms; and (iii) high MAPK activity and low MPF activity at the initial stage of activation is essential for NPB fusion when only one calcium rise is induced by ethanol, while inhibition of MAPK activity does not affect NPB fusion when the repetitive intracellular Ca2+ rises are induced after fertilization.

Recently, semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) aroused great concern because of their unique properties such as the size-dependent photoluminescence. They have many excellent applications in areas of molecular bioimaging, medical detection and even energy, especially as biosensing and imaging instead of fluorescent dyes. For the bio-safety, however, we should assess the cytotoxicity of QDs before used in biomedical imaging. Here, the cytotoxicity of amino-functionalized CdSe/CdS (CdSe/CdS-NH2) QDs and carboxy-functionalized CdSe/CdS (CdSe/CdS-COOH) QDs was investigated by MTT assay method. According to our findings, both CdSe/CdS-NH2 and CdSe/CdS-COOH have a dose-dependent effect on cell proliferation. The cytotoxicity of QDs varies with storing time of QDs and kinds of cells. The cytotoxicity of QDs modified with -COOH or -NH2 groups both vary with concentrations in positive linear or change with QD storing time in negative linear. The results indicate that CdSe/CdS-COOH QDs have lower toxicity than CdSe/CdS-NH2 QDs. Hela cell is somewhat more sensitive to amino- and carboxy-modified QDs than Bel7404 cell for MTT assays.

Two groups of retinal cone bipolar cells (CBCs) in rats were found to express voltage-gated Na+ channels. The axon terminals of the first group stratify in sublamina 2 of the inner plexiform layer (IPL) and partially overlap with the OFF-cholinergic band. This group was identified as type 3 CBCs. The axon terminals of the second group stratify in sublamina 3 of the IPL, slightly distal to the ON-cholinergic band. Cells of this second group resemble type 5 CBCs. In addition, we observed another group of ON-type CBCs with terminal stratification similar to that of the second group. However, this latter group did not show any Na+ current, instead exhibiting a large hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated cation current, suggesting the existence of two subclasses of physiologically distinct type 5 CBCs. Both groups of Na+-expressing bipolar cells were capable of generating a rapid tetrodotoxin-sensitive action potential as revealed by current injection. Multiple spike-like potentials were also observed in some of these cells. Results of this study provide valuable insights into the function of voltage-gated Na+ channels of retinal bipolar cells in retinal processing.