Typical ophiolitic rock assemblages such as siliciclastic rocks, basalts and gabbros, together with the subduction-related intermediate-acidic intrusive rocks, are newly discovered in the Tongjiang-Fuyuan area of the Heilongjiang Provence, NE China. To determine the formation age and genesis of the mafic rocks (basalts and gabbros) and intermediate-acidic intrusive rocks (granodiorites) in the area, as well as their geodynamic settings, the whole-rock geochemical analysis and zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating were carried out. Zircon U-Pb results suggest that the granodiorites are 93–95 Ma and gabbro is 95 Ma, respectively. Geochemical results show that the gabbros and basalts exhibit characteristics of ocean island basalt (OIB) affinity and are typically related to having originated from mantle plumes. While the granodiorites show the nature of the island-arc magmatic rocks and may originate from the lower crust. Based on the coeval igneous rock associations and regional tectonic evolution, we conclude that the late Cretaceous magmatic rocks in the Tongjiang-Fuyuan area are the product of continuous subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific plate and reflect the subduction rollback process of the Palaeo-Pacific plate.

Replacing a portion of a glucose challenge with whole eggs (EGG) or egg whites (WHITE) was shown to protect against glucose-induced impairments in vascular function. We hypothesised in the present study that previously observed vasoprotection following co-ingestion of EGG or WHITE with glucose was attributed to limiting postprandial hyperglycaemia-induced oxidative stress that improves NO∙ bioavailability. Prediabetic men completed a randomised, cross-over study in which they ingested isoenergetic meals containing 100 g glucose (GLU), or 75 g glucose with 1·5 EGG, seven WHITE or two egg yolks (YOLK). At 30 min intervals for 3 h, we assessed plasma NO∙ metabolites, the lipid peroxidation biomarker malondialdehyde, antioxidants, arginine and its methylated metabolites (asymmetric dimethylarginine and symmetric dimethylarginine), tetrahydrobiopterin redox status, vasoconstrictors and inflammatory markers. Compared with GLU, malondialdehyde was lower and NO∙ metabolites were greater in EGG and WHITE, but YOLK was not different from GLU. Malondialdehyde was inversely correlated with NO∙ metabolites and vascular function, whereas NO∙ metabolites were positively correlated with vascular function. Compared with GLU, arginine was greater, but asymmetric and symmetric dimethylarginine and angiotensin-II were lower in all egg-based meals. Antioxidants, tetrahydrobiopterin redox status and inflammatory markers did not differ among treatments. Thus, while each egg-based meal improved arginine metabolism, only EGG and WHITE limited lipid peroxidation. This suggests that vasoprotection mediated by EGG and WHITE likely occurs in an NO∙-dependent manner by improving arginine metabolism and attenuating oxidative stress that otherwise limit NO∙ biosynthesis and bioavailability to the vascular endothelium.

The present study investigates the use of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) instead of (NH4)2SO4 as a lixiviant in the recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from clays. Experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of leaching conditions such as leaching time, lixiviant concentration and liquid:solid ratio on the leaching efficiency. The optimum leaching conditions, leading to 75.48% of total REE leaching efficiency, required a stirring speed of 500 rpm, a leaching time of 30 min, a lixiviant concentration of 3 wt.% and a liquid:solid ratio of 3:1. After extension of the leaching process by a second stage, the leaching efficiency may reach up to 96.19%, which is slightly higher than that obtained by (NH4)2SO4. Leaching varies from element to element, with Ce presenting the lowest leaching efficiency, and the partition in leaching solution is in agreement with that in raw ore other than for Ce. Based on these findings, MgSO4 lixiviant is an excellent alternative leaching agent for a sustainable REE industry because it reduces or eliminates NH4+–N pollution.

Eggs attenuate postprandial hyperglycaemia (PPH), which transiently impairs vascular endothelial function (VEF). We hypothesised that co-ingestion of a glucose challenge with egg-based meals would protect against glucose-induced impairments in VEF by attenuating PPH and oxidative stress. A randomised, cross-over study was conducted in prediabetic men (n 20) who ingested isoenegertic meals (1674 kJ (400 kcal)) containing 100 g glucose (GLU), or 75 g glucose with 1·5 whole eggs (EGG), seven egg whites (WHITE) or two egg yolks (YOLK). At 30 min intervals for 3 h, brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD), plasma glucose, insulin, cholecystokinin (CCK), lipids (total, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol; TAG), F2-isoprostanes normalised to arachidonic acid (F2-IsoPs/AA), and methylglyoxal were assessed. In GLU, FMD decreased at 30–60 min and returned to baseline levels by 90 min. GLU-mediated decreases in FMD were attenuated at 30–60 min in EGG and WHITE. Compared with GLU, FMDAUC was higher in EGG and WHITE only. Relative to baseline, glucose increased at 30–120 min in GLU and YOLK but only at 30–90 min in EGG and WHITE. GlucoseAUC and insulinAUC were also lower in EGG and WHITE only. However, CCKAUC was higher in EGG and WHITE compared with GLU. Compared with GLU, F2-IsoPs/AAAUC was lower in EGG and WHITE but unaffected by YOLK. Postprandial lipids and methylglyoxal did not differ between treatments. Thus, replacing a portion of a glucose challenge with whole eggs or egg whites, but not yolks, limits postprandial impairments in VEF by attenuating increases in glycaemia and lipid peroxidation.

Flexible electronics has emerged as a very promising field, in particular,wearable, bendable, and stretchable strain sensors with high sensitivity which could be used for human motion detection, sports performance monitoring, etc. In this paper, a highly stretchable and sensitive strain sensor composed of reduced graphene oxide foam and elastomer composite is fabricated by assembly and followed by a polymer immersing process. The strain sensor has demonstrated high stretchability and sensitivity. Furthermore, the device was employed for gauging muscle-induced strain which results in high sensitivity and reproducibility. The developed strain sensors showed great application potential in fields of biomechanical systems.

Resveratrol (Res), a polyphenol that is abundant in many medicinal plants and is a selective oestrogen receptor modulator, exhibits multiple biological activities. In the present study, we determined whether Res prevents oestrogen deficiency-induced osteopenia and whether Res administration decreases pathological changes in the endometrium and lumen of the uterus compared with oestradiol replacement therapy (ERT). A total of sixty 3–4-month-old female Wistar rats were randomly divided into a sham-operated group (Sham) and five ovariectomy (OVX) subgroups, i.e. OVX rats as a control group (OVX); OVX rats receiving oestradiol valerate (ERT, 0·8 mg/kg); and OVX rats receiving Res 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg. Daily oral administration was initiated at week 2 after OVX for 12 weeks. A dose–response difference was observed in the effects of Res on bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular microarchitecture. Only at the highest dose, bone loss was almost equivalent to that observed in the ERT group. The dose–response effects of Res on the biochemical parameters (alkaline phosphatase, IL-6, TNF-α and transforming growth factor-β1 concentrations in the serum as well as urinary Ca and P excretion) and the expressions of receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) and the RANKL:osteoprotegerin protein ratio in the femur were also observed. Furthermore, the thickening of the endometrium and the infiltration of lymphocytes were prevented in all the three Res-treated groups compared with the ERT group. In conclusion, Res treatment not only improves BMD and trabecular microarchitecture but also does not affect the uterus and Res might be a potential remedy for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

An important concept proposed in the early stage of robot path planning field is the shrinking of the robot to a point and meanwhile expanding of the obstacles in the workspace as a set of new obstacles. The resulting grown obstacles are called the Configuration Space (Cspace) obstacles. The find-path problem is then transformed into that of finding a collision free path for a point robot among the Cspace obstacles. However, the research experiences obtained so far have shown that the calculation of the Cspace obstacles is very hard work when the following situations occur: 1. both the robot and obstacles are not polygons and 2. the robot is allowed to rotate. This situation is even worse when the robot and obstacles are three dimensional (3D) objects with various shapes. Obviously a direct path planning approach without the calculation of the Cspace obstacles is strongly needed. This paper presents such a new real-time robot path planning approach which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first one in the robotic community. The fundamental ideas are the utilization of inequality and optimization technique. Simulation results have been presented to show its merits.