The epidemiological and burden characteristics of nutritional deficiencies (ND) have been evolving, and it is crucial to identify geographical disparities and emerging trends. This study aimed to analyse the global, regional and national trends in the burden of ND over the past 30 years. Data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 database for the period 1990–2019. The study examined the incidence rates and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) of ND at various levels. Globally, the incidence rate of ND decreased from 2226·2 per 100 000 in 2019 to 2096·3 per 100 000 in the same year, indicating a decline of 5·8 %. The average annual percentage change (AAPC) was −0·21 (–0·31, −0·11). Similarly, DALY, prevalence and mortality rates of ND exhibited significant declines (AAPC = −3·21 (–3·45, −2·96), AAPC = −0·53 (–0·55, −0·51) and AAPC = −4·97 (–5·75, −4·19), respectively). The incidence rate of ND varied based on age group, sex, cause and geographical area. Moreover, a negative association was observed between incidence and the sociodemographic index. At the regional level, the South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa regions had the highest incidence rates of ND. In conclusion, the global incidence rate of ND showed a mixed pattern, while the DALY rate consistently declined. Additionally, prevalence and mortality rates of ND decreased between 1990 and 2019.

China is still among the 30 high-burden tuberculosis (TB) countries in the world. Few studies have described the spatial epidemiological characteristics of pulmonary TB (PTB) in Jiangsu Province. The registered incidence data of PTB patients in 95 counties of Jiangsu Province from 2011 to 2021 were collected from the Tuberculosis Management Information System. Three-dimensional spatial trends, spatial autocorrelation, and spatial–temporal scan analysis were conducted to explore the spatial clustering pattern of PTB. From 2011 to 2021, a total of 347,495 newly diagnosed PTB cases were registered. The registered incidence rate of PTB decreased from 49.78/100,000 in 2011 to 26.49/100,000 in 2021, exhibiting a steady downward trend (χ2 = 414.22, P < 0.001). The average annual registered incidence rate of PTB was higher in the central and northern regions. Moran’s I indices of the registered incidence of PTB were all >0 (P< 0.05) except in 2016, indicating a positive spatial correlation overall. Local autocorrelation analysis showed that ‘high–high’ clusters were mainly distributed in northern Jiangsu, and ‘low–low’ clusters were mainly concentrated in southern Jiangsu. The results of this study assist in identifying settings and locations of high TB risk and inform policy-making for PTB control and prevention.

Lipase is an industrial enzyme, the catalytic efficiency of which is restricted by various environmental factors. To improve this efficiency, immobilization technology has been utilized in the past to improve the stability of lipase in harsh conditions. Immobilization technology can be divided into physical methods and chemical methods. Some unsolved problems remain in current immobilization technology. The interaction between enzyme and immobilization support is weak and reversible during physical adsorption, resulting in poor stability of the immobilized enzyme and the contamination of substrate solution by leached enzymes. In chemical methods, enzyme-active sites might be inactivated due to the chemical reactions between enzyme molecules and support, resulting in a decrease in the enzymes’ catalytic activity (Liu et al., 2018a). The objective of the current study was to construct a nanostructured lipase via Mg-amino-clay as a carrier and improve the catalytic activity and stability of lipase by immobilization. Lipase produced by Aspergillus oryzae was immobilized on aminopropyl functionalized magnesium phyllosilicate (a 2:1 trioctahedral talc-like silicate Mg-amino-clay) via a 1-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethyl-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) coupling agent. The physical and chemical properties of the Mg-amino-clay and Mg-amino-clay-based nanostructured biocatalyst (Mg-clay-lipase) were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Optimal immobilization conditions were determined by taking into account the following variables: amount of initial lipase, EDC concentration, and reaction time. The results revealed that the optimum temperature, pH, and thermal stability of Mg-clay-lipase were greater than equivalent values for free lipase under optimal conditions (described below – Process for Immobilization of Lipase on Mg-amino-clay). The Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) values were 5.25 mM and 7.42 mM while the maximum reaction rates (vmax) were 30.58 mM/(L·min) and 55.87 mM/(L·min) for free lipase and Mg-clay-lipase, respectively. The present study provided a new nanostructured biocatalyst and demonstrated that the enzyme activity and stability of Mg-clay-lipase were superior to those of free lipase due to the mechanism of 'interface activation'.

The clay mineralogy of the Zhada sediments was investigated, using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, to obtain a better understanding of climatic change and uplift of the Himalayas in the Zhada region of Tibet. The sediments of Zhada basin in the late Miocene to Pliocene consist of lacustrine and fluvial deposits >800 m thick and can be subdivided into five clay assemblage zones based on their clay-mineral composition. The upward zonation is as follows: (1) smectite-kaolinite; (2) illite-chlorite; (3) chlorite-illite-kaolinite; (4) illite-chlorite; and (5) smectite, illite, and kaolinite. The ratio of chlorite + illite to kaolinite + smectite (Ch+I/K+S) and the Kübler index indicate a warm and humid climate from 9.5 to 8.4 Ma, a cold and dry climate from 8.4 to 7.2 Ma, a warm and seasonal arid climate from 7.2 to 4.5 Ma, a cool and humid climate from 4.5 to 3.6 Ma, and a warm and seasonally humid climate from 3.6 to 3.0 Ma. Intense fluctuations in the Kübler index and in the quantities of evaporite minerals dolomite, aragonite, and gypsum, during the period 7.2–4.5 Ma suggest strong climatic fluctuations between humid and seasonally humid conditions in the Zhada basin. Rapid uplift around the Zhada basin occurred at 8.4 and 3.6 Ma, with sharp subsidence at 7.2 and 4.5 Ma. Evolution of the climate at Zhada showed a different model from that of global climate change, and tectonics-led climate change was the major contributor to climate evolution in the area.

Background. There is still no clear understanding of the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). For this purpose, we used integrated analysis to uncover immune infiltration characteristics and investigated their relationship with competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network in AF. Methods. Three AF mRNA data sets (GSE14975, GSE79768, and GSE41177) were integrated using the SVA method from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Together with AF circRNA data set (GSE129409) and miRNA data set (GSE70887) from GEO database, we built a ceRNA network. Then hub genes were screened by the Cytoscape plug-in cytoHubba from a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. As well, CIBERSORT was employed to investigate immune infiltration, followed by Pearson correlation coefficients to unravel the correlation between AF-related infiltrating immune cells and hub genes. Ulteriorly, circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory axises that could be immunologically related to AF were obtained. Results. Ten hub genes were identified from the constructing PPI network. The immune infiltration analysis revealed that the number of monocytes and neutrophils was higher, as well as the number of dendritic cells activated and T cells regulatory (Tregs) was lower in AF. Seven hub genes (C5AR1, CXCR4, HCK, LAPTM5, MPEG1, TLR8, and TNFSF13B) were associated with those 4 immune cells (P < 0.05). We found that the circ_0005299–miR-1246–C5AR1 and circRNA_0079284-miR-623-HCK/CXCR4 regulatory axises may be associated with the immune mechanism of AF. Conclusion. The findings of our study provide insights into immuno-related ceRNA networks as potential molecular regulators of AF progression.

Increasing evidence shows that maternal hyperglycemia inhibits cardiomyocyte (CM) proliferation and promotes cell apoptosis during fetal heart development, which leads to cardiac dysplasia. Accumulating evidence suggests that the overexpression of miR-21 in CMs has a protective role in cardiac function. Therefore, we investigated whether miR-21 can rescue CM injury caused by high glucose. First, we performed biological function analysis of miR-21-5p overexpression in H9c2 cells treated with high glucose. We found that the proliferation of H9c2 cells treated with high glucose decreased significantly and was rescued after overexpression of miR-21-5p. CCK-8 and EdU incorporation assays were performed to assess cell proliferation. The cell proliferation of the miR-21-5p mimic transfection group was improved compared with that of the NC mimic group (*p < 0.05, miR-21-5p mimics vs. NC mimics) when the proliferation of H9c2 cells was reduced by high glucose (****p < 0.0001, high glucose (HG) vs. normal glucose (NG)). Then, we verified the targeted and negative regulation of miR-21-5p on Rhob using a dual-luciferase activity assay and RT-qPCR, respectively. We further demonstrated that miR-21-5p regulates Rhob to rescue the inhibition of CM proliferation induced by high glucose. The CCK-8 results showed that the cell proliferation of the siRNA-Rhob group was higher than that of the NC mimic group (***p < 0.001) and that of the cotransfection group with Up-Rhob plasmids and miR-21-5p mimics was lower than that of the miR-21-5p mimic group (*p < 0.05). Conclusion: Overexpression of miR-21-5p rescues the inhibition of high glucose-induced CM proliferation through regulation of Rhob.

In this paper, we design and fabricate dual-tunable waveguides in a two-dimensional periodic plate with threaded holes. Dual tunability is realized by using rods held with nuts as well as assembly prestress of the nuts. A straight waveguide, a bent waveguide, and a wave splitter are designed by changing the distribution of rods and nuts in different circuits. The experimental and numerical results show that the frequencies of guided waves can be tuned by the assembly prestress. By increasing the amount of prestress, the frequency range of the passing band can be shifted upward. Confinements, guiding, and splitting of Lamb waves are clearly observed in both experimental measurements and numerical simulations. This work is essential for the practical design of reconfigurable phononic devices.

Aging plays a crucial role in the mechanisms of the impacts of genetic and environmental factors on blood pressure and serum lipids. However, to our knowledge, how the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the correlation between blood pressure and serum lipids changes with age remains to be determined. In this study, data from the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR) were used. Resting blood pressure, including systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), and fasting serum lipids, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TGs) were measured in 2378 participants (1189 twin pairs). Univariate and bivariate structural equation models examined the genetic and environmental influences on blood pressure and serum lipids among three age groups. All phenotypes showed moderate to high heritability (0.37–0.59) and moderate unique environmental variance (0.30–0.44). The heritability of all phenotypes showed a decreasing trend with age. Among all phenotypes, SBP and DBP showed a significant monotonic decreasing trend. For phenotype-phenotype pairs, the phenotypic correlation (Rph) of each pair ranged from −0.04 to 0.23, and the additive genetic correlation (Ra) ranged from 0.00 to 0.36. For TC&SBP, TC&DBP, TG&SBP and TGs&DBP, both the Rph and Ra declined with age, and the Ra difference between the young group and the older adult group is statistically significant (p < .05). The unique environmental correlation (Re) of each pair did not follow any pattern with age and remained relatively stable with age. In summary, we observed that the heritability of blood pressure was affected by age. Moreover, blood pressure and serum lipids shared common genetic backgrounds, and age had an impact on the phenotypic correlation and genetic correlations.

For the large redundant manipulator, due to its long working distance and large mass, the number of links (i.e., manipulator’s arms) that can be driven to move simultaneously is limited. Otherwise, the control accuracy and motion stability of the manipulator will deteriorate. Focusing on that, a weighted Newton iteration (WNI) algorithm for trajectory planning of the manipulator is firstly proposed, where the motion of the manipulator joints is controlled by a weight matrix, which is constant and related to each link’s energy consumption. To dynamically adjust the weight matrix according to kinematic constraints and acquire better energy efficiency, an adaptive WNI (AWNI) algorithm is further proposed. In AWNI, the weight matrix is adjusted in real-time during the planning process, with considerations of the kinematic constraints and the energy consumption of the manipulator. The switch of the links between the working state and the non-working state is made through the weight matrix to achieve flexible control of the manipulator motion. Two evaluation functions are established to validate the effectiveness of AWNI in energy saving and motion stability control. Taking a 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) manipulator as an example, simulation experiments on trajectory planning are carried out and the results show the effectiveness of the proposed AWNI algorithm.

In this note, we give a precise description of the limiting empirical spectral distribution for the non-backtracking matrices for an Erdős-Rényi graph $G(n,p)$ assuming $np/\log n$ tends to infinity. We show that derandomizing part of the non-backtracking random matrix simplifies the spectrum considerably, and then, we use Tao and Vu’s replacement principle and the Bauer-Fike theorem to show that the partly derandomized spectrum is, in fact, very close to the original spectrum.

Adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet has been associated with sleep quality. However, its relationship with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) remains unknown. This study aimed to explore the association between the DASH diet and SDB using data from a community-based survey among adults in Suzhou, Eastern China. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the Suzhou Food Consumption and Health Survey in 2018–2020. Dietary intake was measured by a validated FFQ. The association between the DASH diet and SDB was estimated by multivariable logistic regression analysis. In addition, subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed to reinforce our findings. A total of 3939 participants were included in the final analysis. Participants in the upper quintile of the DASH score consumed more fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, whole grains, and dairy products, and less Na, red/processed meats, and sweetened beverages. The OR for the highest compared with the lowest quintile of the DASH score was 0·68 (95 % CI 0·52, 0·88; Pfor trend = 0·004) for SDB after multivariable adjustment. Of the eight DASH components, vegetables, nuts and legumes, and dairy products were inversely associated with SDB. The associations were similar in subgroups by age, sex, BMI, smoking, alcohol drinking, hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia. Adherence to the DASH diet was independently associated with decreased odds of self-reported SDB. Our novel results expand previous findings on diet and sleep and suggest the possibility of improving SDB by enhancing diet quality.

A single-shot measurement of electron emittance was experimentally accomplished using a focused transfer line with a dipole. The betatron phase of electrons based on laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) is energy dependent owing to the coupling of the longitudinal acceleration field and the transverse focusing (defocusing) field in the bubble. The phase space presents slice information after phase compensation relative to the center energy. Fitting the transverse size of the electron beam at different energy slices in the energy spectrum measured 0.27 mm mrad in the experiment. The diagnosis of slice emittance facilitates local electron quality manipulation, which is important for the development of LWFA-based free electron lasers. The quasi-3D particle-in-cell simulations matched the experimental results and analysis well.

One of the most common harmful mites in edible fungi is Histiostoma feroniarum Dufour (Acaridida: Histiostomatidae), a fungivorous astigmatid mite that feeds on hyphae and fruiting bodies, thereby transmitting pathogens. This study examined the effects of seven constant temperatures and 10 types of mushrooms on the growth and development of H. feroniarum, as well as its host preference. Developmental time for the total immature stages was significantly affected by the type of mushroom species, ranging from 4.3 ± 0.4 days (reared on Pleurotus eryngii var. tuoliensis Mou at 28°C) to 17.1 ± 2.3 days (reared on Auricularia polytricha Sacc. at 19°C). The temperature was a major factor in the formation of facultative heteromorphic deutonymphs (hypopi). The mite entered the hypopus stage when the temperature dropped to 16°C or rose above 31°C. The growth and development of this mite were significantly influenced by the type of species and variety of mushrooms. Moreover, the fungivorous astigmatid mite preferred to feed on the ‘Wuxiang No. 1’ strain of Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler and the ‘Gaowenxiu’ strain of P. pulmonarius (Fr.) Quél., with a shorter development period compared with that of feeding on other strains. These results therefore quantify the effect of host type and temperature on fungivorous astigmatid mite growth and development rates, and provide a reference for applying mushroom cultivar resistance to biological pest control.

This paper, based on the idea of redundancy angle discretisation, proposes an obstacle avoidance method for the fixed tip pose trajectory of a seven degrees-of-freedom (7-DOF) modular manipulator. First, for the case in which a specific redundancy angle is given, the analytical solutions of the redundant manipulator left 6-DOF subchain are found. Then, through the discretisation of the redundancy angle, the concept of the self-motion space of the tip pose is proposed and is extended to the concept of the self-motion space of the trajectory. Based on this discrete space, a path-planning algorithm is proposed to help select the appropriate redundancy angles to obtain the collision-free solution set of the fixed Cartesian trajectory. However, due to the large fluctuation of the obtained path, a path optimisation method based on the path cost is proposed to smooth the path, and the continuous and collision-free solution set of the manipulator tip’s trajectory is obtained. The method proposed in this paper provides a new thought for the problem of collision-free solution set planning for the Cartesian trajectory of a 7-DOF manipulator and it has great application potential in working environments with high accuracy requirements for the trajectory.

It is crucial to understand the genetic mechanisms and biological pathways underlying the relationship between obesity and serum lipid levels. Structural equation models (SEMs) were constructed to calculate heritability for body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and the genetic connections between BMI and the four classes of lipids using 1197 pairs of twins from the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR). Bivariate genomewide association studies (GWAS) were performed to identify genetic variants associated with BMI and lipids using the records of 457 individuals, and the results were further validated in 289 individuals. The genetic background affecting BMI may differ by gender, and the heritability of males and females was 71% (95% CI [.66, .75]) and 39% (95% CI [.15, .71]) respectively. BMI was positively correlated with TC, TG and LDL-C in phenotypic and genetic correlation, while negatively correlated with HDL-C. There were gender differences in the correlation between BMI and lipids. Bivariate GWAS analysis and validation stage found 7 genes (LOC105378740, LINC02506, CSMD1, MELK, FAM81A, ERAL1 and MIR144) that were possibly related to BMI and lipid levels. The significant biological pathways were the regulation of cholesterol reverse transport and the regulation of high-density lipoprotein particle clearance (p < .001). BMI and blood lipid levels were affected by genetic factors, and they were genetically correlated. There might be gender differences in their genetic correlation. Bivariate GWAS analysis found MIR144 gene and its related biological pathways may influence obesity and lipid levels.

The terminal Ediacaran Shibantan biota (~550–543 Ma) from the Dengying Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area of South China represents one of the rare examples of carbonate-hosted Ediacara-type macrofossil assemblages. In addition to the numerically dominant taxa—the non-biomineralizing tubular fossil Wutubus and discoidal fossils Aspidella and Hiemalora, the Shibantan biota also bears a moderate diversity of frondose fossils, including Pteridinium, Rangea, Arborea, and Charnia. In this paper, we report two species of the rangeomorph genus Charnia, including the type species Charnia masoni Ford, 1958 emend. and Charnia gracilis new species, from the Shibantan biota. Most of the Shibantan Charnia specimens preserve only the petalodium, with a few bearing the holdfast and stem. Despite overall architectural similarities to other Charnia species, the Shibantan specimens of Charnia gracilis n. sp. are distinct in their relatively straight, slender, and more acutely angled first-order branches. They also show evidence that may support a two-stage growth model and a epibenthic sessile lifestyle. Charnia fossils described herein represent one of the youngest occurrences of this genus and extend its paleogeographic and stratigraphic distributions. Our discovery also highlights the notable diversity of the Shibantan biota, which contains examples of a wide range of Ediacaran morphogroups.

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