This study conducts experimental investigations into wake-induced vibration (WIV) of a circular cylinder placed downstream of an oscillating cylinder. Surprisingly, it is observed that the previously identified WIV phenomenon, characterized by a sustained increase in amplitude at higher reduced velocities, does not occur when the upstream cylinder oscillates at large amplitudes. Instead, a different phenomenon, which we refer to as the ‘wake-captured vibration’, becomes dominant. The experiments reveal a negative correlation between the vortex-induced vibration amplitude response of the upstream cylinder and the WIV amplitude response of the downstream cylinder. Through a quasi-steady and linear instability analysis, the study demonstrates that the previously proposed wake-displacement mechanism may not be applicable for predicting the cylinder WIV response in the wake of an oscillating body. This is because the lift force gradients across the wake, measured through stationary cylinder experiments, decrease significantly when the upstream cylinder vibrates at higher amplitudes. Consequently, actively controlled vibration experiments are conducted to systematically map the hydrodynamic properties of the downstream cylinder vibrating in the wake of an oscillating cylinder. The findings align with observations from free-vibration experiments, and help to explain the amplitude and frequency response of WIV. Additionally, wake visualization through particle image velocimetry is conducted to provide further insights into the complex wake and vortex–body interactions.

To meet the development needs of aeroengines for high thrust-to-weight ratios and fuel-air ratios, a high temperature rise triple-swirler main combustor was designed with a total fuel-air ratio of 0.037, utilising advanced technologies including staged combustion, multi-point injection and multi-inclined hole cooling. Fluent software was used to conduct numerical simulations under both takeoff and idle conditions, thereby obtaining the distribution characteristics of the velocity and temperature fields within the combustor, as well as the generation of pollutants. The simulation results indicate that under takeoff conditions, the high temperature rise triple-swirler combustor achieves a total pressure loss coefficient of less than 6% and a combustion efficiency exceeding 99%. Under takeoff conditions, the OTDF and RTDF values are 0.144 and 0.0738, respectively. The mole fraction of NOx emissions is 3,700ppm, while the mole fraction of soot emissions is 2.55×10−5ppm. Under idle conditions, the triple-swirler combustor maintains a total pressure loss coefficient of less than 6% and a combustion efficiency greater than 99.9%. The OTDF and RTDF values are 0.131 and 0.0624, respectively. The mole fractions of CO and UHC emissions are both 0×10−32ppm at the calculation limit of Fluent software.

The motion of a sphere freely rising or falling in a 5d (d is the diameter of the sphere) square tube was numerically studied for the sphere-to-fluid density ratio ranging from 0.1 to 2.3 (0.1 ≤ ρs/ρ ≤ 2.3, ρs is the density of spheres and ρ the fluid density) and Galileo number from 140 to 230 (140 ≤ Ga ≤ 230). We report that Hopf bifurcation occurs at Gacrit ≈ 157, where both the heavy and light spheres lose stability. The helical motion is widely seen for all spheres at Ga > 160 resulting from a double-threaded vortex interacting with the tube walls, which becomes irregular at Ga ≥ 190 where heavy spheres act differently from their counterparts; that is, heavy spheres change their helical directions alternately while light spheres exhibit helical trajectories with jaggedness in connection with the shedding of the double-threaded vortices. This is because of the difference in inertia between the heavy and light spheres. We also checked the oscillation periods for the helical motion of the spheres. They show opposite variations with ρs/ρ for the two types of spheres. Light spheres (ρs/ρ ≤ 0.7) reach a zigzagging regime at Ga ≥ 200 where a vortex loop (hairpin-like vortical structure) is formed which may develop into a vortex ring downstream at small ρs/ρ. This might be the first time a transition from the helical motion to the zigzagging motion for heavy spheres (ρs/ρ ≥ 1.8) has been reported. Finally, we examined the dependence of both the terminal Reynolds number and the drag coefficient of the spheres on the Galileo number.

Emotion regulation, as a typical “top-down” emotional self-regulation, has been shown to play an important role in children’s oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) development. However, the association between other self-regulation subcomponents and the ODD symptom network remains unclear. Meanwhile, while there are gender differences in both self-regulation and ODD, few studies have examined whether their relation is moderated by gender. Five hundred and four children (age 6–11 years; 207 girls) were recruited from schools with parents and classroom teachers completing questionnaires and were followed up for assessment six months later. Using moderation network analysis, we analyzed the relation between self-regulation and ODD symptoms, and the moderating role of gender. Self-regulation including emotion regulation, self-control, and emotion lability/negativity had broad bidirectional relations with ODD symptoms. In particular, the bidirectional relations between emotion regulation and ODD3 (Defies) and between emotion lability/negativity and ODD4 (Annoys) were significantly weaker in girls than in boys. Considering the important role of different self-regulation subcomponents in the ODD symptom network, ODD is better conceptualized as a self-regulation disorder. Each ODD symptom is associated with different degrees of impaired “bottom-up” and “top-down” self-regulation, and several of the associations vary by gender.

This research communication screened and identified differentiated expressed genes in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) upon prolactin (PRL) stimulation. PRL of 5 μg/ml increased β-casein synthesis in BMECs with milk protein synthesis capacity. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A total of 375 DEGs (165 up-regulated and 210 down-regulated) were identified between PRL-stimulated group and the control group. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that the up-regulated genes were primarily associated with cell functions, metabolic processes, and biological regulatory processes. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that the up-regulated genes were mainly enriched in JAK-STAT, Rap1, Ras and Notch signaling pathways, which are widely involved in cell proliferation, differentiation and milk component synthesis. This study provides an initial understanding of the changes in gene expression in BMECs with PRL-stimulation, as determined by RNA-seq transcriptomic analysis, thereby enhancing our knowledge of the molecular regulation of lactation metabolism.

Tea can improve the progression of some metabolic diseases through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, but its impact on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is still controversial. The aim of this paper is to identify the relationship between tea and NAFLD by Mendelian randomisation (MR) and complete clinical validation using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. MR used data from Genome Wide Association Study, with inverse-variance weighted (IVW) as principal analytical methods. The reliability of the results was verified by a series of sensitivity and heterogeneity tests. Subsequently, clinical validation was conducted using NHANES (2005–2018), involving 22 257 participants, grouped by the type of tea. Green tea drinkers were categorised into four groups (Q1–Q4) by quartiles of green tea intake, from lowest to highest (similar for black tea drinkers and other tea drinkers). Models were constructed by logistic regression to estimate the role of tea consumption (Q1–4) on NAFLD. Finally, using fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) to evaluate the severity of hepatic fibrosis, the effect of tea consumption (Q1–4) on the degree of hepatic fibrosis was investigated by linear regression. IVW method (OR = 0·43, 95 % CI: 0·21, 0·85, P = 0·01) and weighted median method (OR = 0·35, 95 % CI: 0·14, 0·91, P = 0·03) revealed there was a causal relationship between tea and NAFLD. An array of sensitivity analyses validated the reliability of results. Analysis of NHANES indicated tea drinker present a slightly lower prevalence of NAFLD than non-tea drinker (green tea drinkers: 47·6 %, black tea drinkers: 46·3 %, other tea drinker: 43·2 %, non-tea drinkers: 48·1 %, P < 0·05). After adjusting for confounders, compared with the lowest black tea consumption (Q1), the population with the highest black tea consumption (Q4) was independently related to lower presence of NAFLD (Q4: OR = 0·69, 95 % CI: 0·50, 0·93, P < 0·05), such association remained stable in the overweight subgroup. As further analysed, Q4 also displayed a significant negative correlation with the level of hepatic fibrosis in patients with NAFLD (β = –0·073, 95 % CI: –0·126, −0·020, P < 0·01).Tea reduces the morbidity of NAFLD and ameliorates hepatic fibrosis degree in those already suffering from the disease.

Paranosema locustae is an environmentally friendly parasitic predator with promising applications in locust control. In this study, transcriptome sequencing was conducted on gonadal tissues of Locusta migratoria males and females infected and uninfected with P. locustae at different developmental stages. A total of 18,635 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in female ovary tissue transcriptomes, with the highest number of DEGs observed at 1 day post-eclosion (7141). In male testis tissue transcriptomes, a total of 32,954 DEGs were identified, with the highest number observed at 9 days post-eclosion (11,245). Venn analysis revealed 25 common DEGs among female groups and 205 common DEGs among male groups. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genome analyses indicated that DEGs were mainly enriched in basic metabolism such as amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, and immune response processes. Protein–protein interaction analysis results indicated that L. migratoria regulates the expression of immune- and reproductive-related genes to meet the body's demands in different developmental stages after P. locustae infection. Immune- and reproductive-related genes in L. migratoria gonadal tissue were screened based on database annotation information and relevant literature. Genes such as Tsf, Hex1, Apolp-III, Serpin, Defense, Hsp70, Hsp90, JHBP, JHE, JHEH1, JHAMT, and VgR play important roles in the balance between immune response and reproduction in gonadal tissues. For transcriptome validation, Tsf, Hex1, and ApoLp-III were selected and verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Correlation analysis revealed that the qRT-PCR expression patterns were consistent with the RNA-Seq results. These findings contribute to further understanding the interaction mechanisms between locusts and P. locustae.

Rayleigh–Bénard convection in a rotating spherical shell provides a simplified model for convective dynamics of planetary and stellar interiors. Over the past decades, the problem has been studied extensively via numerical simulations, but most previous simulations set the Prandtl number $Pr$ to unity. In this study we build more than 200 numerical models of rotating convection in a spherical shell over a wide range of $Pr$ ($10^{-2}\le Pr \le 10^2$). By increasing the Rayleigh number $Ra$, we characterise four different flow regimes, starting from the linear onset to multiple modes, then transitioning to the geostrophic turbulence and eventually approaching the weakly rotating regime. In the multiple modes regime, we show evidence of triadic resonances in numerical models with different $Pr$, which may provide a generic mechanism for the transition from laminar to turbulence in rotating convection. We analyse scaling behaviours of the heat transfer and convective flow speeds in numerical simulations, paying particular attention to the $Pr$ dependence. We find that the so-called diffusion-free scaling for the heat transfer cannot reconcile all numerical models with different $Pr$ in the geostrophic turbulence regime. However, the characteristic flow speeds at different $Pr$ roughly follow a unified scaling that can be described by visco-Archimedean–Coriolis force balances, though the scaling tends to approach the Coriolis-inertial-Archimedean force balance at low $Pr$. We also show that transition behaviours from rotating to non-rotating convection depend on $Pr$. The transition criteria based on heat transfer and flow morphology would be rather different when $Pr>1$, but the two criteria are consistent for cases with $Pr\le 1$. Both scaling behaviours and transition behaviours suggest that the heat transfer is controlled by the boundary layers while the convective flow speeds are mainly determined by the force balance in the bulk for cases with $Pr>1$, which is in line with recent experimental results with moderate to high $Pr$. For cases with $Pr \le 1$, both the heat transfer and convective velocities are approaching the inviscid dynamics in the bulk. We also briefly analysed the magnitude and scaling of zonal flows at different $Pr$, showing that the zonal flow amplitude rapidly increases as $Pr$ decreases.

Salivary iodine concentrations (SIC) and urinary iodine concentrations are correlated. This study aimed to verify the use of SIC as a biomarker for estimating iodine intake in pregnant and lactating women and to diagnose abnormal thyroid function. A cross-sectional study was conducted in northern Xinjiang, China. Participants provided venous blood, random urine, saliva and milk samples. A total of 607 pregnant and 171 lactating women volunteered to participate in the study. The average daily iodine intake was calculated for each participant. Pregnant women were divided according to trimester. The median daily iodine intake was 436·41 μg/d in the first trimester, 425·83 μg/d in the second trimester and 430·56 μg/d in the third trimester. The average daily iodine intake in lactating women was 416·16 μg/d. Different indicators were used to diagnose excessive iodine intake (> 500 μg/d). Among pregnant women, SIC had an AUC of 0·62 (P < 0·01), sensitivity of 51·75 % and specificity of 65 %. Among lactating women, SIC had an AUC of 0·63 (P = 0·03), sensitivity of 43·52 % and specificity of 85 %. SIC was an effective biomarker for diagnosing abnormal thyroid function (P = 0·03). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that SIC is a reliable biomarker for evaluating both iodine nutrition status and abnormal thyroid function in pregnant and lactating women.

Recent studies suggest an association between greater dietary inflammatory index (DII) and higher biological ageing. As α-Klotho has been considered as a longevity protein, we examined whether α-Klotho plays a role in the association between DII and ageing. We included 3054 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The associations of DII with biological and phenotypic age were assessed by multivariable linear regression, and the mediating role of α-Klotho was evaluated by mediation analyses. Participants’ mean age was 58·0 years (sd 11·0), with a median DII score of 1·85 and interquartile range from 0·44 to 2·79. After adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, education, marital status, poverty income ratio, serum cotinine, alcohol, physical activity, a higher DII was associated with both older biological age and phenotypic age, with per DII score increment being associated with a 1·01-year increase in biological age (1·01 (95 % CI: 1·005, 1·02)) and 1·01-year increase in phenotypic age (1·01 (1·001, 1·02)). Negative associations of DII with α-Klotho (β = –1·01 pg/ml, 95 % CI: –1·02, –1·006) and α-Klotho with biological age (β= –1·07 years, 95 % CI: –1·13, –1·02) and phenotypic age (β= –1·03 years, 95 % CI: –1·05, –1·01) were found. Furthermore, α-Klotho mediated 10·13 % (P < 0·001) and 9·61 % (P < 0·001) of the association of DII with biological and phenotypic age, respectively. Higher DII was associated with older biological and phenotypic age, and the potential detrimental effects could be partly mediated through α-Klotho.

In 2018, an Ionplus 200 kV MIni-CArbon DAting System (MICADAS) accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) was installed at the Laboratory of AMS Dating and the Environment, Nanjing University (NJU-AMS Laboratory), China. The NJU-AMS Laboratory is largely devoted to research on radiocarbon dating and 14C analysis in fields of earth, environmental and archaeological sciences. The laboratory has successfully employed various pretreatment methods, including routine pretreatment of tree rings, buried wood and subfossil wood, seeds, charcoal, pollen concentrates, organic matter, and shells. In this study, operational status of the NJU-AMS is presented, and results of radiocarbon measurements made on different sample types are reported. Measurements on international standards, references of known age, and blank samples demonstrate that the NJU-AMS runs stably and has good reproducibility on measurement of single samples. The facility is capable of measuring 14C in samples with the precision and accuracy that meet the requirements for investigating annual 14C changes, history-prehistory age dating, and Late Quaternary stratigraphic chronology research.