Breast milk iodine concentration (BMIC) is a promising indicator of iodine status in lactating women. However, there is limited data on its usefulness to reflect maternal iodine deficiency. Therefore, the aim of our study was to assess iodine concentration in breast milk and urine samples in exclusively breastfeeding women. Eligible pregnant women undergoing routine antenatal care in a large hospital in Shaanxi Province, China, were followed up from the third trimester of pregnancy until the first week of lactation. Urine samples (20 mL) were collected during pregnancy and lactation. Iodine concentration in samples were measured based on Sandell-Kolthoff reaction. Breast milk samples (5 mL) were provided during lactation. A Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) was constructed to determine the diagnostic performance of BMIC. An iodine-specific food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was completed twice during pregnancy and lactation. A total of 200 women completed the study. The overall median BMIC was 89 μg/L, indicating iodine sufficiency (i.e., BMIC reference range between 60 and 465 μg/L). Women reported similar median UIC during pregnancy and lactation (112 and 113 μg/L, respectively), but their iodine status differed — mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency during pregnancy and iodine sufficiency during lactation. The ROC for BMIC using UIC as a reference standard was 0.755 (95% CI: 0.644., 0.866). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that women were iodine sufficient in the first week of lactation as assessed by UIC, which was consistent with BMIC. These findings suggested that BMIC is a useful biomarker to assess iodine status in lactating women.

Metamorphic robots are a new type of unmanned vehicle that can reconfigure and morph between a car mode and a biped walking machine mode. Such a vehicle is superior in trafficability because it can drive at high speeds on its wheels on structured pavement and walk on its legs on unstructured pavement. An engineering prototype of a metamorphic robot was proposed and designed based on the characteristics of wheeled–legged hybrid motion, and reconfiguration planning of the robot was conducted. A kinematics model of the reconfiguration process was established using the screw theory for metamorphic robots. To avoid component impact during the rapid global reconfiguration and achieve smoothness of the reconfiguration process, a rotation rule for each rotating joint was designed and the kinematics model was used to simulate and validate the motion of the system’s end mechanism (front frame) and the entire robot system. Based on the kinematics model and the rotation rules of the rotating joints, a zero-moment point (ZMP) calculation model of the entire robot mechanism in the reconfiguration process was established, and the stability of the reconfiguration motions was evaluated based on the ZMP motion trajectory. The foot landing position was optimized to improve the robot’s stability during the reconfiguration. Finally, the smoothness and stability of the reconfiguration motion were further validated by testing the prototype of the metamorphic robot.

The mitochondrial genome provides important information for phylogenetic analysis and an understanding of evolutionary origin. In this study, the mitochondrial genomes of Ilisha elongata and Setipinna tenuifilis were sequenced, which are typical circular vertebrate mitochondrial genomes composed of 16,770 and 16,805 bp, respectively. The mitogenomes of I. elongata and S. tenuifilis include 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA), two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes and one control region (CR). Both two species' genome compositions were highly A + T biased and exhibited positive AT-skews and negative GC-skews. The genetic distance and Ka/Ks ratio analyses indicated that 13 PCGs were affected by purifying selection and the selection pressures were different from certain deep-sea fishes, which were most likely due to the difference in their living environment. Results of phylogenetic analysis support close relationships among Chirocentridae, Denticipitidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae and Pristigasteridae based on the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of 13 PCGs. Within Clupeoidei, I. elongata and S. tenuifilis were most closely related to the family Pristigasteridae and Engraulidae, respectively. These results will help to better understand the evolutionary position of Clupeiformes and provide a reference for further phylogenetic research on Clupeiformes species.

It has been suggested that added sugar intake is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, previous studies only focused on sugar-sweetened beverages; the evidence for associations with total added sugars and their sources is scarce. This study aimed to examine the associations of total added sugars, their physical forms (liquid v. solid) and food sources with risk of NAFLD among adults in Tianjin, China. We used data from 15 538 participants, free of NAFLD, other liver diseases, CVD, cancer or diabetes at baseline (2013–2018 years). Added sugar intake was estimated from a validated 100-item FFQ. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography after exclusion of other causes of liver diseases. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were fitted to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and corresponding 95 % CI for NAFLD risk with added sugar intake. During a median follow-up of 4·2 years, 3476 incident NAFLD cases were documented. After adjusting for age, sex, BMI and its change from baseline to follow-up, lifestyle factors, personal and family medical history and overall diet quality, the multivariable HR of NAFLD risk were 1·18 (95 % CI 1·06, 1·32) for total added sugars, 1·20 (95 % CI 1·08, 1·33) for liquid added sugars and 0·96 (95 % CI 0·86, 1·07) for solid added sugars when comparing the highest quartiles of intake with the lowest quartiles of intake. In this prospective cohort of Chinese adults, higher intakes of total added sugars and liquid added sugars, but not solid added sugars, were associated with a higher risk of NAFLD.

We report on a vortex laser chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) system that delivers pulses with a peak power of 45 TW. A focused intensity exceeding 1019 W/cm2 has been demonstrated for the first time by the vortex amplification scheme. Compared with other schemes of strong-field vortex generation with high energy flux but narrowband vortex-converting elements at the end of the laser, an important advantage of our scheme is that we can use a broadband but size-limited q-plate to realize broadband mode-converting in the front end of the CPA system, and achieve high-power amplification with a series of amplifiers. This method is low cost and can be easily implemented in an existing laser system. The results have verified the feasibility to obtain terawatt and even petawatt vortex laser amplification by a CPA system, which has important potential applications in strong-field laser physics, for example, generation of vortex particle beams with orbital angular momentum, fast ignition for inertial confinement fusion and simulation of the extreme astrophysical environment.

To address the shortcomings of existing methods for rotorcraft searching, positioning, tracking and landing on a ship at sea, a dual-channel LIDAR searching, positioning, tracking and landing system (DCLSPTLS) is proposed in this paper, which utilises the multi-pulse laser echoes accumulation method and the physical phenomenon that the laser reflectivity of the ship deck in the near-infrared band is four orders of magnitude higher than that of the sea surface. The DCLSPTLS searching and positioning model, tracking model and landing model are established, respectively. The searching and positioning model can provide estimates of the azimuth angle, the distance of the ship relative to the rotorcraft and the ship's course. With the above parameters as inputs, the total tracking time and the direction of the rotorcraft tracking speed can be obtained by using the tracking model. The landing model can calculate the pitch and the roll angles of the ship's deck relative to the rotorcraft by using the least squares method and the laser irradiation coordinates. The simulation shows that the DCLSPTLS can realise the functions of rotorcraft searching, positioning, tracking and landing by using the above parameters. To verify the effectiveness of the DCLSPTLS, a functional test is performed using a rotorcraft and a model ship on a lake. The test results are consistent with the results of the simulation.

This study evaluated the association between inflammatory diets as measured by the Dietary Inflammatory index (DII), inflammation biomarkers and the development of preeclampsia among the Chinese population. We followed the reporting guidelines of the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology statement for observational studies. A total of 466 preeclampsia cases aged over 18 years were recruited between March 2016 and June 2019, and 466 healthy controls were 1:1 ratio matched by age (±3 years), week of gestation (±1 week) and gestational diabetes mellitus. The energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) was computed based on dietary intake assessed using a seventy-nine item semiquantitative FFQ. Inflammatory biomarkers were analysed by ELISA kits. The mean E-DII scores were −0·65 ± 1·58 for cases and −1·19 ± 1·47 for controls (P value < 0·001). E-DII scores positively correlated with interferon-γ (r s = 0·194, P value = 0·001) and IL-4 (r s = 0·135, P value = 0·021). After multivariable adjustment, E-DII scores were positively related to preeclampsia risk (P trend < 0·001). The highest tertile of E-DII was 2·18 times the lowest tertiles (95 % CI = 1·52, 3·13). The odds of preeclampsia increased by 30 % (95 % CI = 18 %, 43 %, P value < 0·001) for each E-DII score increase. The preeclampsia risk was positively associated with IL-2 (OR = 1·07, 95 % CI = 1·03, 1·11), IL-4 (OR = 1·26, 95 % CI = 1·03, 1·54) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) (OR = 1·17, 95 % CI = 1·06, 1·29). Therefore, proinflammatory diets, corresponding to higher IL-2, IL-4 and TGF-β levels, were associated with increased preeclampsia risk.

Lower-crust-derived adakitic rocks in the Gangdese belt provide important constraints on the timing of Tibetan crustal thickening and on the relative contributions of magmatic and tectonic processes. Here we present geochronological and geochemical data for the Wangdui porphyritic monzogranites in the western Gangdese belt. Zircon U–Pb dating yields emplacement ages of 46–44 Ma. All samples have high Sr (321–599 ppm), low Yb (0.76–1.33 ppm) and Y (10.6–18.3 ppm) contents, with high La/Yb (51.1–72.3) and Sr/Y (21.0–51.4) ratios, indicating adakitic affinities. The low MgO (0.97–1.76 wt %), Cr (7.49–53.6 ppm) and Ni (4.75–29.1 ppm) contents, as well as high 87Sr/86Sr(i) (0.7143–0.7145), low ϵNd(t) (−10.4 to −9.8) and zircon ϵHf(t) (−17.7 to 0.4) values, suggest that the Wangdui pluton most likely originated from partial melting of the thickened ancient lower crust. In combination with previously published data, despite the east–west-trending heterogeneity of crustal composition in the Gangdese belt, the La/Yb ratios of magmatic rocks reveal that both western and eastern segments experienced remarkable crustal thickening in the Eocene. However, in contrast to the thickened juvenile lower crust in the eastern segment formed by the underplating of mantle-derived magmas, tectonic shortening plays a more crucial role in thickening of the ancient basement in western Gangdese. In fact, such Eocene-thickened ancient lower-crust-derived adakitic rocks are widely distributed in the central Himalayan–Tibetan orogen. This, together with the extensive development of fold–thrust belts, suggests that tectonic shortening might be the main mechanism accounting for the crustal thickening associated with the India–Asia collision.

We prove a relative Lefschetz–Verdier theorem for locally acyclic objects over a Noetherian base scheme. This is done by studying duals and traces in the symmetric monoidal $2$ -category of cohomological correspondences. We show that local acyclicity is equivalent to dualisability and deduce that duality preserves local acyclicity. As another application of the category of cohomological correspondences, we show that the nearby cycle functor over a Henselian valuation ring preserves duals, generalising a theorem of Gabber.

We report the crystal structure of allanite-(Ce), with composition (Ca1.0REE0.9□0.1)Σ2.0(Al1.46Fe3+0.52Fe2+0.76Mg0.12Ti0.15)Σ3.01Si3O12(OH) from the Xinfeng rare earth element (REE)-bearing granite in Guangdong Province, China. It has the unit cell a = 8.9550(4) Å, b = 5.77875(16) Å, c = 10.2053(4) Å, β = 114.929(5)° and Z = 2 in space group P21/m and is characterised by site splitting at M3 into M3a and M3b, at a distance of 0.38(3) Å, which are occupied partially by Fe0.764Mg0.12 and Ti0.15, respectively. The structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and refined with anisotropic full-matrix least-squares refinement on F2 to R1 = 2.82%, wR2 = 7.77% for 1856 independent reflections (8772 collected reflections). However, M3 splitting is not present in either ferriallanite-(Ce) or epidote, in which M3 is almost fully occupied either by Fe2+ or by Fe3+. Comparisons of bond lengths and volumes in cation polyhedra among allanite-(Ce), ferriallanite-(Ce) and epidote tend to indicate that the essential factor that facilitates site splitting of M3 in allanite-(Ce) is heterovalent substitution and occupation of a crystallographic site between Fe2+(Mg2+/Mn2+)–Al3+(Ti4+), a common phenomenon in minerals, such as the plagioclase series. Fine structure analysis of the M3 split model revealed that deformation of A2 is related closely to distorted M3, which is consistent with Fe2+ incorporation following REE substitution.

It is well concluded that microbial composition and diversity of coral species can be affected under temperature alterations. However, the interaction of environmental accumulation of corals and temperature stress on symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities are rarely studied. In this study, two groups of soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum were cultured under constant (26 °C) and inconstant (22 °C to 26 °C) temperature conditions for 30 days as control treatments. After that, water was cooled rapidly to decrease to 20 °C in 24 h. The results of diversity analysis showed that symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities had a significant difference between the two accumulated groups. The principal coordinate analyses confirmed that symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities of both control treatments were clustered into two groups. Our results evidenced that rapid cooling stress could not change symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacterial communities’ composition. On the other hand, cooling stress could alter only bacterial communities in constant group. In conclusion, our study represents a clear relationship between environmental accumulation and the impact of short-term cooling stress in which microbial composition structure can be affected by early adaptation conditions.

ITGB1 (Integrin β1, CD29) is a member of the integrin family and has a role as a major adhesion receptor. Gastric cancer (GC) is an important cause of mortality worldwide, especially in China. As a potential cancer enhancer, the role ITGB1 plays in GC progression remains unclear. In the current study, our assay on the databases of tumoassociated gene expression and interaction found that the high expression of ITGB1 was closely correlated with the poor prognosis of GC patients. To explore the roles, ITGB1 plays in GC progression, and an ITGB1-deleted cell line (ITGB1−/−SGC7901) was generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 method. The tumor malignancy-associated cell behaviors and microstructures were detected, imaged, and analyzed using 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), wound healing, transwell, scanning electron microscopy, laser scanning confocal microscopy, and others. The results indicated that ITGB1 deletion decreased the GC cell proliferation and motility, and inhibited motility-relevant microstructures, such as pseudopodia and filopodia, markedly in ITGB1-deleted SGC7901 cells. The analysis of STRING database and western blots indicated that ITGB1 contributes to the malignancy of GC mediated by Src-mediated FAK/PI3K/Akt signaling pathways. Taken together, the results showed that ITGB1 may be a potential targeting marker for GC diagnosis and therapy in the future.

This study investigates how venture capital firms (VCs) choose syndication partners. Exponential random graph models of Chinese VC syndication networks from 2006 to 2013 show that the homophily mechanism does not always determine VCs’ partner selection. In selecting partners, VCs have to strike a balance between reducing uncertainty and mobilizing heterogeneous resources. Therefore, decisions about partners depend on institutional uncertainty and VCs’ investment preferences. While VCs that focus on traditional business in an immature market are more likely to form homogeneous syndications, their peers that prefer to invest in innovative companies and that can rely on a stable market tend to syndicate with heterogeneous partners.