The North Qilian Orogenic Belt is surrounded by the Tarim Craton to the NW and the North China Craton to the NE. The Precambrian continental crust remnants that are distributed in the North Qilian Orogenic Belt are termed the North Qilian Block (NQB), and their tectonic evolution has profound implications for the evolution of the Columbia Supercontinent. Here we present major- and trace-element and Sr–Nd–Hf isotope data for (meta-) basalts from the Beidahe Group (BDHG) and Zhulongguan Group (ZLGG) in the western North Qilian Orogenic Belt, to investigate the tectonic evolution of the NQB during the Proterozoic Eon. The protoliths of Palaeoproterozoic amphibole gneisses and plagioclase amphibolites from the BDHG are calc-alkaline series basalts. These metabasalts show island-arc-basalt affinities with variable Nd and Hf isotopes (ϵNd(t) = −5.0–0.6 and 2.7–4.3; ϵHf(t) = −14.2–2.0 and 6.9–8.8) and were generated by partial melting of the asthenospheric mantle that was metasomatized by aqueous fluid and sediment melt in a continental-arc setting. The early Mesoproterozoic ZLGG basalts show features of shoshonite-series basalts and are geochemically similar to ocean-island basalts. These basalts show variable (87Sr/86Sr)i, ϵNd(t) and ϵHf(t) values of 0.70464–0.70699, −1–2.6 and −1.5–5.7, and are products of mantle plume magmatism that participated with subducted oceanic crust in an intracontinental rift setting. This study suggests that the NQB underwent tectonic evolution from palaeo-oceanic subduction to intracontinental rifting during the Palaeoproterozoic–Mesoproterozoic eras. Furthermore, the above tectonomagmatic events were in response to convergence–splitting events of the Columbia Supercontinent during the Palaeoproterozoic–Mesoproterozoic eras.

The present study investigated the association between fibre degradation and the concentration of dissolved molecular hydrogen (H2) in the rumen. Napier grass (NG) silage and corn stover (CS) silage were compared as forages with contrasting structures and degradation patterns. In the first experiment, CS silage had greater 48-h DM, neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) and acid-detergent fibre degradation, and total gas and methane (CH4) volumes, and lower 48-h H2 volume than NG silage in 48-h in vitro incubations. In the second experiment, twenty-four growing beef bulls were fed diets including 55 % (DM basis) NG or CS silages. Bulls fed the CS diet had greater DM intake (DMI), average daily gain, total-tract digestibility of OM and NDF, ruminal dissolved methane (dCH4) concentration and gene copies of protozoa, methanogens, Ruminococcus albus and R. flavefaciens, and had lower ruminal dH2 concentration, and molar proportions of valerate and isovalerate, in comparison with those fed the NG diet. There was a negative correlation between dH2 concentration and NDF digestibility in bulls fed the CS diet, and a lack of relationship between dH2 concentration and NDF digestibility with the NG diet. In summary, the fibre of CS silage was more easily degraded by rumen microorganisms than that of NG silage. Increased dCH4 concentration with the CS diet presumably led to the decreased ruminal dH2 concentration, which may be helpful for fibre degradation and growth of fibrolytic micro-organisms in the rumen.

Road scene understanding is a critical component in an autonomous driving system. Although the deep learning-based road scene segmentation can achieve very high accuracy, its complexity is also very high for developing real-time applications. It is challenging to design a neural net with high accuracy and low computational complexity. To address this issue, we investigate the advantages and disadvantages of several popular convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures in terms of speed, storage, and segmentation accuracy. We start from the fully convolutional network with VGG, and then we study ResNet and DenseNet. Through detailed experiments, we pick up the favorable components from the existing architectures and at the end, we construct a light-weight network architecture based on the DenseNet. Our proposed network, called DSNet, demonstrates a real-time testing (inferencing) ability (on the popular GPU platform) and it maintains an accuracy comparable with most previous systems. We test our system on several datasets including the challenging Cityscapes dataset (resolution of 1024 × 512) with an Mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) of about 69.1% and runtime of 0.0147 s/image on a single GTX 1080Ti. We also design a more accurate model but at the price of a slower speed, which has an mIoU of about 72.6% on the CamVid dataset.

Compared with commercial polyolefin membranes, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane prepared by electrostatic spinning has higher porosity, electrolyte uptake, thermal stability, and lithium-ion conductivity, etc. However, poor mechanical performance has largely limited the application of electrospun PAN separators. In this study, PAN/polyimide (PI) composite membrane is prepared by electrostatic spinning to improve the mechanical and electrochemical performances. Scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis method, and electrochemical methods were used for evaluation of the electrospun composite membrane. The results show that the composite membrane possesses good thermal stability and exhibits better mechanical performance than pristine PAN membrane (increasing by 1.1 times in tension strength). The addition of PI can increase porosity and fluid absorption rate obviously. In addition, the composite membrane has high ionic conductivity (18.77 × 10−4 S/cm), wide electrochemical window (about 4.0 V), and excellent cycling performance. It can retain a discharge specific capacity of 153 mA h/g even after 50 cycles at 0.5 C. The electrospun PAN/PI membrane may be a promising candidate for lithium-ion battery separators.

Microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP) has gained much attention in soil improvement studies, where it can enhance the physical properties of sandy soil. Small-scale sand cylinder tests were conducted to investigate the formation and failure of calcium carbonate precipitation bonding between individual sand particles. Bonding formation by precipitation was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis verified the existence of calcium, carbon, and oxygen, which could form CaCO3 after MICP-treatment. Focused-ion-beam milling was applied to study the interior structure of calcium carbonate precipitation during the MICP process.

The Shen-Guang II Upgrade (SG-II-U) laser facility consists of eight high-power nanosecond laser beams and one short-pulse picosecond petawatt laser. It is designed for the study of inertial confinement fusion (ICF), especially for conducting fast ignition (FI) research in China and other basic science experiments. To perform FI successfully with hohlraum targets containing a golden cone, the long-pulse beam and cylindrical hohlraum as well as the short-pulse beam and cone target alignment must satisfy tight specifications (30 and $20~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ rms for each case). To explore new ICF ignition targets with six laser entrance holes (LEHs), a rotation sensor was adapted to meet the requirements of a three-dimensional target and correct beam alignment. In this paper, the strategy for aligning the nanosecond beam based on target alignment sensor (TAS) is introduced and improved to meet requirements of the picosecond lasers and the new six LEHs hohlraum targets in the SG-II-U facility. The expected performance of the alignment system is presented, and the alignment error is also discussed.

In high power laser facility for inertial confinement fusion research, final optics assembly (FOA) plays a critical role in the frequency conversion, beam focusing, color separation, beam sampling and debris shielding. The design and performance of FOA in SG-II Upgrade laser facility are mainly introduced here. Due to the limited space and short focal length, a coaxial aspheric wedged focus lens is designed and applied in the FOA configuration. Then the ghost image analysis, the focus characteristic analysis, the B integral control design and the optomechanical design are carried out in the FOA design phase. In order to ensure the FOA performance, two key technologies are developed including measurement and adjustment technique of the wedged focus lens and the stray light management technique based on ground glass. Experimental results show that the design specifications including laser fluence, frequency conversion efficiency and perforation efficiency of the focus spot have been achieved, which meet the requirements of physical experiments well.

Babesiosis is an emerging tick-transmitted zoonosis prevalent in large parts of the world. This study was designed to determine the rates of Babesia microti infection among small rodents in Yunnan province, where human cases of babesiosis have been reported. Currently, distribution of Babesia in its endemic regions is largely unknown. In this study, we cataloged 1672 small wild rodents, comprising 4 orders, from nine areas in western Yunnan province between 2009 and 2011. Babesia microti DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction in 4·3% (72/1672) of the rodents analyzed. The most frequently infected rodent species included Apodemus chevrieri and Niviventer fulvescens. Rodents from forests and shrublands had significantly higher Babesia infection rates. Genetic comparisons revealed that Babesia was most similar to the Kobe- and Otsu-type strains identified in Japan. A variety of rodent species might be involved in the enzootic maintenance and transmission of B. microti, supporting the need for further serological investigations in humans.

The semilocal convergence of a third-order Newton-like method for solving nonlinear equations is considered. Under a weak condition (the so-called γ-condition) on the derivative of the nonlinear operator, we establish a new semilocal convergence theorem for the Newton-like method and also provide an error estimate. Some numerical examples show the applicability and efficiency of our result, in comparison to other semilocal convergence theorems.

We consider the nonlinear and ill-posed inverse problem where the Robin coefficient in the Laplace equation is to be estimated using the measured data from the accessible part of the boundary. Two regularisation methods are considered — viz. L 2 and H 1 regularisation. The regularised problem is transformed to a nonlinear least squares problem; and a suitable regularisation parameter is chosen via the normalised cumulative periodogram (NCP) curve of the residual vector under the assumption of white noise, where information on the noise level is not required. Numerical results show that the proposed method is efficient and competitive.

The Lorentz factor (Γ) is an important parameter related to the relativistic jet physics. We study the evolution patterns of Γ within gamma-ray burst (GRB) and active galactic nuclear jets for individual GRB 090168, GRB 140508A, and 3C 454.3. By estimating the Γ values for well-separated pulses in GRBs 090618 and 140508A with an empirical relation derived from typical GRBs, we find that the Γ evolution pattern in the two GRBs are different. The increasing-to-coasting evolution pattern of Γ in GRB 090618 likely indicates that the GRB fireball is still being accelerated in the prompt phase. The clear decrease evolution pattern of Γ in GRB 140508A suggests the deceleration of the fireball components. By deriving the Γ value through fitting their spectral energy distribution in different flares of 3C 454.3, a pattern of Γ-tracking-γ-ray flux is clearly found, likely indicating that the observed gamma-ray flares are being due to the Doppler boosting effect to the jet emission.

In this paper, preconditioned iterative methods for solving two-dimensional space-fractional diffusion equations are considered. The fractional diffusion equation is discretized by a second-order finite difference scheme, namely, the Crank-Nicolson weighted and shifted Grünwald difference (CN-WSGD) scheme proposed in [W. Tian, H. Zhou and W. Deng, A class of second order difference approximation for solving space fractional diffusion equations, Math. Comp., 84 (2015) 1703-1727]. For the discretized linear systems, we first propose preconditioned iterative methods to solve them. Then we apply the D’Yakonov ADI scheme to split the linear systems and solve the obtained splitting systems by iterative methods. Two preconditioned iterative methods, the preconditioned generalized minimal residual (preconditioned GMRES) method and the preconditioned conjugate gradient normal residual (preconditioned CGNR) method, are proposed to solve relevant linear systems. By fully exploiting the structure of the coefficient matrix, we design two special kinds of preconditioners, which are easily constructed and are able to accelerate convergence of iterative solvers. Numerical results show the efficiency of our preconditioners.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between baseline peritoneal transport types and nutritional status in Chinese continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. In the present single-centre, prospective study, incident CAPD patients were included from 15 April 2010 to 31 December 2011 and were followed up for 12 months. According to the results of baseline peritoneal equilibration test, patients were divided into lower peritoneal transport group (lower transporters) and higher peritoneal transport group (higher transporters). Nutritional status was evaluated by both subjective global assessment (SGA) and protein–energy wasting (PEW) score. The body composition parameters were assessed by body impedance analysis. A total of 283 CAPD patients were included in the study, of which 171 (60·4 %) were males with a mean age of 47·0 (sd 14·9) years. Compared with lower transporters (n 92), higher transporters (n 181) had lower levels of serum albumin (37·1 (sd 4·3) v. 39·6 (sd 4·3) g/l, P< 0·001), serum pre-albumin (356 (sd 99) v. 384 (sd 90) mg/l, P= 0·035), phase angle (6·15 (sd 0·39) v. 6·27 (sd 0·47)°, P< 0·05) and higher rate of malnutrition defined by SGA (52·5 v. 25·0 %, P< 0·001) and PEW score (37·0 v. 14·1 %, P< 0·001) at 1-year of follow-up. Baseline higher peritoneal transport, analysed by multivariate binary logistic regressions, was independently associated with malnutrition (SGA mild to moderate and severe malnutrition: OR 3·43, 95 % CI 1·69, 6·96, P< 0·01; PEW: OR 2·40, 95 % CI 1·08, 5·31, P= 0·03). It was concluded that baseline higher peritoneal transport was independently associated with worse nutritional status of CAPD patients in Southern China.

The safe operating area (SOA) of InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors has been studied using two-dimensional Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) tool. Comprehensive physical models, including hydrodynamic transport-based impact ionization and self-heating models were implemented. The simulations for two DC modes (constant Ib and Vb modes) captured all the SOA features observed in measurements and some failure mechanisms were revealed for the first time by TCAD simulations. The simulated results are also in agreement with analytical modeling. The simulation not only gives us insight to the detailed failure mechanisms, but also provides guidance for the design of devices with better ruggedness and improved SOA performances.

Salivary α-amylase (sAA) is responsible for the ‘pre-digestion’ of starch in the oral cavity and accounts for up to 50 % of salivary protein in human saliva. An accumulating body of literature suggests that sAA is of nutritional importance; however, it is still not clear how sAA is related to individual's nutritional status. Although copy number variations (CNV) of the salivary amylase gene (AMY1) are associated with variation in sAA levels, a significant amount of sAA variation is not explained by AMY1 CNV. To measure sAA responses to gustatory stimulation with citric acid, we used sAA ratio (the ratio of stimulated sAA levels to those of resting sAA) and investigated acute sAA responses to citric acid in children with normal (Normal-BMI, n 22) and low (Low-BMI, n 21) BMI. The AMY1 gene copy number was determined by quantitative PCR. We, for the first time, demonstrated attenuated acute sAA responses (decreased sAA ratio) to gustatory stimulation in Low-BMI (thinness grade 3) children compared with the Normal-BMI children, which suggest that sAA responses to gustatory stimulation may be of nutritional importance. However, child's nutritional status was not directly related to their resting or stimulated sAA levels, and it was not associated with AMY1 gene copy number. Finally, AMY1 CNV might influence, but did not eventually determine, sAA levels in children.

An epigenetic mechanism has been suggested to explain the effects of the maternal diet on the development of disease in offspring. The present study aimed to observe the effects of a maternal high-lipid, high-energy (HLE) diet on the DNA methylation pattern of male offspring in mice. Female C57BL/6J mice were fed an HLE diet during gestation and lactation. The genomic DNA methylations at promoter sites of genes in the liver, mRNA and protein levels of selected genes related to lipid and glucose metabolism were measured by microarray, real-time PCR and Western blot. The results indicated that the percentage of methylated DNA in offspring from dams that were fed an HLE diet was significantly higher than that from dams that were fed a chow diet, and most of these genes were hypermethylated in promoter regions. The nuclear protein content and mRNA levels of hypermethylated genes, such as PPARγ and liver X receptor α (LXRα), were decreased significantly in offspring in the HLE group. The results suggested that the DNA methylation profile in adult offspring livers was changed by the maternal HLE diet during gestation and lactation.

Protein–energy wasting (PEW) is strongly associated with high mortality in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. However, its clinical assessment has not been well defined. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between combined nutritional indicators and mortality in CAPD patients. In the present retrospective cohort study, a total of 885 incident CAPD patients were enrolled. Nutritional status at the initiation of CAPD was assessed by BMI and biochemical indices (serum albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, creatinine and total cholesterol). The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Principal components factor analysis was used to identify the combined nutritional parameters. Their association with mortality was examined by multivariable-adjusted Cox models. The mean age was 47·4 (sd 14·8) years, 59·2 % (n 524) were male and 24·6 % (n 218) were diabetic. Of the total patients, 130 (14·7 %) had BMI < 18·5 kg/m2, 439 (49·6 %) had albumin < 38 g/l ( < 3·8 g/dl), 303 (34·2 %) had prealbumin < 300 mg/l ( < 30 mg/dl), 404 (45·6 %) had transferrin < 2 g/l ( < 200 mg/dl), 501 (56·6 %) had total cholesterol < 5·2 mmol/l ( < 200 mg/dl) and 466 (52·7 %) had creatinine < 707 μmol/l ( < 8 mg/dl). Overall, three components such as visceral proteins, muscle-mass surrogate and BMI were extracted, which explained 69·95 % of the total variance of the nutritional parameters. After adjusting for demographic variables, co-morbid conditions, Hb, TAG and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, the factor score of visceral proteins including albumin, prealbumin and transferrin was independently associated with mortality (hazard ratio 0·73, 95 % CI 0·60, 0·89; P= 0·002). Lower visceral protein concentrations may be independently associated with higher mortality in incident CAPD patients. Simultaneous measurements of serum albumin, prealbumin and transferrin could be helpful to monitor PEW.