The clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 were analysed to determine the factors influencing the prognosis and virus shedding time to facilitate early detection of disease progression. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationships among prognosis, clinical characteristics and laboratory indexes. The predictive value of this model was assessed with receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, calibration and internal validation. The viral shedding duration was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and the prognostic factors were analysed by univariate log-rank analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model. A retrospective study was carried out with patients with COVID-19 in Tianjin, China. A total of 185 patients were included, 27 (14.59%) of whom were severely ill at the time of discharge and three (1.6%) of whom died. Our findings demonstrate that patients with an advanced age, diabetes, a low PaO2/FiO2 value and delayed treatment should be carefully monitored for disease progression to reduce the incidence of severe disease. Hypoproteinaemia and the fever duration warrant special attention. Timely interventions in symptomatic patients and a time from symptom onset to treatment <4 days can shorten the duration of viral shedding.

Situated between the North China Craton to the east and the Tarim Craton to the west, the northern Alxa area in westernmost Inner Mongolia in China occupies a key location for interpreting the late-stage tectonic evolution of the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt. New LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb dating results reveal 282.2 ± 3.9 Ma gabbros and 216.3 ± 3.2 Ma granites from the Yagan metamorphic core complex in northern Alxa, NW China. The gabbros are characterized by low contents of Si, Na, K, Ti and P and high contents of Mg, Ca, Al and Fe. These gabbros have arc geochemical signatures with relative enrichments in large ion lithophile elements and depletions in high field strength elements, as well as negative εNd(t) (−0.91 to −0.54) and positive εHf(t) (2.59 to 6.37) values. These features indicate that a depleted mantle magma source metasomatized by subduction fluids/melts and contaminated by crustal materials was involved in the processes of magma migration and emplacement. The granites show high-K calc-alkaline and metaluminous to weakly peraluminous affinities, similar to A-type granites. They have positive εNd(t) (1.55 to 1.99) and εHf(t) (5.03 to 7.64) values. These features suggest that the granites were derived from the mixing of mantle and crustal sources and formed in a postcollisional tectonic setting. Considering previous studies, we infer that the final closure of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean in the central part of the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt occurred in late Permian to Early–Middle Triassic times.

The association between milk consumption and the metabolic syndrome remains inconclusive, and data from Chinese populations are scarce. We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the association between milk consumption and the metabolic syndrome and its components among the residents of Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, China. A total of 5149 participants were included in the final analysis. A logistic regression model was applied to estimate the OR and 95 % CI for the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components according to milk consumption. In addition, the results of our study were further meta-analysed with other published observational studies to quantify the association between the highest v. lowest categories of milk consumption and the metabolic syndrome and its components. There was no significant difference in the odds of having the metabolic syndrome between milk consumers and non-milk consumers (OR 0·86, 95 % CI 0·73, 1·01). However, milk consumers had lower odds of having elevated waist circumference (OR 0·78, 95 % CI 0·67, 0·92), elevated TAG (OR 0·83, 95 % CI 0·70, 0·99) and elevated blood pressure (OR 0·85, 95 % CI 0·73, 0·99). When the results were pooled together with other published studies, higher milk consumption was inversely associated with the risk of the metabolic syndrome (relative risk 0·80, 95 % CI 0·72, 0·88) and its components (except elevated fasting blood glucose); however, these results should be treated with caution as high heterogeneity was observed. In summary, the currently available evidence from observational studies suggests that higher milk consumption may be inversely associated with the metabolic syndrome.

Novel NiMoO4-integrated electrode materials were successfully prepared by solvothermal method using Na2MoO4·2H2O and NiSO4·6H2O as main raw materials, water, and ethanol as solvents. The morphology, phase, and structure of the as-prepared materials were characterized by SEM, XRD, Raman, and FT-IR. The electrochemical properties of the materials in supercapacitors were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, constant current charge–discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. The effects of volume ratio of water to ethanol (W/E) in solvent on the properties of the product were studied. The results show that the pure phase monoclinic crystal NiMoO4 product can be obtained when the W/E is 2:1. The diameter and length are 0.1–0.3 µm and approximately 3 µm, respectively. As an active material for supercapacitor, the NiMoO4 nanorods material delivered a discharge specific capacitance of 672, 498, and 396 F/g at a current density of 4, 7, and 10 A/g, respectively. The discharge specific capacitance slightly decreased from 815 to 588 F/g with a retention of 72% after 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A/g. With these superior capacitance properties, the novel NiMoO4 integrated electrode materials could be considered as promising material for supercapacitors.

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.

In this paper, zircon U–Pb geochronology, major and trace elements, and Sr–Nd isotope geochemistry of the Baiyanghe dolerites in northern West Junggar of NW China are presented. The U–Pb dating of zircons from the dolerites yielded ages of 272.2±4 Ma and 276.7±6.2 Ma, which indicate the emplacement times. The dolerites are characterized by minor variations in SiO2 (46.89 to 49.07 wt%), high contents of Al2O3 (13.60 to 13.92 wt%) and total Fe2O3 (11.14 to 11.70 wt%), and low contents of MgO (2.67 to 3.64 wt%) and total alkalis (Na2O+K2O, 5.1 to 5.97 wt%, K2O/Na2O = 0.37–0.94), which indicate affinities to metaluminous tholeiite basalt. The REE pattern ((La/Sm)N = 2.25–2.34, (La/Yb)N = 7.42–8.36), V–Ti/1000 and 50*Zr–Ti/50–Sm discrimination diagrams show that these rocks are OIB-type. The high contents of Zr and Ti indicate a within-plate tectonic setting, and samples plot in the ‘plume source’ field shown on the Dy/Yb(N) versus Ce/Yb(N) diagram. The positive εNd(t) values (+7.09 to +7.48), high initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.70442 to 0.70682) and depletions of Nb and Ta elements in the samples can be explained by the involvement of subducted sediments. In summary, it is possible that the Baiyanghe dolerites were derived from an OIB-like mantle source and associated with a mantle plume tectonic setting. Therefore, our samples provide the youngest evidence for the existence of a mantle plume, which may provide new insights into the Late Palaeozoic tectonic setting of West Junggar.

A 336-cm-long sediment core spanning the last 130 ka was recovered from Lake Xingkai on the northeastern margin of the East Asian summer monsoon domain to reveal the linkage between lacustrine depositional processes and environmental changes. Bayesian end member modeling analysis was conducted to partition and interpret the grain-size distributions of Lake Xingkai sediments. Our results suggest that the sedimentary system is characterized by three end members (EMs). EM1 and EM2, with a modal value of 13 and 10 μm, respectively, indicate the variation of local hydraulic conditions. EM3, with a modal value of 5 μm, reflects the background atmospheric dust loading. High atmospheric dust concentration generally occurred during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5d, MIS 4, and early MIS 3, when the climate in the Asian dust source region was cold and dry. In contrast, low dust concentration prevailed during MIS 2, likely due to the southward shift of the westerlies driven by maximum ice volume in the high latitudes.

The NASA Kepler satellite has provided unprecedented high duty-cycle, high-precision light curves for a large number of stars by continuously monitoring a field of view in Cygnus-Lyra region, leading to great progress in both discovering exoplanets and characterizing planet-hosting stars by means of asteroseismic methods. The asteroseismic survey allows the investigation of stars covering the whole H-R diagram. However, the low precision of effective temperatures and surface gravities in the KIC catalogue and the lack of information on chemical composition, metallicity and rotation rate prevent asteroseismic modeling, requiring spectroscopic observations for thousands of asteroseismic targets in the Kepler field in a homogeneous way.

In this paper, a lattice Boltzmann BGK (LBGK) model is proposed for simulating incompressible axisymmetric flows. Unlike other existing axisymmetric lattice Boltzmann models, the present LBGK model can eliminate the compressible effects only with the small Mach number limit. Furthermore the source terms of the model are simple and contain no velocity gradients. Through the Chapman-Enskog expansion, the macroscopic equations for incompressible axisymmetric flows can be exactly recovered from the present LBGK model. Numerical simulations of the Hagen-Poiseuille flow, the pulsatile Womersley flow, the flow over a sphere, and the swirling flow in a closed cylindrical cavity are performed. The results agree well with the analytic solutions and the existing numerical or experimental data reported in some previous studies.

Primary culture of goat mammary gland cells was achieved by outgrowth of migrating cells from fragments of tissue. The fibroblast and epithelial cells were purified according to their different sensitivity to trypsin and the characteristics of goat mammary epithelial cells were observed under a light microscope. The results showed that the purified goat mammary epithelial cells retained normal characteristics until the 15th passage. The purified mammary epithelial cells propagated and formed a dome-like structure that resembled a nipple and was called a ‘milk orb’. The mammary epithelial cells could produce and secrete milk. There were different cell types: the majority were short shuttle-like or polygons, resembling a beehive; while some were large, flat and round; and others were elongated. The enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene was transferred successfully into the goat mammary epithelial cells using electrotransfection, and its expression was observed under a fluoroscope.

A facile, surfactant-assisted, hydrothermal approach has been developed to synthesize lanthanide phosphate single-crystalline nanowires/nanorods with smooth surface, uniform diameter, and good crystallinity. The surfactant Pluronic P123 was found to play a crucial role on the uniform morphology of lanthanide phosphate single-crystalline nanowires/nanorods. Photoluminescence spectra of the lanthanide phosphate single-crystalline nanowires/nanorods show that these nanowires/nanorods have strong photoluminescent emissions in the ultraviolet-visible and near-infrared regions. The present work is a preliminary and significant step toward the potential luminescent and catalytic applications of lanthanide compound based one-dimensional nanostructures.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) and Raman scattering measurements were applied to study the correlation between the microstructure and physical properties of the GaN films grown by light radiation heating metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LRH-MOCVD), using GaN buffer layer on sapphire substrates. When the density of the threading dislocation (TD) increases about one order of magnitude, the yellow luminescence (YL) intensity is strengthened from negligible to two orders of magnitude higher than the band edge emission intensity. The full width of half maximum (FWHM) of the GaN (0002) peak of the XRD rocking curve was widened from 11 min to 15 min, and in Raman spectra, the width of E2 mode is broadened from 5 cm−1 to 7 cm−1. A “zippers” structure at the interface of GaN/sapphire was observed by high-resolution electron microscope (HREM). Furthermore the origins of TD and relationship between physical properties and microstructures combining the growth conditions are discussed.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) and Raman scattering measurements were applied to study the correlation between the microstructure and physical properties of the GaN films grown by light radiation heating metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LRH-MOCVD), using GaN buffer layer on sapphire substrates. When the density of the threading dislocation (TD) increases about one order of magnitude, the yellow luminescence (YL) intensity is strengthened from negligible to two orders of magnitude higher than the band edge emission intensity. The full width of half maximum (FWHM) of the GaN (0002) peak of the XRD rocking curve was widened from 11 min to 15 min, and in Raman spectra, the width of E2 mode is broadened from 5 cm-1 to 7 cm-1. A “zippers” structure at the interface of GaN/sapphire was observed by high-resolution electron microscope (HREM). Furthermore the origins of TD and relationship between physical properties and microstructures combining the growth conditions are discussed.

In this paper, we reported experimental results about optical and structural properties of amorphous silicon carbide (α-Si1-xCx). The films of a-Si1-xCx) were grown by CVD on substrate of quartz glass. Optical constants (n-refractive index, a-absorption coefficient, Eg-optical energy band gap) of these films were determined by transmission spectra. The radial distribution functions (RDFs) of α- Sil−xCx) films were drawn out from the data of x-ray diffraction spectra. According to the RDFs, we imagined the statistic scene from which we could obtain the information of atomic radial distribution. The bond lengths and bond numbers of Si-Si, Si-C, and C-C could be also determined by RDFs. From the analysis of Raman spectra, we obtained the information of their vibration state density, and discerned the peaks of bond vibration, which agreed well with the results of α-Si1-xCx) RDF.

Using lithography, and selective etching the Si1-xGex/Si multiple quantum well wires are fabricated. The characteristics of the selective chemical etching of Si1-xGex and Si are investigated, and high-performance etchants are developed. The etchant composed of HF:NH4F:H202:NH4OH is used for the etching of the epitaxial Si1-xGex films, the selectivity is better than 250 for Si0.76Ge0.24, and increases with the increase of the mole fraction x of Ge. Another etchant composed of NH4NO3:NH4OH is used for the etching of Si, the selectivity is higher than 1000 ( x ≥ 0.1 ). A preliminary photoluminescence (PL) result obtained from the Si0.76Ge0.24 multiple quantum well wires is presented. As the linewidth of the wires is reduced down to 50 nm, an intense complicated PL spectrum in the wavelength range of 500∼800 nm is observed at liquid nitrogen temperature. The origin of such spectrum is unclear.

In this paper, we calculated theoretically the strain distribution and the critical thickness of the SiGe epilayers on Si(100) mesa structural substrates by considering the effect of the compliance of substrates, along with the effect of the limited area, and found that the compliance of substrates was relevant not only to its thickness, but also to their lateral size. The introduction of substrate compliance significantly reduced the total strain energy in the epilayers, and increased the critical thickness. That approach was realized by growth on the mesa substrates. The TEM observations confirmed the results of calculations.