OBJECTIVES/GOALS: SGLT2i therapy is currently a cornerstone in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) therapy. Similarly, H2S has been shown to be beneficial in preclinical models of heart failure. With this in mind, we sought to investigate the effects of the SGLT2i and H2S donor therapy alone or in combination in a rodent model of cardiometabolic HFpEF. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Male C57BL/6N mice (9 weeks of age) were fed a high fat, Western diet (HFD) and received L-NG-Nitro arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) in the drinking water (0.5 g/L) to induce HFpEF. At 5 weeks, animals were randomized to either control, H2S donor (SG-1002, 90 mg/kg/d, P.O), Empagliflozin (155 mg/L, P.O), or the combination of SG-1002 and Empagliflozin for an additional 5 weeks while being maintained on HFD and L-NAME. Echocardiography, left ventricular invasive LV and systemic hemodynamics, and exercise capacity testing were performed to assess cardiovascular disease severity. Fasted glucose, circulating triglyceride and cholesterol content were similarly measured to quantify key clinical metabolic parameters. H2S and its metabolite, sulfane sulfur, were quantified to assure adequate H2S donation. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Administration of SG-1002 restored H2S and sulfane sulfur to normal circulating levels. All treatment groups exhibited similar improvements in LV diastolic dysfunction as measured by E/E’and LVEDP. Combination therapy significantly improved exercise capacity whereas the monotherapy groups did not. Treatment with SG-1002 decreased fasting glucose and circulating cholesterol while all treatment groups displayed decreased circulating triglycerides and body weight compared to HFpEF control. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These data indicate that restoring H2S or treatment with an SGLT2i in this preclinical HFpEF model attenuates pathology. Combination of both drugs exhibited greater benefit than either monotherapy in important HFpEF parameters such as exercise capacity. Further studies are underway to characterize the benefits observed from combination therapy.

The objective was to evaluate the association between serum carotenoid levels and respiratory morbidity and mortality in a nationally representative sample of US adults. We assessed the association of serum carotenoid levels with respiratory morbidity and mortality using logistic regression and proportional hazards regression models. Meanwhile, a series of confounders were controlled in regression models and restricted cubic spline, which included age, sex, race, marriage, education, income, drinking, smoking, regular exercise, BMI, daily energy intake, vitamin E, vitamin C, fruit intake, vegetable intake, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Compared with participants in the lowest tertiles, participants in the highest tertiles of serum total carotenoids, β-cryptoxanthin and lutein/zeaxanthin levels had a significantly lower prevalence of emphysema (ORtotal carotenoids = 0·61, 95% CI: 0·41–0·89, OR β-cryptoxanthin = 0·67, 95% CI: 0·49–0·92), chronic bronchitis (OR β-cryptoxanthin = 0·66, 95% CI: 0·50–0·87) and asthma (Q2: ORlutein/zeaxanthin = 0·78, 95% CI: 0·62–0·97); participants in the highest tertiles of total carotenoids, α-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin and lycopene had a lower risk of respiratory mortality (hazard ratio (HR)total carotenoids = 0·62, 95% CI: 0·42–0·90, HR α-carotene = 0·54, 95% CI: 0·36–0·82, HRlutein/zeaxanthin = 0·48, 95% CI: 0·33–0·71, HRlycopene = 0·66, 95% CI: 0·45–0·96) than those in the lowest tertiles. Higher serum total carotenoids and β-cryptoxanthin levels is associated with decreased prevalence of emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and higher serum total carotenoids, α-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin and lycopene levels had a lower mortality of respiratory disease.

Multilayer dielectric gratings typically remove multiple-grating pillars after picosecond laser irradiation; however, the dynamic formation process of the removal is still unclear. In this study, the damage morphologies of multilayer dielectric gratings induced by an 8.6-ps laser pulse were closely examined. The damage included the removal of a single grating pillar and consecutive adjacent grating pillars and did not involve the destruction of the internal high-reflection mirror structure. Comparative analysis of the two damage morphological characteristics indicated the removal of adjacent pillars was related to an impact process caused by the eruption of localized materials from the left-hand pillar, exerting impact pressure on its adjacent pillars and eventually resulting in multiple pillar removal. A finite-element strain model was used to calculate the stress distribution of the grating after impact. According to the electric field distribution, the eruptive pressure of the dielectric materials after ionization was also simulated. The results suggest that the eruptive pressure resulted in a stress concentration at the root of the adjacent pillar that was sufficient to cause damage, corresponding to the experimental removal of the adjacent pillar from the root. This study provides further understanding of the laser-induced damage behavior of grating pillars and some insights into reducing the undesirable damage process for practical applications.

High-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) contribute to dough elasticity and bread baking quality in wheat. In this study, wheat varieties were classified based on their HMW-GS composition into three groups: 1Dx5 (5 + 10, Gaoyou 8901, Xinmai 28, Xinmai 19, Xinmai 26 and Jinbaoyin), 1Dx2 (2 + 12, Zhoumai 24, Xinmai 9 and Yumai) and 1Dx4 (4 + 12, Aikang 58). Sequence analysis showed that 1Dx-GY8901, 1Dx-XM28, 1Dx-XM19 and 1Dx-XM26 were similar to the 1Dx5 gene and clustered on the same branch, while 1Dx-AK58, 1Dx-ZM24, 1Dx-JBY, 1Dx-YM, 1Dx-XM9 and 1Dx-JBY were more similar to the 1Dx2 gene and clustered on the same branch with 1Dx.2.2. There was a mutation of Ser to Cys at position S2, for an extra Cys in the repeat regions of 1Dx-XM19, 1Dx-XM26, 1Dx-XM28 and 1Dx-GY8901. The wheat HMW-GS genes exhibited similar percentages of α-helix, extended strand, β-turn and random coil structure, with ranges of 13.33–13.59, 4.77–5.78, 7.08–9.18 and 72.3–73.94%, respectively. Sequence conservation and the composition of HMW-GS subunits were also analysed for a series of strong gluten wheat varieties, Xinmai 9 (1, 7 + 8, 2 + 12), Xinmai 19 (1, 7 + 9, 5 + 10), Xinmai 26 (1, 7 + 8, 5 + 10) and Xinmai 28 (1, 7 + 9, 5 + 10). The results of this work should facilitate future breeding efforts and provide the theoretical basis for wheat quality improvement.

With the rapid development of the national economy, the demand for electricity is also growing. Thermal power generation accounts for the highest proportion of power generation, and coal is the most commonly used combustion material. The massive combustion of coal has led to serious environmental pollution. It is significant to improve energy conversion efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions effectively. In this paper, an extreme learning machine model based on improved Kalman particle swarm optimization (ELM-IKPSO) is proposed to establish the boiler combustion model. The proposed modeling method is applied to the combustion modeling process of a 300 MWe pulverized coal boiler. The simulation results show that compared with the same type of modeling method, ELM-IKPSO can better predict the boiler thermal efficiency and NOx emission concentration and also show better generalization performance. Finally, multi-objective optimization is carried out on the established model, and a set of mutually non-dominated boiler combustion solutions is obtained.

The relationship between vitamin B12 and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) remains controversial. To comprehensively evaluate the relationship between vitamin B12 and GDM, and to provide more information on GDM prevention, this study provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of vitamin B12 and GDM. As of September 22, 2021, 304 articles were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases, of which 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. Results presented there was no association between maternal vitamin B12 concentration during the first trimester with GDM, however, low vitamin B12 concentration in the second or third trimester of pregnancy was related to an increased risk of GDM. Compared with the non-GDM group, the vitamin B12 concentration in the GDM group was remarkably decreased (MD: –10·79; 95%CI: –21·37, –0·21), and vitamin B12 deficiency increased the risk for GDM (OR: 1·59; 95%CI: 1·10, 2·29). These effects were more significant among Asians. In addition, an increased ratio of high folate to low vitamin B12 in serum also increased the risk of GDM (OR: 1·87; 95% CI: 1·46, 2·41). These results suggest that more vitamin B12 may need to be provided during pregnancy.

The study was to evaluate the reproducibility and validity of the FFQ for residents of northeast China. A total of 131 participants completed two FFQ (FFQ1 and FFQ2) within a 3-month period, 125 participants completed 8-d weighed diet records (WDR) and 112 participants completed blood biomarker testing. Reproducibility was measured by comparing nutrient and food intake between FFQ1 and FFQ2. The validity of the FFQ was assessed by WDR and the triad method. The Spearman correlation coefficients (SCC) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for reproducibility ranged from 0·41 to 0·69 (median = 0·53) and from 0·18 to 0·68 (median = 0·53) for energy and nutrients and from 0·37 to 0·73 (median = 0·59) and from 0·33 to 0·86 (median = 0·60) for food groups, respectively. The classifications of same or adjacent quartiles ranged from 73·64 to 93·80 % for both FFQ. The crude SCC between the FFQ and WDR ranged from 0·27 to 0·55 (median = 0·46) for the energy and nutrients and from 0·26 to 0·70 (median = 0·52) for food groups, and classifications of the same or adjacent quartiles ranged from 65·32 to 86·29 %. The triad method indicated that validation coefficients for the FFQ were above 0·3 for most nutrients, which indicated a moderate or high level of validity. The FFQ that was developed for residents of northeast China for the Northeast Cohort Study of China is reliable and valid for assessing the intake of most foods and nutrients.

The subduction model of the Neo-Tethys during the Early Cretaceous has always been a controversial topic, and the scarcity of Early Cretaceous magmatic rocks in the southern part of the Gangdese batholith is the main cause of this debate. To address this issue, this article presents new zircon U–Pb chronology, zircon Hf isotope, whole-rock geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotope data for the Early Cretaceous quartz diorite dykes with adakite affinity in Liuqiong, Gongga. Zircon U–Pb dating of three samples yielded ages of c. 141–137 Ma, indicating that the Liuqiong quartz diorite was emplaced in the Early Cretaceous. The whole-rock geochemical analysis shows that the Liuqiong quartz diorite is enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and light rare-earth elements (LREEs) and is depleted in high-field-strength elements (HFSEs), which are related to slab subduction. Additionally, the Liuqiong quartz diorite has high SiO2, Al2O3 and Sr contents, high Sr/Y ratios and low heavy rare-earth element (HREE) and Y contents, which are compatible with typical adakite signatures. The initial 87Sr/86Sr values of the Liuqiong adakite range from 0.705617 to 0.705853, and the whole-rock ϵNd(t) values vary between +5.78 and +6.24. The zircon ϵHf(t) values vary from +11.5 to +16.4. Our results show that the Liuqiong adakite magma was derived from partial melting of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic plate (mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) + sediment + fluid), with some degree of subsequent peridotite interaction within the overlying mantle wedge. Combining regional data, we favour the interpretation that the Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust was subducted at a low angle beneath the Gangdese during the Early Cretaceous.

We have grown intermetallic ErPd2Si2 single crystals employing laser diodes with the floating-zone method. The temperature dependence of the unit-cell parameters was determined using synchrotron and in-house X-ray powder diffraction measurements from 20 to 500 K. The diffraction patterns fit well with the tetragonal I4/mmm space group (No. 139) with two chemical formulae within the unit cell. The synchrotron powder diffraction study shows that the refined unit-cell parameters are a = 4.10320(2) Å, c = 9.88393(5) Å at 298 K and a = 4.11737(2) Å, c = 9.88143(5) Å at 500 K, resulting in the unit-cell volume V = 166.408(1) Å3 (298 K) and 167.517(2) Å3 (500 K). In the whole studied temperature range, no structural phase transition was observed. Upon cooling, the unit-cell parameters a and c are shortened and elongated, respectively.

The incidence of scarlet fever has increased dramatically in recent years in Chongqing, China, but there has no effective method to forecast it. This study aimed to develop a forecasting model of the incidence of scarlet fever using a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model. Monthly scarlet fever data between 2011 and 2019 in Chongqing, China were retrieved from the Notifiable Infectious Disease Surveillance System. From 2011 to 2019, a total of 5073 scarlet fever cases were reported in Chongqing, the male-to-female ratio was 1.44:1, children aged 3–9 years old accounted for 81.86% of the cases, while 42.70 and 42.58% of the reported cases were students and kindergarten children, respectively. The data from 2011 to 2018 were used to fit a SARIMA model and data in 2019 were used to validate the model. The normalised Bayesian information criterion (BIC), the coefficient of determination (R2) and the root mean squared error (RMSE) were used to evaluate the goodness-of-fit of the fitted model. The optimal SARIMA model was identified as (3, 1, 3) (3, 1, 0)12. The RMSE and mean absolute per cent error (MAPE) were used to assess the accuracy of the model. The RMSE and MAPE of the predicted values were 19.40 and 0.25 respectively, indicating that the predicted values matched the observed values reasonably well. Taken together, the SARIMA model could be employed to forecast scarlet fever incidence trend, providing support for scarlet fever control and prevention.

Root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) are a group of economically important pathogens that have caused serious economic losses in many crops. In 2019, root-lesion nematodes were recovered from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) root samples collected from Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China (PRC). Extracted nematodes were disinfected, and one individual female was cultured on a carrot disc for propagation at 25 °C by parthenogenesis and designated the SC isolate. Afterwards, the isolate was identified on the basis of morphometric and molecular markers. Both morphometric characters and molecular analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region gene (ITS) of ribosomal DNA, the D2-D3 expansion region of the 28S rDNA gene and the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtDNA-COI) gene revealed that the species of root-lesion nematode was Pratylenchus scribneri. The Bayesian tree inferred from the ITS rDNA, 28S rDNA and mtDNA-COI gene sequences also showed that this isolate formed a highly supported clade with other P. scribneri isolates. The pathogenicity of the root-lesion nematode SC isolate on tomato was assessed, showing that tomato was a suitable host for P. scribneri. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of P. scribneri on tomato in Sichuan Province, PRC. These are also the first molecular data obtained from P. scribneri on tomato in the PRC, and the pathogenicity of P. scribneri to tomato was studied for the first time. This study provides scientific data for the detection, identification and control of tomato root-lesion nematode disease.

Based on a substrate integrated lens (SIL), a compact line source generator (LSG) for feeding continuous transverse stub (CTS) arrays with linear-polarized (LP) beam scanning and dual-polarized (DP) operations is presented in this paper. The SIL consists of metamaterial cells with different sizes being arranged as concentric annulus and is printed on the center surface of two substrate layers. The SIL can convert the cylindrical wave generated by the feed probe of SIW-horn to the planar wave for feeding the CTS array. This rotationally symmetric SIL can be used conveniently to design LSG for feeding CTS arrays with the continuous beam scanning and DP operations, which has been verified by the fabrications and measurements. By simply rotating the SIW-horn along the edge of SIL, the 10-element LP-CTS array obtains a measured beam scanning range of ±35° with the highest gain of 20.6 dBi. By setting two orthogonal SIW-horns at the edge of the proposed SIL, the nine-element DP-CTS array with orthogonal radiation stubs is excited. The DP array obtains the gain of 20.3 dBi at the center frequency with the isolation of 28 dB and the cross-polarization level <−25 dB.

The mid-latitude Westerlies (MLW) are one of the most important atmospheric circulation systems in the Northern Hemisphere, exerting a huge influence on the climate of the region downwind, and thus on vegetation, water resources, and human wellbeing. However, the seasonal variation of the MLW during the Holocene is not yet been fully understood, especially when its contribution is the most important. Here, we used end-member (EM) modeling analysis of the grain-size distributions of a high-altitude aeolian sedimentary sequence (4452 m a.s.l.) from the Yarlung Zangbo River valley in the southern Tibetan Plateau to reveal variations in the winter MLW during the Holocene. Analysis of seasonal differences in modern atmospheric circulation suggests that the southern Tibetan Plateau was heavily influenced by the mid-latitude Westerlies at the 400, 500, and 600 hPa levels in winter, while it was seldom influenced at these levels in summer. Four grain-size end-members are identified, representing distinct aerodynamic environments, of which EM1 (modal grain size 8.1 μm) can be used as a proxy of the winter MLW. A reconstruction of the variation of the winter MLW during the Holocene based on EM1 revealed that a weaker winter MLW occurred during the Early to Middle Holocene, and a stronger winter MLW during the Middle to Late Holocene. Overall, we suggest that this change in the winter MLW was closely related to the insolation/temperature/pressure gradient between low and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.

The liquid evaporation from nanoscale pores has attracted much attention from researchers due to its importance in water treatment and device cooling related applications. It is crucial to investigate the receded liquid case as the vapour flow resistance in a nanopore has high impacts on the evaporation rate. This paper proposed a semi-empirical analysis on nanoporous evaporation with a receded liquid surface under the influence of the Knudsen number. The vapour flow dynamics in a nanopore was examined considering the multiple reflections of vapour molecules. We calculated the value of pore transmissivity based on transitional gas flow correlation which incorporated the effect of the Knudsen number. Direct simulation Monte Carlo method was employed to provide validation for the present model. The vapour density jump near the liquid surface and the pressure ratio between the far field and saturation value were predicted by our model with good precision. It was shown that the vapour flow resistance in the nanopore accounted for more than 90 % of the total resistance in present cases. With increasing Knudsen number, the pressure ratio gradually drops and reaches an asymptotic level. This suggested a relatively higher evaporation resistance in free molecular regimes. The present work revealed the importance of the Knudsen number in nanoporous evaporation with receded liquids, providing insights into the governing factors under various Knudsen regimes.

Geopolymers can be transformed into zeolites under certain synthesis conditions. However, zeolite formation is not frequently reported in KOH-activated geopolymers. This study attempted to explore zeolite synthesis through geopolymerization for a curing time of 24 h using mixed NaOH/KOH alkaline solution as an activator, and then applying the geopolymer-supported zeolites to immobilize Cd(II) in paddy soil. The K2O/M2O–H2O/SiO2 and K2O/M2O–OH–/SiO2 binary zeolite crystallization phase diagrams were obtained. Zeolite A, faujasite and sodalite formed at lower K2O/M2O molar ratios (0–0.2), ferrierite formation was favoured at a K2O/M2O molar ratio of 0.2–0.4 and zeolite K-I and zeolite F-K (both K-zeolites) were observed at a K2O/M2O molar ratio of 0.6. The geopolymer-supported zeolites had micropores and mesopores and specific surface area values of 44.2–74.8 m2 g–1. The material displayed a considerable Cd(II) immobilization efficiency (55.6–58.7% at 4–6 wt.% addition of zeolite).

To achieve adaptive gait planning of humanoid robots, a hierarchical central pattern generator (H-CPG) model with a basic rhythmic signal generation layer and a pattern formation layer is proposed to modulate the center of mass (CoM) and the online foot trajectory. The entrainment property of the CPG is exploited for adaptive walking in the absence of a priori knowledge of walking conditions, and the sensory feedback is applied to modulate the generated trajectories online to improve walking adaptability and stability. The developed control strategy is verified using a humanoid robot on sloped terrain and shows good performance.

This paper is concerned with the asymptotic propagations for a nonlocal dispersal population model with shifting habitats. In particular, we verify that the invading speed of the species is determined by the speed c of the shifting habitat edge and the behaviours near infinity of the species’ growth rate which is nondecreasing along the positive spatial direction. In the case where the species declines near the negative infinity, we conclude that extinction occurs if c > c*(∞), while c < c*(∞), spreading happens with a leftward speed min{−c, c*(∞)} and a rightward speed c*(∞), where c*(∞) is the minimum KPP travelling wave speed associated with the species’ growth rate at the positive infinity. The same scenario will play out for the case where the species’ growth rate is zero at negative infinity. In the case where the species still grows near negative infinity, we show that the species always survives ‘by moving’ with the rightward spreading speed being either c*(∞) or c*(−∞) and the leftward spreading speed being one of c*(∞), c*(−∞) and −c, where c*(−∞) is the minimum KPP travelling wave speed corresponding to the growth rate at the negative infinity. Finally, we give some numeric simulations and discussions to present and explain the theoretical results. Our results indicate that there may exists a solution like a two-layer wave with the propagation speeds analytically determined for such type of nonlocal dispersal equations.

Barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.] is a noxious grass weed that infests rice fields and causes huge crop yield losses. In this study, we collected 12 E. crus-galli populations from rice fields of Ningxia Province in China and investigated the resistance levels to the acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor penoxsulam and the acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibitor cyhalofop-butyl. The results showed that eight populations exhibited resistance to penoxsulam and four populations evolved resistance to cyhalofop-butyl. Moreover, all four cyhalofop-butyl–resistant populations (NX3, NX4, NX6, and NX7) displayed multiple herbicide resistance to both penoxsulam and cyhalofop-butyl. The alternative herbicides bispyribac-sodium, metamifop, and fenoxaprop-p-ethyl cannot effectively control the multiple herbicide–resistant (MHR) plants. To characterize the molecular mechanisms of resistance, we amplified and sequenced the target site–encoding genes in resistant and susceptible populations. Partial sequences of three ALS genes and six ACCase genes were examined. A Trp-574-Leu mutation was detected in EcALS1 and EcALS3 in two high-level (65.84- and 59.30-fold) penoxsulam-resistant populations, NX2 and NX10, respectively. In addition, one copy (EcACC4) of ACCase genes encodes a truncated aberrant protein due to a frameshift mutation in E. crus-galli populations. None of the amino acid substitutions that are known to confer herbicide resistance were detected in ALS and ACCase genes of MHR populations. Our study reveals the wide spread of MHR E. crus-galli populations in Ningxia Province that exhibit resistance to several ALS and ACCase inhibitors. Non–target site based mechanisms are likely to be involved in E. crus-galli resistance to the herbicides, at least in four MHR populations.