Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) induced by the absence of seed dormancy causes a severe reduction in crop yield and flour quality. In this study, we isolated and characterized TaABI4, an ABA-responsive transcription factor that participates in regulating seed germination in wheat. Sequence analysis revealed that TaABI4 has three homologues, located on chromosomes 1A/1B/1D. TaABI4 contains a conserved AP2 domain, and AP2-associated, LRP and potential PEST motifs. Putative cis-acting regulatory elements (CE1-like box, W-box, ABRE elements and RY elements) were identified in the TaABI4 promoter region that showed high conservation in 17 wheat cultivars and wheat-related species. Expression profiling of TaABI4 indicated that it is a seed-specific gene accumulating during the middle stages of seed development. Transcript accumulation of TaABI4 in wheat cultivar Chuanmai 32 (CM32, PHS susceptible) was 5.07-fold and 1.39-fold higher than that in synthetic hexaploidy wheat SHW-L1 (PHS resistant) at 15 and 20 DPA, respectively. Six expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) of TaABI4 on chromosomes 2A, 2D, 3B and 4A were characterized based on the accumulated transcripts of TaABI4 in SHW-L1 and CM32-derived recombinant inbred lines. These QTLs explained 10.7 to 46.1% of the trait variation with 4.53–10.59 of LOD scores, which contain genes that may affect the expression of TaABI4.

Soil organic matter (SOM) and its fractions play an important role in maintaining or improving soil quality and soil fertility. Therefore, the effects of a 34-year long-term fertilizer regime on six functional SOM fractions under a double-cropping rice paddy field of southern China were studied in the current paper. The field experiment included four different fertilizer treatments: chemical fertilizer alone (MF), rice straw residue and chemical fertilizer (RF), 30% organic manure and 70% chemical fertilizer (OM) and without fertilizer input as control (CK). The results showed that coarse unprotected particulate organic matter (cPOM), biochemically, physically–biochemically and chemically protected silt-sized fractions (NH-dSilt, NH-μSilt and H-dSilt) were the main carbon (C) storage fractions under long-term fertilization conditions, accounting for 16.7–26.5, 31.1–35.6, 16.2–17.3 and 7.5–8.2% of the total soil organic carbon (SOC) content in paddy soil, respectively. Compared with control, OM treatment increased the SOC content in the cPOM, fine unprotected POM fraction, pure physically protected fraction and physico-chemically protected fractions by 58.9, 106.7, 117.6 and 28.3%, respectively. The largest proportion of SOC to total SOC in the different fractions was biochemically protected, followed by chemically and unprotected, and physically protected were the smallest. These results suggested that a physical protection mechanism plays an important role in stabilizing C of paddy soil. In summary, the results showed that higher functional SOM fractions and physical protection mechanism play an important role in SOM cycling in terms of C sequestration under the double-cropping rice paddy field.

The North Qilian orogenic belt in North China has been defined as a subduction–collision zone between the Alxa Block and the Qilian Block. We present petrography, zircon U–Pb geochronology, major- and trace-element geochemistry, and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotope analysis for the Yushigou diabase from the Longshoushan area, which is located SW of the Alxa Block, aiming to understand its petrogenetic link to subduction processes. The Yushigou diabase belongs to the tholeiite series, and shows enrichment in light rare earth and large-ion lithophile elements, and a depletion in heavy rare earth and high-field-strength elements. Laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry U–Pb zircon dating yielded an emplacement age of 414 ± 9 Ma, with an ϵHf(t) value in the range of −10.3 to 1.8. The whole-rock initial 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios of the diabase range over 16.811–17.157, 15.331–15.422 and 37.768–37.895, respectively. The (87Sr/86Sr)i ratios vary between 0.7086 and 0.7106, and ϵNd(t) values vary between −14.4 and −13.4, which are significantly higher than the ϵHf(t) value (Nd–Hf decoupling). An interpretation of the elemental and isotopic data suggests that the Yushigou diabase was derived from partial melting of an enriched mantle I (EM-I) -type lithospheric mantle in the spinel–garnet transitional zone. Based on the geochemical features and previous regional geological data, we propose that the Silurian magmatism was most likely triggered by slab break-off after the closure of the North Qilian Ocean, and ancient continental materials from the subduction slab metasomatized the overlying lithospheric mantle during exhumation.

A highly active catalyst of cerium–tungsten–titanium mixed oxide was synthesized by introducing Ce4+ and H2O2 in the base sample of Ce20W10Ti100Oz–Ce3+. As a consequence, the NH3-SCR activity of Ce20W10Ti100Oz–Ce3+ is significantly improved as the additives of Ce4+ and H2O2 enlarge the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area by refining its pore size. Meanwhile, the introduction of Ce4+ increases the Lewis acid sites of Ce20W10Ti100Oz–Ce3+ and decreases its low-temperature Brønsted acid sites. The further addition of H2O2 improves the Brønsted acid sites and dispersion of cerium/tungsten species, and thereby enhances the concentrations of the adsorbed oxygen (Oα) and the adsorbed oxygen $\lpar {\rm {O}^{\prime}}_{\rm \alpha} \rpar$ due to the activation of chemisorbed water on the surface of the catalyst. The addition of Ce4+ and H2O2 shows a synergistic promotional effect, which is due to the largest BET surface area and the highest concentrations of Oα or/and ${\rm {O}^{\prime}}_{\rm \alpha}$ . Ce20W10Ti100Oz–Ce3+:Ce4+ = 17.5:2.5 + H2O2 exhibits the highest catalytic activity compared with the conventional ones (Fig. 5).

A suite of Jurassic–Cretaceous migmatites was newly identified in the Liaodong Peninsula of the eastern North China Craton (NCC). Anatexis is commonly associated with crustal thickening. However, the newly identified migmatites were formed during strong lithospheric thinning accompanied by voluminous magmatism and intense deformation. Field investigations show that the migmatites are spatially associated with low-angle detachment faults. Numerous leucosomes occur either as isolated lenses or thin layers (dykes), parallel to or cross-cutting the foliation. Peritectic minerals such as titanite and sillimanite are distributed mainly along the boundaries of reactant minerals or are accumulated along the foliation. Most zircons show distinct core–rim structures, and the rims have low Th/U ratios (0.01–0.24). Zircon U–Pb dating results indicate that the protoliths of the migmatites were either the Late Triassic (224–221 Ma) diorites or metasedimentary rocks deposited sometime after c. 1857 Ma. The zircon overgrowth rims record crystallization ages of 173–161 Ma and 125 Ma, which represent the formation time of leucosomes. These ages are consistent with those reported magmatic events in the Liaodong Peninsula and surrounding areas. The leucosomes indicate a strong anatectic event during the Jurassic–Cretaceous period. Partial melting occurred through the breakdown of muscovite and biotite with the presence of water-rich fluid under a thermal anomaly regime. The possible mechanism that caused the 173–161 Ma and 125 Ma anatectic events was intimately related to the regional crustal extension during the lithospheric thinning of the NCC. Meanwhile, the newly generated melts further weakened the rigidity of the crust and enhanced the extension.

The Antarctic subglacial drilling rig (ASDR) is designed to recover 105 mm-diameter ice cores up to 1400 m depth and 41.5 mm-diameter bedrock cores up to 2 m in length. In order to ensure safe and convenient drilling, drilling auxiliaries are designed to support fieldwork and servicing. These auxiliaries are subdivided into several systems for power supply, drill tripping in the borehole, ice core and chip processing, and drill servicing and maintenance. The required equipment also includes two generators, a drilling winch with a cable, logging winch with a cable, control desk, pipe handler with a fixed clamp, chip chamber vibrator, centrifuge, emergency devices and fitting and electrical tools. Additionally, several environmental protective measures such as a new liquid-tight casing with a thermal casing shoe and a bailing device for recovering drilling fluid from the borehole were designed. Most of the auxiliaries were tested during the summer of 2018–2019 near Zhongshan Station, East Antarctica while drilling to the bedrock to a depth of 198 m.

How well do vignette designs capture actual behaviour in the real world? This study employs original survey data featuring both hypothetical vignettes and behavioural questions in order to assess the external validity of descriptive and causal inferences in survey experiments. The survey was conducted in a three-province, probability-proportional-to-size sample of 1,897 rural residents in China and focuses on the legal mobilization of citizens in response to grievances involving land rights. In terms of descriptive inference, we find that relative to the behavioural benchmark, hypothetical vignettes significantly over-estimate legal mobilization in response to a grievance, particularly for higher-cost actions like petitioning the government and litigating in court. We find that data from hypothetical vignettes affect causal inference as well, producing significantly different results regarding the effect of political connections and legal knowledge on legal mobilization. The study makes a contribution by identifying conditions under which hypothetical vignettes are less likely to produce valid inference. It engages a rich literature on disputing and legal mobilization in the field of Chinese politics and helps to resolve debates over the role of political connections and legal knowledge.

A new, modified version of the cable-suspended Ice and Bedrock Electromechanical Drill (IBED) was designed for drilling in firn, ice, debris-rich ice and rock. The upper part of the drill is almost the same for all drill variants and comprises four sections: cable termination, a slip-ring section, an antitorque system and an electronic pressure chamber. The lower part of the IBED comprises an auger core barrel, reamers, a core barrel for ice/debris-ice drilling and a conventional geological single-tube core barrel or custom-made double-tube core barrel. First, the short and full-scale field versions of the IBED were tested at an outdoor testing stand and a testing facility with a 12.5 m-deep ice well. Then, in the 2018–2019 summer season, the IBED was tested in the field at a site ~12 km south of Zhongshan Station, East Antarctica, and a ~6 cm bedrock core was recovered from a 198 m-deep borehole. A total of 18 d was required to penetrate the ice sheet. The retrieved core samples of blue ice, basal ice and bedrock provided valuable information regarding the Earth's paleo-environment.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2 virus) has been sustained in China since December 2019, and has become a pandemic. The mental health of frontline medical staff is a concern. In this study, we aimed to identify the factors influencing medical worker anxiety in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. We conducted a cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of anxiety among medical staff in China from 10 February 2020 to 20 February 2020 using the Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) to assess anxiety, with the criteria of normal (⩽49), mild (50–59), moderate (60–70) and severe anxiety (⩾70). We used multivariable linear regression to determine the factors (e.g. having direct contact when treating infected patients, being a medical staff worker from Hubei province, being a suspect case) for anxiety. We also used adjusted models to confirm independent factors for anxiety after adjusting for gender, age, education and marital status. Of 512 medical staff in China, 164 (32.03%) had had direct contact treating infected patients. The prevalence of anxiety was 12.5%, with 53 workers suffering from mild (10.35%), seven workers suffering from moderate (1.36%) and four workers suffering from severe anxiety (0.78%). After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, education and marital status), medical staff who had had direct contact treating infected patients experienced higher anxiety scores than those who had not had direct contact (β value = 2.33, confidence interval (CI) 0.65–4.00; P = 0.0068). A similar trend was observed in medical staff from Hubei province, compared with those from other parts of China (β value = 3.67, CI 1.44–5.89; P = 0.0013). The most important variable was suspect cases with high anxiety scores, compared to non-suspect cases (β value = 4.44, CI 1.55–7.33; P = 0.0028). In this survey of hospital medical workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in China, we found that study participants experienced anxiety symptoms, especially those who had direct clinical contact with infected patients; as did those in the worst affected areas, including Hubei province; and those who were suspect cases. Governments and healthcare authorities should proactively implement appropriate psychological intervention programmes, to prevent, alleviate or treat increased anxiety.

There has been considerable interest in stratospheric airships as a cost-effective alternative to earth orbit satellites for sightseeing, aerial photography, communication and carrying weapons, etc. Many countries have plans to develop the airship owing to its greatly expected usage. The suspended curtain plays a vital role in force transmission in stratospheric airships but lacks attention. In this paper, the relationship between the optimal shape of suspended curtain and load conditions was studied through CAE Abaqus and Isight. Firstly, by using secondary development function of Abaqus, parametric FEA models of suspended curtains and envelopes have been established, several parameters were used to describe the shape of suspended curtains. Secondly, parameters of the suspended curtain shape were optimized under different loading conditions by means of the genetic algorithm. Lastly, through the analysis of the results, some conclusions are summarized: The relationship between n1(n2) and nb was found to be linear when the suspended curtain is subjected to vertical load. The stress transfer law of suspended curtain and inflatable membrane structure under the inclined load were also obtained, which are valuable for the structural engineering design of stratospheric airships..

The X-ray emissions in the interaction of 3–6 MeV Xe23+ ions into thick solid In target are measured. The projectile-to-target and target Lα/Lβ X-ray production intensity ratios are observed to strongly depend on the projectile energy. The dependence deviates from Coulomb ionization predictions, which implies the important roles of coupling between subshells and the activation of 4fσ rotational couplings for projectile energy larger than 5 MeV.

Information about seed dormancy cycling and germination in relation to temperature and moisture conditions in the natural environment is important for the conservation and restoration of rare species, including Begonia guishanensis and Paraisometrum mileense, two sympatric perennial limestone (karst) species. Dry afterripening (DAR) and wet and dry (WD) cycles at 15/5 and 25/15°C as well as moist chilling (MC) at 15/5°C were used to mimic the natural environment at different times of the year. A field experiment was conducted to monitor seasonal changes in germination responses of the seeds. About 40–65% of B. guishanensis and 5% of P. mileense seeds were dormant at maturity. DAR at 25/15 and 15/5°C as well as MC and WD cycles at 15/5°C alleviated dormancy for B. guishanensis but not P. mileense, and WD cycles at 25/15°C induced a deeper conditional dormancy for both species. Seeds of B. guishanensis exhibited dormancy cycling in the field, with increased dormancy under natural WD cycles at relatively high temperatures during the transition from the dry to the wet season in April to May and decreased dormancy during the wet season from June to October. KNO3 mitigated the dormancy-inducing effect of both artificial and natural WD cycles at relatively high temperatures for B. guishanensis. The field experiment indicated that seeds of B. guishanensis may be able to form a persistent soil seed bank, while almost all seeds of P. mileense germinate at the beginning of the wet season in the field.

Changes in soil bulk density (BD), soil organic carbon (SOC) content, SOC stocks and soil labile organic C fractions (mineralizable C (Cmin), microbial biomass C (MBC), dissolved organic C (DOC), particulate organic C (POC), light fraction organic C (LFOC) and permanganate oxidizable C (KMnO4-C)) were explored over 3 years in a double-cropping rice system of southern China. Five organic and inorganic nitrogen (N) inputs were used: (1) 100% from chemical fertilizer (M0), (2) 30% from organic manure, 70% from chemical fertilizer (M30), (3) 50% from organic manure, 50% from chemical fertilizer (M50), (4) 100% from organic manure (M100) and (5) without N fertilizer input, as control (CK). All organic manure treatments decreased BD significantly in the 0–20 cm soil layer compared with CK. The SOC content and stocks with organic manure were significantly higher than in M0 or CK; also, the cumulative amount of SOC stocks in M30 and M50 increased at the plough layer, compared with CK. The non-labile C content increased significantly and the percentage of labile C were significantly higher with organic manure application than in M0 or CK. The soil carbon management index (CMI) also increased significantly under the application of organic manure. Therefore, application of organic manure can increase the pool of stable C in surface layers, and increase content and percentage of labile C. Based on soil carbon storage and CMI, the combined application of 30 or 50% N of organic manure with chemical fertilizer improves carbon cycling services and soil quality in southern China paddy soil.

The effect of holly polyphenols (HP) on intestinal inflammation and microbiota composition was evaluated in a piglet model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intestinal injury. A total of twenty-four piglets were used in a 2 × 2 factorial design including diet type and LPS challenge. After 16 d of feeding with a basal diet supplemented with or without 250 mg/kg HP, pigs were challenged with LPS (100 μg/kg body weight) or an equal volume of saline for 4 h, followed by analysis of disaccharidase activities, gene expression levels of several representative tight junction proteins and inflammatory mediators, the SCFA concentrations and microbiota composition in intestinal contents as well as proinflammatory cytokine levels in plasma. Our results indicated that HP enhanced intestinal disaccharidase activities and reduced plasma proinflammatory cytokines including TNF-α and IL-6 in LPS-challenged piglets. Moreover, HP up-regulated mRNA expression of intestinal tight junction proteins such as claudin-1 and occludin. In addition, bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that HP altered hindgut microbiota composition by enriching Prevotella and enhancing SCFA production following LPS challenge. These results collectively suggest that HP is capable of alleviating LPS-triggered intestinal injury by improving intestinal disaccharidase activities, barrier function and SCFA production, while reducing intestinal inflammation.

We investigate the stability of katabatic slope flows over an infinitely wide and uniformly cooled planar surface subject to a downslope uniform ambient wind aloft. We adopt an extension of Prandtl’s original model for slope flows (Lykosov & Gutman, Izv. Acad. Sci. USSR Atmos. Ocean. Phys., vol. 8 (8), 1972, pp. 799–809) to derive the base flow, which constitutes an interesting basic state in stability analysis because it cannot be reduced to a single universal form independent of external parameters. We apply a linear modal analysis to this basic state to demonstrate that for a fixed Prandtl number and slope angle, two independent dimensionless parameters are sufficient to describe the flow stability. One of these parameters is the stratification perturbation number that we have introduced in Xiao & Senocak (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 865, 2019, R2). The second parameter, which we will henceforth designate the wind forcing number, is hitherto uncharted and can be interpreted as the ratio of the kinetic energy of the ambient wind aloft to the damping due to viscosity and the stabilising effect of the background stratification. For a fixed Prandtl number, stationary transverse and travelling longitudinal modes of instabilities can emerge, depending on the value of the slope angle and the aforementioned dimensionless numbers. The influence of ambient wind forcing on the base flow’s stability is complicated, as the ambient wind can be both stabilising as well as destabilising for a certain range of the parameters. Our results constitute a strong counterevidence against the current practice of relying solely on the gradient Richardson number to describe the dynamic stability of stratified atmospheric slope flows.

In the Prandtl model for anabatic slope flows, a uniform positive buoyancy flux at the surface drives an upslope flow against a stable background stratification. In the present study, we conduct linear stability analysis of the anabatic slope flow under this model and contrast it against the katabatic case as presented in Xiao & Senocak (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 865, 2019, R2). We show that the buoyancy component normal to the sloped surface is responsible for the emergence of stationary longitudinal rolls, whereas a generalised Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) type of mechanism consisting of shear instability modulated by buoyancy results in a streamwise-travelling mode. In the anabatic case, for slope angles larger than $9^{\circ }$ to the horizontal, the travelling KH mode is dominant whereas, at lower inclination angles, the formation of the stationary vortex instability is favoured. The same dynamics holds qualitatively for the katabatic case, but the mode transition appears at slope angles of approximately $62^{\circ }$ . For a fixed slope angle and Prandtl number, we demonstrate through asymptotic analysis of linear growth rates that it is possible to devise a classification scheme that demarcates the stability of Prandtl slope flows into distinct regimes based on the dimensionless stratification perturbation number. We verify the existence of the instability modes with the help of direct numerical simulations, and observe close agreements between simulation results and predictions of linear analysis. For slope angle values in the vicinity of the junction point in the instability map, both longitudinal rolls and travelling waves coexist simultaneously and form complex flow structures.

The effect of maternal folate intake on small-for-gestational-age (SGA) births remains inconclusive. The present study aimed to investigate the associations of maternal folate intake from diet and supplements with the risk of SGA births using data from a cross-sectional study in Shaanxi Province of Northwest China. A total of 7307 women who were within 12 months (median 3; 10th–90th percentile 0–7) after delivery were included. Two-level models were adopted to examine the associations of folate (dietary folate, supplemental folic acid and total folate) intake with the risk of SGA births and birth weight Z score, controlling for a minimum set of confounders that were identified in a directed acyclic graph. Results showed that a higher supplemental folic acid intake during the first trimester was negatively associated with the risk of SGA births (≤60 d v. non-use: OR 0·80; 95 % CI 0·66, 0·96; >60 d v. non-use: OR 0·78; 95 % CI 0·65, 0·94; Ptrend = 0·010; per 10-d increase: OR 0·97; 95 % CI 0·95, 0·99). A higher total folate intake during pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of SGA births (highest tertile v. lowest tertile: OR 0·77; 95 % CI 0·64, 0·94; Ptrend = 0·010; per one-unit increase in the log-transformed value: OR 0·81; 95 % CI 0·69, 0·95). A similar pattern was observed for the birth weight Z score. Our study suggested that folic acid supplementation during the first trimester and a higher total folate intake during pregnancy were associated with a reduced risk of SGA births.