This study investigates the dynamics of low-viscosity nanodroplets impacting surfaces with static contact angles from θ = 73° to 180° via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Two typical morphologies of impacting nanodroplets are observed at the maximum spreading state, a Hertz-ball-like in a low-Weber-number range and a thin-film-like in a high-Weber-number range. Only inertial and capillary forces dominate the impact for the former, whereas viscous force also becomes dominant for the latter. Regardless of morphologies at the maximum spreading state, the ratio of spreading time to contact time always remains constant on an ideal superhydrophobic surface with θ = 180°. With the help of different kinematic approximations of the spreading time and scaling laws of the contact time, scaling laws of the maximum spreading factor ${\beta _{max}}\sim W{e^{1/5}}$ in the low-Weber-number range (capillary regime) and ${\beta _{max}}\sim W{e^{2/3}}R{e^{ - 1/3}}$ (or ${\beta _{max}}\sim W{e^{1/2}}O{h^{1/3}}$) in the high-Weber-number range (cross-over regime) are obtained. Here, We, Re, and Oh are the Weber number, Reynolds number, and Ohnesorge number, respectively. Although the scaling laws are proposed only for the ideal superhydrophobic surface, they are tested valid for θ over 73° owing to the ignorable zero-velocity spreading effect. Furthermore, combining the two scaling laws leads to an impact number, $W{e^{3/10}}O{h^{1/3}} = 2.1$. This impact number can be used to determine whether viscous force is ignorable for impacting nanodroplets, thereby distinguishing the capillary regime from the cross-over regime.

Listeriosis is a rare but serious foodborne disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes. This matched case–control study (1:1 ratio) aimed to identify the risk factors associated with food consumption and food-handling habits for the occurrence of sporadic listeriosis in Beijing, China. Cases were defined as patients from whom Listeria was isolated, in addition to the presence of symptoms, including fever, bacteraemia, sepsis and other clinical manifestations corresponding to listeriosis, which were reported via the Beijing Foodborne Disease Surveillance System. Basic patient information and possible risk factors associated with food consumption and food-handling habits were collected through face-to-face interviews. One hundred and six cases were enrolled from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020, including 52 perinatal cases and 54 non-perinatal cases. In the non-perinatal group, the consumption of Chinese cold dishes increased the risk of infection by 3.43-fold (95% confidence interval 1.27–9.25, χ2 = 5.92, P = 0.02). In the perinatal group, the risk of infection reduced by 95.2% when raw and cooked foods were well-separated (χ2 = 5.11, P = 0.02). These findings provide important scientific evidence for preventing infection by L. monocytogenes and improving the dissemination of advice regarding food safety for vulnerable populations.

Sarcopenic obesity is regarded as a risk factor for the progression and development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Since male sex is a risk factor for NAFLD and skeletal muscle mass markedly varies between the sexes, we examined whether sex influences the association between appendicular skeletal muscle mass to visceral fat area ratio (SVR), that is, an index of skeletal muscle mass combined with abdominal obesity, and the histological severity of NAFLD. The SVR was measured by bioelectrical impedance in a cohort of 613 (M/F = 443/170) Chinese middle-aged individuals with biopsy-proven NAFLD. Multivariable logistic regression and subgroup analyses were used to test the association between SVR and the severity of NAFLD (i.e. non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or NASH with the presence of any stage of liver fibrosis). NASH was identified by a NAFLD activity score ≥5, with a minimum score of 1 for each of its categories. The presence of fibrosis was classified as having a histological stage ≥1. The SVR was inversely associated with NASH in men (adjusted OR 0·62; 95 % CI 0·42, 0·92, P = 0·017 for NASH, adjusted OR 0·65; 95 % CI 0·43, 0·99, P = 0·043 for NASH with the presence of fibrosis), but not in women (1·47 (95 % CI 0·76, 2·83), P = 0·25 for NASH, and 1·45 (95 % CI 0·74, 2·83), P = 0·28 for NASH with the presence of fibrosis). There was a significant interaction for sex and SVR (Pinteraction = 0·017 for NASH and Pinteraction = 0·033 for NASH with the presence of fibrosis). Our findings show that lower skeletal muscle mass combined with abdominal obesity is strongly associated with the presence of NASH only in men.

Sugarcane brown rust, caused by Puccinia melanocephala, is one of the main diseases of sugarcane in China. The identification and discovery of new resistance genes have important theoretical and practical significance for preventing outbreaks of brown rust and ensuring the sustainable production of sugarcane. To screen for polymorphic simple-sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers for localization of brown rust resistance genes, we used two populations that are suitable for genetic linkage map construction and mapping of new resistance genes to construct resistant and susceptible genetic pools. We then screened 449 pairs of primers to identify polymorphic SSR markers in the parental lines and the resistant/susceptible genetic pools. The results showed that 25 pairs of primers directed amplification of polymorphic DNA fragments between the parents of the cross combination ‘Yuetang 03-393’ × ‘ROC 24’, and 16 pairs of primers amplified polymorphic fragments between the parents of the cross combination ‘Liucheng 03-1137’ × ‘Dezhe 93-88’. Four pairs of primers (SMC236CG, SCESSR0928, SCESSR0636 and SCESSR2551) amplified polymorphic DNA fragments between the parental lines and the resistant/susceptible genetic pools in ‘Yuetang 03-393’ × ‘ROC 24’. The results of this study will establish a solid foundation for the mapping of new brown rust resistance genes, genetic linkage map construction and the development of closely-associated molecular markers in sugarcane.

Developing low-cost and high-performance hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts is essential for the development of hydrogen energy. While transition metal sulfides are reported as promising HER electrocatalysts, their performance still requires further improvement for practical application. In this work, we report a strategy to construct NiSx@MoS2 heterostructures with a well-defined interface structure by growing NiSx nanoclusters on MoS2 nanosheets through atomic layer deposition (ALD). NiSx@MoS2 heterostructures exhibit strongly enhanced HER activity with lower overpotential and faster reaction dynamic compared to MoS2 and NiSx single phases. The enhanced performance is attributed to improved adsorption of the reaction intermediates and the facilitated charge transfer process near the MoS2/NiSx interfaces. Besides high activity, NiSx@MoS2 heterostructures also exhibit high stability in alkaline media. The methodology and knowledge in this work can guide the rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts through hetero-interface engineering.

We assessed inheritance of resistance to sugarcane brown rust (Puccinia melanocephala) in selfing F1 populations of wild sugarcane germplasm Erianthus rockii ‘Yundian 95-19’ and E. rockii ‘Yundian 95-20’. We tested parent and selfing F1 individuals for the brown rust resistance gene, Bru1, that has been shown to confer resistance to brown rust in sugarcane. The Bru1 gene was not detected in E. rockii ‘Yundian 95-19’, E. rockii ‘Yundian 95-20’ or their selfing F1 individuals, and we found there was segregation of resistance in the two selfing F1 populations (segregation ratio: 3:1). The results confirmed resistance in E. rockii ‘Yundian 95-19’ and E. rockii ‘Yundian 95-20’ to sugarcane brown rust is controlled by a novel, single dominant gene.

Existing data on folate status and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prognosis are scarce. We prospectively examined whether serum folate concentrations at diagnosis were associated with liver cancer-specific survival (LCSS) and overall survival (OS) among 982 patients with newly diagnosed, previously untreated HCC, who were enrolled in the Guangdong Liver Cancer Cohort (GLCC) study between September 2013 and February 2017. Serum folate concentrations were measured using chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI by sex-specific quartile of serum folate. Compared with patients in the third quartile of serum folate, patients in the lowest quartile had significantly inferior LCSS (HR = 1·48; 95 % CI 1·05, 2·09) and OS (HR = 1·43; 95 % CI 1·03, 1·99) after adjustment for non-clinical and clinical prognostic factors. The associations were not significantly modified by sex, age at diagnosis, alcohol drinking status and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage. However, there were statistically significant interactions on both multiplicative and additive scale between serum folate and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels or smoking status and the associations of lower serum folate with worse LCSS and OS were only evident among patients with CRP > 3·0 mg/l or current smokers. An inverse association with LCSS were also observed among patients with liver damage score ≥3. These results suggest that lower serum folate concentrations at diagnosis are independently associated with worse HCC survival, most prominently among patients with systemic inflammation and current smokers. A future trial of folate supplementation seems to be promising in HCC patients with lower folate status.

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.

In this work, carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-templated binuclear metallophthalocyanines (MTAPcCF3)2C (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) assemblies (MTAPcCF3)2C–COOH–CNTs are designed and obtained. Whereafter, the structure and morphology of target products are analyzed by many means such as infrared, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The electrocatalytic performances of lithium-thionyl chloride battery catalyzed by (MTAPcCF3)2C–COOH–CNTs were carried out. The result shows that all catalysts can improve the battery performance including the discharge time and the initial voltage. The catalytic performance of (MTAPcCF3)2C–COOH–CNTs is ordered following the central metal: Mn > Fe > Ni > Co > Cu > Zn. The cell capacity catalyzed by optimal catalyst (MnTAPcCF3)2C–COOH–CNTs can expand to 28.08 mAˑh, with increase by 142.07%, and the (MnTAPcCF3)2C–COOH–CNTs can extend the discharge time to 551.6 s. Besides, the reaction mechanism is presented on the basis of cyclic voltammetry measurements.

In this paper, we reported both the experimental demonstration and theoretical analysis of a Raman fiber laser based on a master oscillator–power amplifier configuration. The Raman fiber laser adopted the dual-wavelength bidirectional pumping configuration, utilizing 976 nm laser diodes and 1018 nm fiber lasers as the pump sources. A 60-m-long $25/400~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ ytterbium-doped fiber was used to convert the power from 1070 to 1124 nm, realizing a maximum power output of 3.7 kW with a 3 dB spectral width of 6.8 nm. Moreover, we developed a multi-frequency model taking into consideration the Raman gain spectrum and amplified spontaneous emission. The calculated spectral broadening of both the forward and backward laser was in good agreement with the experimental results. Finally, a 1.5 kW, 1183 nm second-order Raman fiber laser was further experimentally demonstrated by the addition of a 70-m-long germanium-doped passive fiber.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling acts as one of modulators that control neural crest cell (NCC) migration, but how this is achieved is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of FGF signalling on NCC migration by blocking this process. Constructs that were capable of inducing Sprouty2 (Spry2) or dominant-negative FGFR1 (Dn-FGFR1) expression were transfected into the cells making up the neural tubes. Our results revealed that blocking FGF signalling at stage HH10 (neurulation stage) could enhance NCC migration at both the cranial and trunk levels in the developing embryos. It was established that FGF-mediated NCC migration was not due to altering the expression of N-cadherin in the neural tube. Instead, we determined that cyclin D1 was overexpressed in the cranial and trunk levels when Sprouty2 was upregulated in the dorsal neural tube. These results imply that the cell cycle was a target of FGF signalling through which it regulates NCC migration at the neurulation stage.

The aim of this study was to investigate the in vivo degradation mechanism and the mechanical properties of poly(lactide-co-glycolide)/beta-tricalcium phosphate (PLGA/β-TCP) composite anchors. Anchors composed of PLGA and β-TCP were implanted in the dorsal subcutaneous tissue of beagle dogs for 6, 12, 16, and 26 weeks. The degradation of the materials was evaluated by measuring the changes in thermal behavior, crystallinity, and mechanical properties. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the surface and longitudinal section of the material. The evaluation of mechanical strength retention and degradation properties suggest that the addition of β-TCP particles efficiently enhances their mechanical properties and thermal characteristics and delays their degradation rate. By analyzing the results of SEM, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry, we can infer that after 12 weeks, the connection between β-TCP and PLGA becomes less compact, which accelerates the decline of mechanical strength.

We sought to examine the potential modifiers in the association between long-term low-dose folic acid supplementation and the reduction of serum total homocysteine (tHcy) among hypertensive patients, using data from the China Stroke Primary Prevention Trial (CSPPT). This analysis included 16 867 participants who had complete data on tHcy measurements at both the baseline and exit visit. After a median treatment period of 4·5 years, folic acid treatment significantly reduced the tHcy levels by 1·6 μmol/l (95 % CI 1·4, 1·8). More importantly, after adjustment for baseline tHcy and other important covariates, a greater degree of tHcy reduction was observed in certain subgroups: males, the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677TT genotype, higher baseline tHcy levels (≥12·5 (median) v. <12·5 μmol/l), lower folate levels (<8·0 (median) v. ≥8·0 ng/ml), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min per 1·73 m2 (v. 60–<90 and ≥90 ml/min per 1·73 m2), ever smokers and concomitant use of diuretics (P for all interactions <0·05). The degree of tHcy reduction associated with long-term folic acid supplementation can be significantly affected by sex, MTHFR C677T genotypes, baseline folate, tHcy, eGFR levels and smoking status.