The aim of the present study was to compare the rate of preterm birth (PTB) and growth from birth to 18 years between twins conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) and twins conceived by spontaneous conception (SC) in mainland China. The retrospective cohort study included 1164 twins resulting from IVF and 25,654 twins conceived spontaneously, of which 494 from IVF and 6338 from SC were opposite-sex twins. PTB and low birth weight (LBW), and growth, including length/height and weight, were compared between the two groups at five stages: infancy (0 year), toddler period (1–2 years), preschool (3–5 years), primary or elementary school (6–11 years), and adolescence (10–18 years). Few statistically significant differences were found for LBW and growth between the two groups after adjusting for PTB and other confounders. Twins born by IVF faced an increased risk of PTB compared with those born by SC (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 8.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] [3.19, 21.13], p < .001 in all twins and aOR 10.12, 95% CI [2.32, 44.04], p = .002 in opposite-sex twins). Twins born by IVF experienced a similar growth at five stages (0–18 years old) when compared with those born by SC. PTB risk, however, is significantly higher for twins conceived by IVF than those conceived by SC.

The Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR), initiated in 2001, has now become the largest twin registry in Asia. From 2015 to 2018, the CNTR continued to receive Chinese government funding and had recruited 61,566 twin-pairs by 2019 to study twins discordant for specific exposures such as environmental factors, and twins discordant for disease outcomes or measures of morbidity. Omic data, including genetics, genomics, metabolomics, and proteomics, and gut microbiome will be tested. The integration of omics and digital technologies in public health will advance our understanding of precision public health. This review introduces the updates of the CNTR, including study design, sample size, biobank, zygosity assessment, advances in research and future systems epidemiologic research.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is growing rapidly in many countries. Socioeconomic inequalities might be important for this increase. The aim of this study was to determine associations of body mass index (BMI), overweight and obesity with educational level and marital status in Chinese twins. Participants were adult twins recruited through the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR), aged 18 to 79 years, and the sample comprised 10,448 same-sex twin pairs. Current height, weight, educational attainment, and marital status were self-reported. Regression analyses and structural equation models were conducted to evaluate BMI, overweight, and obesity associated with educational level and marital status in both sexes. At an individual level, both educational level and marital status were associated with higher BMI and higher risk of being overweight and obesity in men, while in women the effects of educational level on BMI were in the opposite direction. In within-Monozygotic (MZ) twin-pair analyses, the effects of educational level on BMI disappeared in females. Bivariate structural equation models showed that genetic factors and shared environmental confounded the relationship between education and BMI in females, whereas marital status was associated with BMI on account of significant positive unique environmental correlation apart in both sexes. The present data suggested that marital status and BMI were associated, independent of familiar factors, for both sexes of this study population, while common genetic and shared environmental factors contributed to education-associated disparities in BMI in females.

Five orthopteran specimens from the uppermost Middle–lowermost Upper Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China are described and attributed to the genus Sigmaboilus Fang, Zhang & Wang, 2007 (Prophalangopsidae); and a new species, S. calophlebius sp. nov., is established herein. The diagnostic characters for Sigmaboilus are revised and a key to species of Sigmaboilus, based on male forewings, is provided. Intraspecific variation in forewings of this genus is also discussed.

Background: Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by progressive weakness and spasticity of the lower extremities; HSP can present as complicated forms with additional neurological signs. More than 70 disease loci have been described with different modes of inheritance. Methods: In this study, nine subjects from a Chinese family that included two individuals affected by HSP were examined through detailed clinical evaluations, physical examinations, and genetic tests. Targeted exome capture technology was used to identify gene mutations. Results: Two novel compound heterozygous mutations in the SPG 11 gene were identified, c.4001_4002insATAAC and c.4057C>G. The c.4001_4002insATAAC mutation leads to a reading frame shift during transcription, resulting in premature termination of the protein product. The missense mutation c.4057C>G (p.H1353D) is located in a highly conserved domain and is predicted to be a damaging substitution. Conclusions: Based on the results described here, we propose that these novel compound heterozygous mutations in SPG 11 are the genetic cause of autosomal recessive HSP in this Chinese family.

This paper investigates the thermal characteristics of typical Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) with a reliable thermal test procedure. Test results show that MEMS sensor errors, not only biases, but also scale factors and non-orthogonalities, may vary significantly with temperature. Also, MEMS sensor errors can have significant inconsistent curves under different temperature changing profiles. The existence of such inconsistencies posed a challenge to the following assumption of thermal calibration: the thermal drift of a sensor error is only related to the temperature of the sensor core. A robust way to mitigate this issue is given by using the sensor data during both heat-and-stay and cool-and-stay processes to establish the final thermal models. The performance of both IMUs and inertial navigation systems improved significantly after compensation with the established thermal models. Additionally, the variation of the IMU thermal parameters with time was observed, which suggests that periodical thermal calibration is necessary for MEMS IMUs.

With the increasing usage of Al alloys in vehicle manufacture, it is necessary to join dissimilar Al alloys with lap joint. However, hot cracking is a challenging issue due to the chemical composition and thermal tension, which greatly determines the reliability of automobile operation. Among different Al alloys, the series 5000 (Al–Mg) and 6000 (Al–Mg–Si) are widely used. To better understand the hot cracking behavior, various stack ups of AA5754 and AA6013 were laser welded to investigate the effects of process parameters on hot cracking formation. The chemical composition, microstructure, fusion ratio, and fracture morphology of the weld joint were also examined. The results showed that the order of material stacking affected weld's susceptibility to hot cracking significantly, and the critical process parameters were obtained for tested conditions which could effectively reduce hot cracking. The findings from this work provide guidance for hot cracking prevention in laser welding of dissimilar Al alloys.

Twins reared apart provide a fascinating experiment to distinguish genetic from environmental influences. However, there is as yet no broad report on distribution of twins reared apart, especially in the Chinese population. In this study, information on 18,295 volunteer twin pairs of all age groups was compiled in nine provinces or cities of China, and questionnaires were used for zygosity determination. It was discovered that twins reared apart from 0 to 10 years of age accounted for 2.2% of all twin interviewees, with the proportion of this 0–10 group separated before 1, 2, and 5 years old, accounting for 65.3%, 76.1%, and 91.3%, respectively. The proportion of twins reared apart is not significantly related to zygosity or gender, but it is related to region and twin age. As the age of twins lowers, the proportion of those reared apart gradually decreases. Twins reared apart will become rarer in the future and therefore should be cherished as a resource.

Excessive consumption of acidic drinks and foods contributes to tooth erosion. The aims of the present in vitro study were twofold: (1) to assess the erosive potential of different dietary substances and medications; (2) to determine the chemical properties with an impact on the erosive potential. We selected sixty agents: soft drinks, an energy drink, sports drinks, alcoholic drinks, juice, fruit, mineral water, yogurt, tea, coffee, salad dressing and medications. The erosive potential of the tested agents was quantified as the changes in surface hardness (ΔSH) of enamel specimens within the first 2 min (ΔSH2–0 = SH2 min − SHbaseline) and the second 2 min exposure (ΔSH4–2 = SH4 min − SH2 min). To characterise these agents, various chemical properties, e.g. pH, concentrations of Ca, Pi and F, titratable acidity to pH 7·0 and buffering capacity at the original pH value (β), as well as degree of saturation (pK − pI) with respect to hydroxyapatite (HAP) and fluorapatite (FAP), were determined. Erosive challenge caused a statistically significant reduction in SH for all agents except for coffee, some medications and alcoholic drinks, and non-flavoured mineral waters, teas and yogurts (P < 0·01). By multiple linear regression analysis, 52 % of the variation in ΔSH after 2 min and 61 % after 4 min immersion were explained by pH, β and concentrations of F and Ca (P < 0·05). pH was the variable with the highest impact in multiple regression and bivariate correlation analyses. Furthermore, a high bivariate correlation was also obtained between (pK − pI)HAP, (pK − pI)FAP and ΔSH.