Sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2) is considered to be a major regulator to control cholesterol homeostasis in mammals. However, the role of SREBP2 in teleost remains poorly understand. Here, we explored the molecular characterization of SREBP2 and identified SREBP2 as a key modulator for 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) and 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR7) which were rate-limiting enzymes of cholesterol biosynthesis. Moreover, dietary palm oil (PO) in vivo or palmitic acid (PA) treatment in vitro elevated cholesterol content through triggering SREBP2-mediated cholesterol biosynthesis in large yellow croaker. Furthermore, our results also found that PA-induced activation of SREBP2 was dependent on the stimulating of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in croaker myocytes and inhibition of ERS by 4-Phenylbutyric acid alleviated PA-induced SREBP2 activation and cholesterol biosynthesis. In summary, our findings reveal a novel insight for understanding the role of SREBP2 in regulation of cholesterol metabolism in fish and may deepen the link between dietary fatty acid and cholesterol biosynthesis.

As the southernmost part of the central segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, the northern Alxa area is characterized by abundant Permian magmatism and records key information on the geological evolution of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean. This study reports new zircon U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopic and whole-rock geochemical data of the early Permian (285–286 Ma) Huisentala gabbro and Huodonghaer diorites from the Zhusileng–Hangwula Belt in the northern Alxa area. The gabbro is characterized by high Al, Ca, Mg# and light rare-earth elements, and low K, P and high field strength elements (e.g., Ti, Nb and Ta). Furthermore, the gabbro shows heterogeneous zircon ϵHf(t) value (−2.5 to +2.6). The Huodonghaer diorites show high MgO (3.46–6.32 wt%), Mg# (49–58), Sr (408–617 ppm) and Ba (223–419 ppm), and low FeOT/MgO (1.27–1.83) and TiO2 (0.48–0.90 wt%), with geochemical features similar to the high-Mg andesite/diorite. They show radiogenic zircon ϵHf(t) values of +1.2 to +4.9 and high Th/Nb ratios. These features suggest that the Huisentala gabbro and the Huodonghaer diorites were derived from the partial melting of mantle peridotite that was metasomatized by subduction-related fluids and by subducted sediment-derived melts, respectively.

Routine blood examination is an easy way to examine infectious diseases. This study is aimed to develop a model to diagnose serious bacterial infections (SBI) in ICU neonates based on routine blood parameters. This was a cross-sectional study, and data were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III). SBI was defined as suffering from one of the following: pyelonephritis, bacteraemia, bacterial meningitis, sepsis, pneumonia, cellulitis, and osteomyelitis. Variables with statistical significance in the univariate logistic regression analysis and log systemic immune–inflammatory index (SII) were used to develop the model. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to assess the performance of the model. A total of 1,880 participants were finally included for analysis. Weight, haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, white blood cell, monocyte, premature delivery, and log SII were selected to develop the model. The developed model showed a good performance to diagnose SBI for ICU neonates, with an AUC of 0.812 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.737–0.888). A nomogram was developed to make this model visualise. In conclusion, our model based on routine blood parameters performed well in the diagnosis of neonatal SBI, which may be helpful for clinicians to improve treatment recommendations.

X-ray powder diffraction data, unit-cell parameters, and space group for the barium copper iodate, Ba2Cu(IO3)6, are reported [a = 7.48540(15) Å, b = 7.51753(19) Å, c = 7.64259(17) Å, α = 98.8823(7)°, β = 95.0749(7)°, γ = 97.6297(7)°, V = 418.528(9) Å3, Z = 1, and space group P$\bar{1}$]. All measured lines are indexed and are consistent with the corresponding space group. The single-crystal diffraction data of Ba2Cu(IO3)6 are also reported [a = 7.493(3) Å, b = 7.521(6) Å, c = 7.644(5) Å, α = 98.855(18)°, β = 95.060(16)°, γ = 97.62(2)°, V = 419.3(5) Å3, Z = 1, and space group P$\bar{1}$]. The crystal structure of Ba2Cu(IO3)6 features isolated [Cu(IO3)6]4− anionic clusters separated by Ba2+ cations. The experimental powder diffraction pattern matches well with the simulated pattern derived from the single crystal data.

The deformable wing structure can change its aerodynamic shape according to the change of flight mission and flight environment, so as to obtain better lift-drag, stability and control characteristics, which is considered as one of the future research directions of aviation technology. Considering the current technology maturity and reliability, a gradient corrugated fin is designed to realise the bending deformation of the wing. The structure of the skin is optimised to keep the skin smooth during deformation. In addition, a progressive push and pull rod is proposed to drive the wing deformation, and the fluid-structure interaction simulation is carried out for the wing deformation. At the same time, the changes of wing aerodynamic characteristics under different angles of leading and trailing edges and different push rod action schemes are analysed. Finally, a dry wind tunnel simulation test of the designed progressive flexible variable bending wing is carried out. The results of fluid-structure interaction simulation and dry wind tunnel test show that the progressive flexible variable bending wing proposed in this paper has a simple and reliable structure and remarkable deformation effect. It has advantages in increasing lift and reducing drag, ensuring high lift-drag ratio and providing wing trim moment. The deformable wing dry wind tunnel test platform designed by this method is structurally reliable, easy to operate, and can accurately reflect the influence of wing deformation on its aerodynamic force, which provides a verification means for the development of the design method and the design of practical aircraft in the future.

Air route networks can no longer meet operational efficiency requirements because of the rapid growth of complex traffic flows. Machine learning is employed to investigate the evolutionary mechanism of congestion in such networks in view of their high complexity and high density, and a reasonable network optimisation scheme is presented. First, deviations between nominal and actual routes are investigated with reference to radar track data, and a network reflecting actual route operations is constructed using adversarial neural networks. Second, flight time is used to characterise congestion in route networks. Actual network operations are considered, and congestion is defined from the perspective of road traffic engineering. The effects of the operational properties of traffic flows on flight times are analysed to establish various congestion indicators. A gradient boosting model is used to select indicator characteristics and analyse patterns in the variations of indicator values for each flight segment in distinct periods. The indicator–time relationship is leveraged to explore the evolutionary mechanism of congestion in the route network. Third, on the basis of this mechanism, a multiobjective optimisation model of congestion is formulated, and a particle swarm optimisation algorithm is executed to adjust the route passage structure, thereby solving the optimisation model. Finally, calculation validation is conducted using radar track data from the control sector of the Yunnan region. The average flight time in a route segment is 10% shorter in the optimised route network than in the nonoptimised route network, which confirms that the optimisation solution is practicable.

Light has a substantial effect on the behaviour and physiology of nocturnal moths. Ectropis grisescens is a major nocturnal tea pest in China, and light traps are commonly used to control geometrid moths because of their positive phototaxis. However, some moths gather around light traps and enter the light adaptation state, which decreases the efficacy of light traps in controlling this pest. We identified opsin genes and the spectral sensitivities of the photoreceptors of E. grisescens moths. We also determined the effects of several monochromatic lights on opsin gene expression and light adaptation. We detected three types of opsin genes and six spectral sensitive peaks (at 370, 390, 480, 530, 550, and 580 nm). We also observed significant changes in the diurnal rhythm of opsin gene expression under different light conditions. When active males were suddenly exposed to different monochromatic lights, they quickly entered the light adaptation state, and the adaptation time was negatively correlated with the light intensity. Males were most sensitive to 390 nm wavelengths, followed by 544 nm, 457 nm, and 593 nm. Red light (627 nm) did not affect the activity of E. grisescens males but had detectable physiological effects.

Childhood maltreatment exerts long-term consequences on sleep health, and different subtypes could constitute maltreatment patterns. However, how naturally occurring patterns of childhood maltreatment affect subsequent sleep quality and the underlying mechanisms remain relatively unclear, particularly in youths undergoing a transitional period and in the Chinese cultural context. In this study, we identified childhood maltreatment patterns and explored how these patterns predicted sleep problems through differential emotion regulation strategies. We tracked 1929 Chinese youths (M age = 18.49; 63.1% females) for one year. Three latent profiles were identified: low maltreatment exposure, high physical and emotional maltreatment, and high sexual abuse. Compared with “low maltreatment exposure,” youths in “high physical and emotional maltreatment” used fewer cognitive reappraisal strategies, and those in “high sexual abuse” used more expressive suppression, and then leading to more sleep problems. This study reveals new insights into the patterns of childhood maltreatment in Chinese youths and implies that individuals exposed to sexual abuse or a combination of physical and emotional maltreatment experience sleep problems through the impairment of differential emotion regulation processes. It also highlights the necessity of setting differential targets on emotion regulation strategies for distinct groups of maltreatment and considering the co-occurrence of physical and emotional maltreatment.

The relationship between magmatism and gold mineralization has been a topic of interest in understanding the formation of ore deposits. The Baizhangzi gold deposit, located in the northern margin of the North China Craton, is hosted by the Baizhangzi granite (BZG) and provides a case to evaluate the relation between granite and gold mineralization in Late Triassic. In this study, we present petrography, bulk geochemistry, zircon U-Pb isotope and trace elements data, as well as major elements of biotite and plagioclase for the BZG to evaluate the petrogenesis and link with gold mineralization. The BZG comprises biotite monzogranite, biotite-bearing monzogranite and monzogranite (BZGs). Zircon U-Pb geochronology shows that all the granitoids of BZGs were coeval with a formation age of 232 Ma. The granitoids, with high SiO2, Al2O3 and Sr, while low Y and Yb, show adakitic affinity. They are enriched in LILFs (e.g., Rb, Ba, Th, U and Sr) and LREEs, while depletion in HFSEs (e.g., Nb, Ta, P and Ti). The geochemical and mineral chemical data suggest that the granitoids have experienced the fractional crystallization of biotite + plagioclase + K- feldspar + apatite. Crystallization temperature is estimated as ca. 700°C, and pressure is between 0.71 kbar and 1.60 kbar. The monzogranite shows higher values of logfO2, △FMQ and △NNO than the biotite-bearing monzogranite, ranging from −19.76 to −11.71, −4.93 to +3.67 and −5.48 to +3.11, respectively. The fractional crystallization, together with high fO2, K-metasomatism and low evolution degree, provided favourable conditions for gold mineralization.

Let G be a graph with no isolated vertex. A semitotal forcing set of G is a (zero) forcing set S such that every vertex in S is within distance 2 of another vertex of S. The semitotal forcing number $F_{t2}(G)$ is the minimum cardinality of a semitotal forcing set in G. In this paper, we prove that it is NP-complete to determine the semitotal forcing number of a graph. We also prove that if $G\neq K_n$ is a connected graph of order $n\geq 4$ with maximum degree $\Delta \geq 2$ , then $F_{t2}(G)\leq (\Delta-1)n/\Delta$ , with equality if and only if either $G=C_{4}$ or $G=P_{4}$ or $G=K_{\Delta ,\Delta }$ .

The Reynolds number and wall cooling effects on correlations between the thermodynamic variables are systematically investigated in hypersonic turbulent boundary layers by direct numerical simulations. The correlations between the thermodynamic variables and the streamwise velocity are also analysed. The Kovasznay decomposition is introduced to decompose the fluctuating density and temperature into the acoustic and entropic modes. It is found that in the strongly cooled wall cases, the travelling-wave-like alternating positive and negative structures (TAPNSs) are found in the fluctuating pressure and the acoustic modes of density and temperature, and the streaky entropic structures (SESs) are identified in the fluctuating entropy and the entropic modes of density and temperature near the wall. Furthermore, both the acoustic and the entropic modes of density and temperature give significant contributions to the correlations involving density and temperature in the near-wall region, while these correlations are almost totally contributed by the entropic modes in the far-wall region. The entropic modes of the density and temperature are almost linearly correlated with the fluctuating entropy. Therefore, the fact that the fluctuating entropy is strongly correlated with the fluctuating density and temperature far from the wall is mainly due to the dominance of the entropic modes in the fluctuating density and temperature. Moreover, the fluctuating temperature is strongly positively correlated with the fluctuating streamwise velocity near the wall in strongly cooled wall cases, which can be ascribed to the appearance of the TAPNSs and SESs.

Toll-interacting protein (Tollip) participates in multiple biological processes. However, the biological functions of Tollip proteins in insects remain to be further explored. Here, the genomic sequence of tollip gene from Antheraea pernyi (named Ap-Tollip) was identified with a length of 15,060 bp, including eight exons and seven introns. The predicted Ap-Tollip protein contained conserved C2 and CUE domains and was highly homologous to those tollips from invertebrates. Ap-Tollip was highly expressed in fat body compared with other determined tissues. As far as the developmental stages were concerned, the highest expression level was found at the 14th day in eggs or the 3rd day of the 1st instar. Ap-Tollip was also obviously regulated by lipopolysaccharide, polycytidylic acid or 20E in different tissues. In addition, the interaction between Ap-Tollip and ubiquitin was confirmed by western blotting and pull-down assay. RNAi of Ap-Tollip significantly affected the expression levels of apoptosis and autophagy-related genes. These results indicated that Ap-Tollip was involved in immunity and development of A. pernyi.

We develop a simple two-sector neoclassical growth model in which the upstream sector produces intermediate goods, and the downstream sector produces final goods with outputs from the upstream. While the downstream sector features perfect competition, firms in the upstream sector engage in Cournot competition and charge a markup. We show that the deregulation and the introduction of competition in the upstream goods sector not only increases the productivity in the sector but also has a substantial spillover effect on the productivity of the downstream sector and factor prices. We calibrate the model to the Chinese economy and use the calibrated model to quantitatively evaluate the extent to which the deregulation in the upstream market in China from 1998 to 2006 can account for the rapid economic growth and the high and rising returns to capital in China over the same period. Our quantitative experiments show that the deregulation in the upstream sector can account for a significant share of economic growth in China during the study period. In addition, our model delivers implications that are consistent with several other relevant observations in China during the same period.

In this work, we present a high-power, high-repetition-rate, all-fiber femtosecond laser system operating at 1.5 $\unicode{x3bc}$m. This all-fiber laser system can deliver femtosecond pulses at a fundamental repetition rate of 10.6 GHz with an average output power of 106.4 W – the highest average power reported so far from an all-fiber femtosecond laser at 1.5 $\unicode{x3bc}$m, to the best of our knowledge. By utilizing the soliton-effect-based pulse compression effect with optimized pre-chirping dispersion, the amplified pulses are compressed to 239 fs in an all-fiber configuration. Empowered by such a high-power ultrafast fiber laser system, we further explore the nonlinear interaction among transverse modes LP01, LP11 and LP21 that are expected to potentially exist in fiber laser systems using large-mode-area fibers. The intermodal modulational instability is theoretically investigated and subsequently identified in our experiments. Such a high-power all-fiber ultrafast laser without bulky free-space optics is anticipated to be a promising laser source for applications that specifically require compact and robust operation.

Although ethanol treatment is widely used to activate oocytes, the underlying mechanisms are largely unclear. Roles of intracellular calcium stores and extracellular calcium in ethanol-induced activation (EIA) of oocytes remain to be verified, and whether calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is involved in EIA is unknown. This study showed that calcium-free ageing (CFA) in vitro significantly decreased intracellular stored calcium (sCa) and CaSR expression, and impaired EIA, spindle/chromosome morphology and developmental potential of mouse oocytes. Although EIA in oocytes with full sCa after ageing with calcium does not require calcium influx, calcium influx is essential for EIA of oocytes with reduced sCa after CFA. Furthermore, the extremely low EIA rate in oocytes with CFA-downregulated CaSR expression and the fact that inhibiting CaSR significantly decreased the EIA of oocytes with a full complement of CaSR suggest that CaSR played a significant role in the EIA of ageing oocytes. In conclusion, CFA impaired EIA and the developmental potential of mouse oocytes by decreasing sCa and downregulating CaSR expression. Because mouse oocytes routinely treated for activation (18 h post hCG) are equipped with a full sCa complement and CaSR, the present results suggest that, while calcium influx is not essential, CaSR is required for the EIA of oocytes.

Germplasm innovation can provide materials for breeding sugarcane cultivars. Saccharum officinarum is the main source of high-sugar and high-yield genes in sugarcane breeding. ‘Nobilization’ is the theoretical basis for exploiting S. officinarum, and S. officinarum authenticity directly affects sugarcane nobility breeding efficiency. Herein, the authenticity of 22 SLC-series S. officinarum clones imported from Sri Lanka and preserved in the China National Germplasm Repository of Sugarcane (NGRS) was explored by four-primer amplification-arrested mutation PCR (ARMS PCR) and somatic chromosome number counting. The amplified bands from SLC 08 120 and SLC 08 131 were the same with those from S. officinarum clone Badila, i.e. a common band of 428 bp and a S. officinarum-specific band of 278 bp, hence they were tentatively assigned as S. officinarum clones. The other 20 SLC clones had both 278 bp (S. officinarum-specific) and 203 bp (S. spontaneum-specific) bands, which are hybrid characteristics. In addition, the chromosome numbers of SLC 08 120 and SLC 08 131 are both 80, belong to typical S. officinarum. While the chromosome numbers of the other 20 materials are ranging from 101 to 129, consistent with hybrids of S. officinarum and S. spontaneum. This molecular cytological characterization indicates that among the 22 introduced SLC-series clones, only two, SLC 08 120 and SLC 08 131, were S. officinarum. Future agronomic trait and resistance analyses could facilitate their use as crossing parents in sugarcane breeding.

The development and application of Fe-rich palygorskite clay has been restricted significantly by its red colour and low grade. Moreover, the nano-structured properties of palygorskite and the relatively large Fe content of Fe-rich palygorskite clay have received insufficient attention. The present study involved the synthesis of Ni-based catalysts via a coprecipitation method using Fe-rich palygorskite clay as the support. The catalysts were then evaluated for their performance for catalytic steam reforming of toluene (CSRT). The experimental findings revealed that the Fe in Fe-rich palygorskite clay interacted strongly with Ni and formed Fe-Ni alloys. The catalyst with a Ni/Fe mass ratio of 14 (Ni14/FePal) calcined in air at 600°C exhibited superior performance for CSRT under the reaction temperature 700°C and S/C molar ratio of 1.0. According to the kinetics study, Ni14/FePal exhibited the lowest apparent activation energy (33.99 kJ mol−1) among the catalysts, which further confirmed the superior catalytic activity in CSRT. The characterizations of the catalysts used demonstrated that the excellent stability and resistance to coke formation of Ni14/FePal were attributable to the presence of a sufficient amount of highly dispersed Fe-Ni alloys on its surface.

Post-acceleration of protons in helical coil targets driven by intense, ultrashort laser pulses can enhance ion energy by utilizing the transient current from the targets’ self-discharge. The acceleration length of protons can exceed a few millimeters, and the acceleration gradient is of the order of GeV/m. How to ensure the synchronization between the accelerating electric field and the protons is a crucial problem for efficient post-acceleration. In this paper, we study how the electric field mismatch induced by current dispersion affects the synchronous acceleration of protons. We propose a scheme using a two-stage helical coil to control the current dispersion. With optimized parameters, the energy gain of protons is increased by four times. Proton energy is expected to reach 45 MeV using a hundreds-of-terawatts laser, or more than 100 MeV using a petawatt laser, by controlling the current dispersion.