In vitro rearing of honey bee larvae is ideal for bioassay studies; no honey bee stable cell lines are available. Inconsistency of internal development staging of reared larvae and a susceptibility to contamination are common problems encountered. Standardized protocols on rearing larvae in vitro to make the larvae growth and development more similar to that of natural colonies are necessary to ensure the accuracy of experimental results and promote honey bee research as a model organism. Here, we concluded that when larval fasting weight was >160 mg, the time point of gut emptying can be defined as the critical point separating the larval and prepupal stages. In this way, we can conduct precise studies on the prepupal stage, such as organ remodeling during metamorphosis. Simultaneously, we further verified that recombinant AccApidaecin in genetic engineered bacteria added to the larval diet upregulated antibacterial peptide gene expression, and did not stimulate the stress response in larvae, nor did it affect the pupation rate or eclosion rate. This demonstrated that feeding recombinant AccApidaecin can enhance the individual antibacterial ability at the molecular level.

The resurgence and outbreaks of mumps occur frequently in many countries worldwide in recent years, even in countries with high vaccination coverage. In this study, a descriptive and spatiotemporal clustering analysis at the township level was conducted to explore the dynamic spatiotemporal aggregation and epidemiological characteristics of mumps in Wuhan. During 2005 and 2019, there were 40 685 cases reported in Wuhan, with an average annual morbidity of 28.11 per 100 000 populations. The morbidity showed a fluctuating tendency, and peaked in 2010 and 2018. Bimodal seasonality was found, with a large peak between May and July, and a mild peak from November to January in the following year. Male students aged 5–9-year-old were the main risk group of mumps infection. Significant global spatial auto-correlation was detected except in 2007, 2009 and 2015. The spatial and temporal scan statistics indicated that the hot-spots mainly located at the western and southern areas of Wuhan with variations almost every year. Our findings could assist the public health authorities to develop and improve targeted health strategies, and allocate health resources rationally.

In order to decrease the influence of system parameters and load on the dynamic performance of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) in cooperative robot joint modules, a practical model-based robust control method was proposed. It inherits the traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control and robust control based on error and model-based control. We first set up the nominal controller using the dynamics model. In order to limit the influence of uncertainty on dynamic performance, a robust controller is established based on Lyapunov method. The control can be regarded as an improved PID control or a redesigned robust control. Compared with the traditional control method, it is simple to implement and has practical effects. It is proved by theoretical analysis that the controller can guarantee the uniform boundedness and uniform final boundedness of the system. In addition, the prototype of fast controller cSPACE is built on the experiment platform, which averts long-time programming and debugging. It offers immense convenience for practical operation. Finally, numerical simulation and real-time experiment results are presented. Based on cSPACE and a PMSM in the joint module of a practical cooperative robot, the availability of the control design and the achievable control performance are verified.

The low maturation rate of oocytes is an important reason for female infertility and failure of assisted pregnancy. The germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) is a landmark event of oocyte maturation. In our previous studies, we found that zona pellucida 3 (ZP3) was strongly concentrated in the nuclear region of germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes and interacted with aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein-like 1 (AIPL1) and lamin A to promote GVBD. In the current study, we found that lamin A is mainly concentrated in the nuclear membrane. When ZP3 is knocked down, lamin A will be partially transferred to the nucleus of oocytes. The prelamin A is increased in both the nuclear membrane and nucleus, while phosphorylated lamin A (p-lamin A) is significantly reduced. AIPL1 was also proved to accumulate in the GV region of oocytes, and ZP3 deletion can significantly inhibit the aggregation of AIPL1 in the nuclear region. Similar to ZP3 knockdown, the absence of AIPL1 resulted in a decrease in the occurrence of GVBD, an increase in the amount of prelamin A, and a significant decrease in p-lamin A in oocytes developed in vitro. Finally, we propose the hypothesis that ZP3 can stabilize farnesylated prelamin A on the nuclear membrane of AIPL1, and promote its further processing into mature lamin A, therefore promoting the occurrence of GVBD. This study may be an important supplement for the mechanism of oocyte meiotic resumption and provide new diagnostic targets and treatment clues for infertility patients with oocyte maturation disorder.

The identification of herbicide tolerance is essential for effective chemical weed control. According to whole-plant dose–response assays, none of 29 pond lovegrass [Eragrostis japonica (Thunb.) Trin.] populations were sensitive to penoxsulam. The effective dose values of penoxsulam causing 50% inhibition of fresh weight (GR50: 105.14 to 148.78 g ai ha−1) in E. japonica populations were much higher than the label rate of penoxsulam (15 to 30 g ai ha−1) in the field. This confirmed that E. japonica was tolerant to penoxsulam. Eragrostis japonica populations showed 52.83- to 74.76-fold higher tolerance to penoxsulam than susceptible barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.]. The mechanisms of tolerance to penoxsulam in E. japonica were also identified. In vitro activity assays revealed that the penoxsulam concentration required to inhibit 50% of the acetolactate synthase (ALS) activity (IC50) was 12.27-fold higher in E. japonica than in E. crus-galli. However, differences in the ALS gene, previously found to endow target-site resistance in weeds, were not detected in the sequences obtained. Additionally, the expression level of genes encoding ALS in E. japonica was approximately 2-fold higher than in E. crus-galli after penoxsulam treatment. Furthermore, penoxsulam tolerance can be significantly reversed by three cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CytP450) inhibitors (1-aminobenzotriazole, piperonyl butoxide, and malathion), and the activity of NADPH-dependent cytochrome P450 reductase toward penoxsulam in E. japonica increased significantly (approximately 7-fold higher) compared with that of treated E. crus-galli. Taken together, these results indicate that lower ALS sensitivity, relatively higher ALS expression levels, and stronger metabolism of CytP450s combined to bring about penoxsulam tolerance in E. japonica.

Spectral observations with high temporal and frequency resolution are of great significance for studying the fine structures of solar radio bursts. In addition, it is helpful to understand the physical processes of solar eruptions. In this paper, we present the design of a system to observe solar radio bursts with high temporal and frequency resolutions at frequencies of 25–110 MHz. To reduce the impact of analog devices and improve the system flexibility, we employ various digital signal processing methods to achieve the function of analog devices, such as polarisation synthesis and beamforming. The resourceful field programmable gate array is used to process radio signals. The system has a frequency resolution of $\sim$ 30 kHz and a temporal resolution of up to 0.2 ms. The left/right circular polarisation signals can be simultaneously observed. At present, the system has been installed at Chashan Solar Observatory operated by the Institute of Space Science, Shandong University. The system is running well, multiple bursts have been observed, and relevant data have been obtained.

Temporal constraints on the closure of the eastern segment of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean along the northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC) remain unclear. As a part of the NCC, the sedimentation and tectonic evolution of the Late Palaeozoic Ordos Basin were closely related to the opening and closing of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean. We use petrology, quantitative mineralogical analysis, U–Pb geochronology and trace element signatures of detrital zircons of the Lower Shihezi Formation from two sections in the eastern north Ordos Basin and two sections in the western north Ordos Basin to reconstruct the sedimentary provenance and tectonic background of the northern Ordos Basin. The results show that the sediments of the western sections were mainly derived from the Yinshan orogenic belt and Alxa block, and that those in the eastern sections only came from the Yinshan orogenic belt. The trace element ratios in detrital zircons from the Late Palaeozoic sandstones indicate that the source areas were mainly subduction-related continental arcs, closely related to the continued subduction of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean in the Late Palaeozoic. Since the main Late Palaeozoic magmatic periods vary on the east and west sides of the northern margin of the Ordos Basin, two main collisions related to Palaeo-Asian Ocean closure are recorded. The collision on the west side occurred significantly earlier than that in the east. This study implies that the Palaeo-Asian Ocean began to subduct beneath the NCC in the Carboniferous and gradually closed from west to east thereafter.

Hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) is a severe and life-threatening complication, characterised by multi-organ failure and high short-term mortality. However, there is limited information on the impact of various comorbidities on HBV-ACLF in a large population. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between comorbidities, complications and mortality. In this retrospective observational study, we identified 2166 cases of HBV-ACLF hospitalised from January 2010 to March 2018. Demographic data from the patients, medical history, treatment, laboratory indices, comorbidities and complications were collected. The mortality rate in our study group was 47.37%. Type 2 diabetes mellitus was the most common comorbidity, followed by alcoholic liver disease. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, pneumonia and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) were common in these patients. Diabetes mellitus and hyperthyroidism are risk factors for death within 90 days, together with gastrointestinal bleeding and HE at admission, HE and hepatorenal syndrome during hospitalisation. Knowledge of risk factors can help identify HBV-ACLF patients with a poor prognosis for HBV-ACLF with comorbidities and complications.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a heterogeneous autoimmune disorder that leads to severe joint deformities, negatively affecting the patient's quality of life. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), which include exosomes and ectosomes, act as intercellular communication mediators in several physiological and pathological processes in various diseases including RA. In contrast, EVs secreted by mesenchymal stem cells perform an immunomodulatory function and stimulate cartilage repair, showing promising therapeutic results in animal models of RA. EVs from other sources, including dendritic cells, neutrophils and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, also influence the biological function of immune and joint cells. This review describes the role of EVs in the pathogenesis of RA and presents evidence supporting future studies on the therapeutic potential of EVs from different sources. This information will contribute to a better understanding of RA development, as well as a starting point for exploring cell-free-based therapies for RA.

Precision and accuracy of quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) methods such as ptychography, and the mapping of electric, magnetic, and strain fields depend on the dose. Reasonable acquisition time requires high beam current and the ability to quantitatively detect both large and minute changes in signal. A new hybrid pixel array detector (PAD), the second-generation Electron Microscope Pixel Array Detector (EMPAD-G2), addresses this challenge by advancing the technology of a previous generation PAD, the EMPAD. The EMPAD-G2 images continuously at a frame-rates up to 10 kHz with a dynamic range that spans from low-noise detection of single electrons to electron beam currents exceeding 180 pA per pixel, even at electron energies of 300 keV. The EMPAD-G2 enables rapid collection of high-quality STEM data that simultaneously contain full diffraction information from unsaturated bright-field disks to usable Kikuchi bands and higher-order Laue zones. Test results from 80 to 300 keV are presented, as are first experimental results demonstrating ptychographic reconstructions, strain and polarization maps. We introduce a new information metric, the maximum usable imaging speed (MUIS), to identify when a detector becomes electron-starved, saturated or its pixel count is mismatched with the beam current.

We present an experimental study of the large-scale vortex (or large-scale circulation, LSC) in turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection in a $\varGamma =\text {diameter}/\text {height}=2$ cylindrical cell. The working fluid is deionized water with Prandtl number ($Pr$) around 5.7, and the Rayleigh number ($Ra$) ranges from $7.64\times 10^7$ to $6.06\times 10^8$. We measured the velocity field in various vertical cross-sectional planes by using the planar particle image velocimetry technique. The velocity measurement in the LSC central plane shows that the flow is in the single-roll form, and the centre of the single-roll (vortex) does not always stay at the centre of the cell; instead, it orbits periodically in the direction opposite to the flow direction of the LSC, with its trajectory in the shape of an ellipse. The velocity measurements in the three vertical planes in parallel to the LSC central plane indicate that the flow is in the vortex tube form horizontally filling almost the whole cell, and the centre line of the vortex tube is consistent with the so-called ‘jump rope’ form proposed by a previous study that combined numerical simulation and local velocity measurements in the low $Pr$ case (Vogt et al., Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, vol. 115, 2018, pp. 12674–12679). In addition, we found that the oscillation of the local velocity in $\varGamma =2$ cells originates from the periodical orbiting of the vortex centre. Our velocity measurements further indicate that the vortex centre orbiting is absent in $\varGamma =1$ cells, at least in the $Ra$ range of our experiments.

Pyroptosis is a recently identified mechanism of programmed cell death related to Caspase-1 that triggers a series of inflammatory reactions by releasing several proinflammatory factors such as IL-1β and IL-18. The process is characterised by the rupture of cell membranes and the release of cell contents through the mediation of gasdermin (GSDM) proteins. GSDMD is an important member of the GSDM family and plays a critical role in the two pathways of pyroptosis. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a microvascular complication of diabetes and a major cause of end-stage renal disease. Recently, it was revealed that GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis plays an important role in the occurrence and development of DN. In this review, we focus on two types of kidney cells, tubular epithelial cells and renal podocytes, to illustrate the mechanism of pyroptosis in DN and provide new ideas for the prevention, early diagnosis and molecular therapy of DN.