Direct numerical simulations (DNSs) are performed to investigate the roughness effects on the statistical properties and the large-scale coherent structures in the turbulent channel flow over three-dimensional sinusoidal rough walls. The outer-layer similarities of mean streamwise velocity and Reynolds stresses are examined by systematically varying the roughness Reynolds number $k^{+}$ and the ratio of the roughness height to the half-channel height $k / \delta$. The energy transfer mechanism of turbulent motions in the presence of roughness elements with different sizes is explored through spectral analysis of the transport equation of the two-point velocity correlation and the scale-energy path display of the generalized Kolmogorov equation. The results show that, with increasing $k^+$, the downward shift of the mean streamwise velocity profile in the logarithmic region increases and the peak intensities of turbulent Reynolds stresses decrease. At an intermediate Reynolds number ($Re_{\tau }= 1080$), the length scale and intensity of the large-scale coherent structures increase for a small roughness ($k^{+}=10$), which leads to failure of the outer-layer similarity in rough-wall turbulence, and decrease for a large roughness ($k^{+}=60$), as compared with the smooth-wall case. The existence of the small roughness ($k^{+}=10$) enhances the mechanism of inverse energy cascade from the inner-layer small-scale structures to the outer-layer large-scale structures. Correspondingly, the self-sustaining processes of the outer-layer large-scale coherent structures, including turbulent production, interscale transport, pressure transport and spatial turbulent transport, are all enhanced, whereas the large roughness ($k^{+}=60$) weakens the energy transfer between the inner and outer regions.

Two thrips, Megalurothrips usitatus (Bagnall) and Frankliniella intonsa (Trybom) are major pests of cowpea in South China. To realistically compare the growth, development and reproductive characteristics of these two thrips species, we compared their age-stage, two-sex life tables on cowpea pods under summer and winter natural environmental regimes. The results showed that the total preadult period of M. usitatus was 8.09 days, which was significantly longer than that of F. intonsa (7.06 days), while the adult female longevity of M. usitatus (21.14 days) was significantly shorter than that of F. intonsa (25.77 days). Significant differences were showed in male adult longevity (10.68 days for F. intonsa and 16.95 days for M. usitatus) and the female ratio of offspring (0.67 for F. intonsa and 0.51 for M. usitatus), and the total preadult period of M. usitatus (16.20 days) was significantly longer than that of F. intonsa (13.66 days) in the winter regime. The net reproductive rate (summer: R0 = 85.62, winter: R0 = 105.22), intrinsic rate of increase (summer: r = 0.3020 day−1, winter: r = 0.2115 day−1), finite rate of increase (summer: λ = 1.3526 day−1, winter: λ = 1.2356 day−1) and gross reproduction rate (summer: GRR = 139.34, winter: GRR = 159.88) of F. intonsa were higher than those of M. usitatus (summer: R0 = 82.91, r = 0.2741, λ = 1.3155, GRR = 135.71; winter: R0 = 80.62, r = 0.1672, λ = 1.1820, GRR = 131.26), and the mean generation times (summer: T = 14.73 days, winter: T = 22.01 days) of F. intonsa were significantly shorter than those of M. usitatus (summer: T = 16.11 days, winter: T = 26.25 days). These results may contribute to a better understanding of the bioecology of different thrips species, especially the interspecific competition between two economically important cowpea thrips with the same ecological niche in a changing environment.

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.

A new enantiornithine, Musivavis amabilis n. gen. n. sp., is reported from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Biota in western Liaoning, China. The new taxon is similar to the bohaiornithids in the robust subconical teeth, bluntly expanded omal ends of the furcula, caudolaterally oriented lateral trabeculae with triangular distal ends of the sternum, and a robust second pedal digit. Yet it differs from members of Bohaiornithidae in several features recalling other enantiornithine lineages, such as the acuminate rostral ramus of maxilla, the shape of the coracoid lateral margin, the presence of craniolateral processes on the sternum, the proportions of the manual phalanges, and the unspecialized third pedal ungual phalanx. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Mesozoic birds shows that homoplasy significantly affects the reconstruction of enantiornithine relationships. When all phylogenetic characters are considered of equal weight, Musivavis is reconstructed in a lineage related to a radiation of large-bodied enantiornithines including Bohaiornithidae and Pengornithidae. Alternative scenarios based on progressive downweighting of the homoplastic characters support more basal placements of the pengornithids among Enantiornithes, but do not alter the affinity of Musivavis as a member of the “bohaiornithid-grade” group.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/617c7062-21ab-4d33-ae80-4edf5a129683

The Rhynchonellida is a major group of brachiopods that survived the “big five” mass extinctions and flourished after the Permian/Triassic (P/Tr) crisis. However, phylogenetic and character evolution in the Rhynchonellida across the P/Tr transition is poorly understood. In view of the widespread homoplasy across this order, we employ a tip-dated Bayesian analysis to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships for late Permian–Triassic rhynchonellides. The same data were also analyzed using three other methods: undated Bayesian, equal-weighting, and implied-weighting parsimony. Compared with trees generated by other methods, those constructed by tip-dating best account for the homoplasy in this group and are closer to previous assumptions on the evolution of this order. Based on the analyses of multiple trees, the major increase in lineage richness occurred in the Early and early Middle Triassic. Also, richness in the Anisian almost reached the highest level seen in the Triassic. According to fossil records, a pronounced reduction in shell size and in the development of ornamentation occurred after the P/Tr extinction, which is largely due to the loss of large and highly sculptured genera and the diversification of small-sized and weakly ornamented genera. Ancestral-state estimation of shell size and development of ornamentation, coupled with comparisons of other characters, indicate that the Early–Middle Triassic mature “small-sized taxa” may have characters displayed by juveniles of their ancestors. This suggests that for these genera, paedomorphosis was possibly a strategy to survive and diversify in the harsh environment after the P/Tr extinction.

Generating designs via machine learning has been an on-going challenge in computer-aided design. Recently, deep learning methods have been applied to randomly generate images in fashion, furniture and product design. However, such deep generative methods usually require a large number of training images and human aspects are not taken into account in the design process. In this work, we seek a way to involve human cognitive factors through brain activity indicated by electroencephalographic measurements (EEG) in the generative process. We propose a neuroscience-inspired design with a machine learning method where EEG is used to capture preferred design features. Such signals are used as a condition in generative adversarial networks (GAN). First, we employ a recurrent neural network Long Short-Term Memory as an encoder to extract EEG features from raw EEG signals; this data are recorded from subjects viewing several categories of images from ImageNet. Second, we train a GAN model conditioned on the encoded EEG features to generate design images. Third, we use the model to generate design images from a subject’s EEG measured brain activity. To verify our proposed generative design method, we present a case study, in which the subjects imagine the products they prefer, and the corresponding EEG signals are recorded and reconstructed by our model for evaluation. The results indicate that a generated product image with preference EEG signals gains more preference than those generated without EEG signals. Overall, we propose a neuroscience-inspired artificial intelligence design method for generating a design taking into account human preference. The method could help improve communication between designers and clients where clients might not be able to express design requests clearly.

The impact of diet on the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and CVD has been investigated widely, but few studies have investigated the association between dietary patterns (DP) and the predicted CVD, derived from reduced rank regression (RRR). The objectives of this study were to derive DP using RRR and principal component analysis (PCA) and investigate their associations with the MetS and estimated 10-year atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD). We used the baseline dataset from the Xinjiang multi-ethnic cohort study in China, collected from June 2018 to May 2019. A total of 14 982 subjects aged 35–74 years from Urumqi, Huo Cheng and Mo Yu were included in the analysis. The 10-year ASCVD risk was estimated using the Chinese ASCVD risk equations. The associations of DP with the MetS and 10-year ASCVD were determined using multivariable logistic regression models. In Urumqi and Mo Yu, the increased RRR DP score was associated with a higher OR of having the MetS and with a higher OR of elevated 10-year ASCVD risk. However, only the first DP determined by PCA in Urumqi was inversely associated with the MetS and elevated 10-year ASCVD risk. The prevalence of the MetS and elevated ASCVD risk in urban population is higher than that in rural areas. Our results may help nutritionists develop more targeted dietary strategies to prevent the MetS and ASCVD in different regions in China.

The Order Spiriferinida spanning the latest Ordovician to Early Jurassic is a small group of brachiopods overshadowed by other taxon-rich clades during the Paleozoic. It diversified significantly after the end-Permian extinction and became one of the four major clades of Triassic brachiopods. However, the phylogeny and recovery dynamics of this clade during the Triassic still remain unknown. Here, we present a higher-level parsimony-based phylogenetic analysis of Mesozoic spiriferinids to reveal their evolutionary relationships. Ecologically related characters are analyzed to indicate the variances in ecomorphospace occupation and disparity of spiriferinids through the Permian–Triassic (P-Tr) transition. For comparison with potential competitors of the spiriferinids, the pre-extinction spiriferids are also included in the analysis. Phylogenetic trees demonstrate that about half of the Mesozoic families appeared during the Anisian, indicating the greatest phylogenetic diversification at that time. Triassic spiriferinids reoccupied a large part of the ecomorphospace released by its competitor spiriferids during the end-Permian extinction; they also fully exploited the cyrtiniform region and developed novel lifestyles. Ecomorphologic disparity of the spiriferinids dropped greatly in the Early Triassic, but it rebounded rapidly and reached the level attained by the pre-extinction spiriferids in the Late Triassic. The replacement in ecomorphospace occupation between spiriferids and spiriferinids during the P-Tr transition clearly indicates that the empty ecomorphospace released by the extinction of Permian spiriferids was one of the important drivers for the diversification of the Triassic spiriferinids. The Spiriferinida took over the empty ecomorphospace and had the opportunity to flourish.

Since the outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection in Wuhan City, China, pediatric cases have gradually increased. It is very important to prevent cross-infection in pediatric fever clinics, to identify children with fever in pediatric fever clinics, and to strengthen the management of pediatric fever clinics. According to prevention and control programs, we propose the guidance on the management of pediatric fever clinics during the nCoV pneumonia epidemic period, which outlines in detail how to optimize processes, prevent cross-infection, provide health protection, and prevent disinfection of medical staff. The present consideration statement summarizes current strategies on the pre-diagnosis, triage, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of 2019-nCoV infection, which provides practical suggestions on strengthening the management of pediatric fever clinics during the nCoV pneumonia epidemic period.

A roughness scaling behaviour is tested by performing the direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a turbulent channel flow over three-dimensional sinusoidal rough walls. By systematically varying the roughness height ${{k}^{+}}$ and the roughness steepness S, the results for three groups of cases are considered and compared with those for flat-wall turbulence. The results show that the mean velocity and Reynolds stresses are highly dependent on both ${{k}^{+}}$ and S. To describe these specific relationships, we define a coupling scale ${{k}^{+}} S$. With this coupling scale, all the simulated data for the roughness function (${\rm \Delta} {{U}^{+}}$), the ratio of the pressure drag to the total wall resistance (${{\gamma }_{p}}$), the normalized bulk mean velocity ($U_{b}^{+}$) and the peak of the streamwise turbulent velocity fluctuations ($\overline {u_{p}^{\prime +}}$) collapse onto single curves, which shows that there is a strong direct correlation between them, i.e. ${\rm \Delta} U^{+}, \gamma _{p}, U_{b}^{+}, \overline {u_{p}^{\prime +}} \propto f(k^{+} S)$. Furthermore, a model for the prediction of wall resistance based on the roughness function can be established by defining a drag increasing ratio (DI). Accordingly, the wall resistance coefficient ${{C}_{f}}$ can be estimated directly from ${{k}^{+}}S$ of a given rough surface. These results suggest that this coupling scale provides a useful alternative to the equivalent sand grain roughness ${{k}_{s}}$.

Dolostones are widely developed in the middle Permian rocks of East Yunnan, China, mainly in the shoal-facies Maokou Formation. The previously reported dolostone formation mechanisms cannot explain the distribution and geochemical characteristics of these dolostones, in particular their strontium, magnesium and oxygen isotope signatures. To help predict the distribution of dolostone reservoirs and reduce the exploration risk and cost, this study proposes a new model of dolomitization: open thermal convection dolomitization. In this new dolomitization model, Mg2+ in dolomitizing fluids originates mostly from seawater, with a minor component coming from deep hydrothermal fluids. Elevated heat flux (in this case due to the nearby Emei mantle plume) causes spatial temperature variations in the fluid along the circulation flow pathways, resulting in fast and pervasive dolomitization of limestone. The proposed model not only explains the characteristics and distribution of dolostones in the study area but also serves as a reference for predicting the distribution of dolostones in other areas subjected to thermal convection.