Glyphosate, the most prevalent pesticide and widely used herbicide globally, has seen much research on its potential ecological toxicity. Glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) is directly sprayed in the field, exposing predators to the chemical through contaminated prey or direct contact. While the consequences of ingesting glyphosate have been explored, the specific impact of GBH spraying on Chrysopa pallens (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) remains unclear. In this study, life tables were constructed to evaluate the potential effects of different stages of exposure to GBH on both the parents (F0) and offspring (F1) of C. pallens, and the expression of genes related to the insulin signalling pathway and vitellogenin (Vg1) was detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results revealed that medium (10 mL/L) and high (20 mL/L) concentrations of GBH adversely affected the development and longevity of the F0 and F1 generation of C. pallens larvae. Notably, high concentrations of GBH significantly reduced the fecundity of the F0 and suppressed Vg1 transcription at both medium and high concentrations. While GBH treatment of C. pallens adults showed no harmful effects on the longevity, fecundity, population parameters, and the transcription levels of genes involved in insulin signalling and Vg1 in the F0. Nevertheless, it altered the developmental duration of the F1. Therefore, spraying GBH may lead to reduced fecundity and inhibit the Vg1 transcription, posing potential risks to both parental and offspring generations of C. pallens. These findings offer valuable insights into the proper utilisation of GBH.

Optical fibers offer convenient access to a variety of nonlinear phenomena. However, due to their inversion symmetry, second-order nonlinear effects, such as second-harmonic generation (SHG), are challenging to achieve. Here, all-fiber in-core SHG with high beam quality is achieved in a random fiber laser (RFL). The fundamental wave (FW) is generated in the same RFL. The phase-matching condition is mainly achieved through an induced periodic electric field and the gain is enhanced through the passive spatiotemporal gain modulation and the extended fiber. The conversion needs no pretreatment and the average second-harmonic (SH) power reaches up to 10.06 mW, with a corresponding conversion efficiency greater than 0.04%. Moreover, a theoretical model is constructed to explain the mechanism and simulate the evolution of the SH and FW. Our work offers a simple method to generate higher brightness for in-fiber SHs, and may further provide new directions for research on all-fiber χ(2)-based nonlinear fiber optics and RFLs.

To overcome Yb lasing, a kilowatt-level 1535 nm fiber laser is utilized to in-band pump an Er:Yb co-doped fiber (EYDF) amplifier. The output power of a 301 W narrow-linewidth EYDF amplifier operating at 1585 nm, with 3 dB bandwidth of 150 pm and ${M}^2$< 1.4, is experimentally demonstrated. To the best of our knowledge, it is the highest output power achieved in L-band narrow-linewidth fiber amplifiers with good beam quality. Theoretically, a new ion transition behavior among energy levels for in-band pumping EYDF is uncovered, and a spatial-mode-resolved nonlinearity-assisted theoretical model is developed to understand its internal dynamics. Numerical simulations reveal that the reduction in slope efficiency is significantly related to excited-state absorption (ESA). ESA has a nonlinear hindering effect on power scaling. It can drastically lower the pump absorption and slope efficiency with increasing pump power for in-band pumped EYDF amplifiers. Meanwhile, optimized approaches are proposed to improve its power to the kilowatt level via in-band pumping.

The collector for separating diasporic bauxite serves as a type of flotation reagent by adsorbing selectively on diaspore to make it hydrophobic enough to separate it from the aluminosilicates. Although the flotation process is considered economical in the desilication of Chinese diasporic bauxite, the existing collectors fail to separate these ores because of their poor adsorption selectivity over other minerals. The present study was an attempt to seek a collector for selective flotation of diaspore over aluminosilicates. A novel carboxyl hydroxamic acid compound, 2,2-bis(hydroxycarbamoyl) decanoic acid (BHDA), was designed and synthesized, and the flotation behavior of diaspore, kaolinite, and illite was investigated by flotation tests with BHDA. The interactions between the BHDA and the minerals were also explored by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), zeta-potential measurement, and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Using BHDA as the collector, the pulp pH value affected the floatability of diaspore significantly while the floatability of kaolinite or illite was unaffected or only slightly affected. The dosage of BHDA had little effect on the floatability of the three minerals. The greatest difference in floatability between diaspore and aluminosilicates occurred at mid-range pulp pH (7). Large shifts in characteristic absorption peaks and new absorption peaks were observed for BHDA-treated diaspore but were absent from BHDA-treated aluminosilicates. The change in the negative zeta potential of diaspore was also greater than those of aluminosilicates in the presence of BHDA. The O atoms in the carboxyl and hydroxycarbamoyl of BHDA have highly negative charges, and favorable stereo conditions existed to form five- or six-membered rings, resulting in their coordination with the Al atoms of diaspore, leading to chemisorption in chelate rings; the adsorption of BHDA on kaolinite or illite, on the other hand, was mainly physical in nature. The BHDA was, therefore, highly selective in the flotation between diaspore and aluminosilicates and possibly suitable for the separation of diasporic bauxite.

The efficient separation of hexane isomers from the light naphtha fraction is a significant challenge in the petrochemical industry. 5A zeolite adsorbent is used commercially to sieve alkane isomers. In this study, 5A zeolites were synthesized using a low-cost natural clay mineral precursor, i.e. palygorskite (PAL), with the addition of crystallization directing agent (CDA). By varying the mass ratio of CDA/deionized water, 5A zeolites were obtained as CDA-5%, CDA-7.5%, and CDA-10%. All products were submicron particles with an average particle size of 400–800 nm. A sieving test of CDA-induced 5A zeolites was carried out on hexane adsorbates including n-hexane (nHEX), 2-methylpentane (2MP), and 3-methylpentane (3MP). According to vapor-phase batch adsorption experiments, a significant equilibrium amount (0.149 g/g) of nHEX and only 0.0321 g/g 2MP and 0.0416 g/g 3MP were adsorbed on the 5A zeolite product with CDA-5%. The dynamic adsorption performance of 5A zeolite (CDA-5%) was evaluated by breakthrough curves of binary mixtures of nHEX/2MP and nHEX/3MP. Palygorskite 5A (PAL 5A) zeolite achieved maximum dynamic adsorption capacities of nHEX (0.16 g/g in both cases) at 200°C and 1.2 MPa total pressure. This work provided an economic alternative for the synthesis of 5A zeolites using natural clay minerals instead of chemical raw materials.

This paper presents a gait optimization method to generate the locomotion pattern for biped and discuss its stability. The main contribution of this paper is a newly proposed energy-based stability criterion, which permits the dynamic stable walking and could be straight-forwardly generalized to different locomotion scenarios and biped robots. The gait optimization problem is formulated subject to the constraints of the whole-body dynamics and kinematics. The constraints are established based on the modelling of bipedal hybrid dynamical systems. Following the whole-body modelling, the system energy is acquired and then applied to create the stability criterion. The optimization objective is also established on the system energy. The gait optimization is solved by being converted to a large-scale programming problem, where the transcription accuracy is improved via the spectral method. To further reduce the dimensionality of the large-scale problem, the whole-body dynamics is re-constructed. The generalization of the optimized gait is improved by the design of feedback control. The optimization examples demonstrate that the stability criterion naturally leads to a cyclic biped locomotion, though the periodicity was not previously imposed. Two simulation cases, level ground walking and slope walking, verify the generalization of the stability criterion and feedback control. The stability analyses are carried out by investigating the motions of centre of gravity and centre of pressure. It is revealed that if the tracked speed is above 0.3 m/s or the biped accelerates/climbs the slope, the stability criterion accomplishes the dynamic stable walking, where zero moment point criterion is not strictly complied.

Coastal eutrophication and hypoxia remain a persistent environmental crisis despite the great efforts to reduce nutrient loading and mitigate associated environmental damages. Symptoms of this crisis have appeared to spread rapidly, reaching developing countries in Asia with emergences in Southern America and Africa. The pace of changes and the underlying drivers remain not so clear. To address the gap, we review the up-to-date status and mechanisms of eutrophication and hypoxia in global coastal oceans, upon which we examine the trajectories of changes over the 40 years or longer in six model coastal systems with varying socio-economic development statuses and different levels and histories of eutrophication. Although these coastal systems share common features of eutrophication, site-specific characteristics are also substantial, depending on the regional environmental setting and level of social-economic development along with policy implementation and management. Nevertheless, ecosystem recovery generally needs greater reduction in pressures compared to that initiated degradation and becomes less feasible to achieve past norms with a longer time anthropogenic pressures on the ecosystems. While the qualitative causality between drivers and consequences is well established, quantitative attribution of these drivers to eutrophication and hypoxia remains difficult especially when we consider the social economic drivers because the changes in coastal ecosystems are subject to multiple influences and the cause–effect relationship is often non-linear. Such relationships are further complicated by climate changes that have been accelerating over the past few decades. The knowledge gaps that limit our quantitative and mechanistic understanding of the human-coastal ocean nexus are identified, which is essential for science-based policy making. Recognizing lessons from past management practices, we advocate for a better, more efficient indexing system of coastal eutrophication and an advanced regional earth system modeling framework with optimal modules of human dimensions to facilitate the development and evaluation of effective policy and restoration actions.

This study evaluated the association between inflammatory diets as measured by the Dietary Inflammatory index (DII), inflammation biomarkers and the development of preeclampsia among the Chinese population. We followed the reporting guidelines of the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology statement for observational studies. A total of 466 preeclampsia cases aged over 18 years were recruited between March 2016 and June 2019, and 466 healthy controls were 1:1 ratio matched by age (±3 years), week of gestation (±1 week) and gestational diabetes mellitus. The energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) was computed based on dietary intake assessed using a seventy-nine item semiquantitative FFQ. Inflammatory biomarkers were analysed by ELISA kits. The mean E-DII scores were −0·65 ± 1·58 for cases and −1·19 ± 1·47 for controls (P value < 0·001). E-DII scores positively correlated with interferon-γ (rs = 0·194, P value = 0·001) and IL-4 (rs = 0·135, P value = 0·021). After multivariable adjustment, E-DII scores were positively related to preeclampsia risk (Ptrend < 0·001). The highest tertile of E-DII was 2·18 times the lowest tertiles (95 % CI = 1·52, 3·13). The odds of preeclampsia increased by 30 % (95 % CI = 18 %, 43 %, P value < 0·001) for each E-DII score increase. The preeclampsia risk was positively associated with IL-2 (OR = 1·07, 95 % CI = 1·03, 1·11), IL-4 (OR = 1·26, 95 % CI = 1·03, 1·54) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) (OR = 1·17, 95 % CI = 1·06, 1·29). Therefore, proinflammatory diets, corresponding to higher IL-2, IL-4 and TGF-β levels, were associated with increased preeclampsia risk.

The effect of vitamin D (VD) on the risk of preeclampsia (PE) is uncertain. Few of previous studies focused on the relationship between dietary VD intake and PE risk. Therefore, we conducted this 1:1 matched case–control study to explore the association of dietary VD intake and serum VD concentrations with PE risk in Chinese pregnant women. A total of 440 pairs of participants were recruited during March 2016 to June 2019. Dietary information was obtained using a seventy-eight-item semi-quantitative FFQ. Serum concentrations of 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 were measured by liquid chromatography–tandem MS. Multivariate conditional logistic regression was used to estimate OR and 95 % CI. Restricted cubic splines (RCS) were plotted to evaluate the dose–response relationship of dietary VD intake and serum VD concentrations with PE risk. Compared with the lowest quartile, the OR of the highest quartile were 0·45 (95 % CI 0·29, 0·71, Ptrend = 0·001) for VD dietary intake and 0·26 (95 % CI 0·11, 0·60, Ptrend = 0·003) for serum levels after adjusting for confounders. In addition, the RCS analysis suggested a reverse J-shaped relationship between dietary VD intake and PE risk (P-nonlinearity = 0·02). A similar association was also found between serum concentrations of total 25(OH)D and PE risk (P-nonlinearity = 0·02). In conclusion, this study provides evidence that higher dietary intake and serum levels of VD are associated with the lower risk of PE in Chinese pregnant women.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been confirmed as the causative agent for cervical cancer. In this study, a total of 301 880 women were recruited from four different regions of Western China, with 301 880 exfoliated cervical cell samples collected from women for DNA isolation and purification. The HPV genotype was tested by polymerase chain reaction. The overall HPV prevalence rate, high-risk (HR) HPV infection rate, low-risk (LR) HPV infection rate and mixed HPV infection rate was 18.24%, 79.14%, 12.56% and 8.30%, respectively. The four most common HR HPV subtypes were HPV-52, 16, 58 and 53, which accounted for 20.49%, 19.93%, 14.54% and 10.01%, respectively. In LR HPV genotype, HPV-6 ranked the highest (28.17%), followed by HPV-81 (9.09%) and HPV-11 (3.78%). HPV genotype subgroup analysis also showed that single-type infection was the most common (77.26%) among HPV-positive individuals. Among multi-infection genotypes, double infection was the most common with frequencies of 76.04%. The overall prevalence of HPV is high in Western China, whose distribution demonstrates different patterns across different ages and regions. Viral genotypes HPV 53, 6 were frequently detected in this population, which is worth of significant clinical attention.

Universal masking for healthcare workers and patients in hospitals was adopted to combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with compliance rates of 100% and 75.9%, respectively. Zero rates of nosocomial influenza A, influenza B, and respiratory syncytial virus infection were achieved from February to April 2020, which was significantly lower than the corresponding months in 2017–2019.