Hyper-redundant robots have good prospects for applications in confined space due to their high flexibility and slim body size. However, the super-redundant structure brings great challenges for its inverse kinematics with shape constraints. Unfortunately, traditional Jacobian pseudo-inverse-based inverse kinematics method and forward and backward reaching inverse kinematics (FABRIK) method are difficult to constrain the arm shape and realize trajectory tracking in confined spaces. To solve this problem, we propose a shape-controllable FABRIK method to satisfy the given path and shape constraints. Firstly, the kinematic model of the hyper-redundant robot is established, and the canonical FABRIK method is introduced. Based on the preliminary works, the single-layer improved FABRIK method is developed to solve the position and pointing inverse kinematics considering path environment and joint angle constraints instead of two-layer geometric iterations. For tracking the desired end roll angles, the polygonal virtual arm is designed. The real arm roll angle is achieved by controlling its winding on the virtual arm. In this way, the shape can be controlled. Finally, we compare the proposed method with other three approaches by simulations. Results show that the proposed method is more efficient and the arm shape is controllable.

It is very challenging for robots to perform grinding and polishing tasks on surfaces with unknown geometry. Most existing methods solve this problem by modeling the relationship between the force sensing information and surface normal vectors by analyzing the forces on special end tools such as spherical tools and cylindrical tools and simplified friction model. In this paper, we propose a normal vectors learning method to simultaneously control end-effector force and direction on unknown surfaces. First, the relation that mapping the force sensing information to the surface normal vectors is learned from the demonstrated data on the known plane using locally weighted regression. Next, the learned relation is used to estimate surface normal vectors on the unknown surface. To improve the force control precision on the unknown geometry surface, the adaptive force control is developed. To improve the direction control precision due to friction, the iterative learning control is developed. The proposed method is verified by comparative simulations and experiments using the Franka robot. Results show that the end-effector can be controlled perpendicular to the surface with a certain force.

We prove a reversed Hardy–Littlewood–Pólya inequality with finite terms. We also give the limit of the best constant.

Nicotine 2,6-dihydroxybenzoate is a nicotine salt that can be used as the nicotine source in tobacco products. X-ray powder diffraction data, unit-cell parameters, and space group for nicotine 2,6-dihydroxybenzoate, C10H15N2⋅C7H5O4, are reported [a = 7.726(8) Å, b = 11.724(3) Å, c = 9.437(1) Å, α = 90°, β = 109.081(3)°, γ = 90°, unit-cell volume V = 802.902 Å3, Z = 2, ρcal = 1.309 g cm−3, and space group P21] at room temperature. All measured lines were indexed and were consistent with the P21 space group.

Routine coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) screening found 1 asymptomatic COVID-19 patient. An emergency sampling team was organized consisting of 1200 health-care workers, and a total of 3.2228 million COVID-19 samples had been collected and detected. This study summarizes the on-site management experience in large-scale COVID-19 nucleic acid testing from various aspects: staff preparation, materials preparation, site layout, logistics support, and information system support. Suggestions are put forward for the deficiencies and parts needing improvement. Such deficiencies included some sampling sites were not properly chosen, different areas were unclearly marked off from each other, and some site moving lines were confounding; how to communicate with the street service workers who had little professional knowledge on the epidemic spread or the working principles of the workflow and site layout; and the way to resolve conflicts on site.

With the increase of crewed space missions and the rise of space microbiology, the research of microbes grown under microgravity environment has been attracting more attention. The research scope in space microbiology has been extended beyond pathogens directly related to spaceflight. Y. pestis, the causative agent of plague, is also of interest to researchers. After being cultivated for 40 consecutive passages in either simulated microgravity (SMG) or normal gravity (NG) conditions, the Y. pestis strain 201 cultures were analysed regarding their phenotypic features. By using crystal violet staining assays, increased biofilm amount was detected in Y. pestis grown under SMG condition. Besides that, the damage degrees of Hela cell caused by SMG-grown Y. pestis were found diminished in comparison to those under NG condition. Consistent with this observation, the death course was delayed in mice infected with SMG-grown Y. pestis, suggesting that microgravity condition can contribute the attenuated virulence. RNA-seq-based transcriptomics analysis showed that a total of 218 genes were differentially regulated, of which 91 upregulated and 127 downregulated. We found that dozens of virulence-associated genes were downregulated, which partially explained the reduced virulence of Y. pestis under SMG condition. Our study demonstrated that long-term exposure to SMG influences the pathogenesis and biofilm formation ability of Y. pestis, which provides a novel avenue to study the mechanism of physiology and virulence of this pathogen. Microgravity enhanced the ability of biofilm formation and reduced the virulence and cytotoxicity of Y. pestis. Many virulence-associated genes of Y. pestis were differentially regulated in response to the stimulated microgravity. However, there is no molecular evidence to explain the enhanced biofilm formation ability, which requires further research. Taken together, the phenotype changes of Y. pestis under SMG conditions can provide us a new research direction of its potential pathogenesis.

Cancer remains the leading cause of death worldwide, and metastasis is still the major cause of treatment failure for cancer patients. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been shown to play a critical role in the metastasis cascade of epithelium-derived carcinoma. Tumour microenvironment (TME) refers to the local tissue environment in which tumour cells produce and live, including not only tumour cells themselves, but also fibroblasts, immune and inflammatory cells, glial cells and other cells around them, as well as intercellular stroma, micro vessels and infiltrated biomolecules from the nearby areas, which has been proved to widely participate in the occurrence and progress of cancer. Emerging and accumulating studies indicate that, on one hand, mesenchymal cells in TME can establish ‘crosstalk’ with tumour cells to regulate their EMT programme; on the other, EMT-tumour cells can create a favourable environment for their own growth via educating stromal cells. Recently, our group has conducted a series of studies on the interaction between tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) and colorectal cancer (CRC) cells in TME, confirming that the interaction between TAMs and CRC cells mediated by cytokines or exosomes can jointly promote the metastasis of CRC by regulating the EMT process of tumour cells and the M2-type polarisation process of TAMs. Herein, we present an overview to describe the current knowledge about EMT in cancer, summarise the important role of TME in EMT, and provide an update on the mechanisms of TME-induced EMT in CRC, aiming to provide new ideas for understanding and resisting tumour metastasis.

Fat-soluble vitamins during pregnancy are important for fetal growth and development. The present study aimed at exploring the association between vitamin A, E and D status during pregnancy and birth weight. A total of 19 640 women with singleton deliveries from a retrospective study were included. Data were collected by the hospital electronic information system. Maternal serum vitamin A, E and D concentrations were measured during pregnancy. Logistic regression was performed to estimate the association between the vitamin status and low birth weight (LBW) or macrosomia. Women with excessive vitamin E were more likely to have macrosomia (OR 1·30, 95 % CI 1·07, 1·59) compared with adequate concentration. When focusing on Z scores, there was a positive association between vitamin E and macrosomia in the first (OR 1·07, 95 % CI 1·00, 1·14), second (OR 1·27, 95 % CI 1·11, 1·46) and third (OR 1·28, 95 % CI 1·06, 1·54) trimesters; vitamin A was positively associated with LBW in the first (OR 1·14, 95 % CI 1·01, 1·29), second (OR 1·31, 95 % CI 1·05, 1·63) and third (OR 2·00, 95 % CI 1·45, 2·74) trimesters and negatively associated with macrosomia in the second (OR 0·79, 95 % CI 0·70, 0·89) and third (OR 0·77, 95 % CI 0·62, 0·95) trimesters. The study identified that high concentrations of vitamin E are associated with macrosomia. Maintaining a moderate concentration of vitamin A during pregnancy might be beneficial to achieve optimal birth weight. Further studies to explore the mechanism of above associations are warranted.

In a model where investors disagree about the fundamentals of two stocks, the state-price density depends on investor disagreements for both stocks, especially the larger stock. This implies that disagreement among investors in a large firm has a spillover effect on the pricing of other stocks owned by these investors. The pricing effects of investor disagreements crucially depend on the average belief biases. Empirical findings support the novel model prediction of a disagreement spillover effect and help reconcile some mixed evidence in the literature.

The accounting information of a firm is analogous to the characteristics of an organism that contain biological information that influences decisions; such characteristics result from organizational routines (genes). Organizational routines result from organizational learning, and learning from an associated company is an efficient approach for a new venture to establish routines. The study results revealed that the subsidiaries inherited routines from the parent companies related to financial ratios, so we suggest that people should judge the adequacy of a firm’s financial situation by not only referring to the standard of its industry but also to its parent company.

In this paper, a novel Strong Tracking Sigma-Point Predictive Variable Structure Filter (ST-SP-PVSF) is presented as a further development of the Adaptive Predictive Variable Structure Filter (APVSF) for attitude synchronisation during Satellite Formation Flying (SFF). First, the sequence orthogonal principle is adopted to enhance the robustness of the APVSF for any nonlinear system with uncertain model errors. Then, sigma-point sampling strategies (such as unscented transfer, cubature rule and Stirling's polynomial interpolation) are introduced to extend the APVSF with the ability to capture the second central moment's information on the model errors to update the system model with higher precision. The new methodology has advantages in dealing with the various types of uncertainties or model errors compared with the APVSF. In addition, it does not need to choose the limit boundary layer ψlim it for system estimation, which reduces the sensitivity to the initial parameters and improves its adaptive ability over the APVSF. Simulations are performed to demonstrate that the proposed method is more suitable for attitude synchronisation estimation of the SFF system.

Since 2010, Jankowski’s Bunting Emberiza jankowskii has been listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, because no comprehensive surveys had been conducted, it was not known whether undiscovered populations existed elsewhere, so the population status of the species could not be assessed accurately. The aim of this study was to assess the breeding distribution and population size of Jankowski’s Bunting in China. Fifty sites in Inner Mongolia, and Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Hebei Provinces were surveyed to locate suitable habitat and breeding populations of Jankowski’s Bunting. The surveyed sites included historical breeding distribution areas, wintering sites, and regions adjacent to historical breeding distribution areas. We confirmed that Jankowski’s Bunting has disappeared from most of its former breeding distributions, with the exceptions of Dagang, Xiergen and Tumiji. Additionally, 13 new breeding sites were discovered in Inner Mongolia. All currently known populations breed in Mongolian steppe-vegetation zones, with shrubs dominated by the natural Siberian apricot Prunus sibirica, indicating that this type of habitat is crucial for the survival of the species. Based on remote sensing, the suitable breeding habitat for Jankowski’s Bunting is estimated to be approximately 280 km2. The population size of Jankowski’s Bunting could range between 9,800 and 12,500 individuals, which is much higher than the numbers estimated in previous reports that were based on partial surveys. The suitable habitat remaining in Inner Mongolia would highly benefit from the implementation of the National Key Public Forest Protection Project. The population size of Jankowski’s Bunting is larger than previously estimated, but it is still threatened by habitat degradation and fragmentation, and our survey results reinforce the need for more research. The status of Jankowski’s Bunting in China still meets the IUCN criteria B2ab for an ‘Endangered’ species.

We investigated the boron isotopic composition in loess–paleosol sequences in five different profiles in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Three possible boron sources are identified: atmospheric input, carbonates, and weathered silicate rocks. Variations of [Sr], [B], δ11B and the magnetic susceptibility correlate well with the pedogenetic intensity in three out of the five studied profiles, where pedogenesis under a cold–dry climate indicates lower δ11B, lower [B], lower magnetic susceptibility and higher [Sr] values. Exceptions to the variations between the δ11B and other known proxies were observed in arenaceous soils and the Red Clay sequence: the former suggested that vertical redistribution probably occurred with the boron migration, and the latter indicated an unknown mechanism of susceptibility enhancement. A better correlation between the δ11B and magnetic susceptibility and the quantitative estimation of boron budget from each source confirms the influence of paleoenvironmental changes on boron geochemical cycle. Significant positive correlations in Sr/Ca vs. B/Ca and Mg/Ca vs. B/Ca reflect consistent enrichment behavior of those mobile elements into calcium carbonate. The preliminary results imply that boron isotopic compositions in soils can be a potential geochemical proxy to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental changes in loess–paleosol sequences.

In this paper, a novel Predictive Variable Structure Filter (PVSF) and its adaptive deformation (APVSF) are presented for attitude synchronisation during Satellite Formation Flying (SFF). The PVSF is proposed based on the variable structure control concept and applied to any nonlinear system with model errors. The model errors in the PVSF need not satisfy the assumption of Gaussian white noise; therefore, it has advantages in dealing with various kinds of uncertainties, parameter variations or noises. Then, the APVSF is also presented to adjust the smoothing boundary layer of PVSF by minimising the Mean-Square Error (MSE). Simulations are performed to demonstrate the accuracy, robustness, and stability of the proposed methodologies for the attitude synchronisation estimation of the SFF system.

Lobopodians, which diversified and flourished in the Cambrian seas, have long drawn much attention in that not only their extant close relatives, onychophorans and tardigrades, but euarthropods (Chelicerata, Myriapoda, Crustacea, and Hexapoda) may have been deeply rooted in stem-group lobopodians. Antennacanthopodia gracilis new genus and species is described and interpreted here as an “unarmoured” lobopodian from the Chengjiang fossil Lagerstätte (Early Cambrian, —520 Ma), Yunnan, southwestern China. This animal shares with other known Cambrian lobopodians such plesiomorphies (primitive characters) as onychophoran-like overall appearance; a metamerically segmented body covered by slightly sclerotized cuticle, and paired, unjointed lobopodal legs. Antennacanthopodia is also featured by a pair of frontal antennae, potential ocellus-like lateral visual organs, second antennae, a straight, voluminous midgut, diminutive spines arrayed on the leg and the trunk, well-developed leg musculature, highly sclerotized terminal leg pads, and presumptively a pair of posteriormost appendicules. This new taxon, with innovative characters (autapomorphies), furthers our understanding of early lobopodian diversification. Antennacanthopodia is considered closely allied to extant Onychophora based on considerable anatomical similarities. Taken together its “two-segmented” cephalization and appendage-bearing “ocular segment”, this new form may shed some new light on the arthropod groundplan.