Epilepsy ranks fourth among neurological diseases, featuring spontaneous seizures and behavioural and cognitive impairments. Although anti-epileptic drugs are currently available clinically, 30 % of epilepsy patients are still ineffective in treatment and 52 % of patients experience serious adverse reactions. In this work, the neuroprotective effect of α-linolenic acid (ALA, a nutrient) in mice and its potential molecular mechanisms exposed to pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) was assessed. The mice were injected with pentetrazol 37 mg/kg, and ALA was intra-gastrically administered for 40 d. The treatment with ALA significantly reduced the overall frequency of epileptic seizures and improved the behaviour impairment and cognitive disorder caused by pentetrazol toxicity. In addition, ALA can not only reduce the apoptosis rate of brain neurons in epileptic mice but also significantly reduce the content of brain inflammatory factors (IL-6, IL-1 and TNF-α). Furthermore, we predicted that the possible targets of ALA in the treatment of epilepsy were JAK2 and STAT3 through molecular docking. Finally, through molecular docking and western blot studies, we revealed that the potential mechanism of ALA ameliorates PTZ-induced neuron apoptosis and neurological impairment in mice with seizures by down-regulating the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. This study aimed to investigate the anti-epileptic and neuroprotective effects of ALA, as well as explore its potential mechanisms, through the construction of a chronic ignition mouse model via intraperitoneal PTZ injection. The findings of this research provide crucial scientific support for subsequent clinical application studies in this field.

Lower limb exoskeletons (LLEs) have demonstrated their potential in delivering quantified repetitive gait training for individuals afflicted with gait impairments. A critical concern in robotic gait training pertains to fostering active patient engagement, and a viable solution entails harnessing the patient’s intrinsic effort to govern the control of LLEs. To address these challenges, this study presents an innovative online gait learning approach with an appropriate control strategy for rehabilitation exoskeletons based on dynamic movement primitives (DMP) and an Assist-As-Needed (AAN) control strategy, denoted as DMP-AAN. Specifically tailored for post-stroke patients, this approach aims to acquire the gait trajectory from the unaffected leg and subsequently generate the reference gait trajectory for the affected leg, leveraging the acquired model and the patient’s personal exertion. Compared to conventional AAN methodologies, the proposed DMP-AAN approach exhibits adaptability to diverse scenarios encompassing varying gait patterns. Experimental validation has been performed using the lower limb rehabilitation exoskeleton HemiGo. The findings highlight the ability to generate suitable control efforts for LLEs with reduced human-robot interactive force, thereby enabling highly patient-controlled gait training sessions to be achieved.

The phase summation effect in sum-frequency mixing process is utilized to avoid a nonlinearity obstacle in the power scaling of single-frequency visible or ultraviolet lasers. Two single-frequency fundamental lasers are spectrally broadened by phase modulation to suppress stimulated Brillouin scattering in fiber amplifier and achieve higher power. After sum-frequency mixing in a nonlinear optical crystal, the upconverted laser returns to single frequency due to phase summation, when the phase modulations on two fundamental lasers have a similar amplitude but opposite sign. The method was experimentally proved in a Raman fiber amplifier-based laser system, which generated a power-scalable sideband-free single-frequency 590 nm laser. The proposal manifests the importance of phase operation in wave-mixing processes for precision laser technology.

High-power continuous-wave single-frequency Er-doped fiber amplifiers at 1560 nm by in-band and core pumping of a 1480 nm Raman fiber laser are investigated in detail. Both co- and counter-pumping configurations are studied experimentally. Up to 59.1 W output and 90% efficiency were obtained in the fundamental mode and linear polarization in the co-pumped case, while less power and efficiency were achieved in the counter-pumped setup for additional loss. The amplifier performs indistinguishably in terms of laser linewidth and relative intensity noise in the frequency range up to 10 MHz for both configurations. However, the spectral pedestal is raised in co-pumping, caused by cross-phase modulation between the pump and signal laser, which is observed and analyzed for the first time. Nevertheless, the spectral pedestal is 34.9 dB below the peak, which has a negligible effect for most applications.

This study evaluated the impact of three distinct diets; perennial ryegrass (GRS), perennial ryegrass/white clover (CLV) and total mixed ration (TMR), on the sensory properties and volatile profile of whole milk powder (WMP). The samples were evaluated using a hedonic sensory acceptance test (n = 99 consumers) and by optimised descriptive profiling (ODP) using trained assessors (n = 33). Volatile profiling was achieved by gas chromatography mass spectrometry using three different extraction techniques; headspace solid phase micro-extraction, thermal desorption and high capacity sorptive extraction. Significant differences were evident in both sensory perception and the volatile profiles of the WMP based on the diet, with WMP from GRS and CLV more similar than WMP from TMR. Consumers scored WMP from CLV diets highest for overall acceptability, flavour and quality, and WMP from TMR diets highest for cooked flavour and aftertaste. ODP analysis found that WMP from TMR diets had greater caramelised flavour, sweet aroma and sweet taste, and that WMP from GRS diets had greater cooked aroma and cooked flavour, with WMP derived from CLV diets having greater scores for liking of colour and creamy aroma. Sixty four VOCs were identified, twenty six were found to vary significantly based on diet and seventeen of these were derived from fatty acids; lactones, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones and esters. The abundance of δ-decalactone and δ-dodecalactone was very high in WMP derived from CLV and GRS diets as was γ-dodecalactone derived from a TMR diet. These lactones appeared to influence sweet, creamy, and caramelised attributes in the resultant WMP samples. The differences in these VOC derived from lipids due to diet are probably further exacerbated by the thermal treatments used in WMP manufacture.

To address the shortcomings of existing methods for rotorcraft searching, positioning, tracking and landing on a ship at sea, a dual-channel LIDAR searching, positioning, tracking and landing system (DCLSPTLS) is proposed in this paper, which utilises the multi-pulse laser echoes accumulation method and the physical phenomenon that the laser reflectivity of the ship deck in the near-infrared band is four orders of magnitude higher than that of the sea surface. The DCLSPTLS searching and positioning model, tracking model and landing model are established, respectively. The searching and positioning model can provide estimates of the azimuth angle, the distance of the ship relative to the rotorcraft and the ship's course. With the above parameters as inputs, the total tracking time and the direction of the rotorcraft tracking speed can be obtained by using the tracking model. The landing model can calculate the pitch and the roll angles of the ship's deck relative to the rotorcraft by using the least squares method and the laser irradiation coordinates. The simulation shows that the DCLSPTLS can realise the functions of rotorcraft searching, positioning, tracking and landing by using the above parameters. To verify the effectiveness of the DCLSPTLS, a functional test is performed using a rotorcraft and a model ship on a lake. The test results are consistent with the results of the simulation.

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.

Automatic generation of high-quality meshes is a base of CAD/CAE systems. The element extraction is a major mesh generation method for its capabilities to generate high-quality meshes around the domain boundary and to control local mesh densities. However, its widespread applications have been inhibited by the difficulties in generating satisfactory meshes in the interior of a domain or even in generating a complete mesh. The element extraction method's primary challenge is to define element extraction rules for achieving high-quality meshes in both the boundary and the interior of a geometric domain with complex shapes. This paper presents a self-learning element extraction system, FreeMesh-S, that can automatically acquire robust and high-quality element extraction rules. Two central components enable the FreeMesh-S: (1) three primitive structures of element extraction rules, which are constructed according to boundary patterns of any geometric boundary shapes; (2) a novel self-learning schema, which is used to automatically define and refine the relationships between the parameters included in the element extraction rules, by combining an Advantage Actor-Critic (A2C) reinforcement learning network and a Feedforward Neural Network (FNN). The A2C network learns the mesh generation process through random mesh element extraction actions using element quality as a reward signal and produces high-quality elements over time. The FNN takes the mesh generated from the A2C as samples to train itself for the fast generation of high-quality elements. FreeMesh-S is demonstrated by its application to two-dimensional quad mesh generation. The meshing performance of FreeMesh-S is compared with three existing popular approaches on ten pre-defined domain boundaries. The experimental results show that even with much less domain knowledge required to develop the algorithm, FreeMesh-S outperforms those three approaches in essential indices. FreeMesh-S significantly reduces the time and expertise needed to create high-quality mesh generation algorithms.

The North Qilian orogenic belt in North China has been defined as a subduction–collision zone between the Alxa Block and the Qilian Block. We present petrography, zircon U–Pb geochronology, major- and trace-element geochemistry, and Sr–Nd–Pb–Hf isotope analysis for the Yushigou diabase from the Longshoushan area, which is located SW of the Alxa Block, aiming to understand its petrogenetic link to subduction processes. The Yushigou diabase belongs to the tholeiite series, and shows enrichment in light rare earth and large-ion lithophile elements, and a depletion in heavy rare earth and high-field-strength elements. Laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry U–Pb zircon dating yielded an emplacement age of 414 ± 9 Ma, with an ϵHf(t) value in the range of −10.3 to 1.8. The whole-rock initial 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios of the diabase range over 16.811–17.157, 15.331–15.422 and 37.768–37.895, respectively. The (87Sr/86Sr)i ratios vary between 0.7086 and 0.7106, and ϵNd(t) values vary between −14.4 and −13.4, which are significantly higher than the ϵHf(t) value (Nd–Hf decoupling). An interpretation of the elemental and isotopic data suggests that the Yushigou diabase was derived from partial melting of an enriched mantle I (EM-I) -type lithospheric mantle in the spinel–garnet transitional zone. Based on the geochemical features and previous regional geological data, we propose that the Silurian magmatism was most likely triggered by slab break-off after the closure of the North Qilian Ocean, and ancient continental materials from the subduction slab metasomatized the overlying lithospheric mantle during exhumation.

Few studies have investigated the association between maternal dietary patterns (DP) during pregnancy, derived from reduced-rank regression (RRR), and fetal growth. This study aims to identify DP during pregnancy associated with macro- and micronutrient intakes, using the RRR method, and to examine their relationship with birth weight (BW). We used data of 7194 women from a large-scale cross-sectional survey in Northwest China. Dietary protein, carbohydrate, haem Fe density and the ratio of PUFA and MUFA:SFA were used as the intermediate variables in the RRR model to extract DP. Generalised estimating equation models were applied to evaluate the associations between DP and BW and related outcomes (including BW z-score, low birth weight (LBW) and small for gestational age (SGA)). Four DP during pregnancy were identified. Socio-demographically disadvantaged pregnant women were more likely to have lower BW and lower adherence to DP1 (high legumes, soyabean products, vegetables and animal-source foods, with relative low wheat and oils). Women with medium and high adherence to DP1 had significantly increased BW (medium 28·6 (95 % CI 7·1, 50·1); high 25·2 (95 % CI 2·7, 47·6)) and BW z-score and had significantly reduced risks of LBW and SGA. The associations were stronger among women with babies <3100 g. There is no association between other DP and outcomes. Higher adherence to the DP that was high in legumes, soyabean products, vegetables and animal-source foods was associated with improved BW in the Chinese pregnant women, particularly among those with disadvantageous socio-demographic conditions.

We aimed to comprehensively examine the association of breast-feeding, types and initial timing of complementary foods with adolescent cognitive development in low- and middle-income countries. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 745 adolescents aged 10–12 years who were born to women who participated in a randomised trial of prenatal micronutrient supplementation in rural Western China. An infant feeding index was constructed based on the current WHO recommendations. Full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) was assessed and derived by the fourth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. The duration of exclusive or any breast-feeding was not significantly associated with adolescent cognitive development. Participants who regularly consumed Fe-rich or Fe-fortified foods during 6–23 months of age had higher FSIQ than those who did not (adjusted mean differences 4·25; 95 % CI 1·99, 6·51). For cows’/goats’ milk and high protein-based food, the highest FSIQ was found in participants who initially consumed at 10–12 and 7–9 months, respectively. A strong dose–response relationship of the composite infant feeding index was also identified, with participants in the highest tertile of overall feeding quality having 3·03 (95 % CI 1·37, 4·70) points higher FSIQ than those in the lowest tertile. These findings suggest that appropriate infant feeding practices (breast-feeding plus timely introduction of appropriate complementary foods) were associated with significantly improved early adolescent cognitive development scores in rural China. In addition, improvement in Fe-rich or Fe-fortified foods complementary feeding may produce better adolescent cognitive development outcomes.

In this study, we present clay mineral records from a late Pleistocene loess-paleosol sequence in the Ili Basin, Central Asia, and assess their significance for paleoclimatic reconstruction. The results show that the clay minerals are mainly illite (average 60%) and chlorite (28%), with minor kaolinite (9%) and smectite (3%). Illite was of detrital origin with no obvious modification to its crystal structure. Increases in illite content in the loess are ascribed to wind intensity rather than pedogenesis. High proportions of illite in the clay fraction, and of muscovite in the bulk samples of the paleosol units, may lead to an overestimation of the weathering intensity. Kaolinite was likely inherited from the sedimentary rocks, while chlorite might have been inherited from both sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The paleoclimatic signals of kaolinite and chlorite were unclear, due to reworking by both fluvial and eolian systems. Smectite was more likely formed by the transformation of biotite and illite, and its variation in the loess sequence was also controlled by wind intensity; this was largely due to aggregation and is unlikely to reflect moisture changes. Although the interpretation of paleoclimate evolution may contain some uncertainties, clay mineralogy does provide the possibility of tracing dust provenance.

Previous studies have yielded conflicting results on the associations of maternal Fe intake with birth outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the associations between maternal Fe intake (total Fe from diet and supplements, dietary total Fe, haeme Fe, non-haeme Fe and Fe supplements use) and adverse birth outcomes in Shaanxi Province of Northwest China. In all, 7375 women were recruited using a stratified multistage random sampling method at 0–12 months (median 3; 10th–90th percentile 0–7) after delivery. Diets were collected by a validated FFQ and maternal characteristics were obtained via a standard questionnaire. The highest tertile of haeme Fe intake compared with the lowest tertile was negatively associated with low birth weight (LBW) (OR 0·68; 95 % CI 0·49, 0·94), small for gestational age (SGA) (OR 0·76; 95 % CI 0·62, 0·94) and birth defects (OR 0·55; 95 % CI 0·32, 0·89). Maternal haeme Fe intake was associated with a lower risk of intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) (medium tertile v. lowest tertile: OR 0·78; 95 % CI 0·61, 0·95; highest tertile v. lowest tertile: OR 0·76; 95 % CI 0·59, 0·93; P trend=0·045). The OR of LBW associated with Fe supplements use were as follows: during pregnancy: 0·72 (95 % CI 0·50, 0·95); in the second trimester: 0·67 (95 % CI 0·42, 0·98); in the third trimester: 0·47 (95 % CI 0·24, 0·93). We observed no associations of total Fe, dietary total Fe or non-haeme Fe intake with birth outcomes. The results suggest that maternal haeme Fe intake is associated with a reduced risk of LBW, SGA, IUGR and birth defects, and Fe supplements use during pregnancy reduces LBW risk.

This study is a test of the relationship between organizational dissent and the perception of workplace freedom of speech in Singapore. Through a quantitative analysis of 384 individuals in Singapore, the following was found: articulated dissent and latent dissent are positively correlated with workplace freedom of speech. In addition, multiple analysis of covariance analyses revealed nation of birth exerted considerable influence on articulated dissent, and latent dissent, but not on workplace freedom of speech. The results provide evidence of how nation of birth is related to an individual’s willingness to express dissent. Theoretical and practical implications for research into organizational behavior are discussed.

This study aimed to explore whether the presence of a Y chromosome azoospermia factor (AZF) microdeletion confers any adverse effect on embryonic development and clinical outcomes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment. Fifty-seven patients with AZF microdeletion were included in the present study and 114 oligozoospermia and azoospermia patients without AZF microdeletion were recruited as controls. Both AZF and control groups were further divided into subgroups based upon the methods of semen collection: the AZF-testicular sperm extraction subgroup (AZF-TESE, n = 14), the AZF-ejaculation subgroup (AZF-EJA, n = 43), the control-TESE subgroup (n = 28) and the control-EJA subgroup (n = 86). Clinical data were analyzed in the two groups and four subgroups respectively. A retrospective case–control study was performed. A significantly lower fertilization rate (69.27 versus 75.70%, P = 0.000) and cleavage rate (89.55 versus 94.39%, P = 0.000) was found in AZF group compared with the control group. Furthermore, in AZF-TESE subgroup, the fertilization rate (67.54 versus 74.25%, P = 0.037) and cleavage rate (88.96 versus 94.79%, P = 0.022) were significantly lower than in the control-TESE subgroup; similarly, the fertilization rate (69.85 versus 75.85%, P = 0.004) and cleavage rate (89.36 versus 94.26%, P = 0.002) in AZF-EJA subgroup were significantly lower than in the control-EJA subgroup; however, the fertilization rate and cleavage rate in AZF-TESE (control-TESE) subgroup was similar to that in the AZF-EJA (control-EJA) subgroup. The other clinical outcomes were comparable between four subgroups (P > 0.05). Therefore, sperm from patients with AZF microdeletion, obtained either by ejaculation or TESE, may have lower fertilization and cleavage rates, but seem to have comparable clinical outcomes to those from patients without AZF microdeletion.

A method to design the composite insulation structures in pulsed power systems is proposed in this paper. The theoretical bases for this method include the Weibull statistical distribution and the empirical insulation formula. A uniform formula to describe the reliability (R) for different insulation media such as solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, and vacuum surface is derived. The dependence curves of the normalized applied field on R are also obtained. These curves show that the normalized applied field decreases rapidly as R increases but the declining rates corresponding to different insulation media are different. In addition, if R is required to be higher than a given level, the normalized applied field should be smaller than a certain value. In practical design, the common range of the applied fields for different insulation media should be chosen to meet a global reliability requirement. In the end, the proposed method is demonstrated with a specific coaxial high-voltage vacuum insulator.

In this paper, we investigate the Dirichlet eigenvalue problems of the poly-Laplacian with any order and the quadratic polynomial operator of the Laplacian. We give some estimates for lower bounds of the sums of their first k eigenvalues.