The large number of patients with ankle injuries and the high incidence make ankle rehabilitation an urgent health problem. However, there is a certain degree of difference between the motion of most ankle rehabilitation robots and the actual axis of the human ankle. To achieve more precise ankle joint rehabilitation training, this paper proposes a novel 3-PUU/R parallel ankle rehabilitation mechanism that integrates with the human ankle joint axis. Moreover, it provides comprehensive ankle joint motion necessary for effective rehabilitation. The mechanism has four degrees of freedom (DOFs), enabling plantarflexion/dorsiflexion, eversion/inversion, internal rotation/external rotation, and dorsal extension of the ankle joint. First, based on the DOFs of the human ankle joint and the variation pattern of the joint axes, a 3-PUU/R parallel ankle joint rehabilitation mechanism is designed. Based on the screw theory, the inverse kinematics inverse, complete Jacobian matrix, singular characteristics, and workspace analysis of the mechanism are conducted. Subsequently, the motion performance of the mechanism is analyzed based on the motion/force transmission indices and the constraint indices. Then, the performance of the mechanism is optimized according to human physiological characteristics, with the motion/force transmission ratio and workspace range as optimization objectives. Finally, a physical prototype of the proposed robot was developed, and experimental tests were performed to evaluate the above performance of the proposed robot. This study provides a good prospect for improving the comfort and safety of ankle joint rehabilitation from the perspective of human-machine axis matching.

Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) is one of the world’s resilient upland weeds, primarily spreading through its tubers. Its emergence in rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields has been increasing, likely due to changing paddy-farming practices. This study aimed to investigate how C. rotundus, an upland weed, can withstand soil flooding and become a problematic weed in rice fields. The first comparative analysis focused on the survival and recovery characteristics of growing and mature tubers of C. rotundus exposed to soil-flooding conditions. Notably, mature tubers exhibited significant survival and recovery abilities in these environments. Based on this observation, further investigation was carried out to explore the morphological structure, nonstructural carbohydrates, and respiratory mechanisms of mature tubers in response to prolonged soil flooding. Over time, the mature tubers did not form aerenchyma but instead gradually accumulated lignified sclerenchymal fibers, with lignin content also increasing. After 90 d, the lignified sclerenchymal fibers and lignin contents were 4.0 and 1.1 times higher than those in the no soil-flooding treatment. Concurrently, soluble sugar content decreased while starch content increased, providing energy storage, and alcohol dehydrogenase activity rose to support anaerobic respiration via alcohol fermentation. These results indicated that mature tubers survived in soil-flooding conditions by adopting a low-oxygen quiescence strategy, which involves morphological adaptations through the development of lignified sclerenchymal fibers, increased starch reserves for energy storage, and enhanced anaerobic respiration. This mechanism likely underpins the flooding tolerance of mature C. rotundus tubers, allowing them to endure unfavorable conditions and subsequently germinate and grow once flooding subsides. This study provides a preliminary explanation of the mechanism by which mature tubers of C. rotundus from the upland areas confer flooding tolerance, shedding light on the reasons behind this weed’s increasing presence in rice fields.

Artificial sweeteners are generally used and recommended to alternate added sugar for health promotion. However, the health effects of artificial sweeteners remain unclear. In this study, we included 6371 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with artificial sweetener intake records. Logistic regression and Cox regression were applied to explore the associations between artificial sweeteners and risks of cardiometabolic disorders and mortality. Mendelian randomisation was performed to verify the causal associations. We observed that participants with higher consumption of artificial sweeteners were more likely to be female and older and have above medium socio-economic status. After multivariable adjustment, frequent consumers presented the OR (95 % CI) for hypertension (1·52 (1·29, 1·80)), hypercholesterolaemia (1·28 (1·10, 1·50)), diabetes (3·74 (3·06, 4·57)), obesity (1·52 (1·29, 1·80)), congestive heart failure (1·89 (1·35, 2·62)) and heart attack (1·51 (1·10, 2·04)). Mendelian randomisation confirmed the increased risks of hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Moreover, an increased risk of diabetic mortality was identified in participants who had artificial sweeteners ≥ 1 daily (HR = 2·62 (1·46, 4·69), P = 0·001). Higher consumption of artificial sweeteners is associated with increased risks of cardiometabolic disorders and diabetic mortality. These results suggest that using artificial sweeteners as sugar substitutes may not be beneficial.

The assessment of seed quality and physiological potential is essential in seed production and crop breeding. In the process of rapid detection of seed viability using tetrazolium (TZ) staining, it is necessary to spend a lot of labour and material resources to explore the pretreatment and staining methods of hard and solid seeds with physical barriers. This study explores the TZ staining methods of six hard seeds (Tilia miqueliana, Tilia henryana, Sassafras tzumu, Prunus subhirtella, Prunus sibirica, and Juglans mandshurica) and summarizes the TZ staining conditions required for hard seeds by combining the difference in fat content between seeds and the kinship between species, thus providing a rapid viability test method for the protection of germplasm resources of endangered plants and the optimization of seed bank construction. The TZ staining of six species of hard seeds requires a staining temperature above 35 °C and a TZ solution concentration higher than 1%. Endospermic seeds require shorter staining times than exalbuminous seeds. The higher the fat content of the seeds, the lower the required incubation temperature and TZ concentration for staining, and the longer the staining time. And the closer the relationship between the two species, the more similar their staining conditions become. The TZ staining method of similar species can be predicted according to the genetic distance between the phylogenetic trees, and the viability of new species can be detected quickly.

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the differential proteomic characteristics of milk from high- and low-yielding Guanzhong dairy goats during the peak lactation period under the same feeding conditions. Nine Guanzhong dairy goats with high yield (H: 3.5 ± 0.17 kg/d) and nine with low yield (L:1.2 ± 0.25 kg/d) were selected for milk proteomic analysis using tandem mass tag technology. A total of 78 differentially expressed proteins were identified. Compared with L, 50 proteins including HK3, HSPB1 and ANXA2 were significantly upregulated in H milk, while 28 proteins including LALBA and XDH were significantly downregulated. Bioinformatics analysis of the differentially expressed proteins showed that galactose metabolism, purine metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, MAPK signaling pathway, regulation of actin cytoskeleton and other pathways were closely related to milk yield. HK3, HSPB1, ANXA2, LALBA and XDH were important candidate proteins associated with the milk production characteristics of Guanzhong dairy goats. Our data provide relevant biomarkers and a theoretical basis for improving milk production in Guanzhong dairy goats.

A comprehensive direct numerical simulation of electroconvection (EC) turbulence caused by strong unipolar charge injection in a two-dimensional cavity is performed. The EC turbulence has strong fluctuations and intermittency in the closed cavity. Several dominant large-scale structures are found, including two vertical main rolls and a single primary roll. The flow mode significantly influences the charge transport efficiency. A nearly $Ne \sim T^{1/2}$ scaling stage is observed, and the optimal $Ne$ increment is related to the mode with two vertical rolls, while the single roll mode decreases the charge transport efficiency. As the flow strength increases, EC turbulence transitions from an electric force-dominated mode to an inertia-dominated mode. The former utilizes the Coulomb force more effectively and allocates more energy to convection. The vertical mean profiles of charge, electric field and energy budget provide intuitive information on the spatial energy distribution. With the aid of the energy-box technique, a detailed energy transport evolution is illustrated with changing electric Rayleigh numbers. This exploration of EC turbulence can help explain more complicated electrokinetic turbulence mechanisms and the successful utilization of Fourier mode decomposition and energy-box techniques is expected to benefit future EC studies.

LongYan kaolin has a large Fe content which affects the coloring. Bioleaching treatments to remove Fe impurities were conducted here using indigenous dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing bacteria. The factors that affect bioleaching efficiency include bioleaching time, carbon source, pH, temperature, pulp density, and inoculum density and these were examined. Environmental scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to examine any textural or mineralogical changes at the surface of the kaolin that may have occurred during the bioleaching. Iron impurities in the kaolin were reduced from 0.88% to 0.48% with an increase in the natural whiteness index from 60.8% to 81.5% after 7 days of bioleaching treatment. A granulometric analysis of dispersed kaolin demonstrated that the bioleaching resulted in a decrease in particle size. The results demonstrated that the bioleaching was very effective at improving the quality of the kaolin, where insoluble Fe(III), either adsorbed to the kaolin surfaces or admixed as amorphous forms, was leached out by micro-organisms as water-soluble Fe(II).

Our previous studies have suggested that spastin, which aggregates on spindle microtubules in oocytes, may promote the assembly of mouse oocyte spindles by cutting microtubules. This action may be related to CRMP5, as knocking down CRMP5 results in reduced spindle microtubule density and maturation defects in oocytes. In this study, we found that, after knocking down CRMP5 in oocytes, spastin distribution shifted from the spindle to the spindle poles and errors in microtubule–kinetochore attachment appeared in oocyte spindles. However, CRMP5 did not interact with the other two microtubule-severing proteins, katanin-like-1 (KATNAL1) and fidgetin-like-1 (FIGNL1), which aggregate at the spindle poles. We speculate that, in oocytes, due to the reduction of spastin distribution on chromosomes after knocking down CRMP5, microtubule–kinetochore errors cannot be corrected through severing, resulting in meiotic division abnormalities and maturation defects in oocytes. This finding provides new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of spastin in oocytes and important opportunities for the study of meiotic division mechanisms.

Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) is a globally distributed noxious weed that poses a significant challenge for control due to its fast and efficient propagation through the tuber, which is the primary reproductive organ. Gibberellic acid (GA3) has proven to be crucial for tuberization in tuberous plants. Therefore, understanding the relationship between GA3 and tuber development and propagation of C. rotundus will provide valuable information for controlling this weed. This study shows that the GA3 content decreases with tuber development, which corresponds to lower expression of bioactive GA3 synthesis genes (CrGA20ox, two CrGA3ox genes) and two upregulated GA3 catabolism genes (CrGA2ox genes), indicating that GA3 is involved in tuber development. Simultaneously, the expression of two CrDELLA genes and CrGID1 declines with tuber growth and decreased GA3, and yeast two-hybrid assays confirm that the GA3 signaling is DELLA-dependent. Furthermore, exogenous application of GA3 markedly reduces the number and the width of tubers and represses the growth of the tuber chain, further confirming the negative impact that GA3 has on tuber development and propagation. Taken together, these results demonstrate that GA3 is involved in tuber development and regulated by the DELLA-dependent pathway in C. rotundus and plays a negative role in tuber development and propagation.

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.

Particle-resolved direct numerical simulations are employed to investigate the particle–particle drag force in the bidisperse gas–particle suspensions where the particles are smooth and the single-particle velocity distribution function is Maxwellian. The particle Reynolds number ranges from 6.7 to 123.8, and in this range the particle inertia is high enough that the lubrication force is not essential. It is found that the relation derived by the kinetic theory of granular flow (KTGF) highly overestimates the particle–particle drag force. This is because the pre-collision velocities of colliding particles are not completely uncorrelated with each other. From the time sequence of collision events, it is observed that the particle pair that has just collided will probably collide again after a short time due to the restriction of the particle motion in dense suspensions. Since the post-collision velocities of the first collision cannot relax entirely in such a short time, the relative velocity before the subsequent collision is statistically smaller than the domain-averaged relative velocity. Consequently, the particle–particle drag force is over-predicted when the domain-averaged relative velocity is used. For this reason, this work assumes that the particle–particle drag force is determined by the relative velocity within a local region near large particles. When the local region is set to be the spherical shells centred on the centres of large particles and with an outer radius of a mean free path of small particles, the KTGF-based relation can reasonably predict the particle–particle drag force.

The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), a destructive pest that originated in South and North America, spread to China in early 2019. Controlling this invasive pest requires an understanding of its population structure and migration patterns, yet the invasion genetics of Chinese S. frugiperda is not clear. Here, using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, triose phosphate isomerase (Tpi) gene and eight microsatellite loci, we investigated genetic structure and genetic diversity of 16 S. frugiperda populations in China. The Tpi locus identified most S. frugiperda populations as the corn-strains, and a few were heterozygous strains. The microsatellite loci revealed that the genetic diversity of this pest in China was lower than that in South America. Furthermore, we found moderate differentiation among the populations, distinct genetic structures between adjacent populations and abundant genetic resources in the S. frugiperda populations from China sampled across 2 years. The survival rate of S. frugiperda was significantly higher when it was fed on corn leaves than on rice leaves, and the larval stage mortality rate was the highest under both treatments. Our results showed that S. frugiperda probably invaded China via multiple independent introductions and careful pesticide control, continuous monitoring and further studies will be needed to minimize its potential future outbreak.

This article contributes to the growing body of research on social assistance (SA) dynamics by analyzing patterns of SA receipt in China, a middle-income country with a large informal employment sector. Using national low-income household survey data and event history analysis, this study explored the mechanisms underlying exit from Dibao (formally known as Minimum Living Security) and changes in exit probability over time. We found that in the context of an informal economy, the ‘explicit’ change of individual characteristics and employment structure decisively affects receipt duration on the micro and macroeconomic levels, respectively. On the policy level, affected by the informal employment structure, employment services tend to be of low quality and fail to promote Dibao exit effectively. Although the specific Dibao payment strategy, which is used to address the difficulty in means tests, largely curbs the risks of declining working motivation, it considerably increases the possibility of prolonged Dibao use. With this systemic influence of informal employment, a unique pattern of SA receipt characterized by the combination of long-term use and a nondecreasing hazard rate has developed in China.

Listeriosis is a rare but serious foodborne disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes. This matched case–control study (1:1 ratio) aimed to identify the risk factors associated with food consumption and food-handling habits for the occurrence of sporadic listeriosis in Beijing, China. Cases were defined as patients from whom Listeria was isolated, in addition to the presence of symptoms, including fever, bacteraemia, sepsis and other clinical manifestations corresponding to listeriosis, which were reported via the Beijing Foodborne Disease Surveillance System. Basic patient information and possible risk factors associated with food consumption and food-handling habits were collected through face-to-face interviews. One hundred and six cases were enrolled from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020, including 52 perinatal cases and 54 non-perinatal cases. In the non-perinatal group, the consumption of Chinese cold dishes increased the risk of infection by 3.43-fold (95% confidence interval 1.27–9.25, χ2 = 5.92, P = 0.02). In the perinatal group, the risk of infection reduced by 95.2% when raw and cooked foods were well-separated (χ2 = 5.11, P = 0.02). These findings provide important scientific evidence for preventing infection by L. monocytogenes and improving the dissemination of advice regarding food safety for vulnerable populations.

This retrospective study investigated the predictive value of the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score in patients with intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who received transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Nomograms were developed to predict progression-free and overall survival (PFS, OS). The medical data of 228 patients with HCC and treated with TACE were collected. The patients were apportioned to 2 groups according to CONUT score: low or high (<4, ≥4). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox regression for OS and PFS. OS and PFS were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier curve and compared with the log-rank test. Nomograms were constructed to predict patient OS and PFS. The nomograms were evaluated for accuracy, discrimination, and efficiency. The cut-off value of CONUT score was 4. The higher the CONUT score, the worse the survival; Kaplan-Meier curves showed significant differences in OS and PFS between the low and high CONUT score groups (P = 0·033, 0·047). The nomograms including CONUT, based on the prognostic factors determined by the univariate and multivariate analyses, to predict survival in HCC after TACE were generated. The CONUT score is an important prognostic factor for both OS and PFS for patients with intermediate HCC who underwent TACE. The cut-off value of the CONUT score was 4. A high CONUT score suggests poor survival outcomes. Nomograms generated based on the CONUT score were good models to predict patient OS and PFS.

Schistosomiasis has been subjected to extensive control efforts in the People's Republic of China (China) which aims to eliminate the disease by 2030. We describe baseline results of a longitudinal cohort study undertaken in the Dongting and Poyang lakes areas of central China designed to determine the prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum in humans, animals (goats and bovines) and Oncomelania snails utilizing molecular diagnostics procedures. Data from the Chinese National Schistosomiasis Control Programme (CNSCP) were compared with the molecular results obtained.

Sixteen villages from Hunan and Jiangxi provinces were surveyed; animals were only found in Hunan. The prevalence of schistosomiasis in humans was 1.8% in Jiangxi and 8.0% in Hunan determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), while 18.3% of animals were positive by digital droplet PCR. The CNSCP data indicated that all villages harboured S. japonicum-infected individuals, detected serologically by indirect haemagglutination assay (IHA), but very few, if any, of these were subsequently positive by Kato-Katz (KK).

Based on the outcome of the IHA and KK results, the CNSCP incorporates targeted human praziquantel chemotherapy but this approach can miss some infections as evidenced by the results reported here. Sensitive molecular diagnostics can play a key role in the elimination of schistosomiasis in China and inform control measures allowing for a more systematic approach to treatment.