The Northwest Tibet region is defined by several terranes, magmatic belts, basins and sutures, which were primarily shaped by the tectonic activities associated with Proto-, Palaeo- and Neo-Tethys Oceans. However, the basement nature and Precambrian tectonic evolution of the Northwest Tibet region, particularly within the Tashikuergan-Tianshuihai terrane, remain largely unknown. The Hongliutan area, located in the northeastern part of the Tashikuergan-Tianshuihai terrane, contains a critical sequence of Precambrian metamorphic rock strata. Detailed petrological, geochronological, and geochemical analyses of these metamorphic rocks – including plagioclase schist, quartz schist, amphibolite and nearby leucogranite – reveal the intricate processes of tectonic evolution within the Tianshuihai unit. Combining these findings with previous geochronological results is crucial for re-evaluating the nature of the Tashikuergan-Tianshuihai basement and its Precambrian tectonic evolution of the Tashikuergan-Tianshuihai basement. Our results reveal the following: (1) the leucogranite and amphibolite, identified as Cambrian igneous rocks, display distinct geochemical signatures indicative of a continental arc origin. These include calc-alkaline characteristics, enrichment in Th, U, Pb, Zr and Hf and depletion in Ba, Nb, Sr and Ti. Their εNd(t) values, close to zero, further support this tectonic setting, with the leucogranite and amphibolite formed at 506 and 522 Ma, respectively. (2) The plagioclase schist and quartz schist are interpreted to be Neoproterozoic volcaniclastic rocks that formed in a rifted (passive) continental margin setting. The quartz schist is particularly rich in detrital zircons, displaying a broad spectrum of 207Pb/206Pb ages, ranging from 901 to 3364 Ma. (3) A significant subset of detrital zircons within the quartz schist exhibits oscillatory zoning, high Th/U ratios and sharp-edged, anhedral-to-subhedral crystal forms, suggesting a derivation from proximal or deep-seated terranes. The concordant U–Pb zircon ages of 2468 and 974 Ma from the quartz schist, along with the 978 Ma age from the inherited zircons in the amphibolite, and the 1.2–2.1 Ga T2DM(Nd) from leucogranite and metamorphic rocks, collectively suggest that the Tianshuihai unit is likely underpinned by a Palaeoproterozoic basement that indicates Neoproterozoic reworking.

Therefore, our findings suggest the presence of a continuous, northwest-southeast trending Palaeoproterozoic basement underlying the entire Tashikuergan-Tianshuihai terrane. An alternative scenario posits that the ancient basement, currently beneath the Tashikuergan terrane, could extend into the Tianshuihai region, potentially indicating a Cambrian continental margin arc interspersed with remnants of older terranes.

The present study aimed to explore the association between healthy lifestyle pattern and childhood early onset of puberty. Based on a cohort study in Xiamen of China, a total of 1294 children was followed for three and a half years. Children’s lifestyles, including dietary behaviour, physical activity, sleep duration, smoking and drinking behaviour and sedentary behaviour, were collected by questionnaires. Healthy lifestyle pattern was determined mainly according to the recommendations by the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese school-age children and Canadian Guidelines for children and youth. The pubertal development was assessed by clinical examination according to Tanner stages. The association between pre-pubertal lifestyle and early onset of puberty was estimated using linear regression and log-binomial regression. We found that children who adhered to a healthy lifestyle had a 0·36-year delay of the age of puberty onset (coef = 0·36, 95 % CI (0·08, 0·65)) and 53 % lower risk of early onset of puberty (risk ratio = 0·47, 95 % CI (0·27, 0·80)), compared with those who had a poor lifestyle. However, the beneficial effect of favourable lifestyles on the early onset of puberty was found only in boys with normal weight. Boys who adhered to active physical activity and low sedentary behaviour had a relatively delayed age of puberty onset (coef = 0·49, 95 % CI (0·26, 0·72)). This is the first time to find that healthy lifestyle pattern was associated with a substantially lower risk of early onset of puberty, especially in boys with normal weight. Advocating an integrated healthy lifestyle is essential for the development of children.

Nearly 80% of new cases of myopia arise between 9 and 13 years old when puberty development also progresses rapidly. However, little is known about the association between myopia and puberty. We aim to evaluate the association between myopia and menarche, the most important puberty indicator for girls, and to test whether menarche could modify the effects of myopia-related behaviors. The participants came from two consecutive national surveys conducted in 30 provinces in mainland China in 2010 and 2014. We included 102,883 girls (61% had experienced menarche) aged 10–15 years. Risk behaviors for myopia which included sleep duration, homework time, and outdoor activity were measured by self-administrated questionnaire. Myopia was defined according to a validated method, and its relationships with menarche status and behaviors were evaluated by robust Poisson regression models based on generalized estimated equation adjusting for cluster effect of school. We found that postmenarche girls were at 13% (95% confidence interval: 11%–16%) higher risk of myopia than premenarche girls, after adjusting for exact age, urban–rural location, survey year, and four behavioral covariates. Short sleep duration (<7 h/d), long homework time (>1 h/d) and low frequency of weekend outdoor activity tended to be stronger (with higher prevalence ratios associated with myopia) risk factors for myopia in postmenarche girls than in premenarche girls, and their interaction with menarche status was all statistically significant (P < 0.05). Overall, our study suggests that menarche onset may be associated with increased risk of myopia among school-aged girls and could also enhance girls’ sensitivity to myopia-related risk behaviors.

This article presents a brief review of our case studies of data-driven Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) for intelligently discovering advanced structural metal materials, including light-weight materials (Ti, Mg, and Al alloys), refractory high-entropy alloys, and superalloys. The basic bonding in terms of topology and electronic structures is recommended to be considered as the building blocks/units constructing the microstructures of advanced materials. It is highlighted that the bonding charge density could not only provide an atomic and electronic insight into the physical nature of chemical bond of materials but also reveal the fundamental strengthening/embrittlement mechanisms and the local phase transformations of planar defects, paving a path in accelerating the development of advanced metal materials via interfacial engineering. Perspectives on the knowledge-based modeling/simulations, machine-learning knowledge base, platform, and next-generation workforce for sustainable ecosystem of ICME are highlighted, thus to call for more duty on the developments of advanced structural metal materials and enhancement of research productivity and collaboration.

We incorporate deep learning (DL) into tiled aperture coherent beam combining (CBC) systems for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. By using a well-trained convolutional neural network DL model, which has been constructed at a non-focal-plane to avoid the data collision problem, the relative phase of each beamlet could be accurately estimated, and then the phase error in the CBC system could be compensated directly by a servo phase control system. The feasibility and extensibility of the phase control method have been demonstrated by simulating the coherent combining of different hexagonal arrays. This DL-based phase control method offers a new way of eliminating dynamic phase noise in tiled aperture CBC systems, and it could provide a valuable reference on alleviating the long-standing problem that the phase control bandwidth decreases as the number of array elements increases.

The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and diabetes mellitus (DM) has reportedly increased significantly among Chinese children and adolescents. We aimed to examine the prevalence of IFG and DM, the disparities in sex and region and related risk factors among Chinese children and adolescents. A total of 16 434 Chinese children aged 6–17 years were selected from a national cross-sectional survey, and fasting glucose was measured for all participants. Overall, mean fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentration was (4·64 (sd 0·51)) mmol/l, and the prevalence of DM and IFG was 0·10 and 1·89 %, respectively. Compared with girls, boys had higher FPG concentration (4·69 v. 4·58 mmol/l, r 0·107, P<0·001) and IFG prevalence (2·67 v. 1·07 %, rφ 0·059, P<0·001). Compared with rural children and adolescents, urban children and adolescent had higher FPG concentration (4·65 v. 4·62 mmol/l, r 0·029, P<0·001) and DM prevalence (0·15 v. 0·05 %, rφ 0·016, P<0·01). In addition, self-reported fried foods intake and overweight/obesity were positively associated with IFG, and the proportion of consuming fried foods more than or equal to once per week and overweight/obesity prevalence in boys and urban children and adolescents were significantly higher than girls and rural children and adolescents, respectively (P<0·05). Although the prevalence of IFG and DM was relatively low in Chinese children and adolescents, sex and region disparities were observed, which may be associated with differences in overweight/obesity prevalence and dietary factors.

Monosized spherical Cu–20% Sn (wt%) alloy particles with diameter ranging from 70.6 to 334.0 μm were prepared by the pulsated orifice ejection method (termed “POEM”). Fully dense without pores and bulk inclusions, the cross-sectional micrographs of the spherical alloy particles indicate an even distribution of Cu and Sn. These spherical Cu–Sn alloy particles exhibit a good spherical shape and a narrow size distribution, suggesting that the liquid Cu–Sn alloy can completely break the balance between the surface tension and the liquid static pressure in the crucible micropores and accurately control the volume of the droplets. Furthermore, the cooling rate of spherical Cu–20% Sn alloy particles is estimated by a Newton’s cooling model. The cooling rate of the Cu–20% Sn alloy particle decreases gradually with the particle diameter increasing. Smaller particles have higher cooling rates and when the particle diameter is less than 70 μm, the cooling rate of particles can reach more than 3.3 × 104 K/s. The secondary dendrite arm spacing has strong dependence on particle diameter which increases gradually with the increase of particle diameter. The results demonstrate that POEM is an effective route for fabrication of high-quality monosized Cu–20% Sn alloy particles.

A self-made die with large cross section (180.2 × 22.2 mm) for equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was used to study the influence of two different pressing routes (C X and C Y ) on refining homogeneity of high-purity aluminum plates. Microstructures were investigated by optical microscopy (OM) and electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) methods, and micro-hardness and tensile tests were taken to evaluate deformation degree across the cross section and mechanical properties, respectively. The results indicate that pressing routes of ECAP have a great influence on structure homogeneity of plate samples. The route C Y leads to fine grains with better homogeneity because the same deformation direction is taken through each pass. Coarse columnar crystals with 3–4 mm change to 68.6 μm nearly equiaxed grains and a strong cube texture forms after four C Y passes, and corresponding mechanical properties increase by a factor compared to as-cast plate.

We aimed to examine the contribution of blood lipids to the association between BMI and blood pressure (BP) in children with overweight and obesity. Data were collected in elementary and high schools of Chaoyang District, Beijing, China in 2012. Participants’ weight, height, BP and fasting plasma lipid profile were measured by standard protocols. Mediation analysis was used to examine the mediation role of blood lipids on the relation between BMI and BP, with age included as a covariate. We found that in boys 8·29 % (mediation effect=0·106, P=0·012) of the association between BMI and systolic BP was mediated through TAG. TAG mediated 12·53 % (mediation effect=0·093, P=0·018) and LDL-cholesterol mediated 7·75 % (mediation effect=0·57, P=0·046) of the association between BMI and diastolic BP was mediated by TAG and LDL-cholesterol, respectively. However, blood lipids did not show the mediation effect in girls. Our findings suggested that there was a sex difference in the contribution of blood lipids to the association between BMI and BP. Controlling TAG or LDL-cholesterol may be beneficial for reducing the risk of the BMI-related high BP in overweight boys; however, this outcome is not the case when controlling TAG or LDL-cholesterol in girls. This study may provide clues to explore the underlying mechanism of the association between obesity and hypertension.

We conducted community interviews and field surveys to determine the distribution and population of the Endangered Shortridge's capped langur Trachypithecus shortridgei, and the threats to the species, in the Dulong and Nu River valleys of north-western Yunnan Province, China. We found that c. 19 groups of T. shortridgei reside in the Dulong valley, mostly located in the southern portion of the valley. According to interview and observational records in the Gaoligong Mountains to the west of the Nu River, 12 individuals and no groups were observed. Family groups consist of one adult male, 2–3 adult females and up to five young. We estimate the population of T. shortridgei in China to be c. 250–370 individuals. Threats to the species include habitat loss and poaching. We suggest several measures to conserve T. shortridgei, such as a review of the Gaoligong National Nature Reserve management strategy, and increasing engagement, education, inclusion of local people in forest management, and the consistency of enforcement.

The three-dimensional instabilities of axisymmetric flow are investigated in a laterally heated vertical cylinder by linear stability analysis. Heating is confined to a central zone on the sidewall of the cylinder, while other parts of the sidewall are insulated and both ends of the cylinder are cooled. The length of the heated zone equals the radius of the cylinder. For three different aspect ratios, $A= 1.92 $, 2, 2.1 ($A=\mathrm{height}$/radius), the dependence of the critical Rayleigh number on the Prandtl number (from 0.02 to 6.7) has been studied in detail. For such a kind of laterally heated convection, some interesting stability results are obtained. A monotonous instability curve is obtained for $A= 1.92 $, while the instability curves for $A= 2 $ and $A= 2.1 $ are non-monotonous and multivalued. In particular, an instability island has been found for $A=2$. Moreover, mechanisms corresponding to different instability results are obtained when the Prandtl number changes. At small Prandtl number, the flow is oscillatory unstable, which is dominated by hydrodynamic instability. At intermediate Prandtl number, the interaction between buoyancy and shear in the base flow plays a more important role than pure hydrodynamic instability. At even higher Prandtl number, Rayleigh–Bénard instability becomes the dominant process and the flow loses stability through steady bifurcation.

The prevalence of goitre in areas with mildly excessive iodine in drinking-water is still under debate. The aim of the present study was to explore the prevalence of goitre and its epidemiological characteristics in these areas using WHO criteria. To this end, three towns with a median water iodine (MWI) of 150–300 μg/l were selected randomly in Hengshui City of Hebei Province of China, and one town with a MWI of 105 μg/l was chosen as a control. A total of 452 children in the three towns and 120 children in the control town were randomly selected to measure thyroid volume (Tvol) by ultrasound. The goitre status of these children was judged using the criteria recommended by the WHO. The overall goitre prevalences in the three towns were 24·6 % (111/452) by age-specific Tvol and 33·0 % (149/452) by body surface area (BSA)-adjusted Tvol, which were significantly higher than that in the control town by both age-specific Tvol (14·0 % (17/120), P= 0·015) and BSA-adjusted Tvol (17·5 % (21/120), P= 0·001). Significant differences were found neither in goitre prevalences across sex by both age-specific Tvol (P= 0·078) and BSA-adjusted Tvol (P= 0·692) nor in that across age group by both BSA-adjusted Tvol (P= 0·461) and age-specific Tvol (P= 0·183). The present study found a high prevalence of goitre in children living in areas with mildly excessive iodine in drinking-water in Hebei Province. No significant differences were found in goitre prevalences across sex and age group. These results suggest that the Tvol reference values recommended by the WHO could be too low for Chinese children.

The instabilities and transitions of flow in a vertical cylindrical cavity with heated bottom, cooled top and insulated sidewall are investigated by linear stability analysis. The stability boundaries for the axisymmetric flow are derived for Prandtl numbers from 0.02 to 1, for aspect ratio () equal to 1, 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, respectively. We found that there still exists stable non-trivial axisymmetric flow beyond the second bifurcation in certain ranges of Prandtl number for , and 0.8, excluding the case. The finding for is that very frequent changes of critical mode (azimuthal Fourier mode) of the second bifurcation occur when the Prandtl number is changed, where five kinds of steady modes and three kinds of oscillatory modes are presented. These multiple modes indicate different flow structures triggered at the transitions. The instability mechanism of the flow is explained by kinetic energy transfer analysis, which shows that the radial or axial shear of base flow combined with buoyancy mechanism leads to the instability results.

Children in China are experiencing a rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity, which is associated with hypertension. To compare the effect of body fat on blood pressure (BP) with that of the normal physical growth, we compared BP levels in Chinese children with different body fat levels. In the present population-based study, 13 972 children in the highest-skinfold-thickness-quartile group were individually matched to 13 972 children in the lowest-skinfold-thickness-quartile group by height and weight. Similarly, 5103 children in the highest-waist-circumference-quartile group were matched to the same number of children in the lowest-waist-circumference-quartile group. The high- and low-fat groups had similar height and weight but the high-fat group had significantly higher skinfold and waist circumference measurements. The differences in systolic BP (SBP) between the high- and low-skinfold-thickness groups were small: 0·01 (95 % CI − 0·41, 0·44) mmHg in boys and 0·20 (95 % CI − 0·15, 0·54) mmHg in girls. The differences in diastolic BP (DBP) were also small (0·39 and 0·38 mmHg for boys and girls, respectively) but were statistically significant. The differences in both SBP and DBP between the high- and low-waist-circumference groups were small but not statistically significant. For a given body size as measured by height and weight, relative body fat had little impact on BP levels in these children. Fat mass and lean mass may have a similar quantitative impact on BP in healthy-weight children.

The effect of Li3N additive on the Li-Mg-N-H system was examined with respect to the reversible dehydrogenation performance. Screening study with varying Li3N additions (5, 10, 20, and 30 mol%) demonstrates that all are effective for improving the hydrogen desorption capacity. Optimally, incorporation of 10 mol% Li3N improves the practical capacity from 3.9 wt% to approximately 4.7 wt% hydrogen at 200 °C, which drives the dehydrogenation reaction toward completion. Moreover, the capacity enhancement persists well over 10 de-/rehydrogenation cycles. Systematic x-ray diffraction examinations indicate that Li3N additive transforms into LiNH2 and LiH phases and remains during hydrogen cycling. Combined structure/property investigations suggest that the LiNH2 “seeding” should be responsible for the capacity enhancement, which reduces the kinetic barrier associated with the nucleation of intermediate LiNH2. In addition, the concurrent incorporation of LiH is effective for mitigating the ammonia release.

A cDNA library was constructed from the heading leaf in the early phase of the heading stage of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis). By sequencing the randomly selected clones, 1363 sequences longer than 200 bp were found, with better trace data. After removing the poly(A) and contamination sequences, 1162 ESTs longer than 150 bp were obtained, of which 1102 shared significant similarity with known sequences in protein and nucleotide databases of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) as revealed by searches using the BLASTX and BLASTN engines. Functional assignment of the ESTs was based on the method used in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome-sequencing project. About 77% of the putative protein sequences with known biological functions best matched with those of A. thaliana deposited in the non-redundant database of NCBI. These data suggest that Chinese cabbage is closely related to A. thaliana. This result is different from that reported in other Brassica species. At nucleotide level, however, 51% of the ESTs were homologous to those deposited for A. thaliana when all ESTs were searched against the est-others database. In addition, 60 ESTs had no homology with any of the plant gene sequences deposited in GenBank. These ESTs are very important for understanding the unique developmental process of Chinesecabbage and elaborating its genetic mapping. Among the genes with assigned functions, the most abundant representatives were those involved in protein synthesis and energy metabolism. With the 1162 ESTs, 895 non-redundant contigs were generated after being aligned using the Seqman II module of DNAStar software at the threshold of more than 80% homology over a minimum of 40 base pairs. Of these, 723 were singletons containing only one EST sequence, indicating that many kinds of such genes are expressed in the heading leaf of Chinese cabbage. An expression profile of Chinese cabbage heading leaf with the 1162 ESTs was therefore acquired in this work. This could be very useful for uncovering the mechanism of the heading process, which is the most obvious characteristic of Chinese cabbage and perhaps other related species, such as Brassica oleracea. This work could accelerate the finding and characterization of genes specifically expressed in the heading stage of Chinese cabbage.