Significant differences in life-history traits between the southern population (S) and northern (N) population of the cabbage beetle Colaphellus bowringi make it an excellent model for studying inheritance in this insect. In the present study, we observed the life-history traits of pure strains, F1, reciprocal backcross and reciprocal F2 progeny under a photoperiod of L:D 15:9 h at 22 °C. The S population had shorter larval development time, longer pupal time, higher body weight, growth rate and weight loss compared with the N population. In the F1 testing, the larval development time and body weight in hybrid populations were intermediate between the parents, and the paternal parents played a greater role in determining the larval development time, while the maternal parents exhibited a greater role in determining the body weight. The pupal time of hybrid populations was significantly shorter than that of the parents. In the reciprocal backcross testing, both father and grandfather affected the larval development time, while both mother and grandmother affected the body weight. Consistently, in the reciprocal F2 cross testing, the grandfather was more influential in determining the larval development time, and grandmother was more important in determining the body weight. In all tested populations, females had greater body weight, higher growth rate and weight loss than males. Hybridization pattern did not affect sex dimorphism and sex ratio. Overall, these findings suggest that different pathways (maternal or paternal effects) were involved in the inheritance of various life-history traits in C. bowringi.

We study the melting process of a solid under microgravity, driven solely by lateral vibrations that are perpendicular to the applied temperature gradient due to the absence of gravity-induced convection. Using direct numerical simulations with the phase-field method, we examine two-dimensional vibration-induced melting in a square cavity over four orders of magnitude of vibrational Rayleigh numbers, $10^5\le Ra_{{vib}}\le 10^9$. Our results show that as melting progresses, the flow structure transitions from a periodic-circulation regime with diffusion-dominated heat transfer to a columnar regime with vibroconvection. The mean height of the liquid–solid interface follows a power-law dependency with time, $\bar {\xi } \sim \tilde t^{1/(2-2\alpha )}$, where $\alpha = 0$ in the periodic-circulation regime and $\alpha = 1/2$ in the columnar regime. We further observe that within the columnar regime, the morphological evolution of the liquid–solid interface is influenced by the interaction of columnar thermal plumes in the central regions and the peripheral flow near the sidewalls. Specifically, we offer a comprehensive analysis of the plume merging behaviour, which is governed by the aspect ratio ($\bar {\xi }$) of the liquid layer and the intensity of vibration, quantified by the effective vibrational Rayleigh number $Ra_{vib}^{eff}$. We identify the relationship between the number of columnar plumes $K_m$ and $Ra_{vib}^{eff}$, finding that $K_m \sim \bar {\xi }^{-1} (Ra_{vib}^{eff})^{\gamma }$ with the fitting scaling exponent $\gamma = 0.150 \pm 0.025$. We subsequently quantify the characteristics of the interface roughness amplitude evolution in microgravity vibroconvection. Our results indicate that the roughness amplitude exhibits a power-law dependence on the mean height of the liquid layer. Drawing from the Stefan boundary condition, we theoretically deduce this dependence under the assumption of a non-uniform heat flux distribution at the interface, where the theory is corroborated by our numerical simulations.

Choline and betaine are important in the body, from cell membrane components to methyl donors. We aimed to investigate trends in dietary intake and food sources of total choline, individual choline forms and betaine in Chinese adults using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) 1991–2011, a prospective cohort with a multistage, random cluster design. Dietary intake was estimated using three consecutive 24-h dietary recalls in combination with a household food inventory. Linear mixed-effect models were constructed using R software. A total of 11 188 men and 12 279 women aged 18 years or older were included. Between 1991 and 2011, total choline intake increased from 219·3 (95 % CI 215·1, 223·4) mg/d to 269·0 (95 % CI 265·6, 272·5) mg/d in men and from 195·6 (95 % CI 191·8, 199·4) mg/d to 240·4 (95 % CI 237·4, 243·5) mg/d in women (both P-trends < 0·001). Phosphatidylcholine was the major form of dietary choline, and its contribution to total choline increased from 46·9 % in 1991 to 58·8 % in 2011. Cereals were the primary food source of total choline before 2000, while eggs had ranked at the top since 2004. Dietary betaine intake was relatively steady over time with a range of 134·0–151·5 mg/d in men (P-trend < 0·001) and 111·7–125·3 mg/d in women (P-trend > 0·05). Chinese adults experienced a significant increase in dietary intake of choline, particularly phosphatidylcholine during 1991–2011 and animal-derived foods have replaced plant-based foods as the main food sources of choline. Betaine intake remained relatively stable over time. Future efforts should address the health effects of these changes.

Soft drink consumption has become a highly controversial public health issue. Given the pattern of consumption in China, sugar-sweetened beverage is the main type of soft drink consumed. Due to containing high levels of fructose, a soft drink may have a deleterious effect on handgrip strength (HGS) due to oxidative stress, inflammation and insulin resistance. However, few studies show an association between soft drink consumption and HGS in adults. We aimed to investigate the association between soft drink consumption and longitudinal changes in HGS among a Chinese adult population. A longitudinal population-based cohort study (5-year follow-up, median: 3·66 years) was conducted in Tianjin, China. A total of 11 125 participants (56·7 % men) were enrolled. HGS was measured using a handheld digital dynamometer. Soft drink consumption (mainly sugar-containing carbonated beverages) was measured at baseline using a validated FFQ. ANCOVA was used to evaluate the association between soft drink consumption and annual change in HGS or weight-adjusted HGS. After adjusting for multiple confounding factors, the least square means (95 % CI) of annual change in HGS across soft drink consumption frequencies were −0·70 (–2·49, 1·09) for rarely drinks, −0·82 (–2·62, 0·97) for < 1 cup/week and −0·86 (–2·66, 0·93) for ≥ 1 cup/week (Pfor trend < 0·05). Likewise, a similar association was observed between soft drink consumption and annual change in weight-adjusted HGS. The results indicate that higher soft drink consumption was associated with faster HGS decline in Chinese adults.

Prosody refers to stress and intonation patterns in a language. Previous studies have found that prosodic sensitivity (PS) and executive functions can affect reading comprehension in first (L1) and second languages (L2). The current study examined these factors among a group of L1 Mandarin speakers learning L2 English who participated in a series of tasks measuring phonological awareness, Mandarin tone sensitivity, English PS, along with three specific executive functions – namely, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory. The results demonstrated that Mandarin tone sensitivity and cognitive flexibility mediated English PS and reading. A simple slope analysis showed that PS positively predicted word reading for readers with higher but not lower cognitive flexibility. These results imply that PS in L2 reading is affected by both prosodic transfer of L1 tone sensitivity and cognitive flexibility.

Vegetables are known to be beneficial to human health, but the association between vegetable consumption and gastric cancer remains uncertain. To synthesise knowledge about the relationship between vegetable group consumption and gastric cancer risk, update present meta-analyses and estimate associations between vegetable consumption and gastric cancer risk based solely on prospective studies, we perform a PRISMA-compliant three-level meta-analysis. Systematic search identified thirteen prospective studies with fifty-two effect sizes that met all inclusion criteria and no exclusion criteria for our meta-analysis. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) showed a positive association between high vegetable consumption and low gastric cancer risk (pooled RR 0·93, 95% confidence interval 0·90–0·97, P = 0·06). In moderator analyses for indicators of gender, region and quantity of vegetable intake, there was no significant difference between subgroups. However, the effect became significant in populations with lower than the minimum risk exposure level (TMREL) of vegetable consumption (P < 0·05). Higher vegetable intake is associated with a decreased risk of gastric cancer. This effect may be limited to specific populations, such as ones with lower vegetable consumption. Evidence from our study has important public health implications for dietary recommendations.

This study is the further research of the path encoding pulse compression technique. In this study, the regularity of pulse compression gain is studied by adopting the numerical simulation and experiment measurement methods. For the lossless cavity, the power gain has the characteristic of equal pulse length with equal compression gain contribution according to the numerical simulation results. It means that the pulse compression gain is increased linearly along with the time length of the input pulse. The obtained pulse power gains are equal for the two subpulses intercepted arbitrarily form the input pulse with equal time length for the pulse compression. For the lossy cavity, the power gain usually does not increase significantly after the length of input pulse reaches to a certain value. The gain contribution decreases gradually along with the increase of time length of input pulse until the growth rate of gain contribution equals to zero. Assuming two subpulses with equal time length were intercepted from the input pulse, the gain contribution of the earlier subpulse is lower than that of the later subpulse. The measured results verified the simulated gain contribution regularity according to the established experimental system.

In order to establish a compact all-optical Thomson scattering source, experimental studies were conducted on the 45 TW Ti: sapphire laser facility. By including a steel wafer, mixed gas, and plasma mirror into a double-exit jet, several mechanisms, such as shock-assisted ionization injection, ionization injection, and driving laser reflection, were integrated into one source. So, the source of complexity was remarkably reduced. Electron bunches with central energy fluctuating from 90 to 160 MeV can be produced. Plasma mirrors were used to reflect the driving laser. The scattering of the reflected laser on the electron bunches led to the generation of X-ray photons. Through comparing the X-ray spots under different experimental conditions, it is confirmed that the X-ray photons are generated by Thomson scattering. For further application, the energy spectra and source size of the Thomson scattering source were measured. The unfolded spectrum contains a large amount of low-energy photons besides a peak near 67 keV. Through importing the electron energy spectrum into the Monte Carlo simulation code, the different contributions of the photons with small and large emitting angles can be used to explain the origin of the unfolded spectrum. The maximum photon energy extended to about 500 keV. The total photon production was 107/pulse. The FWHM source size was about 12 μm.

Based on the path encoding pulse compression teleology, a novel method for obtaining high-power microwave (HPM) pulse with ultrahigh repetition frequency is proposed in this paper. The mechanism of the path encoding pulse compression teleology is first introduced. And then, the obtained HPM pulse is analyzed. Theoretical analysis shows that the peak power of MW level and the repetition frequency of MHz level for the generated HPM pulse can be easily reached. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this method for obtaining HPM pulse with ultrahigh repetition frequency characteristic, a HPM-obtaining experiment was carried out based on an S-band microwave source. The HPM pulses with the width of 1 ns, 2 ns, and 3 ns are studied, respectively. The measured results show that the HPM pulse with the power higher than 100 kW and the repetition frequency of 250 kHz at the frequency of 2.856 GHz is easily obtained. The repetition frequency of the generated HPM pulse can be easily changed. Because the pulse with the power higher than 100 kW and the repetition frequency of several hundreds of kHz is obtained for the first time, this type of pulse will have a broad prospect of application in the communication, radar, and electronic countermeasure fields. In addition, the effect experiment of interfering communication and control links was carried out by utilizing the ultrahigh repetition frequency characteristic of the generated HPM pulse. Also, the experiment results show the feasibility of this pulse for interfering the communication and control links.

Increasing evidence shows that maternal hyperglycemia inhibits cardiomyocyte (CM) proliferation and promotes cell apoptosis during fetal heart development, which leads to cardiac dysplasia. Accumulating evidence suggests that the overexpression of miR-21 in CMs has a protective role in cardiac function. Therefore, we investigated whether miR-21 can rescue CM injury caused by high glucose. First, we performed biological function analysis of miR-21-5p overexpression in H9c2 cells treated with high glucose. We found that the proliferation of H9c2 cells treated with high glucose decreased significantly and was rescued after overexpression of miR-21-5p. CCK-8 and EdU incorporation assays were performed to assess cell proliferation. The cell proliferation of the miR-21-5p mimic transfection group was improved compared with that of the NC mimic group (*p < 0.05, miR-21-5p mimics vs. NC mimics) when the proliferation of H9c2 cells was reduced by high glucose (****p < 0.0001, high glucose (HG) vs. normal glucose (NG)). Then, we verified the targeted and negative regulation of miR-21-5p on Rhob using a dual-luciferase activity assay and RT-qPCR, respectively. We further demonstrated that miR-21-5p regulates Rhob to rescue the inhibition of CM proliferation induced by high glucose. The CCK-8 results showed that the cell proliferation of the siRNA-Rhob group was higher than that of the NC mimic group (***p < 0.001) and that of the cotransfection group with Up-Rhob plasmids and miR-21-5p mimics was lower than that of the miR-21-5p mimic group (*p < 0.05). Conclusion: Overexpression of miR-21-5p rescues the inhibition of high glucose-induced CM proliferation through regulation of Rhob.

The late third-millennium BC Longshan period was a crucial time for state formation in central China. During these centuries, long-distance networks expanded and shared material culture and then cultural practices spread across wider areas precipitating social and ideological developments that presaged the rise of states and cities on the Central Plain. In this research, the authors use multiple (strontium, oxygen and carbon) isotope analyses from the dental enamel of 67 individuals buried at the Xiajin cemetery, Shanxi Province. The results indicate significant long-distance migration among females during the Longshan period, which the authors interpret as evidence of exogamous marriage for political alliance-building—a phenomenon found more widely across Eurasia at the start of the Bronze Age.

The discharged capillary plasma channel has been extensively studied as a high-gradient particle acceleration and transmission medium. A novel measurement method of plasma channel density profiles has been employed, where the role of plasma channels guiding the advantages of lasers has shown strong appeal. Here, we have studied the high-order transverse plasma density profile distribution using a channel-guided laser, and made detailed measurements of its evolution under various parameters. The paraxial wave equation in a plasma channel with high-order density profile components is analyzed, and the approximate propagation process based on the Gaussian profile laser is obtained on this basis, which agrees well with the simulation under phase conditions. In the experiments, by measuring the integrated transverse laser intensities at the outlet of the channels, the radial quartic density profiles of the plasma channels have been obtained. By precisely synchronizing the detection laser pulses and the plasma channels at various moments, the reconstructed density profile shows an evolution from the radial quartic profile to the quasi-parabolic profile, and the high-order component is indicated as an exponential decline tendency over time. Factors affecting the evolution rate were investigated by varying the incentive source and capillary parameters. It can be found that the discharge voltages and currents are positive factors quickening the evolution, while the electron-ion heating, capillary radii and pressures are negative ones. One plausible explanation is that quartic profile contributions may be linked to plasma heating. This work helps one to understand the mechanisms of the formation, the evolutions of the guiding channel electron-density profiles and their dependences on the external controllable parameters. It provides support and reflection for physical research on discharged capillary plasma and optimizing plasma channels in various applications.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the clinical characteristics of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) PCR re-positivity after recovering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients (n = 1391) from Guangzhou, China, who had recovered from COVID-19 were recruited between 7 September 2021 and 11 March 2022. Data on epidemiology, symptoms, laboratory test results and treatment were analysed. In this study, 42.7% of recovered patients had re-positive result. Most re-positive patients were asymptomatic, did not have severe comorbidities, and were not contagious. The re-positivity rate was 39%, 46%, 11% and 25% in patients who had received inactivated, mRNA, adenovirus vector and recombinant subunit vaccines, respectively. Seven independent risk factors for testing re-positive were identified, and a predictive model was constructed using these variables. The predictors of re-positivity were COVID-19 vaccination status, previous SARs-CoV-12 infection prior to the most recent episode, renal function, SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM antibody levels and white blood cell count. The predictive model could benefit the control of the spread of COVID-19.

In this paper, we study the ergodicity of the geodesic flows on surfaces with no focal points. Let M be a smooth connected and closed surface equipped with a $C^{\infty }$ Riemannian metric g, whose genus $\mathfrak {g} \geq 2$. Suppose that $(M,g)$ has no focal points. We prove that the geodesic flow on the unit tangent bundle of M is ergodic with respect to the Liouville measure, under the assumption that the set of points on M with negative curvature has at most finitely many connected components.

When designing programs to assist the poor, it is important to recognize who is most in need of government assistance. Although measures of poverty are often based on income alone, poverty measures based on both income and assets provide greater precision in the analysis of this group since accumulated assets can be liquidated to compensate for temporary shortfalls in income. The current study used the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (2007–2017) to analyze associations between different facets of poverty dynamics (i.e. poverty entry and exit) and its determinants. We explored differences in results based on whether poverty was measured by income alone, or income plus assets. The Cox proportional hazard regression was used to examine how demographic characteristics predicted poverty entry and poverty exit. Results indicated factors predicting poverty entry were not identical to those predicting difficulty of exiting poverty. Also, the risk of poverty entry and exit differed based on whether poverty was measured by income alone, or income plus assets. Thus, using income plus assets provides new perspectives into poverty dynamics which past research, based on income alone, did not provide. These new insights can be used to inform decisions about policies for poverty prevention and alleviation.

This study is performed to figure out how the presence of diabetes affects the infection, progression and prognosis of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and the effective therapy that can treat the diabetes-complicated patients with COVID-19. A multicentre study was performed in four hospitals. COVID-19 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) or hyperglycaemia were compared with those without these conditions and matched by propensity score matching for their clinical progress and outcome. Totally, 2444 confirmed COVID-19 patients were recruited, from whom 336 had DM. Compared to 1344 non-DM patients with age and sex matched, DM-COVID-19 patients had significantly higher rates of intensive care unit entrance (12.43% vs. 6.58%, P = 0.014), kidney failure (9.20% vs. 4.05%, P = 0.027) and mortality (25.00% vs. 18.15%, P < 0.001). Age and sex-stratified comparison revealed increased susceptibility to COVID-19 only from females with DM. For either non-DM or DM group, hyperglycaemia was associated with adverse outcomes, featured by higher rates of severe pneumonia and mortality, in comparison with non-hyperglycaemia. This was accompanied by significantly altered laboratory indicators including lymphocyte and neutrophil percentage, C-reactive protein and urea nitrogen level, all with correlation coefficients >0.35. Both diabetes and hyperglycaemia were independently associated with adverse prognosis of COVID-19, with hazard ratios of 10.41 and 3.58, respectively.

Influenza virus infections can lead to a number of secondary complications, including sepsis. We applied linear regression models to mortality and hospital admission data coded for septicaemia from 1998 to 2019 in Hong Kong, and estimated that septicaemia was associated with an annual average excess mortality rate of 0.23 (95% CI 0.04–0.40) per 100 000 persons per year and an excess septicaemia hospitalisation rate of 1.73 (95% CI 0.94–2.50) per 100 000 persons per year. The highest excess morbidity and mortality was found in older adults and young children, and during influenza A(H3N2) epidemics.