X-ray powder diffraction data, unit-cell parameters, and space group for N,N-dimethyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-amine, C9H11N3, are reported [a = 11.379(3) Å, b = 10.227(5) Å, c = 7.151(1) Å, α = 90°, β = 90°, γ = 90°, unit-cell volume V = 832.318 Å3, Z = 4, ρcal = 1.286 g cm−3, and space group P21212]. All measured lines were indexed and were consistent with the P21212 space group. No detectable impurities were observed.

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.

The push–pull fatigue characteristics of the peak-aged Mg–0.2Zn–0.5Zr alloys with different addition levels of neodymium (Nd) have been investigated. The fatigue strength (σf) of the Mg–xNd–0.2Zn–0.5Zr (NZx0K) alloy increases proportionally with the increase of the Nd content (C Nd) as follows: σf (T6) ≈ (13.8–14.0) C Nd + 46 (for x between 0 and 3.0 wt%). The cyclic stress amplitude also increases but the plastic strain value decreases with the increase of the Nd content. The studied alloys exhibit the strain hardening followed by cyclic softening during fatigue test. During the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) test, the cracks originate from the cyclic deformation and cumulative damage. In high-cycle fatigue (HCF), the failure is due to the cyclic deformation and damage irreversibly caused by environment-assisted cyclic slip. The LCF lives of the alloys fitted well with the Coffin–Manson relation and Basquin laws, the three-parameter equation, and the energy-based concepts. The developed multi-scale fatigue (MSF) life models can be used to predict the LCF and HCF lives of the alloys. Among these models, the MSF life can well capture the influence of Nd addition on fatigue.

In this paper, the recent studies of laboratory astrophysics with strong magnetic fields in China have been reviewed. On the Shenguang-II laser facility of the National Laboratory on High-Power Lasers and Physics, a laser-driven strong magnetic field up to 200 T has been achieved. The experiment was performed to model the interaction of solar wind with dayside magnetosphere. Also the low beta plasma magnetic reconnection (MR) has been studied. Theoretically, the model has been developed to deal with the atomic structures and processes in strong magnetic field. Also the study of shock wave generation in the magnetized counter-streaming plasmas is introduced.

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.

The present study was performed to identify the genotype of a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy family and investigate the clinicopathogenic characteristics and prognostic features of relevant genetic abnormalities. Target sequence capture sequencing was performed to screen for pathogenic alleles in a 32-year-old female patient (proband). Sanger sequencing was carried out to verify the results. Sanger sequencing was also performed on other family members to identify allele carriers. A survival analysis was carried out using published literature and our findings. We found that the proband and her son harboured a Gly716Arg sequence variant of the β-myosin heavy chain. Neither the proband’s father nor the mother were carriers of this sequence variant; thus, the mutation was classified as “de novo”. Further survival analysis revealed that female patients appear to have a longer life expectancy compared with males. Our study may provide an effective approach for the genetic diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Oxidation of atomized Al–Mg–Li alloys with compositions ranging from Al0.85Mg0.1Li0.05 to Al0.55Mg0.4Li0.05 (wt%) was examined by thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis. The results showed that oxidation proceeded in two steps. During the first step, lithium and magnesium were oxidized preferentially and removed from the metallic phase. The other step, during which the remainder of the metallic phase was oxidized, occurred over a wide range of temperature (989–1098 °C). The temperature of the second effect decreased slightly with increasing magnesium content from 10 to 30% in the alloy. For Al0.55Mg0.4Li0.05 alloy, the second exothermic peak occurred at 540 °C, and no exothermic peak was observed at higher temperature. The porous structure formed during the selective oxidation promotes the oxidation of residual Al in the alloy. Al0.55Mg0.4Li0.05 was oxidized completely at 1100 °C, lower than the temperature of other alloys. The thermite reaction experiment of Al0.55Mg0.4Li0.05–Fe2O3 system conducted in Ar showed a reaction temperature of 587 °C, significantly lower than the reaction temperature observed for Al–Fe2O3 system.

In 2008 January the 24th Chinese expedition team successfully deployed the Chinese Small Telescope ARray (CSTAR) to Dome A, the highest point on the Antarctic plateau. CSTAR consists of four 14.5cm optical telescopes, each with a different filter (g, r, i and open) and has a 4.5°×4.5° field of view (FOV). Based on the CSTAR data, initial statistics of astronomical observational site quality and light curves of variable objects were obtained. To reach higher photometric quality, we are continuing to work to overcome the effects of uneven cirrus cloud cirrus, optical “ghosts” and intra-pixel sensitivity. The snow surface stability is also tested for further astronomical observational instrument and for glaciology studies.

To analyse the influence of genetically modified (GM) rice (Oryza sativa) containing the exogenous choline oxidase (codA) gene on physiological metabolism and genetic horizontal transformation in the fed rats, the animals were divided randomly into two groups. One group was fed with the feedstuff containing 30% of transgenic rice. The remaining (control) group was fed with the feedstuff containing 30% of non-transgenic rice. After 30 days, growth, physiological metabolism parameters such as growth hormone (GH), insulin, glucagon, 3,3′,5-triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and the genetic horizontal transformation were analysed. Results indicated that the weight of all rats from the two groups was similar (P>0.05). Also, there was no significant difference in the level of GH, insulin, glucagon, T4, T3 and TSH between the treated and untreated rats. The serum urea nitrogen (SUN), glucose, the glutamate–pyruvate transaminase (GTP), as well as the total cholesterol, of treated rats were almost identical to those of the control (P>0.05). Moreover, no target DNA sequence of rice endogenous sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) gene or exogenous choline oxidase (codA) gene was detected in organs (liver, muscle, pancreas, etc.) except the stomach, gastrointestinal and rectum contents, and no genetic horizontal transformation was observed in rats fed with transgenic rice.

Amorphous CoMnNiO film is doposited on oxidized Si substrate by RF sputtering equipment. Structure relaxation occurs in the amorphous CoMnNiO film when it is annealed below 550°C. Annealed in the range from 600°C to 1000°C, the amorphous film is converted into the polycrystal. After annealing in rich oxygen atmosphere, the amorphous film is transformed into spinel solid solution with stable structure and good electrical properties. The electrical conductivity will be reduced due to formation of low valence oxides when annealed without oxygen. As annealing temperature is higher than 1000°C, some spinel solid solutions will be resolved into low valence oxides CoO and NiO, reducing the conductivity of the CoMnNiO film.