Methanol- and ethylene glycol-grafted kaolinite were prepared via a stepwise intercalation–grafting strategy using dimethyl sulfoxide-intercalated kaolinite as an intermediate, with the aim of elucidating the structural differences between the two grafted products and clarifying the role of interlayer water. The products were systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, solid-state magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR), elemental analysis (CHNS) and thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC). Compared with methoxy-modified kaolinite, the ethylene glycol-grafted kaolinite exhibited enhanced structural ordering, greater organic loading and improved thermal stability. The covalently grafted ethylene glycol molecules adopt a trans configuration in the interlayers of kaolinite, accompanied by a minute fraction of non-bonded ethylene glycol molecules and some amount of interlayer water molecules. Although the confined water in both systems originated from condensation reaction, it probably played opposite roles: it facilitated the ethylene glycol grafting while hindering that for methanol.

The heterogeneity in associations between circulating fatty acids (FA) and mortality remained underexplored. Proteomics can profile the human physiological status. This study aimed to estimate interactions between FA and proteins in relation to mortality. We randomly divided 30 190 UK Biobank participants into train and test datasets. Multivariable Cox regression was utilised to assess the associations between FA and all-cause mortality and to explore proteome-wide interactions of FA in relation to mortality. Subgroup analyses were conducted to examine heterogeneity across varied protein levels. We also explored interactions between proteins and FA in relation to cause-specific mortality. We documented 3345 deaths during 13·9 years of follow-up. MUFA to total fatty acids percentage (MUFA-pct), non-LA n-6 pct, n-6/n-3 ratio and SFA to total fatty acids percentage were positively associated with all-cause mortality, while PUFA to total fatty acids percentage, docosahexaenoic acid to total fatty acids percentage, LA to total fatty acids percentage and n-3-pct were negatively associated. We identified several robust interactions of proteins with MUFA-pct (n 3), n-3-pct (n 4) and n-6/n-3 ratio (n 2). In subgroup analyses, individuals with high-level TNFRSF1B, MMP10 and CRHBP had higher all-cause mortality risks associated with MUFA-pct, while protective associations between n-3-pct and all-cause mortality were stronger among individuals with high-level TSPAN8, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (PLAU), ITGA5 and CEACAM1. Moreover, participants with high-level TSPAN8 and PLAU had higher risks of all-cause mortality with n-6/n-3 ratio. For cause-specific mortality, interaction and subgroup results were largely consistent with those of all-cause mortality. Our findings can provide new insights into heterogeneity in FA-mortality associations and highlight potential protein targets for personalised interventions across individuals with different physiological status.

Foresight prototyping uses speculative artifacts to explore futures and support anticipatory design thinking. This study develops and validates an evaluation framework for HCI design education to support studio critique and assessment. Based on a literature review, author interviews, and quantitative analyses of perceptual ratings, four dimensions are identified: Functional Visibility, Sensory Experience, Future Adaptability, and Creative Divergence. The resulting FPEF supports consistent, evidence-based evaluation and feedback, and motivates future validation in design reviews.

Spatial linear instability analysis is employed to investigate the instability of a viscoelastic liquid jet in a co-flowing gas stream. The theoretical model incorporates a non-uniform axial base profile represented by a hyperbolic tangent, capturing the shear layer. The Oldroyd-B model discretised with Chebyshev polynomials is employed, and energy budget analysis is used to interpret underlying mechanisms. At low Weber numbers, the jet evolves axisymmetrically and the instability is governed by interfacial gas-pressure fluctuations; as the Weber number increases, the growing inertia drives a transition of the predominant mode from axisymmetric to helical. At weak elasticity, the instability is also primarily governed by gas-pressure fluctuations. As elasticity increases, the predominant mode transitions from axisymmetric to helical. This transition is accompanied by a migration of disturbance structures from the interface toward the jet interior and an enhanced coupling between velocity perturbation and the basic flow. These trends reveal a new predominant instability mechanism – the elasticity-enhanced shear-driven instability – which is distinct from capillary or Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities in Newtonian jets. A $\textit{We}$–$El$ phase diagram delineates the boundary between predominant modes and experimental results obtained in a flow-focusing configuration validate the theoretical predictions. Compared with temporal stability results, the spatial framework – by directly resolving the convective downstream amplification of disturbances – achieves quantitative agreement with experiments and highlights the superiority of spatial instability analysis in capturing the dynamics of strongly convective, non-parallel jet flows. These findings provide mechanistic insight into viscoelastic jet instabilities and offer guidance for applications involving droplet and fibre formation in co-flow systems.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) often coexists with mood disorders (MDs), but research on comorbidity predictors and interventions remains limited. This two‑phase mixed‑methods study enrolled 390 CHD patients diagnosed by coronary angiography. Mood disorders were screened using the HAMD (≥7) and confirmed via DSM‑5 psychiatric evaluation. In the observational phase, 219 CHD patients with MDs and 171 without were compared; 56% had a mood disorder, including 34 with bipolar disorder (BD). The BD group showed a significantly higher LF/HF ratio (2.03 ± 0.38, P = 0.037), indicating autonomic dysfunction. In the intervention phase, 34 BD patients were randomized to 8‑week MBSR (n = 17) or treatment as usual (TAU; n = 17). Compared with TAU, MBSR significantly reduced anxiety (HAMA: 4.31 vs. 7.69, p = 0.010) and improved autonomic function (LF/HF: 1.49 vs. 1.82, p = 0.002). Cardiac function showed no significant between‑group difference, though NYHA class improvement tended to be higher in the MBSR group. Mood disorders, especially BD with autonomic impairment, are highly prevalent in CHD patients. MBSR is a promising intervention for psychological and autonomic improvement and may be integrated into cardiac rehabilitation.

We study the classical relationship between a firm’s investment and q, for which an unobserved persistent shock is an important factor in the investment decision. In our setting, besides the potential measurement problem of q, controlling for the unobserved shock becomes a new challenge. We develop an estimation method that addresses both econometric issues given timing and information set assumptions. Using 16,256 unique public firms in the United States from 1975 to 2021, we find that q remains a significant factor of investment even after controlling for the unobserved shock and measurement error.

Sepsis-related deaths remain prevalent in intensive care settings, with metabolic dysregulation as a key contributor. Although amino acid supplementation has shown promise, its clinical effectiveness in sepsis is unclear. This study evaluated the impact of intravenous amino acid administration on 28-d mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) sepsis patients using retrospective cohort analysis and Mendelian randomisation (MR). We analysed data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV database, matching 726 patients (363 per group) using propensity scores. The association between amino acid supplementation and mortality was assessed using logistic regression, Cox regression and targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE). Two-sample MR was used to explore causal links between twenty common amino acids and sepsis mortality. In the cohort analysis, amino acid supplementation was consistently associated with significantly reduced 28-d mortality across all analytical methods (logistic regression: OR = 0·48, P < 0·01; Cox regression: HR = 0·48, P < 0·01; TMLE: average treatment effect = −0·102, P < 0·01). In contrast, the MR analysis did not find a significant causal association for any single amino acid after correction for multiple comparisons; although glycine showed a nominal protective signal, it did not remain significant after false discovery rate correction. This dual-method study demonstrates a strong association between compound amino acid infusions and reduced mortality in sepsis but did not identify any single amino acid as a robust causal mediator. These findings suggest the benefit may arise from a synergistic effect, highlighting the need for randomised controlled trials to validate these observational results and optimise nutritional strategies.

This paper deals with optimal partitioning of limited testing time in order to achieve maximum total test score. Nonlinear optimization theory was used to analyze this problem. A general case using a generic item response model is first presented. A special case that applies a response time model proposed by Wang and Hanson (2005) is also presented. Theoretical properties of the optimal solution are derived. Their practical implications to optimal test-taking strategies are also discussed. The theoretical properties are in general agreement with the conventional advice to the examinees on pacing strategy.

Panonychus citri is one of the most destructive pests in citrus orchards, exhibiting varying degrees of tolerance to numerous insecticides, such as spirodiclofen. To effectively manage pests, this study explores the response of P. citri to spirodiclofen stress from the perspectives of life history, enzymatic parameters, and reproduction. The effects of two concentrations (LC30 and LC50) of spirodiclofen on the biological parameters of P. citri were evaluated by the life table method. The results showed that the development duration, fecundity, oviposition days, and lifespan were shortened, though the pre-oviposition period of two treatments was prolonged in comparison with the control. A significant decrease was recorded in the net reproductive rate (R0) and the mean generation time (T) for the two treatments. Nevertheless, the intrinsic rate of increase (r) and the rate of increase (λ) were not significantly affected in the LC30 treatment, whereas they declined in the LC50 treatment. The enzyme activity assay resulted in higher activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and carboxylesterase (CarE), among the treatments than the control. In contrast, the treatments recorded lower cytochromeP450 (CYP450) and Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities than the control. Furthermore, the study detected that relative mRNA expression of Vitellogenin (Vg) and Vitellogenin receptor (VgR) for two treatments were lower than the control. In summary, two concentrations of spirodiclofen inhibited progeny growth and fecundity of P. citri. Additionally, the results of this study may support further research on tolerance of P. citri in response to spirodiclofen stress.

In order to gain a better understanding of clay and Fe (oxyhydr)oxide minerals formed during pedogenesis of basalts in tropical monsoonal Hainan (southern China), a basalt-derived lateritic soil at Nanyang, Hainan, was investigated comprehensively. The results show that the lateritic regolith consists uniformly of kaolinite and Fe (oxyhydr)oxide minerals, with trace gibbsite only in the AE horizon. Abundant dioctahedral smectite in the basalt bedrock formed due to primary hydrothermal alteration, and transformed to kaolinite rapidly in the highly weathering saprolite horizon. The ‘crystallinity’ of kaolinite is notably low and its Hinckley index fluctuates along the soil profile, resulting from intense ferrolysis due to fluctuations between wet/dry climate conditions. From the base to the top of the profile, maghemite shows a decreasing trend, whereas magnetite, hematite, and goethite exhibit a slightly increasing trend, indicating that maghemite formed as an initial product of basalt weathering. Formation of Fe (oxyhydr)oxide species in basalt-derived soil is mainly controlled by local environmental conditions such as soil moisture, redox, and acidic conditions; thus, iron mineral-based paleoclimatic proxies could not be used for subtropical to tropical soils. The highly weathered saprolite has a similar δ56Fe value (+0.06‰) to that (+0.07‰) of the parent rock, while the AE to middle E horizons have greater δ56Fe values of +0.12‰ to +0.19‰. Fe isotopic signatures correlate positively with the Fe mass transfer coefficient (R2=0.77, n=6, ρ<0.05), indicating repetitive weathering and relative accumulation of isotopically heavier Fe in the upper soil horizons, which occurred by reductive dissolution of organic matter under oxic conditions, as reflected by the greater U/Th.

Pharmaceutical distribution routing problem is a key problem for pharmaceutical enterprises, since efficient schedules can enhance resource utilization and reduce operating costs. Meanwhile, it is a complicated combinatorial optimization problem. Existing research mainly focused on delivery route lengths or distribution costs minimization, while seldom considered customer priority and carbon emissions simultaneously. However, considering the customer priority and carbon emissions simultaneously will not only help to enhance customer satisfaction, but also help to reduce the carbon emissions. In this article, we consider the customer priority and carbon emission minimization simultaneously in the pharmaceutical distribution routing problem, the corresponding problem is named pharmaceutical distribution routing problem considering customer priority and carbon emissions. A corresponding mathematical model is formulated, the objectives of which are minimizing fixed cost, refrigeration cost, fuel consumption cost, carbon emission cost, and penalty cost for violating time windows. Moreover, a hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) is proposed to solve the problem. The framework of the proposed HGA is genetic algorithm (GA), where an effective local search based on variable neighborhood search (VNS) is specially designed and incorporated to improve the intensification abilities. In the proposed HGA, crossover with adaptive probability and mutation with adaptive probability are utilized to enhance the algorithm performance. Finally, the proposed HGA is compared with four optimization algorithms, and experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the HGA.

A high-energy, alignment-insensitive, injection-seeded Q-switched Ho:yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) single-frequency laser is developed. Both the slave Q-switched laser and the seed laser are Ho:YAG ring lasers based on a pair of corner cubic reflectors. The seed laser has an available power of 830 mW at 2096.667 nm. At 100 Hz, the Q-switched Ho:YAG laser provides a single-frequency pulsed output using injection-seeded technology. The 7.3 mJ single-frequency pulse energy from the slave laser has a pulse width of 161.2 ns and is scaled to 33.3 mJ after passing through the Ho:YAG single-pass amplifier. According to the measurement results of the heterodyne beating technique, the single-frequency pulse has a half-width of 4.12 MHz.

The rearrangement of drainage basins provides critical insight into crustal deformation and geodynamic mechanisms. Near the southeastern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau, the Dadu River abruptly shifts from south- to east-flowing, providing important implications for regional tectonogeomorphic development since the mid-Pleistocene. South of the bend, the headwaters of the Anning River occupy an unusually wide valley. Field investigations show that large quantities of fluvial/lacustrine sediments are widespread along the Dadu and Anning rivers and are exposed at their drainage divide. Detrital zircon U-Pb age patterns confirm that these fluvial/lacustrine sediments are the remnants of the paleo-Dadu River, which strongly suggests that the paleo-Dadu River originally flowed southward into the Anning River. The cosmogenic nuclide burial ages of the lacustrine sediments along the Dadu and Anning rivers suggest deposition of these sediments from separate dammed lakes ca. 1.2 Ma ago, ca. 0.6 Ma ago, and ca. 0.9 Ma ago from north to south, respectively. Provenance and burial-age studies indicate that reorganization of the Dadu drainage occurred within the last 0.6 Ma. We propose that this drainage reorganization in southeastern Tibet resulted from progressive convergence between the India and Eurasian plates during the Pleistocene.

Hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance have been proposed to be associated with mortality risk, and diet can modulate insulin response. However, whether dietary patterns with high insulinaemic potential are associated with mortality remains unknown. We prospectively examined the associations between hyperinsulinaemic diets and the risk of total and cause-specific mortality in a large nationally representative population. Dietary factors were assessed by 24-h recalls. Two empirical dietary indices for hyperinsulinaemia (EDIH) and insulin resistance (EDIR) were developed to identify food groups most predictive of biomarkers for hyperinsulinaemia (C-peptide and insulin) and insulin resistance (homoeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance), respectively. Deaths from date of the first dietary interview until 31 December 2015 were identified by the National Death Index. Multivariable hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI were calculated using Cox regression models. During a median follow-up of 7·8 years, 4904 deaths were documented among 40 074 participants. For EDIH, the multivariable-adjusted HR (comparing extreme quintiles) were 1·20 (95 % CI 1·09, 1·32, P-trend<0·001) for overall mortality and 1·41 (95 % CI 1·15, 1·74, P-trend = 0·002) for CVD mortality. Similar associations were observed for EDIR with HR of 1·18 (95 % CI 1·07, 1·29, P-trend < 0·001) for total and 1·35 (95 % CI 1·09, 1·67, P-trend = 0·005) for CVD mortality. After further adjustments for BMI and diabetes, these positive associations were somewhat attenuated. Our findings suggested that diets with higher insulinaemic potential are associated with increased risk of overall and CVD-specific mortality.

Inflammation is a central mechanism in metabolic disorders associated with morbidity and mortality and dietary factors can modulate inflammation. We aimed to prospectively investigate the association between an empirically developed, food-based dietary inflammatory pattern (EDIP) score and the risk of overall and cause-specific mortality, using data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2014. EDIP score was derived by entering thirty-nine predefined commonly consumed food groups into the reduced rank regression models followed by stepwise linear regression, which was most predictive of two plasma inflammation biomarkers including C-reactive protein and leucocyte count among 25 500 US adults. This score was further validated in a testing set of 9466 adults. Deaths from baseline until 31 December 2015 were identified through record linkage to the National Death Index. During a median follow-up of 7·8 years among 40 074 participants, we documented 4904 deaths. Compared with participants in the lowest quintile of EDIP score, those in the highest quintile had a higher risk of overall death (hazard ratio (HR) = 1·19, 95 % CI 1·08, 1·32, Ptrend = 0·002), and deaths from cancer (HR = 1·41, 95 % CI 1·14, 1·74, Ptrend = 0·017) and CVD (HR = 1·22, 95 % CI 0·98, 1·53, Ptrend = 0·211). When stratified by age, the association of EDIP with overall mortality was stronger among individuals under 65 years of age (Pinteraction = 0·001). Diets with a higher inflammatory potential were associated with increased risk of overall and cancer-specific mortality. Interventions to reduce the adverse effect of pro-inflammatory diets may potentially promote health and longevity.