Soft robots show an advantage when conducting tasks in complex environments due to their enormous flexibility and adaptability. However, soft robots suffer interactions and nonlinear deformation when interacting with soft and fluid materials. The reason behind is the free boundary interactions, which refers to undetermined contact between soft materials, specifically containing nonlinear deformation in air and nonlinear interactions in fluid for soft robot simulation. Therefore, we propose a new approach using material point method (MPM), which can solve the free boundary interactions problem, to simulate soft robots under such environments. The proposed approach can autonomously predict the flexible and versatile behaviors of soft robots. Our approach entails incorporating automatic differentiation into the algorithm of MPM to simplify the computation and implement an efficient implicit time integration algorithm. We perform two groups of experiments with an ordinary pneumatic soft finger in different free boundary interactions. The results indicate that it is possible to simulate soft robots with nonlinear interactions and deformation, and such environmental effects on soft robots can be restored.

Nano-silicon has been regarded as the most promising anode material for next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the preparation of nano-silicon suffers from high cost, complex procedures, and low yield, which hinders its commercial application. In this study, porous nano-silicon with particle sizes in the range of 50–100 nm was prepared through molten salt-assisted magnesiothermic reduction using porous nano-silica derived from clay minerals as the precursor. Through combining ball milling and acid activation, the synthesised nano-silica derived from montmorillonite exhibited smaller particle sizes (below 50 nm), higher specific surface area (647 m2 g–1), and total pore volume (0.71 cm3 g–1). This unique structure greatly facilitated the conversion efficiency of silica into nano-silicon by maximising the contact area between silica and magnesium powder and optimising the diffusion kinetics of magnesium atoms. When used as anodes in LIBs, the synthesised nano-silicon materials demonstrated a high specific capacity of up to 1222 mAh g–1 and an excellent capacity retention rate of 79% after 150 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g–1. This method provides a novel approach for the cost-effective and large-scale production of nano-silicon materials for high-performance anodes.

Hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) is a severe and life-threatening complication, characterised by multi-organ failure and high short-term mortality. However, there is limited information on the impact of various comorbidities on HBV-ACLF in a large population. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between comorbidities, complications and mortality. In this retrospective observational study, we identified 2166 cases of HBV-ACLF hospitalised from January 2010 to March 2018. Demographic data from the patients, medical history, treatment, laboratory indices, comorbidities and complications were collected. The mortality rate in our study group was 47.37%. Type 2 diabetes mellitus was the most common comorbidity, followed by alcoholic liver disease. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, pneumonia and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) were common in these patients. Diabetes mellitus and hyperthyroidism are risk factors for death within 90 days, together with gastrointestinal bleeding and HE at admission, HE and hepatorenal syndrome during hospitalisation. Knowledge of risk factors can help identify HBV-ACLF patients with a poor prognosis for HBV-ACLF with comorbidities and complications.

Amid the global #MeToo movement, the #MeToo movement in China started in early 2018. For over a year, several influential cases, broad civic participation and engagement, as well as extensive discussions shocked and shook the whole country, creating a sociopolitical dynamic that was unusual in the context of persistent suppression of civil society and strict restrictions on freedom of speech. As feminist activists and researchers—Jing living and working in China, Dušica doing her fieldwork in Taiwan at the time—we were astounded by the powerful challenge that #MeToo has posed to misogynistic societies around the globe. What we have been trying to understand is how the #MeToo movement emerged and grew even as so many other social movements were suppressed in China, and what strategies the survivors, volunteers, and activists in the #MeToo movement used to break through the overwhelming censorship and restrictions.

This study aimed to evaluate to what extent the different interval times between trophectoderm (TE) biopsy and vitrification influence the clinical outcomes in preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) cycles. Patients who underwent frozen embryo transfer (FET) after PGT between 2015 and 2019 were recruited. In total, 297 cycles with single day 5 euploid blastocyst transfer were included. These cycles were divided into three groups according to the interval times: <1 h group, 1–2 h group, and ≥2 h group. Blastocyst survival, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, and ongoing pregnancy rates were compared. The results showed that, in PGT-SR cycles, survival rate in the ≥2 h group (96.72%) was significantly lower than in the <1 h group (100%, P = 0.047). The clinical pregnancy rate in the ≥2 h group was 55.93%, significantly lower than in the <1 h group (74.26%, P = 0.017). The ongoing pregnancy rates in the 1–2 h group and the ≥2 h group were 48.28% and 47.46%, respectively, significantly lower than that in the <1 h group (67.33%, P < 0.05). The miscarriage rate in the 1–2 h group was 18.42%, significantly higher than that in the <1 h group (5.33%, P = 0.027). In PGT-A cycles, the clinical pregnancy and ongoing pregnancy rates in the <1 h group were 67.44% and 53.49%, respectively, higher than that in the 1–2 h group (52.94%, 47.06%, P > 0.05) and the ≥2 h group (52.63%, 36.84%, P > 0.05). In conclusion, vitrification of blastocysts beyond 1 h after biopsy significantly influences embryo survival and clinical outcomes and is therefore not recommended.

Increased intake of vegetables and fruits has been associated with reduced risk of tuberculosis infection. Vegetables and fruits exert immunoregulatory effects; however, it is not clear whether vegetables and fruits have an adjuvant treatment effect on tuberculosis. Between 2009 and 2013, a hospital-based cohort study was conducted in Linyi, Shandong Province, China. Treatment outcome was ascertained by sputum smear and chest computerised tomography, and dietary intake was assessed by a semi-quantitative FFQ. The dietary questionnaire was conducted at the end of month 2 of treatment initiation. Participants recalled their dietary intake of the previous 2 months. A total of 2309 patients were enrolled in this study. After 6 months of treatment, 2099 patients were successfully treated and 210 were uncured. In multivariate models, higher intake of total vegetables and fruits (OR 0·70; 95 % CI 0·49, 0·99), total vegetables (OR 0·68; 95 % CI 0·48, 0·97), dark-coloured vegetables (OR 0·61; 95 % CI 0·43, 0·86) and light-coloured vegetables (OR 0·67; 95 % CI 0·48, 0·95) were associated with reduced failure rate of tuberculosis treatment. No association was found between total fruit intake and reduced failure rate of tuberculosis treatment (OR 0·98; 95 % CI 0·70, 1·37). High intake of total vegetables and fruits, especially vegetables, is associated with lower risk of failure of tuberculosis treatment in pulmonary tuberculosis patients. The results provide important information for dietary guidelines during tuberculosis treatment.

A highly active catalyst of cerium–tungsten–titanium mixed oxide was synthesized by introducing Ce4+ and H2O2 in the base sample of Ce20W10Ti100Oz–Ce3+. As a consequence, the NH3-SCR activity of Ce20W10Ti100Oz–Ce3+ is significantly improved as the additives of Ce4+ and H2O2 enlarge the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area by refining its pore size. Meanwhile, the introduction of Ce4+ increases the Lewis acid sites of Ce20W10Ti100Oz–Ce3+ and decreases its low-temperature Brønsted acid sites. The further addition of H2O2 improves the Brønsted acid sites and dispersion of cerium/tungsten species, and thereby enhances the concentrations of the adsorbed oxygen (Oα) and the adsorbed oxygen $\lpar {\rm {O}^{\prime}}_{\rm \alpha} \rpar$ due to the activation of chemisorbed water on the surface of the catalyst. The addition of Ce4+ and H2O2 shows a synergistic promotional effect, which is due to the largest BET surface area and the highest concentrations of Oα or/and ${\rm {O}^{\prime}}_{\rm \alpha}$. Ce20W10Ti100Oz–Ce3+:Ce4+ = 17.5:2.5 + H2O2 exhibits the highest catalytic activity compared with the conventional ones (Fig. 5).

Given the global water challenges, solar-driven steam generation has become a renewed topic recently as an energy-efficient way for clean water production. Here, a hybrid plasmonic structure consisting of a top layer of TiN nanoparticles (NPs) and a bottom layer of mesoporous anodized alumina membrane (AAM) was rationally designed and fabricated. The top TiN NPs with broadband light absorption acted as a plasmonic heating layer, which converted the absorbed light to heat efficiently for interfacial water heating. The AAM acted as the mechanical support layer, guaranteeing the heat isolation and continuous water replenishment. With optimized thickness of the TiN top layer, a solar steam generation efficiency of 87.7% was achieved in this study. This efficiency is comparable or even higher than prior studies. The current work proves the capability of the TiN NPs as an alternative photothermal material.

Although previous studies have investigated the association of cruciferous vegetable consumption with breast cancer risk, few studies focused on the association between bioactive components in cruciferous vegetables, glucosinolates (GSL) and isothiocyanates (ITC), and breast cancer risk. This study aimed to examine the association between consumption of cruciferous vegetables and breast cancer risk according to GSL and ITC contents in a Chinese population. A total of 1485 cases and 1506 controls were recruited into this case–control study from June 2007 to March 2017. Consumption of cruciferous vegetables was assessed using a validated FFQ. Dietary GSL and ITC were computed by using two food composition databases linking GSL and ITC contents in cruciferous vegetables with responses to the FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI were assessed by unconditional logistic regression after adjusting for the potential confounders. Significant inverse associations were found between consumption of cruciferous vegetables, GSL and ITC and breast cancer risk. The adjusted OR comparing the highest with the lowest quartile were 0·51 (95 % CI 0·41, 0·63) for cruciferous vegetables, 0·54 (95 % CI 0·44, 0·67) for GSL and 0·62 (95 % CI 0·50, 0·76) for ITC, respectively. These inverse associations were also observed in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Subgroup analysis by hormone receptor status found inverse associations between cruciferous vegetables, GSL and ITC and both hormone-receptor-positive or hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer. This study indicated that consumption of cruciferous vegetables, GSL and ITC was inversely associated with breast cancer risk among Chinese women.

A facile synthesis procedure of nitrogen-self-doped porous carbon (NPC) derived from abundant natural biological materials has been presented. The pyrolysis temperature and the weight ratio of Co3O4 to carbon play a key role in determining microscopic structure and electrochemical performances of the final materials. The ordered mesostructures with nanopores in the channel walls provided support for immobilization of well-dispersed Co3O4 nanoparticles. They also served as a highly conductive substrate for effectively alleviating severe particle aggregation during the charge/discharge processes, which prevented capacity fading from deteriorated electric contact between the components. Taking advantage of the interconnected porous structures and high specific surface area (1799 m2/g) of carbon substrate, the Co3O4/NPC composite as anode in lithium-ion battery delivers a stable reversible capacity of 903 mA h/g after 400 cycles. It is expected that by loading other electrode active materials on such carbon material, the manufacture of the promising anode materials with excellent cycle stability is highly possible.

Previous studies have investigated the association between dietary inflammatory potential and the development of cancer. For breast cancer the results have been equivocal. The present study aimed to investigate whether higher Dietary Inflammatory IndexTM (DII) scores were associated with increased risk of breast cancer among Chinese women. A total of 867 cases and 824 controls were recruited into the present case–control study from September 2011 to February 2016. DII scores were computed based on baseline dietary intake assessed by a validated 81-item FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI were assessed by multivariable logistic regression after adjusting for various potential confounders. DII scores in this study ranged from −5·87 (most anti-inflammatory score) to +5·71 (most proinflammatory score). A higher DII score was associated with a higher breast cancer risk (adjusted ORquartile 4 v. 1 2·28; 95 % CI 1·71, 3·03; adjusted ORcontinuous 1·40; 95 %CI 1·25, 1·39). In stratified analyses, positive associations also were observed except for underweight women or women with either oestrogen receptor+ or progesterone receptor+ status (but not both). Results from this study indicated that higher DII scores, corresponding to more proinflammatory diets, were positively associated with breast cancer risk among Chinese women.

Choline and betaine are essential nutrients involved in one-carbon metabolism and have been hypothesised to affect breast cancer risk. Functional polymorphisms in genes encoding choline-related one-carbon metabolism enzymes, including phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT), choline dehydrogenase (CHDH) and betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT), have important roles in choline metabolism and may thus interact with dietary choline and betaine intake to modify breast cancer risk. This study aimed to investigate the interactive effect of polymorphisms in PEMT, BHMT and CHDH genes with choline/betaine intake on breast cancer risk among Chinese women. This hospital-based case–control study consecutively recruited 570 cases with histologically confirmed breast cancer and 576 age-matched (5-year interval) controls. Choline and betaine intakes were assessed by a validated FFQ, and genotyping was conducted for PEMT rs7946, CHDH rs9001 and BHMT rs3733890. OR and 95 % CI were estimated using unconditional logistic regression. Compared with the highest quartile of choline intake, the lowest intake quartile showed a significant increased risk of breast cancer. The SNP PEMT rs7946, CHDH rs9001 and BHMT rs3733890 had no overall association with breast cancer, but a significant risk reduction was observed among postmenopausal women with AA genotype of BHMT rs3733890 (OR 0·49; 95 % CI 0·25, 0·98). Significant interactions were observed between choline intake and SNP PEMT rs7946 (Pinteraction=0·029) and BHMT rs3733890 (Pinteraction=0·006) in relation to breast cancer risk. Our results suggest that SNP PEMT rs7946 and BHMT rs3733890 may interact with choline intake on breast cancer risk.

In recent decades, in silico absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion (ADME), and toxicity (T) modelling as a tool for rational drug design has received considerable attention from pharmaceutical scientists, and various ADME/T-related prediction models have been reported. The high-throughput and low-cost nature of these models permits a more streamlined drug development process in which the identification of hits or their structural optimization can be guided based on a parallel investigation of bioavailability and safety, along with activity. However, the effectiveness of these tools is highly dependent on their capacity to cope with needs at different stages, e.g. their use in candidate selection has been limited due to their lack of the required predictability. For some events or endpoints involving more complex mechanisms, the current in silico approaches still need further improvement. In this review, we will briefly introduce the development of in silico models for some physicochemical parameters, ADME properties and toxicity evaluation, with an emphasis on the modelling approaches thereof, their application in drug discovery, and the potential merits or deficiencies of these models. Finally, the outlook for future ADME/T modelling based on big data analysis and systems sciences will be discussed.

Thermal stress can induce birefringence in a laser medium, which can cause depolarization of the laser. The depolarization effect will be very severe in a high-average-power laser. Because the depolarization will make the frequency doubling efficiency decline, it should be compensated. In this paper, the thermal characteristics of two kinds of materials are analyzed in respect of temperature, thermal deformation and thermal stress. The depolarization result from thermal stress was simulated. Depolarization on non-uniform pumping was also simulated, and the compensation method is discussed.

Despite an increasing number of studies that show a positive relationship between the supportiveness of the feedback source and feedback seeking, little is known about the role that supervisors play in promoting employee feedback-seeking behaviour when they serve as feedback sources. The present article developed a model to fill this void and tested it with data from a sample of 237 supervisor–subordinate dyads. We hypothesized and found that authentic leadership was positively related to feedback-seeking behaviour mediated by both perceived instrumental value and image cost of feedback seeking. The results also demonstrated that employees' individual cultural value of power distance moderated the relationships between authentic leadership and the perceived instrumental value and image cost of feedback seeking.

The high repetition rate 10 J/10 ns Yb:YAG laser system and its key techniques are reported. The amplifiers in this system have a multi-pass V-shape structure and the heat in the amplifiers is removed by means of laminar water flow. In the main amplifier, the laser is four-pass, and an approximately 8.5 J/1 Hz/10 ns output is achieved in the primary test. The far-field of the output beam is approximately 10 times the diffraction limit. Because of the higher levels of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) in the main amplifier, the output energy is lower than expected. At the end we discuss some measures that can improve the properties of the laser system.

In our previous work, a random-sampling-based footstep planner has been proposed for global biped navigation. Goal-probability threshold (GPT) is the key parameter that controls the convergence rate of the goal-biased nonuniform sampling in the planner. In this paper, an approach to optimized GPT adaptation is explained by a benchmarking planning problem. We first construct a benchmarking model, in which the biped navigation problem is described in selected parameters, to study the relationship between these parameters and the optimized GPT. Then, a back-propagation (BP) neural network is employed to fit this relationship. With a trained BP neural network modular, the optimized GPT can be automatically generated according to the specifications of a planning problem. Compared with previous methods of manual and empirical tuning of GPT for individual planning problems, the proposed approach is self-adaptive. Numerical experiments verified the performance of the proposed approach and furthermore showed that planning with BP-generated GPTs is more stable. Besides the implementation in specific parameterized environments studied in this paper, we attempt to provide the frame of the proposed approach as a reference for footstep planning in other environments.