The seminal Bolgiano–Obukhov (BO) theory established the fundamental framework for turbulent mixing and energy transfer in stably stratified fluids. However, the presence of BO scalings remains debatable despite their being observed in stably stratified atmospheric layers and convective turbulence. In this study, we performed precise temperature measurements with 51 high-resolution loggers above the seafloor for 46 h on the continental shelf of the northern South China Sea. The temperature observation exhibits three layers with increasing distance from the seafloor: the bottom mixed layer (BML), the mixing zone and the internal wave zone. A BO-like scaling $\alpha =-1.34\pm 0.10$ is observed in the temperature spectrum when the BML is in a weakly stable stratified ($N\sim 0.0018$ rad s$^{-1}$) and strongly sheared ($Ri\sim 0.0027$) condition, whereas in the unstably stratified convective turbulence of the BML, the scaling $\alpha =-1.76\pm 0.10$ clearly deviated from the BO theory but approached the classical $-$5/3 scaling in isotropic turbulence. This suggests that the convective turbulence is not the promise of BO scaling. In the mixing zone, where internal waves alternately interact with the BML, the scaling follows the Kolmogorov scaling. In the internal wave zone, the scaling $\alpha =-2.12 \pm 0.15$ is observed in the turbulence range and possible mechanisms are provided.

Rodents and shrews are major reservoirs of various pathogens that are related to zoonotic infectious diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate co-infections of zoonotic pathogens in rodents and shrews trapped in four provinces of China. We sampled different rodent and shrew communities within and around human settlements in four provinces of China and characterised several important zoonotic viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens by PCR methods and phylogenetic analysis. A total of 864 rodents and shrews belonging to 24 and 13 species from RODENTIA and EULIPOTYPHLA orders were captured, respectively. For viral pathogens, two species of hantavirus (Hantaan orthohantavirus and Caobang orthohantavirus) were identified in 3.47% of rodents and shrews. The overall prevalence of Bartonella spp., Anaplasmataceae, Babesia spp., Leptospira spp., Spotted fever group Rickettsiae, Borrelia spp., and Coxiella burnetii were 31.25%, 8.91%, 4.17%, 3.94%, 3.59%, 3.47%, and 0.58%, respectively. Furthermore, the highest co-infection status of three pathogens was observed among Bartonella spp., Leptospira spp., and Anaplasmataceae with a co-infection rate of 0.46%. Our results suggested that species distribution and co-infections of zoonotic pathogens were prevalent in rodents and shrews, highlighting the necessity of active surveillance for zoonotic pathogens in wild mammals in wider regions.

Cytochrome P450 proteins (CYPs) in insects can encode various detoxification enzymes and catabolize heterologous substances, conferring tolerance to insecticides. This study describes the identification of a P450 gene (CYP6BQ8) from Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) and investigation of its spatiotemporal expression profile and potential role in the detoxification of terpinen-4-ol, a component of plant essential oils. The developmental expression profile showed that TcCYP6BQ8 expression was relatively higher in early- and late-larval stages of T. castaneum compared with other developmental stages. Tissue expression profiles showed that TcCYP6BQ8 was mainly expressed in the head and integument of both larvae and adults. The expression profiling of TcCYP6BQ8 in developmental stages and tissues is closely related to the detoxification of heterologous substances. TcCYP6BQ8 expression was significantly induced after exposure to terpinen-4-ol, and RNA interference against TcCYP6BQ8 increased terpinen-4-ol-induced larval mortality from 47.78 to 66.67%. This indicates that TcCYP6BQ8 may be involved in T. castaneum's metabolism of terpinen-4-ol. Correlation investigation between the CYP6BQ8 gene and terpinen-4-ol resistance in T. castaneum revealed that the TcCYP6BQ8 gene was one of the factors behind T. castaneum's resistance to terpinen-4-ol. This discovery may provide a new theoretical foundation for future regulation of T. castaneum.

This article takes group subsidiaries that were listed in the A-share market of Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges in China from 2012 to 2017 as the research subject and innovatively explores the impact of subsidiary TMT (top management team) attention at different networks on subsidiary innovation, considering dual network embedding characteristics and autonomy of subsidiaries. Results show that subsidiary TMT group network attention will inhibit subsidiary innovation, while their external network attention will promote subsidiary innovation, after the inclusion of industry category factors, the effect has changed accordingly, but the moderating effect of subsidiary autonomy on the relationship between subsidiary TMT attention on different networks and subsidiary innovation is always significant. The identification of subsidiary TMT attention not only supplements to current literature's narrow focus on impact of the group parent company attention on subsidiary behaviors, but also broadens theoretical understanding of the driving factors of innovation behavior of subsidiaries. Through expounding on the moderating role of subsidiary autonomy, this article clarifies boundary conditions of subsidiary TMT attention's impact on subsidiary innovation and provides operable guidance for subsidiary TMT to allocate and utilize their attention to promote the development of subsidiary innovation behaviors.

Giant chickweed [Myosoton aquaticum (L.) Moench], a troublesome broadleaf weed species, is widespread in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) fields in China. However, limited information is available on its germination and seedling emergence ecology. Thus, three M. aquaticum populations (JS, HN, and AH) from different geographic regions were studied under laboratory conditions to determine the effects of different environmental factors on germination or seedling emergence. The seeds germinated at a relatively wide constant temperature range of 5 to 25 C; however, the optimal temperature for germination varied among the populations. Compared with constant temperatures, fluctuating temperatures with the same mean significantly improved the final germination of all populations. Light was not required for germination. The seeds germinated under a wide pH range of 3 to 10, and the optimum pH was 6 to 7, with a final germination percentage of 81% to 95%. The seeds of all populations showed similar sensitivities to osmotic potential and similar high tolerances of saline conditions. The seedling emergence of all populations decreased with increasing burial depth, and no emergence was observed when the seeds were buried more than 3 cm, but the AH population showed higher sensitivity to burial depth than the others. The results generated from this study will contribute to the development of integrated M. aquaticum management strategies for winter wheat fields in China, and deep plowing and late sowing of autumn-sown wheat are suggested for managing M. aquaticum, as it showed lower germination at a low temperature and under relatively deep burial.

Al-based composites with micrometer and submicro-TiB2 reinforcements (1 wt%) have been produced by selective laser melting (SLM) from mixed powder under different processing conditions. The results show that the densification level of SLM-processed composite with submicro-TiB2 particles (>99.0%) was 0.3–2.4% larger than that of micrometer TiB2-reinforced composite under the same processing conditions. The distribution of Si precipitates in the matrix experienced a transform from continuous cellular to directional line-like morphology with reinforcement size decreasing from micron to submicron. The reinforcement size added in the matrix also exhibited a critical influence on preferred orientation and grain size of matrix. The SLM-processed composites exhibited improved tensile strength and ductility with a decrease of reinforcement size. High tensile strength of ∼400 MPa and elongation of ∼3.6% were obtained for the fine TiB2-reinforced samples, increasing by 6 and 13% compared with that of micro-TiB2–added samples, respectively.

The Bi4Te3 films with well-ordered orientation and microstructure were successfully prepared on SiO2 substrate by a vacuum thermal evaporation deposition technique for the first time. We discussed the effects of evaporation temperature and substrate temperature on the phase and its well-ordered growth of Bi4Te3 films. The formation of Bi4Te3 phase is owing to the differences of the saturated vapor pressure. The thermoelectric transport properties of the Bi4Te3 films were investigated and the (00l)-oriented nanopillars array film has a better electrical transport performance, whose value of PF is 0.032 mWm−1 K−2 at 339 K, approaching twice that of the non-oriented ordinary film. The enhanced electrical properties of Bi4Te3 films could be achieved via the high-crystallinity well-controlled (00l)-oriented nanopillars array.

MicroRNA (miR)-29b plays a crucial role during somatic cell reprogramming. The aim of the current study was to explore the effects of miR-29b on the developmental competence of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos, as well as the underlying mechanisms of action. The expression level of miR-29b was lower in bovine SCNT embryos at the pronuclear, 8-cell, and blastocyst stages compared with in vitro fertilized embryos. In addition, miR-29b regulates the expression of DNA methyltransferases (Dnmt3a/3b and Dnmt1) in bovine SCNT embryos. We further investigated SCNT embryo developmental competence and found that miR-29b overexpression during bovine SCNT embryonic development does not improve developmental potency and downregulation inhibits developmental potency. Nevertheless, the quality of bovine SCNT embryos at the blastocyst stage improved significantly. The expression of pluripotency factors and cellular proliferation were significantly higher in blastocysts from the miR-29b overexpression group than the control and downregulation groups. In addition, outgrowth potential in blastocysts after miR-29b overexpression was also significantly greater in the miR-29b overexpression group than in the control and downregulation groups. Taken together, these results demonstrated that miR-29b plays an important role in bovine SCNT embryo development.

As the operating temperature of disk service was elevated from 650 °C to 700 °C, the creep properties urged to be paid attention. To investigate the creep properties of spray-formed low solvus, high refractory (LSHR) superalloy at about 700 °C, creep tests were conducted under seven different stress ranging from 690 MPa to 897 MPa. By means of creep curves and fracture microstructure observation, the creep behaviors and fracture mechanisms of spray-formed LSHR were analyzed. Stress exponent of the alloy was comparable to other disk superalloys such as Waspaloy and Inconel 718. It was interesting to find a transition in the creep behavior in two stress regimes. The contribution of grain boundary sliding in the low stress regime was greater than that in the higher stress. Under higher stress microcracks initiated along the intragranular slip bands because of strain concentration. The spray-forming LSHR exhibited a good creep resistance at low stress compared with other two superalloys by using Larson–Miller parameter, which was consistent with the transition of fracture behaviors.

Iron is an essential trace element that plays important roles in the cellular function of all organs and systems. However, the function of Fe(II) in mammalian embryo development is unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of Fe(II) during preimplantation embryo development. Depletion of Fe(II) using thiosemicarbazone-24 (TSC24), a specific Fe(II) chelator, rescued quenching of the Fe(II)-sensitive fluorophore phen green-SK. After in vitro fertilization, TSC24 significantly reduced the cleavage rate as well as blastocyst formation. The hatch rate of blastocysts was also reduced with 1 pM TSC24 treatment (20.25±1.86 versus 42.28±12.96%, p<0.05). Blastocysts were cultured in leukemia inhibitory factor-free mouse embryonic stem cell culture medium with or without TSC24, and those with depleted Fe(II) displayed delayed attachment and lost the ability to induce embryoid body formation. To further explore the mechanism of Fe(II) in embryo development, we assessed the expression of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) and OCT4 in the pronuclear and blastocyst stages, respectively. We observed that Fe(II) reduced 5hmC and OCT4 expression, which could be explained by low ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzyme activity induced by TSC24 treatment. These findings demonstrate that Fe(II) is required for mammalian embryo development and that it facilitates the process via regulation of TET activity.

In this study the influence of cell tilting on flow dynamics and heat transport is explored experimentally within a rectangular cell (aspect ratios ${\it\Gamma}_{x}=1$ and ${\it\Gamma}_{y}=0.25$). The measurements are carried out over a wide range of tilt angles ($0\leqslant {\it\beta}\leqslant {\rm\pi}/2\ \text{rad}$) at a constant Prandtl number ($\mathit{Pr}\simeq 6.3$) and Rayleigh number ($\mathit{Ra}\simeq 4.42\times 10^{9}$). The velocity measurements reveal that the large-scale circulation (LSC) is sensitive to the symmetry of the system. In the level case, the high-velocity band of the LSC concentrates at about a quarter of the cell width from the boundary. As the cell is slightly tilted (${\it\beta}\simeq 0.04\ \text{rad}$), the position of the high-velocity band quickly moves towards the boundary. With increasing ${\it\beta}$, the LSC changes gradually from oblique ellipse-like to square-like, and other more complicated patterns. Oscillations have been found in the temperature and velocity fields for almost all ${\it\beta}$, and are strongest at around ${\it\beta}\simeq 0.48\ \text{rad}$. As ${\it\beta}$ increases, the Reynolds number ($\mathit{Re}$) initially also increases, until it reaches its maximum at the transition angle ${\it\beta}=0.15\ \text{rad}$, after which it gradually decreases. The cell tilting causes a pronounced reduction of the Nusselt number ($\mathit{Nu}$). As ${\it\beta}$ increases from 0 to 0.15, 1.05 and ${\rm\pi}/2\ \text{rad}$, the reduction of $\mathit{Nu}$ is approximately 1.4 %, 5 % and 18 %, respectively. Over the ranges of $0\leqslant {\it\beta}\leqslant 0.15\ \text{rad}$, $0.15\leqslant {\it\beta}\leqslant 1.05\ \text{rad}$ and $1.05\leqslant {\it\beta}\leqslant {\rm\pi}/2\ \text{rad}$, the decay slopes are $8.57\times 10^{-2}$, $3.27\times 10^{-2}$ and $0.24\ \text{rad}^{-1}$, respectively.

To improve the developmental potential of somatic cell cloned embryos derived from demecolcine (DC) induced-enucleated nuclear transfer (INT), we modified the INT procedures by transferring donor nuclei into recipient cytoplasts prior to the induced enucleation of the recipient cytoplasts, and we called this modified INT technique as reverse-order and induced-enucleated nuclear transfer (RINT). Standard nuclear transfer (SNT) and INT were performed as controls. The dynamic changes of maternal and transferred donor nuclei in the RINT oocytes were monitored to evaluate the feasibility of this new nuclear transfer (NT) technique by timed immunofluorescence. Timed immunofluorescence showed that RINT is feasible because none of the transferred donor nuclei were expelled with the second polar body (Pb) in the RINT oocytes, while 42.2% of the oocytes showed extrusion of all maternal chromosome and spindles with the second Pb at 60 min after activation and DC treatment. Although there was no difference in cleavage rate (86.6% vs. 82.1%), the rates of successful enucleation and blastocyst formation were significantly increased in RINT compared with INT (44.1% vs. 27.5% and 43.3% vs. 12.8%, respectively; p < 0.01). Compared with SNT, there was no difference in cleavage rate (86.6% vs. 78.4%), but the blastocyst developmental rate was significantly increased in the RINT group (43.3% vs. 25.3%; p < 0.01). Blastocysts derived from RINT had a higher total cell number than those from SNT (45.1 ± 3 vs. 37.6 ± 4; p < 0.05). Our results provide evidence that RINT is feasible and may provide a more efficient and simple method for NT than INT.