This study examined global trends in influenza-associated lower respiratory infections (LRIs) deaths from 1990 to 2019 using data from the GBD 2019. The annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC) were used to analyze age-standardized death rates (ASDR). Globally, the ASDR of influenza-associated LRIs was 3.29/100,000 in 2019, which was higher in the African region (6.57/100,000) and among adults aged 70 years and older (29.88/100,000). The ASDR of influenza-associated LRIs decreased significantly from 1990 to 2019 (AAPC = −1.88%, P < 0.05). However, it was significantly increased among adults aged 70 years and older during 2017–2019 (APC = 2.31%, P < 0.05), especially in Western Pacific Region and South-East Asia Regions. The ratio of death rates between adults aged 70 years and older and children aged under 5 years increased globally from 1.63 in 1990 to 5.34 in 2019, and the Western Pacific Region experienced the most substantial increase, with the ratio soaring from 1.83 in 1990 to 12.98 in 2019. Despite a decline in the global ASDR of influenza-associated LRIs, it continues to impose a significant burden, particularly in the African, Western Pacific regions and among the elderly population.

This study demonstrates a kilowatt-level, spectrum-programmable, multi-wavelength fiber laser (MWFL) with wavelength, interval and intensity tunability. The central wavelength tuning range is 1060–1095 nm and the tunable number is controllable from 1 to 5. The wavelength interval can be tuned from 6 to 32 nm and the intensity of each channel can be adjusted independently. Maximum output power up to approximately 1100 W has been achieved by master oscillator power amplifier structures. We also investigate the wavelength evolution experimentally considering the difference of gain competition, which may give a primary reference for kW-level high-power MWFL spectral manipulation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output power ever reported for a programmable MWFL. Benefiting from its high power and flexible spectral manipulability, the proposed MWFL has great potential in versatile applications such as nonlinear frequency conversion and spectroscopy.

We demonstrated a method to improve the output performance of a Ti:sapphire laser in the long-wavelength low-gain region with an efficient stimulated Raman scattering process. By shifting the wavelength of the high-gain-band Ti:sapphire laser to the long-wavelength low-gain region, high-performance Stokes operation was achieved in the original long-wavelength low-gain region of the Ti:sapphire laser. With the fundamental wavelength tuning from 870 to 930 nm, first-order Stokes output exceeding 2.5 W was obtained at 930–1000 nm, which was significantly higher than that directly generated by the Ti:sapphire laser, accompanied by better beam quality, shorter pulse duration and narrower linewidth. Under the pump power of 42.1 W, a maximum first-order Stokes power of 3.24 W was obtained at 960 nm, with a conversion efficiency of 7.7%. Furthermore, self-mode-locked modulations of first- and second-order Stokes generation were observed in Ti:sapphire intracavity solid Raman lasers for the first time.

Revealing the impact of forest succession processes on changes in plant diversity is crucial for understanding the mechanisms that maintain plant diversity across various succession stages. While previous research has predominantly focused on the influence of environmental factors or management strategies on plant diversity within rubber plantation understories, there is a scarcity of studies examining the effects of forest succession processes on plant diversity. This study focuses on the plant diversity of the understory herbaceous layer within the rubber forest of the Yinggeling area, located in National Park of Hainan Tropical Rainforest. It employs a spatial analysis approach, rather than a temporal one, to examine the characteristics of the understory herbaceous community. The findings revealed that (1) The understory of Yinggeling rubber plantations harbors 175 plant species from 149 genera and 75 families, with Gramineae and Rubiaceae representing 46.45% of total species. And the dominant families are Rubiaceae, Gramineae, and Moraceae, with Ficus and Pteris being the dominant genera. (2) The dominant species vary with succession duration, with Tetrastigma pachyphyllum dominating in 0-year succession, Paspalum conjugatum in 3-year succession, and Microstegium fasciculatum in 7-year succession. (3) Diversity indices such as the Shannon–Wiener index, Simpson index, and Pielou index peak at 7 years of natural succession, while the species richness is highest at 3 years. (4) The similarity coefficient between understory herbaceous plant communities in rubber plantations undergoing 0 and 3 years of natural succession is highest 0.56, indicating a significant similarity, while similarity is lowest between 0 and 7 years of succession. This research shows that natural restoration helps increase species diversity in the understory herb layer of rubber forests. Succession leads to changes in the dominant families, genera, and species of the herbaceous layer. This change can be attributed to the intraspecific competition and ecological competition that occur during the succession process, leading to changes in biological and resource allocation.

To explore the associations between nutrition literacy (NL) and possible sarcopenia in older Chinese adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted. NL was assessed using a twelve-item short-form NL scale. Possible sarcopenia was identified using SARC-CALF. Logistic regression was used to calculate OR and 95 % CI for NL and the incidence of possible sarcopenia. A total of 1338 older individuals, aged 71·41 (sd 6·84) years, were enrolled in this study. After confounders were adjusted for, older adults in the upper quartile of NL were found to be 52 % less likely to have possible sarcopenia than those in the lower quartile of NL (OR = 0·48, 95 % CI: 0·29, 0·77). The associations between NL and possible sarcopenia were present only in those who lived in rural areas (OR: 0·38, 95 % CI: 0·19, 0·77), had a primary school education or less (OR: 0·21, 95 % CI: 0·09, 0·48), had a monthly income < 3000 RMB (OR: 0·39, 95 % CI: 0·22, 0·70) and had chronic diseases (OR: 0·37, 95 % CI: 0·22, 0·63). Moreover, an interaction effect was observed between having a chronic disease and junior high school education and being in the upper quartile of NL. The prevalence of possible sarcopenia in older Chinese adults is substantial, with prevalence decreasing with increasing NL. Moreover, the association between NL and possible sarcopenia varies by residence type, education level, monthly income and chronic disease experience. Targeted NL interventions are required to prevent and manage sarcopenia in older adults, particularly those with low socio-economic status and chronic diseases.

Newborn calf diarrhea has led to widespread overuse of antibiotics. Therefore, it is crucial to find effective solutions for calf diarrhea. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of the synthetic organic zinc-chelating-peptide glycine-glutamine-Zn (GQ-Zn) on the microbiota and metabolites in the gut of calves with diarrhea. The results showed that GQ-Zn alleviated diarrhea in calves. Additionally, 16S rDNA sequencing and metabolomic analysis revealed that GQ-Zn improved antioxidant capacity, relieved inflammation, altered the gut microbiota by decreasing the number of harmful bacteria Prevotella denticola, Fusobacterium necrophorum and influenced metabolomic profiles via the linoleic acid metabolic pathway in calves. In conclusion, GQ-Zn supplementation alleviated diarrhea through regulating the gut microbiota and metabolites in pre-weaning Holstein calves.

Isomorphous substitutions of Mg and Fe for Al generally appear in the octahedral sheets of montmorillonite, whereas they are infrequent in kaolinite. Therefore, the release of Mg and Fe from the octahedral sheets probably happens during the transformation of montmorillonite into kaolinite, which could affect the migration of Mg and Fe from clay minerals into surrounding environments. The objective of the current study was to investigate the relationship between Mg and Fe release during the transformation of montmorillonite into kaolinite. The results showed that the d060 value of clay minerals decreased slightly, and the intensities of both the AlMg–OH and AlFe–OH bending vibrations also decreased gradually. In addition, the (Mg+Fe)/Al (major octahedral ions) atomic ratio of kaolinite was lower than that of montmorillonite, especially in identical hydrothermal products. These results indicated that Mg and Fe ions were released progressively from the octahedral sheets during the transformation of montmorillonite into kaolinite. Moreover, the changed relative concentrations of Mg and Fe ions in the supernatant solutions after hydrothermal reactions suggested a random distribution of Mg and/or Fe in the octahedral sheets of the montmorillonite. These results improve understanding of the release relationship between Mg and Fe during clay mineral evolution and of the distribution of these two ions in the octahedral sheets, as well as the chemical composition of clay minerals as an indicator of geological environments.

Synthetic siliceous mesoporous materials are of great value in many different applications, including nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and medical fields, but historically the resource materials used in their synthesis have been expensive. Recent efforts have focused on indirect synthesis methods which utilize less expensive silicate minerals as a resource material. The purpose of the present study was to investigate talc, a natural silicate mineral, as one such resource. It was used as raw material to prepare two advanced materials: porous silica (PS) and ordered mesoporous silica (MCM-41). The PS, with a specific surface area of 260 m2/g and bimodal pore-size distribution of 1.2 nm and 3.7 nm, was prepared by grinding and subsequent acid leaching. The MCM-41, with a large surface area of 974 m2/g and a narrow pore-size distribution of 2.8 nm, was obtained using a surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), by hydrothermal treatment using the as-prepared PS as a source of Si. The two resultant materials were characterized by small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXRD) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), solid-state magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and N2 adsorption-desorption measurements. Based on these measurements, possible processes of transformation of PS from talc, upon acid treatment, and the formation of MCM-41 were investigated systemically. Acid leaching induced the transformation of a rigid layered structure to a nearly amorphous one, with micropores formed by a residual layered structure and mesopores formed from a condensed framework. The MCM-41 was a mixture of silanol groups (Si(SiO)3(OH)) and a condensed Q4 framework structure (Si(SiO)4), with a small amount of remaining Q3 layered structure (Si(SiO)3OMg). The increased Q4/Q3 value confirmed greater polymerization of MCM-41 than of PS. At the low CTAB concentration used (2 wt.%), the highly charged silicate species controlled the surfactant geometry. Charge-density matching, together with the degree of polymerization of the silicates, determined the resultant mesophase.

To accelerate high-intensity heavy-ion beams to high energy in the booster ring (BRing) at the High-Intensity Heavy-Ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF) project, we take the typical reference particle 238U35+, which can be accelerated from an injection energy of 17 MeV/u to the maximal extraction energy of 830 MeV/u, as an example to study the basic processes of longitudinal beam dynamics, including beam capture, acceleration, and bunch merging. The voltage amplitude, the synchronous phase, and the frequency program of the RF system during the operational cycle were given, and the beam properties such as bunch length, momentum spread, longitudinal beam emittance, and beam loss were derived, firstly. Then, the beam properties under different voltage amplitude and synchronous phase errors were also studied, and the results were compared with the cases without any errors. Next, the beam properties with the injection energy fluctuation were also studied. The tolerances of the RF errors and injection energy fluctuation were dictated based on the CISP simulations. Finally, the effect of space charge at the low injection energy with different beam intensities on longitudinal emittance and beam loss was evaluated.

Xiaonanshan is an archaeological site dated to 16.5–13.5 cal kyr BP, situated beside the Ussuri River in China. The lithic assemblages feature microblade debitage, bifacial points and stone adzes, which provide important new materials for this project to explore Neolithisation in the Amur River basin of northeast Asia.

As there exists a growing demand for chronological research and tracer applications using radiocarbon (14C) analyses of samples smaller than 100 μg C, a compact micro-specific hydrogen graphitization method has been developed at the Xi’an Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) Center. This article describes the performance of the system and the mass of carbon background produced during ultra-small sample preparation. Furthermore, we discuss the results of contamination corrections and perform 14C analyses on small samples with known age or reference values. The results reveal that our 14C analysis of ultra-small samples of 10–100 μg C can obtain accurate and reliable results, and the micro-scale 14C-AMS analysis technique meets our research objectives for dating and tracer applications.

This paper studies the synchronization control of the blanket remote maintenance robot (BRMR) of the China fusion engineering test reactor (CFETR). First, the general state space mathematical model of BRMR was established by using a physical-based method. Second, based on the receding horizon optimization of model predictive control (MPC) and cross-coupling error reduction in cross-coupling control (CCC), the innovative MPC-CCC controller was proposed to realize the single-system and multisystem error convergence and high accuracy transportation of blanket through the high accuracy synchronization control of BRMR. Third, to verify the control effectiveness of the MPC-CCC controller, two types of simulations and experiments were implied compared with the original proportional-integral (PI) controller in Mover. Results showed that simulation and experiments were highly consistent. It is found that the use of an MPC-CCC controller can result in up to a 70% reduction in displacement error and up to a 59% reduction in synchronization error compared to the PI controller. And the accuracy of the MPC-CCC controller satisfies the real requirement of the maintenance process of the blanket. This work provides the theoretical basis and practical experience for the highly stable, safe, and efficient maintenance of blankets in the future.

The transport phenomena of dust particles have been widely observed in fusion plasmas. In this article, we report the observations of dust fragmentations in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). A dust particle splits into two daughter particles and their motions are recorded before and after the breakup with a fast video camera. The trajectories of the daughter particles in the experiment are consistent with equation-of-motion simulations. The stability of a rotating charged particle in the plasma is briefly discussed.

The associations of red/processed meat consumption and cancer-related health outcomes have been well discussed. The umbrella review aimed to summarise the associations of red/processed meat consumption and various non-cancer-related outcomes in humans. We systematically searched the systematic reviews and meta-analyses of associations between red/processed meat intake and health outcomes from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library databases. The umbrella review has been registered in PROSPERO (CRD 42021218568). A total of 40 meta-analyses were included. High consumption of red meat, particularly processed meat, was associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality, CVD and metabolic outcomes. Dose–response analysis revealed that an additional 100 g/d red meat intake was positively associated with a 17 % increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), 15 % increased risk of CHD, 14 % of hypertension and 12 % of stroke. The highest dose–response/50 g increase in processed meat consumption at 95 % confident levels was 1·37, 95 % CI (1·22, 1·55) for T2DM, 1·27, 95 % CI (1·09, 1·49) for CHD, 1·17, 95 % CI (1·02, 1·34) for stroke, 1·15, 95 % CI (1·11, 1·19) for all-cause mortality and 1·08, 95 % CI (1·02, 1·14) for heart failure. In addition, red/processed meat intake was associated with several other health-related outcomes. Red and processed meat consumption seems to be more harmful than beneficial to human health in this umbrella review. It is necessary to take the impacts of red/processed meat consumption on non-cancer-related outcomes into consideration when developing new dietary guidelines, which will be of great public health importance. However, more additional randomised controlled trials are warranted to clarify the causality.

Homeostasis of gut microbiota is a critical contributor to growth and health in weaned piglets. Fish oil is widely reported to benefit health of mammals including preventing intestinal dysfunction, yet its protective effect during suckling-to-weaning transition in piglets remains undetermined. Low (30 g/d) and high (60 g/d) doses of n-3-rich fish oil were supplemented in sows from late gestation to lactation. Serum indicators and gut microbiota were determined to evaluate the effects of maternal fish oil on growth performance, immunity and diarrhea of piglets. DHA and EPA in the colostrum as well as serum of suckling and 1-week post-wean piglets were significantly and linearly increased by maternal supplementation of fish oil (P < 0.05). IGF1 and T3 in nursing and weaned piglets were significantly elevated by maternal fish oil (P < 0.05), and the increase of IGF1 was concerning the dosage of fish oil. Colostrum IgG, plasma IgG, IgM in suckling piglets, IgG, IgM and IgA in weaned piglets were significantly increase as maternal replenishment of fish oil increased (P < 0.05). Additionally, cortisol was significantly reduced in weaned pigs (P < 0.05), regardless of dosage. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that α-diversity of fecal microbiota in nursery piglets, and fecal Lactobacillus genus, positively correlated with post-weaning IgA, was significantly increased by high dosage. Collectively, maternal fish oil during late pregnancy and lactation significantly promoted growth, enhanced immunity, and reduced post-weaning diarrhea in piglets, therefore facilitated suckling-to-weaning transition in piglets, which may be partially due to the altered gut microbial community.

In this work we investigate the thermal convection driven by heat-releasing point particles. Three-dimensional direct numerical simulations are conducted for $1\times 10^7\le {\textit {Ra}} \le 1\times 10^{10}$ and $0.01\le {\textit {St}} \le 10$, where the Rayleigh number ${\textit {Ra}}$ and Stokes number ${\textit {St}}$ measure the strengths of the heat releasing rate and the Stokes drag, respectively. A regime at intermediate Stokes numbers is identified with most particles accumulating into the top boundary layer region, while for other cases particles are constantly advected over the entire domain. For the latter state, the flow motions are stronger at the upper part of the domain. The thicknesses of both momentum and thermal boundary layers at the top plate follow the same scaling law with ${\textit {Ra}}$ and show minor dependences on ${\textit {St}}$. The volume-averaged temperature and convective flux exhibit non-monotonic variations as ${\textit {St}}$ increases and reach their minimums at intermediate ${\textit {St}}$. The fraction coefficient of heat flux, i.e. the ratio between the heat flux through the bottom plate and the total flux through both plates, shares the similar dependence on ${\textit {St}}$ as the convective flux. The relation between these scaling laws can be explained by using the global balance between the dissipation and convective flux. The scaling laws for the transition between different flow regimes are also proposed and agree with the numerical results. The preferential concentration of particles is observed for all cases and is strongest at intermediate Stokes numbers, for which multiscale clustering emerges with small clusters forming larger ones.