Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been shown to play a significant role in oxidative stress across various tissues and cells; however, its role in sperm function remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of GYY4137, a slow-releasing H2S compound, on sperm damage induced by H2O2. We assessed the effects of GYY4137 on motility, viability, lipid peroxidation and caspase-3 activity in human spermatozoa in vitro following oxidative damage mediated by H2O2. Spermatozoa from 25 healthy men were selected using a density gradient centrifugation method and cultured in the presence or absence of 10 μM H2O2, followed by incubation with varying concentrations of GYY4137 (0.625–2.5 μM). After 24 h of incubation, sperm motility, viability, lipid peroxidation, and caspase-3 activity were evaluated. The results indicated that H2O2 adversely affected sperm parameters, reducing motility and viability, while increasing oxidative stress, as evidenced by elevated lipid peroxidation and caspase-3 activity. GYY4137 provided dose-dependent protection against H2O2-induced oxidative stress (OS). We concluded that supplementation with GYY4137 may offer antioxidant protection during in vitro sperm preparation for assisted reproductive technology.

Single crystals of sudoite from Ottré, Belgium, allow confirmation of a dioctahedral 2:1 layer and a trioctahedral interlayer in a IIb arrangement. A regular 2-layer s structure is formed in which the octahedral stagger within both 2:1 layers is directed along X1 and adjacent layers are alternately displaced by a2/3 and a3/3. Poor quality crystals and twinning prevented three-dimensional refinement. One-dimensional refinement suggests that the smaller d(001) value of dioctahedral chlorites relative to trioctahedral species is due primarily to the thinner dioctahedral sheet.

We investigate the Faraday instabilities of a three-layer fluid system in a cylindrical container containing low-viscosity liquid metal, sodium hydroxide solution and air by establishing the Mathieu equations with considering the viscous model derived by Labrador et al. (J. Phys.: Conf. Ser., vol. 2090, 2021, 012088). The Floquet analysis, asymptotic analysis, direct numerical simulation and experimental method are adopted in the present study. We obtain the dispersion relations and critical oscillation amplitudes of zigzag and varicose modes from the analysis of the Mathieu equations, which agree well with the experimental result. Furthermore, considering the coupling strength of two interfaces, besides zigzag and varicose modes, we find a beating instability mode that contains two primary frequencies, with its average frequency equalling half of the external excitation frequency in the strongly coupled system. In the weakly coupled system, the $A$-interface instability, $B$-interface instability and $A$&$B$-interface instability are defined. Finally, we obtain a critical wavenumber $k_c$ that can determine the transition from zigzag or varicose modes to the corresponding $A$-interface or $B$-interface instability.

In this study, a novel, cost-effective miniaturized tag antenna was developed for applications on the human body. To achieve impedance matching with the complex conjugate impedance of the Monza-4 tag chip (7.17–j74.22 Ω at 915 MHz), the proposed structure was configured by coarsely tuning the positions of vias and fine-tuning the small gaps of its coupled patches. For further reducing the profile and dimensions of the antenna, a design technique based on the three-dimensional dipole antenna current distribution was used. The proposed antenna configuration was not only miniaturized but also achieved a long stable reading distance (>5.0 m) and a wide impedance bandwidth of 71 MHz or 7.65% (covering the ultrahigh frequency radio frequency identification ranges in most regions), regardless of the location of the tag on the human body. Experiments were conducted to validate the simulated results, and adequate agreement was found between the simulated results and the measured results.

Existing studies of ethnic voting mainly focus on democratic elections. In electoral autocracies, politically subordinate ethnicity can help citizens coordinate against the incumbent. However, we argue that collective action will be constrained when the group grows large, as it becomes costly for its members to form common behavioural norms and carry out effective sanctions through shared ethnic ties under authoritarian repression. Drawing on unique historical surveys in Taiwan, we study how Taiwanese ethnicity and local ethnic demography jointly induced voters' defection against the hegemonic KMT regime. We find that the pro-defection or anti-incumbent effect of Taiwanese ethnicity fell as the share of Taiwanese citizens in a township increased. However, the relative size of the Taiwanese group no longer undermined pro-defection ethnic voting after the KMT lifted the ban on opposition parties. Our results illustrate that formal organizations play a critical role in sustaining the informational salience of ethnicity in the elections.

The cost of recruitment and training of newcomers can be a burden for enterprises, causing adverse effects on human resources management. Although much research has addressed employee turnover, less attention has been paid to methods of improving the retention of new hires. This study is an empirical examination of the increase in predictive strength of antecedents of affective commitment for comparing newcomers’ workplace spirituality. The results of an employee survey completed by 237 newcomers with under two years of work experience indicate that socialization tactics have a direct impact on job embeddedness, which in turn has a direct effect on affective commitment. Workplace spirituality has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between socialization tactics and job embeddedness. Also, workplace spirituality has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between job embeddedness and affective commitment.

In order to improve the working performance of the lower limb rehabilitation robot and the safety of the trained object, the mechanical characteristics of a cable-driven lower limb rehabilitation robot (CDLR) are studied. The dynamic model of the designed CDLR was established. Four kinds of cable tension optimization algorithms were proposed to obtain a good rehabilitation training effect, and the quality of the feasible workspace of the CDLR was analyzed. Finally, a real-time evaluation index of the cable tension optimization algorithms was given to measure the calculation speed of the optimization algorithms. The numerical research results were provided to confirm the characteristics of the four kinds of the optimization algorithms. The research results provide a basis for the follow-up research on the safety and compliance control strategy of the CDLR system.

We carry out direct numerical simulations of turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection in a square box with rough conducting plates over the Rayleigh number range $10^7\leqslant Ra\leqslant 10^9$ and the Prandtl number range $0.01\leqslant Pr\leqslant 100$. In Zhang et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 836, 2018, R2), it was reported that while the measured Nusselt number $Nu$ is enhanced at large roughness height $h$, the global heat transport is reduced at small $h$. The division between the two regimes yields a critical roughness height $h_c$, and we now focus on the effects of the Prandtl number ($Pr$) on $h_c$. Based on the variations of $h_c$, we identify three regimes for $h_c(Pr)$. For low $Pr$, thermal boundary layers become thinner with increasing $Pr$. This makes the boundary layers easier to be disrupted by rough elements, leading to the decrease of $h_c$ with increasing $Pr$. For moderate $Pr$, the corner-flow rolls become much more pronounced and suppress the global heat transport via the competition between the corner-flow rolls and the large-scale circulation (LSC). As a consequence, $h_c$ increases with increasing $Pr$ due to the intensification of the corner–LSC competition. For high $Pr$, the convective flow transitions to the plume-controlled regime. As the rough elements trigger much stronger and more frequent plume emissions, $h_c$ again decreases with increasing $Pr$.

This study addresses the causal linkage between customer incivility and service quality through the lens of self-determination theory, according to which need satisfaction as a potential mechanism mediates this relationship. Additionally, it examines the moderating role of surface acting in the relationship between customer incivility and need satisfaction. Dyadic questionnaires were collected from restaurant employees and their customers in Taiwan. A total of 190 employees and 645 customers participated in this study. Results found that need satisfaction mediates the negative relationship between customer incivility and service quality. Surface acting moderates the relationship between customer incivility and need satisfaction as well as the mediation effect of customer incivility on service quality through need satisfaction. Specifically, the indirect effect of need satisfaction on the relation between customer incivility and service quality creativity was more significantly negative at a high level of surface acting than the effect at a low level.