Bovine mastitis harms milk quality and cattle health. Val-Pro-Pro (VPP) and Ile-Pro-Pro (IPP) are well-known milk-derived bioactive peptides with anti-inflammatory activity. However, the impact of VPP and IPP on mastitis remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects and the underlying mechanisms of VPP and IPP in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation. When cells were treated with LPS (1 µg/mL) for 24 h, the protein levels of pro-inflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin(IL)-1β and IL-6)) and chemokine (monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1)) were markedly increased, and the protein level of anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) was reduced. Both VPP and IPP with concentrations of 50 and 100 µM reversed these phenomena and further inhibited the protein expression of β-casein induced by LPS. In a mouse mastitis model, different concentrations of VPP and IPP (300, 600 µM/kg) pretreatment alleviated histopathological lesions in the mammary gland and suppressed the mRNA expression of TNFα, IL1β, and IL6 induced by LPS. VPP and IPP also maintained the integrity of the blood–milk barrier in mice. RNA-seq analyses indicated that enriched phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways likely contribute to the changes observed (P < 0.05 and |log2 fold change (FC)| ≥ 1). Notably, fibronectin was identified as an important hub by protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis and molecular docking combined with molecular dynamics simulation. In summary, VPP and IPP exerted a protective effect on LPS-induced inflammation by regulating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway via fibronectin.

Fine particulate matter (PM2·5) is a known risk factor for heart failure (HF), while plant-based dietary patterns may help reduce HF risk. This study examined the combined impact of PM2·5 exposure and a plant-based diet on HF incidence. A total of 190 092 participants from the UK Biobank were included in this study. HF cases were identified through linkage to the UK National Health Services register, with follow-up lasting until October 2022 in England, August 2022 in Scotland and May 2022 in Wales. Annual mean PM2·5 concentration was obtained using a land use regression model, while the healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI) was calculated using the Oxford WebQ tool based on two or more 24-hour dietary assessments of seventeen major food groups. Cox proportional hazard models assessed the associations of PM2·5 and hPDI with HF risk, and interactions were evaluated on additive and multiplicative scales. During a median of 13·4-year follow-up, 4351 HF cases were recorded. Participants in the highest PM2·5 tertile had a 23 % increased HF risk (hazard ratio: 1·23, 95 % CI: 1·14, 1·32) compared with those in the lowest tertile. Moderate or high hPDI was associated with reduced HF risk relative to low hPDI. The lowest HF risk was observed in individuals with high hPDI and low PM2·5 exposure, underscoring the protective role of a plant-based diet, particularly in areas with lower PM2·5 levels. A healthy plant-based diet may mitigate HF risk, especially in populations exposed to lower PM2·5 levels.

The reflection of multiple incident shock waves that converge to a single point on the reflecting surface is studied in this paper. The number of the incident shocks, denoted $K$, is arbitrary. The interaction between the reflected shock of one incident shock and the other incident shocks may produce various possible configurations, such as type-I, type-II and type-IV shock interferences. The number of possible reflection configurations is shown to be an exponential function of ($K-1$) with base 2. The possibility of pre-, middle- and post-Mach reflections, which means Mach reflection occurs for the first, middle and last incident shock, is revealed through numerical simulation for $K=3$. For the particular case where the incident shocks are produced by equal variation of wedge surface deflection, the conventional von Neumann condition and detachment condition for the $k\mathrm{th}$ incident shock to have Mach reflection are derived. It is shown that the von Neumann condition for regular reflection is lowered and the detachment condition for Mach reflection is elevated as $k$ increases. The shock reflection patterns for $ K=1,2,\ldots ,10$ are obtained by numerical simulations. We observe a shock interaction train structure, where we have pre-Mach reflection followed by ($K-1$) type-I or type-II shock interferences. We also observe that the Mach stem height decreases with $K$ well above the von Neumann condition and becomes non-monotonic near the von Neumann condition.

This paper provides an overview of the current status of ultrafast and ultra-intense lasers with peak powers exceeding 100 TW and examines the research activities in high-energy-density physics within China. Currently, 10 high-intensity lasers with powers over 100 TW are operational, and about 10 additional lasers are being constructed at various institutes and universities. These facilities operate either independently or are combined with one another, thereby offering substantial support for both Chinese and international research and development efforts in high-energy-density physics.

Contrafreeloading (CFL) refers to animals’ tendency to prefer obtaining food through effort rather than accessing food that is freely available. Researchers have proposed various hypotheses to explain this intriguing phenomenon, but few studies have provided a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing this behaviour. In this study, we observed the choice of alternative food containers in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) to investigate their CFL tendencies and the effects of pre-training, food deprivation, and effort required on the CFL tasks. The results showed that budgerigars did not exhibit significant difference in their first choices or the time interacting with less challenging versus more challenging food containers. Moreover, when evaluating each budgerigar’s CFL level, only half of them were identified as strong contrafreeloaders. Thus, we suggest that budgerigars exhibit an intermediate CFL level that lies somewhere between a strong tendency and the absence of such behaviour. Furthermore, we also found that food-deprived budgerigars tended to select less challenging food containers, and pre-trained budgerigars were more likely to choose highly challenging food containers than moderately challenging food containers, which means that the requirement of only a reasonable effort (access to food from moderately challenging food containers in this study) and the experience of pre-training act to enhance their CFL levels, whereas the requirement of greater effort and the experience of food deprivation act to decrease their CFL levels. Studying animal CFL can help understand why animals choose to expend effort to obtain food rather than accessing it for free, and it also has implications for setting feeding environments to enhance the animal welfare of captive and domesticated animals.

The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is designed to promote fisheries sustainability by curbing harmful subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity. However, the current approach to applying unconditional and non-negotiable special and differential treatment provisions in the Agreement is based on a North–South binary division and essentially fails to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 14.6. This article explores the linkage between sustainable development and a conditional right to special and differential treatment, and further presents a conditionality approach to applying appropriate and effective special and differential treatment that necessarily takes into account the diverse needs of different developing countries and better reconciles with economic, environmental, and societal sustainability. A conditionality approach shifts the basis of special and differential treatment from self-claimed ‘developing country’ status to multi-dimensions conditions embedded in the Agreement that can be objectively identified and assessed to achieve fisheries sustainability.

Knowledge of the critical periods of crop–weed competition is crucial for designing weed management strategies in cropping systems. In the Lower Yangtze Valley, China, field experiments were conducted in 2011 and 2012 to study the effect of interference from mixed natural weed populations on cotton growth and yield and to determine the critical period for weed control (CPWC) in direct-seeded cotton. Two treatments were applied: allowing weeds to infest the crop or keeping plots weed-free for increasing periods (0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 20 wk) after crop emergence. The results show that mixed natural weed infestations led to 35- to 55-cm shorter cotton plants with stem diameters 10 to 13 mm smaller throughout the season, fitting well with modified Gompertz and logistic models, respectively. Season-long competition with weeds reduced the number of fruit branches per plant by 65% to 82%, decreasing boll number per plant by 86% to 96% and single boll weight by approximately 24%. Weed-free seed cotton yields ranged from 2,900 to 3,130 kg ha−1, while yield loss increased with the duration of weed infestation, reaching up to 83% to 96% compared with permanent weed-free plots. Modified Gompertz and logistic models were used to analyze the impact of increasing weed control duration and weed interference on relative seed cotton yield (percentage of season-long weed-free cotton), respectively. Based on a 5% yield loss threshold, the CPWC was found to be from 145 to 994 growing degree days (GDD), corresponding to 14 to 85 d after emergence (DAE). These findings emphasize the importance of implementing effective weed control measures from 14 to 85 DAE in the Lower Yangtze Valley to prevent crop losses exceeding a 5% yield loss threshold.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping contribute meaningfully to climate change. Despite significant efforts of the International Maritime Organization over recent decades, existing measures are still inadequate for achieving net-zero GHG emissions in the shipping sector and multilateral negotiations hold little promise for improvement. This article considers the polluter pays principle (PPP) as an alternative or additional pathway for tackling marine GHG emissions. The article focuses on the challenges in identifying polluters, which is the key issue that must be addressed before the PPP can be applied. Specifically, the article presents an analytical framework and examines various approaches to identifying marine GHG emissions polluters. Firstly, it identifies the polluter from a general perspective, using three approaches: examining the issue broadly, reviewing international conventions and European Union initiatives that incorporate the PPP, and analyzing selected domestic legislation reflecting the PPP. The article then focuses on maritime shipping, considering specifically two types of contract of affreightment – charterparties and bills of lading – while highlighting key factors in identifying the polluter. In conclusion, the assessment of causal links, along with operational and management decisions regarding the vessel, attribute the status of primary polluter to the shipowner, demise charterer, and time charterer.

This study aimed to investigate the intake of dairy products during pregnancy in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and its impacts on neonatal birth weight and pregnancy outcomes. A total of 386 women with GDM during the second trimester pregnancy participated in this prospective cohort study. We evaluated dairy products intake through the FFQ. Pregnancy outcomes were obtained from the delivery data. Participants were divided into insufficient and sufficient intake of milk and dairy products groups (< 300 g/d and ≥ 300 g/d, respectively). The average intake of dairy products during the second trimester pregnancy in women with GDM was 317·8 ± 179·5 g/d, and the total energy intake was 1635·4 ± 708·7 kcal/d. However, 76·68 % of them did not meet the recommended total energy intake of women with GDM. After adjusting for confounding factors, women with GDM who consumed ≥ 300 g/d of dairy products had an average reduction in birth weight of 93·1 g compared with women who consumed < 300 g/d of dairy products (95 % CI −171·343, −14·927). Women with GDM in sufficient intake group was also associated with lower risk of macrosomia (95 % CI 0·043, 0·695) and caesarean section (95 % CI 0·387, 0·933) and not related to low birth weight infant (95 % CI 0·617, 14·502) and preterm birth (95 % CI 0·186, 1·510) when compared with participants in insufficient intake group. Under the premise of insufficient total energy intake, the intake of dairy products during the second trimester pregnancy in women with GDM might be related to the decrease of neonatal birth weight.

The Early-Middle Jurassic impression/compression macroflora and the palynoflora from the Qaidam Basin in the northeastern Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) Plateau have been well studied; however, fossil wood from this region has not been previously documented systematically. Here, we describe an anatomically well-preserved fossil wood specimen from the Lower Jurassic Huoshaoshan Formation at the Dameigou section in northern Qinghai Province, northwestern China. This fossil exhibits typical Metapodocarpoxylon Dupéron-Laudoueneix et Pons anatomy with usually araucarian radial tracheid pits and variable cross-field pits, representing a new record for Metapodocarpoxylon in the Qaidam Basin. This discovery indicates that trees with this type of wood anatomy were not confined to northern Gondwana but also grew in more northerly regions in Laurasia. The wood displays distinct growth rings, with abundant, well-formed earlywood and narrow latewood. This observation, along with previous interpretations based on macroflora, palynoflora and sedimentological data, suggests that a warm and humid climate with mild seasonality prevailed in the region during the Early Jurassic.

A method is proposed for identifying robot gravity and friction torques based on joint currents. The minimum gravity term parameters are obtained using the Modified Denavit–Hartenberg (MDH) parameters, and the dynamic equations are linearized. The robot’s friction torque is identified using the Stribeck friction model. Additionally, a zero-force drag algorithm is designed to address the issue of excessive start-up torque during dragging. A sinusoidal compensation algorithm is proposed to perform periodic friction compensation for each stationary joint, utilizing the identified maximum static friction torque. Experimental results show that when the robot operates at a uniform low speed, the theoretical current calculated based on the identified gravity and friction fits the actual current well, with a maximum root mean square error within 50 mA, confirming the accuracy of the identification results. The start-up torque compensation algorithm reduces the robot’s start-up torque by an average of $ 60.58\mathrm{\%}$, improving the compliance of the dragging process and demonstrating the effectiveness of the compensation algorithm.

In this paper, we study the rapid transition in Richtmyer–Meshkov instability (RMI) with reshock through three-dimensional double-layer swirling vortex rings. The rapid transition in RMI with reshock has an essential influence on the evolution of supernovas and the ignition of inertial confinement fusion, which has been confirmed in numerical simulations and experiments in shock-tube and high-energy-density facilities over the past few years. Vortex evolution has been confirmed to dominate the late-time nonlinear development of the perturbed interface. However, few studies have investigated the three-dimensional characteristics and nonlinear interactions among vortex structures during the transition to turbulent flows. The coexistence of co-rotating and counter-rotating vortices is hypothesized to induce successive large-scale strain fields, which are the main driving sources for rapid development. The three-dimensional effect is reflected in the presence of local swirling motion in the azimuthal direction, and it decreases the translation velocity of a vortex ring. Large-, middle- and small-scale strain fields are employed to describe the development process of RMI with reshock, e.g. vorticity deposited by the reshock, formation of the coexistence of the co-rotating and counter-rotating vortices, iterative cascade under the amplification of the strain fields and viscous dissipation to internal energy. This provides theoretical suggestions for designing practical applications, such as the estimation of the hydrodynamic instability and mixing during the late-time acceleration phase of the inertial confinement fusion.

An advanced deformable Kirkpatrick–Baez (K-B) mirror system was developed, equipped with high-speed piezoelectric actuators, and designed to induce beam decoherence and significantly enhance the quality of X-ray imaging by minimizing undesirable speckles in synchrotron radiation or free-electron laser facilities. Each individual mirror is engineered with 36 independent piezoelectric actuators that operate in a randomized manner, orchestrating the mirror surface to oscillate at a high frequency up to 100 kHz. Through in situ imaging single-slit diffraction measurement, it has been demonstrated that this high-frequency-vibration mirror system is pivotal in disrupting the coherent nature, thereby diminishing speckle formation. The impact of the K-B mirror system is profound, with the capability to reduce the image contrast to as low as 0.04, signifying a substantial reduction in speckle visibility. Moreover, the coherence of the X-ray beam is significantly lowered from an initial value exceeding 80% to 13%.

Laser-driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) diagnostics play a crucial role in understanding the complex physical processes governing ICF and enabling ignition. During the ICF process, the interaction between the high-power laser and ablation material leads to the formation of a plasma critical surface, which reflects a significant portion of the driving laser, reducing the efficiency of laser energy conversion into implosive kinetic energy. Effective diagnostic methods for the critical surface remain elusive. In this work, we propose a novel optical diagnostic approach to investigate the plasma critical surface. This method has been experimentally validated, providing new insights into the critical surface morphology and dynamics. This advancement represents a significant step forward in ICF diagnostic capabilities, with the potential to inform strategies for enhancing the uniformity of the driving laser and target surface, ultimately improving the efficiency of converting laser energy into implosion kinetic energy and enabling ignition.