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Objective To observe the efficacy of unblocking and regulating the Belt Vessel acupuncture method for patients with abdominal obesity in Germany and its influence on the body fat parameters and glycolipids metabolism. Methods A total of 82 cases of abdominal obesity in Germany were selected. There were two dropout cases in the treatment process. All of the patients received acupuncture at Daimai (GB26), Daheng (SP15), Tianshu (ST25), Zhongwan (CV12), Shuidao (ST28), Waiguan (TE5), and Zulinqi (GB41). The patients received acupuncture therapy once every 2–3 d, 3 times a week. The treatment duration lasted 4 weeks. Before and after treatment, the body mass (BM), waist circumference (WC), abdominal circumference (AC), hip circumference (HC), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and fasting blood glucose (GLU) were measured respectively, and the body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and body fat rate (BFR) were calculated. Results After treatment, the total effective rate was 72.5%; the levels of BM, WC, AC, HC, BMI, WHR, WHtR, BFR, TC, LDL-C, and GLU declined significantly compared with those before treatment (PP>0.05). Conclusion The unblocking and regulating the Belt Vessel acupuncture method can significantly reduce body fat parameters such as BM, AC, and BFR, and correct the disorders of glucose and lipid metabolism in patients with abdominal obesity in Germany.

Wearing masks is an effective and simple method to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in public places, such as train stations, classrooms, and streets. It is of positive significance to urge people to wear masks with computer vision technology. However, the existing detection methods are mainly for simple scenes, and facial missing detection is prone to occur in dense crowds with different scales and occlusions. Moreover, the data obtained by surveillance cameras in public places are difficult to be collected for centralized training, due to the privacy of individuals. In order to solve these problems, a cascaded network is proposed: the first level is the Dilation RetinaNet Face Location (DRFL) Network, which contains Enhanced Receptive Field Context (ERFC) module with the dilation convolution, aiming to reduce network parameters and locate faces of different scales. In order to adapt to embedded camera devices, the second level is the SRNet20 network, which is created by Neural Architecture Search (NAS). Due to privacy protection, it is difficult for surveillance video to share in practice, so our SRNet20 network is trained in federated learning. Meanwhile, we have made a masked face dataset containing about 20,000 images. Finally, the experiments highlight that the detection mAP of the face location is 90.6% on the Wider Face dataset, and the classification mAP of the masked face classification is 98.5% on the dataset we made, which means our cascaded network can detect masked faces in dense crowd scenes well.

Through electrochemical and surface analysis, the composition, semi-conductive property and electrochemical performance of the passive film formed on selective laser melting stainless steel 316L (SLM SS316L) and wrought SS316L in the deep sea environment were analyzed, respectively. Results indicated that the corrosion resistance of SS316L can be enhanced by the SLM process, which is attributed to the greatly smaller grain size and higher density of grain boundaries. Grain boundary, i.e. metallurgical defects, enhances the dissolution of SS316L and releases a large quantity of Cr3+ ions at the interface. Then Cr(OH)3 precipitated and dehydrated to produce much more stable oxides Cr2O3. As a result, a thin and compact passive film formed on the SLM SS316L, which thun suppressed localized corrosion and resulted in high corrosion resistance.

We are concerned with the three dimensional Vlasov-Poisson plasma interacting with a like point charge in the case of infinite mass and velocities. We prove the global existence and uniqueness of the classical solution to the system by assuming that the initial density slightly decays in space variables and strongly decays in velocities. This result generalizes the previous one for the initial data compactly supported in velocities, moreover, our method fills up some gaps of reference [39] .

In comparison to the continuous breakthrough in shale gas of marine basins, the pace of study of lacustrine basins is relatively slow. The latest studies have shown the saline lacustrine rifting ba...

Neuroinflammation is closely related to the pathogenesis of perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PNDs), which is characterized by the activation of microglia, inflammatory pathways and the release of inflammatory mediators. Sigesbeckia orientalis L. (SO) is a traditional Chinese medicine which demonstrates anti-inflammatory activities in different models. In this study, we aim to isolate the active fraction from the extract of SO with higher anti-inflammatory potential and confirm if the selected fraction exerts neuroprotection against the development of PND in an animal model. Moreover, the components in the selected fraction would be determined by UPLC-PDA analysis. Three fractions were prepared by column chromatography packed with three different macroporous resins. Anti-inflammatory activities of prepared fractions were accessed in microglial BV2 cultures by nitric oxide release, gene expression of inflammatory cytokines and activation of inflammatory JNK and NF-kB pathway molecules. Our results demonstrated that the fraction prepared from D101 macroporous resin (D101 fraction) exhibited a more potent anti-neuroinflammatory effect. The neuroprotective effect of D101 fraction was further examined in postoperative mice. Our results showed that surgery-induced cognitive dysfunction was attenuated by the D101 fraction treatment. This fraction also reduced microglial activation, inflammatory cytokines and inhibiting JNK and NF-kB pathway molecules in the hippocampus. In addition, surgery induced dendritic spine loss while D101 fraction ameliorated the spine loss in the hippocampus. For safety concerns, anti-thrombotic effect was examined by tail bleeding assay and no significant change of the bleeding pattern was found. UPLC-PDA analysis indicated that flavonoids (rutin, isochlorogenic acid A, isochlorogenic acid C) and terpenoid (darutoside) were the most important components in the D101 fraction. Our results support a therapeutic, as well as the translational potential for D101 fraction in ameliorating postoperative neuroinflammation and subsequent PND in the clinical setting without increasing bleeding tendencies.

PurposeThe regulations for qualitative genetically modified (GM) food labeling do not effectively eliminate the information asymmetries pertaining to the consumption of GM products. China's GM food labeling law requires the presentation of certain categories of GM products on GMO labels on packages. Such information is invaluable for understanding whether the disclosure of more information on GM foods can help alleviate information asymmetry while reducing consumer fear and risk perceptions of GM foods, and thus cause changes in their behaviors. The purpose of this paper is to explore the heterogeneity of consumer preferences for enhanced GM food labeling, how consumer preferences are influenced by labeling information, and how these preferences vary in different consumers.Design/methodology/approachBoth descriptive statistics and econometric techniques, including the multivariate ordered Probit model, were applied to a sample of 566 urban consumers in the Yangtze River Delta region of China. All respondents were divided into two groups: people who would definitely not buy GM foods before selecting enhanced labeling information (“consumer group 1”, sample size 282) and people who would definitely not object to buying GM foods before selecting enhanced labeling information (“consumer group 2”, sample size 274).FindingsThe findings suggest that urban consumers have a preference for different types of enhanced labeling information about GM foods, that such a preference significantly influences their willingness to pay for GM foods, that there exists a large difference in the preferences of different consumer groups, and that enhanced GM food labeling information has a greater impact on those consumers who would not accept GM foods.Originality/valueThis research identifies the GM information disclosures that most affect consumer preferences and how these preferences vary across different segments of consumers, which is a current gap in the literature. The study has demonstrated that enhanced labels of GM foods with diverse information would not alter a consumer's WTP for GM foods who does not perceive the value of information from the enhanced labels, but change positively consumers with uncertainty willingness to pay before disclosure.

Breast cancer is the second most common types of cancer worldwide. Molecular strategies have developed rapidly; however, novel treatments strategies with high efficacy and lower toxicity are still urgently demanded. Notably, biological networks estimated from microarray data and functional activity network analysis could be utilized to identify and validate potential targets. In this study, two microarray data (GSE13477, GSE31192) were firstly selected, and analyzed by multi-functional activity network analysis to generate the core protein-protein-interaction (PPI) network. Several potential targets were subsequently identified and c-Met and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) were manually chosen as the key targets in breast cancer. Furthermore, virtual screening and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were utilized to recognize novel c-Met/PARP-1 inhibitors in Specs products database. Three small molecules, namely, ZINC19909930, ZINC20032678 and ZINC13562414 were selected. Additionally, these compounds were synthesized, and two breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells were used to validate our bioinformatic findings in vitro. MTT assay and Hoechst staining showed that ZINC20032678 significantly induced breast cancer cell death, which was mediated through apoptosis by flow cytometry. Furthermore, ZINC20032678 was shown to target the active sites of the both targets and recruitment of downstream apoptotic signaling pathways, eventually inducing breast cancer cell apoptosis. Collectively, our findings not only offer systems biology approaches based drug target identification, but also provide the new clues for developing novel inhibitors for future breast cancer research.

Implementing small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a promising therapy because it silences disease-related genes theoretically. However, the efficient delivery of siRNA is challenging, which limits its therapeutic applications. Various pharmaceutical delivery systems containing key technologies have been developed and patented, which are of great concern to developers in the field. Despite numerous studies devoted to siRNA-delivery technologies, few researchers have systematically examined relevant patents. Patents, as bridges connecting academic progress with applicable innovation, encapsulate cumulative technological innovations and provide valuable information for academic research and commercial development. This study aims to analyze advances in therapeutic siRNA delivery technology from a patent perspective. A total of 11,509 patent documents from 3,309 patent families were collected, classified into 10 technological categories, and comprehensively analyzed. An overall patent landscape of siRNA delivery was presented from the temporal, spatial, organizational, and technological dimensions. This work is expected to help researchers and developers in the field of siRNA delivery form a basis for decision-making by combining our findings with supplementary data.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, better understanding of the co-evolution of information and epidemic diffusion networks is important for pandemic-related policies. Using the microscopic Markov chain method, this study proposed an aware-susceptible-infected model (ASI) to explore the effect of information literacy on the spreading process in such multiplex networks. We first introduced a parameter that adjusts the self-protection related execution ability of aware individuals in order to emphasis the importance of protective behaviors compared to awareness in decreasing the infection probability. The model also captures individuals' heterogeneity in their information literacy. Simulation experiments found that the high information-literate individuals are more sensitive to information adoption. In addition, epidemic information can help to suppress the epidemic diffusion only when individuals' abilities of transforming awareness into actual protective behaviors attain a threshold. In communities dominated by highly literate individuals, a larger information literacy gap can improve awareness acquisition and thus help to suppress the epidemic among the whole group. By contrast, in communities dominated by low information-literate individuals, a smaller information literacy gap can better prevent the epidemic diffusion. This study contributes to the literature by revealing the importance of individuals' heterogeneity of information literacy on epidemic spreading in different communities and has implications for how to inform people when a new epidemic disease emerges.

Large input and high loss of chemical fertilizer are the major causes of agricultural non-point source pollution in China. Employing fertilizer loss and micro-health data, this paper analyzes the effects of chemical fertilizer loss on the health of rural elderly and the medical cost in China. Results of the difference-in-differences (DID) method indicate that one kg/ha increase in fertilizer loss alters a key medical disability index (Activities of Daily Living) by 0.0147 (0.2 percent changes) and the number of diseases by 0.0057 for rural residents of 65 and older. This is equivalent to CNY 316 million (USD 45 million) at national medical cost. Furthermore, the age of onset is younger in regions with higher fertilizer loss. One kg/ha increase of fertilizer loss advances the age of onset by 0.267 year, which will cause long-term effect on public health. Our results are robust to a variety of robustness checks.

This work investigates the appointed-finite-time trajectory tracking control problem for quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles subject to external disturbances. More specifically, two nonsingular terminal sliding mode manifolds are first designed so that the singularity problem is settled. Furthermore, the appointed-finite-time stability of the proposed manifolds is proved by rigorous Lyapunov theory. Then, two novel sliding mode based appointed-finite-time controllers are developed to realize the trajectory tracking objective. The undesired chattering is alleviated by discontinuous control structure. Finally, numerical simulation results are presented to illustrate that the quadrotor can successfully accomplish the tracking task by utilizing the proposed controllers.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to summarize the association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and the incidence of lung cancer using a meta-analysis of cohort studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS We systematically searched PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library to identify potential cohort studies. Relative risk (RR) was used to calculate the association between DM and the risk of lung cancer. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis and test for publication bias were performed. Twenty cohort studies were selected. RESULTS The participants with DM showed little or no significant effect on the risk of lung cancer (RR: 1.10; 95% CI: 0.99-1.23; P = .087). DM was not associated with the risk of lung cancer in men (RR: 1.11; 95%CI: 0.92-1.35; P = .270), but a significant association was observed in women (RR: 1.18; 95%CI: 1.10-1.28; P

Background Sigesbeckia glabrescens Makino (SG) has been traditionally used for rheumatism and joint protection. However, the anti-arthritic effects and underling mechanisms of SG have not been demonstrated. In this study, we investigated the anti-arthritic effects and mechanisms of SG extract (SGE) on collagen-induced arthritic rats and interleukin (IL)-1β-stimulated human synovial SW982 cells. Methods Rats were induced to arthritis by collagen for 15 days and then received SGE treatment for 35 days. The body weight and arthritis severity score of the rats were monitored weekly. At the end of the experiment, the radiographic and histological changes of rats’ hind paw were obtained; the serum C-reactive protein was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); the expression levels of interleukin (IL)- 1β, IL6 and IL-10 in the joint muscles were determined by ELISA and immunohistochemical staining; and the level of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the spleen was detected using flow cytometry. In addition, 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and scratch wound healing assay were used to evaluate the proliferation of SW982 synovial cells. ELISA, western blot and immunofluorescence staining were used to investigate the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of SGE on IL-1β-induced SW982 cells and joint muscles of CIA rats. Results SGE attenuated the collagen-induced hind paw swelling, cartilage damage and bone erosion. SGE inhibited the synovial hyperplasia to the articular cavity in the toe joint and ankle. Moreover, SGE decreased the production of C-reactive protein in serum and the expression of IL-6, IL-1β, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 in the joint muscles. SGE also recovered the decreased Tregs. Results from the in vitro experiments showed that SGE not only inhibited the proliferation and migration of human synovial cell but also inhibited the IL-1β-induced expression of IL-6 and IL-8. Similarly, SGE inhibited the activation of NF-κB and the expression of COX-2. Conclusions SGE attenuated the collagen-induced arthritis through inhibiting the synovial hyperplasia and inflammation.

Background Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a persistent chronic excessive anxiety that is hard to control. Our previous study indicated that self-designed Ningxin Anshen Formula (NXAS) was effective to treat mild to moderate GAD patients. This study is a randomized controlled clinical trial and aimed to investigate the imapct of self-designed NXAS on the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in patients with mild to moderate GAD and explore the potential mechanisms. Methods A total of 61 patients diagnosed with mild to moderate GAD were recruited and divided into two groups randomly: NXAS group (n=31) and placebo group (n=30). Before and after treatment, the rsFC was examined by resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), the anxiety was assessed with HAMA, and the independent component analysis (ICA) was used to analyze the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). The correlation between HAMA score and abnormal rsFC was further evaluated. Results The default mode network (DMN) showed evident rsFC interaction in the PCUN in both groups before and after therapy. The salience network (SN) showed obvious rsFC interaction in the bilateral gyrus frontalis inferiors and bilateral gyri temporalis superiors before and after therapy. In the NXAS group, the rsFC interction reduced significantly in the left gyrus frontalis inferior, but remained unchanged in the right gyrus frontalis inferior and bilateral gyri temporalis superiors after therapy. In the control group, the rsFC interaction increased dramatically after treatment. In addition, the abnormal rsFC had no relationship with HAMA score. Conclusions The self-designed NXAS can increase the rsFC in the PUCN on DMN and reduce rsFC in the orbIFG.L on SN to exert anti-anxiety effect.

BACKGROUND Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a persistent chronic excessive anxiety that is hard to control. Our previous study indicated that self-designed Ningxin Anshen Formula (NXAS) was effective to improve the symptoms and Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) of mild to moderate GAD patients. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the imapct of self-designed NXAS on the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in patients with mild to moderate GAD and explore the potential mechanisms. METHODS A total of 61 patients diagnosed with mild to moderate GAD were recruited and divided into two groups: NXAS group (n=31) and placebo group (n=30). Before and after treatment, the RSFC was examined by resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), the anxiety was assessed with HAMA, and the independent component analysis (ICA) was used to analyze the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). The correlation between HAMA score and abnormal RSFC was further evaluated. RESULTS The default mode network (DMN) showed evident RSFC interaction in the PCUN in both groups before and after therapy. The salience network (SN) showed obvious RSFC interaction in the bilateral gyrus frontalis inferiors and bilateral gyri temporalis superiors before and after therapy. In the NXAS group, the RSFC interction reduced significantly in the left gyrus frontalis inferior, but remained unchanged in the right gyrus frontalis inferior and bilateral gyri temporalis superiors after therapy. In the control group, the RSFC interaction increased dramatically after treatment. In addition, the abnormal RSFC had no relationship with HAMA score. CONCLUSIONS The self-designed NXAS can increase the RSFC in the PUCN on DMN and reduce RSFC in the orbIFG.L on SN to exert anti-anxiety effect. CLINICALTRIAL The study was registered on the Clinical Trials (NO. ChiCTR-OCC-12002329).

A new model is describing complex dissolution-ionization-diffusion-deposition (DIDD) process in metal/solution interface. Taking CO2 corrosion of steel as an example for modeling verification, helping to better understand the non-Arrhenius corrosion behavior of 20 steel, especially the role of alloying element Cr on the corrosion resistance. The calculated results have a good agreement with morphology and weight loss. Moreover, a significant contribution of this study is to find a bridge between the thermodynamics and kinetics of electrochemical corrosion, providing a promising tool to develop a deterministic method for corrosion prediction and formulate a set of principles for designing new alloys.

Source rocks in lacustrine rifting basins have great heterogeneity, which leads to imprecise assessments of hydrocarbon resources. Previous studies evaluated the source rocks of different sedimentary environments in lacustrine basins or depressions using the same lower limit of effective source rocks (i.e., the minimum total organic carbon (TOC) at which the source rocks are capable of expelling hydrocarbons). In this study, the source rock samples were selected from five formations in the Dongpu Depression for organic geochemical experiments and quantitative simulations of hydrocarbon expulsion. According to salinity differences, every formation was divided into a saline area, transition area and freshwater area. The results show that the maximum thickness of source rocks developed in the saline and transition areas is 700 m. Additionally, source rocks with a higher TOC and oil-prone organic matter types (II1 and II2) also develop in the saline and transition areas, and most have entered the mature stage. The TOC values corresponding to the lower limit of effective source rocks in the saline, transition, and freshwater areas are 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively. Furthermore, the hydrocarbon expulsion ratio (amount of hydrocarbon discharged per unit of TOC from the source rocks) for the freshwater area is 253.1 mg/g, while the ratios in the saline and transition areas are relatively higher at 439.4 mg/g and 369.3 mg/g, respectively. The hydrocarbon expulsion rate (change in the expulsion ratio per unit thermal evolution degree) and hydrocarbon expulsion efficiency (ratio of cumulative hydrocarbon expulsion amount to generation amount) in the saline, transition and freshwater areas present maxima when the Ro (vitrinite reflectance) values are 0.95%, 0.85% and 0.82%, respectively. The hydrocarbon expulsion quantities in the saline, transition and freshwater areas account for 24%, 49% and 27% of the total, respectively. Therefore, the main hydrocarbon expulsion area is the transition area of the Dongpu Depression associated with the thickest source rocks. Es3M and Es3L source rocks in the transition area with high organic matter abundant and type II kerogen are more promising than the other formations. This study is the first to report on effective source rocks in different sedimentary environments in lacustrine basins and can provide guidance for future exploration in the Dongpu Depression and a reference for future research on source rocks in other lacustrine basins.

Characteristics such as ‘acquaintance society’ and ‘differential mode of association’ have been widely acknowledged as unique features of Chinese rural societies. However, quantitative evidence of these characteristics is not found in the literature. Applying methods in social network analysis, this paper presents a quantitative study of the social structure of Chinese villages. We measure various network statistics and topological properties of these villages using detailed data on major social relationships (including kinship, house neighbourhood, land plot neighbourhood and political relationships) in 10 rural villages located in central China. In this way, we provide a quantitative description of the structural characteristics of Chinese villages and quantitative evidence for some widely acknowledged features. Our findings are threefold: (1) the networks of Chinese villages are densely connected and highly decentralised; (2) the networks are typical small-world networks, referred to in network research as ‘acquaintance societies’; (3) individuals form neighbourhood ties according to the closeness of existing kinship ties, which corroborates the feature of ‘differential mode of association’.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a respiratory inflammatory disease. Unlike asthma, COPD is insensitive to glucocorticoid treatment; thus, it is of great importance to find alternative medications, including Chinese medicine, to suppress inflammation. Bu-Shen-Fang-Chuan formula (BSFCF) is commonly used for the treatment of COPD in China. However, the mechanisms of BSFCF in COPD treatment are still unclear. Aim of the study To verify the anti-inflammatory efficacy of BSFCF in COPD and to explore the possible mechanisms underlying its anti-inflammatory efficacy based on the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)-Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and Nuclear factor (NF)-κB signalling pathways. Materials and methods A rat model of COPD was established by chronic exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) for 6 months. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and blood were obtained to detect inflammatory cytokines. Lung samples were harvested, and part of each sample was fixed for subsequent H&E staining and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis. The remaining lung tissues were used for RNA sequencing analysis and western blotting. Results BSFCF significantly reduced inflammatory infiltration in the lungs of CS-exposed rats and decreased the concentrations of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 in both the BALF and serum. Additionally, BSFCF evidently attenuated NF-κB activation and downregulation of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) caused by CS. Furthermore, BSFCF increased the activation of PI3K/Akt-Nrf2 signalling in response to CS. Conclusions BSFCF attenuated CS-induced inflammation in COPD, which was partially achieved through the PI3K/Akt-Nrf2 and NF-κB signalling pathways.

This paper investigates the fixed-time rendezvous and docking control problem between two six-degrees-of-freedom (six-DOF) spacecrafts based on dual quaternions. Firstly, Dual quaternions are used to describe the six-DOF kinematic and dynamic models about the relative translational motion and rotational motion of the two Spacecraft. Then, a novel terminal sliding mode and based fixed-time control strategy is proposed for spacecrafts to achieve the fast rendezvous and docking(RVD). Though the Lyapunov stability analysis, the closed-loop system is proved to be fixed-time stable and the state errors are guaranteed to converge to a small region containing the origin in fixed time. Finally, the effective performance of the proposed scheme is verified by the numerical simulation results.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease, causing articular and extra-articular dysfunctions among patients, and it could result in irreversible joint damages or disability if untreated. A traditional Chinese medicine formula, Huayu-Qiangshen-Tongbi (HT) formula, has been observed successful in controlling rheumatoid arthritis progression in traditional Chinese medicine clinics. In this study, we conducted a systematic analysis of the HT formula with a purpose of proposing for its potential mechanism of action using network pharmacological methods. The potential targets of the formula were collected and screened according to the topological features of their protein–protein interaction network, and we subsequently validated our prediction results through in vitro experiments. We proposed that the HT formula could interfere with the bone metabolism and the inflammatory pathways of the body. The experimental validation results indicated that HT formula could exhibit anti-inflammatory effects by regulating several signaling pathways specifically the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, phosphoinositide-3-kinase–Akt signaling pathway, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 signaling pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway and activator protein 1 signaling pathway.

Organic-rich shale, the third member of the PaleogeneShahejie Formation (Es3), is considered as an excellent lacustrine source rock in the Bohai Bay Basin. However, studies on how paleosedimentary environments affect organic matter enrichment are still lacking. In this study, cores of the Es3 shale in the Dongpu Depression (DD) nearly 200 m in length were collected at well Pu 115 to investigate organic matter enrichment mechanism. Results suggest that the Es3 shale was deposited under reductive conditions based on the redox index (V/(V + Ni)) and the large amount of pyrite. The Mg/Sr and Fe/Mn ratios indicate a generally arid climate with a frequently changing paleowater depth. The paleosalinity analyses indicate the Es3 shale developed under fresh-brackish conditions. The Ba content ranges from 75 to 435 ppm (avg. 284 ppm), showing a moderate paleoproductivity. Correlation analyses among the total organic carbon (TOC) and major and trace element ratios show that the TOC rises with the increasing water reduction degree. With increasing water paleosalinity, the TOC increases initially and then decreases, reaching a maximum TOC at a paleosalinity of 11‰. In addition, the TOC increases initially and then decreases with increasing detrital input, indicating that a moderate detrital input would be beneficial for organic matter enrichment. The redox conditions, paleosalinity and quantity of detrital input are the key factors controlling the organic matter enrichment. Further analyses show that the redox conditions were controlled by the paleoclimate, and the paleosalinity and terrestrial detrital input quantity were affected by the paleowater depth. The root factors controlling the organic matter enrichment are paleoclimate and paleowater depth in the saline lacustrine rift basin.

We are concerned with the initial value problem for the two-species Vlasov–Poisson system in the plasma physics case in R3. It is assumed that initially the phase-space densities of ions and electrons decay only polynomially with respect to the velocities, but the net charge density vanishes at infinity with a polynomial rate, which allows for defining the electrostatic field. This situation falls into the so-called infinite charge problem, and there is no rigorous result as far as we know. Local existence, uniqueness, and continuation criteria of the classical solution are established in this paper. Moreover, this article also shows the existence of a global solution in the case of radial symmetry.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Sigesbeckiae Herba (SH), a traditional anti-inflammatory Chinese herbal medicine, is originated from the plants of Sigesbeckia pubescens Makino (SP), S. orientalis L. (SO) and S. glabrescens Makino (SG). The current studies reported that the chemical constituents in the three species of plants were different. Aim of the study The aim of this study is to provide a systemic comparison on the anti-inflammatory effects and the underlying molecular mechanisms among the three plants based on their effects on nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signal pathways in vitro. Material and methods Twenty-four batches of three Sigesbeckia herbs were collected from different regions of China and extracted with 50% ethanol. The distribution of 6 compounds in the 24 batches of SH extracts were characterized by UPLC analysis. The cytotoxicity of all extracts to RAW264.7 cells in the absence or presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were examined by 3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The anti-inflammatory effects of the extracts were investigated using Griess reagent and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The underlying mechanisms of the representative samples (SP007, SO005 and SG003) for individual species were examined by western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. Results The estimated average sub-lethal dose (LD15) of SP, SO and SG on RAW264.7 cells were 181.7 ± 15.7, 291.5 ± 33.9 and 317.1 ± 16.3 μg/mL, respectively. In LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, the inhibitory effects of SH species were determined to be SP > SO > SG on NO release, while SP ~ SO > SG on secretion of post-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1). Moreover, suppression on LPS-induced excessive expressions of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), as well as the activation of NF-κB and phosphorylation of MAPKs were investigated to be associated to the anti-inflammatory effects for all SH species. Conclusions We firstly reported a systemic comparison on the anti-inflammatory properties for the three main plant origins of SH. Although SG showed lower toxicity and less anti-inflammatory effects compared with SP and SO in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells, comparable inhibitory effects on NF-κB and MAPKs pathways and the reduction of LPS-induced iNOS and COX-2 were observed in the anti-inflammatory process for all Sigesbeckia plants.

We separately identify two mechanisms underlying peer effects in farm households' adoption of a new crop. A farmer can follow his peers to adopt a new crop because he learns knowledge about the new crop from them (social learning) and because he wants to avoid the damage caused by the practice conflicting with theirs (externalities). Using an agent-based model, we simulate the two mechanisms on a multiplex network consisting of two types of social relationships. The simulation model is estimated using detailed data of social networks, adoption and relevant socio-economic characteristics from 10 villages in China. We find that social learning -- in this case, the sharing of experiential resources -- among family members and production externalities between contiguous land plots both significantly influence farmers' adoption. Furthermore, sharing of experiential resources plays a significant role in the entire diffusion process and dominates the early phase, whereas externalities only matter in the late phase. This study shows the roles peer effects play in shaping diffusion can occur through different mechanisms and can vary as the diffusion proceeds. The work also suggests that agent-based models can help disentangle the role of social interactions in promoting or hindering diffusion.

Sr4Al14O25:Eu2+, Dy3+ luminescent phosphor was synthesized for the first time from using cyclodextrin as chelating agent by sol-gel method. The structural characterization, surface morphology and properties of the phosphor were studied. The results revealed that the target phosphor with relatively regular morphology, smaller grain size, pure phase and high crystallinity can be achieved at 1200°C for 4 h in a reducing atmosphere. The average grain size of the Sr4Al14O25:Eu2+, Dy3+ phosphor nanoparticles ranges from 50 to 100 nm . And the phosphorescence in blue-green (483 nm) by Eu2+.

Chinese Abstract: 在创新扩散的过程中，个体的采纳行为会受到同一群体中其他成员的影响，这种影响被称为同伴效应。现有研究对同伴效应的发生机理缺乏系统性的认识，本文在明确界定同伴效应的基础上，提出了一个研究同伴效应的理论框架，将同伴效应区分为信息效应、经验效应和外部性效应，并运用该框架详细解析了武汉市金鸡村藜蒿新品种扩散中的同伴效应。我们发现，三种效应分别在整个扩散过程的早期、中期和后期主导扩散，且各自经由不同类型的社会关系发生。信息效应可以促使极少数创新意愿较高的个体采纳，但是难以诱发大规模的扩散；经验效应相对较强，它通常促使“关键大众”的形成；外部性效应则迫使意愿最低的一部分个体也跟进。 English Abstract: An individual’s behaviour to adopt an innovation can be influenced by other members in the same group. Such influence is referred to as peer effects in literature. However, systematical examination on the causal mechanisms of peer effects has not found in existing studies. Based on a definition of peer effect, this paper presents a theoretical framework to study peer effects in the diffusion of innovations. Peer effects are split into information effect, experience effect and externality effect. We apply this framework in the case of the diffusion a high-value crop in Golden Rooster Village in Wuhan. We find that each of the three effects plays a dominant role in the early, intermediate and late phase of the diffusion process, respectively, and takes place through different social relationships. Information effect induces the adoption of a small number of innovators, but not large-scale diffusion. Experience effect plays a relatively more significant role and leads to the formation of “critical mass”. Externality effect then coerces the “loggers” to follow suit.

As a conceptual framework for understanding contemporary sustainability challenges, telecoupling emphasises the importance of socioeconomic and environmental interactions over long distances. These long-distance interactions can occur through multiple human activities. Here we focus on international trade, a major channel of telecoupling flows, and in particular on the international trade of metals. We present a conceptual model to show how trade can be viewed through the telecoupling framework. We then use world input-output tables to quantitatively examine how countries contribute to both economic and environmental flows through trade of metals, but also how that contribution varies depending on their position in the global value chain of contemporary international trade. This analysis is built on recently-developed techniques for decomposing gross exports of physical products and embedded environmental assets as well as previous methods for valuing environmental assets. We make comparisons between countries' contributions to flows of economic value vs embedded greenhouse gas emissions, but also examine contributions beyond total volumes of trade and bilateral trade. Specifically, we quantify the economic and environmental ‘spillover’ effects that occur in contemporary international trade due to the global value chain in which flows of intermediate goods form components in other subsequently traded goods. We interpret differences between countries' contributions to the flows of economic value versus embedded environmental assets as being related to the intensity and efficiency of resource use during production. In turn, differences in contributions to direct trade flows versus spillover flows are related to their positions in the global value chain. Subsequently, we discuss other elements of the telecoupling framework in trade – agents, causes and effects. Quantitatively incorporating these telecoupling framework elements alongside spillover flows will enable investigation of dynamics and relationships that traditional trade theories, data and models do not currently account for well.

Carbon/Carbon composite is considered to be one of the best biomaterials substitute to human hard tissues due to its excellent biocompatibility and the much closed elastic modulus to human skeleton. It has been widely used and studied to the fields of artificial bones materials, but the osteoinductivity need to be improved. In recent years, the commonly used surface modification to improve their bone induction, such as hydroxyapatite, chitosan and so on, which prompted the adsorption of osseous protein, adhesion and growth of cells. It is believed the surface modification and coating of the carbon/carbon composite should promote its application in artificial bones. This article reviews the modified coat of medical carbon / carbon composites in recent years, and proposed some recommendations for the development of medical carbon / carbon composite in the future.

Chinese Abstract: 本研究采用计算机仿真技术，考察在公共灌溉资源管理中影响个体之间达成集体自治理协议的因素。达成集体自治理机制需要大多数灌溉资源的占有者（本研究中设定为80%）愿意参与旨在实现灌溉资源永续利用的合作。占用者参与合作的意愿除了取决于自身的经济、社会特征外，还取决于其已经参与合作的邻居的数量。参与合作的邻居越多，该占用者参与的意愿越高。为了考察不同社会社会关系网络结构的影响，占有者所处的社会网络被分别模拟为随机网络、小世界网络和无标度网络。我们获得以下结论：1、在小世界网络中，达成集体自治理协议所需的时间最短，无标度网络其次，随机网络再次。2、政府的激励政策（即对占有者参与合作所需缴纳的费用给予补助），有利于提高最终自愿参与合作的人数，但是没有明显提高达成协议的速度。3、在一个社会群体中，初始参与合作者的数量不是决定集体自治理协议能否达成的关键因素，但是他们所处的社会网络地位（如度、中心性）对集体自治理协议达成的速度甚至是否能否达成具有显著影响。English Abstract: This paper studies the factors that affect the formation of collective self-organisation in the management of irrigation resource. Collective self-organisation is formed when the majority of the population (80% of the owners of the resource, in our case) participates the cooperation that aims at sustainable use of the irrigation resource. Whether an owner participates the cooperation depends on not only on his social economic characteristics, but also the proportion of his neighbours that have participated the cooperation. To investigate the influence of social structure, the social network in which owners interact is modelled as random network, small-world network and scale-free network separately. Out conclusions are threefold. (1) Collective self-organisation is achieved most quickly in small-world networks, and most slowly in random network. (2) Government’s stimulant policy (i.e., subsiding the coordination cost that all participants need to pay) helps increase the number of participants, but improve the speed of forming collective self-organisation limitedly. (3) In a social group, the number of initial participants does not influence whether collective self-organisation can be formed; whereas the network status (i.e., degree and centrality) of initial participants significantly affect the speed of forming collective self-organisation.

An introduction is made of a new method, which use computer to get an accurate unfolding drawing, to calculate the cutting stock of chemical container’s connecting pipe. Practice proved that this method is not only fast and convenient, but also accurate and reliable.

The working medium of the pneumatic control system is air, which is delivered to each branch pipe through the role of the governing valve , and then the divided gas delivers the compressed air to each solenoid valve and pneumatic control valve. The solenoid valves and pneumatic control valve is connected through terminals and PLC, PLC obtains corresponding signal and makes judgment, conveying signal which is delivered to the solenoid valves and pneumatic control valve to achieve ventilation and breathe action, and finally the gas reaches the cylinder . The cylinder can complete the valve body on and off, so as to realize the pneumatic system of the automatic control.

Empirical studies on social diffusions are often restricted by the access to data of diffusion and social relations on the same objects. We present a set of first-hand data that we collected in ten rural villages in central China through household surveys. The dataset contains detailed and comprehensive data of the diffusion of an innovation, the major social relationships and the household level demographic characteristics in these villages. The data have been used to study peer effects in social diffusion using simulation models, “Peer Effects and Social Network: The Case of Rural Diffusion in Central China” [1]. They can also be used to estimate spatial econometric models. Data are supplied with this article. Keywords: High-value crop, Diffusion, Social networks, Rural China, Household survey

F-doped TiO2 by hydrothermal synthesis method is prepared in this paper. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infra-red (FT-IR) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis). The photocatalytic performances of the samples were estimated by degrading Rhodamine B. which indicates that the reaction of photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B follows the zero order kinetic law. The photocatalytic performances are increased by F-doped. And F optimum doping dosage is 2.0%. After calcination at 500°C, the photocatalytic performance of the sample has not been obvious improved.

We examine how adoption of a high-value crop diffuses through social networks, using detailed demographic, social network, and adoption data from ten villages in Central China. We develop a model of diffusion through a multiplex network that distinguishes the influence of sharing experiential resources by earlier adopters and that of externalities due to adoption behaviours. We find that the sharing of resources among family members and the production externalities arose between contiguous land plots both significantly influence farmers' adoption. Furthermore, the sharing of resources is more influential in the early stage of diffusion process, whereas the externalities mainly matter in the late stage. We also find that adopters give priority to those with a stronger kinship tie when deciding with whom to share their resources, and proximity in age can strengthen the kinship ties.

This paper presents a research framework for studying peer effects in the diffusion of innovations. The underlying mechanisms of peer effects are generally under-discussed in existing studies. By investigating diffusion processes in the real world and reviewing previous studies, we find that information transmission, experience sharing and externalities are the basic mechanisms through which peer effects occur. They are termed as information effect, experience effect and externality effect, respectively. The three effects could occur through different types of relationships in a social network. Each of them plays a different role at different stages of a diffusion process. A simulation model incorporating multiple effects in a multiplex network is developed to provide a theoretical study. We simulate the experience effect and the externality effect in a context of rural diffusion. It generates the widely acknowledged pattens of diffusion in various scenarios. The experiments conducted using the model show that peer effects as a whole can be substantially misestimated if the underlying mechanisms are ignored.

We present an agent-based model to test two competing hypotheses in the theory of self-enforcing agreement. In cooperative teams (such as agricultural cooperatives), self-enforcing agreement plays a critical role in guaranteeing members’ work incentives when the monitoring from a third party is absent. In order to provide an effective sanction to the violators so as to maintain the agreement, two seemingly conflicting strategies are proposed. One is allowing the members to exit the team freely. The other is imposing a high exit cost to restrict members from leaving the team. The arguments behind each strategy are elaborated in Lin (1993) and Dong and Dow (1993), respectively. However, these strategies have never been tested in the same model. In fact, no formal model is presented for one of the arguments. To fill this gap, we develop a model that incorporates the two arguments as two scenarios in a shared framework. Our model takes heterogeneity of team members (e.g., their laziness, work ability and patience to future well-being) into consideration, which allows us to better understand the divergence of these two arguments. We find the two arguments essentially claim different consequences under different conditions of members’ characteristics and team size. Our study demonstrates agent-based simulation can be an effective approach of testing game theoretical arguments and exploring game theoretical ideas.

This paper studies whether Chinese provinces set strategically their environmental stringency when faced with interprovincial competition for mobile capital. Using Chinese provincial data and spatial panel econometric models, we find that Chinese provinces do engage in this kind of strategic interaction, particularly among those with similar industrial structure. Furthermore, we haven’t found evidence of asymmetric responsiveness suggested by the race to the bottom theory. Finally, the one-sided fiscal decentralization is likely to strengthen the strategic behavior. These empirical results call for a skeptical attitude towards China’s decentralization of environment policy implementation as well as its fiscal arrangements.