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Nickel contents of olivine have been widely used as petrogenetic indicators and as fertility indicators for magmatic sulfide potential of mafic-ultramafic intrusions, on the assumption that olivines crystallized from magmas that had equilibrated with sulfide liquid should be relatively depleted in Ni compared with a sulfide-free baseline. This has given rise to a large accumulation of data that is brought together here, along with data on volcanic olivines, to critically evaluate the effectiveness of the approach. We identify multiple sources of variance in Ni content of olivine at a given Fo content, including variability in mantle melt composition due to depth, water content (and possibly source), subsequent fractional crystallization with and without sulfide, recharge and magma mixing, batch equilibration between olivine and sulfide at variable silicate-sulfide ratio (R), and olivine/liquid ratio; and subsequent equilibration during trapped liquid crystallization in orthocumulates. Baselines for Ni in olivine in relation to Fo content are somewhat lower in orogenic belt settings relative to intrusions in continental large igneous provinces (LIPs). This is probably related to differences in initial parent magma compositions, with plume magmas generally forming deeper and at higher temperatures. No clear, universal discrimination is evident in Ni in olivine between ore-bearing, weakly mineralized, and barren intrusions, even when tectonic setting is taken into account. However, sulfide-related signals can be identified at the intrusion scale in many cases. Low-R factor and low-tenor sulfides are associated with low-Ni olivines in several examples, and these cases stand out clearly. Anomalously high-Ni olivines are a feature of some mineralized intrusions, in part due to trapped liquid reaction effects. However, in some cases, this mechanism cannot account for the magnitude of enrichment. In these cases, enrichment may be due to re-entrainment of "primitive" Ni-rich sulfide by a more evolved Fe-rich magma, driving the olivine to become Ni-enriched due to Fe-Ni exchange reaction between sulfide and olivine during transport. An extreme case of this process may account for ultra-Ni enriched olivine at Kevitsa (Finland), but more subtle signals elsewhere could be positive indicators. A lack of clear mineralized/barren distinction in specific groups of related intrusions, e.g., the deposits of NW China or the Kotalahti Belt in Finland, may well be due to "false negatives" where undiscovered mineralization exists in specific intrusions or in their feeder systems, or may also be due to a multiplicity of confounding factors. Wide variability of both Fo and Ni between related intrusions at regional scale may be a useful regional prospectivity indicator, more than an intrusion-scale discriminant, and is certainly informative as a petrogenetic indicator. In general, the use of Ni-olivine as a fertility tool is more likely to generate false negatives than false positives, but both are possible, and the technique should be used as part of a broader weight-of-evidence approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SARS Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in late 2019, leading to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to cause significant global mortality in human populations. Given its sequence similarity to SARS-CoV, as well as related coronaviruses circulating in bats, SARS-CoV-2 is thought to have originated in Chiroptera species in China. However, whether the virus spread directly to humans or through an intermediate host is currently unclear, as is the potential for this virus to infect companion animals, livestock, and wildlife that could act as viral reservoirs. Using a combination of surrogate entry assays and live virus, we demonstrate that, in addition to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the Spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 has a broad host tropism for mammalian ACE2 receptors, despite divergence in the amino acids at the Spike receptor binding site on these proteins. Of the 22 different hosts we investigated, ACE2 proteins from dog, cat, and cattle were the most permissive to SARS-CoV-2, while bat and bird ACE2 proteins were the least efficiently used receptors. The absence of a significant tropism for any of the 3 genetically distinct bat ACE2 proteins we examined indicates that SARS-CoV-2 receptor usage likely shifted during zoonotic transmission from bats into people, possibly in an intermediate reservoir. Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 receptor usage to the related coronaviruses SARS-CoV and RaTG13 identified distinct tropisms, with the 2 human viruses being more closely aligned. Finally, using bioinformatics, structural data, and targeted mutagenesis, we identified amino acid residues within the Spike–ACE2 interface, which may have played a pivotal role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in humans. The apparently broad tropism of SARS-CoV-2 at the point of viral entry confirms the potential risk of infection to a wide range of companion animals, livestock, and wildlife. A study using a combination of surrogate entry assays and live virus suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may have a broad host-range, revealing that the virus's spike protein can use a broad range of host ACE2 receptors to enter cells and that the sequence of this protein might have changed during the zoonotic jump into humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or Covid-19), which began as an epidemic in China and spread globally as a pandemic, has necessitated resource management to meet emergency needs of Covid-19 patients and other emergent cases. We have conducted a survey to analyze caseload and measures to adapt indications for a perception of crisis. Methods: We constructed a questionnaire to survey a snapshot of neurosurgical activity, resources, and indications during 1 week with usual activity in December 2019 and 1 week during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in March 2020. The questionnaire was sent to 34 neurosurgical departments in Europe; 25 departments returned responses within 5 days. Results: We found unexpectedly large differences in resources and indications already before the pandemic. Differences were also large in how much practice and resources changed during the pandemic. Neurosurgical beds and neuro-intensive care beds were significantly decreased from December 2019 to March 2020. The utilization of resources decreased via less demand for care of brain injuries and subarachnoid hemorrhage, postponing surgery and changed surgical indications as a method of rationing resources. Twenty departments (80%) reduced activity extensively, and the same proportion stated that they were no longer able to provide care according to legitimate medical needs. Conclusion: Neurosurgical centers responded swiftly and effectively to a sudden decrease of neurosurgical capacity due to relocation of resources to pandemic care. The pandemic led to rationing of neurosurgical care in 80% of responding centers. We saw a relation between resources before the pandemic and ability to uphold neurosurgical services. The observation of extensive differences of available beds provided an opportunity to show how resources that had been restricted already under normal conditions translated to rationing of care that may not be acceptable to the public of seemingly affluent European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in mainland China was characterized by a distinctive subexponential increase of confirmed cases during the early phase of the epidemic, contrasting with an initial exponential growth expected for an unconstrained outbreak. We show that this effect can be explained as a direct consequence of containment policies that effectively deplete the susceptible population. To this end, we introduce a parsimonious model that captures both quarantine of symptomatic infected individuals, as well as population-wide isolation practices in response to containment policies or behavioral changes, and show that the model captures the observed growth behavior accurately. The insights provided here may aid the careful implementation of containment strategies for ongoing secondary outbreaks of COVID-19 or similar future outbreaks of other emergent infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding and quantifying populations' adaptive genetic variation and their response to climate change are critical to reforestation's seed source selection, forest management decisions, and gene conservation. Landscape genomics combined with geographic and environmental information provide an opportunity to interrogate forest populations' genome‐wide variation for understanding the extent to which evolutionary forces shape past and contemporary populations' genetic structure, and identify those populations that may be most at risk under future climate change. Here, we used genotyping by sequencing to generate over 11,000 high‐quality variants from Platycladus orientalis range‐wide collection to evaluate its diversity and to predict genetic offset under future climate scenarios. Platycladus orientalis is a widespread conifer in China with significant ecological, timber, and medicinal values. We found population structure and evidences of isolation by environment, indicative of adaptation to local conditions. Gradient forest modeling identified temperature‐related variables as the most important environmental factors influencing genetic variation and predicted areas with higher risk under future climate change. This study provides an important reference for forest resource management and conservation for P. orientalis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the result of author's visit to more than 16 of China's top university libraries, various Academy of Sciences libraries, and National Peking Library during 1984-85 academic year. Topics covered include hardware inventory, software applications development, Chinese ideograph automation, China's library classification system, and network typology. (15 references) (EJS)

This discussion of possible future applications of machine translation of Asian language materials by library information systems focuses on the current technology, potential users, the necessary standardization of equipment and language representations, an existing information network that provides a database of Asian materials, and available software packages for microcomputers. (CLB)

The ruling on 12 July 2016 by the Arbitral Tribunal in the case of the South China Sea dispute between the Philippines and China has had positive impact on the credibility of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian claimant countries. This improved positioning for Southeast Asia vis-à-vis China has however mainly seen the promotion of bilateral country relationships with China and displayed limited utility for the Southeast Asian region as a whole. Despite contemporary unpalatability of multilateralism as a viable means for dispute resolution to the claimant countries, there is an inherent multilateral opportunity to the rise of Sino-Southeast Asian bilateralisms post-ruling, especially favourable for regional, inter-regional and global fora in which Southeast Asian countries and China interact with international partners. Primary aim of this article is to illustrate this indirect opportunity for multilateralism with focus on the extent to which there has been and is enhanced space for the European Union (EU) and its Member States as international partners to express their commitment to peace and security in the Asia- Pacific in the specific context of the South China Sea arbitration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Meat substitute experience strongly predicts meat reduction intentions in China and US. • Meat substitute experience strongly predicts meat reduction policy support in China and US. • Factual information can increase meat reduction intentions and respective policy support. • Meat substitute experience can potentially boost the positive effect of information. • Strategic policy sequencing can increase support and create positive political feedback. The food system causes more than a third of the global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, of which half are from livestock. Shifting towards plant-based diets could significantly reduce deforestation, protect biodiversity, and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris climate targets. Arguably, large-scale shifts in meat consumption require ambitious policy change. Yet, deep-rooted eating habits, pleasure, cultural status, and personal freedom are just a few of many obstacles to adopt ambitious demand-side policies and reduce meat consumption. Here, we hypothesize that technological innovation in meat substitutes, if effectively combined with social norm and factual informational triggers for behavioral changes, can foster positive political feedback to transform the food system. To test our hypothesis, we conducted survey experiments with citizens (N = 2590) in China and the US – the globally largest meat markets – and analyzed data using different machine learning methods. Our findings show that personal experience with novel plant-based meat substitutes strongly predicts individuals' intentions to reduce their meat consumption, eat more substitutes, and support public policies to catalyze a transition to more plant-based diets. We also find that in both countries factual and social norm information about the benefits of more plant-based diets can increase citizens' behavioral change intentions and support for meat reduction policies. Overall, however, social norm information had no significant additional effects on the outcomes compared to the simple factual information treatments. In the US, prior experience with innovative meat substitutes potentially can boost the positive effects of informational campaigns on public support for meat reduction policies. The results offer promising implications for a policy sequencing strategy to create positive political feedback and enable socio-technical tipping dynamics for sustainable food system transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms for patients with type-2 diabetes at the population level in China and explore differences in demographic, socioeconomic, and disease-specific parameters between diabetic patients with and without depression. Self-rating depression scale was used to screen for depressive symptoms in 667 patients with type-2 diabetes from 4 communities in Beijing; their quality of life and social support was assessed using appropriate and validated tools. The results indicate that 44.23% of diabetic patients report depressive symptoms; patients with depressive symptoms had a significantly higher rate of diabetic complications, a lower quality of life and less social support than patients without depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives To explore the factors related to quality of life for patients with type 2 diabetes with or without depressive symptoms in China. Background In patients with type 2 diabetes with or without depressive symptoms, different factors such as gender, social context or regional setting may affect their quality of life. Design This was a cross-sectional study. Methods Of 791 registered patients with type 2 diabetes from four communities in Beijing, cluster sampling was used to recruit patients for participation. Self-rating depression scale was used to screen for depressive symptoms; demographic and clinical data were collected, and quality of life and social support were assessed using appropriate tools. The factors associated with quality of life were tested using multivariate linear regression. Results The prevalence of depressive symptoms in 667 patients with diabetes was 44·2%. Quality of life of patients with depressive symptoms was worse than that of patients without depressive symptoms, and this was associated negatively with history of diabetic complications, usage of hypoglycaemic agents or insulin and self-rating depression scale scores and positively with salary and subjective social support. Conclusions The factors related to quality of life for patients with or without depressive symptoms are different. For patients with depressive symptoms, better salary and subjective social support are associated positively with their quality of life, while the presence of diabetic complications, a higher score for depressive symptoms and need for hypoglycaemic agents or insulin are negatively associated with quality of life. Relevance to clinical practice It is suggested that the nurse should screen depression for patients with diabetes, especially for those with diabetic complications or low social support. This should be done in the community regularly in order to find diabetic patients with depression in time. In addition, the results can provide a reference to clinical nursing care for patients with diabetes in hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Uranium isotope separation was the key development for the preparation of highly enriched isotopes in general and thus became the seed for target development and preparation for nuclear and applied physics. In 1941 (year of birth of the author) large-scale development for uranium isotope separation was started after the US authorities were warned that NAZI Germany had started its program for enrichment of uranium and might have confiscated all uranium and uranium mines in their sphere of influence. Within the framework of the Manhattan Projects the first electromagnetic mass separators (Calutrons) were installed and further developed for high throughput. The military aim of the Navy Department was to develop nuclear propulsion for submarines with practically unlimited range. Parallel to this the army worked on the development of the atomic bomb. Also in 1941 plutonium was discovered and the production of 239Pu was included into the atomic bomb program. 235U enrichment starting with natural uranium was performed in two steps with different techniques of mass separation in Oak Ridge. The first step was gas diffusion which was limited to low enrichment. The second step for high enrichment was performed with electromagnetic mass spectrometers (Calutrons). The theory for the much more effective enrichment with centrifugal separation was developed also during the Second World War, but technical problems e.g. development of high speed ball and needle bearings could not be solved before the end of the war. Spying accelerated the development of uranium separation in the Soviet Union, but also later in China, India, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq. In this paper, the physical and chemical procedures are outlined which lead to the success of the project. Some security aspects and Non-Proliferation measures are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Developing in students a deep understanding of the concept of sustainability, and how it applies to engineering, is a difficult task. Here we introduce a novel framework for developing online roleplay simulations for teaching sustainability principles to engineering students, based on a systems model of sustainability. Application of the framework is illustrated with a case study, the Mekong e-Sim, which is an online roleplay simulation set around proposed development issues in the Mekong region of South-East Asia. In 2005, the e-Sim was centred on public inquiries into two proposed development issues, including the Nam Theun II hydropower dam in Laos and the proposed Lancang project in China. The latter includes the blasting of rapids to improve river navigation and the construction of a large hydropower dam. The recommendations in relation to the proposed developments were to proceed with the Nam Theun II dam, but that approval of the Lancang project was unlikely. An evaluation of the 2005 Mekong e-Sim revealed that there was a high degree of interaction between roles about the social, environmental and economic issues surrounding the two proposed hydropower projects, and that the e-Sim was able to develop (i) awareness of the complexity of, and need for, sustainable development, (ii) the ability to see engineering issues from multiple perspectives, (iii) an understanding of the political, social, economic and scientific dimensions of engineering decision-making and (iv) a better understanding of the meaning of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context Dopamine receptor–mediated pathways play critical roles in the mechanism of addiction. However, associations of the D2 dopamine receptor gene (DRD2) with substance abuse are controversial. Objective To determine whether susceptibility sites resided at DRD2. Design Haplotype-based case-control analysis of 2 distinct populations using 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with heroin dependence. Setting Universities of Mainz and Bonn, Germany, and 3 local hospitals in southwestern China. Patients Cases and control subjects recruited from China (486 cases, 313 controls) and Germany (471 cases, 192 controls). Interventions Genotyping for 10 SNPs by 5′-exonuclease fluorescence assays. The D′ value of linkage disequilibrium and haplotypes were generated by the expectation-maximization algorithm. Main Outcome Measures Genotype, allele, and haplotype frequencies were compared between cases and controls by χ2 tests constructed for each population. An additional 32 SNPs randomly distributed in the genome were genotyped for detecting population admixture in the 2 populations. Results A haplotype block of 25.8 kilobases (kb) was defined by 8 SNPs extending from SNP3 (TaqIB) at the 5′ end to SNP10 site (TaqIA) located 10 kb distal to the 3′ end of the gene. Within this block, specific haplotype cluster A (carrying TaqIB1 allele) was associated with a high risk of heroin dependence in Chinese patients (P = 1.425 × 10-22; odds ratio, 52.80; 95% confidence interval, 7.290-382.5 for 8-SNP analysis). A putative recombination "hot spot" was found near SNP6 (intron 6 ins/del G), creating 2 new daughter haplotypes that were associated with a lower risk of heroin dependence in Germans (P = 1.94 × 10-11 for 8-SNP analysis). There was no evidence of population stratification in either population. Conclusions These results strongly support a role of DRD2 as a susceptibility gene with heroin dependence in Chinese patients and was associated with low risk of heroin dependence in Germans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As the global population ages, cognitive impairment (CI) becomes more prevalent. Tea has been one of the most popular drinks in the world. Several studies have demonstrated that tea consumption has an impact on cognitive function., Objective: This study aims to examine the association between tea consumption and cognitive function and explore the potential effect of genetics on the relationship between tea consumption and CI risk in older adults., Design: This is a prospective longitudinal study using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS)., Setting: Six waves of data from CLHLS containing 76,270 subjects were analyzed. Generalized estimation equations (GEE) with a logit link function were adopted to estimate the effect of tea consumption on CI risk from a cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective., Participants: A population-based cohort of adults aged 65-105 years., Measurements: The frequency and type of tea consumption were obtained by questionnaires. CI was measured based on MMSE. Polygenic risk was measured using the polygenic score approach described by the International Schizophrenia., Results: The results showed that drinking green tea had a better protective effect on cognitive function than other types of tea, the incidence of CI gradually decreased with the increase of tea consumption frequency, and men were more likely to benefit from tea consumption. Additionally, we also found a significant interaction between tea consumption and genetic risk, measured by polygenic risk score (PRS)., Conclusions: Based on current research evidence, tea consumption, may be a simple and important measure for CI prevention., Competing Interests: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to declare with this manuscript.

In ancient China, symbols and drawings captured on bamboo and wooden slips were used as main communication media. Those documents are very precious for cultural heritage and research, but due to aging processes, the discovered pieces are sometimes in a poor condition and contaminated by soil. Manual cleaning of excavated slips is a demanding and time-consuming task in which writings can be accidentally deleted. To counter this, we propose a novel approach based on conventional 3-D X-ray computed tomography to digitize such historical documents without before manual cleaning. By applying a virtual cleaning and unwrapping algorithm, the entire scroll surface is remapped into 2-D such that the hidden content becomes readable. We show that the technique also works for heavily soiled scrolls, enabling an investigation of the content by the naked eye without the need for manual labor. This digitization also allows for recovery of potentially erased writings and reconstruction of the original spatial information.