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Soybean is a primary meal protein for human consumption, poultry, and livestock feed. In this study, quantitative trait locus (QTL) controlling protein content was explored via genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and linkage mapping approaches based on 284 soybean accessions and 180 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), respectively, which were evaluated for protein content for 4 years. A total of 22 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with protein content were detected using mixed linear model (MLM) and general linear model (GLM) methods in Tassel and 5 QTLs using Bayesian interval mapping (IM), single-trait multiple interval mapping (SMIM), single-trait composite interval mapping maximum likelihood estimation (SMLE), and single marker regression (SMR) models in Q-Gene and IciMapping. Major QTLs were detected on chromosomes 6 and 20 in both populations. The new QTL genomic region on chromosome 6 (Chr6_18844283–19315351) included 7 candidate genes and the Hap.XAA at the Chr6_19172961 position was associated with high protein content. Genomic selection (GS) of protein content was performed using Bayesian Lasso (BL) and ridge regression best linear unbiased prediction (rrBULP) based on all the SNPs and the SNPs significantly associated with protein content resulted from GWAS. The results showed that BL and rrBLUP performed similarly; GS accuracy was dependent on the SNP set and training population size. GS efficiency was higher for the SNPs derived from GWAS than random SNPs and reached a plateau when the number of markers was >2,000. The SNP markers identified in this study and other information were essential in establishing an efficient marker-assisted selection (MAS) and GS pipelines for improving soybean protein content.

The West Liaohe Plain is a typical semi-arid area, where the process of rainfall infiltration to replenish groundwater is a key link in its vertical hydrological cycle. In this paper, we compare and analyze the impact upon soil moisture movement and water infiltration after the shift of irrigation method from flood irrigation to mulched drip irrigation under mulch through setting up in-field in-situ observation points and carrying out groundwater depth dynamic observation. The results show that compared with mulched drip irrigation under mulch, flood irrigation has a stronger response to rainfall infiltration and a quicker response time in the rise of underground depth. With the decrease of groundwater level, the effect of rainfall infiltration to replenish groundwater is significantly weakened. In the flood irrigation area, the groundwater depth at about 8 m already has no obvious response to a small amount of rainfall. However, the groundwater depth at 6 m in the area of mulched drip irrigation under mulch already has no response to rainfall. Therefore, when groundwater extraction is carried out in irrigation areas, reasonable groundwater extraction levels should be designated in light of different irrigation methods to maintain the sustainable utilization of groundwater. HIGHLIGHTS Observed rainfall infiltration realized through flood irrigation and mulched drip irrigation under mulch.; Analyze the mechanism of the influence of irrigation conditions on rainfall infiltration.; Analyze the change of soil moisture content.; Analyze their impacts upon rainfall infiltration.; The promotion of mulched drip irrigation under mulch will exert a significant impact on rainfall infiltration.;

In this study, experiments and finite element analysis (FEA) were used to evaluate the impact of interference-fit sizes on CFRP hybrid bonded-bolted (HBB) joint damage during bolt insertion. The specimens were designed in accordance with the ASTM D5961 standard and bolt insertion tests were performed at selected interference-fit sizes (0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and 1%). Damage to composite laminates was predicted using the Shokrieh–Hashin criterion and Tan’s degradation rule via the user subroutine USDFLD, while damage to the adhesive layer was simulated by the Cohesive Zone Model (CZM). The corresponding bolt insertion tests were performed. The variation of insertion force with interference-fit size was discussed. The results showed that matrix compressive failure was the main failure mode. With the growth of the interference-fit size, more failure modes appeared, and the failure region expanded. Regarding the adhesive layer, it did not completely fail at the four interference-fit sizes. This paper will be helpful in designing composite joint structures and especially for understanding CFRP HBB joint damage and failure mechanisms.

A unique hybridized intumescent flame retardant named reduced-graphene-oxide-modified ammonium polyphosphate (RGO-APP) was successfully synthesized via the simple hydrothermal method and reduced process. Then, the obtained RGO-APP was applied in epoxy resin (EP) for flame retardancy reinforcement. The addition of RGO-APP results in a significant reduction in heat release and smoke production from the EP, which is attributed to EP/RGO-APP producing a more compact and intumescent char against the heat transfer and combustible decomposition, thus enhancing the fire safety of EP, as confirmed by char residue analysis. Especially, the EP containing 15 wt% RGO-APP acquires a limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of 35.8% and shows a 83.6% reduction in peak heat release rate and a 74.3% reduction in peak smoke production rate compared with those of pure EP. The tensile test exhibits that the presence of RGO-APP favors the enhancement in tensile strength and elastic modulus of EP due to the good compatibility between flame retardant and epoxy matrix, as supported by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses. This work provides a new strategy for the modification of APP, thus facilitating a promising application in polymeric materials.

This study aims to explore the complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic relationship of Conger erebennus (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) (Anguilliformes: Congridae). The information about the mitogenome was obtained using Illumina’s next-generation sequencing technologies. The results revealed that the length of the circular mitogenome was 18,777 bp and it contained 37 genes and three unidentical control regions (CRs). The mitogenome contained 62.78% AT bases with an anti-G bias similar to that in most marine fishes. The maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree of Anguiliformes based on encoding genes revealed that C. erebennus was in the same clade as other species of Congridae. The results of this study will progress the future of evolutionary research and species identification.

In this study, we determined the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Eopsetta grigorjewi Herzenstein, 1890 (Chordata: Pleuronectidae) using Sanger sequencing technology. The total length of the mitogenome sequence of E. grigorjewi is 17,269 base pairs, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes, and two ribosomal RNA genes. The overall composition of the mitogenome is estimated to be 27.5% A, 25.6% T, 29.9% C, and 17.0% G. The phylogenetic relationships of 15 Pleuronectidae species were constructed based on the 13 PCGs by the maximum-likelihood approach using IQtree software.

In 2014, a landslide disaster occurred at Hongshiyan in Ludian County, Yunnan Province, China, causing the landslide-dames in Niulanjiang River. Scholars have studied the characteristics and causal mechanisms of this landslide and obtained substantial results. However, the kinematic evolution characteristics of the landslide remain relatively unclear. To resolve this problem, we introduced the Material Point Method (MPM) to study large-scale deformations for simulation analysis. The results showed that the movement of the slide body could be divided into three stages: accelerated sliding, decelerated sliding, and stabilizing. The velocity field and displacment field of the slide body is closely related to its spatial distribution. The velocity and displacement of the surface part higher than that of the shallow part. The internal friction angle and friction coefficient significantly affected the kinematic characteristics of landslide. The decrease in the internal friction angle and friction coefficient reduced the energy consumed by the friction between particles and between the particles and the sliding bed, raising the landslide velocity and displacement.

Columnar jointed rock masses (CJRM) are characterized by significant anisotropy. The mechanical properties of CJRM are complicated by the presence of columnar joints. In this paper, based on the Voronoi random graph generation algorithm, the irregular CJRM numerical model is established, in which columns are simulated by solid elements while joints are simulated by contact surface elements. Uniaxial compression tests on irregular CJRM are then conducted by using FLAC3D to investigate the deformation and strength characteristics, and failure modes. Results indicate that irregular CJRM exhibit strong anisotropy under uniaxial compression, and the compressive strength varies with joint angle in a typical U-shape curve. Failure modes can be classified as three categories: splitting failure along loading direction, shear-sliding failure along columnar joint, and combined failure of column fracturing and joint splitting. The numerical results are then compared with the experimental results. It demonstrates the effectiveness and reliability of applying numerical simulation to investigations on mechanical properties and failure mechanism of irregular CJRM. The results of this study provide helpful information for the design and construction of the project involving CJRM.

Clamshell (CS) bio-filler derived from clam shells was produced and then applied as a synergist in waterborne intumescent fire-retardant coatings. Fire protection and smoke density tests show that the combination of CS bio-filler and intumescent flame retardant (IFR) exhibits excellent synergistic effect on reducing the flame spread index (FSR), char index, weight loss, equilibrium backside temperature and smoke density rating (SDR) of the intumescent coatings. Especially, the FC-3 sample containing 52 wt% IFR and 3 wt% CS bio-filler exhibits the lowest FSR and SDR values, which are 68.3% and 37.3%, respectively, lower than those of FC-0 sample with 55 wt% IFR. The results from the accelerated ageing test show that the combination of IFR and CS imparts super durability of smoke suppression and flame-retardant properties to the intumescent coatings, exhibiting excellent anti-ageing properties. Char residue analysis demonstrates that the FC-3 sample containing 3 wt% CS bio-filler shows higher mass ratios of O/C, N/C and P/C than those of FC-0 without CS bio-filler, indicating more P, N and O-containing cross-linking structures remained in the FC-3 char, thus imparting high char-forming ability and thermal stability to the coatings, as supported by the results of thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis.

Abstract Background Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is an ovarian dysfunction that seriously affects a woman’s physiological health and reproduction. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation offers a promising treatment option for ovarian restoration in rodent POI models. However, the efficacy and mechanism of it remain unclear. Methods POI mice model was generated by cyclophosphamide and busulfan, followed with the treatment of tail-vein injection of the human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs). Maternal physiological changes and offspring behavior were detected. To reveal the pathogenesis and therapeutic mechanisms of POI, we first compared the metabolite profiles of healthy and POI ovarian tissues using untargeted metabolomics analyses. After stem cell therapy, we then collected the ovaries from control, POI, and hUCMSC-treated POI groups for lipid metabolomics and pseudotargeted metabolomics analysis. Results Our results revealed remarkable changes of multiple metabolites, especially lipids, in ovarian tissues after POI generation. Following the transplantation of clinical-grade hUCMSCs, POI mice exhibited significant improvements in body weight, sex hormone levels, estrous cycles, and reproductive capacity. Lipid metabolomics and pseudotargeted metabolomics analyses for the ovaries showed that the metabolite levels in the POI group, mainly lipids, glycerophospholipids, steroids, and amino acids changed significantly compared with the controls’, and most of them returned to near-healthy levels after receiving hUCMSC treatment. Meanwhile, we also observed an increase of monosaccharide levels in the ovaries from POI mice and a decrease after stem cell treatment. Conclusions hUCMSCs restore ovarian function through activating the PI3K pathway by promoting the level of free amino acids, consequently improving lipid metabolism and reducing the concentration of monosaccharides. These findings provide potential targets for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of POI.

As the most effective treatment for end-stage renal diseases, renal transplantation can improve the quality of life of patients and prolong the survival time. However, during the prolonged survival time, malignancy has become one of the main causes of death of recipients, which vary geographically. Tumors in the digestive system and urothelial tumors have been highly reported in Asia. In general, the gynecological malignant tumors have been rarely reported, especially the endometrial carcinoma. Herein, a 63-year-old female renal transplant recipient diagnosed with endometrial carcinoma (15 years after transplantation) was reported. The patient had suffered irregular postmenopausal bleeding for a short time before hospitalization. She underwent abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, right pelvic lymphadenectomy, right para-aortic lymphadenectomy and omental excision. Postoperative pathology showed ovarian and pelvic lymph node metastasis and pathological stage IIIC. After six courses of chemotherapy with paclitaxel 270 mg + carboplatin 500 mg, the patient’s renal function was normal. During the third cycle of chemotherapy, the patient suffered a third-degree bone marrow suppression and returned to normal soon when treated with the recombinant human granulocyte stimulating factor. In conclusion, early screening of gynecologic tumors is important for female patients after renal transplantation, which has a positive significance for the prognosis improvement.

Beany flavor induced by three lipoxygenases (LOXs, including LOX1, LOX2, and LOX3) restricts human consumption of soybean. It is desirable to generate lipoxygenase-free new mutant lines to improve the eating quality of soybean oil and protein products. In this study, a pooled clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) strategy targeting three GmLox genes (GmLox1, GmLox2, and GmLox3) was applied and 60 T0 positive transgenic plants were generated, carrying combinations of sgRNAs and mutations. Among them, GmLox-28 and GmLox-60 were gmlox1gmlox2gmlox3 triple mutants and GmLox-40 was a gmlox1gmlox2 double mutant. Sequencing of T1 mutant plants derived from GmLox-28, GmLox-60, and GmLox-40 showed that mutation in the GmLox gene was inherited by the next generation. Colorimetric assay revealed that plants carrying different combinations of mutations lost the corresponding lipoxygenase activities. Transgene-free mutants were obtained by screening the T2 generation of lipoxygenase-free mutant lines (GmLox-28 and GmLox-60). These transgene- and lipoxygenase-free mutants could be used for soybean beany flavor reduction without restriction by regulatory frameworks governing transgenic organisms.

As a two-terminal mass element, an inerter makes up for the lack of mass impedance in a traditional vehicle suspension system. A passive Inerter-Spring-Damper (ISD) suspension can significantly improve vibration isolation performance in a low frequency range, while the impact is not obvious in other frequency bands. To isolate a wider frequency of vibrations in a vehicle suspension system on the basis of an ISD suspension, this paper combines the concepts of using an Acceleration-Driven-Damping (ADD) approach, which can effectively suppress vibrations in medium and high frequency bands, and an ISD passive network, which is superior in low frequency bands. First, an ideal model optimization design method of an ISD vehicle suspension based on an ADD positive real network is proposed, and a second-order model is built. The parameters are optimized by means of the artificial fish swarm algorithm considering both positive real constraints and suspension performance constraints. Then, on the basis of the optimal ideal model, a radial basis function sliding mode controller is designed to control the ISD vehicle suspension system using a mechatronic inerter. Finally, simulations and experiments are carried out to verify the dynamic performance of the proposed ISD suspension. The results show that a controllable ISD suspension system based on an ADD positive real network can improve the suspension performance effectively and isolate a wide range of frequency vibrations. This research provides theoretical evidence and methodological guidance for further enriching the design and dynamic control of ISD suspension systems.

Monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) are key players in tissue homeostasis and diseases regulated by a variety of signaling molecules. Recent literature has highlighted the ability for biogenic amines to regulate macrophage functions, but the mechanisms governing biogenic amine signaling in and around immune cells remain nebulous. In the CNS, biogenic amine transporters are regarded as the master regulators of neurotransmitter signaling. While we and others have shown that macrophages express these transporters, relatively little is known of their function in these cells. To address these knowledge gaps, we investigated the function of norepinephrine transporter (NET) and dopamine transporter (DAT) on human MDMs. We found that both NET and DAT are present and can uptake substrate from the extracellular space at baseline. Not only was DAT expressed in cultured MDMs, but it was also detected in a subset of intestinal macrophages in situ. Surprisingly, we discovered a NET-independent, DAT-mediated immunomodulatory mechanism in response to LPS. LPS induced reverse transport of dopamine through DAT, engaging an autocrine/paracrine signaling loop that regulated the macrophage response. Removing this signaling loop enhanced the proinflammatory response to LPS. Our data introduce a potential role for DAT in the regulation of innate immunity.

Creep behavior of landslide sliding zones is closely related to the long-term stability and safety of landslides. In this paper, shear creep tests are carried out on undisturbed samples of the gravel sliding zone in the Zhoujia landslide. Creep properties, such as creep rate and long-term strength, of the sliding zone are studied. The result shows that the sliding zone has typical time-dependent behavior. The relationship between the steady strain rate and shear stress can be described by an exponential equation. The long-term strengths of the sliding zone under different normal stresses are determined by using the isochronous curve cluster method. A nonlinear viscoelastic-plastic creep model is developed based on the Nishihara model. The model is shown to be suitable for describing the accelerated creep deformation of the sliding zone. The results obtained are of practical significance for understanding the deformations of the Zhoujia landslide.

Numerical simulation analysis of landslide-induced surge wave field characteristics offers great insights for engineering practices and is crucial for studying reservoir landslide disaster warning, prevention, and control. Based on the computational fluid dynamics, a numerical calculation model of typical landslide surge was established, and the surge waves caused by the movement of a rigid landslide body along the slope and its propagation process was to simulated and analyzed. The results were compared with classical physical experiments to validate the applicability of the numerical calculation model. Furthermore, effects of the shape and density of landslide body on the surge wave generation, water entry characteristics of landslide body, propagation pattern of surge waves were also studied. It was showed that the starting position of far-field landslide surge negatively correlated with the landslide body density. The shape of landslide body did not substantially impact the far-field starting position, which was mainly influenced by the area of water surface in contact with the sliding body.

The stability of the slope is a very important topic in the construction of hydropower projects, especially the slope engineering in the dam area, as its stability will directly affect the safety of engineering. Taking the inlet slope of the flood discharge structure of Lianghekou Hydropower Project as the research object, based on the analysis and exploration of the geological condition of the slope and the field monitoring data, GA-LSSVM is used to establish the non-linear mapping relationship, and the BP neural network is used to establish the mechanical parameters back analysis of the slope at different water impoundment stages. A numerical simulation model is also established to set up different reservoir impoundments to study the stability and sensibility of the slope and provide guidance for slope operation. This case study shows that there is a hysteresis in the response of slope deformation to reservoir impoundment. At the same time, the mechanical parameters of the slope will be weakened by the seepage. In the process of water level changes, the stability of the slope decreases due to the decrease in mechanical parameters. The study will be practically useful for engineering applications.

Objective To evaluate the drug information cards in drug safety management in clinical settings. Methods A set of cards contains image and specification of drug were designed and applied in drug safety management in clinical settings. The condition of drug safety management was evaluated before implementation (from Jan, 2015 to December 2015) and after implementation (from Jan, 2016 to December 2016). Results The rate of awareness on oral medication among patients increased from 56. 00% before implementation to 94. 67% after implementation. The rate of compliance with oral medication among patients increased from 92. 20% before implementation to 99. 40% after implementation. The rate of implementation of health education on medication among nurses increased from 80. 50% before implementation to 99. 40% after implementation. Conclusion The application of drug information cards is help to increase pharmacological knowledge level of nurses and reduce medication error. (目的 探讨口服药图集卡在临床安全用药管理中的应用效果。方法 制作口服药图集卡, 比较2015年1月—12月口服药图集卡使用前和2016年1月—12月口服药图集卡使用后的安全用药管理情况。结果 2016年使用口服药物图集后, 患者对口服药物知识知晓率由2015年的56. 00%提高为94. 67%, 患者口服给药依从性由2015年的89. 40%提升为98. 60%, 患者住院满意率由2015年的92. 20%提升为99. 40%, 护士对患者用药健康教育执行率由2015年80. 5%提高到99. 4%。结论 口服药图集卡的应用有助于提高护士对药理知识的掌握水平, 对减少用药差错有重要意义。)

Inerter, a new type of mass element, can increase the inertia of motion between two endpoints. In order to study the dynamic inertia effect of inerter–spring–damper suspension for heavy vehicle on ride comfort and road friendliness, the inerter–spring–damper suspension is applied and its mechanism is studied. This paper establishes a half vehicle model of inerter–spring–damper suspension for heavy vehicle. The parameters of inerter–spring–damper suspension for heavy vehicle are optimized by multi-objective genetic algorithm and system simulations are carried out. The parametric influence of different spring stiffness, damping coefficient, inertance, and load on suspension performance is also studied. The simulation results demonstrate that the centroid acceleration and pitch angular acceleration are improved by 24.90% and 23.54%, respectively, and the comprehensive road damage coefficient is reduced by 4.05%. The results illustrate that the inerter–spring–damper suspension can decrease the vertical vibration of vehicle suspension especially in low frequency and reduce the road damage. The analyses of suspension parameters perturbation reveal their different effect laws of the different wheels on vehicle ride comfort and road friendliness, which provide a theoretical basis for setting parameters of inerter–spring–damper suspension.

The ion-enrichment inside carbon nanotubes (CNTs) offers the possibility of applications in water purification, ion batteries, memory devices, supercapacitors, field emission and functional hybrid nanostructures. However, the low filling capacity of CNTs in salt solutions due to end caps and blockages remains a barrier to the practical use of such applications. In this study, we fabricated ultra-short CNTs that were free from end caps and blockages using ball milling and acid pickling. We then compared their ion-enrichment capacity with that of long CNTs. The results showed that the ion-enrichment capacity of ultra-short CNTs was much higher than that of long CNTs. Furthermore, a broad range of ions could be enriched in the ultra-short CNTs including alkali-metal ions (e.g., K+), alkaline-earth-metal ions (e.g., Ca2+) and heavy-metal ions (e.g., Pb2+). The ultra-short CNTs were much more unobstructed than the raw long CNTs, which was due to the increased orifice number per unit mass of CNTs and the decreased difficulty in removing the blockages in the middle section inside the CNTs. Under the hydrated-cation–π interactions, the ultra-short CNTs with few end caps and blockages could highly efficiently enrich ions.

Fire stations play a key role in controlling typical thermal runaway phenomena (fires). Based on real-time traffic, we develop a data crawling and processing algorithm for travel times, and propose an evaluation model for the spatial configuration of fire stations. In the model, the fire service levels are divided into four levels based on the total fire service score (TFSS). The present work gathered 16,448 fire incidents in Changsha, China from 2013 to 2017 as fire service demand points, and the minimum travel times for each fire incident point in the four evaluation scenarios with different real-time traffics were extracted from online maps. The results show that the TFSSs of Changsha varied from 67.92 to 74.05 due to the insufficient firefighting resources and the dynamic traffic conditions, and the fire service level of Changsha can be defined as fair. By employing spatial visualization, we observed that the fire service demand points with moderate and poor fire service levels were mainly located in rural areas, and those with good and fair fire service levels were located in urban areas.

Background and Purpose: The Enterprise stent has been used for treating intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS), but its long-term outcome remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term clinical efficacy of the Enterprise stent used for patients with symptomatic ICAS due to hypoperfusion.Method: Patients with symptomatic ICAS due to hypoperfusion treated with the Enterprise stents from a high-volume stroke center were evaluated. The successful recanalization was defined as the Modified Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction (mTICI) ≥ 2b. The stroke and neurological death that occurred within 72 h after the procedure as well as long-term clinical and imaging outcomes were analyzed.Results: Overall, 130 patients with 130 ICAS treated with the Enterprise stent were included in our study. The successful recanalization rate was 100%. The mean pre- and postprocedural stenosis was 82.9 ± 8.9% vs. 15.1 ± 8.4%. Periprocedural complications occurred in 5 (3.8%) patients within 72 h after the procedure. Clinical follow-up data were available in 125 (96.2%) patients (median, 24 months) and any stroke or neurological death was encountered in 6 (4.8%) patients. Angiographic follow-up data was obtained from 118 (90.8%) patients (median, 13.5 months). In addition, 1-year in-stent restenosis (>70%) was found in 17 (14.4%) patients, and among them, 4 (23.5%) patients were symptomatic.Conclusion: Deployment of Enterprise stent is safe for ICAS. The short-term and long-term outcomes were acceptable, but the efficacy of the Enterprise stent needs to be further evaluated in future studies.

Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) is an important source of human dietary protein and vegetable oil. A strong negative correlation between protein and oil contents has hindered efforts to improve soybean seed quality. The metabolic and genetic bases of soybean seed composition remain elusive. We evaluated metabolic diversity in a soybean near-isogenic line (NIL) population derived from parents (JD12 and CMSD) with contrasting seed oil contents. Using GC-TOF/MS, we compared seed primary metabolites of high protein/low oil lines, low protein/high oil lines, and their parents. Principal-components analysis showed that metabolic profiles of all progeny lines could be discriminated based on protein and oil contents. Univariate analysis revealed wide variation and transgressive segregation of metabolites in the population. Twenty-eight annotated metabolites, in particular free asparagine, free 3-cyanoalanine, and L-malic acid, were correlated with seed protein content or seed oil content or seed protein and oil content. These results shed light on the metabolic and genetic basis of soybean seed composition. Keywords: Metabolomics, Seed composition, Protein, Oil, Near-isogenic population

Abstract Background Over the past decades there have been outbreaks of mumps in many countries, even in populations that were vaccinated. Some studies suggest that the incidence of mumps is related to meteorological changes, but the results of these studies vary in different regions. To date there is no reported study on correlations between mumps incidence and meteorological parameters in Beijing, China. Methods A time series analysis incorporating selected weather factors and the number of mumps cases from 1990 to 2012 in Beijing was performed. First, correlations between meteorological variables and the number of mumps cases were assessed. A seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model with explanatory variables (SARIMAX) was then constructed to predict mumps cases. Results Mean temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, vapor pressure, and wind speed were significantly associated with mumps incidence. After constructing the SARIMAX model, mean temperature at lag 0 (β = 0.016, p

This data article includes the supplementary database material for the manuscript “Thermodynamic description for the NaF-KF-RbF-ZnF2 system”, (Tang et al., 2018). We present all the thermodynamic parameters used and optimized model parameters of the thermodynamic database of the NaF-KF-RbF-ZnF2 quaternary system, by which researchers can obtain the calculated phase diagrams. What׳s more, the comparison of calculations with experimental lattice constants of all compounds and relative deviations of unit cell parameters between before and after structure optimization for the NaF-KF-RbF-ZnF2 system are demonstrated in this work. Meanwhile, we provide the calculated mixing enthalpy in the binary AF-ZnF2 (A=Na, K and Rb) and AF-RbF (A=Na and K) system, which are helpful for researchers to better understand the system. These supplementary databases are most useful in understanding the manuscript (Tang et al., 2018).

Abstract Background Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as a promising regenerative tool, owing mainly to their multi-differentiation potential and immunosuppressive capacity. When compared with MSCs classically derived from the adult bone marrow (BM), MSCs of neonatal origins exhibit superior proliferation ability, lower immunogenicity, and possible lower incorporated mutation; hence, they are considered as an alternative source for clinical use. Several researches have focused on the biological differences among some neonatal MSCs cultured in serum-containing medium (SCM). However, since it has been reported that MSCs possess different biological characteristics when cultured in serum-free medium (SFM), these comparative studies in SCM cannot exactly represent the results under the serum-free Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standard. Methods Here, MSCs were isolated from three neonatal tissues, namely amniotic membrane (AM), umbilical cord (UC), and chorionic plate (CP), from the same donor, and their morphologies, immunophenotypes, trilineage differentiation potentials, global gene expression patterns, and proliferation abilities were systematically compared under chemical-defined SFM. Results Our study demonstrated that these three neonatal MSCs exhibited a similar morphology and immunophenotypic pattern but various mesodermal differentiation potentials under SFM: amniotic membrane-derived MSCs showed a higher rate for osteogenic differentiation; chorionic plate-derived MSCs presented better adipogenic induction efficiency; and all these three neonatal MSCs exhibited similar chondrogenic potential. Moreover, by the analysis of global gene expression patterns, we speculated a possible higher proliferation ability of CP-MSCs in SFM, and we subsequently validated this conjecture. Conclusions Collectively, these results suggest that MSCs of different neonatal origins possess different biological features in SFM and thus may represent an optimal choice for different clinical applications.

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is an important nutritional crop, not only as a rich source of protein and oil, but also for the production of isoflavones. There is a demand to breed soybean cultivars bearing consistently high protein, oil and isoflavone yields, yet this requires a clear heritable genetic relationship among isoflavone, protein and oil production. Here, two soybean genotypes contrasting in terms of protein, oil and isoflavone contents and their 185 F8:10 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) were employed to characterize seed protein, oil and isoflavone contents over two years of field trials. In this population, protein, but not oil, was significantly correlated with isoflavone content. A high-density genetic linkage map containing 3943 SNP markers identified through genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology was constructed for further genetic analysis, whereby a total of 25 integrated isoflavone loci were identified, including qISO1, qISO 6.1, qISO 6.3 and qISO 6.4, which are newly identified QTLs. Two major QTLs identified in this study, qISO5 and qISO6.2, were fine-mapped for production of daidzein and genistein derivatives, as well as for glycitein derivatives, in the sequences between nucleotide positions 41042159 and 42098680 on chromosome 5 and between 18449510 and 19395795 on chromosome 6, which, respectively, explain 9.3–20.4% and 7.8–24.8% of the phenotypic variation in these traits. Further combination of qISO5 and qISO6.2 resulted in additive impacts on isoflavone production. Among the 13 QTLs linked with seed protein content in this study, three also colocated with QTLs for isoflavone content, indicating that seed isoflavone and protein content may be coordinately inherited. These results contribute to understanding the relationships between isoflavone and protein or oil content in soybean seeds. This knowledge could be valuable for soybean breeding programs aiming to combine consistently high isoflavone production with high protein or oil content.

Acrylamide-methacrylic acid copolymer named P (AM-co-MAA) was synthesized via aqueous solution polymerization, and then mixed with crosslinker, flame retardants and initiators to prepare multifunctional transparent flame-retarded hydrogels with transparency, fire resistance and anti-ageing property. The results show that the application of multifunctional transparent flame-retarded hydrogel imparts high level of transparency and excellent fire resistance to the fire-resistant glass, and the light transmittance and fire resistance of the flame-retarded hydrogel increases with the increasing mass ratio of AM to MAA in P(AM-co-MAA). When the mass ratio of AM to MAA is 4:1, the obtained P(AM-co-MAA) imparts the lowest backside temperature of 130 °C at 3600 s and highest light transmittance of 86.1% to the transparent flame-retarded hydrogel. TG and DSC analysis show that the addition of P(AM-co-MAA) increases the thermal stability of the transparent flame-retarded hydrogels due to the formation of numerous hydrogen bonds via the complexation between amide and carboxyl groups. Accelerated ageing test indicates that the transparent flame-retarded hydrogel containing P(AM-co-MAA) exerts durable fire resistance and transparency, and the ageing resistance of the transparent flame-retarded hydrogel depends on the mass ratio of AM to MAA in P(AM-co-MAA). Therefore, this study provides a promising strategy to prepare a novel multifunctional transparent flame-retarded hydrogel with excellent light transmittance, fire resistance and anti-ageing properties.

A unique mono-component intumescent flame retardant, named PPy-MAPP, of which melamine-coated ammonium polyphosphate (MAPP) was microencapsulated by polypyrrole (PPy), was synthesized and carefully characterized. The obtained PPy-MAPP was applied to epoxy resin (EP) for obtaining flame-retarded EP composites. The results show that PPy-MAPP imparts better flame retardancy and smoke suppression properties to EP compared to the same addition of MAPP. The EP composite with 15 wt% PPy-MAPP easily passes the UL94 V-0 rating and achieves an LOI value of 42.4%, accompanied by a 61.9% reduction in total heat release (THR) and a 73.9% reduction in total smoke production (TSP) when compared with pure EP. The char residue analysis shows that PPy-MAPP can promote a generation of more phosphorus-rich structures in the condensed phase that improve the integrity and intumescence of char against fire. The mechanical test indicates that PPy-MAPP has a less negative effect on the tensile strength and elastic modulus of epoxy resin due to the good compatibility between PPy-MAPP and the EP matrix, as supported by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. In this paper, these attractive features of PPy-MAPP provide a new strategy to prepare satisfactory flame retardant and super flame retarding EP composites.

Objective: This study investigated the relationships of tumor status (stage, renal involvement, bone marrow status, bulky disease, liver function), tumor gene polymorphism, and methotrexate (MTX) dosage (stratified by treatment group) with blood MTX levels and adverse reactions (ADR). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 63 mature B cell lymphoma patients who were treated in our center. Genotyping of the MTHFR 677 and SLCO1B1 genes was carried out, and the relationships between tumor status, polymorphism of the genes, MTX level, and ADR were analyzed. Results: Altogether, 63 children were included. The mean blood MTX concentration was 0.25 ± 0.2 umol/L at 45 h. Liver dysfunction and bulky disease were both correlated with MTX level (both P < 0.05). ADRs were higher among patients with blood MTX > 0.5 mmol/l at 45 h than for the groups with lower blood MTX. The MTHFR 677 CT genotype was correlated with liver function damage (P = 0.04); the rs11045879 locus CC genotype of SLCO1B1, stage IV, and bulky disease at the time of diagnosis were correlated with 4° neutropenia (P < 0.05). Stage IV, bulky disease, leukemia stage at the time of diagnosis, and C2 treatment group were correlated with severe anemia (P < 0.05). Stage IV, bulky disease, leukemia stage, renal invasion at the time of diagnosis, and C2 treatment group were associated with severe thrombocytopenia (P < 0.05). Bulky disease and renal invasion at the time of diagnosis were associated with severe mucositis and severe infection (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Taken together, our data demonstrate that gene polymorphism, MTX levels, tumor status, and treatment group might be useful to optimize MTX therapy and estimate toxicity.

Developing high yielding cultivars with outstanding quality traits are perpetual objectives throughout crop breeding operations. Confoundingly, both of these breeding objectives typically involve working with complex quantitative traits that can be affected by genetic and environmental factors. Establishing correlations of these complex traits with more easily identifiable and highly heritable traits can simplify breeding processes. In this study, two parental soybean genotypes contrasting in seed hilum size, yield, and seed quality, as well as 175 F9 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from these parents, were grown in 3 years. The h2b of four hilum size, two quality and two yield traits, ranged from 0.72 to 0.87. The four observed hilum size traits exhibited significant correlation (P < 0.05) with most of seed yield and quality traits, as indicated by correlation coefficients varying from -0.35 to 0.42, which suggests that hilum size could be considered as a proxy trait for soybean yield and quality. Interestingly, among 53 significant quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with logarithm of odds (LOD) values ranging from 2.51 to 6.69 and accounting for 6.40–16.10% of genetic variation, three loci encoding hilum size, qSH6.2, qSH8, and qSH10, colocated with QTLs for seed yield and quality traits, demonstrating that genes impacting seed hilum size colocalize in part with genes acting on soybean yield and quality. As a result of the breeding efforts and field observations described in this work, it is reasonable to conclude that optimizing hilum size through selection focused on a few QTLs may be useful for breeding new high yielding soybean varieties with favorable quality characteristics.

Previous studies mainly focused on the influences of climate change on wildfires. However, other types of fires are also weather-related (especially temperature-related). The present study is aimed to analyze the influences of climate warming on fire risk. By data joining and processing, a dataset was born which includes 20,622 fire incidents and the related weather data from 2011 to 2017 in Changsha, China. Predictive models of fire frequency were established based on different regression methods of machine learning (random forest, support vector machine and polynomial). Among them, random forest regression models had the best fitting performance, and were selected to predict the fire frequency under climate warming scenarios. Under the current warming rate in Changsha, the annual fire frequency in 2067 (50 years after 2017) will increase by 0.69% to 0.89%. By rebuilding predictive models for other cities based on the proposed methods in this study, the influences of climate warming on their fire frequencies can also be analyzed.

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is a crop of great interest worldwide. Exploring molecular approaches to increase yield genetic gain has been one of the main challenges for soybean breeders and geneticists. Agronomic traits such as maturity, plant height, and seed weight have been found to contribute to yield. In this study, a total of 250 soybean accessions were genotyped with 10,259 high-quality SNPs postulated from genotyping by sequencing (GBS) and evaluated for grain yield, maturity, plant height, and seed weight over three years. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed using a Bayesian Information and Linkage Disequilibrium Iteratively Nested Keyway (BLINK) model. Genomic selection (GS) was evaluated using a ridge regression best linear unbiased predictor (rrBLUP) model. The results revealed that 20, 31, 37, and 23 SNPs were significantly associated with maturity, plant height, seed weight, and yield, respectively; Many SNPs were mapped to previously described maturity and plant height loci (E2, E4, and Dt1) and a new plant height locus was mapped to chromosome 20. Candidate genes were found in the vicinity of the two SNPs with the highest significant levels associated with yield, maturity, plant height, seed weight, respectively. A 11.5-Mb region of chromosome 10 was associated with both yield and seed weight. Overall, the accuracy of GS was dependent on the trait, year, and population structure, and high accuracy indicates that these agronomic traits can be selected in molecular breeding through GS. The SNP markers identified in this study can be used to improve yield and agronomic traits through the marker-assisted selection and GS in breeding programs.

Polypyrrole-decorated tungsten tailing particles (PPY-TTF) were prepared via the in situ polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of tungsten tailing particles (TTF), and then carefully characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG) analyses. The effect of PPY-TTF on the flame retardancy, smoke suppression property and ageing resistance of intumescent fire-resistant coatings was investigated by a fire protection test, smoke density test and cone calorimeter test. The results show that PPY-TTF exerts excellent cooperative effect on enhancing the flame retardancy and smoke suppression properties of the intumescent fire-retardant coatings, which is ascribed to the formation of more cross-linking structures in the condense phase that enhance the compactness and thermal stability of intumescent char. The cooperative effect of PPY-TTF in the coatings depends on its content, and the coating containing 3 wt% PPY-TTF exhibits the best cooperative effect among the samples, showing a 10.7% reduction in mass loss and 35.4% reduction in flame-spread rating compared to that with 3% TTF. The accelerated ageing test shows that the presence of PPY-TTF greatly slows down the blistering and powdering phenomenon of the coatings, thus endowing the coating with the super durability of fire resistance and smoke suppression property. This work provides a new strategy for the resource utilization of tungsten tailing in the field of flame-retardant materials.

Background: Hospital staff are vulnerable and at high risk of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection. The aim of this study was to monitor the psychological distress in hospital staff and examine the relationship between the psychological distress and possible causes during the COVID-19 epidemic. Methods: An online survey was conducted from February 1 to February 14, 2020. Hospital staff from five national COVID-19 designated hospitals in Chongqing participated. Data collected included demographics and stress responses to COVID-19: 1) the impact of event scale to measure psychological stress reactions; 2) generalizedanxietydisorder 7 to measure anxiety symptoms; 3) Patient Health Questionnaire 9 to measure depression symptoms; 4) Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale to measure obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS); and 5) Patient Health Questionnaire 15 to measure somatization symptoms. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors that were correlated with psychological distress. Results: Hospital staff that participated in this study were identified as either doctors or nurses. A total of 456 respondents completed the questionnaires with a response rate of 91.2%. The mean age was 30.67 ± 7.48 years (range, 17 to 64 years). Of all respondents, 29.4% were men. Of the staff surveyed, 43.2% had stress reaction syndrome. The highest prevalence of psychological distress was OCS (37.5%), followed by somatization symptoms (33.3%), anxiety symptoms (31.6%), and depression symptoms (29.6%). Univariate analyses indicated that female subjects, middle aged subjects, subjects in the low income group, and subjects working in isolation wards were prone to experience psychological distress. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed “Reluctant to work or considered resignation” (odds ratio [OR], 5.192; 95%CI, 2.396–11.250; P

Spatial distribution characteristics and origin of soil gasses were discussed in this study. We also examine the correlation between the spatial variation of soil gasses and fault activity, based on the measurements of Rn, Hg, H2, and CO2 concentrations in the eastern segment of the BLT fault zone in the southern Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, China. The results show that the Rn and CO2 concentrations on the hanging wall were higher than those near the fault zone and on the footwall of the fault. Moreover, the Hg and H2 concentrations on the footwall were also higher than those near the fault and on the hanging wall of the fault. The main factors affecting the variations in soil gas spatial distribution were gaseous origin structure of the crust, fault activity, fault fracture degree, stratigraphic lithology, and the cover layer. The results of active structural fault mapping show that the BLT fault has been active since the Late Quaternary and the thrust has broken the fault surface. Under the influence of tectonic compressive stress, the tension zone was formed on the hanging wall of the fault and fractures were developed. This result is consistent with the characteristics of soil gas concentrations measured in this study, indicating that the concentrations of Rn, Hg, H2, and CO2 are closely related to the fault activity. These findings can be applied to identify seismic precursors from gas monitoring data of the studied area.

A laboratory fire-extinguishing system was applied to investigate the effect of gas-liquid ratio on the fire-extinguishing performance of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) in diesel pool fire, and the proposed fire-extinguishing mechanism of AFFF is carefully analyzed. The results show that the AFFF foam possesses the shortest extinguishing time of 42s and lowest foam liquid consumption of 210 g at a gas-liquid ratio of 16, exhibiting the best fire-extinguishing performance. Chemical analysis of AFFF indicates that a proper gas-liquid ratio is beneficial to enhance the expansion ratio and drainage rate of AFFF that affect the cooling and covering effects of foam, thus achieving the optimum fire-extinguishing efficiency. Infrared thermal imaging analysis indicates that the main fire-extinguishing mechanism of AFFF is mainly ascribed to the superior cooling, covering and suffocating effects of foam against the transfer of heat and oxygen, thus effectively preventing the underlying fuel from further combustion. Keywords: Aqueous film-forming foam, Drainage rate, Diesel pool fire, Gas-liquid ratio, Fire-extinguishing mechanism

In the low-temperature dry distillation of low-rank coal, the important liquid product of coal tar is produced, but its quality and utilization rate are degraded by entrained dust. The movement of coal tar and dust in the furnace is a key factor in causing particles such as dust to mix with coal tar. Therefore, the Euler–Lagrangian method is used to simulate the two-phase motion process of gas, tar, and dust in a furnace. By considering the effects of tar particle size, dust particle size, gas velocity, tar density, and dust density, the motion process mechanism is revealed, enabling the dust content in coal tar to be reduced and the quality improved. The results indicate that tar particles with sizes less than 0.20 mm can be removed from the furnace by gas, and the smaller the particle size is, the shorter the time required for removal. Dust particles greater than 0.18 mm in size cannot be completely removed from the furnace. As the gas velocity increases, the time required for complete removal of the tar mist and dust gradually decreases. When the speed is 0.70 m/s, all tar mist is removed, although some particles remain. Tar mist with a density of more than 900 kg/m3 can be extensively removed, but dust with a density of more than 1400 kg/m3 is difficult to remove and remains in the furnace. Finally, particle size distribution experiments in the product were conducted to verify the accuracy of the numerical simulation.

Amygdaloidal basalt is a typical rock mass in the dam foundation of the Baihetan hydropower project in southwest China. With rising and drawdown of the reservoir water level, the permeability and creep deformation characteristics of the amygdaloidal basalt are much complicated in the long-term cyclic loading processes. A cyclic loading-unloading creep test on the amygdaloidal basalt was performed to evaluate its deformation and permeability behavior. The results showed that Poisson’s ratio and elastic modulus of the rock specimen varied significantly under different loading processes with a relatively large irreversible deformation. The permeability and strain rates of rock changed in two phases under lower deviatoric stresses, while there are three typical stages of strain growth with the final stress level of 121.8 MPa. For axial stress of 128 MPa, the creep deformation and creep rate in the axial direction are smaller than these in the lateral direction. Before the sample failure, the lateral deformation accelerates earlier than the axial deformation. The results also suggested that the permeability of the rock specimens decreases considerably during each loading process and then tends to be constant with time. No apparent change in steady permeability is observed with variation of stress. For 128 MPa axial stress, the permeability first decreases, then tends to be in a stable value, and at last increases during the sample failure.

Large-scale slopes at the banks of reservoirs pose a serious threat to the safety of hydropower stations. The fluctuation of the reservoir water level is a key factor in the slope stability. However, the parameters to describe the relationship among water content, matric suction, and soil strength are difficult to measure using unsaturated soil strength theory. To solve this problem, a simple FEM-LEM-combined scheme considering pore pressure, seepage force, and strength weakening is presented to calculate the safety factor. A numerical study on the impact of reservoir water level fluctuations on stability of a glaciofluvial deposit slope is implemented. Two typical profiles are used to estimate the stability of the glaciofluvial deposit slope in response to rising and lowering water levels. The results indicate that this method proposed a simple and efficient tool for water level-induced slope stability analysis.

Porosity change is a common characteristic of natural soils in fluid-solid interaction problems, which can lead to an obvious change of the soil-water retention curve (SWRC). The influence of porosity on soil water retention phenomena is investigated by a theoretical model and an experimental test in this study. A model expressing the change in suction with porosity and effective saturation is put forward theoretically. The model is based on an idealization of three-phase porous materials, the pore structures of which are homogeneous and isotropic. It accounts for the porosity effect on soil water retention, using four parameters with clear physical meanings. The presented model can obtain the SWRC at any porosity, which will reduce the test number required in characterizing the hydraulic behavior of soil. A laboratory experiment for loamy sand with different porosities is performed. The test results show that suction has a significant variation with changes in porosity and decreases with the increase of porosity. The formulation is verified by both the test data and the literature data for FEBEX bentonite and Boom clay. The very good agreements between measured and predicted results show that the SWRC model is reliable and feasible for various soils.

Trend model is a method of research on the evolution process of objects. Based on the synergetics, this paper raises a trend model for regional energy consumption systems by formula derivation and theoretical assumptions. This paper chooses Wuhan City as a case to construct the model and analyse the trend of its evolution. The results prove that the prediction effect of this model is good. The exponential smoothing method was chosen to compare with the trend model for the regional energy consumption system, and the result shows trend model raised in this paper makes good performance on the forecast.

This study aims to perform a technical, environmental, and economic assessment of long-distance transport (around 10000 km) of green power from Australia to Japan through High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) submarine power cables by literature studies. A PV power plant generates green power; 8000 GWh annual production is chosen as capacity. For the HVDC value chain, according to the assessments, energy efficiency is 74%. Power loss during cable transport is the key contributor. GHG footprint of power delivered is 112 kg CO2e/MWh compared to 50 kg at the outlet of the PV plant. Capital expenditure (CAPEX) is 29058 M€. At the end of the 10th and 20th years, another 4500 M€ investment is required for battery replacement. Operating expense (OPEX) is 166 M€/y. The technical cost of power produced is 428 €/MWh. Results of sensitivity analysis show that submarine cables length, power loss and lifetime, battery storage system sizing, and power plant availability have a significant impact on the economic and environmental performance of the whole HVDC value chain.

In order to improve the fire-extinguishing performance of protein foam (PF) in diesel pool fire, a self-built foam extinguishing device was used to explore the influence of gas-liquid ratio, injection angle, driving pressure and liquid flow rate on the fire-extinguishing efficiency of PF. When the gas-liquid ratio is 20, the foam possesses the shortest extinguishing time of 200s and lowest extinguishing agent dosage of 260 g among the samples. Besides, the fire-extinguishing efficiency of PF varies with the change of injection angle and the order is 90° (vertical injection) > 45° (overlooking injection)> −45° (upward injection)> 0° (horizontal injection). In addition, as the increase of liquid flow rate and driving pressure, the fire-extinguishing efficiency of PF increases. In particular, the extinguishing time and the extinguishing dosage agent are reduced by 35.0% and 11.5%, respectively, with the PF flow rate of 50 L/h compared to the case of 20 L/h, which are reduced by 25.0% and 24.6%, respectively, with the driving pressure of 0.5 MPa compared to the case of 0.3 MPa. The factor of fire-extinguishing efficiency of PF was investigated from the experimental aspects, which provided a basis for the application of PF in firefighting. Keywords: Protein foam, Fire-extinguishing efficiency, Gas-liquid ratio, Injection angle, Liquid flow rate, Driving pressure

Abstract Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex process involving multiple genes, steps and stages. It refers to the disruption of tight intercellular junctions among epithelial cells under specific conditions, resulting in loss of the original polarity, order and consistency of the cells. Following EMT, the cells show interstitial cell characteristics with the capacity for adhesion and migration, while apoptosis is inhibited. This process is critically involved in embryogenesis, wound-healing, tumor invasion and metastasis. The tumor microenvironment is composed of infiltrating inflammatory cells, stromal cells and the active medium secreted by interstitial cells. Most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have a history of hepatitis virus infection. In such cases, major components of the tumor microenvironment include inflammatory cells, inflammatory factors and virus-encoded protein are major components. Here, we review the relationship between EMT and the inflammatory tumor microenvironment in the context of HCC. We also further elaborate the significant influence of infiltrating inflammatory cells and inflammatory mediators as well as the products expressed by the infecting virus in the tumor microenvironment on the EMT process.

Objective: To analyze the impact of meteorological factors on the incidence of influenza based on the Yunqi theory in Beijing area, and to establish an effective forecast model. Methods: Monthly data on the incidence of influenza from 1970 to 2004 and daily data on the meteorological factors (including daily averages of temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, vapor pressure, and daily total precipitation) from 1966 to 2004 were collected and processed under the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory of six qi. A back-propagation artificial neural network was then performed to analyze the data. Results: The highest incidence of influenza occurs in the sixth qi (the period of December and January), which is characterized by dryness and coldness. Altogether six models were successfully established. Climatic data used were of the same year, one year prior, two years prior, and three years prior to the influenza data respectively. The last two models involve climatic data of the previous three years plus the current year and of the past four years plus the current year. Finally, we determined the fifth model has the highest forecast accuracy (49%). Conclusions: Meteorological factors can exert an influence on the incidence of influenza, which corresponds to TCM theory that “the pestilence occurred three years after the abnormal climatic changes”. This study may generate interest among the public health community and other TCM theories can be applied so that public health measures can be taken to prevent and control influenza, particularly during the winter months. Keywords: Incidence of influenza, Meteorological factors, Yunqi theory, Back-propagation artificial neural network

Objective: This paper aims to study the correlativity between the number of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases and seasonal meteorological factors in Beijing. Methods: Based on theory of Human–Environmental Inter Relation in Huangdi's Internal Classics, we adopted monthly cases of PTB in Beijing from 2004 to 2011, and established a Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model. Using the cross-correlation function (CCF), we then analyzed the correlation between meteorological factors and number of infected patients. The related meteorological factors were subsequently integrated, to establish a Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average with explanatory variables (SARIMAX) model, which was used to estimate and verify the number of PTB cases in 2012. Results: In this study, a SARIMA(0,1,1) (0,1,1)12 model was established; CCF analysis was used to reveal the correlativity between PTB and precipitation with 1 lag, relative humidity with 1 lag. Then, integrated with relative humidity with 1 lag (β = 2.405, 95% confidence interval: 0.433–4.377), the SARIMAX prediction model was proved to be an accurate approach for predicting local situations of PTB occurrence. Conclusions: The occurrence of PTB is correlated with seasonal meteorological factors. Combining these factors, an exact prediction model can be established, to estimate of the number of PTB infected patients. Keywords: Human–Environmental Inter Relation, Pulmonary tuberculosis, Time series analysis, Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average

Abstract Background Identification of the quantitative trait locus (QTL) underlying salt tolerance is a prerequisite for marker-assisted selection in the salt-tolerant breeding process. Methods In this study, the recombinant inbred lines derived from the salt-tolerant elite soybean cultivar ‘Jidou 12’ and the salt-sensitive elite cultivar ‘Ji NF 58’ were used to identify the QTL associated with salt tolerance, using both salt tolerance rating (STR) and leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD) as indicators. Results A major salt-tolerant QTL, which was flanked by SSR markers GMABAB and Barcsoyssr_03_1421 on chromosome 3, was identified based on single-marker regression, single trait composite interval mapping, and multiple interval mapping analysis. For STR, the LOD ranged from 19.8 to 20.1; R2 ranged from 44.3 to 44.7%; and the additive effect ranged from 0.876 to 0.885 among the three mapping methods. For SPAD, the LOD ranged from 10.6 to 11.0; R2 ranged from 27.0 to 27.6%; and the additive effect ranged from 1.634 to 1.679 among the three mapping methods. Conclusions In this study, a major QTL conditioning salt tolerance on chromosome 3 was identified. The DNA markers closely associated with the QTLs might be useful in marker-assisted selection for soybean salt tolerance improvement in Huanghuaihai, China.

Three types of shell bio-fillers, including eggshell (CES), conch shell (CHS) and clamshell (CMS), were prepared by cleaning, ultrasonication and pulverizing processes of biowastes, and then applied to intumescent fire-retardant coatings. The effects of shell bio-fillers with different polymorphs on the fire resistance and char-forming of intumescent fire-retardant coatings were investigated by cone calorimeter test, fire protection tests, smoke density test, thermogravimetric analysis (TG), and the fire resistance and char-forming mechanism of bio-fillers in intumescent fire-retardant coatings were proposed. The results show that three kinds of bio-fillers exert an excellent synergistic effect on enhancing the fire resistance and char-forming properties of the intumescent fire-retardant coatings, while clamshell has the best synergistic efficiency among the bio-fillers. Especially, IFRC-CMS coating containing 3 wt% clamshell shows the best fire protection performance and lowest smoke production and heat release, which offers an equilibrium backside temperature of 134.6 °C at 900 s, a flame-spread rating of 14.4, and a smoke density rating value of 22.8%. The synergistic efficiency of bio-fillers in the intumescent coatings depends on the polymorphs of CaCO3 in bio-fillers, and aragonite CaCO3 shows a higher synergistic efficiency compared to calcite CaCO3 and the mixture of aragonite and calcite CaCO3. The CMS composed of aragonite shows the best synergistic effect, CHS composed of aragonite and calcite comes second, and CES composed of calcite has the weakest synergistic effect.