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The northwest Yunnan rift zone develops along the western boundary of the Sichuan-Yunnan block. The N-S trending eastern foothill fault of Yulong Snow Mountain on the northern edge of the rift zone extends between the Yulong Snow Mountain and the Lijiang Basin. It is the innermost part of the western boundary of the Sichuan-Yunnan block. The formation mechanism and activity characteristics of the eastern foothill fault of Yulong Snow Mountain are not only related to the complex structural boundary issues on the western side of Sichuan and Yunnan, but also can explain the uplift process of the Yulong Mountain and the Haba Mountain. After the MS7.0 earthquake in Lijiang in 1996, the eastern foothill fault of Yulong Snow Mountain widely attracted attention. However, previous research results about the Late Quaternary activity of this fault were diverse, including normal faulting, strike-slip faulting, and thrusting. It indicates that although this fault is only 60 kilometers long, it belongs to a complex tectonic system. Understanding the activity characteristics and earthquake-generating behavior of this fault is of great significance for establishing a complex structural model in the western Sichuan-Yunnan block. This article summarizes previous research data, reinterprets the fault based on satellite images, analyzes the typical fault-related landforms and identifies clear evidence of a combination of normal faulting and sinistral strike-slip along the fault. Field investigations have further validated these interpretations. Based on the conclusions and analysis presented in this paper, we have summarized different regional tectonic models corresponding to the different activity properties of eastern foothill fault of Yulong Snow Mountain. Meanwhile, from the perspective of plateau expansion, it is believed that the complex fault combination in the western Sichuan-Yunnan block is new and is forming a new western boundary of the Sichuan-Yunnan block.

The Lijiang–Jinpingshan fault (LJF) is an important secondary boundary fault that obliquely cuts the Sichuan–Yunnan rhombic block. It is of great significance for understanding the tectonic evolution of the Sichuan–Yunnan rhombic block and even the southeastern margin of the Tibet Plateau. Based on a digital elevation model (DEM), this work combines ArcGIS with MATLAB script programs to extract geomorphic indices including slope, the relief degree of the land surface (RDLS), hypsometric integral (HI), and channel steepness index (ksn) of 593 sub–watersheds and strip terrain profiles around the LJF. By analyzing the spatial distribution characteristics of the geomorphic indices and combining the regional lithology and precipitation conditions, the spatial distribution of the geomorphic indices around the study area was analyzed to reveal the implications of the LJF’s activity. The results of this work indicate that (1) the distribution of geomorphic indices around the LJF may not be controlled by climate and lithological conditions, and the LJF is the dominant factor controlling the geomorphic evolution of the region. (2) The spatial distribution patterns of geomorphic indices and strip terrain profiles reveal that the vertical movement of the LJF resulted in a pronounced uplift on its northwest side, with tectonic activity gradually diminishing from northeast to southwest. Furthermore, based on the spatial distribution characteristics of these geomorphic indices, the activity intensity of the LJF can be categorized into four distinct segments: Jianchuan–Lijiang, Lijiang–Ninglang, Ninglang–Muli, and Muli–Shimian. (3) The activity of the LJF obtained from tectonic geomorphology is consistent with the conclusions obtained in previous geological and geodesic studies. This work provides evidence of the activity and segmentation of the LJF in tectonic geomorphology. The results provide insight for the discussion of tectonic deformation and earthquake disaster mechanisms in the southeastern margin of the Tibet Plateau.

Recent rapid urbanization has led to an increase in tunnel construction, escalating the prevalence of ground collapses. Ground collapses, characterized by large deformation and strain-softening, pose a significant challenge for classical numerical theories and simulation methods. Consequently, a numerical framework combining the material point method (MPM) and strain-softening Drucker–Prager plasticity is introduced in this study to more accurately describe the evolution process and failure mechanism of the subgrade during tunnel excavation. The proposed numerical framework was validated against an analytic solution employing a typical ‘dry bottom’ dam model with solid non-linearity and large deformation; some of the results are also compared with those of the SPH method and centrifugal modeling tests to verify the validity of the MPM method in this paper. The validated model was used in this study to conduct a comprehensive analysis of surface instability and ground collapse under varying soil conditions. This included factors such as strata thickness, cohesion, internal friction angle, and a quantitative description of the development of longitudinal subsidence of the surface. The aim was to clarify deformation responses, failure patterns, and excavation mechanisms, providing insights for underground tunneling practices.

Abstract To identify biomarkers of hormonal contraceptive (HC) use in urine and saliva, we conducted a pilot study with 30 women initiating levonorgestrel (LNG) containing combined oral contraceptives (COCs) or depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) (15/group). Based on established COC pharmacokinetics, we collected serum and urine samples before COC ingestion and during Days one and three of use, or before DMPA injection and on Days 21 and 60 post-injection. We used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to measure serum/urine LNG and MPA. LNG was undetectable at baseline (specificity 100%); post ingestion, most urine samples had detectable LNG levels (sensitivity: 80% 6 h post Dose one, 93% 6 h post Dose three). We used a DetectX LNG immunoassay kit and showed 100% sensitivity measuring urine LNG. Urine MPA levels were undetectable in 14/15 women at baseline (specificity 91%); post-injection all urine samples had detectable MPA levels (sensitivity: 100% days 21 and 60). Results suggest urine sampling can be used to identify a biomarker of LNG and MPA use. Based on evidence from other steroidal hormonal studies showing changes affecting the transcriptome profile of saliva at 24 h, we used the same (COC, DMPA) timepoints to collect saliva. We performed transcriptome analysis and detected several differentially expressed genes in DMPA users’ saliva on Days 21 and 60 compared to baseline; none among COC users. We plan further research of differential gene expression in saliva as a HC biomarker of DMPA use, and will explore longer periods of COC use and saliva collection times, and application of microRNA sequencing to support using saliva as a COC biomarker.

Objectives: This study assessed the efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), and immunogenicity profiles of a denosumab biosimilar (LY06006) in Chinese postmenopausal osteoporotic women with a high risk of fracture. Methods: In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial, 448 postmenopausal women aged 50–85 years with osteoporosis were enrolled at 49 centers in China and were randomly assigned (3:1) to receive 60 ​mg of the denosumab biosimilar (LY06006) or placebo subcutaneously every 6 months for 1 year. Lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) change was the primary endpoint. Results: Of the 448 randomized patients, 409 (LY06006, n ​= ​311; placebo, n ​= ​98) completed the study. All 448 (100.0%) subjects were included in the intent-to-treat (ITT) trial, 427 (95.3%) were included in the full analysis set (FAS), 408 (91.1%) were included in the per protocol set (PPS), 446 (99.6%) were included in the safety set (SS), and 336 (75.0%) were included in the pharmacokinetics concentration set (PKCs). For the primary endpoint, a 4.71% (95% CI, 3.81%, 5.60%) treatment difference in percent change in lumbar spine BMD from baseline to month 12 was observed in the LY06006 group compared with the placebo group (P ​

An integration of the electrical machine and the gearbox is attracting particular attention for the design of modern electric and hybrid drive trains, since it saves overall space and subsequently increases the power density. Another benefit of a high level of integration is that it enables a combined application of oils as both cooling fluid for the electrical machine and as lubrication fluid for the transmission system. In this way, the power density of the integrated drive train can be further increased. During the oil cycling, conductive contaminations may be introduced and subsequently have an influence on the function of the insulation system of the electrical machine. In the present work, the influences of the cooling oil and its conductive contaminations, conductive particles as well as their combination with humidity, on the electrical and dielectric properties of the insulation system are studied. The results show that by application of the cooling oil, the partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) of the winding insulation increases significantly so that an electrical breakdown is prone to happen before a partial discharge (PD) occurs. With increasing particle contamination, the PDIV of the insulation system decreases significantly, while the capacitance increases. Besides, conductive particles and humidity decrease the surface resistance and surface breakdown voltage of the insulation papers significantly. The results indicate that the conductive particle contaminations can play an important role for the electrical degradation of the insulation system.

Farmers must accurately and promptly identify sugarcane leaf diseases with identical symptoms. RGB images have a beneficial function in disease identification. Nevertheless, complex backgrounds and identical symptoms can significantly reduce the recognition accuracy and robustness. To overcome these challenges, the SLViT hybrid network is presented, in which the transformer encoder is converted to a flexible plug-in (LViT) that is subsequently integrated into several locations of a lightweight CNN architecture (SHDC). SLViT is initially trained on the publicly available disease dataset Plant Village before being moved to the self-created sugarcane leaf disease dataset SLD10k, which consists of seven classes and 10,309 images. The ablation experiments demonstrate that all the adjustments to SLViT have contributed positively to its overall performance. SLViT outperforms six SOTA models and three custom-designed leaf-disease recognition models on Plant Village in terms of speed (1,832 FPS), weight (2 MB), consumption (50 M), and precision (98.84 %). SLViT also outperformed MobileNetV3_small on the SLD10k dataset with an accuracy bonus of 1.87 % and a size reduction of 66.3 %. The experiment also reveals that SLViT has absorbed the advantages of both the lightweight CNN and the noise-resistant transformer. This study demonstrates the applicability of SLViT for sugarcane leaf diagnosis in the field.

In order to reduce the hygroscopicity of ammonium dinitramide (ADN), four different ADN/nitrocellulose (NC) samples were prepared from acetone solutions using electrostatic spraying, with the concentrations of 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 mg ml−1. The morphology was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, and the samples with regular morphology and uniform size were examined by x-ray powder diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry to investigate the crystal structure and obtain their thermal decomposition properties. Additionally, the mechanical sensitivity and hygroscopicity of the microspheres were also obtained from these studies. The ADN/NC energetic complexes prepared at a concentration of 5 mg ml−1 were found to be spherical, regular in shape, and uniform in size. The apparent activation energy and the critical temperature for thermal explosion were found to be reduced. The impact sensitivities were comparable to those of the raw material, whereas the friction sensitivities were enhanced. Water absorption tests showed that the moisture absorption of the raw ADN was 32.12%, and that of the ADN/NC sample after coating was 3.75%. The moisture absorption of the prepared samples was significantly reduced.

In order to improve the capability to defend against typhoon storm surge disaster risk and assist government departments in marine disaster prevention and mitigation in Xiamen City, this paper developed a storm surge inundation risk warning system based on a numerical model of storm surge, and simulated the inundation risk during Typhoon 1521 (Dujuan) as an example. The results showed that the numerical model could well describe the process of typhoon storm surge affecting Xiamen, and meet the needs of storm surge inundation risk analysis. 2 methods were adopted to analyze the storm surge inundation risk in the warning system by warning level and sea wall elevation, which could take different early warning and defense measures for different coastal segments with different influence degrees. The submergence range of storm surge based on the numerical model was basically consistent with that of the field survey area, and the submergence range of the area without field survey could be supplemented. In the future, the storm surge inundation risk warning system in Xiamen should be further improved and a storm surge risk evaluation system should be established.

BackgroundLoneliness and social isolation are global public health challenges. Sensory impairments (SIs) are highly prevalent among older adults but are often ignored as a part of normal aging. Identifying the role of SIs in loneliness and social isolation could provide insight into strategies for improving public health among older adults. ObjectiveThis study aims to analyze the effects of SIs on loneliness and social isolation among older adults in rural and urban China. MethodsThis cohort study of 3069 older adults (aged 60+) used data from 4 waves (2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a nationally representative survey of adults aged 45 years or older. SIs include hearing impairment (HI), vision impairment (VI), and dual sensory impairment (DSI). DSI is defined as the co-occurrence of VI and HI. Participants with complete data on hearing, vision, social isolation, and loneliness were included in the analysis. Generalized estimating equation models adjusted for covariates were used to examine the relationships of DSI with loneliness and social isolation among older adults. ResultsOlder adults in rural areas have higher prevalence of DSI, loneliness, and social isolation than their urban counterparts. In rural areas, participants with VI only (odds ratio [OR] 1.34, 95% CI 1.12-1.62; P=.002), HI only (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.02-1.71; P=.03), and DSI (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.56-2.18; P

Buried fault identification in plains is one of the important and difficult problems in current active fault research. Seismic activity forces crustal fluid to migrate up, especially along faults, thereby altering the geochemical characteristics of faults. Hyperspectral remote sensing has an extremely high spectral resolution; data derived from hyperspectral remote sensing have the capacity to detect physicochemical characteristics for mining or the subtle recognition of different underground objects. It provides a new method to detect changes in the geochemical characteristics in the fault. This study is trying to locate the fault by spectrum feature. The Xiadian fault was chosen as the study area. Several samples across the fault were collected, and these samples were measured by an ASD Field Spec 3 spectrometer(Analytical Spectral Devices, Boulder, USA, produced in 2008). Continuum removal, the spectral classification method and the wavelet transform technique have been used for spectral analysis. It has been shown that the spectrum of soil in the fault zone has some special characteristics that are different from those of the spectrum away from fault. Four special spectral regions, 550–580 ​nm, 600–700 ​nm, 700–800 ​nm and 800–900 ​nm, have been extracted as the singular ranges. These individual ranges could be used for fault location in the plain area. There is weak absorption near 880 ​nm of the sample in the fault, indicating that Fe3+ content plays an important role in fault identification and that the iron valences can indicate the fault environment. This study also found that the spectral anomalies in space could reflect the intensity of active tectonics to a certain extent. Therefore, spectral features have the potential to identify a buried faults. This study is the first to use spectroscopic techniques to analyze active tectonics, and there is a new discovery. This new discovery provides the basis for the application of remote sensing in the study of active tectonics.

Correlating morphological surfaces, such as terraces and alluvial fans, is necessary in geomorphology researches. Gravel characteristics have been analysed to estimate the weathering degree. However, the composition of gravels was complicated and a feasible quantitative method is still need. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the weathering process of an alluvial fan in western Sichuan Basin and find a practical method in correlating morphological surfaces. The Qingyi River frequently migrated since 500 ka ago and generated several paleo alluvial fans, one of which is the Dansi alluvial fan. Major and trace element samples form an uninterrupted outcrop of the Dansi fan were tested to estimate the weathering process of a single fluvial profile. Results showed that the weathering index decreased regularly with depth, meaning that the surficial sample could represent the weathering degree of the morphological surface. In addition, the sand fillings between the gravels in the river sediments were sensitive to the weathering process and were able to reflect quantitative weathering degree. Therefore, we suggested that the weathering index of the sediments closed to the surface can represent the weathering degree of morphological surfaces.

On May 21, 2021, the M7.3 Maduo earthquake occurred within the Bayan Har Block, one of the most seismically active regions in the Tibetan Plateau. This aroused attention to the seismic hazards in this block. Understanding the stress transfer to adjacent faults is important for assessing seismic hazards. In this study, based on the elastic dislocation theory and a multi-layered lithospheric model, we calculate the Coulomb failure stress changes caused by this event on the adjacent major faults and identify the segments that experienced significant increases in stress. Our preliminary results show that five segments, including the middle segment of the Dari Fault, the Tuosuo Lake segment, the Maqin–Maqu segment, the western segment of the Dari Fault, and the Yushu segment of the Garze–Yushu Fault, experienced significant increases in co-seismic stress, which exceed the proposed threshold (1 ​× ​104 ​Pa) for triggering an earthquake. The stress change pattern associated with the post-seismic viscoelastic relaxation effect is substantially consistent with that caused by the co-seismic effect. The segments with high combined (co-plus post-seismic) stress changes are identical to those indicated by the co-seismic stress increase. Based on the stress change in this study and those of previous studies on seismic activity and fault stress evolution, we emphasize the seismic potential of the Maqin–Maqu segment, the Tuosuo Lake segment, and the middle-west segments of the Dari Fault, which should receive increased attention.

Abstract Salmonella serotype (ser.) Enteritidis infection in broilers is a main foodborne illness that substantially threatens food security. This study aimed to examine the effects of a novel polysaccharide isolated from alfalfa (APS) on the intestinal microbiome and systemic health of S. ser. Enteritidis-infected broilers. The results indicated that broilers receiving the APS-supplemented diet had the improved (P

AbstractAs the eastern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau, Longmen Shan possesses a narrow thrust belt with steep topography but lacks matching Cenozoic foreland basin. Multiple kinetic models have been proposed to debate on the dominant mechanism of developing such range–foreland system. Crustal shortening rate is a feasible approach to test different tectonic models and estimate structural patterns. In this study, we focused on the deformation pattern and shortening rate of the complex foreland area of the southern Longmen Shan, which is comprised of the Xiongpo, Sansuchang, and Longquanshan anticlines. By the means of net-based RTK measurement and Quaternary chronology, we measured and dated the six-level terraces of the Qingyi River, which flows southeastward across this region. Excess area method was applied to calculate shortening rate. The results indicate that the Late Quaternary shortening rates of the Xiongpo anticline, Longquanshan anticline, and Sansuchang anticline are 1.01 mm/yr, 0.89 mm/yr, and 0.16 mm/yr, respectively. The total shortening rate of the foreland in southern Longmen Shan is 2.06 mm/yr. Consequently, a mechanical model was presented to show the tectonic pattern: the southern Longmen Shan is an actively expanding edge of the plateau, and the shortening is distributed to the three anticlines dominated by the foreland detachment system. This model supports that crustal shortening is the dominating force in the current orogenesis of the Longmen Shan. In addition, the along-strike variation of the Longmen Shan was further specified from the perspective of crustal shortening distribution. We propose that the southern Longmen Shan and its foreland basin are in a state of compression, while the northern Longmen Shan has both thrust and strike-slip characteristics.

ObjectiveThere is an urgent need to evaluate the contribution of several co-existing diseases on health. This study aims to explore the combined effect of dual sensory impairment (DSI) and multimorbidity patterns on functional impairment among middle-aged and older adults in China.MethodsData were from 10,217 adults aged 45 or older from four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Sensory impairments were self-reported measures. Multimorbidity patterns were identified by using k-means cluster analyses. Functional impairment was defined using activities of daily living (ADL) scale and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scale. Generalized estimating equation models were estimated to assess the effect of co-occurring DSI and multimorbidity on functional impairment.ResultsDSI prevalence was 50.4%, and multimorbidity prevalence was 37.7% at the baseline. The simultaneous presence of DSI and multimorbidity was associated with increased odds of ADL limitations (OR = 2.27, 95% CI: 2.11–2.43) and IADL limitations (OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.77–2.02). Five multimorbidity patterns were identified: the cardio-cerebrovascular pattern, the stomach-arthritis pattern, the respiratory pattern, the hepatorenal pattern, and the unspecified pattern. Compared to DSI only, DSI plus the hepatorenal pattern was most strongly associated with functional impairment (for ADL: OR = 2.70, 95% CI: 2.34–3.12; for IADL: OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.77–2.36).ConclusionMiddle-aged and older adults with co-occurrence of DSI and multimorbidity are at increased risk of functional impairment, especially those with multimorbidity characterized by the hepatorenal pattern. These findings imply that integrated care for DSI and multimorbidity may be a potent pathway in improving functional status.

The Northern Anqiu–Juxian Fault (NAJF) is one of the most active faults in the Tan-Lu Fault Zone (TLFZ), which produced the Anqiu M 7 earthquake in 70 BC. However, there is no clear understanding of the surface rupture caused by this historical earthquake. In this study, we determined the earthquake rupture characteristics of the NAJF based on high-precision surveying, geophysical exploration and drilling profiles. Based on an analysis of 87 horizontal offsets of gullies, we estimated a characteristic offset of ∼ 5 m along the NAJF for a rupture length about 130 km. Geophysical exploration results revealed a shallow geometric distribution of stepovers in the NAJF. We concluded that the ∼ 5 m offset and the rupture length of about 130 km are both in agreement with an empirical relationship among the magnitude, offset, and rupture length and imply that the ∼ 1 km wide stepover could not have terminated ruptures in the Anqiu M 7 earthquake. The relationship among the coseismic offset, magnitude, and surface rupture length of a strike-slip fault show that the 70 BC Anqiu earthquake was more likely to have had a magnitude of M ∼ 7.5.

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is dominated by clinical therapeutic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. Griffithsin (GRFT) is a non-ARV lectin with potent anti-HIV activity. GRFT's preclinical safety, lack of systemic absorption after vaginal administration in animal studies, and lack of cross-resistance with existing ARV drugs prompted its development for topical HIV PrEP. We investigated safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and immunogenicity of PC-6500 (0.1% GRFT in a carrageenan (CG) gel) in healthy women after vaginal administration. This randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel group, double-blind first-in-human phase 1 study enrolled healthy, HIV-negative, non-pregnant women aged 24-45 years. In the open label period, all participants (n = 7) received single dose of PC-6500. In the randomized period, participants (n = 13) were instructed to self-administer 14 doses of PC-6500 or its matching CG placebo (PC-535) once daily for 14 days. The primary outcomes were safety and PK after single dose, and then after 14 days of dosing. Exploratory outcomes were GRFT concentrations in cervicovaginal fluids, PD, inflammatory mediators and gene expression in ectocervical biopsies. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02875119. No significant adverse events were recorded in clinical or laboratory results or histopathological evaluations in cervicovaginal mucosa, and no anti-drug (GRFT) antibodies were detected in serum. No cervicovaginal proinflammatory responses and no changes in the ectocervical transcriptome were evident. Decreased levels of proinflammatory chemokines (CXCL8, CCL5 and CCL20) were observed. GRFT was not detected in plasma. GRFT and GRFT/CG in cervicovaginal lavage samples inhibited HIV and HPV, respectively, in vitro in a dose-dependent fashion. These data suggest GRFT formulated in a CG gel is a safe and promising on-demand multipurpose prevention technology product that warrants further investigation.

Abstract Background Food-borne trematodiases are an important group of neglected global diseases. Affected patients in regions with low prevalence usually experience delayed diagnosis, especially when presenting with atypical clinical symptoms. Here, we presented a rare case of a Chinese patient infected with three food-borne trematodiases. Case presentation A 42-year-old man presented with diarrhea, lower extremity edema, and symptoms of cardiac dysfunction. He had a history of intermittent consumption of raw freshwater fishes for 6–7 years. Upon evaluation, he had eosinophilia, anemia, intrahepatic bile duct dilatation and a growing space-occupying lesion in the left atrium. The patient underwent a cardiac surgery which revealed an endocardial hematoma due to mechanical injuries. Imaging investigations also revealed intracranial and pulmonary lesions. A total of three trematodiases were diagnosed based upon microscopic stool examination, from which eggs of Clonorchis sinensis, Heterophyidae and Echinostomatidae were identified. Deposition of Clonorchis sinensis eggs was also observed from ileocecal squash slides. The patient was successfully treated with three cycles of praziquantel. Conclusions Food-borne trematodiases may present with systemic involvement. Patients with dietary history of high risk or atypical ingestions should be evaluated for parasitic infection, even in non-endemic areas.

Background: There is a strong need for short and effective methods to screen for cognitive impairment. Recent studies have created short forms of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (s-MoCA) in English-speaking populations. It is also important to develop a validated Chinese short version to detect cognitive impairment.Methods: Item response theory and computerized adaptive testing analytics were used to construct abbreviated MoCAs across a large neurological sample comprising 6,981 community-dwelling Chinese veterans.Results: Six MoCA items with high discrimination and appropriate difficulty were included in the s-MoCA. The Chinese short versions (sensitivity 0.89/0.90, specificity 0.72/0.77) are similar in performance to the full MoCA in identifying cognitive impairment (sensitivity 0.91, specificity 0.82).Conclusions: These short variants of the MoCA may serve as quick and effective instruments when the original MoCA cannot be feasibly administered in clinical services with a high patient burden and limited cognitive testing resources.

A novel halovirus, VOLN27B, was isolated from a drill core sample taken at a depth of approximately 430 m, from a layer formed during the Cretaceous period (Anhui, China). VOLN27B infects the halophilic archaeon Halorubrum sp. LN27 and has a head-tailed morphotype with a contractile tail, typical of myoviruses. The average head diameter is 64±2.0 nm, and uncontracted tails are 15±1.0×65±2.0 nm. The latent period is about 10 h. The maturing time of VOLN27B in cells of Halorubrum sp. LN27 was nearly 8 h. The adsorption time of VOLN27B on cells of Halorubrum sp. LN27 was less than 1 min. Virus particles are unstable at pH values less than 5 or when the NaCl concentration is below 12% (w/v). VOLN27B and Halorubrum sp. LN27 were recovered from the same hypersaline environment and provide a new virus-host system in haloarchaea.

Soybean glycinin, as a major soybean allergen, is difficult to accurately quantify due to its large molecular weight and complex structure. CdSe/ZnS quantum dot nanobead (QB) is a core/shell fluorescent nanomaterial with strong fluorescent signals and high sensitivity at 630 nm. An immunosorbent assay based on CdSe/ZnS quantum dot nanobeads (QBs-FLISA) was developed for the glycinin quantification in soybean and soybean products. Here, the purified glycinin was coated on the microporous plate to serve as the coating antigen, and CdSe/ZnS nanobead conjugated with anti-glycinin polyclonal antibodies was used as fluorescent detection probe. The target glycinin in the sample and the coated antigen on the plate competitively adsorbed the antibody labeled the CdSe/ZnS QBs probes. The limits of detection and quantitation for glycinin were 0.035 and 0.078 μg mL−1, respectively. The recoveries of the spiked samples ranged from 89.8% to 105.6%, with relative standard deviation less than 8.6%. However, compared with ELISA, the sensitivities of QBs-FLISA for the detection of glycinin were increased by 7 times, and the detection time was shortened by two-thirds. This QBs-FLISA method has been effectively applied to the detection of soybean seeds with different varieties and soy products with different processing techniques, which will provide a rapid screening method for soybean and soybean products with low allergens.

Sugarcane is the main industrial crop for sugar production, and its growth status is closely related to fertilizer, water, and light input. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based multispectral imagery is widely used for high-throughput phenotyping, since it can rapidly predict crop vigor at field scale. This study focused on the potential of drone multispectral images in predicting canopy nitrogen concentration (CNC) and irrigation levels for sugarcane. An experiment was carried out in a sugarcane field with three irrigation levels and five fertilizer levels. Multispectral images at an altitude of 40 m were acquired during the elongating stage. Partial least square (PLS), backpropagation neural network (BPNN), and extreme learning machine (ELM) were adopted to establish CNC prediction models based on various combinations of band reflectance and vegetation indices. The simple ratio pigment index (SRPI), normalized pigment chlorophyll index (NPCI), and normalized green-blue difference index (NGBDI) were selected as model inputs due to their higher grey relational degree with the CNC and lower correlation between one another. The PLS model based on the five-band reflectance and the three vegetation indices achieved the best accuracy (Rv = 0.79, RMSEv = 0.11). Support vector machine (SVM) and BPNN were then used to classify the irrigation levels based on five spectral features which had high correlations with irrigation levels. SVM reached a higher accuracy of 80.6%. The results of this study demonstrated that high resolution multispectral images could provide effective information for CNC prediction and water irrigation level recognition for sugarcane crop.

Banana Fusarium wilt (BFW) is a devastating disease with no effective cure methods. Timely and effective detection of the disease and evaluation of its spreading trend will help farmers in making right decisions on plantation management. The main purpose of this study was to find the spectral features of the BFW-infected canopy and build the optimal BFW classification models for different stages of infection. A RedEdge-MX camera mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was used to collect multispectral images of a banana plantation infected with BFW in July and August 2020. Three types of spectral features were used as the inputs of classification models, including three-visible-band images, five-multispectral-band images, and vegetation indices (VIs). Four supervised methods including Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Back Propagation Neural Networks (BPNN) and Logistic Regression (LR), and two unsupervised methods including Hotspot Analysis (HA) and Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Technique Algorithm (ISODATA) were adopted to detect the BFW-infected canopies. Comparing to the healthy canopies, the BFW-infected canopies had higher reflectance in the visible region, but lower reflectance in the NIR region. The classification results showed that most of the supervised and unsupervised methods reached excellent accuracies. Among all the supervised methods, RF based on the five-multispectral-band was considered as the optimal model, with higher overall accuracy (OA) of 97.28% and faster running time of 22 min. For the unsupervised methods, HA reached high and balanced OAs of more than 95% based on the selected VIs derived from the red and NIR band, especially for WDRVI, NDVI, and TDVI. By comprehensively evaluating the classification results of different metrics, the unsupervised method HA was recommended for BFW recognition, especially in the late stage of infection; the supervised method RF was recommended in the early stage of infection to reach a slightly higher accuracy. The results found in this study could give advice for banana plantation management and provide approaches for plant disease detection.

Due to the impact of natural and artificial influence, such as waves, tides, and artificial dewatering, the small-strain shear modulus of soils may vary with the water content of soil, causing deformation of excavations and other earth structures. The present study used a resonant column device to investigate the effects of water content, void ratio, and confining pressure on the small-strain shear modulus of a silt extracted from an excavation site near Qiantang River in Hangzhou, China. The test results revealed that the effects of the three factors are not coupled and can be characterized by three individual equations. In particular, the small-strain shear modulus decreases with increasing water content under otherwise similar conditions, which can be characterized by a power function. The classical Hardin’s equation is modified to consider the effect of water content by introducing an additional function of water content.

Based on Biot’s saturated soil wave theory, using wave function expansion method, theoretical solutions of multiple scattering of plain P1 waves are achieved by rows of cavities as barrier with arbitrarily arranged cavities in saturated soil. Undetermined complex coefficients after wave function expansion are obtained by cavities-soil stress and displacement free boundary conditions. Numerical examples are used to investigate variation of dimensionless displacement amplitude at the back and force of cavities barrier under P1 wave incident, and it is also discussed that the main parameters influenced isolation effect such as scattering orders, separation of cavities, distances between cavity rows, numbers of cavities, and arrangement of barriers. The results clearly demonstrate optimum design proposals with rows of cavities: with the multiple scattering order increases, the displacement amplitude tends to converge and the deviation caused by subsequent scattering cannot be neglected; it will obtain higher calculation accuracy when the order of scattering is truncated at m=4; it is considered to select 2.5≤sp/as≤3.0 and 2.5≤h/as≤3.5, while designing cavity spacing and row-distance, respectively. The isolation properties of elastic waves with rectangular arrangement (counterpoint) are weaker than that with hexagonal arrangement (counterchanged) when the row-distance of barrier is uniform.

Evaluation of cancer genomes in global context is of great interest in light of changing ethnic distribution of the world population. We focused our study on men of African ancestry because of their disproportionately higher rate of prostate cancer (CaP) incidence and mortality. We present a systematic whole genome analyses, revealing alterations that differentiate African American (AA) and Caucasian American (CA) CaP genomes. We discovered a recurrent deletion on chromosome 3q13.31 centering on the LSAMP locus that was prevalent in tumors from AA men (cumulative analyses of 435 patients: whole genome sequence, 14; FISH evaluations, 101; and SNP array, 320 patients). Notably, carriers of this deletion experienced more rapid disease progression. In contrast, PTEN and ERG common driver alterations in CaP were significantly lower in AA prostate tumors compared to prostate tumors from CA. Moreover, the frequency of inter-chromosomal rearrangements was significantly higher in AA than CA tumors. These findings reveal differentially distributed somatic mutations in CaP across ancestral groups, which have implications for precision medicine strategies.

Four activated carbons (ACs) activated by different activation methods from different precursors were heat-treated at 600℃ to decrease surface oxygen functional groups and to separate the effect of pore texture from surface chemistry on their sulfur adsorption performance. The ACs and the heat-treated ones were used as adsorbents for thiophene (T), dibenzothiophene (DBT), and 4,6-dimethyl dibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT) for model fuels with or without a competing benzene. The correlations of surface functional groups and pore textures to their adsorption capacities for T, DBT and 4,6-DMDBT were investigated. Results indicated that the heat treatment not only decreased surface oxygen content, but also caused a pore texture modification. The adsorption isotherms can be well fitted by the Langmuir–Freundlich single solute isotherm. The sulfur adsorption capacity of ACs after the treatment for T, DBT, and 4,6-DMDBT has a good linear relationship with the pore volume of pores within 0.536–1.090, 0.536–1.179, and 0.679–1.268 nm, respectively. The decreased percentage of surface oxygen of ACs by the heat treatment is correlated linearly with the decreased percentage of the sulfur adsorption capacity for all the thiophenic compounds. Micropore filling via the π–π interaction is the dominant adsorption mechanism of thiophenic compounds for both the untreated and heat-treated ACs. Surface oxides contribute to the thiophenic adsorption by a cooperative interaction of the π–π interaction and the acid–base interaction between the basic sulfur atom and the acidic carbon atoms linked with oxygen in graphene edges. A flat adsorption is the most possible geometry in the adsorption of thiophenic compounds.

Women need multipurpose prevention products (MPTs) that protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and provide contraception. The Population Council has developed a prototype intravaginal ring (IVR) releasing the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) MIV-150 (M), zinc acetate (ZA), carrageenan (CG) and levonorgestrel (LNG) (MZCL IVR) to protect against HIV, HSV-2, HPV and unintended pregnancy. Our objective was to evaluate the anti-SHIV-RT activity of MZCL IVR in genital mucosa. First, macaque vaginal tissues were challenged with SHIV-RT in the presence of (i) MIV-150 ± LNG or (ii) vaginal fluids (VF); available from studies completed earlier) collected at various time points post insertion of MZCL and MZC IVRs. Then, (iii) MZCL IVRs (vs. LNG IVRs) were inserted in non-Depo Provera-treated macaques for 24h and VF, genital biopsies, and blood were collected and tissues were challenged with SHIV-RT. Infection was monitored with one step SIV gag qRT-PCR or p27 ELISA. MIV-150 (LCMS/MS, RIA), LNG (RIA) and CG (ELISA) were measured in different compartments. Log-normal generalized mixed linear models were used for analysis. LNG did not affect the anti-SHIV-RT activity of MIV-150 in vitro. MIV-150 in VF from MZC/MZCL IVR-treated macaques inhibited SHIV-RT in vaginal mucosa in a dose-dependent manner (p

Forest biomass is an important resource for producing bioenergy and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The State of Michigan in the United States (U.S.) is one region recognized for its high potential of supplying forest biomass; however, the long-term availability of timber harvests and the associated harvest residues from this area has not been fully explored. In this study time trend analyses was employed for long term timber assessment and developed mathematical models for harvest residue estimation, as well as the implications of use for ethanol. The GHG savings potential of ethanol over gasoline was also modeled. The methods were applied in Michigan under scenarios of different harvest solutions, harvest types, transportation distances, conversion technologies, and higher heating values over a 50-year period. Our results indicate that the study region has the potential to supply 0.75–1.4 Megatonnes (Mt) dry timber annually and less than 0.05 Mt of dry residue produced from these harvests. This amount of forest biomass could generate 0.15–1.01 Mt of ethanol, which contains 0.68–17.32 GJ of energy. The substitution of ethanol for gasoline as transportation fuel has potential to reduce emissions by 0.043–1.09 Mt CO2eq annually. The developed method is generalizable in other similar regions of different countries for bioenergy related analyses.

The dynamic neural network based adaptive direct nonlinear model predictive control is designed to control an industrial microwave heating pickling cold-rolled titanium process. The identifier of the direct adaptive nonlinear model identification and the controller of the adaptive nonlinear model predictive control are designed based on series-parallel dynamic neural network training by RLS algorithm with variable incremental factor, gain, and forgetting factor. These identifier and controller are used to constitute intelligent controller for adjusting the temperature of microwave heating acid. The correctness of the controller structure, the convergence, and feasibility of the control algorithms is tested by system simulation. For a given point tracking, model mismatch simulation results show that the controller can be implemented on the system to track and overcome the mismatch system model. The control model can be achieved to track on pickling solution concentration and temperature of a given reference and overcome the disturbance.

With the exploitation of rare earth ore, more and more REEs came into groundwater. This was a waste of resources and could be harmful to the organisms. This study aimed to find an efficient adsorption material to mitigate the above issue. Through doping sodium alginate (SA) with poly-γ-glutamate (PGA), an immobilized gel particle material was produced. The composite exhibited excellent capacity for adsorbing rare earth elements (REEs). The amount of La3+ adsorbed on the SA-PGA gel particles reached approximately 163.93 mg/g compared to the 81.97 mg/g adsorbed on SA alone. The factors that potentially affected the adsorption efficiency of the SA-PGA composite, including the initial concentration of REEs, the adsorbent dosage, and the pH of the solution, were investigated. 15 types of REEs in single and mixed aqueous solutions were used to explore the selective adsorption of REEs on gel particles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy analyses of the SA and SA-PGA gel beads suggested that the carboxyl groups in the composite might play a key role in the adsorption process and the morphology of SA-PGA changed from the compact structure of SA to a porous structure after doping PGA. The kinetics and thermodynamics of the adsorption of REEs were well fit with the pseudo-second-order equation and the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model, respectively. It appears that SA-PGA is useful for recycling REEs from wastewater.

When microbicides used for HIV prevention contain antiretroviral drugs, there is concern for the potential emergence of drug-resistant HIV following use in infected individuals who are either unaware of their HIV infection status or who are aware but still choose to use the microbicide. Resistant virus could ultimately impact their responsiveness to treatment and/or result in subsequent transmission of drug-resistant virus. We tested whether drug resistance mutations (DRMs) would emerge in macaques infected with simian immunodeficiency virus expressing HIV reverse transcriptase (SHIV-RT) after sustained exposure to the potent non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) MIV-150 delivered via an intravaginal ring (IVR). We first treated 4 SHIV-RT-infected animals with daily intramuscular injections of MIV-150 over two 21 day (d) intervals separated by a 7 d drug hiatus. In all 4 animals, NNRTI DRMs (single and combinations) were detected within 14 d and expanded in proportion and diversity with time. Knowing that we could detect in vivo emergence of NNRTI DRMs in response to MIV-150, we then tested whether a high-dose MIV-150 IVR (loaded with >10 times the amount being used in a combination microbicide IVR in development) would select for resistance in 6 infected animals, modeling use of this prevention method by an HIV-infected woman. We previously demonstrated that this MIV-150 IVR provides significant protection against vaginal SHIV-RT challenge. Wearing the MIV-150 IVR for 56 d led to only 2 single DRMs in 2 of 6 animals (430 RT sequences analyzed total, 0.46%) from plasma and lymph nodes despite MIV-150 persisting in the plasma, vaginal fluids, and genital tissues. Only wild type virus sequences were detected in the genital tissues. These findings indicate a low probability for the emergence of DRMs after topical MIV-150 exposure and support the advancement of MIV-150-containing microbicides.

Prevalent infection with human herpes simplex 2 (HSV-2) or human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with increased human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) acquisition. Microbicides that target HIV as well as these sexually transmitted infections (STIs) may more effectively limit HIV incidence. Previously, we showed that a microbicide gel (MZC) containing MIV-150, zinc acetate (ZA) and carrageenan (CG) protected macaques against simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV-RT) infection and that a ZC gel protected mice against HSV-2 infection. Here we evaluated a modified MZC gel (containing different buffers, co-solvents, and preservatives suitable for clinical testing) against both vaginal and rectal challenge of animals with SHIV-RT, HSV-2 or HPV. MZC was stable and safe in vitro (cell viability and monolayer integrity) and in vivo (histology). MZC protected macaques against vaginal (p

Recurrence interval of large earthquake on an active fault zone is an important parameter in assessing seismic hazard. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (Mw 7.9) occurred on the central Longmen Shan fault zone and ruptured the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault (YBF) and the Guanxian-Jiangyou fault (GJF). However, there is a considerable discrepancy among recurrence intervals of large earthquake in preseismic and postseismic estimates based on slip rate and paleoseismologic results. Post-seismic trenches showed that the central Longmen Shan fault zone probably undertakes an event similar to the 2008 quake, suggesting a characteristic earthquake model. In this paper, we use the published seismogenic model of the 2008 earthquake based on Global Positioning System (GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data and construct a characteristic seismic moment accumulation/release model to estimate recurrence interval of large earthquakes on the central Longmen Shan fault zone. Our results show that the seismogenic zone accommodates a moment rate of (2.7 ± 0.3) × 1017 N m/yr, and a recurrence interval of 3900 ± 400 yrs is necessary for accumulation of strain energy equivalent to the 2008 earthquake. This study provides a preferred interval estimation of large earthquakes for seismic hazard analysis in the Longmen Shan region.