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Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) on primary insomnia. Methods A total of 120 patients with primary insomnia admitted to the The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January to December 2021 were randomly divided into conventional treatment and sham stimulation group (control group) and conventional treatment and PEMFs stimulation group (PEMFs group), with 60 patients in each group. Before and after 2 weeks of treatment, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate the sleep quality, and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) was used to evaluate the severity of insomnia. Results The total effective rate of PEMFs group was higher than that of control group [81.67% (49/60) vs. 41.67% (25/60); χ2 = 20.306, P = 0.000]. After treatment, the total PSQI score (F = 228.729, P = 0.000), sleep quality (F = 87.291, P = 0.000), time to fall asleep (F = 181.842, P = 0.000), sleep time (F = 143.355, P = 0.000) and ISI score (F = 361.348, P = 0.000) of the 2 groups were significantly lower than those before treatment. PSQI total score (F = 13.297, P = 0.000), sleep quality (F = 7.573, P = 0.007), time to fall asleep (F = 9.776, P = 0.002), sleep time (F = 8.566, P = 0.004), and ISI score (F = 5.350, P = 0.000) in PEMFs group after treatment were significantly lower than those of the control group. Conclusions PEMFs are safe and effective in the treatment of patient with primary insomnia, which can significantly improve the sleep quality, and can be used as a non ⁃ drug treatment for patients with primary insomnia.

Corn silk is rich in a variety of biologically active ingredients. The development of tea products based on corn silk and supplemented by other auxiliary materials could be of great significance for alleviating high blood pressure, high blood fat, and high blood sugar. The main ingredients of corn silk tea products on dominating online shopping APPs were sorted out in current study. Then, in order to assess the bioactive substances and antioxidant capacities in the water-extraction of corn silk tea products, an experiment was carried out with corn silk as the main material and other ingredients as supplements under different mass ratios with 1∶2, 1∶1, and 2∶1. The results showed that thirteen ingredients were sorted out by analyzing 139 kinds of corn silk tea products sourced from 8 shopping APPs, occurrence times of which were more than 20% of total products number, such as mulberry leaves, hawthorn and pueraria. Under the mass ratio of black corn silk to most ingredients with 2∶1, the contents of total polysaccharides, total saponins and total flavonoids in the water-extraction were higher, but the antioxidant capacity did not show an advantage. The integrated effects of bioactive substances and antioxidant capacities were assessed by subordinate function value method, and it was concluded that corn silk with pueraria, gardenia, chrysanthemum, pericarpium citri reticulatae and tartary buckwheat had better comprehensive effect under the mass ratio of 2∶1. Therefore, 1.5 g corn silk with 0.75 g pueraria, gardenia, chrysanthemum, pericarpium citri reticulatae and tartary buckwheat could be used as potential products for corn silk tea.

For a long time, China has been committed to combating illegal logging and trade in forests. Although there are still practical difficulties in the governance of illegal timber trade at home and abroad, it is undeniable that significant progress has been made in curbing illegal logging in domestic forests in recent years. Based on 50,094 criminal first-instance verdicts related to illegal logging crimes in China between 2014 and 2020, we have used a spatial autocorrelation analysis and the Geographical Weighted Regression model to explore the spatial distribution characteristics and driving factors of illegal logging in China. The results show that: (1) There is a high rate of illegal logging to the southeast of the Huhuanyong line in China. It is concentrated mainly in areas with strong forest-resource endowment, relatively low economic development level, low urbanization, a large agricultural population, and low degree of nationalization of forest farms, such as the southeast edge of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau,the Wushan-Xuefeng Mountains, the Nanling-Wuyi Mountains, Dabie Mountain, and Changbai Mountain. In north and northwest China and the economically developed coastal regions, there is little or no evidence of this development trend. (2) Affected by natural, social and economic conditions, there are obvious regional differences in illegal logging characteristics in the above high incidence areas. (3) The spatial autocorrelation of illegal logging in China is strong. The southwest region is the main high-high agglomeration region; the northwest and north China are low-low agglomeration regions; the northeast region and the cities along the Yangtze River are not significant, and the high-high agglomeration trend of the volume of harvested live trees in the southeast region is significant. 4) The spatial distribution pattern and characteristics of illegal logging are formed by multiple driving forces, and different driving factors have different spatial mechanisms. Natural endowment is the necessary and insufficient condition for illegal logging.With the improvement of urbanization and socio-economic development, the occurrence of illegal logging can be effectively suppressed.In conclusion, this study aims to enrich the Environmental Criminology literature, actively exploring criminal geography in relation to environmental crime in China. It also proposes corresponding policy suggestions for the governance and combating of illegal logging. This study has some limitations related to data acquisition and processing; these areas should be strengthened in future research.

Based on discrete-continuous coupling method and taking the end slope after steep mining of thick coal seam open-pit coal mine as research background, the DEM is used to model and analyze the landslide characteristics, damage process and influence range in the potential instability area of the slope; the FDM grid is established for the small deformation part of the slope bedrock to transfer the internal stress of the slope body and improve the calculation speed. The results show that: the location of the slip surface calculated by the discrete-continuous coupled calculation method and the FDM is similar, and it is a circular-shaped landslide. The landslide process starts with a small amount of damage of the bond between the particles on the slope surface by lateral deformation, and the particles roll down and accumulate at the foot of the slope after the bond is broken; then tension cracks appear at the back edge of the slide body, and the slide surface is gradually clear, and the coal seam at the front edge of the slide body is misshapen, which hinders the further development of the slide under the influence of the reverse tilt structure. The rock mass on the lower side of the slope is damaged first, and then the damage area gradually moves up. After the landslide, there are many tensile cracks in the top 580 m level of the slope, and there is obvious subsidence at 61.37 m from the slope shoulder, about 30 m; the rock strata of the slope are obviously staggered, the lower coal steps and roof are pushed to the face of the air, and the horizontal displacement of the lower reaches 42.39 m.

As a new generation of medical degradable biomaterials, magnesium alloys were known as "revolutionary medical metal materials" due to their good biocompatibility, unique degradability and excellent mechanical transmission. However, the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys is poor and there are phenomena such as rapid and uneven degradation.The research progress in improving the degradation properties of magnesium alloys was introduced from four aspects: microalloying, heat treatment process, plastic deformation and surface modification. The degradation rate and degradation modes of medical magnesium alloys in vivo and in vitro under different processing methods were compared. The influence of microstructure evolution and film characteristics of magnesium alloys under different processing conditions on the destruction mechanism of the Cl- for the film layer and the three-dimensional degradation morphology were revealed.The correlation data analysis model between different process conditions and corrosion degradation rate of magnesium alloys in simulated solution was established.Finally, it was pointed out that the focus of future research in this field is to analyse the main action mechanism of microstructure on magnesium alloys degradation properties from multiple perspectives and to build a prediction model of microstructure on magnesium alloys degradation life.

Abstract Background Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), the causal agent of wheat powdery mildew severely affects yield security wheat production in China. Understanding the virulence structure and genetic variations of this pathogen is important for breeding wheat lines resistant to wheat powdery mildew. However, information related to genes controlling resistance remains elusive. This study analyzes the virulence structure and the genetic diversity of pathogenic Bgt populations isolated from northeastern (Liaoning, Heilongjiang) and northwestern (Gansu) China, two representative wheat producing areas, on 37 wheat cultivars each carrying a known powdery mildew resistance (Pm) gene. Results Bgt isolates from northeastern China show higher frequencies of virulence genes than populations from Gansu Province. Many of the known Pm genes failed to provide resistance in this study. However, Pm21 provided 100% resistance to all isolates from all three provinces, obtained during two consecutive years, while Pm13 provided 100% resistance in Gansu. Pm13, Pm16, Pm18, and Pm22 also showed partial resistance in northeastern China, while Pm16, Pm18, Pm22, Pm5 + 6 and Pm2 + 6 +? maintained some resistance in Gansu. Genetic diversity among populations in different regions was detected by cluster analyses using expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR). When the genetic similarity coefficient is relatively high, populations from the same regional origin are mostly clustered into one group while populations from different regions exhibit large genetic differences. Conclusion Pm21 remains the best choice for breeding programs to maintain resistance to Bgt. Only 58% of the isolates tested show a clear correlation between EST-SSR genetic polymorphisms and frequency of virulence gene data.

The microstructure, retained austenite and mechanical property of low-carbon steels with different precursor microstructures were studied by means of intercritical reheating-quenching and partitioning (IQ&P) processes. The results show that the structure of IQ&P-Ⅰ multiphase steel with precursor ferrite + pearlite (F+P) is blocky ferrite, martensite (M). The blocky retained austenite(RA) of IQ&P-Ⅰ multiphase steel exists in the boundary of ferrite and martensite and film-like retained austenite distributes around the lath martensite as the shape of thin slice. The transformation induced plastic effect of IQ&P-Ⅰ multiphase steel with less content of retained austenite is unapparent. The tensile strength of IQ&P-Ⅰ multiphase steel reaches 957 MPa, but the tensile elongation is only 20%, and the production of strength and elongation is 19905.6 MPa·%. The structure of IQ&P-Ⅱ multiphase steel with precursor martensite is needle or lath grey-black ferrite and martensite. The fine needle like martensite is distributed evenly on the ferrite matrix. The film-like retained austenite is only distributed on the ferrite matrix. The content of retained austenite of IQ&P-Ⅱ multiphase steel reaches 13.2% with more obvious TRIP effect and higher stability. The production of strength and elongation of IQ&P-Ⅱ multiphase steel is 21560 MPa·% with good combination of strength and plasticity.

Identification of porosity in shale is of great significance for exploring mechanism of shale gas. Porosity properties of the shale samples from the Ordos Basin were characterized by multiple techniques including Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM), Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry(MIP), and nitrogen gas adsorption-desorption. Results showed that the shales contained abundant pores that include dissolution pore, microfracture pore, and intergranular pore. The pore sizes range from several to several hundred nanometers. The total surface area ranges from 5.06 to 19.32 m2/g and pore volume has a range of 0.01-0.03 cm3/g. Results indicate that the OrdosBasin Shale develops pores of various types and sizes. The main type of pore is the nano-pore, which is beneficial for the storage of shale gas. Micro-cracks are beneficial for the transportation of shale gas. These results suggest that the basic environment of the Ordos Basin is suitable for the storage of shale gas and that the Ordos Basin may be rich in shale gas.

Wheat stem rust was once the most destructive plant disease, but it has been largely controlled. However, to prevent future problems, the ongoing development of resistant wheat varieties requires knowledge of the changing virulence patterns for Pgt virulence of the fungus that causes wheat stem rust and the detection of new races. Surveys were conducted from 2013-2014 to determine the races of the Pgt present in China. Low levels of stem rust infections were found in China during this investigation and 11 Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) samples were obtained. In addition, 22 Pgt samples collected from the alternate host (Berberis) were obtained and have been reported for the first time. Fifty-three isolates were obtained from all samples. Four race groups, including 13 physiological races, were identified. They included the most prevalent races, 34C3MTGQM and 34C6MRGQM, with 13.2% predominance, followed by 34C0MRGQM at 11.3%. Six new races that were virulent against the resistance genes, Sr5 + Sr11, were found for the first time in China, namely 34C0MRGQM, 34C3MTGQM, 34C3MKGQM, 34C3MKGSM, 34C6MTGSM, and 34C6MRGQM, with a predominance of 11.3, 13.2, 9.4, 9.4, 1.9, and 13.2%, respectively. Most of the genes studied were ineffective against one or more of the tested isolates, except Sr9e, Sr21, Sr26, Sr31, Sr33, Sr38, Sr47, and SrTt3. Genes Sr35, SrTmp, Sr30, Sr37, Sr17, and Sr36 were effective in 92.5, 86.8, 84.9, 84.9, 79.3, and 77.4% of the tested isolates, respectively. In contrast, all of the isolates were virulent against Sr6, Sr7b, Sr9a, Sr9b, Sr9d, Sr9g, and SrMcN. Our results indicate that remarkable differences exist among the categories of the races in this study (i.e., their known virulence gene spectra) and the Pgt races reported previously. In addition, the sexual cycle of Pgt may contribute to its diversity in China.

Wheat stem rust, caused by Puccinia granimis f. sp. tritici, severely affects wheat production, but it has been effectively controlled in China since the 1970s. However, the appearance and spread of wheat stem rust races Ug99 (TTKSK, virulence to Sr31), TKTTF (virulence to SrTmp) and TTTTF (virulence to the cultivars carrying Sr9e and Sr13) have received attention. It is important to clarify the effectiveness of resistance genes in a timely manner, especially for the purpose of using new resistance genes in wheat cultivars for durable-resistance. However, little is known about the stem rust resistance genes present in widely used wheat cultivars from Gansu. This study aimed to determine the resistance level at the seedling stage of the main wheat cultivars in Gansu Province. A secondary objective was to assess the prevalence of Sr2, Sr24, Sr25, Sr26, Sr31, and Sr38 using molecular markers. The results of the present study indicated that 38 (50.7%) wheat varieties displayed resistance to all the tested races of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici. The molecular marker analysis showed that 13 out of 75 major wheat cultivars likely carried Sr2; 25 wheat cultivars likely carried Sr31; and nine wheat cultivars likely carried Sr38. No cultivar was found to have Sr25 and Sr26, as expected. Surprisingly, no wheat cultivars carried Sr24. The wheat lines with known stem rust resistance genes could be used as donor parent for further breeding programs.

Stem rust is one of the most potentially harmful wheat diseases, but has been effectively controlled in China since 1970s. However, the interest in breeding wheat with durable resistance to stem rust has been renewed with the emergence of Ug99 (TTKSK) virulent to the widely used resistance gene Sr31, and by which the wheat stem rust was controlled for 40 years in wheat production area worldwide. Yunnan Province, located on the Southwest border of China, is one of the main wheat growing regions, playing a pivotal role in the wheat stem rust epidemic in China. This study investigated the levels of resistance in key wheat cultivars (lines) of Yunnan Province. In addition, the existence of Sr25, Sr26, Sr28, Sr31, Sr32, and Sr38 genes in 119 wheat cultivars was assessed using specific DNA markers. The results indicated that 77 (64.7%) tested wheat varieties showed different levels of resistance to all the tested races of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici. Using molecular markers, we identified the resistance gene Sr31 in 43 samples; Sr38 in 10 samples; Sr28 in 12 samples, and one sample which was resistant against Ug99 (avirulent to Sr32). No Sr25 or Sr26 (effective against Ug99) was identified in any cultivars tested. Furthermore, 5 out of 119 cultivars tested carried both Sr31 and Sr38 and eight contained both Sr31 and Sr28. The results enable the development of appropriate strategies to breed varieties resistant to stem rust.

An accurate method of the fluorescence probe approach based on an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecule (tetraphenylethylene) for measuring the solubility parameter of the polymer is reported. This method is distinctive in that the approach can make the polymer chain conformation in solution be related to the fluorescence intensity. Since the solubility parameter of the polymer is also closely linked to its chain conformation in solution, the solubility parameter can be determined by the fluorescence intensity. The range of the solubility parameter of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) tested by this method was from 9.00 cal1/2cm−3/2 to 10.00 cal1/2cm−3/2. The results are more accurate than those obtained from the traditional turbidimetric titration method, ranging from 8.60 cal1/2cm−3/2 to 12.15 cal1/2cm−3/2. According to the photoluminescence (PL) intensities spectra, the solubility parameters of PMMA and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) are 9.19 cal1/2cm−3/2 and 9.85 cal1/2cm−3/2, respectively.

This paper introduces a method of solving nonlinear convection-diffusion equation (NCDE), based on the combination of granular computing (GrC) and characteristics finite element method (CFEM). The key idea of the proposed method (denoted as GrC-CFEM) is to reconstruct the solution from coarse-grained layer to fine-grained layer. It first gets the nonlinear solution on the coarse-grained layer, and then the function (Taylor expansion) is applied to linearize the NCDE on the fine-grained layer. Switch to the fine-grained layer, the linear solution is directly derived from the nonlinear solution. The full nonlinear problem is solved only on the coarse-grained layer. Numerical experiments show that the GrC-CFEM can accelerate the convergence and improve the computational efficiency without sacrificing the accuracy.

Abstract Background Growth hormone (GH) is an essential regulator of intrahepatic lipid metabolism by activating multiple complex hepatic signaling cascades. Here, we examined whether chronic exogenous GH administration (via gene therapy) could ameliorate liver steatosis in animal models of alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) and explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods Male C57BL/6J mice were fed either an alcohol or a control liquid diet with or without GH therapy for 6 weeks. Biochemical parameters, liver histology, oxidative stress markers, and serum high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin were measured. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting were also conducted to determine the underlying molecular mechanism. Results Serum HMW adiponectin levels were significantly higher in the GH1-treated control group than in the control group (3.98 ± 0.71 μg/mL vs. 3.07 ± 0.55 μg/mL; P < 0.001). GH1 therapy reversed HMW adiponectin levels to the normal levels in the alcohol-fed group. Alcohol feeding significantly reduced hepatic adipoR2 mRNA expression compared with that in the control group (0.71 ± 0.17 vs. 1.03 ± 0.19; P < 0.001), which was reversed by GH therapy. GH1 therapy also significantly increased the relative mRNA (1.98 ± 0.15 vs. 0.98 ± 0.15) and protein levels of SIRT1 (2.18 ± 0.37 vs. 0.99 ± 0.17) in the alcohol-fed group compared with those in the control group (both, P < 0.001). The alcohol diet decreased the phosphorylated and total protein levels of hepatic AMP-activated kinase-α (AMPKα) (phosphorylated protein: 0.40 ± 0.14 vs. 1.00 ± 0.12; total protein: 0.32 ± 0.12 vs. 1.00 ± 0.14; both, P < 0.001) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-α (PPARα) (phosphorylated protein: 0.30 ± 0.09 vs. 1.00 ± 0.09; total protein: 0.27 ± 0.10 vs. 1.00 ± 0.13; both, P < 0.001), which were restored by GH1 therapy. GH therapy also decreased the severity of fatty liver in alcohol-fed mice. Conclusions GH therapy had positive effects on AFLD and may offer a promising approach to prevent or treat AFLD. These beneficial effects of GH on AFLD were achieved through the activation of the hepatic adiponectin-SIRT1-AMPK and PPARα-AMPK signaling systems.

Abstract Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is characterized by hepatic steatosis, can be reversed by early treatment. Several case reports have indicated that the administration of recombinant growth hormone (GH) could improve fatty liver in GH-deficient patients. Here, we investigated whether chronic exogenous GH levels could improve hepatic steatosis induced by a high-fat diet in rats, and explored the underlying mechanisms. Results High-fat diet-fed rats developed abdominal obesity, fatty liver and insulin resistance. Chronic exogenous GH improved fatty liver, by reversing dyslipidaemia, fat accumulation and insulin resistance. Exogenous GH also reduced serum tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) levels, and ameliorated hepatic lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress. Hepatic fat deposition was also reduced by exogenous GH levels, as was the expression of adipocyte-derived adipokines (adiponectin, leptin and resistin), which might improve lipid metabolism and hepatic steatosis. Exogenous GH seems to improve fatty liver by reducing fat weight, improving insulin sensitivity and correcting oxidative stress, which may be achieved through phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of a group of signal transducers and activators of hepatic signal transduction pathways. Conclusions Chronic exogenous GH has positive effects on fatty liver and may be a potential clinical application in the prevention or reversal of fatty liver. However, chronic secretion of exogenous GH, even at a low level, may increase serum glucose and insulin levels in rats fed a standard diet, and thus increase the risk of insulin resistance.