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[Display omitted] • Li mostly occurs as adsorption or ion exchange in clay minerals. • The depositional environment of the No. 2 coal alternates between a hydrostatic reducing condition and an anoxic reducing environment. • Multiple geological effects influence the dissolution and migration of element-enriched minerals, resulting in the enrichment of stable components. In order to study the enrichment mechanism and depositional environment of valuable elements, this paper reports new geochemistry and mineralogy data on the No. 2 and No. 5 coals of the Nangou Mine, Ningwu Coalfield. Clay minerals and calcite are the dominant minerals in both the No. 2 and No. 5 coals. Additionally, small amounts of pyrite, quartz, rutile, and zircon are observed under scanning electron microscopy in the No. 5 coal. The studied coals in Nangou Mine are enriched in Li (CC = 8.50 and 5.80, respectively in the No. 2 and No. 5 coal), Zr (CC = 21.87 and 5.53), Nb (CC = 16.97 and 2.54), Hf (CC = 14.00 and 4.19), Ga (CC = 2.56 and 2.41). Li mostly occurs as adsorption or ion exchange in clay minerals, Nb, Zr, Hf, and Ga have organic affinities, rare earth elements and Y are mostly found in residue and organic binding states. The sediment source of the Nangou Mine is characterized by a multi-source area, with the dissolution and migration of element-enriched minerals under the influence of multiple geological effects, leading to the enrichment of valuable elements (Li, Nb, Zr, Ga, and REY). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Two recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) reported that the FAM13A gene at the 4q22 locus associated with pulmonary fibrosis (defined by rs2609255) overlapping with COPD (defined by rs6837671). We hypothesized that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to lung disease (especially pulmonary fibrosis) identified in this region are also associated with the risk of silicosis. Methods To test this hypothesis, we genotyped these two SNPs (rs2609255 and rs6837671) in a case-control study including 177 silicosis cases and 204 controls with silica dust exposure years similar to the levels for cases in a Chinese population. Results We found that rs2609255 was significantly associated with increased silicosis risk (dominant model: OR = 1.71; 95% CI = 1.01–2.92; P  = 0.047). Additionally, eQTL analysis based on the GTEx database indicated that the rs2609255 polymorphism may alter the expression level of FAM13A in lung tissues ( P  = 1.8 × 10 −4 ). Furthermore, interaction analyses showed that rs2609255 interacts multiplicatively with years of silica dust exposure to contribute to silicosis risk (interaction P  = 0.040). Conclusions These results indicate that rs2609255 may modify silicosis susceptibility in the Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a geoadditive model with spatial random effects to model the earthquake distribution in Mainland China. The error is modeled an infinite mixture of Gaussian distributions with a stochastic constraint that ensures inference on the quantiles of interest. The spatial random effects are used to capture individual area effects which allow for heterogeneity among regions. We run Bayesian quantile regression for the spatial trend of the geoadditive model under a flexible Bayesian framework. The proposed method not only allows for a full span of quantile-restricted error distributions, but also separates a large-scale geographical trend from local spatial correlation. This makes the Bayesian quantile regression feasible and flexible. Our method can be generalized to other applications that involve spatial correlation along irregular contours or in discontinuous spatial domains. Our results demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of the proposed methodology. • We propose a geoadditive model with spatial random effects to model the earthquake distribution in Mainland China. • The error is modeled an infinite mixture of Gaussian distributions with a stochastic constraint that ensures inference on the quantiles of interest. The spatial random effects are used to capture individual area effects which allow for heterogeneity among regions. • The proposed method not only allows for a full span of quantile-restricted error distributions, but also separates a large-scale geographical trend from local spatial correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivery riders are more vulnerable than other traffic participants, especially in vehicle-involved delivery crashes. This study aims at identifying the unobserved heterogeneities in different factors, based on 4251 vehicle-scooter-style electric bicycle (SSEB) crashes. First, some potential factors are selected from seven perspectives, and the spatiotemporal characteristics are analysed. Second, a latent class clustering method is proposed to clarify the optimal number of clusters by maximizing the heterogeneities across clusters. Third, partial proportional odds (PPO) models for the whole dataset and sub-datasets are developed to explore the heterogeneities across various clusters. Besides, marginal effects are implemented to quantify the heterogeneities. The results evidence that there are remarkable heterogeneities across different clusters, especially in riding behaviours and road conditions. Several factors only significantly affect particular clusters but not the whole dataset. The PPO models for the sub-datasets perform better in identifying the underlying heterogeneities. The results also highlight the greater roles of riding behaviours and road conditions in delivery SSEB-vehicle crashes. The top five influencing factors are running red light, using cell phones, vehicle type, reverse riding and bike lane (their maximum marginal effects exceeding +35%). The findings could support to mitigate the related crash losses.

Benzene is a globally occurring environmental and occupational pollutant that causes leukemia. To better understand telomere length (TL) as a function of benzene toxicity, we recruited 294 shoe-making workers and 102 controls from Wenzhou, China in 2011. Biomarkers of TL, cytokinesis-block micronucleus (MN) frequency, and white blood cells (WBC) were measured. In total, 18 polymorphic sites in environmental response genes, including metabolic and DNA repair genes, were analyzed. Results indicate that benzene exposure led to a longer TL at a threshold of 32 mg/m 3 -year of cumulative exposure dose (CED). Furthermore, the TL was longer in members of the damaged group, when evaluated for MN frequency (P < 0.001) and reduced WBC (P < 0.001), than in those of the normal group. Workers carrying genotype TT (β = 0.32, P = 0.042) in rs3212986 of ERCC1 and genotype TC (β = 0.24, P = 0.082) in rs1051740 of mEH exon3 were associated with a longer TL as compared to the wild-type group. TA (β = -0.53, P < 0.001) in rs6413432 of CYP2E1 was associated with a shorter TL. Benzene exposure interacted with the TA type in rs6413432 (β = 0.003, 95% CI: 0, 0.006, P = 0.042) and the CC type in rs1051740 (β = 0.007, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.013, P = 0.015) after adjusting for confounding factors. Our results indicate that benzene induces an increase in TL at a threshold of CED ≥32mg/m 3 -year. Rs1051740, rs3212986, and rs6413432 were found to be involved in benzene-induced telomere growth; in particular, rs1051740 and rs6413432 interacted with the benzene exposure, resulting in an extended TL., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no conflicts of interest. Telomere length was transformed by natural logarithm (ln). Compared with wild-type for each genotype case; the data derived from Mlti-linear models after adjusting age, gender, smoking and drinking. b the data derived from signal factor models, and ‘c’ the data were adjusted age, gender, smoking and drinking., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The influence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) on cerebral blood flow control is not well known. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between cardiovascular function and dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) in patients with preclinical ASCVD., Methods: A total of 44 participants aged 26-76 years were divided into low- and high-risk groups according to the China assessment of ASCVD risk. The cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography. The beat-to-beat blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity were measured at rest. Spectral and transfer function analyses were used to calculate cerebral and systemic hemodynamic variability and to estimate dCA metrics., Results: There were no group differences in beat-to-beat heart rate, blood pressure, and cerebral blood flow velocity variability nor the ejection fraction, E/A and E'/A'. The dCA phase at very low frequency was reduced in the high-risk group (P = .03). Moreover, the dCA phase and E'/A' were negatively correlated with age, and dCA phase was positively correlated with E'/A' within the high-risk group (r 2  = .517, P < .01)., Conclusions: These findings suggest that advancing age, particularly in the high-risk ASCVD group, impairs cerebral blood flow control and cardiac diastolic function which are correlated with each other and may interplay under the effects of ASCVD risk factors., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Enteroviruses cause hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). The host B-cells recognize the viral proteins and provoke humoral responses. Deciphering the B-cell responses to the viral epitopes helps diagnosis and vaccine development., Objectives: The objective of the present study was to investigate for the first time the landscape of genome-wide linear B-cell epitopes of enterovirus 71 in HFMD population., Study Design: The peptides encompassing the entire coding region of EV71 were chemically synthesized and displayed on a microarray. The peptide microarray was used to screen serum samples from an HFMD population, including EV71-, CAV10-, CAV16- and CAV6-infected patients. We identified the dominant epitope-containing-peptides (DECPs) that react with the sera of more than 20% of the HFMD population and the common DECPs that cross-react with the sera from other enteroviruses-infected population., Results: Ten DECPs reacting with IgM and 9 DECPs reacting with IgG antibodies were identified, of which, 6 IgM and 5 IgG common DECPs cross-reacted with the sera from other enteroviruses. Some DECPs preferentially reacted with IgG or IgM antibodies and some epitope-antibody interactions correlated with the severity of HFMD., Conclusions: We uncovered the DECPs and the common DECPs among a group of enteroviruses in HFMD population and found that some epitope-antibody reactions were associated with the outcome of HFMD. These data may guide developing vaccines against the enteroviruses and help the diagnosis and prognosis of HFMD., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)