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H-k stacking method is a standard receiver-function method to detect crustal thickness. But this method can not be applied in low-velocity sedimentary basins. To solve this problem, we propose an improved sequential H-k stacking method. The improved method needs two sequential stacks. Firstly, sediment structure is calculated using converted waves and multiples on the bottom boundary of sediments. Secondly, the sedimentary results are applied to calculate the crustal structure. Theoretical calculations and “recovery tests” indicate that the improved method can obtain accurate estimates in sedimentary basins. With the teleseismic data of North China Craton, the structure of sediments is thick in the depression and thin in the uplifted area, which is consistent with Deep Seismic Sounding results. The crust to the west of the North-South Gravity Lineament is relatively thick and has a low average Poisson ratio, whereas the east is relatively thin and has a high average Poisson ratio. This result and the structural feature from data regression imply that the eastern crust of the North China Craton has experienced wide extension, which reflect the crustal response to the severe destruction and deformation in that area compared to the western crust.

Abstract: Alloys with composition Gd6Mn23−x Ni x (x =0, 0.4, 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4) are prepared and examined by X-ray diffraction technique. The Gd6Mn23−x Ni x (x =0, 0.4, 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4) compounds crystallize in cubic Th6Mn23-type structure with space group (No. 225). The electrochemical properties of these alloys such as discharge capacity, cycling performance and high rate dischargeability are investigated by battery testing instruments in alkaline electrolyte. The discharge capacity after activation of the Gd6Mn23 alloy is about 520mAh/g at a discharge current density 50mA/g. Substitution of small amounts of Ni for Mn in Gd6Mn23−x Ni x improves the activation, discharge capacity, cycle life, cycle stability and the kinetics of hydrogen absorption–desorption processes at different discharge rates. Most of the Ni substituted alloys were found to possess an exceptional electrochemical performance, while the alloy with x =0.4 (Gd6Mn22.6Ni0.4) has an exceptional discharge capacity and plateau pressure at discharge current density 200mA/g and the alloy with x =1.0 (Gd6Mn22Ni) has an exceptional cycle stability and HRD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The new ternary compound Dy1.2Fe4Si9.8 have been prepared and studied by means of X-ray powder diffraction technique and vibrating sample magnetometer. The ternary compound Dy1.2Fe4Si9.8 crystallizes in the hexagonal Er1.2Fe4Si9.8-type structure, space group P63/mmc (no. 194) with lattice parameters a =0.39415(1)nm and c =1.52771(3)nm. The crystal structural refinement of the compound Dy1.2Fe4Si9.8 has been performed by using Rietveld method. Lattice thermal expansion studies on the compound were carried out in the temperature range from 298 to 1013K. The variation of the unit cell parameters shows that the unit cell parameters increase with the increase in temperature. The coefficients of average lattice thermal expansion along various axes in the temperature range from 298 to 1013K are , and . The temperature dependence of the magnetization for the compound was also investigated in the range from 90 to 300K. The experimentally determined magnetic effective paramagnetic moment is μ eff =11.3μ B per formula unit (10.3μ B per Dy atom). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sleep disturbances are among the most prevalent neuropsychiatric symptoms in individuals who have recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections. Previous studies have demonstrated abnormal brain structures in patients with sleep disturbances who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, neuroimaging studies on sleep disturbances caused by COVID-19 are scarce, and existing studies have primarily focused on the long-term effects of the virus, with minimal acute phase data. As a result, little is known about the pathophysiology of sleep disturbances in the acute phase of COVID-19. To address this issue, we designed a longitudinal study to investigate whether alterations in brain structure occur during the acute phase of infection, and verified the results using 3-month follow-up data. A total of 26 COVID-19 patients with sleep disturbances (aged 51.5 ± 13.57 years, 8 women and 18 men), 27 COVID-19 patients without sleep disturbances (aged 47.33 ± 15.98 years, 9 women and 18 men), and 31 age-and gender-matched healthy controls (aged 49.19 ± 17.51 years, 9 women and 22 men) were included in this study. Eleven COVID-19 patients with sleep disturbances were included in a longitudinal analysis. We found that COVID-19 patients with sleep disturbances exhibited brain structural changes in almost all brain lobes. The cortical thicknesses of the left pars opercularis and left precuneus were significantly negatively correlated with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores. Additionally, we observed changes in the volume of the hippocampus and its subfield regions in COVID-19 patients compared with the healthy controls. The 3-month follow-up data revealed indices of altered cerebral structure (cortical thickness, cortical grey matter volume, and cortical surface area) in the frontal-parietal cortex compared with the baseline in COVID-19 patients with sleep disturbances.Our findings indicate that the sleep disturbances patients had altered morphology in the cortical and hippocampal structures during the acute phase of infection and persistent changes in cortical regions at 3 months post-infection. These data improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of sleep disturbances caused by COVID-19., (Copyright © 2025 Copyright: © 2025 Neural Regeneration Research.)

Obesity and asthma are global public health problems. Obesity-related asthma is a special phenotype of asthma with a complex pathogenesis. Its occurrence and development are related to mechanical compression, inflammatory response, metabolic regulation, gene regulation, and vitamin D deficiency. Different treatment strategies used in the process of weight loss have a beneficial impact on asthma. Alterations in gut and airway microbial community structure and their metabolites may also contribute to obesity-related asthma. The role of the Th17/Treg balance in the gut microbiota regulating the immune responses and host metabolism is important. Therapeutic measures associated with the gut microbiota variety may contribute to improving chronic inflammation associated with obesity by regulating the Th17/Treg balance. An early reduction in microbial diversity can predict the development of asthma and lead to allergy through an imbalance of Th2/Th1 responses. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) regulate the differentiation and activation of regulatory T cells, thereby regulating immune homeostasis in the lung to suppress allergic inflammation and weight gain. Therefore, clarifying the microbial mechanism of obesity-related asthma has important guiding significance for clinical treatment. In this review, we used the following terms: "asthma and obesity" and "obesity-related asthma", combining "phenotype", "airway inflammation" and "lung function", and reviewed the characteristics and pathogenesis of obesity-related asthma, the relationship between the gut and airway microbiota and obesity-related asthma, and the current treatment measures for the disease., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Huang, Zhou, Dong, Tan, Li, Zhang, Su and Sun.)