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Abstract Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a malignant tumor that originates from the bile duct epithelium and with a poor outcome due to lack of effective early diagnostic methods. Surgical resection is the preferred method for cure, but treatment options are limited for advanced diseases, such as distant metastatic or locally progressive tumors. Therefore, it is urgent to explore other new treatment methods. As modern living standards rise, the acceptance of high-fat, high-protein, and high-carbohydrate diets is growing among the public, and the resulting metabolic abnormalities are intimately linked to the initiation and spread of tumors. Metabolic reprogramming is a key mechanism in the process of tumor development and progression and is closely related to cancer cell proliferation, metastasis and drug resistance. Fatty acid (FA) metabolism, an integral component of cancer cell metabolism, can provide an energy source for cancer cells and participate in cell signaling, the regulation of the immune response and the maintenance of homeostasis of the internal environment, which are closely linked to the development and progression of CCA. Therefore, a better understanding of FA metabolism may provide promising strategies for early diagnosis, prognostic assessment and targeted therapy for CCA patients. In this paper, we review the effects of FA metabolism on CCA development and progression, summarize related mechanisms and the existing clinical applications of targeted lipid metabolism in CCA, and explore new targets for CCA metabolic therapy.

Abstract Topological flat bands — where the kinetic energy of electrons is quenched — provide a platform for investigating the topological properties of correlated systems. Here, we report the observation of a topological flat band formed by polar-distortion-assisted Rashba splitting in the three-dimensional Dirac material ZrTe5. The polar distortion and resulting Rashba splitting on the band are directly detected by torque magnetometry and the anomalous Hall effect, respectively. The local symmetry breaking further flattens the band, on which we observe resistance oscillations beyond the quantum limit. These oscillations follow the temperature dependence of the Lifshitz–Kosevich formula but are evenly distributed in B instead of 1/B at high magnetic fields. Furthermore, the cyclotron mass gets anomalously enhanced about 102 times at fields ~ 20 T. Our results provide an intrinsic platform without invoking moiré or order-stacking engineering, which opens the door for studying topologically correlated phenomena beyond two dimensions.

IntroductionIntercropping and soil properties both affect soil diazotrophic communities. However, the specific effects that alfalfa-maize intercropping has on diazotrophic networks and community diversity under different soil properties remain unclear.MethodsIn this study, we investigated the soil diazotrophic communities of two crop systems, alfalfa monoculture (AA) and alfalfa-maize intercropping (A/M), in two sites with similar climates but different soil properties (poor vs. average).Results and discussionThe diazotrophic network complexity and community diversity were higher at the site with poor soil than at the site with average soil (p < 0.05). Community structure also varied significantly between the sites with poor and average soil (p < 0.05). This divergence was mainly due to the differences in soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic carbon contents between the two sites. At the site with poor soil, the A/M system had lower diazotrophic diversity, lower network complexity and greater competition between diazotrophs than the AA system (p < 0.05) because intercropping intensified the soil phosphorus limitation under poor soil conditions. However, in the average soil, it was the A/M system that had an altered diazotrophic structure, with an increased abundance of 11 bacterial genera and a decreased abundance of three bacterial genera (p < 0.05).ConclusionOur results indicated that the effects of alfalfa-maize intercropping on diazotrophic communities were soil property-dependent.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of berberine (BBR) as a treatment on intestinal microecological alterations and enteritis in mice produced by TNBS.MethodsThere were seven mice per group: seven in the healthy group (Ctrl), seven in the TNBS-induced enteritis group (TNBS), and seven in the berberine treatment group (BBR). The mice were weighed, slaughtered after 7 days, and subjected to high-throughput intestinal microecological analysis by Illumina, as well as haematological detection and imaging evaluation of colon pathology.ResultsThe alterations in colon length, immune cell subpopulations, inflammatory factors, and intestinal microecology of mice induced by BBR were refined using a battery of experiments and observations. According to intestinal microecological studies, BBR can increase the number of bacteria, including Lactobacillus, Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroides, and Akkermansia muciniphila.ConclusionBBR has a therapeutic effect on TNBS-induced colitis in mice, which is associated with modifications in immune cell subpopulations and intestinal microecology. It also offers a viable approach as a prospective probiotic (like Akkermansia muciniphila) to IBD therapy in clinical settings.

Air pollution is widely acknowledged as a significant risk factor for human health, especially reproductive health. Nevertheless, many studies have disregarded the potentially mixed effects of air pollutants on reproductive outcomes. We performed a retrospective cohort study involving 8048 women with 9445 cycles undergoing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) in China, from 2017 to 2021. A land-use random forest model was applied to estimate daily residential exposure to air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Individual and joint associations between air pollutants and oocyte-related outcomes of ART were evaluated. In 90 days prior to oocyte pick-up to oocyte pick-up (period A), NO2, O3 and CO was negatively associated with total oocyte yield. In the 90 days prior to oocyte pick-up to start of gonadotropin medication (Gn start, period B), there was a negative dose-dependent association of exposure to five air pollutants with total oocyte yield and mature oocyte yield. In Qgcomp analysis, increasing the multiple air pollutants mixtures by one quartile was related to reducing the number of oocyte pick-ups by −2.00 % (95 %CI: −2.78 %, −1.22 %) in period A, −2.62 % (95 %CI: −3.40 %, −1.84 %) in period B, and −0.98 % (95 %CI: −1.75 %, −0.21 %) in period C. During period B, a 1-unit increase in the WQS index of multiple air pollutants exposure was associated with fewer number of total oocyte (−1.27 %, 95 %CI: −2.16 %, −0.36 %) and mature oocyte (−1.42 %, 95 %CI: −2.41 %, −0.43 %). O3 and NO2 were major contributors with adverse effects on the mixed associations. Additionally, period B appears to be the susceptible window. Our study implies that exposure to air pollution adversely affects oocyte-related outcomes, which raises concerns about the potential adverse impact of air pollution on women’s reproductive health.

Currently, ground-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) techniques have become widely recognized as a reliable and effective tool for atmospheric monitoring, enabling the retrieval of zenith total delay (ZTD) and precipitable water vapor (PWV) for meteorological and climate research. The International GNSS Service analysis centers (ACs) have initiated their third reprocessing campaign, known as IGS Repro3. In this campaign, six ACs conducted a homogeneous reprocessing of the ZTD time series spanning the period from 1994 to 2022. This paper primarily focuses on ZTD products. First, the data processing strategies and station conditions of six ACs were compared and analyzed. Then, formal errors within the data were examined, followed by the implementation of quality control processes. Second, a combination method is proposed and applied to generate the final ZTD products. The resulting combined series was compared with the time series submitted by the six ACs, revealing a mean bias of 0.03 mm and a mean root mean square value of 3.02 mm. Finally, the time series submitted by the six ACs and the combined series were compared with VLBI data, radiosonde data, and ERA5 data. In comparison, the combined solution performs better than most individual analysis centers, demonstrating higher quality. Therefore, the advanced method proposed in this study and the generated high-quality dataset have considerable implications for further advancing GNSS atmospheric sensing and offer valuable insights for climate modeling and prediction.

The availability of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) raw observations in smartphones has driven research into low-cost GNSS solutions, especially in challenging urban environments, which have garnered significant attention from scholars in recent years. This study proposes an improved smartphone-based velocity-aided positioning method and conducts vehicle-mounted experiments in urban roads representing typical scenarios. The results show that when transitioning from low- to high-multipath environments, the number of visible satellites and carrier phase observations are highly sensitive to environmental factors, with frequent multipath effects. The introduction of robust pre-fit and post-fit residual algorithms has proven to be an effective quality control method. Additionally, using more refined observation models and appropriate parameter estimation algorithms led to a slight 6% improvement in velocity performance. The improved Kalman filter position estimation model (KFSPP-P) strategy, by incorporating velocity uncertainty into the state estimation process, overcomes the limitations of conventional velocity-aided smartphone positioning methods (KFSPP-V) in complex urban environments. In low-multipath environments, the accuracy of the KFSPP-P strategy is comparable to that of KFSPP-V, with an approximate 8% improvement in horizontal accuracy. However, in more challenging environments, such as tree-lined roads and urban environments, the KFSPP-P strategy shows significant improvements, particularly enhancing horizontal positioning accuracy by approximately 50%. These advancements demonstrate the potential of using smartphones to provide reliable positioning services in complex urban environments.

To establish a rapid method for determination of mercury in grain, Rhodamine type B fluorescent probe was synthesized and used as the carrier and chromogenic group of the probe system. The original fluorescent probe system was made into a visible light probe system, where this principle was used in conjunction with extraction assisted by effervescent tablets to establish a rapid method for the detection of elemental mercury (Hg) in grain. The initial speed of the blast reaction was controlled via the use of the bubble tablet blast method and the loss of Hg could be reduced in the course of the initial blast. After combining with different concentrations of Hg, the probe system make the originally colorless probe system turn into a rosy red color. The color developing probe system was in the range of 0.5~20 ng/g of Hg content in the sample at 550 nm, and the shade of color was proportional to the Hg content, whose range in the samples could also be assessed using a colorimetric card with naked eye. In the present study, the recoveries were 90.98%~102.46%, the precision RSD was 2.76%~4.76% and the detection limit was 1.0 ng/g. The rapid detection method has the advantages of high efficiency, accuracy, high sensitivity, specificity and wide applicability. Taken together, it is suitable for bulk screening and detection of elemental mercury in grains, wheat and other grains and their food products. Also, the method and principle might provide novel insights for the field of visualization probe rapid detection.

Quantum computers offer an intriguing path for a paradigmatic change of computing in the natural sciences and beyond, with the potential for achieving a so-called quantum advantage—namely, a significant (in some cases exponential) speedup of numerical simulations. The rapid development of hardware devices with various realizations of qubits enables the execution of small-scale but representative applications on quantum computers. In particular, the high-energy physics community plays a pivotal role in accessing the power of quantum computing, since the field is a driving source for challenging computational problems. This concerns, on the theoretical side, the exploration of models that are very hard or even impossible to address with classical techniques and, on the experimental side, the enormous data challenge of newly emerging experiments, such as the upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider. In this Roadmap paper, led by CERN, DESY, and IBM, we provide the status of high-energy physics quantum computations and give examples of theoretical and experimental target benchmark applications, which can be addressed in the near future. Having in mind hardware with about 100 qubits capable of executing several thousand two-qubit gates, where possible, we also provide resource estimates for the examples given using error-mitigated quantum computing. The ultimate declared goal of this task force is therefore to trigger further research in the high-energy physics community to develop interesting use cases for demonstrations on near-term quantum computers.

The precise point positioning (PPP) service via the B2b signal (PPP-B2b) on the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) provides high-accuracy orbit and clock data for global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs), enabling real-time atmospheric data acquisition without internet access. In this study, we assessed the quality of orbit, clock, and differential code bias (DCB) products from the PPP-B2b service, comparing them to post-processed products from various analysis centres. The zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD) and precipitable water vapour (PWV) were computed at 32 stations using the PPP technique with PPP-B2b corrections. These results were compared with post-processed ZTD with final orbit/clock products and ZTD/PWV values derived from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis (ERA5) and radiosonde data. For stations between 30° N and 48° N, the mean root mean square error (RMSE) of ZTD for the PPP-B2b solution was approximately 15 mm compared to ZTD from the International GNSS Service (IGS). However, accuracy declined at stations between 30° N and 38° S, with a mean RMSE of about 25 mm, performing worse than ZTD estimates using Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) products. The mean RMSEs of PWV derived from PPP-B2b were 3.7 mm and 4.4 mm when compared to PWV from 11 co-located radiosonde stations and ERA5 reanalysis, respectively, and underperformed relative to CNES solutions. Seasonal variability in GNSS-derived PWV was also noted. This reduction in accuracy limits the global applicability of PPP-B2b. Despite these shortcomings, satellite-based PPP services like PPP-B2b remain viable alternatives for real-time positioning and atmospheric applications without requiring internet connectivity.

To lay a solid basis for prosperity and competitiveness, countries should achieve balance in the three fundamental aspects: energy availability, energy affordability and ecological balance. Nuclear energy has attracted international interest as one of the most crucial environmental quality strategies. The objective of this study is to analyze the non-linear link between nuclear energy and environmental quality in the top-10 nuclear energy consumer countries (USA, China, Russia, France, Canada, Spain, Sweden, South Korea, Ukraine, and Germany). Earlier research employed panel data methodologies to examine the linkage between nuclear energy and the environment, despite the fact that many nations did not independently demonstrate such a correlation. On the alternative, this study uses a novel approach known as ‘Quantile-on-Quantile,’ which allows for the analysis of time-series dependence in each country by giving universal yet country-specific insights into the relationship between the variables. Estimates show that the consumption of nuclear energy improves environmental quality by lowering ecological footprint in the majority of the nations studied at certain quantiles of data. Moreover, the data demonstrate that the degree of asymmetries between our variables changes by nation, emphasizing the importance of policymakers exercising caution when adopting nuclear energy and environmental quality regulations.

The antiferromagnetic kagome lattice compound FeGe has been revealed to host an emergent charge-density-wave (CDW) state which manifests complex interplay between the spin, charge, and lattice degrees of freedom. Here, we present a comprehensive study of the de Haas–van Alphen effect by measuring torque magnetometry under magnetic fields up to 45.2 T to map Fermi surfaces in this unusual CDW state. For a field along the c direction, we resolve four cyclotron orbits, with the largest one roughly corresponding to the area of the 2×2 folded Brillouin zone. Three smaller orbits are characterized by light effective cyclotron masses in the range of (0.18–0.30)m_{e}. Angle-resolved measurements identify one Fermi surface segment with weak anisotropy. Combined with band structure calculations, our results suggest that features of unfolded Fermi surfaces are robust against CDW reconstruction, corroborating the unconventional effect of a short-ranged CDW on the electronic structure.

Fertilization is a complex and highly regulated process that involves a series of molecular interactions between sperm and oocytes. However, the mechanisms of proteins involved in human fertilization, such as that of testis-specific SPACA4, remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrated that SPACA4 is a spermatogenic cell-specific protein. SPACA4 is expressed during spermatogenesis, upregulated in early-stage spermatids, and downregulated in elongating spermatids. SPACA4 is an intracellular protein that locates in the acrosome and is lost during the acrosome reaction. Incubation with antibodies against SPACA4 inhibited the binding of spermatozoa to zona pellucida. SPACA4 protein expression levels across different semen parameters were similar but varied significantly among patients. A prospective clinical study found no association between SPACA4 protein levels and fertilization or cleavage rates. Thus, the study suggests a novel function for SPACA4 in human fertilization in a non-dose-dependent manner. However, a larger clinical trial is required to evaluate the potential use of sperm SPACA4 protein levels to predict fertilization potential.

The coupling between band structure and magnetism can lead to intricate Fermi surface modifications. Here we report on the comprehensive study of the Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) effect in two rare-earth-based magnetic Weyl semimetals, NdAlSi and CeAlSi_{0.8}Ge_{0.2}. The results show that the temperature evolution of topologically nontrivial Fermi surfaces strongly depends on magnetic configurations. In NdAlSi, the SdH frequencies vary with temperature in both the paramagnetic state and the magnetically ordered state with a chiral spin texture, but become temperature independent in the high-field fully polarized state. In CeAlSi_{0.8}Ge_{0.2}, SdH frequencies are temperature dependent only in the ferromagnetic state with magnetic fields applied along the axis. First-principles calculations suggest that the notable temperature and magnetic-configuration dependence of Fermi surface morphology can be attributed to strong exchange coupling between the conduction electrons and local magnetic moments.

Continuous cropping of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) may lead to soil degradation. As a soil conditioner, microbial agent has great potential in improving soil function and enhancing plant growth. In this study, we aimed to explore how microbial agent relieves the soil sickness of watermelon by analyzing watermelon performance, soil physicochemical properties and microbial community structures. Results suggested that microbial agent treatments significantly changed the photosynthetic efficiency of upper and lower leaves, which helped improve the growth of watermelon. The single fruit weight, fruit sugar degree and total phosphorus of soil following treatment with a mixture of Paecilomyces lilacinus DZ910 and Bacillus subtilis KC1723 (treatment D_K) were higher than those in single biofertilizer treatments and control. The soil microbial community under microbial agent treatments also changed significantly, indicating the feasibility of using microbial agents as soil remediations. The proportions of Pseudomonas and Flavobacterium, changed significantly after using microbial agents. Pseudomonas increased significantly after B. subtilis KC1723 and D_K treatments, while Flavobacterium increased significantly after using all three kinds of microbial agents compared to control. Increases in these bacteria were positively correlated with agronomic variables of watermelon. The fungi Aspergillus and Neocosmospora in the soil, which create an soil sickness of watermelon, decreased after KC1723 and D_K treatments. Meanwhile, Aspergillus and Neocosmospora were positively related to Myceliophthora incidence and negatively correlated with watermelon growth (single fruit weight and photosynthetic efficiency of upper leaves). Our microbial agent, especially D_K, represents a useful technique for alleviating soil sickness in watermelon.

The accurate determination of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height (ABLH) is crucial in various atmospheric studies and practical applications. In this study, we present a comprehensive comparative analysis of five distinct methods for estimating ABLH using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Radio Occultation (RO) data. These methods encompass the use of bending angle and refractivity profiles, namely Minimum Gradient methods of the Bending Angle (MGBA) and Refractivity (MGR) profiles, breaking point, Wavelet Covariance Transform (WCT), and Double-Parameter Model Function (DPMF). GNSS-RO data from COSMIC-2 and Spire are used. To establish robust validation, radiosonde data are employed as a reference, ensuring the reliability of our findings. The results reveal notable variations in the performances of these ABLH estimation methods. Specifically, the MGBA, MGR, breaking point, and DPMF methods exhibit strong correlations with the reference data. Conversely, the WCT method displays weaker correlations, higher biases, and elevated root-mean-square-errors, suggesting limitations in capturing the true ABLH. Furthermore, we remove outlier screening to facilitate a comparison of the differences among the five methods. The WCT and DPMF methods can detect strong variations in the profiles near the Earth’s surface and consider them as ABLH. However, these variations are caused by errors. The MGBA method emerges as a reliable and stable option, while the WCT and DPMF methods should be used with caution due to the lower quality of the GNSS-RO profiles near the Earth’s surface.

Quantum-enhanced computing methods are promising candidates to solve currently intractable problems. We consider here a variational quantum eigensolver (VQE), that delegates costly state preparations and measurements to quantum hardware, while classical optimization techniques guide the quantum hardware to create a desired target state. In this work, we propose a bosonic VQE using superconducting microwave cavities, overcoming the typical restriction of a small Hilbert space when the VQE is qubit based. The considered platform allows for strong nonlinearities between photon modes, which are highly customisable and can be tuned in situ, i.e. during running experiments. Our proposal hence allows for the realization of a wide range of bosonic ansatz states, and is therefore especially useful when simulating models involving degrees of freedom that cannot be simply mapped to qubits, such as gauge theories, that include components which require infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. We thus propose to experimentally apply this bosonic VQE to the U(1) Higgs model including a topological term, which in general introduces a sign problem in the model, making it intractable with conventional Monte Carlo methods.

In this study, we investigate the performances of a commercial Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Radio Occultation (RO) mission and a new-generation RO constellation, i.e., Spire and Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate 2 (COSMIC-2), respectively. In the statistical comparison between Spire and COSMIC-2, the results indicate that although the average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of Spire is far weaker than that of COSMIC-2, the penetration of Spire is comparable to, and occasionally even better than, that of COSMIC-2. In our analysis, we find that the penetration depth is contingent upon various factors including SNR, GNSS, RO modes, topography, and latitude. With the reanalysis of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and Radiosonde as the reference data, the identical error characteristics of Spire and COSMIC-2 reveal that overall, the accuracy of Spire’s neutral-atmosphere data products was found to be comparable to that of COSMIC-2.

Recently, factor graph optimization (FGO)-based GNSS/INS integrated navigation has garnered widespread attention for its ability to provide more robust positioning performance in challenging environments like urban canyons, compared to traditional extended Kalman filter (EKF)-based methods. In existing GNSS/INS integrated navigation methods based on FGO, the primary approach involves combining single point positioning (SPP) or real-time kinematic (RTK) with INS by constructing factors between consecutive epochs to resist outliers and achieve robust positioning. However, the potential of a high-precision positioning system based on the FGO algorithm, combining INS and PPP-B2b and that does not rely on reference stations and network connections, has not been fully explored. In this study, we developed a loosely coupled PPP-B2b/INS model based on the EKF and FGO algorithms. Experiments in different urban road and overpass scenarios were conducted to investigate the positioning performance of the two different integration navigation algorithms using different degrades of inertial measurement units (IMUs). The results indicate that the FGO algorithm outperforms the EKF algorithm in terms of positioning with the combination of GNSS and different degrades of IMUs under various conditions. Compared to the EKF method, the application of the FGO algorithm leads to improvements in the positioning accuracy of approximately 15.8%~45.9% and 19%~41.3% in horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, for different experimental conditions. In scenarios with long and frequent signal obstructions, the advantages of the FGO algorithm become more evident, especially in the horizontal direction. An obvious improvement in positioning results is observed when the tactical-grade IMU is used instead of the microelectron-mechanical system (MEMS) IMU in the GNSS/INS combination, which is more evident for the FGO algorithm than for the EKF algorithm.

Quantum simulations of lattice gauge theories are in principle scalable, but their extension to dynamically coupled matter has proven difficult. In this work, the authors use a variational quantum eigensolver to simulate a non-Abelian LGT including the effects of both gauge fields and dynamical fermions.

Abstract Background There are many studies on disentangling the responses of autotrophic (AR) and heterotrophic (HR) respiration components of soil respiration (SR) to long-term drought, but few studies have focused on the mechanisms underlying its responses. Methods To explore the impact of prolonged drought on AR and HR, we conducted the 2-year measurements on soil CO2 effluxes in the 7th and 8th year of manipulated throughfall reduction (TFR) in a warm-temperate oak forest. Results Our results showed long-term TFR decreased HR, which was positively related to bacterial richness. More importantly, some bacterial taxa such as Novosphingobium and norank Acidimicrobiia, and fungal Leptobacillium were identified as major drivers of HR. In contrast, long-term TFR increased AR due to the increased fine root biomass and production. The increased AR accompanied by decreased HR appeared to counteract each other, and subsequently resulted in the unchanged SR under the TFR. Conclusions Our study shows that HR and AR respond in the opposite directions to long-term TFR. Soil microorganisms and fine roots account for the respective mechanisms underlying the divergent responses of HR and AR to long-term TFR. This highlights the contrasting responses of AR and HR to prolonged drought should be taken into account when predicting soil CO2 effluxes under future droughts.

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD)—the theory of quarks and gluons—has been studied for decades, but it is yet to be fully understood. A recent example is the prediction and experimental discovery of tetraquarks, which opened a new research field. Crucially, numerous unsolved questions regarding the standard model can exclusively be addressed by nonperturbative calculations. Quantum computers can solve problems for which well-established QCD methods are inapplicable, such as real-time evolution. We take a key step in exploring this possibility by designing a real-time evolution of tetraquark and pentaquark physics in one-dimensional SU(3) gauge theory. We also perform an experiment on a superconducting quantum computer demonstrating an elementary cell consisting of two staggered sites containing quarks and antiquarks with all three colors. This experiment represents an exciting step in quantum computation involving quarks with the gauge group of QCD.

Abstract In recent years, the reconstruction of individual life history by the multi-isotope analysis of different skeletal elements has become an active topic in bioarchaeological field. However, most studies focus on the persons with high social status and none cares for craftsmen with low social status. In this study, we undertook a comprehensive analysis on a human skeleton buried in the Oupan kiln, Anhui, China to recover his osteobiography. The archaeological context and dating result (534–644 cal. AD) indicate that he might be a potter at the kiln during the Sui and early Tang Dynasty, characteristic of low social hierarchy. The osteological investigation suggests that he had abnormal vertebrae related to long-term physical labor. In general, the isotopic data demonstrate that he mainly consumed C3(wheat, beans)/C4(millets)-based terrestrial foods. The isotopic (C, N) profiles of dentin sections and isotopic data (C, O) of bone apatite and teeth enamel indicate that he had experienced dramatic dietary changes and/or several migrations throughout the childhood and adulthood. His turbulent life trajectory was highly relevant to his identity and low social status. Our study provides a pilot insight into the life history of craftsmen who was generally overlooked in archaeological, historic and anthropological research.

This paper presents a straightforward method to develop a nanoporous graphene oxide (NGO)-functionalized quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) gas sensor for the detection of trimethylamine (TMA), aiming to form a reliable monitoring mechanism strategy for low-concentration TMA that can still cause serious odor nuisance. The synthesized NGO material was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to verify its structure and morphology. Compared with the bare and GO-based QCM sensors, the NGO-based QCM sensor exhibited ultra-high sensitivity (65.23 Hz/μL), excellent linearity (R2 = 0.98), high response/recovery capability (3 s/20 s) and excellent repeatability (RSD = 0.02, n = 3) toward TMA with frequency shift and resistance. Furthermore, the selectivity of the proposed NGO-based sensor to TMA was verified by analysis of the dual-signal responses. It is also proved that increasing the conductivity did not improve the resistance signal. This work confirms that the proposed NGO-based sensor with dual signals provides a new avenue for TMA sensing, and the sensor is expected to become a potential candidate for gas detection.

Spectroscopic signatures of magnetic response in topological materials remain very limited. Here, the authors observe a quasi-linear field dependent transverse magnetization and a non-saturating parallel magnetization in a Weyl semimetal TaAs under strong magnetic field, suggesting a signature of relativistic quasiparticles in topological materials.