Study of the self-degradation performance of a passive direct methanol fuel cell with an Fe-N-C catalyst.

Fe-N-C catalysts are considered promising substitutes for Pt-based catalysts at the cathode in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) owing to their great methanol tolerance. However, Fe-N-C-based DMFCs commonly suffer from a decreased performance under extremely high methanol concentrations and exhibit poor stability, while the underlying mechanism remains controversial. In this study, a self-degradation phenomenon in a passive Fe-N-C-based DMFC was investigated in detail.

Self-Reconstruction of High Entropy Alloys for Efficient Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution.

Alkaline water (HO) electrolysis is currently a commercialized green hydrogen (H) production technology, yet the unsatisfactory hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance severely limits its energy conversion efficiency and cost reduction. Herein, PtRuFeCoNi high entropy alloys (HEAs) is synthesized and subsequently exploited electrochemically induced structural oxidation processes to construct self-reconfigurable HEAs, as an efficient alkaline HER catalyst. The optimized self-reconstructed PtRuFeCoNi HEAs with the HEAs and cobalt rutheniate interface (HEAs-CoRuO) exhibits excellent alkaline HER performance, requiring just 11.

Specific plasma metabolite profile in intestinal Behçet's syndrome.

Background: Intestinal Behçet's syndrome (IBS) has high morbidity and mortality rates with serious complications. However, there are few specific biomarkers for IBS. The purposes of this study were to investigate the distinctive metabolic changes in plasma samples between IBS patients and healthy people, active IBS and inactive IBS patients, and to identify candidate metabolic biomarkers which would be useful for diagnosing and predicting IBS.

High-risk habitat radiomics model based on ultrasound images for predicting lateral neck lymph node metastasis in differentiated thyroid cancer.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the predictive usefulness of a habitat radiomics model based on ultrasound images for anticipating lateral neck lymph node metastasis (LLNM) in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), and for pinpointing high-risk habitat regions and significant radiomics traits.

Methods: A group of 214 patients diagnosed with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) between August 2021 and August 2023 were included, consisting of 107 patients with confirmed postoperative lateral lymph node metastasis (LLNM) and 107 patients without metastasis or lateral cervical lymph node involvement. An additional cohort of 43 patients was recruited to serve as an independent external testing group for this study.

Growth differentiation factor 15 is a glucose-downregulated gene acting as the crosstalk between stroma and cancer cells of the human bladder.

Hyperglycemia and hyperglycosuria, two primary characteristics of diabetes mellitus, may increase the risk of cancer initiation, particularly for bladder cancer. The effectiveness of metformin, a common antidiabetic agent, is determined by its ability to induce GDF15. However, the mechanism of the GDF15 in relation to glucose, which influences the tumor microenvironment in the human bladder, is not fully understood.