Coupling Influence of pH and Cl on the Corrosion Evolution of Passivated Q355B Steel in Simulated Concrete Pore Solution.

Electrochemical tests combined with surface characterization techniques were used to investigate the corrosion evolution of passivated Q355B steel under the dual action of pH and chloride. The results show that the Q355B passivation film in simulated concrete pore solution is the amorphous oxide layer, and pH and Cl have closely coupled effects on Q355B corrosion. Meanwhile, the impact of pH is more significant: the decrease in pH shifts from pitting to uniform corrosion.

Surface steel ball calibration - A novel method for facilitating fluoroscopic measurement during implantation of WATCHMAN.

Background: Although the method of autocalibration or calibration based on catheter diameters was proposed for fluoroscopic measurement during percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO), it may be imprecise and lead to mismeasurement. We sought to investigate whether the utilization of the surface steel ball calibration (SSBC) method under fluoroscopy could facilitate the fluoroscopic measurement of the post-implanted WATCHMAN device (Boston Scientific Corporation, Natick, MA, USA) in LAAO.

Methods: This retrospective study included 97 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous LAAO with the WATCHMAN device.

ChNLRC4, a cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptor, activates the pyroptosis signaling pathway in Mollusca.

NLR inflammasomes recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), triggering Caspase-1 activation and leading to gasdermin D (GSDMD)-mediated pyroptosis, a crucial immune response in mammals. The functional GSDME-mediated pyroptosis has been reported in invertebrates, yet the existence of an NLR-Caspase-GSDME axis mediating pyroptosis signaling cascades remains unclear. In this study, we reported an NLRC4 homolog named ChNLRC4, a pattern recognition receptor from the oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis that is able to bind to LPS and Lys-type PGN through its LRR domain.

Sexually dimorphic dopaminergic circuits determine sex preference.

Sociosexual preference is critical for reproduction and survival. However, neural mechanisms encoding social decisions on sex preference remain unclear. In this study, we show that both male and female mice exhibit female preference but shift to male preference when facing survival threats; their preference is mediated by the dimorphic changes in the excitability of ventral tegmental area dopaminergic (VTA) neurons.