High resistance of superconducting TiN thin films against environmental attacks.

Superconductors, an essential class of functional materials, hold a vital position in both fundamental science and practical applications. However, most superconductors, including MgB, BiSrCaCuO, and FeSe, are highly sensitive to environmental attacks (such as from water and moist air), hindering their wide applications. More importantly, the surface physical and chemical processes of most superconductors in various environments remain poorly understood.

Accurate Simulation for 2D Lubricating Materials in Realistic Environments: From Classical to Quantum Mechanical Methods.

2D materials such as graphene, MoS, and hexagonal BN are the most advanced solid lubricating materials with superior friction and anti-wear performance. However, as a typical surface phenomenon, the lubricating properties of 2D materials are largely dependent on the surrounding environment, such as temperature, stress, humidity, oxygen, and other environmental substances. Given the technical challenges in experiment for real-time and in situ detection of microscopic environment-material interaction, recent years have witnessed the acceleration of computational research on the lubrication behavior of 2D materials in realistic environments.

Identification of pivotal genes and pathways in the synovial tissue of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis through integrated bioinformatic analysis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) are the two most common debilitating joint disorders and although both share similar clinical manifestations, the pathogenesis of each is different and remains relatively unclear. The present study aimed to use bioinformatic analysis to identify pivotal genes and pathways involved in the pathogenesis of RA. Microarray datasets from patients with RA and OA were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using GEO2R software; Gene Ontology analysis and pathway enrichment were analyzed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery and the Kyoto Encylopedia for Genes and Genomes, respectively; and protein‑protein interaction networks of DEGs were constructed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes database, and module analysis and pathway crosstalk of the PPI network was visualized using plugins of Cytoscape.

Effects of ginsenoside Rb1 on spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different doses of ginsenoside Rb1 (GRb1) pretreatment on spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (SCII) in rats and explore the potential mechanisms about the expression of survivin protein after the intervention.

Methods: A total of 90 healthy adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into six groups: sham-operated (n = 15), SCII model (n = 15), and GRb1-treated groups (n = 60). The GRb1-treated group was divided into four subgroups: 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg, 40 mg/kg, and 80 mg/kg (n = 15).