Unveiling the Oxidation Mechanisms of High-entropy Carbides Through Atomic-scale Dynamic Observation.

Understanding the behavior of high-entropy carbides (HECs) under oxygen-containing environments is of particular importance for their promising applications in structural components, catalysis, and energy-related fields. Herein, the structural evolution of (Ta, Ti, Cr, Nb)C (HEC-1) nanoparticles (NPs) is tracked in situ during the oxidation at the atomic scale by using an open-cell environmental aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope. Three key stages are clearly discerned during the oxidation of HEC-1 NPs at the atomic level below 900 °C: i) increased amorphization of HEC-1 NPs from 300 to 500 °C due to the energetically favorable formation of carbon vacancies and substitution of carbon with oxygen atoms; ii) nucleation and subsequent growth of locally ordered nanocluster intermediates within the generated amorphous oxides from 500 to 800 °C; and iii) final one-step crystallization of non-equimolar MeO and MeO (Me = metallic elements, Ta, Ti, Cr, and Nb) high-entropy oxides above 800 °C, accompanied with the reduction in atomic defects.

Vitamin D requirements and relative bioavailability for starter male White Pekin ducks fed either cholecalciferol or 25-hydroxycholecalciferol.

The objectives were to investigate effects of various concentrations of dietary vitamin D (VD) or 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D) on growth performance, VD status, calcium (Ca) metabolism, and tibia mineralization of starter male White Pekin ducks, and dietary requirements and relative bioavailability of these two compounds. One-day-old male White Pekin ducks (n = 624) were assigned to 13 dietary treatments, including 6 added VD concentrations (100, 200, 400, 800, 1200, and 2000 IU/kg), and 2 vitamin D sources (VD and 25-OH-D), plus a negative control (no vitamin D supplementation) for 21 days. Each group had 6 replicate pens of 8 birds per pen.

Effect of deep testosterone reduction on the prognosis of metastatic prostate cancer with high-volume disease.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the correlation between serum testosterone levels after one month of treatment and prognosis in patients with high-volume disease metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) who are undergoing combined androgen blockade therapy (CAB).

Methods: The clinical data of 199 patients with high-volume disease mPCa, diagnosed through biopsy pathology and imaging, were retrospectively analyzed from January 2010 to October 2022 in the Department of Urology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University. Among these patients, 111 cases had a deep reduction in serum testosterone (< 0.

FXR contributes to obstructive jaundice-induced vascular hyporeactivity in mesenteric arteries by reconstituting BK channels.

Objective: Vascular hyporeactivity increases with the incidence of obstructive jaundice (OJ). Evidence suggests that OJ activates the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) as well as the large-conductance Ca-activated K (BK or MaxiK) channel. This study was designed to explore the role of the FXR in vascular hyporesponsiveness induced by cholestasis.

Dissociation of HBr in Water Clusters Based on a Hybrid Density Functional Approach.

The dissociation of acidic molecules within a microscopic water environment is crucial for understanding intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding. This study explores the optimal configurations of HBr(HO) using hybrid density functional theory. According to the different mixed cluster structures, the corresponding HBr bond lengths, single-point energies, and introduced proton-transfer parameters are computed and analyzed.

Achieving Remarkable Specific Mechanical Strength and Energy Absorption Capacity in SiC Nanowire Networks through Graded Structural Design.

Lightweight porous ceramics with a unique combination of superior mechanical strength and damage tolerance are in significant demand in many fields such as energy absorption, aerospace vehicles, and chemical engineering; however, it is difficult to meet these mechanical requirements with conventional porous ceramics. Here, we report a graded structure design strategy to fabricate porous ceramic nanowire networks that simultaneously possess excellent mechanical strength and energy absorption capacity. Our optimized graded nanowire networks show a compressive strength of up to 35.

Effect of metabolic syndrome on testosterone levels in patients with metastatic prostate cancer: a real-world retrospective study.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been shown to have a negative impact on prostate cancer (PCa). However, there is limited research on the effects of MetS on testosterone levels in metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa).

Objective: This study aims to investigate the influence of MetS, its individual components, and composite metabolic score on the prognosis of mPCa patients, as well as the impact on testosterone levels.

METTL3-m6A methylation inhibits the proliferation and viability of type II alveolar epithelial cells in acute lung injury by enhancing the stability and translation efficiency of Pten mRNA.

Background: The pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI) involves a severe inflammatory response, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. N6-methylation of adenosine (m6A), an abundant mRNA nucleotide modification, plays a crucial role in regulating mRNA metabolism and function. However, the precise impact of m6A modifications on the progression of ALI remains elusive.

Unraveling Lattice-Distortion Hardening Mechanisms in High-Entropy Carbides.

Uncovering the hardening mechanisms is of great importance to accelerate the design of superhard high-entropy carbides (HECs). Herein, the hardening mechanisms of HECs by a combination of experiments and first-principles calculations are systematically explored. The equiatomic single-phase 4- to 8-cation HECs (4-8HECs) are successfully fabricated by the two-step approach involving ultrafast high-temperature synthesis and hot-press sintering techniques.

Methylprednisolone alleviates lung injury in sepsis by regulating miR-151-5p/USP38 pathway.

Background: Acute lung injury (ALI) is manifested by increased blood vessel permeability within the lungs and subsequent impairment of alveolar gas exchange. Methylprednisolone (MP) is commonly used as a treatment for ALI to reduce inflammation, yet its molecular mechanism remains unclear. This study aims to explore the underlying mechanisms of MP on ALI in a model induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Why do dipole moments of HCl-water clusters fail to determine acid dissociation?

This paper quantitatively examines why dipole moments of HCl(HO) cannot serve as the dissociation criterion for acid molecules using the Hirshfeld-I approach. Also, we propose the possible experimental parameter 〈〉, whose statistical average enables the assessment of acid dissociation in mixed clusters. Furthermore, our calculations reveal that a minimum of four water molecules are necessary to dissociate an HCl molecule.

Tailoring Mechanical Properties of a Ceramic Nanowire Aerogel with Pyrolytic Carbon for In Situ Resilience at 1400 °C.

Resilient ceramic aerogels with a unique combination of lightweight, good high-temperature stability, high specific area, and thermal insulation properties are known for their promising applications in various fields. However, the mechanical properties of traditional ceramic aerogels are often constrained by insufficient interlocking of the building blocks. Here, we report a strategy to largely increase the interlocking degree of the building blocks by depositing a pyrolytic carbon (PyC) coating onto SiN nanowires.

Electric-Field-Induced Selective Directed Transport of Diverse Droplets.

Droplet directional transport is one of the central topics in microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip applications. Selective transport of diverse droplets, particularly in another liquid phase environment with controlled directions, is still challenging. In this work, we propose an electric-field gradient-driven droplet directional transport platform facilitated by a robust lubricant surface.

Ultrastrong and High Thermal Insulating Porous High-Entropy Ceramics up to 2000 °C.

High mechanical load-carrying capability and thermal insulating performance are crucial to thermal-insulation materials under extreme conditions. However, these features are often difficult to achieve simultaneously in conventional porous ceramics. Here, for the first time, it is reported a multiscale structure design and fast fabrication of 9-cation porous high-entropy diboride ceramics via an ultrafast high-temperature synthesis technique that can lead to exceptional mechanical load-bearing capability and high thermal insulation performance.

Deformation of confined liquid interfaces by inhomogeneous electric fields and localized particle forces.

Hypothesis: Oil-water interfaces that are created by confining a certain amount of oil in a square shaped pixel (∼200 x 200 μm with a height of ∼10 μm) topped by a layer of water, have a curvature that depends on the amount of oil that happens to be present in the confining area. Under the application of an electric field normal to the interface, the interface will deform due to inhomogeneities in the electric field. These inhomogeneities are expected to arise from the initial curvature of the meniscus, from fringe fields that emerge at the confining pixel walls and, if applicable, from interfacially adsorbed particles.

Strong yet flexible ceramic aerogel.

Ceramic aerogels are highly efficient, lightweight, and chemically stable thermal insulation materials but their application is hindered by their brittleness and low strength. Flexible nanostructure-assembled compressible aerogels have been developed to overcome the brittleness but they still show low strength, leading to insufficient load-bearing capacity. Here we designed and fabricated a laminated SiC-SiO nanowire aerogel that exhibits reversible compressibility, recoverable buckling deformation, ductile tensile deformation, and simultaneous high strength of up to an order of magnitude larger than other ceramic aerogels.

Analysis of the risk factors of radiation pneumonitis and the predictive ability of dosiomics in non-small-cell lung cancer.

This prospective study investigated the incidence of radiation pneumonitis (RP) after immunotherapy followed by radiotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer, analyzed the risk factors for RP, and explored the predictive performance of dosimetry and dosiomics. Risk factors for grade ≥2 RP were calculated by using a logistic regression model. Predictive performance was compared on the basis of area under the curve values.

Radiation pneumonia predictive model for radiotherapy in esophageal carcinoma patients.

Background: The machine learning models with dose factors and the deep learning models with dose distribution matrix have been used to building lung toxics models for radiotherapy and achieve promising results. However, few studies have integrated clinical features into deep learning models. This study aimed to explore the role of three-dimension dose distribution and clinical features in predicting radiation pneumonitis (RP) in esophageal cancer patients after radiotherapy and designed a new hybrid deep learning network to predict the incidence of RP.

The Impact of Shared Information Presentation Time on Users' Privacy-Regulation Behavior in the Context of Vertical Privacy: A Moderated Mediation Model.

Combining data-sharing models and algorithm technologies has led to new data flow structures and usage patterns. In this context, the presentation time of shared low-sensitivity information across platforms has become a crucial factor that affects user perception and privacy-regulation behavior. However, previous studies have not conducted an in-depth exploration of this issue.

Accurate and Wide-Voltage-Range Modeling of Electrowetting with a Lattice Boltzmann Approach.

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) has been widely used in multi-phase fluid mechanics and is known to be more computationally efficient than the traditional method of numerically solving Navier-Stokes and Cahn-Hilliard equations. Electrowetting is an important component of interfacial sciences, in which the liquid-liquid and solid-liquid interfaces are tuned by electrostatics. Modeling electrowetting using the LBM can be categorized into surface and bulk methods.

An edge-based approach for virtual network embedding based on the graph edit distance.

Virtualization and resource isolation techniques have enabled the efficient sharing of networked resources. How to control network resource allocation accurately and flexibly has gradually become a research hotspot due to the growth in user demands. Therefore, this paper presents a new edge-based virtual network embedding approach to studying this problem that employs a graph edit distance method to accurately control resource usage.

Highly cross-linked carbon tube aerogels with enhanced elasticity and fatigue resistance.

Carbon aerogels are elastic, mechanically robust and fatigue resistant and are known for their promising applications in the fields of soft robotics, pressure sensors etc. However, these aerogels are generally fragile and/or easily deformable, which limits their applications. Here, we report a synthesis strategy for fabricating highly compressible and fatigue-resistant aerogels by assembling interconnected carbon tubes.

Hierarchical SiC-Graphene Composite Aerogel-Supported Ni-Mo-S Nanosheets for Efficient pH-Universal Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

MoS exhibits good prospects in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Whereas, the electrocatalytic property of MoS is restrained by its insufficient active sites, low electrical conductivity, and slow water dissociation processes. Herein, an aerogel composed of silicon carbide (SiC) and graphene (SiCnw-RGO) was constructed by growing SiC nanowires (SiCnw) in the graphene aerogel (RGO) via the CVD method, and then Ni-Mo-S nanosheets were hydrothermally synthesized on the SiCnw-RGO composite aerogel to develop an efficient pH-universal electrocatalyst.