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In the steam power plant, the working medium used for energy transformation is water vapor. The thermodynamic properties of water vapor are usually obtained by using water vapor tables and charts. Adiabatic process of water vapor is widespread in engineering applications. The adiabatic process is realized without heat addition or rejection and the entropy of the working medium during a reversible adiabatic process remains constant. During an adiabatic expansion process, superheated steam turns into saturated vapor , and further into wet vapor, the pressure and the temperature of the steam decreases. The entropy during a irreversible adiabatic process increases. In general, when analyzing the thermodynamic process of water vapor, we first determine the state parameters by using charts and tables, and then make relevant calculations according to the first law of thermodynamics.

TiAl-based alloys have received extensive attention recently due to their excellent properties. However, the weak oxidation resistance at temperatures higher than 800 °C can limit their further high-temperature structural applications. To improve the oxidation resistance of a high-Nb-content γ-TiAl alloy (Ti-45Al-8.5Nb, in units of at.%), a chromium (Cr) coating is prepared by using the plasma surface alloying technique, separately, at 800 °C and 1000 °C. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns reveal that an oxide surface layer consisting of Cr2O3, Al2O3, and TiO2 is produced on the Cr-coated Nb containing γ-TiAl substrates during the initial oxidation. However, the Cr2O3 is dominated in the oxide surface layer after being isothermally oxidized for 300 h. The oxidation kinetic curves are composed of a parabolic law stage (≤ 90 h) and a biquadratic law stage (≥ 90 h), fit by weight–gain curves. Due to diffusion in the fabrication process and oxidation process, the Cr-coated specimens have an adhesion force after being isothermally oxidized, specifically 69 N for a specimen after oxidation for 300 h. These results demonstrate that the Cr coating enhances the oxidation resistance and adhesion of a Ti-45Al-8.5Nb alloy, which may provide a new feasible scheme for designing oxidation protection layers.

Bisphenol A (BPA), identified as an endocrine disruptor, is an important man-made compound used in a wide range of consumer products. The MTT assay, comet assay, micronucleus test, chromosome aberration test, and Ames assay were conducted to assess the cytotoxic, genotoxic, cytogenetic effects, and mutagenic activity of BPA. After BPA exposure, we showed significant increases in cytotoxicity and level of DNA damage indicated by Olive tail moment, tail length, and % tail DNA in a similar dose- and time-dependent manner. Significant increases in micronucleus frequency and conventional chromosome aberrations were also observed after BPA treatment. The major types of structural aberrations were breaks, gaps, and fragments. However, no positive mutagenic activity of BPA was observed in any of the tester strains. Taken together, the data obtained in this study clearly demonstrated that BPA is not mutagenic but could exhibit significant genotoxic and cytogenetic effects in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Aggressive fibromatosis (AF) of psoas muscle origin is extremely rare and little is known about its radiological features. We here present such a case in a 24-year-old man with psoas AF and ilium bone involvement. The authors stress the contibutive diagnostic role of MRI.

Tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells promote tumor progression by mediating angiogenesis, tumor cell intravasation and metastasis, which can offset the effects of chemotherapy, radiation, and anti-angiogenic therapy. Here, we show that the kinase switch control inhibitor rebastinib inhibits Tie2, a tyrosine kinase receptor expressed on endothelial cells and pro-tumoral Tie2-expressing macrophages in mouse models of metastatic cancer. Rebastinib reduces tumor growth and metastasis in an orthotopic mouse model of metastatic mammary carcinoma through reduction of Tie2+ myeloid cell infiltration, anti-angiogenic effects, and blockade of tumor cell intravasation mediated by perivascular Tie2(hi)/VegfA(hi) macrophages in the tumor microenvironment of metastasis (TMEM). The anti-tumor effects of rebastinib enhance the efficacy of microtubule inhibiting chemotherapeutic agents, either eribulin or paclitaxel, by reducing tumor volume, metastasis, and improving overall survival. Rebastinib inhibition of angiopoietin/Tie2 signaling impairs multiple pathways in tumor progression mediated by pro-tumoral Tie2+ macrophages, including TMEM-dependent dissemination and angiopoietin/Tie2-dependent angiogenesis. Rebastinib is a promising therapy for achieving Tie2 inhibition in cancer patients.