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The effect of increasing the bonding pressure from 10 to 20 MPa (5 MPa interval) at 1050°C for 60 minutes on the diffusion bonded joint of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steel was investigated. The results indicate that the quality of the bond improves accordingly with increasing bonding pressure. The oxide layer at the bonding interface underwent an evolution process from continuous to discontinuous and ultimately disappeared with the increase of bonding pressure. The optimal joint was achieved in this work at the pressure of 20 MPa. Considering the research of reliability of joints in engineering applications, the optimum joint was subjected to post-bonding heat treatment (PBHT) of 750°C for 90 minutes. The diffusion bonded sample subjected to PBHT exibits microstructural features and tensile properties similar to those of the base metal. It is noteworthy that the tensile fracture does not occur at the bonding interface, but in the base metal far away from the interface. This work can provide a feasible method for the removal of oxides at the diffusion bonding interface of RAFM steel and also contribute to the establishment and optimization of diffusion bonding processes, thereby improving the quality of the diffusion bonding joint.

Rainfall spatial variability is a crucial factor determining rainfall input in hydrological models and it significantly affects model simulation accuracy. We selected the Yangshudang watershed in the Zhanghe irrigation district of Yangtze River Basin of China to assess the impact of rainfall spatial variability on SWAT runoff simulation in hilly irrigation areas. Eight different rainfall station network distributions were established and rainfall data were processed, using the SWAT model nearest and Thiessen polygon interpolation methods to analyze rainfall spatial variations in the study area. This study investigated the effects of the number, layout, and rainfall grades of rainfall gauges on runoff simulation performance. The results indicated that a higher number of rainfall gauges and more uniform spatial distribution leads to better runoff simulation performance. Among the scenarios examined, using three rainfall gauges yielded the best results, with R2, NSE, and RSR values of 0.84, 0.81, and 0.44, respectively. Employing Thiessen polygon interpolation with three rainfall gauges the R2 value increased to 0.87, enhancing it by 3.57% and further reducing the simulation errors caused by rainfall spatial variability. Additionally, runoff simulation under different rainfall grades exhibited varying responses to rainfall spatial variability, with minimal impact observed during light rainfall and the greatest impact during moderate and heavy rainfall events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the eutrophication risk in reservoir areas is very important for environmental protection. However, the periodic backflow of water in reservoir areas makes evaluating the eutrophication of tributaries in reservoir areas more difficult. In this study, based on the basic principle of the copula function, combined with the water environment simulation results of the Pengxi River, a tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir, a new perspective for considering the interaction between water environment variables was proposed to evaluate the joint eutrophication risk probability. The results showed that the fluidity of the whole Pengxi River was poor, which was conducive to the deposition and enrichment of pollutants. The total nitrogen (TN) in Hanfeng Lake and the main stream of the Pengxi River was always above the level of moderate eutrophication, while total phosphorus (TP) varied over a large range, from mesotrophic to hyper-eutrophic. In 2021, the joint risk probability of TP and TN was the highest, at 45%, when they were both hyper-eutrophic in Hanfeng Lake. When TP was slightly eutrophic and TN was moderately eutrophic, the joint risk probability was the highest in Pengxi River, at 42%. The relatively clean water of the Yangtze River flowing back into the Pengxi River reduces its eutrophication risk. The results of this study provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of water eutrophication in the Three Gorges Reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), a promising visible-light-driven semiconductor material, has received enormous attention for photocatalytic water splitting, organic pollutant degradation, and CO2 reduction. However, the photocatalytic activity of bulk g-C3N4 is restricted due to the insufficient light adsorption, ineffective utilization of photogenerated charge carriers, and low specific surface area. Compared with bulk g-C3N4, the three-dimensional graphitic carbon nitride based materials (3D CNBMs) have outstanding physical and chemical characteristics, such as large specific area, plentiful active sites, and excellent electrical conductivity. This article reviews the latest achievements in 3D CNBMs, and presents the state-of-the-art advances in the synthetic methods of 3D CNBMs. Meanwhile, various applications of 3D CNBMs in photocatalysis, photo-electrochemistry, and electrochemistry are systematically reviewed and discussed. In addition, possible improvements and perspectives of 3D CNBMs are proposed. This review aims to summarize a panorama of the up-to-date processes of 3D CNBMs in environmental and energy applications and provide some innovative thoughts to accelerate the ground-breaking research and development of 3D CNBMs for a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both tea polyphenols (TP) and Lactobacillus rhamnosus have been shown to alleviate obesity, and regulate lipid metabolism. However, the combined effects and their underlying mechanisms of action remain elusive. In the present work, the effects of TP, Lactobacillus rhamnosus R5 (R5), and TP+R5 on blood lipids and the gut microbiota of mice fed with a high-fat diet were compared. Results showed that the combination of TP and R5 effectively increased the serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and decreased total cholesterol (TC) levels, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and the atherosclerosis index (AI) in mice fed with a high-fat diet. The combination treatment resulted in a modification of the structure of the gut microbiota in mice, as evidenced by a decrease in the F/B ratio, and an increase in the abundance of beneficial genera, such as Akkermansia muciniphila, Faecalibaculum rodentium, and Ruminococcus_uncultured bacterium. Additionally, the contents of SCFAs (acetic, propionic, and butyric acids) in faeces also increased. These could provide new ideas for anti-obesity methods, and a theoretical basis for the development of foods combining probiotics and tea polyphenols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of plant health status change, specifically the effect of root rot infection, on rhizosphere microbial structure remains unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the dynamic variations in soil nutrient and rhizosphere microbial community during cowpea root rot infection. Samples of healthy and moderately to severely diseased cowpea rhizosphere soil were collected from a field in Xiangyang, Hubei, China, and high-throughput sequencing was used to detect changes in soil microbial communities. Our results showed that cowpea biomass decreased significantly with increased disease severity, and differences in soil pH and nutrients (NO3 --N, NH4 +-N, and available phosphorus) were observed between healthy and diseased rhizosphere, particularly under moderate diseased conditions. The process of root rot infection affected the bacterial and fungal community structure in the rhizosphere, but with inconsistent responses. Specifically, bacterial richness decreased with increased disease severity, while minor differences were observed in fungal alpha diversity. Principal coordinate analysis revealed significant disparities in rhizosphere bacteria and fungi under healthy and diseased conditions (moderate and severe). Moreover, while bacterial communities underwent notable alterations, fungal communities exhibited no significant changes between moderate and severe diseased conditions. In addition, Redundancy analysis showed that bacteria beta diversity was determined by available potassium and pH in the rhizosphere, whereas fungal beta diversity was determined by soil organic matter and pH. Overall, with root rot infection, both the soil nutrients and microbial community structure of cowpea significant changed. As a result, our study provides insights into the molecular mechanism underlying cowpea root rot and other plant rhizosphere microbial communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic values of serum tumor markers in gastric carcinoma peritoneal metastasis and the therapeutic efficacy as well as safety of apatinib mesylate combined with Geo+Oxaliplatin (SOX) scheme treatment in gastric carcinoma peritoneal metastasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty patients with gastric carcinoma peritoneal metastasis and 11 patients without gastric carcinoma peritoneal metastasis were selected as the research subjects. The levels of serum tumor markers [carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125, CA211, CA242, CA724, and CA19-9] and abdominal irrigating solution exosome [micro ribonucleic acid (miR)-21 and miR320c] and the differences in their diagnostic values were compared and analyzed. The patients with gastric cancer peritoneal metastases are then divided into two groups, one for control (30 cases receiving just SOX scheme treatment) and the other for the experiment (30 cases receiving SOX scheme treatment plus apatinib mesylate). Besides, the differences in serum tumor marker level, therapeutic efficacy, overall survival (OS), complication rating, and Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core-30 (QLQ-C30) score among patients after treatment were compared. RESULTS: Demonstrated that serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125, CA211, CA242, CA724, and CA19- 9 levels of patients in the transfer group were remarkably enhanced compared with those of patients in the non-transfer group, and the levels of abdominal irrigating solution exosome (miR21 and miR-320c) were reduced compared with those in non-transfer group (p<0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the diagnosis of gastric carcinoma peritoneal metastasis by each index were 0.553, 0.880, 0.832, 0.619, 0.863, 0.651, 0.918, and 0.903, respectively. Patients in the experimental group’s serum levels of CEA, CA125, CA211, CA242, CA724, and CA19-9 were noticeably lower after therapy compared to those in the control group, and their median OS was also noticeably longer (p<0.05). After treatment, the objective remission rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) of the control group and experimental group amounted to 6.7% vs. 30.0% and 50.0% vs. 86.7%, respectively. ORR and DCR of the experimental group were notably higher (p<0.05). Between the patients in the control group and the experimental group, there were no glaring variations in the frequency of problems (hypertension, nausea, vomiting, bone marrow suppression, hand-foot syndrome, and leucopenia) (p>0.05). The cognitive function, emotional function, and life health scores of patients in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p<0.05), which suggested that serum tumor markers and miR-21 as well as miR-320c showed high diagnostic efficiency in gastric carcinoma peritoneal metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Apatinib mesylate combined with SOX scheme treatment was more effective in treating gastric carcinoma peritoneal metastasis and possessed the same safety as single SOX scheme treatment. Hence, it is worthy of clinical promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The liver is a unique organ containing large populations of immune cells. Immunotherapy for liver cancer is a promising yet particularly challenging method. Therefore, it harbors great significance for the identification of immune-related subtypes and the potential therapeutic targets for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Firstly, we classified the HCC samples downloaded from the dataset of Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) into two clusters based on the immune cell infiltration. Thereafter, we identified the significant module and regulatory factors using the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). The immune competence of the regulatory factors was delineated through the ESTIMATE algorithm, the analysis of the tumor microenvironment, and pan-cancer analysis. In the single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, we further explored the immune competence of regulatory factors. We also collected the potential drugs targeting the regulatory factors. In addition, we constructed lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA interaction regulatory networks. Finally, western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were conducted to verify the protein expression of regulatory genes in HCC cell lines and tissues. RESULTS: According to the immune cell infiltration, two immune-related subtypes-cluster 1 and cluster 2-were found. Patients in cluster 2 had a more significant immune infiltration than in cluster 1. Afterward, six significant regulatory genes were identified through WGCNA, and the expression in cluster 2 was high in cluster 1. We performed a comprehensive analysis to clarify the immune signature. The results showed that the six genes had significant immunological competence. Moreover, the expression of the six genes was similar to the subtypes' classification. In the analysis of the prognosis value, patients in cluster 2 had a better prognosis. In addition, the lncRNA in the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA interaction regulatory networks was located in the nucleus and cytoplasm. In the single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, the six genes were related to the immune cell. We also identified potential drugs for CD6 and CLEC12A, which may provide potential therapeutic drugs. Finally, the regulatory genes were verified in the western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. CONCLUSIONS: The classification into two clusters based on the immune cell infiltration may provide a promising prospect for HCC through immunotherapy. The six regulatory genes may be potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]