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Polymer-based composites for steel structure coating are an effective strategy to improve tribological properties and service durability under hygrothermal aging conditions. In the present paper, epoxy resin was improved by mechanical reinforcement and frictional lubrication fillers, and a kind of multi-filler reinforced epoxy composite (MFREC) was successfully prepared. Water uptake behavior, mechanical and thermal property evolution, friction behavior and wear mechanism as well as micro-topography analysis of MFREC under hygrothermal aging were conducted and discussed in detail. The research results showed that the water uptake curve of MFREC after distilled water and 5 wt% NaCl water solution immersions confirmed the two-stage diffusion model, where the quasi-equilibrium water uptakes were 4.23% and 3.67%, respectively. Additionally, the fundamental reason for the degradation of the mechanical and thermal properties of MFREC was the hydrolysis of the resin and the de-bonding of the fillers/matrix interface. The interface shear strength of MFREC adhesive and steel gradually decreased with the hygrothermal aging, but did not lose the bonding property, because the uniformly dispersed multi-fillers can fill the internal defects of the matrix and prolong the crack propagation path to block the effect. Before hygrothermal aging, MFREC had excellent friction and wear resistance compared to resin matrix, especially under water lubrication conditions. The anti-wear rate of MFREC increased by up to 59.6% compared to the room temperature dry test environment due to the coupling effects of the water lubrication and anti-friction characteristics of modified fillers. Hygrothermal aging had little effect (＜12%) on the friction coefficient of MFREC, but the anti-wear properties decreased significantly, especially the Ws increased by 255.1% under the 60 °C immersion condition. Because the degradation of thermal/mechanical properties was not enough to resist the high shear stress of the steel ball, leading to severe fatigue wear.

Abstract Objective In this study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant treatment to ropivacaine in children undergoing upper limb surgeries under ultrasound-guided axillary brachial plexus blocks and general anesthesia. Methods We enrolled 90 children (aged 1–8 years; ASA I-II) undergoing closed reduction and internal fixation for upper extremity fractures at the Xiamen Children's Hospital and randomly assigned them to one of two groups: L (injection with 0.25% ropivacaine) or D (injection with 0.25% ropivacaine containing 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine) using the random number table method. The main outcome indicators recorded were the facial expression, leg activity, position, crying, and Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (FLACC) scale scores of children after surgery and the duration of block and analgesia maintenance. The secondary outcome indicators were vital sign data at the time of ultrasound probe placement (T1), at the time of block completion (T2), prior to the beginning of surgery (T3), 5 min after the beginning of surgery (T4), and at the end of surgery (T5), as well as the time of postoperative recovery, the number of cases of remedial analgesia, and complications. Results There was no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of general data, block completion time, postoperative recovery time, and complications (P > 0.05). Compared to the L group, the D group had significantly lower FLACC scores at 6 h after surgery, as well as significantly lower systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate values at T4 and T5, and significantly longer duration of postoperative analgesia maintenance (all P

Introduction: β-Elemene (β-ELE), derived from Curcuma wenyujin, has anticancer effect on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the potential target and detail mechanism were still not clear. TFEB is the master regulator of lysosome biogenesis. Ferroptosis, a promising strategy for cancer therapy could be triggered via suppression on glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4). Weather TFEB-mediated lysosome degradation contributes to GPX4 decline and how β-ELE modulates on this process are not clear. Objectives: To observe the action of β-ELE on TFEB, and the role of TFEB-mediated GPX4 degradation in β-ELE induced ferroptosis. Methods: Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and molecular docking were applied to observe the binding affinity of β-ELE on TFEB. Activation of TFEB and lysosome were observed by immunofluorescence, western blot, flow cytometry and qPCR. Ferroptosis induced by β-ELE was observed via lipid ROS, a labile iron pool (LIP) assay and western blot. A549TFEB KO cells were established via CRISPR/Cas9. The regulation of TFEB on GPX4 and ferroptosis was observed in β-ELE treated A549WT and A549TFEB KO cells, which was further studied in orthotopic NOD/SCID mouse model. Results: β-ELE can bind to TFEB, notably activate TFEB, lysosome and transcriptional increase on downstream gene GLA, MCOLN1, SLC26A11 involved in lysosome activity in EGFR wild-type NSCLC cells. β-ELE increased GPX4 ubiquitination and lysosomal localization, with the increase on lysosome degradation of GPX4. Furthermore, β-ELE induced ferroptosis, which could be promoted by TFEB overexpression or compromised by TFEB knockout. Genetic knockout or inactivation of TFEB compromised β-ELE induced lysosome degradation of GPX4, which was further demonstrated in orthotopic NSCLC NOD/SCID mice model. Conclusion: This study firstly demonstrated that TFEB promoted GPX4 lysosome degradation contributes to β-ELE induced ferroptosis in EGFR wild-type NSCLC, which gives a clue that TFEB mediated GPX4 degradation would be a novel strategy for ferroptosis induction and NSCLC therapy.

Changes in structure and properties of resin matrix caused by water absorption is one of the key factors affecting the long-term durability of fiber reinforced polymer composites used in civil engineering. In the present study, the water diffusion and structural change in an epoxy resin were investigated experimentally through immersion in deionized water at 40, 60 and 80 °C for 135 days. Water absorption, thermal, mechanical and microstructure analysis tests were conducted to evaluate the long-term property evolution. It was found that the water absorption of epoxy resin followed a two-stage model, including an initial Fick's diffusion response and a subsequent relaxation response. Long-term hygrothermal exposure brought about the structural change of epoxy resin, which led to the significant degradation up to 8%–30% in the mechanical properties and 21% in glass transition temperature, respectively. The resin plasticization and hydrolysis was the key factors for the degradation of thermal and mechanical properties. It was proved that the plasticization effect was reversible with the remove of bonding water after the drying. Based on the Arrhenius equation, the long-term life of flexural strength in two service environments were predicted to provide the application guideline. The significant degradation of flexural strength was occurred at the initial exposure of 2000 days and then reached to the stable strength retention of 69.6%.

The development of green route for preparing propylene oxide (PO) with molecular oxygen is of significance both in academic and industrial. In this work, propylene epoxidation coupled with furfural oxidation catalyzed by platinum meso-tetraphenylporphyrin (Pt (II)TPP) has been developed. Propylene conversion and PO selectivity reached up to 56% and 83%, respectively. Meanwhile, furfural was almost completely converted to furoic acid. Based on operando characterizations and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) tests, a mechanism involved high-valent Pt species was proposed. This work is expected to provide a potential application prospects for producing PO and furoic acid simultaneously in chemical industry.

This study aims to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of three different anesthesia strategies, namely chatting while under local anesthesia (Chat-LA), total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA), and general anesthesia with laryngeal mask airway (GA-LMA), employed in transperineal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/ultrasound (US) fusion prostate biopsy (TP-MUF-PB). A retrospective study was conducted involving 1202 patients who underwent TP-MUF-PB from June 2016 to April 2023 at The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (Suzhou, China). Clinical data and outcomes, including total costs, complications, and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), were compared. Probability sensitivity and subgroup analyses were also performed. Chat-LA was found to be the most cost-effective option, outperforming both TIVA and GA-LMA. However, subgroup analyses revealed that in younger patients (under 65 years old) and those with smaller prostate volumes (

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is considered a stress disorder characterized by psychological and gastrointestinal dysfunction. IBS patients not only suffer from intestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, or constipation but also, experience dysthymic disorders such as anxiety and depression. Studies have found that corticotropin-releasing hormone plays a key role in IBS with comorbid dysthymic disorders. Next, we will summarize the effects of corticotropin-releasing hormone from the central nervous system and periphery on IBS with comorbid dysthymic disorders and relevant treatments based on published literatures in recent years.

Abstract To enhance the resilience of transmission systems with offshore wind farms before the advent of typhoons, a proactive unit commitment scheme is proposed. A novel scenario tree is proposed to quantify the uncertain impacts of typhoons on offshore wind farms, transmission lines, and system states, where the inertia support from offshore wind farms and random system state are in‐cooperated. The frequency security constraint is captured by a multi‐variative piece‐wise linear function, where the frequency nadir are simulated under varying inertia and disturbance combinations. The unit commitment problem is formulated as a two‐stage stochastic optimisation problem with nonlinear recourse. This problem is solved by a multi‐cuts Benders decomposition algorithm with finite iteration convergence property. Simulations are conducted on a modified IEEE‐RTS 79 test system with offshore wind farms. Results verify the effectiveness of the proposed model regarding the load shedding and frequency nadir enhancement.

Abstract Objective The causal associations of circulating lipids with Barrett’s Esophagus (BE) and Esophageal Cancer (EC) has been a topic of debate. This study sought to elucidate the causality between circulating lipids and the risk of BE and EC. Methods We conducted two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of circulating lipids (n = 94,595 − 431,167 individuals), BE (218,792 individuals), and EC (190,190 individuals) obtained from the publicly available IEU OpenGWAS database. The robustness and reliability of the results were ensured by employing inverse-variance weighted (IVW), weighted median, MR-Egger, and MR-PRESSO methods. The presence of horizontal pleiotropy, heterogeneities, and stability of instrumental variables were assessed through MR-Egger intercept test, Cochran’s Q test, and leave-one-out sensitivity analysis. Additionally, bidirectional MR and multivariable MR (MVMR) were performed to explore reverse causality and adjust for known confounders, respectively. Results None of the testing methods revealed statistically significant horizontal pleiotropy, directional pleiotropy, or heterogeneity. Univariate MR analyses using IVW indicated a robust causal relationship between increased triglycerides and BE (odds ratio [OR] = 1.79, p-value = 0.009), while no significant association with EC was observed. Inverse MR analysis indicated no evidence of reverse causality in the aforementioned outcomes. In MVMR analyses, elevated triglycerides (TRG) were significantly and positively associated with BE risk (OR = 1.79, p-value = 0.041). Conclusion This MR study suggested that genetically increased triglycerides were closely related to an elevated risk of BE, potentially serving as a biomarker for the diagnosis of BE in the future.

Abstract Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) infection is recognized as one of the most challenging issues threatening food safety and perplexing agricultural development. To date, the molecular mechanisms of the interactions between C. perfringens and the host remain poorly understood. Here, we show that stimulator of interferon genes (STING)-dependent trained immunity protected against C. perfringens infection through mTOR signaling. Heat-killed Candida albicans (HKCA) training elicited elevated TNF-α and IL-6 production after LPS restimulation in mouse peritoneal macrophages (PM). Although HKCA-trained PM produced decreased levels of TNF-α and IL-6, the importance of trained immunity was demonstrated by the fact that HKCA training resulted in enhanced bacterial phagocytic ability and clearance in vivo and in vitro during C. perfringens infection. Interestingly, HKCA training resulted in the activation of STING signaling. We further demonstrate that STING agonist DMXAA is a strong inducer of trained immunity and conferred host resistance to C. perfringens infection in PM. Importantly, corresponding to higher bacterial burden, reduction in cytokine secretion, phagocytosis, and bacterial killing were shown in the absence of STING after HKCA training. Meanwhile, the high expression levels of AKT/mTOR/HIF1α were indeed accompanied by an activated STING signaling under HKCA or DMXAA training. Moreover, inhibiting mTOR signaling with rapamycin dampened the trained response to LPS and C. perfringens challenge in wild-type (WT) PM after HKCA training. Furthermore, STING‑deficient PM presented decreased levels of mTOR signaling-related proteins. Altogether, these results support STING involvement in trained immunity which protects against C. perfringens infection via mTOR signaling.