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For improving the corrosion resistance of aircraft structural components，zinc nickel alloy films were prepared on the surface of 18Cr3Ni structural steel using closed field non-equilibrium magnetron sputtering technology，and the effects of zinc and nickel target currents on the surface morphology，microstructure and corrosion resistance of the films were investigated.The microstructure，crystal structure and mechanical properties of the thin film were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)，X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nanoindentation apparatus，respectively.In addition，the electrochemical properties and resistance to neutral salt spray corrosion of thin films were studied，and the corrosion products were analyzed.Results showed that the zinc nickel alloy thin film prepared by closed field non-equilibrium magnetron sputtering technology possessed a dense structure.Besides，the nickel in the film played a role in refining the grain size，but the increase of nickel content could decrease the corrosion resistance of the film.The film with Ni content of 7.63%(atomic fraction，the same below) exhibited the best corrosion resistance，but poor mechanical performance.By contrast，the film with Ni content of 12.88%had excellent corrosion resistance and mechanical performance.The corrosion product Zn5(OH)8Cl2·H2O produced by the neutral salt spray test on the film had a passivation effect，preventing further corrosion of the film and substrate.In general，the zinc nickel alloy thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering could be used for corrosion protection on the surface of precision structural components.

Postbiotics are dead bacteria without vital signs and their metabolites. Since many substances in postbiotics are still biologically active and are safer and more stable than probiotics, they are widely used in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. In recent years, many studies have shown that postbiotics can ameliorate obesity by regulating lipid metabolism, which are expected to be a new strategy for the prevention and treatment of obesity. This article introduces the harms and possible pathogenesis of obesity, illustrates the potential mechanism by which postbiotics regulate diseases, and reviews the role of postbiotic bacteria and their metabolites in obesity regulation. This article is expected to provide references for future research on the application of postbiotics in obesity management.

Background and purpose: More and more patients with multiple primary early-stage lung cancer are choosing to receive stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), and this study aimed to retrospectively analyze the efficacy and prognostic factors of SBRT. Methods: In this study, patients who underwent SBRT at Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from August 2014 to December 2020 and who met the inclusion criteria were included. Patients with multiple primary early-stage lung cancer were examined for efficacy and prognostic factors. After using propensity score matching (PSM), the difference in efficacy of SBRT between single and multiple primary early-stage lung cancer was observed. Results: This study included 241 early-stage lung cancer patients with SBRT, including 94 patients with multiple primary early-stage lung cancer. The 3- and 5-year local control rate (LC), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 87.1% and 71.3%, 84.0% and 66.9%, 93.3% and 79.3% in multiple primary early-stage lung cancer, respectively. Patients with multiple primary early-stage lung cancer did not experience any grade 3 or higher pulmonary toxicity with an overall toxicity incidence of 54.3%, and grade 2 toxicity occurred in 24 patients (25.5%). There was a total of 18 (19.1%) recurrences, and there were 3 (3.2%), 1 (1.1%), 12 (12.7%) and 2 (2.1%) patients with multiple primary early-stage lung cancers who experienced local recurrence, regional recurrence, distant metastasis and uncertain death, respectively. Patients with multiple primary early-stage lung cancer and those with single primary early-stage lung cancer had significant differences in clinical features prior to PSM. After PSM, there were 56 patients with multiple primary early-stage lung cancer and 56 patients with single primary early-stage lung cancer, and there was no statistically significant difference in LC (P = 0.291), PFS (P = 0.954) and OS (P = 0.880). Age≥70 years was an independent risk factor for OS of multiple primary early-stage lung cancer, according to an analysis of the prognostic variables of SBRT in 94 patients with multiple primary early-stage lung cancer. Regarding synchronous (≤180 d) and metachronous (>180 d) multiple primary early-stage lung cancer, there was no discernible difference between the two groups (P = 0.440). There was no significant difference in the total number of treatments for multiple primary early-stage lung cancer (P = 0.232) and no significant difference in the type of treatment for multiple primary early-stage lung cancer (P = 0.225) among 59 patients with synchronous multiple primary early-stage lung cancer within 5 years of the first-to-last treatment interval. Conclusion: SBRT has a strong and comparable efficacy for multiple primary early-stage lung cancer compared with single primary early-stage lung cancer, making it a viable treatment choice. Based on age and tumor biological behavior of the lesion, future strategies and procedures for local intervention of multiple primary early-stage lung cancer need to be investigated.

The concept of high-entropy alloy not only greatly enriches the metal material system，but also breaks the design routine of traditional ceramic material.In recent years，people are gradually extending the design concept of multi-principal and high-entropy to ceramic materials，and a series of multi-principal high-entropy ceramics have been fabricated.Thanks to its unique structure and “four effects”similar to high-entropy alloy，high-entropy ceramics exhibit a series of excellent mechanical，thermal and tribological properties.Based on the preparation methods，structural characteristics and properties，this article mainly introduced the research progress of high-entropy oxide，carbide，nitride ceramics and other high-entropy carbonitrides，borides，silicides and sulfides at home and abroad，and analyzed the specific structures and properties of those high-entropy ceramics.Finally，the development prospect of the high-entropy ceramic was also prospected.

Protein is an important nutrient for the human body. Long-term lack of proteins will directly or indirectly lead to increased incidence of low immunity, muscle attenuation, osteoporosis and other diseases. This phenomenon is more prominent in the elderly, which reduces their exercise and metabolic capacity, directly affects their quality of life. This in turn increases the burden on the public health and medical system in China, which hinders the steady advancement of the ‘Healthy China’ strategy. At present, the major ways to improve inadequate protein intake and deficiency in the elderly include improving food properties (changing protein structure) and physical function (adding ingredients that can promote the secretion of protein-digesting enzymes), and changing the diet structure (increasing oligopeptide intake) and habits (increasing protein intake and types). The effects of aging on protein digestion and absorption capacity are discussed, the existing methods to promote protein digestion and absorption are summarized, and future directions for improving the protein digestion and absorption capacity of the elderly are discussed in order to provide a reference for future research to promote nutrition especially protein absorption in the elderly.

Background and purpose: The standard treatment for patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer is neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) plus radical resection. However, the technical aspects for implementing this comprehensive treatment strategy differ, especially in the controversial definition of the radiotherapy target area in NCRT. This study aimed to analyze the feasibility of involving field irradiation (IFI) in NCRT for locally advanced esophageal cancer. Methods: Retrospective analysis of locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients receiving NCRT in Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from July 2016 to May 2017 showed that the radiotherapy target of all patients was our recommended IFI. The radiotherapy plan was redesigned for the enrolled patients according to the two traditional target delineation of elective node irradiation (ENI) and primary subclinical lesion irradiation (SLI). The dosimetric parameters of the three groups and the dose differences of organ at risk (OAR), such as lungs, heart and spinal cord, were compared, and the relationship between IFI Recurrence pattern and radiation target volumes was analyzed. Results: A total of 26 patients were enrolled. The average target volume of IFI was (277±77) cm3, which was significantly lower compared with ENI and SLI (P

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a life-threatening syndrome associated with hyperproliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), which exhibit features similar to those of cancer cells. Currently, there is no curative treatment for PH. LKB1 is known as a tumor suppressor gene with an antiproliferative effect on cancer cells. However, its role and mechanism in the development of PH remain unclear. Gain- and loss-of-function strategies were used to elucidate the mechanisms of LKB1 in regulating the occurrence and progression of PH. Sugen 5416/hypoxia (SuHx) PH model was utilized for in vivo study. We observed a decreased expression of LKB1 not only in the lung vessels of the SuHx mouse model but also in human PASMCs (HPASMCs) exposed to hypoxia. Smooth muscle–specific LKB1 knockout significantly aggravated SuHx-induced PH in mice. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed a substantial increase in bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) in the aortas of LKB1SMKO mice compared with controls, identifying BMP4 as a novel target of LKB1. LKB1 knockdown in HPASMCs cultured under hypoxic conditions increased BMP4 protein level and HPASMC proliferation and migration. The coimmunoprecipitation analysis revealed that LKB1 directly modulates BMP4 protein degradation through phosphorylation. Therapeutically, suppressing BMP4 expression in smooth muscle cells alleviates PH in LKB1SMKO mice. Our findings demonstrate that LKB1 attenuates PH by enhancing the lysosomal degradation of BMP4, thus suppressing the proliferation and migration of HPASMCs. Modulating the LKB1-BMP4 axis in smooth muscle cells could be a promising therapeutic strategy of PH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous carbon is recognized as an excellent lubricating material; however, its tribological properties are significantly influenced by humidity. To elucidate the mechanism underlying this humidity dependence and to propose a novel enhancement method, we investigated and compared the tribological properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) and amorphous carbon/gold (a-C/Au) composite films. First, the friction coefficient of these carbon films under different humidity conditions was tested using a rotational ball-on-disk tribometer. Subsequently, we analyzed the morphology and structure of the sliding interface employing optical microscopy (OM), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Finally, first-principle calculations were carried out to calculate the adsorption energy of water molecules on different surfaces. The results indicate that the friction coefficient of a-C:H film and the area of transfer film increase with the increase of humidity. This phenomenon can be attributed to the fact that water molecules enhance the interaction between the a-C:H film and steel counterfaces. Notably, in contrast, the friction coefficient of a-C/Au film demonstrates low sensitivity to humidity due to the formation of an Au transfer film that exhibits weak interaction with water molecules. These findings provide a promising strategy for developing environment-adaptive amorphous carbon films and play an important role in promoting the development of intelligent lubricating film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality genetic maps are effective tools for elucidating the genetic mechanisms of complex quantitative traits and facilitating marker-assisted breeding. Species within the genus Liquidambar (commonly called sweetgum), particularly Liquidambar styraciflua and Liquidambar formosana, are significant forest resources worldwide. These sweetgum trees have been extensively utilized in medical and cosmetic applications for centuries as they contain large amounts of valuable secondary metabolites. Among these, shikimic acid is a notable metabolite with significant pharmaceutical applications. Despite advances in conventional breeding and propagation techniques for sweetgum, the genetic basis and regulatory mechanisms of valuable traits remain largely unexplored. In this study, we constructed the first high-density genetic map for sweetgum using whole-genome resequencing (WGR) of 220 progeny individuals derived from a cross of L. styraciflua × L. formosana. The genetic map spanned a total distance of 1428.51 centimorgans (cM) with an average inter-marker distance of 0.33 cM, incorporating 4268 bin markers across 16 linkage groups. To identify the genetic loci controlling the shikimic acid content, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping was carried out based on the genetic map. Two QTLs located on linkage group (LG) 12 were detected, encompassing a total of 213 genes within the QTL interval. Some of these genes are closely related to secondary metabolism in plants, including YUCCA and DXS genes. This study presents the first high-quality genetic map of sweetgum and provides a preliminary QTL analysis for shikimic acid content. Our findings establish a foundational framework for the genetic improvement of sweetgum through marker-assisted breeding and offer valuable insights for further research in sweetgum genetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]