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NiFe layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) nanosheets and metal-nitrogen-carbon materials (M-N-C, M = Ni, Fe, Co, etc.) are supreme catalysts in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) process, respectively. Nevertheless, the monotonic performance and insufficient stability severely hamper their practical application in rechargeable batteries. Herein, we simultaneously combine ultrathin NiFe-LDH nanowalls with renewable soybean-derived Fe-N-C matrix to obtain a hybrid materials (NiFe-LDH/FeSoy-CNSs-A), which exhibits robust catalytic activities for OER (Ej=10 = 1.53 V vs. RHE) and ORR (E1/2 = 0.91 V vs. RHE), with a top-notch battery parameters and stability in assembled rechargeable Zn-air batteries. Intensive investigations indicate that the vertically dispersed NiFe-LDH nanosheets, Fe-N-C matrix derived from soybean and the strong synergy between them are responsible for the unprecedented OER and ORR performances. The key role of intrinsic N defects involved in the hybrid materials is firstly specified by ultrasoundassisted extraction of soy protein from soybean. The exquisite design can facilitate the utilization of sustainable biomass-derived catalysts, and the mechanism investigations of N defects and oxygenic groups on the structure-activity relationship can stimulate the progress of other functional hybrid electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Process parameters, such as clearance, friction, boosting displacement, bending velocity, and centerline radius/tube diameter ratio, have a significant and complicated influence on wrinkling of circular tubes during rotary draw bending process. To explore the effects of these parameters on the wrinkling, a 3D elastic–plastic finite element (FE) model based on eta/DYNAFORM has been built and validated by experiments. Then, relevant simulation and analysis of the process have been performed. The results show that: (1) the wrinkling increases with the accretion of the clearance. A reasonable clearance of mold groove (less than 0.2 mm) can alleviate the severity of the wrinkling; (2) when the boosting velocity of the pressure die is larger than or equal to the linear velocity of the bend die in the X-axis direction, the wrinkling relieves as the friction between the pressure die and the tube decreases; conversely, when the boosting velocity is smaller than the linear velocity, the wrinkling reduces with the increase of the friction between the two contacted components; (3) the wrinkling is negatively correlated with the centerline radius/tube diameter ratio and positively correlated with the bending velocity of the bend die; and (4) the boosting displacement of the pressure die dominates the direction of frictional force exerted by the pressure die in the bending process. The wrinkling tendency becomes more obvious as the displacement increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quasi-Gaussian approximation scheme is formulated to study the strongly correlated imbalanced Fermions thermodynamics, where the mean-field theory is not applicable. The non-Gaussian correlation effects are understood to be captured by the statistical geometric mean of the individual susceptibilities. In the three-dimensional unitary fermions ground state, a universal nonlinear scaling transformation relates the physical chemical potentials with the individual Fermi kinetic energies. For the partial polarization phase separation to full polarization, the calculated critical polarization ratio is δC = [1−(1− ξ)6/5]/[1+(1− ξ)6/5] ≐ 0.34. ξ = 4/9 gives the ratio of the symmetric ground state energy density to that of the ideal fermion gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surgical treatment methods for cirrhosis patients complicated with portal hypertension are complicated. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a new treatment strategy: splenic auto-transplantation and oesophageal transection anastomosis on 274 patients from three aspects: clinical observation, splenic immunology and portal dynamics. From 1979 to 2005, 274 cirrhosis patients with portal hypertension who underwent the new treatment strategy were followed up to observe different clinical indexes, which were then compared with those of the traditional surgery treatment. From 1999 to 2002, a randomized control trial (RCT) was performed on 40 patients to compare their immune function after operation. From 1994 to 2004, another RCT was carried out on 28 patients to compare the portal dynamics through three-dimensional dynamic contrast enhanced MR angiography (3D DEC MRA) investigation after operation. Among 274 patients (mean age 41.8 years), the emergency operative mortality (4.4%), selective operative mortality (2.2%), complication rate (17.9%), morbidity of hepatic encephalopathy (<1%), bleeding rate of portal hypertension gastritis (PHG) (9.1%), and morbidity of hepatic carcinoma (8%) were similar to those under traditional operation; the spleen immunology function (Tuftsin, IgM) decreased among the groups 2 months after operation. Through 3D DCE MRA, the cross section area, the velocity and volume of blood flow of main portal vein decrease significantly after operation in both groups, the auto transplantation group was significantly lower in velocity and volume of blood flow than in the control group. Splenic auto transplantation and esophageal transection anastomosis are a safe, effective, and reasonable treatment strategy for portal hypertension with varicial bleeding. It can not only correct hypersplenism but also completely stanch blood, and auto transplanted spleen in the retroperitoneal space can preserve immune function and establish abroad collateral circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The change of cell immune function after hepatectomy of patients suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is usually neglected. The aim of this study was to explore the change of T cell subsets in HCC patients after hepatectomy, and to study the value of treatment with interferon (INF) combined with hepatic artery chemoembolization (HACE) and portal vein chemotherapy (PVC) to prevent recurrence after radical resection of HCC. Seventy-five HCC patients were treated with PVC and HACE at the 2nd week and 4th week after radical tumor resection. In the 2nd week after surgery, 33 pationts received INF treatment for one week. Seventy-two patients were followed up over three years. The effect of INF combined with HACE and PVC on the postoperative recurrence rate was compared with that of HACE and PVC treatment. Changes of T cell subsets in the peripheral blood were examined with labeled monoclonal antibodies before and after hepatectomy or with use of interferon. Forty cholecystolithiasis patients who received a cholecystectomy were used as controls. CD3 + and CD4 + cells in the peripheral blood were reduced in patients with HCC. After hepatectomy, they declined further with a decrease in the CD4 +/CD8 + ratio. The values returned to pre-operative level at the 4th week after surgery. The CD3 + and CD4 + cells and the CD4 +/CD8 + ratio increased remarkably following the use of INF. The 1-, 2- and 3-year recurrent rates of patients treated with HACE, PVC and INF in combination were 0%, 6.2% and 15.6%, respectively, while those treated only with HACE and PVC were 5.0%, 12.5% and 27.5%, respectively. Patients with HCC suffer from a marked immuno-suppression, which become ever more severe after hepatectomy. The combined use of HACE, PVC and INF is superior in decreasing the recurrent rate to the combination of only HACE and PVC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful tool to silence gene expression post-transcriptionally. However, its potential to treat or prevent disease remains unproven. Fas-mediated apoptosis is implicated in a broad spectrum of liver diseases, where inhibiting hepatocyte death is life-saving. We investigated the in vivo silencing effect of small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes targeting the gene Fas (also known as Tnfrsf6), encoding the Fas receptor, to protect mice from liver failure and fibrosis in two models of autoimmune hepatitis. Intravenous injection of Fas siRNA specifically reduced Fas mRNA levels and expression of Fas protein in mouse hepatocytes, and the effects persisted without diminution for 10 days. Hepatocytes isolated from mice treated with Fas siRNA were resistant to apoptosis when exposed to Fas-specific antibody or co-cultured with concanavalin A (ConA)-stimulated hepatic mononuclear cells. Treatment with Fas siRNA 2 days before ConA challenge abrogated hepatocyte necrosis and inflammatory infiltration and markedly reduced serum concentrations of transaminases. Administering Fas siRNA beginning one week after initiating weekly ConA injections protected mice from liver fibrosis. In a more fulminant hepatitis induced by injecting agonistic Fas-specific antibody, 82% of mice treated with siRNA that effectively silenced Fas survived for 10 days of observation, whereas all control mice died within 3 days. Silencing Fas expression with RNAi holds therapeutic promise to prevent liver injury by protecting hepatocytes from cytotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]