Giant Tunability of Rashba Splitting at Cation-Exchanged Polar Oxide Interfaces by Selective Orbital Hybridization.

The 2D electron gas (2DEG) at oxide interfaces exhibits extraordinary properties, such as 2D superconductivity and ferromagnetism, coupled to strongly correlated electrons in narrow d-bands. In particular, 2DEGs in KTaO3 (KTO) with 5d t2g orbitals exhibit larger atomic spin-orbit coupling and crystal-facet-dependent superconductivity absent for 3d 2DEGs in SrTiO3 (STO). Herein, by tracing the interfacial chemistry, weak anti-localization magneto-transport behavior, and electronic structures of (001), (110), and (111) KTO 2DEGs, unambiguously cation exchange across KTO interfaces is discovered. Therefore, the origin of the 2DEGs at KTO-based interfaces is dramatically different from the electronic reconstruction observed at STO interfaces. More importantly, as the interface polarization grows with the higher order planes in the KTO case, the Rashba spin splitting becomes maximal for the superconducting (111) interfaces approximately twice that of the (001) interface. The larger Rashba spin splitting couples strongly to the asymmetric chiral texture of the orbital angular moment, and results mainly from the enhanced inter-orbital hopping of the t2g bands and more localized wave functions. This finding has profound implications for the search for topological superconductors, as well as the realization of efficient spin-charge interconversion for low-power spin-orbitronics based on (110) and (111) KTO interfaces.

Mechanism of synergistic remediation of soil phenanthrene contamination in paddy fields by rice-crab coculture and bioaugmentation with Pseudomonas sp.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent and harmful pollutants with high priority concern in agricultural fields. This work constructed a rice-crab coculture and bioaugmentation (RCM) system to remediate phenanthrene (a model PAH) contamination in rice fields. The results showed that RCM had a higher remediation performance of phenanthrene in rice paddy compared with rice cultivation alone, microbial addition alone, and crab-rice coculture, reaching a remediation efficiency of 88.92 % in 42 d. The concentration of phenanthrene in the rice plants decreased to 6.58 mg/kg, and its bioconcentration effect was efficiently inhibited in the RCM system. In addition, some low molecular weight organic acids of rice root increased by 12.87 %∼73.87 %, and some amino acids increased by 140 %∼1150 % in RCM. Bioturbation of crabs improves soil aeration structure and microbial migration, and adding Pseudomonas promoted the proliferation of some plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs), which facilitated the degradation of phenanthrene. This coupling rice-crab coculture with bioaugmentation had favorable effects on soil enzyme activity, microbial community structure, and PAH degradation genes in paddy fields, enhancing the removal of and resistance to PAH contamination in paddy fields and providing new strategies for achieving a balance between production and remediation in contaminated paddy fields.

Robust Ti3C2Tx MXene foam modified with natural antioxidants for long-term effective electromagnetic interference shielding.

MXenes have been proven to be outstanding lossy phase of advanced electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. However, their poor tolerance to oxygen and water results in fast degradation of the pristine two-dimensional (2D) nanostructure and fading of the functional performance. Herein, in this research, natural antioxidants (e.g., melatonin, tea polyphenols, and phytic acid) were employed to protect the Ti3C2Tx MXene from its degradation in order to achieve a long-term stability of the EMI shielding performance. The results showed that the synthesized composites comprised of antioxidants and Ti3C2Tx exhibited a decelerating degradation rate resulting in an improved EMI shielding effective (SE) stability. The antioxidation mechanism of the applied antioxidants is discussed with respect to the nanostructure evolution of the Ti3C2Tx MXene. This work contributes to the basic foundations for the further development of advanced MXenes for stable applications in the EM field.

Large Anomalous Nernst Effects at Room Temperature in Fe3 Pt Thin Films.

Heat current in ferromagnets can generate a transverse electric voltage perpendicular to magnetization, known as anomalous Nernst effect (ANE). ANE originates intrinsically from the combination of large Berry curvature and density of states near the Fermi energy. It shows technical advantages over the conventional longitudinal Seebeck effect in converting waste heat to electricity due to its unique transverse geometry. However, materials showing giant ANE remain to be explored. Herein,  a large ANE thermopower of Syx ≈ 2 µV K-1 at room temperature in ferromagnetic Fe3 Pt epitaxial films is reported, which also show a giant transverse thermoelectric conductivity of αyx ≈ 4 A K-1  m-1 and a remarkable coercive field of 1300 Oe. The theoretical analysis reveals that the strong spin-orbit interaction in addition to the hybridization between Pt 5d and Fe 3d electrons leads to a series of distinct energy gaps and large Berry curvature in the Brillouin zone, which is the key for the large ANE. These results highlight the important roles of both Berry curvature and spin-orbit coupling in achieving large ANE at zero magnetic field, providing pathways to explore materials with giant transverse thermoelectric effect without an external magnetic field.

Construction of Hollow Carbon Nanofibers with Graphene Nanorods as Nano-Antennas for Lower-Frequency Microwave Absorption.

Electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbers at a lower-frequency region (2-8 GHz) require higher attenuation ability to achieve efficient absorption. However, the impedance match condition and attenuation ability are usually inversely related. Herein, one-dimensional hollow carbon nanofibers with graphene nanorods are prepared based on coaxial electrospinning technology. The morphology of graphene nanorods can be controlled by the annealing process. As the annealing time increased from 2 to 8 h, graphene nanospheres grew into graphene nanorods, which were catalyzed by Co catalysts derived from ZIF-67 nanoparticles. These nanorods can play the role of nano-antennas, which can guide EM waves into materials to enhance impedance match conditions. As a result, the carbon nanofibers with graphene nanorods possess a larger impedance match area with higher attenuation ability. The minimum reflection loss reaches -57.1 dB at a thickness of 4.6 mm, and the effective absorption bandwidth can cover almost both the S and C bands (2.4-8 GHz). This work contributes a meaningful perspective into the modulation of microwave absorption performance in the lower-frequency range.

Two-dimensional half-metallicity and fully spin-polarized topological fermions in monolayer EuOBr.

Two-dimensional (2D) half-metal and topological states have been the current research focus in condensed matter physics. Herein, we report a novel 2D material named EuOBr monolayer, which can simultaneously show 2D half-metal and topological fermions. This material shows a metallic state in the spin-up channel but a large insulating gap of 4.38 eV in the spin-down channel. In the conducting spin channel, the EuOBr monolayer shows the coexistence of Weyl points and nodal-lines near the Fermi level. These nodal-lines are classified by type-I, hybrid, closed, and open nodal-lines. The symmetry analysis suggests these nodal-lines are protected by the mirror symmetry, which cannot be broken even spin-orbit coupling is included because the ground magnetization direction in the material is out-of-plane [001]. The topological fermions in the EuOBr monolayer are fully spin-polarized, which can be meaningful for future applications in topological spintronic nano-devices.

Effect of VEGF on neurological impairment and prognosis of acute cerebral infarction patients: A retrospective case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Due to the complex pathological mechanism of acute cerebral infarction, the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on the disease is not clear. Therefore, a retrospective case-control study was performed to explore the effect of VEGF on neurological impairment and prognosis of acute cerebral infarction patients. METHOD: A total of 100 patients with acute cerebral infarction admitted to our hospital from April 2021 to April 2022 were selected. Blood samples from all patients would be routinely collected to detect the expression of serum VEGF. Pearson chi-square, Spearman correlation and univariate Logistic regression were used to analyze the clinical data to explore the relationship between VEGF expression and basic information, stroke degree, quality of life, and prognosis of patients. To determine whether VEGF can provide relevant basis for the early prevention and prognostic treatment of acute cerebral infarction. And multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio between each variable and VEGF expression. RESULTS: Pearson chi-square test and Spearman correlation coefficient showed that sex, degree of stroke, limb convulsions, loss of consciousness, hemiplegia, aphasia, mental functioning score, overall quality of life score, and short-term prognosis were significantly correlated with VEGF expression in 100 patients. Univariate logistic regression was used to describe the ORs and 95% confidence interval of subjects at the univariate level, and the degree of stroke (OR = 83.333, P < 0.001), tic of limbs (OR = 26.316, P < 0.001), loss of consciousness (OR = 23.256, P < 0.001), hemiplegia (OR = 62.500, P < 0.001), aphasia (OR = 76.923, P < 0.001), mental functioning score (OR = 7.937, P < 0.001), overall quality of life score (OR = 5.464, P < 0.001), short-term prognosis (OR = 37.037, P < 0.001) was significantly correlated with the high expression of VEGF. CONCLUSIONS: The level of serum VEGF was positively correlated with neurological impairment degree and prognosis in patients with acute cerebral infarction, the more severe the degree of stroke and the worse the prognosis.

Enhanced Microwave-Absorbing Property of Honeycomb Sandwich Structure with a Significant Interface Effect.

Honeycomb sandwich structures (HSSs) are excellent candidates for light and efficient microwave-absorbing materials. In this work, we design an HSS using SiO2 fiber-reinforced epoxy resin (SiO2f/ER) composites as both the top and bottom layers to improve the impedance matching with free space. Target dielectric properties of the honeycomb and coated lossy material of the HSS were calculated based on the multilayer transmission line theory, metal backplane model, and homogenization theory. In addition, the interface effect between the SiO2f/ER and honeycomb of the HSS was discussed theoretically, experimentally, and numerically, indicating a 1-4% contribution of microwave absorption resulting from the interface. By analyzing the equivalent resistance, equivalent capacitance, as well as equivalent inductance, the enhanced microwave absorption of HSS is attributed to the formation of the interfacial transition zone, which benefits both impedance matching and electromagnetic loss.

Low Infrared Emissivity and Strong Stealth of Ti-Based MXenes.

Advanced scenario-adaptable infrared (IR) stealth materials are crucial for creating localized closed thermal environments. Low emissivity over the broadest possible band is expected, as is superior mechanical deformability. Herein, we report a series of Ti-based MXenes with naturally low emissivity as ideal IR shielding materials. Over a wavelength ranging from 2.5 to 25 µm, Ti3C2T X film delivers an average emissivity of 0.057 with the lowest point of 0.042. Such a low emissivity coupled with outstanding structural shaping capability is beyond the current grasp. The reflection-dominated mechanism is dissected. Also, some intriguing scenarios of IR stealth for wearable electronic devices and skin thermal control are demonstrated. This finding lights an encouraging path toward next-generation IR shielding by the expanding MXene family.

Evaluating the Impact of Metro Interior Noise on Passenger Annoyance: An Experimental Study.

The operation of a large-scale metro system creates problematic interior noise; the impact of this noise on passengers and drivers is a subject of increasing concern. To investigate the quantitative relationship between metro interior noise and passengers' annoyance, this study analyzed questionnaires on passenger annoyance completed by 118 volunteers. The feedback from the questionnaire concerned eleven metro lines in Beijing. To test the interior noise levels, the volunteers were divided into two groups: A and B. The volunteers in group A took the same metro train as the testers, whereas those in group B took different trains. A total of 2080 noise annoyance samples from metro tunnel sections were collected and analyzed. Finally, the exposure-response relationship between interior noise and passenger annoyance was obtained by fitting these data with a logistic function. The results indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between the average subjective annoyance and the averaged equivalent sound pressure level. The fitting result was better for group A than for group B. For the mixed samples of two groups, the fitting result was greatly affected by the contribution of group A. To provide an acoustically comfortable environment, metro interior noise should not exceed 84-85 dB(A).

Ti3 C2 Tx /MoS2 Self-Rolling Rod-Based Foam Boosts Interfacial Polarization for Electromagnetic Wave Absorption.

Heterogeneous interface design to boost interfacial polarization has become a feasible way to realize high electromagnetic wave absorbing (EMA) performance of dielectric materials. However, interfacial polarization in simple structures such as particles, rods, and flakes is weak and usually plays a secondary role. In order to enhance the interfacial polarization and simultaneously reduce the electronic conductivity to avoid reflection of electromagnetic wave, a more rational geometric structure for dielectric materials is desired. Herein, a Ti3 C2 Tx /MoS2 self-rolling rod-based foam is proposed to realize excellent interfacial polarization and achieve high EMA performance at ultralow density. Different surface tensions of Ti3 C2 Tx and ammonium tetrathiomolybdate are utilized to induce the self-rolling of Ti3 C2 Tx sheets. The rods with a high aspect ratio not only remarkably improve the polarization loss but also are beneficial to the construction of Ti3 C2 Tx /MoS2 foam, leading to enhanced EMA capability. As a result, the effective absorption bandwidth of Ti3 C2 Tx /MoS2 foam covers the whole X band (8.2-12.4 GHz) with a density of only 0.009 g cm-3 , at a thickness of 3.3 mm. The advantages of rod structures are verified through simulations in the CST microwave studio. This work inspires the rational geometric design of micro/nanostructures for new-generation EMA materials.

Natural wood templated hierarchically cellular NbC/Pyrolytic carbon foams as Stiff, lightweight and High-Performance electromagnetic shielding materials.

Hierarchically cellular, stiff, and lightweight niobium carbide (NbC)-pyrolytic carbon (PyC) monolithic foam composites possessing excellent electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) were developed via a natural wood template-based method. Pyrolytic carbon derived from the decomposed cellulose in the wood worked as the carbon source for the growth of NbC phase, and the NbC-PyC heterogeneous nano-interface formed between the residual PyC and the freshly formed NbC. Multi-loss mechanisms (e.g. conductive loss, dipole polarization loss, and especially interface polarization loss) were established by controlling the NbC content and residual PyC phase in the NbC-PyC foams, which significantly improved the absorption capability. Compared to 28.0 dB of PyC monolith, the EMI SE of NbC-PyC foam can reach 54.8 dB when the thickness is 0.5 mm, which outperforms the other porous-based shielding materials. Due to the highly porous structure of pristine wood, the resulting NbC-PyC foam exhibited a low density of 0.48 g/cm3, which is ~ 1/16 of dense NbC (7.78 g/cm3). Generally, this work introduces innovative ideas for designing novel and advanced transition metal carbide-carbon composite materials.

[Risk factors and their predictive value for intensive care unit acquired weakness in patients with sepsis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the risk factors of intensive care unit acquired weakness (ICUAW) in patients with sepsis, and to evaluate the predictive value of each risk factor for ICUAW. METHODS: A case control study was conducted, 60 septic patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Henan Provincial People's Hospital from October 20, 2020 to February 20, 2021 were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups: sepsis ICUAW group and sepsis non-ICUAW group. The data of gender, age, body mass index (BMI), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score, complications, mechanical ventilation, duration of ICUAW, length of stay in ICU, fasting blood glucose, blood lactic acid (Lac), procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, outcome, antimicrobial agent, glucocorticoid, sedatives and analgesics drugs and vasoactive drugs were collected. Risk factors were screened by univariate Logistic regression analysis, and odds ratio (OR) was adjusted by multivariate binary logistic regression, P < 0.05 was considered as independent risk factors. Finally, the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was drawn to analyze the predictive value of independent risk factors. RESULTS: The APACHE II score of the sepsis ICUAW group was significantly higher than that of the sepsis non-ICUAW group (23.05±8.17 vs. 15.33±4.89, P < 0.05), the total length of stay in the ICU was significantly longer than that of the sepsis non-ICUAW group (days: 15.1±9.2 vs. 8.5±3.4, P < 0.05), the improvement rate of patients was significantly lower than that of the sepsis non-ICUAW group [45.0% (9/20) vs. 95.0% (38/40), P < 0.05]. After univariate Logistic regression and multicollinearity test analysis, 7 factors including APACHE II score, average SOFA score, blood lactic acid, proportion of mechanical ventilation, sedatives and analgesics drugs, type of antibiotics and type of vasoactive drugs were included in the binary Logistic regression model [OR: 1.21, 2.05, 2.26, 0.21, 1.54, 2.07, 1.38, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.09-1.35, 1.42-2.94, 1.12-4.57, 0.05-0.66, 1.03-2.29, 1.27-3.37, 0.96-2.00, all P < 0.05]. Hosmer-Lemchaw test P = 0.901, and the correct percentage of prediction was 85%, indicating good model fit. Multivariate binary Logistic regression analysis showed that APACHE II score and average SOFA score were independent risk factors for the occurrence of ICUAW in septic patients (APACHE II score: OR = 1.17, 95%CI was 1.004-1.376, P = 0.044; average SOFA score: OR = 1.86, 95%CI was 1.157-2.981, P = 0.01). ROC curve analysis showed that the mean value of APACHE II score, average SOFA score and their combined detection had a certain predictive value for the occurrence of ICUAW in sepsis patients, areas under ROC curve (AUC) were 0.787, 0.881, 0.905, 95%CI was 0.646-0.928, 0.791-0.972, 0.828-0.982, all P < 0.05. When the cut-off value was 19.500, 6.225, 0.375, the sensitivity was 75%, 90%, 90%, and the specificity were 80%, 80%, 85%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: APACHE II score and average SOFA score can be used as independent risk factors for the occurrence of ICUAW in sepsis, and their combined predictive value is better than that of individual index.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Taxus wallichiana as the medicinal plant from China.

Taxus wallichiana is a member of the family Taxaceae, which is a unique and endangered species in China and is widely used for ornamental, material and medicinal purposes. The complete chloroplast genome of T. wallichiana was found to possess a total size of 128,168 bp. The GC content of T. wallichiana chloroplast genome sequence is 37.3%, the overall nucleotide composition of chloroplast genome sequence is: A of 30.7%, T of 32.0%, C of 19.0% and G of 18.3%. The total of 116 genes were successfully annotated, which contained 83 protein-coding genes, 29 transfer RNA genes, and 4 ribosomal RNA genes. The ML phylogenetic analysis result showed that T. wallichiana was closely related to Taxus baccata in the phylogenetic relationship using the neighbour-joining (NJ) method in this study.

Ultralight Cellular Foam from Cellulose Nanofiber/Carbon Nanotube Self-Assemblies for Ultrabroad-Band Microwave Absorption.

Microwave absorption materials (MAMs) with lightweight density and ultrabroad-band microwave absorption performance are urgently needed in advanced MAMs, which are still a big challenge and have been rarely achieved. Here, a new wide bandwidth absorption model was designed, which fuses the electromagnetic resonance loss ability of a periodic porous structure in the low-frequency range and the dielectric loss ability of dielectric materials in the high-frequency range. Based on this model, a lightweight porous cellulose nanofiber (CNF)/carbon nanotube (CNT) foam consisting of a cellular vertical porous architecture with the macropore diameters between 30 and 90 µm and a nanoporous architecture at a scale of 1.7-50 nm was obtained by an ice-template method using CNTs and CNFs as "building blocks". Benefiting from the unique architecture, the effective absorption bandwidth reaches 29.7 GHz, and its specific microwave absorption performance exceeds 80,000 dB·cm-2·g-1, which far surpasses those of the MAMs previously reported, including all CNT-based composites. Moreover, the CNF/CNT foam possesses ultralow density (9.2 mg/cm3) and strong fatigue resistance, all coming from the well-interconnected porous structure and the strong hydrogen bonds among CNF-CNF and CNF-CNT molecular chains.

Tamibarotene Improves Hippocampus Injury Induced by Focal Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion via Modulating PI3K/Akt Pathway in Rats.

GOAL: The present study aimed to examine whether Am80 (tamibarotene) protects the hippocampus against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and whether phosphoinositide-3-kinase/Akt (PI3K/Akt) pathway mediates this effect. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rats were subjected to 90 minutes of middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by 24 hours of reperfusion. The animals were randomly divided into 7 groups: sham-operated group; I/R group; groups pretreated with 2 mg/kg, 6 mg/kg, and 10 mg/kg of Am80; Am80 (6 mg/kg) combined with the selective PI3K inhibitor wortmannin (0.6 mg/kg), and wortmannin (0.6 mg/kg) only group. After 24 hours of reperfusion, neurological deficits and infarct volume were measured. Pathological changes in hippocampal neurons were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Neuronal survival was examined by TUNEL staining. The expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and Akt, and Akt phosphorylation (p-Akt) were measured by Western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. FINDINGS: The pretreatment with Am80 improved the neurologic deficit score, reduced infarct volume, and decreased the number of TUNEL-positive cells in the hippocampus. Moreover, Am80 pretreatment downregulated the expression of Bax, upregulated the expression of Bcl-2, and increased the level of p-Akt. Wortmannin abolished in part the increase in p-Act and the neuroprotective effect exerted on the ischemic by Am80 pretreatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results documented that Am80 pretreatment protects ischemic hippocampus after cerebral I/R by regulating the expression of apoptosis-related proteins through the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Lightweight Ti2CT x MXene/Poly(vinyl alcohol) Composite Foams for Electromagnetic Wave Shielding with Absorption-Dominated Feature.

Lightweight absorption-dominated electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials are more attractive than conventional reflection-dominated counterparts because they minimize the twice pollution of the reflected electromagnetic (EM) wave. Here, porous Ti2CT x MXene/poly(vinyl alcohol) composite foams constructed by few-layered Ti2CT x (f-Ti2CT x) MXene and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) are fabricated via a facile freeze-drying method. As superior EMI shielding materials, their calculated specific shielding effectiveness reaches up to 5136 dB cm2 g-1 with an ultralow filler content of only 0.15 vol % and reflection effectiveness (SER) of less than 2 dB, representing the excellent absorption-dominated shielding performance. Contrast experiment reveals that the good impedance matching derived from the multiple porous structures, internal reflection, and polarization effect (dipole and interfacial polarization) plays a synergistic role in the improved absorption efficiency and superior EMI shielding performance. Consequently, this work provides a promising MXene-based EMI shielding candidate with lightweight and high strength features.

Reduced Graphene Oxide/Silicon Nitride Composite for Cooperative Electromagnetic Absorption in Wide Temperature Spectrum with Excellent Thermal Stability.

The fabrication of a sandwich-like composite that consists of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and Si3N4 ceramic (RGO/Si3N4) was achieved through the combination of modified freeze-drying approach and chemical vapor infiltration process. Due to a hierarchical structure and a high ratio of ID/ IG (1.27), the RGO/Si3N4 exhibits an unprecedented high polarization relaxation loss (PRL), which accounts for 32% of the whole dielectric loss. The outstanding PRL endows the RGO/Si3N4 composites with unique temperature-independent dielectric properties and electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption performance. Even at a low absorbent content of only 0.16 wt %, the effective absorption bandwidth of RGO/Si3N4 composites can cover the whole X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz) at broad sample thicknesses ranging from 4.3 to 4.6 mm and temperatures ranging from 323 to 873 K. The mechanism for the enhancement of PRL and conductive loss was explicitly investigated. The outstanding absorption performance toward EM waves indicated that the resultant porous RGO/Si3N4 composite can be a promising candidate for the applications under elevated temperature.

[Early assessment value of brain function prognosis in patients with traumatic brain injury by regional saturation of cerebral oxygenation combined with percentage of α variability].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the usability of regional saturation of cerebral oxygenation (rScO2) combined with percentage of α variability (PAV) in predicting brain function prognosis in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted. The clinical data of patients with TBI who were monitored rScO2 and bedside quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of Henan Provincial People's Hospital from August 2018 to July 2019 were collected. The rScO2, PAV, and Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score were recorded within 72 hours after the TBI. The primary prognostic indicator was the 3-month Glasgow outcome score (GOS) score. The differences between the two groups of poor prognosis of brain function (GOS score 1-3) and good prognosis (GOS score 4-5) were compared. Binary multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the correlation between rScO2, PAV, GCS score and the prognosis of brain function in patients with TBI. In addition, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to analyze the predicting value of rScO2 and PAV only or combination for prognosis of brain function. RESULTS: A total of 42 patients with TBI were enrolled in the study, with rScO2 ≥ 0.60 (grade I) in 14 patients, 0.50 ≤ rScO2 < 0.60 (grade II) in 16 patients, and rScO2 < 0.50 (grade III) in 12 patients. PAV 3-4 scores (grade I) were detected in 16 patients, 2 scores (grade II) in 17 patients, and 1 score (grade III) in 9 patients. GCS score 9-14 (grade I) were observed in 13 patients, 4-8 (grade II) in 23 patients, and 3 (grade III) in 6 patients; 18 patients had poor prognosis and 24 had good one. The rScO2, PAV and GCS scores of the poor-prognosis group were significantly higher than those in the good-prognosis group [rScO2 with grade III: 55.6% (10/18) vs. 8.3% (2/24), PAV with grade III: 38.9% (7/18) vs. 8.4% (2/24), GCS score with grade III: 27.7% (5/18) vs. 4.1% (1/24)] with significant differences (all P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in other general data including gender, age, total length of hospital stay or acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score between the two groups. Binary multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that rScO2 and PAV were independent risk factors for prognosis of brain in patients with TBI [rScO2: odds ratio (OR) = 4.656, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.071-20.233, P = 0.040; PAV: OR = 3.525, 95%CI was 1.044-11.906, P = 0.042]. ROC curve analysis showed that both of rScO2 and PAV had predictive value for the prognosis of brain function in patients with TBI (AUC was 0.796 and 0.780, respectively, both P < 0.01), and rScO2 combined with PAV had higher predictive value with the AUC of 0.851 (P < 0.01) than rScO2 or PAV alone, the sensitivity was 94.4% and the specificity was 62.5%. CONCLUSIONS: rScO2 and PAV were associated with early brain function prognosis in patients with TBI. The combination of two monitoring indicators can reliably assess the prognosis of brain function in patients with TBI.

Ultralight MXene-Coated, Interconnected SiCnws Three-Dimensional Lamellar Foams for Efficient Microwave Absorption in the X-Band.

Two-dimensional (2D) few-layered Ti3C2T X MXene (f-Ti3C2T X) has been proved to be one of the most promising electromagnetic interference (EMI) materials, but its electromagnetic (EM) absorption properties and loss mechanism have not been studied so far. Herein, for the first time, ordered lamellar f-Ti3C2T X/SiCnws hybrid foams with ultralow density are synthesized by a combination of self-assembly and bidirectional freezing processes. The freestanding foams exhibit excellent EM absorption properties superior to most of the current foam-based counterparts. The effective absorption bandwidth is always able to cover the whole X-band, when the sample thicknesses of f-Ti3C2T X/SiCnws hybrid foams distribute in any value between 3.5 and 3.8 mm, and the minimum reflection coefficient reaches -55.7 dB at an ultralow density of only about 0.029 g·cm-3. The fundamental mechanism associated with optimized impedance matching, enhanced polarization loss, and conductive loss is discussed in detail. Our results evidence that 2D flexible f-Ti3C2T X MXene has great potential in EM absorption field like graphene.