Mg3(Sb,Bi)2-based thermoelectrics (TEs) show promise for near-room-temperature energy conversion and TE-cooling applications. However, further improvements in electrical power factors and figure-of-merits (zTs) are constrained by precise Mg-vacancy regulation and elucidation of underlying mechanisms. Herein, we report a novel in-situ Mg-vacancy engineering strategy in Mg3(Sb,Bi)2 where excess Mg is generated from local reactions between a selection of specific transition metals and the component anionic element(s) in Mg3(Sb,Bi)2 during spark-plasma-sintering. This process effectively refills matrix Mg-vacancies through the subsequent global diffusion of Mg cations in Mg3(Sb,Bi)2 lattices. This local-reaction-global-diffusion concept, contrasting with reported mechanisms associated with localized grain-boundary engineering, is elaborated through multiscale investigation. Vacancy-restrained Mg3(Sb,Bi)2 demonstrates remarkably enhanced carrier mobility and zTs, achieving record-high power factors. Our fabricated Mg3Sb0.5Bi1.5/MgAgSb and Mg3SbBi/MgAgSb modules achieve record-high dual-output performance with power-density/efficiency values of 1.23 W cm-2/11.7% and 1.05 W cm-2/12.8%, respectively, under a temperature difference (ΔT) of 315 K. The constructed Mg3Sb0.5Bi1.5/Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 and Mg3Sb0.75Bi1.25/Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 Peltier modules deliver competitive cooling ΔTmax exceeding 70 and 67 K, respectively, at 303 K. The concept is expected to extend to the defect engineering of other energy materials (e.g., SnTe and PbSe TEs), TE-interface materials, and metal-semiconductor interfaces with optimized functionalities.

alpha-MgAgSb has attracted notable attention as a high-performance thermoelectric (TE) material at near-room temperatures. However, the rational preparation of alpha-MgAgSb and the effective manipulation of Ag vacancies (V-Ag(-1)) remain challenging. In this work, high-quality MgAgx is experimentally uncovered as fundamental prerequisites for the synthesis of phase-pure alpha-MgAgSb and the efficient engineering of Ag stoichiometry. A collection of MgAgxSb (x = 0.97 similar to 1.03) materials are obtained through ball-milling Sb and as-synthesized MgAgx by melting and solid-state reactions. The "V-Ag(-1) - electrical transport" relationships are scrutinized based on comprehensive characterization and TE measurements. The lattice plainification is realized in the nominal MgAgSb and MgAg1.01Sb samples with optimal figure of merits (zT) (zT(max) of similar to 1.5 at 573 K and zT(avg) of similar to 1.31 from 300 to 573 K). A pellet of 25.4 mm in diameter and 3 mm in height is prepared, underpinning the reliable and repeatable construction of TE devices. Combined with n-type Mg-3(Sb,Bi)(2), 7-pair TE devices have been successfully fabricated, demonstrating record-high conversion efficiencies of similar to 10 % at T-h <= 583 K. Our results validate the rational up-scalable synthesis of MgAgxSb thermoelectrics and unlock their potential in near-room-temperature power-generation applications.

TiB2@Ti/CoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy matrix composite (HEAMC) powders and bulk materials were prepared by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering. The microstructure of the powders was characterized, and the microstructure, hardness, and friction properties of the bulk materials were investigated. Results showed that after low-energy ball milling for 8 h, the composite powder presented an ellipsoidal or granular shape with an average particle size of approximately 80 µm. The phase structure was mainly composed of FCC, Ti, and TiB2 phases. The phase structure of the sintered composite was mainly composed of FCC and a small amount of TiB2 phases. The microhardness of the composite was 362 HV, which was approximately 188 HV higher than that of the matrix alloy. The average friction coefficient was approximately 0.6664, which was 0.087 lower than that of the matrix alloy. The improvement in the hardness and friction performance of the composite was mainly attributed to the strengthening of grain boundary caused by the enrichment of TiB2 particles and Cr2O3 along the grain boundary and the solid solution strengthening of Ti. The wear types were mainly abrasive and oxidative wear for the composite and CoCrFeNi matrix alloy.

Bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) is the primary clinical manifestation of benign prostatic hyperplasia, the most common urinary system disease in elderly men, and leads to associated lower urinary tract symptoms. Although BOO is reportedly associated with increased systemic oxidative stress (OS), the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The elucidation of this mechanism is the primary aim of this study. A Sprague–Dawley rat model of BOO was constructed and used for urodynamic monitoring. The bladder tissue of rats was collected and subjected to real-time reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), histological examination, and immunohistochemical staining. Through bioinformatics prediction, we found that transforming growth factor β2 (TGFβ2) expression was upregulated in rats with BOO compared with normal bladder tissue. In vitro analyses using primary bladder smooth muscle cells (BSMCs) revealed that hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) induced TGFβ2 expression. Moreover, H 2 O 2 induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by reducing E-cadherin, an endothelial marker and CK-18, a cytokeratin maker, and increasing mesenchymal markers, including N-cadherin, vimentin, and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) levels. The downregulation of TGFβ2 expression in BSMCs using siRNA technology alleviated H 2 O 2 -induced changes in EMT marker expression. The findings of the study indicate that TGFβ2 plays a crucial role in BOO by participating in OS-induced EMT in BSMCs.

In the field of marine engineering, the application of Cu-containing antibacterial high-entropy alloys (HEAs) are inevitably subjected to the damage of both wear and corrosion. However, there is a lack of the fundamental understanding of the effect of Cu distribution on the tribo-corrosion mechanisms of alloys in marine environments. In this study, the working conditions of the alloy in a standard 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution were simulated to investigate the tribo-corrosion behaviour of CoCrFeNiCu0.3 HEAs with different distribution states of Cu. The focus was put on the effect of copper distribution on the tribo-corrosion mechanisms of the alloy. The research unveiled a correlation where the progressive dissolution of the copper element led to an elevation in the friction coefficient of the alloy, concomitantly resulting in a reduction in the wear rate. Alloys with the homogeneous distribution of copper exhibited optimal tribo-corrosion resistance. Furthermore, the transition of the copper distribution from segregation to homogeneity led to a shift in the tribo-corrosion mechanisms of the CoCrFeNiCu0.3 alloy from abrasive and corrosive wear to mild abrasive and oxidative wear. Moreover, the results demonstrated that by dissolving the Cu-rich phase and ensuring a homogeneous distribution of copper within the sintered alloy, the formation of corrosive microcouples and the detachment of oxidized debris were effectively suppressed. This promoted the formation of a protective chromium oxide layer in the groove region. The distribution optimization of copper towards homogeneity during the sintering process effectively enhanced the tribo-corrosion resistance of alloys. This work provides helpful guidance for material design and marine protection in the field of marine engineering.

a-MgAgSb, as a promising near-room-temperature thermoelectric (TE) material, has suffered from incompetent carrier mobility induced by the scattering of vacancies and grain boundaries. Synthesis of stoichiometric a-MgAgSb with large crystal grains has been challenging. Here, owing to an improved ball-milling process, the phase purity of a-MgAgSb powder precursor was effectively increased during mechanochemical synthesis. After subsequent spark plasma sintering (SPS) and post annealing at 583 K, near-stoichiometric a-MgAgSb exhibiting a mosaic structure was obtained, registering a significantly enhanced m of 93.3 cm2V-1s-1 and zT avg of 1.4 in 300-573 K. A 7-pair TE module based on a-MgAgSb/Mg 3 BiSb was fabricated, which demonstrated a record-high efficiency of 12% at Th <= 583 K and a cooling D T max of 61 K at 300 K. This work lays the foundation for broad applications of Mg-based TEs.

Three-valence-band ( i.e. , L, Σ and Λ) charge transport and multiple-scale defects were simultaneously achieved in p-type SnTe through dual incorporation of MnCdTe 2 and Ge, which contributed to a record-high ZT of ∼1.97 at 900 K.

α-MgAgSb is a promising near-room temperature thermoelectric material, characterized by its intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity, a feature attributed to the significant atomic mass contrast and complex crystal structure. In this work, we achieved respective zTavg values of 0.58 in the temperature range of 150-300 K and 1.22 in the range of 300-550 K for α-MgAgSb, indicating exceptional potential for both cooling and power generation applications. Additionally, through the reduction of cross-sectional size, the stability of MgAgSb/Ag interface was enhanced under high temperature, which is crucial for the practical application of thermoelectric module. To verify the property of α-MgAgSb material, a 7-pair MgAgSb/Bi2Te3 module was fabricated, demonstrating a maximum cooling temperature difference ΔTmax of 60 K at hot-side temperature of 300 K and a power generation efficiency ηmax of 7.2% with ΔT of 275 K. This work paves the way for the application of Mg-based thermoelectric materials.

NbxCu0.3Cr2Fe2Ni3Mn2 (x = 0, 0.2, and 0.4; named Nb0, Nb0.2, and Nb0.4, respectively) high-entropy alloys (HEAs) were prepared using arc melting process. The effect of Nb content on the microstructure and corrosion behavior of HEAs in HNO3 solution was studied. Nb0 and Nb0.2 alloys are composed of a single FCC phase, whereas Nb0.4 alloy is composed of FCC + Laves phase. In 10% and 30% HNO3 solutions, the immersion corrosion rate and potentiodynamic polarization corrosion rate of the HEAs showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with the increase in Nb content. After 30 days of immersion corrosion, Nb0.4 alloy exhibited the lowest average corrosion rate in 10% and 30% HNO3 solutions, with values of 4.6 x 10-3 and 2.8 x 10-3 mm/yr, respectively. Potentiodynamic polarization corrosion showed that Nb0.4 alloy also had the lowest corrosion current density and average corrosion rate in 10% and 30% HNO3 solutions, with values of 1.74 x 10-5, 5.56 x 10-6 A/cm2 and 0.18, 0.06 mm/yr, respectively. In addition, The Rpo of Nb0.4 alloy are 91 times and 8737 times higher than those of Nb0 alloy, respectively, and has the largest relative thickness of the passivation film. Therefore, Nb0.4 alloy exhibited the best resistance to HNO3 corrosion, mainly because adding Nb reduced the segregation of Cu, thereby weakening the corrosion effect of the primary battery. Meanwhile, Nb could play a stabilizing role in the passivation film of the alloy. The formation of corrosion-resistant Laves phase also correspondingly improved the HNO3 corrosion resistance of the alloy.

目的:探讨CD4+/CD8+比值降钙素原(Procallcitonin,PCT)、C反应蛋白(C-reactiveprotein,CRP)水平变化与感染性休克(Septicshock,SS)患者疾病转归的相关性.方法:选取我院2020年4月-2022年2月收治的135例SS患者为研究对象,根据患者28d疾病转归分为生存组(91例)和病死组(44例).比较两组一般临床资料,比较两组治疗前、治疗3d、7d后CD4+/CD8+比值、PCT、CRP水平,分析治疗3d、7d后CD4+/CD8+比值、PCT、CRP水平与急性生理与慢性健康评估(AcutephysiologyandchronichealthevaluationⅡ,APCHEⅡ)评分、序贯器官衰竭(Sepsis-relatedorganfailureassessment,SOFA)评分及疾病转归的相关性,偏回归分析影响SS患者疾病转归的危险因素.结果:病死组年龄、治疗3d后、7d后APACHEⅡ评分、SOFA评分较生存组高(P<0.05);病死组治疗3d、7d后CD4+/CD8+比值低于生存组,PCT、CRP水平高于生存组(P<0.05);治疗3d、7d后,CD4+/CD8+比值与SOFA评分、APCHEⅡ评分、疾病转归呈负相关,PCT、CRP水平与SOFA评分、APCHEⅡ评分、疾病转归呈正相关(P<0.05);Logistic回归分析显示,治疗3d后CD4+/CD8+比值≤1.10、PCT>19.18μg/L、CRP>122.98mg/L,治疗7d后CD4+/CD8+比值≤1.18、PCT>18.03μg/L、CRP>111.65mg/mL是SS患者病死的危险因素(P<0.05).结论:CD4+/CD8+比值、PCT、CRP水平与SS患者疾病转归密切相关,检测其水平对临床预测患者疾病转归具有指导意义.

Cu-containing high-entropy alloys (HEAs) with good antibacterial properties have application potential in the field of marine engineering. However, Cu tends to segregate in HEAs, which deteriorates the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. This work proposed a feasible strategy to eliminate Cu segregation in FCCstructured HEAs by ball milling and spark plasma sintering using HEA powders and Cu powders. It was found that, with the increase of sintering temperature, the Cu-rich phase gradually dissolved-into the CoCrFeNiCu0.3 HEA and finally disappeared. Meanwhile, the distribution of Cu elements in HEAs gradually became uniformed. CoCrFeNiCu0.3 HEA with uniform distribution of Cu was successfully fabricated by sintering at 1400 degrees C. The dissolution of Cu-rich phase synergistically improved the strength and plasticity of CoCrFeNiCu0.3 HEAs. Meanwhile, the galvanic corrosion caused by Cu-rich phases was effectively restrained by the uniform distribution of Cu. Furthermore, the sintered CoCrFeNiCu0.3 HEAs preserved good antibacterial properties with an antibacterial rate above 95% due to the combined action of toxic sterilization of Cu ions and contact sterilization of Cu atoms. The CoCrFeNiCu0.3 HEAs with uniform distribution of Cu not only displayed good mechanical properties and corrosion resistance, but also exhibited outstanding antibacterial properties. This work provided a design concept for the development of marine structural materials.

重型颅脑损伤是重物撞击或严重的机械作用下导致的脑组织损伤,具有很高的致残率及病死率[1,2],是ICU常见病之一.重型颅脑损伤可使患者脑组织发生严重的病理改变,引起炎症反应,造成脑出血或脑水肿,甚至引起神经功能的缺失,严重影响患者的预后及生活质量.近年来,中药治疗在临床上广泛应用,并逐渐应用于颅脑损伤等脑血管疾病.在常规基础上联合安宫牛黄丸能促进颅脑损伤患者意识恢复,减少高热惊厥等发生率[3].叶恭杰等[4]在颅脑损伤研究中发现安宫牛黄丸能改善患者的炎症指标,提高临床疗效.

Background:Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is emerging as the main cause of graft loss after kidney transplantation. Our previous study revealed the gut microbiota alternation associated with AMR in kidney transplant recipients, which was predicted to affect the metabolism-related pathways.Methods:To further investigate the shifts in intestinal metabolic profile among kidney transplantation recipients with AMR, fecal samples from kidney transplant recipients and patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were subjected to untargeted LC-MS-based metabolomics.Results:A total of 86 individuals were enrolled in this study, including 30 kidney transplantation recipients with AMR, 35 kidney transplant recipients with stable renal function (KT-SRF), and 21 participants with ESRD. Fecal metabolome in patients with ESRD and kidney transplantation recipients with KT-SRF were parallelly detected as controls. Our results demonstrated that intestinal metabolic profile of patients with AMR differed significantly from those with ESRD. A total of 172 and 25 differential metabolites were identified in the KT-AMR group, when compared with the ESRD group and the KT-SRF group, respectively, and 14 were common to the pairwise comparisons, some of which had good discriminative ability for AMR. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that the different metabolites between the KT-AMR and ESRD groups or between KT-AMR and KT-SRF groups were significantly enriched in 33 or 36 signaling pathways, respectively.Conclusion:From the metabolic point of view, our findings may provide key clues for developing effective diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for AMR after kidney transplantation.

An amino-rich hollow polyphosphazene microcapsule with rigid-flexible coupling cationic skeleton (HTCM) was facilely prepared by one-step polycondensation from hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene and tetraethylenepent-amine. The systematic adsorption studies for six single dye systems and three binary mixed dye systems showed that HTCM possessed a highly-efficient and selective adsorption behavior towards anionic dyes from water. Especially, the adsorption capacity of HTCM towards methyl orange (MO) at equilibrium reached 1009.66 mg g-1 at 25 degrees C, and the relative separation factors of anionic dye MO for three cationic dyes (methylene blue, Crystal violet and Rhodamine B) was up to 124.22, 124.87 and 136.35, respectively. The adsorption rate of MO onto HTCM was very rapid, attaining 68.6 % of adsorption equilibrium capacity for MO within the first 30 min. The adsorption kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamic analysis revealed that the uptake behavior of HTCM to-wards MO obeyed pseudo-second-order kinetic model, intraparticle diffusion model and Langmuir model, and the uptake process was spontaneous and endothermic. As verified from FT-IR and XPS analysis for HTCM before and after MO adsorption, the adsorption mechanism of HTCM for MO involved electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding. The present study promises the potential of HTCM for highly selective separation of anionic dyes from wastewater.

To meet the fast-expanding needs of thermoelectric cooling for high heat flux systems, high-performance ther-moelectric devices must be constructed with materials possessing both high thermoelectric properties and me-chanical strength. However, the synergistic improvement of thermoelectric and mechanical properties is challenging because of the anisotropic thermal and electrical transports in the layered Van der Waals structure of Bi2Te3, particularly for n-type Bi2(TexSe1-x)3 material. The hot extrusion (HE) technique was believed as the most efficient approach to decoupling the thermoelectric and mechanical properties of Bi2Te3. However, the mech-anism and performance of Bi2Te3 materials prepared by the HE method have been elusive. In this work, we developed an industrial-scalable HE technique to manipulate the texture ordering in Bi2Te3 material, achieving simultaneous improvement of thermoelectric and mechanical properties. Compared to SPS samples, our HE samples not only show 19% enhancement of the peak ZT, but also exhibit record high compressive strength of 205 MPa and flexural strength of 79 MPa, respectively. Furthermore, 7-pairs thermoelectric modules were fabricated to verify the cooling and power generation performance. A maximum temperature difference of 72 K (Th = 300 K) compared to 68 K for commercial devices and a maximum conversion efficiency of 5% at Th <= 500 K were realized.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) accounts for 90% of esophageal cancers and has a high mortality rate worldwide. The 5-year survival rate of ESCC patients in developing countries is <20%. Hence, there is an urgent need for developing new and effective treatments that are based on newly-discovered emerging molecules and pathways to prevent ESCC occurrence and recurrence. We investigated the effects of Daurisoline, a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid extracted from the rhizome of menisperum dauricum, on ESCC cell proliferation and elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying its functions. To explore the effects of Daurisoline on ESCC growth in vitro and in vivo, cell proliferation assays and anchorage-independent growth assays were performed and a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model was established. Subsequently, phosphoproteomics, molecular docking analysis, pull down assays, mutation experiments and in vitro kinase assay were performed to explore the mechanism of Daurisoline's function on ESCC. Daurisoline inhibited ESCC proliferation in vitro and reduced ESCC PDX exnograft growth in vivo by reducing ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Furthermore, it directly bound to MEK1 (at Asn78 and Lys97) and MEK2 (at Asp194 and Asp212) kinases to inactivate the ERK1/2 signaling pathway. Our results suggest that Daurisoline is a dual inhibitor of MEK1 and MEK2 and suppresses ESCC growth both in vitro and in vivo by inactivating the ERK1/2 signaling pathway. This is first report on the use of MEK inhibitor for ESCC and highlights its potential applications for ESCC treatment and prevention.

We proposed a feasible strategy to prepare a rigid-flexible coupled polyphosphazene supported polyurethane foam (PUF-PCP) adsorbent by in situ polycondensation between hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene and poly-ethyleneimine on the surface of polyurethane foam (PUF) at room temperature. Owing to combination of the open cell porous structure of PUF support and the superior adsorption capacity of PCP coatings, the PUF-PCP composite adsorbent exhibited good adsorption behavior towards anionic dyes. Especially, the experimental adsorption capacity of PUF-PCP for methyl orange (MO) dye was up to 978.56 mg g-1 at 25 oC. The relative separation factors of MO for methylene blue, crystal violet and rhodamine B were 224.1, 78.1 and 161.8 respectively, exhibiting an excellent adsorption selectivity of PUF-PCP towards MO. Moreover, the used PUF-PCP adsorbent can be easily collected and regenerated. The adsorption test data were best explained by Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption process of MO onto PUF-PCP was spontaneous and endothermic. XPS and FT-IR analysis confirmed that electrostatic adsorption and hydrogen bonding were the plausible uptake mechanism of PUF-PCP for MO molecules. The present work demonstrated that PUF-PCP has promising potential in removing environmental anionic pollutants from waterbody.

The rapid and highly-efficient uptake of waterbody contaminants by polymer-based adsorbent is still a challenge. Herein, a new nitrogen-rich hierarchical porous polymer (PCPM) was synthesized via a self-catalyzed poly -condensation between hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene and melamine. The PCPM possessed hierarchical pore architecture with specific surface area of 321.1 m2/g and pore size distribution from 1.3 to 63.0 nm. Owing to the remarkable porous texture and nitrogen-rich active sites with high electron density, PCPM exhibited a high adsorption capacity of 187.5, 336.2, and 320.4 mg g-1 for Cr (VI), Congo red (CR), and diclofenac sodium (DCF), respectively. Moreover, the adsorption rate of these contaminants onto PCPM was very fast, reaching 90 % of adsorption equilibrium capacity for Cr (VI), CR and DCF within the first 7 min, 45 min and 30 min, respectively. Adsorption data revealed that the adsorption process conformed to pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm model. The removal process was spontaneous, exothermic for Cr (VI) and endothermic for CR and DCF. FT-IR and XPS analysis demonstrated that electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding contributed to the adsorption of CR and DCF onto PCPM, while the removal mechanism of Cr (VI) by PCPM included redox reaction and chelation besides the above two interactions.

目的 探讨血液灌流联合持续性血液滤过在敌草快中毒中的临床应用效果.方法 选取2020年1月至2021年12月郑州大学第一附属医院急诊医学部收治的84例敌草快中毒患者作为研究对象,根据治疗方式分为对照组和试验组.对照组接受血液灌流治疗,试验组给予血液灌流联合持续性血液滤过治疗,对比两组患者的肝肾功能、炎性细胞因子等,比较两组患者脏器功能障碍发生率、病死率及毒物清除时间的差异.结果 试验组患者第 7天谷丙转氨酶(ALT)、谷草转氨酶(AST)、血肌酐(Cr)、白细胞介素-6(IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)水平较对照组患者均明显降低,差异均有统计学意义(P＜0.05);而氧分压(PaO2)较对照组明显上升,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).两组患者血尿中毒物清除的时间比较,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).预后分析比较,试验组多脏器功能障碍综合征(MODS)的发生率(42.2％)与对照组(69.2％)比较,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05);两组病死率比较[22(48.9％)vs.24(61.5％)],差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05).结论 早期血液灌流联合持续性血液滤过在一定程度上改善了患者的临床症状,降低了多脏器功能损伤发生率,在临床上值得应用.

AbstractThe low-temperature thermoelectric performance of Bi-rich n-type Mg3(Bi,Sb)2 was limited by the electron transport scattering at grain boundaries, while removing grain boundaries and bulk crystal growth of Mg-based Zintl phases are challenging due to the volatilities of elemental reactants and their severe corrosions to crucibles at elevated temperatures. Herein, for the first time, we reported a facile growth of coarse-grained Mg3Bi2-xSbx crystals with an average grain size of ~800 μm, leading to a high carrier mobility of 210 cm2 · V−1 · s−1 and a high z of 2.9 × 10−3 K−1 at 300 K. A $$\Delta$$ Δ T of 68 K at Th of 300 K, and a power generation efficiency of 5.8% below 450 K have been demonstrated for Mg3Bi1.5Sb0.5- and Mg3Bi1.25Sb0.75-based thermoelectric modules, respectively, which represent the cutting-edge advances in the near-room temperature thermoelectrics. In addition, the developed grain growth approach can be potentially extended to broad Zintl phases and other Mg-based alloys and compounds.