Patterns and Factors of the Sexual Agreement for Extra-Dyadic Sex Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Hong Kong, China: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

This study investigated patterns of sexual agreement for extra-dyadic sex and their associations with sexual risk behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) having a regular male sex partner (RP) in China. A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted among 530 MSM recruited through multiple sources in Hong Kong, China, between April and December 2020. This study was based on a subsample of 368 participants who had an RP in the past 6 months. Logistic regression models were fitted. Among the participants, 27.2%, 13.0%, and 3.0% had a closed agreement, an in-between agreement, and an open agreement, respectively. Compared to no agreement, a closed agreement was associated with fewer extra-dyadic partners and fewer instances of condomless sex with extra-dyadic partners. Those who had more positive attitudes toward a closed agreement, perceived more support from significant others to create a closed agreement, and perceived higher behavioral control of refraining from sex with extra-dyadic partners were more likely to have a closed agreement with RP. Those who were concerned that a closed agreement would impair freedom and sexual desire were less likely to have such an agreement. A closed agreement is a potentially useful risk reduction strategy for Chinese MSM with an RP.

The Cohesive Energy and Vibration Characteristics of Parallel Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

Based on the van der Waals (vdW) interaction between carbon atoms, the interface cohesive energy between parallel single-walled carbon nanotubes was studied using continuous mechanics theory, and the influence of the diameter of carbon nanotubes and the distance between them on the cohesive energy was analyzed. The results show that the size has little effect on the cohesive energy between carbon nanotubes when the length of carbon nanotubes is over 10 nm. At the same time, we analyzed the cohesive energy between parallel carbon nanotubes with the molecular dynamics simulation method. The results of the two methods were compared and found to be very consistent. Based on the vdW interaction between parallel carbon nanotubes, the vibration characteristics of the two parallel carbon nanotube system were analyzed based on the continuous mechanical Euler-beam model. The effects of the vdW force between carbon nanotubes, the diameter and length of carbon nanotubes on the vibration frequency of carbon nanotubes was studied. The obtained results are helpful in improving the understanding of the vibration characteristics of carbon nanotubes and provide an important theoretical basis for their application.

Large stretchability and failure mechanism of graphene kirigami under tension.

From the macro- to the nanoscale, kirigami structures show novel and tunable properties by tailoring the original two-dimensional sheets. In this study, the large stretchability and failure behavior in graphene nanoribbon kirigami (GNR-k) are obtained using the finite element (FE) method and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The carbon-carbon bond in the FE method is equivalent to a nonlinear Timoshenko beam based on the Tersoff-Brenner potential. All the results from the present FE method are in reasonable agreement with those from our MD simulations using the REBO potential. These results from the two methods show that the maximum ultimate strain of GNR-k (around 100%) is around 4 times higher than that of a pristine graphene nanoribbon (GNR), whereas the minimum ultimate stress of GNR-k is around one order of magnitude lower than that of the GNR. In particular, the large stretchability of GNR-k is indirectly proven to be mainly derived from the out-of-plane bending deformation by measuring the nonlinear mechanical properties of paper kirigami. Our results provide physical insights into the origins of the large stretchability of GNR-k and make GNR-k applicable to flexible nanodevices.

The Vibration of a Linear Carbon Chain in Carbon Nanotubes.

An explicit solution for the vibration of a carbon chain inside carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was obtained using continuum modeling of the van der Waals (vdW) interactions between them. The effect of the initial tensile force and the amplitude of the carbon chain as well as the radii of the CNTs on the vibration frequency were analyzed in detail, respectively. Our analytical results show that the vibration frequency of the carbon chain in a (5,5) CNT could be around two orders of magnitude higher than that of an independent carbon chain without initial tensile force. For a given CNT radius, the vibration frequency nonlinearly increases with increasing amplitude and initial tensile force. The obtained analytical cohesive energy and vibration frequency are reasonable by comparison of present molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. These findings will be a great help towards understanding the vibration property of a nanowire in nanotubes, and designing nanoelectromechanical devices.

The vibration of nanosprings affected by van der Waals interactions.

The vibration of tightly helical nanosprings affected by van der Waals (vdW) interactions is investigated based on continuum modelling. Explicit solutions are derived to clarify the influence of initial pitch, stiffness and the number of nanosprings on the period, frequency and amplitude of the vibration. Unlike classic linear/nonlinear springs, the waveform of the vibration is always asymmetric for tightly helical nanosprings due to the asymmetry of vdW attraction and repulsion. The at most three equilibrium positions for the nanosprings strongly depend on the deformation due to competition between the vdW interactions and the elastic energy of the nanosprings. This study provides physical insights into the origin of the novel dynamic properties of such nanosprings.

The Young's moduli of three types of carbon allotropes: a molecular mechanics model and a finite-element method.

The close-form expressions of the Young's moduli and the fracture stresses of cyclicgraphene, graphyne and supergraphene along their armchair and zigzag directions are derived based on a molecular mechanics model. Checking against present finite-element calculations of their Young's moduli shows that the explicit solutions are reasonable. The obtained analytical solutions should be of great help for understanding the mechanical properties of the graphene-like materials.

The Influence of Crosslink Density on the Failure Behavior in Amorphous Polymers by Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

The crosslink density plays a key role in the mechanical response of the amorphous polymers in previous experiments. However, the mechanism of the influence is still not clear. In this paper, the influence of crosslink density on the failure behavior under tension and shear in amorphous polymers is systematically studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The present results indicate that the ultimate stresses and the broken ratios (the broken bond number to all polymer chain number ratios) increase, as well as the ultimate strains decrease with increasing crosslink density. The strain concentration is clearer with the increase of crosslink density. In other words, a higher crosslink density leads to a higher strain concentration. Hence, the higher strain concentration further reduces the fracture strain. This study implies that the mechanical properties of amorphous polymers can be dominated for different applications by altering the molecular architecture.