Visible Periodic Piezoelectric Domains in Silk Fibroin for Neurite-Orientated Extension.

The development of visible periodic piezoelectric domains is highly attractive but challenging to overcome the homogeneous distribution and lack of visualization of the electric field on traditional piezopolymers. This work reports an in situ synthesis to create customized silver patterns with micron-level distinguishability. This method serves to form visible periodic piezoelectric domains and endows the silk fibroin (SF) piezoelectric generator with maximum root mean square current, energy density, and voltage of 5.

A cross-sectional study exploring relationships between triglyceride glucose index, atherogenic index of plasma, and chronic pain: NHANES 1999-2004.

Background: Triglyceride glucose (TyG) index and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) are indicators of insulin resistance. However, inadequate evidence indicates that the TyG index, AIP, and chronic pain are linked.

Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2004 were used.

Improving Targeted Delivery and Antitumor Efficacy of TRAIL through Fusion with a B7H3-Antagonistic Affibody.

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is an attractive candidate for anticancer therapeutics due to its efficient pro-apoptotic activity against tumor cells and its well-tolerated safety profile. However, the in vivo antitumor efficacy of TRAIL is often limited by its poor tumor targeting capacity. Nowadays, the B7 homologue 3 (B7-H3) immune checkpoint has emerged as a promising target for tumor immunotherapy and drug delivery.

Longitudinal Evaluation of Coronary Arteries and Myocardium in Breast Cancer Using Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography.

Background: The association of coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) and left ventricular (LV) myocardium measurements with cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) is limited.

Objectives: In this study, the authors sought to evaluate the changes in coronary arteries and LV myocardium in patients with left breast cancer (BC) receiving anthracycline with or without radiotherapy, with the use of coronary CTA.

Methods: Participants with left BC receiving anthracycline with or without radiotherapy were prospectively included.

CT-derived extracellular volume and liver volumetry can predict posthepatectomy liver failure in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objectives: Posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) is a severe complication of liver resection. We aimed to develop and validate a model based on extracellular volume (ECV) and liver volumetry derived from computed tomography (CT) for preoperative predicting PHLF in resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.

Methods: A total of 393 resectable HCC patients from two hospitals were enrolled and underwent multiphasic contrast-enhanced CT before surgery.

The utility of diffusion-weighted imaging for differentiation of phyllodes tumor from fibroadenoma and breast cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values for differentiating breast tumors.

Methods: The medical records of 17 patients with phyllodes tumor [PT; circular regions of interest (ROI-cs) n = 171], 74 patients with fibroadenomas (FAs; ROI-cs, n = 94), and 57 patients with breast cancers (BCs; ROI-cs, n = 104) confirmed by surgical pathology were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: There were significant differences between PTs, FAs, and BCs in ADCmean, ADCmax, and ADCmin values.

Native Oxidation and Complex Magnetic Anisotropy-Dominated Soft Magnetic CoCrFeNi-Based High-Entropy Alloy Thin Films.

Soft magnetic high-entropy alloy thin films (HEATFs) exhibit remarkable freedom of material-structure design and physical-property tailoring, as well as, high cut-off frequencies and outstanding electrical resistivities, making them potential candidates for high-frequency magnetic devices. In this study, a CoCrFeNi film with excellent soft magnetic properties is developed by forming a novel core-shell structure via native oxidation, with ferromagnetic elements Fe, Co, and Ni as the core and the Cr oxide as the shell layer. The core-shell structure enables a high saturation magnetization, enhances the electrical resistivity, and thus reduces the eddy-current loss.

Modulation Recognition of Communication Signals Based on Multimodal Feature Fusion.

Modulation recognition is the indispensable part of signal interception analysis, which has always been the research hotspot in the field of radio communication. With the increasing complexity of the electromagnetic spectrum environment, interference in signal propagation becomes more and more serious. This paper proposes a modulation recognition scheme based on multimodal feature fusion, which attempts to improve the performance of modulation recognition under different channels.

Apparent diffusion coefficient histogram analysis for differentiating solid ovarian tumors.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis to differentiate between three types of solid ovarian tumors: granulosa cell tumors (GCTs) of the ovary, ovarian fibromas, and high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas (HGSOCs).

Methods: The medical records of 11 patients with GCTs of the ovary (regions of interest [ROI-cs], 137), 61 patients with ovarian fibromas (ROI-cs, 161), and 14 patients with HGSOCs (ROI-cs, 113) confirmed at surgery and histology who underwent diffusion-weighted imaging were retrospectively reviewed. Histogram parameters of ADC maps (ADCmean, ADCmax, ADCmin) were estimated and compared using the Kruskal-WallisH test and Mann-Whitney U test.

Myocardial extracellular volume derived from contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography for longitudinal evaluation of cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer treated with anthracyclines.

Objectives: To assess the value of myocardial extracellular volume (ECV) derived from contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) for longitudinal evaluation of cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer (BC) treated with anthracycline (AC).

Materials And Methods: A total of 1151 patients with BC treated with anthracyclines, who underwent at least baseline, and first follow-up contrast-enhanced chest CT were evaluated. ECV and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were measured before (ECV, LVEF), during ((ECV, LVEF) and (ECV, LVEF)), and after (ECV, LVEF) AC treatment.

Longitudinal pericardial adipose tissue changes in patients with breast cancer receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Pericardial adipose tissue (PAT) has been associated with adverse cardiac events. In this study, we evaluated changes of PAT in patients with breast cancer during and after anthracycline-based chemotherapy and explored the clinical variables associated with increases in PAT volume at the completion of chemotherapy.

Methods: A total of 278 breast cancer patients who were receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy were retrospectively enrolled.

Multiparametric dual-energy CT to differentiate stage T1 nasopharyngeal carcinoma from benign hyperplasia.

Background: Stage T1 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and benign hyperplasia (BH) are 2 common causes of nasopharyngeal mucosa/submucosa thickening without specific clinical symptoms. The treatment management of these 2 entities is significantly different. Reliable differentiation between the 2 entities is critical for the treatment decision and prognosis of patients.

Simultaneous multi-slice readout-segmentation of long variable echo-trains for accelerated diffusion-weighted imaging of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A feasibility and optimization study.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of simultaneous multi-slice readout segmentation of long variable echo-trains (SMS-RESOLVE) for diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and determine the optimal acceleration factor of SMS-RESOLVE DWI compared with conventional RESOLVE DWI.

Materials And Methods: One hundred and five patients with histologically confirmed NPC were enrolled. DWIs including conventional RESOLVE DWI, SMS-RESOLVE DWI with acceleration factors of 2 and 3 (2 × SMS-RESOLVE and 3 × SMS-RESOLVE) were acquired at b-values of 0 and 800 s/mm.

The utility of diffusion-weighted imaging and ADC values in the characterization of mumps orchitis and seminoma.

Background: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can quantitatively reflect the diffusion characteristics of tissues, providing a theoretical basis for qualitative diagnosis and quantitative analysis of a disease.

Purpose: To characterize testicular lesions that present as a hypointense signal on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2-weighted images using DWI.

Material And Methods: Study participants were divided into three groups.

Apparent diffusion coefficient values of cryptorchid testes and malignant transformation of cryptorchidism (MTC) (seminoma) in postpubertal patients.

Objectives: Diffusion-weighted imaging signal contrast can be quantified by apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, which reflect the diffusion properties of the examined tissue and are helpful for identifying pathology. To determine ADC values of cryptorchid testes in post-pubertal patients and assess performance for characterizing cryptorchid testes.

Methods: The medical records from 35 patients with unilateral scrotal vacuity were retrospectively reviewed.

MRI findings of an atypical testicular epidermoid cyst: A case report.

Introduction: Typical testicular epidermoid cysts (TECs) manifestate as a target sign or onion skin sign on ultrasonography and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Clinicians are increasingly aware of the imaging characteristics of typical TECs, which allow accurate diagnosis and successful treatment while preserving the testicle, but atypical TECs are likely to be misdiagnosed as a malignant intratesticular neoplasm, leading to complete testicular resection.

Patient Concerns: A 26 year-old male patient complained of a painless enlargement of the left testicle that had been present for 1 month.

Differentiation of testicular seminoma and nonseminomatous germ cell tumor on magnetic resonance imaging.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has excellent soft tissue resolution, as well as multidirectional and multisequence scanning technology, making it an important supplementary method in the diagnosis of testicular tumor.To explore the utility of preoperative MRI for the differential diagnosis of testicular seminoma and nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCTs).The medical records from 39 patients with testicular tumors that were examined preoperatively with MRI and treated with urologic surgery at our institution between January 2015 and March 2019 were retrospectively reviewed.

Photocatalytic degradation of dyes over a xylan/PVA/TiO composite under visible light irradiation.

In this study, a xylan/PVA/TiO composite was prepared and used for the photocatalytic degradation of dyes in solution. Fourier-transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analyses confirmed that the xylan/PVA/TiO composite was successfully prepared. Furthermore, the composite was evaluated as a photocatalyst for the photodegradation of ethyl violet and Astrazon Brilliant Red 4G dyes under visible light irradiation.

Imaging in testicular epidermoid cysts.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of findings on ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the preoperative diagnosis of testicular epidermoid cysts (TEC).

Methods: The medical records of five patients treated for TEC at our institution between July 2010 and May 2017 were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: Imaging revealed a target or onion skin appearance on ultrasonography and MRI.

Emission Characteristics of Laser-Induced Plasma Using Collinear Long and Short Dual-Pulse Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS).

Collinear long and short dual-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (DP-LIBS) was employed to clarify the emission characteristics from laser-induced plasma. The plasma was sustained and became stable by the long pulse-width laser with the pulse width of 60 μs under free running (FR) conditions as an external energy source. Comparing the measurement results of stainless steel in air using single-pulse LIBS (SP-LIBS) and DP-LIBS, the emission intensity was markedly enhanced using DP-LIBS.

Free-Standing Single-Molecule Thick Crystals Consisting of Linear Long-Chain Polymers.

Organic two-dimensional (2D) crystals are fundamentally important for development of future devices. Despite that more than a half of man-made products contain polymers, 2D crystals consisting of long linear chains have yet to be explored. Here we report on the fabrication of 2D polyaniline (PANI) crystals via rational electrochemical polymerization followed by liquid-phase exfoliation.

[The speed CT measurement of the airway in obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome].

Objective: To measure the upper airway of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome by speed CT. We can predict the airway obstruction plane with the airway plane data and compliance in OSAHS patients. Through this measurement, we can provide assistance for clinical diagnosis and treatment.