Effect of simultaneous multislice acceleration on the quantitative measurements of diffusion-weighted imaging, intravoxel incoherent motion, and diffusion kurtosis imaging in hepatocellular carcinoma and abdominal organs.

Background: Although simultaneous multislice (SMS) acceleration shortens abdominal diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) scans, its effect on quantitative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) measurements is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate SMS acceleration effects on DWI-derived quantitative measurements in HCC and the upper abdominal solid organs.

Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study initially enrolled 205 patients with clinically suspected HCC.

3D fractal dimension analysis of CT imaging for microvascular invasion prediction in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the potential role of 3-dimensional (3D) fractal dimension (FD) derived from contrast-enhanced CT images in predicting microvascular invasion (MVI) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included 655 patients with surgically confirmed HCC from two medical centers (training set: 406 patients; internal test set: 170 patients; external test set: 79 patients). Box-counting algorithms were used to compute 3D FD values from portal venous phase images.

Review of Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Bimetallic Interfacial Behavior.

Bimetals have broad application prospects in many fields due to the combination of the performance characteristics of the two materials, but weak interface bonding limits their promotion and application. Therefore, studying the interfacial behavior to achieve bimetallic strengthening is the focus of this field. However, it is often difficult or costly to visually observe the interfacial behavior using traditional experimental methods.

Recent Advances of Covalent Organic Frameworks-Based Materials for Photocatalytic U(VI) Separation: Structural Modulation and Mechanistic Exploration.

The development of efficient and selective U(VI) extraction from seawater and U(VI)-containing wastewater through photocatalytic technology holds significant importance for nuclear energy advancement and mitigation of radionuclide-related environmental and health risks. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as ideal photocatalytic materials for U(VI) separation due to their inherent porosity, robust frameworks, chemical stability, and exceptional structural regularity. This comprehensive review examines molecular-level structural optimization of COFs to enhance charge carrier separation and transfer, thereby improving photocatalytic U(VI) extraction efficiency.

Fractal analysis based on Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI for prediction of vessels that encapsulate tumor clusters in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the potential role of fractal analysis derived from Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI in predicting vessels that encapsulate tumor clusters (VETC) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: This retrospective study included 505 patients with HCC who underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI before surgical resection at two medical centers (training set: 253 patients, internal test set: 108 patients, external test set: 144 patients). The fractal dimension (FD) and lacunarity were extracted from the hepatobiliary phase of the tumor using box-counting algorithms.

Fully Conjugated Sp Carbon-Linked Covalent Organic Frameworks Enables Accelerated Exciton Process for Superior Singlet Oxygen Photosynthesis for Water Remediation.

Photocatalytic oxygen (O) activation via energy transfer offers a sustainable approach for singlet oxygen (O) synthesis, while its performance suffers from the ultrafast exciton dissociation and sluggish intersystem crossing (ISC) process. Up to date, exciton regulation is still in its infancy. Here, via linkage engineering of covalent organic frameworks (COFs), we propose a fully conjugated sp carbon-linked COFs (spc-Py-Bpy COFs) with strong exciton interaction and fast ISC for boosted O photosynthesis.

In vitro inhibition of the CFTR ion channel in the Macaca mulatta cervix thickens cervical mucus†.

Cervical mucus changes throughout the menstrual cycle in response to hormonal fluctuations, regulating access of sperm and pathogens to the reproductive tract. CFTR is an anion channel that plays a critical role in mediating epithelial mucus secretions. Primary endocervical cells obtained from rhesus macaques Macaca mulatta were cultured using conditional reprogramming and treated with vehicle controls or CFTR inhibitors.

Preoperative prediction of early recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma using simultaneous multislice diffusion kurtosis imaging.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the value of simultaneous multislice diffusion kurtosis imaging (SMS-DKI) for predicting early recurrence (within 2 years) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to develop a predictive model.

Materials And Methods: This prospective study included 67 HCC patients who underwent SMS-DKI on a 3-T MRI between June 2021 and January 2023. Diffusion parameters, including the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), SMS-mean kurtosis (SMS-MK), and SMS-mean diffusivity (SMS-MD), along with radiological features, were analyzed.

The Effect of Leaf Traits on the Excitation, Transmission, and Perception of Vibrational Mating Signals in the Tea Leafhopper Matsuda (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae).

The physical properties of plants affect the transmission of plant-borne vibrational signals, which many herbivorous insects use for communication. Male calling signals (MCaSs, with sections S0, S1, and S2) and courtship signals (MCoSs, with sections S1 and S2) of Matsuda (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), a major pest of tea plant, have a multicomponent structure. The same MCaS was repeatedly played back on different leaves of a tea branch, and parameters of the transmitted signal and female responses were measured on the leaf inhabited by females.

Integrated multi-omics landscape of non-small cell lung cancer with distant metastasis.

Background: Distant metastasis is one of the important factors affecting the prognosis of lung cancer patients. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play an important role in the occurrence, development, and metastasis of cancer. However, it is currently unclear whether EVs in BALF are involved in distant tumor metastasis.

Habituation to intraspecific mating inhibition signals in the tea leafhopper, Empoasca onukii.

Background: Pest control mediated by substrate-borne vibrational signals has been successfully used to control the grapevine leafhopper. Maintaining the signal intensity above the effective threshold and avoiding habituation to the stimulus are crucial for this control strategy to be effective. The tea leafhopper, Empoasca onukii, is a major pest of tea plants that relies on substrate-borne vibrational signals for mating communication.

Preoperative assessment of liver regeneration using T1 mapping and the functional liver imaging score derived from Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced magnetic resonance for patient with hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy.

Objectives: To explore whether T1 mapping parameters and the functional liver imaging score (FLIS) based on Gd-EOB-DTPA MRI could evaluate liver regeneration after hepatectomy for HCC patient.

Methods: This retrospective study finally included 60 HCC patients (48 men and 12 women, with a median age of 53 years). T1 relaxation time of liver before gadoxetic acid injection (T1) and during the hepatobiliary phase (T1), reduction rate (Δ%) and FLIS were calculated, their correlations with liver fibrosis stage, hepatic steatosis, and liver regeneration, quantified as regeneration index (RI), were assessed by Kendall's tau-b correlation test or Spearman's correlation test.

Effect of Gradient Transition Layer on the Cracking Behavior of Ni60B (NiCrBSi) Coatings by Laser Cladding.

Laser cladding technology is an effective method for producing wear-resistant coatings on damaged substrates, improving both wear and corrosion resistance, which extends the service life of components. However, the fabrication of hard and brittle materials is highly susceptible to the problem of cracking. Using gradient transition layers is an effective strategy to mitigate the challenge of achieving crack-free laser-melted wear-resistant coatings.

Diacetylene-bridged covalent organic framework as crystalline graphdiyne analogue for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Graphdiyne (GDY) alone as a photocatalyst is unsatisfactory because of its low crystallinity, limited regulation of the band gap, weak photogenerated charge separation, , and heterojunctioning with other materials is necessary to activate the photocatalytic activity of GDY. Through elaborate design, a diacetylene-rich linker (S2) was prepared and employed to construct a crystalline and structurally well-defined GDY-like covalent organic framework (COF, namely S2-TP COF) which merges the merits of both COF and GDY to boost the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). By theoretical prediction on the donor-acceptor (D-A) pair, two other monoacetylene-bridged COFs (S1-TP COF and S3-TP COF) were prepared for comparison.

Stress-eliminated liquid-phase fabrication of colloidal films above the critical crack thickness.

The thickness of film materials is a critical factor influencing properties such as energy density, optical performance, and mechanical strength. However, the long-standing challenge of the intrinsic thermodynamic limit on maximum thickness often leads to detrimental cracking, compromising these desirable properties. In this study, we present an approach called the stress-eliminated liquid-phase fabrication (SELF) method.

One-step high-speed thermal-electric aerosol printing of piezoelectric bio-organic films for wirelessly powering bioelectronics.

Piezoelectric biomaterials hold a pivotal role in the progression of bioelectronics and biomedicine, owing to their remarkable electromechanical properties, biocompatibility, and bioresorbability. However, their technological potential is restrained by certain challenges, including precise manipulation of nanobiomolecules, controlling their growth across nano-to-macro hierarchy, and tuning desirable mechanical properties. We report a high-speed thermal-electric driven aerosol (TEA) printing method capable of fabricating piezoelectric biofilms in a singular step.

Simultaneous multislice echo-planar diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in patients with focal liver lesions: a comparative study with conventional DWI.

Background: Simultaneous multislice (SMS) technology improves acquisition efficiency of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). This study aimed to evaluate the performance of SMS-DWI in image quality and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements for focal liver lesions (FLLs) as compared with that of conventional DWI (CON-DWI).

Methods: The institutional ethics committee of West China Hospital, Sichuan University approved this single-center, prospective study conducted from February 2021 to March 2022.

Observation of Moment-Dependent and Field-Driven Unidirectional Magnetoresistance in CoFeB/InSb/CdTe Heterostructures.

Magnetoresistance effects are crucial for understanding the charge-spin transport as well as propelling the advancement of spintronic applications. Here, we report the coexistence of magnetic-moment-dependent (MD) and magnetic-field-driven (FD) unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR) effects in CoFeB/InSb/CdTe heterostructures. The strong spin-orbital coupling of InSb and the matched impedance at the CoFeB/InSb interface warrant a distinct MD-UMR effect at room temperature, while the interaction between the in-plane magnetic field and the Rashba effect at the InSb/CdTe interface induces the marked FD-UMR signal that dominates the high-field region.

Transcriptional profiling of mucus production in rhesus macaque endocervical cells under hormonal regulation†.

Objective: Endocervical mucus production is a key regulator of fertility throughout the menstrual cycle. With cycle-dependent variability in mucus quality and quantity, cervical mucus can either facilitate or block sperm ascension into the upper female reproductive tract. This study seeks to identify genes involved in the hormonal regulation of mucus production, modification, and regulation through profiling the transcriptome of endocervical cells from the non-human primate, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta).

A bioinspired surface tension-driven route toward programmed cellular ceramics.

The intriguing biomineralization process in nature endows the mineralized biological materials with intricate microarchitected structures in a facile and orderly way, which provides an inspiration for processing ceramics. Here, we propose a simple and efficient manufacturing process to fabricate cellular ceramics in programmed cell-based 3D configurations, inspired by the biomineralization process of the diatom frustule. Our approach separates the ingredient synthesis from architecture building, enabling the programmable manufacturing of cellular ceramics with various cell sizes, geometries, densities, metastructures, and constituent elements.

An Optimized Instance Segmentation of Underlying Surface in Low-Altitude TIR Sensing Images for Enhancing the Calculation of LSTs.

The calculation of land surface temperatures (LSTs) via low-altitude thermal infrared remote (TIR) sensing images at a block scale is gaining attention. However, the accurate calculation of LSTs requires a precise determination of the range of various underlying surfaces in the TIR images, and existing approaches face challenges in effectively segmenting the underlying surfaces in the TIR images. To address this challenge, this study proposes a deep learning (DL) methodology to complete the instance segmentation and quantification of underlying surfaces through the low-altitude TIR image dataset.

Correction: Exploring the Mpemba effect: a universal ice pressing enables porous ceramics.

Correction for 'Exploring the Mpemba effect: a universal ice pressing enables porous ceramics' by Xiaodan Yang , , 2024, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d3mh01869e.

NRG1-ErbB4 signaling in the medial amygdala controls mating motivation in adult male mice.

Motivation-driven mating is a basic affair for the maintenance of species. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms that control mating motivation are not fully understood. Here, we report that NRG1-ErbB4 signaling in the medial amygdala (MeA) is pivotal in regulating mating motivation.